An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
The driver’s door opened and a woman stepped out. Petite and graceful as a ballerina. She wore a smart blue coat, a pantsuit and heels, and her dark hair was in a French bun.
Lucy Jaggat.
She had the nerve to smile at them. It was an anxious smile. Strands of hair were escaping from its elegant style, unwashed and limp. She was paler than Nina remembered; her lips and nails were bitten ragged. Her suit was badly creased, like she’d been sleeping in it.
“What the hell?” Nina demanded.
Lucy didn’t seem to hear her. She only had eyes for Mitchell.
“Thank goodness,” she said, wringing her hands. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”
No sooner were the words out of her mouth than Mitchell lunged. With vampiric speed, he pushed past Nina and had Lucy pinned to her car’s door by her throat in the blink of an eye.
*
In the aftermath of the CenSSA disaster, Nina tries to keep everything together. All her plans are derailed by Lucy’s sudden arrival at their safe house.