Free Revolution (Replica) by Jenna Black

hint of it. Maybe it was some kind of dye or stain rather than actual body paint, as he’d always assumed.
    The crowd murmured in disapproval as Djinni led them to the door ahead of those who were waiting, but no one was going to mess with him.
    As soon as they were through the door, Djinni let go of Agnes and whirled on Dante, grabbing him by the collar of his duster and shoving him against the wall. Nate insisted to himself that he didn’t take any satisfaction in the fact that the superspy didn’t see it coming and that Djinni had divested him of his weapon before he knew what hit him.
    “No guns allowed in the club.” Djinni smirked as he popped the clip out of the gun and checked to make sure the chamber was empty. He tucked the gun into the back of his shorts.
    Dante glared at the bouncer. “You could have just asked.” He straightened the duster with an air of offended dignity.
    Nate worried that he and Dante—and more alarmingly, Agnes—might be searched more thoroughly, seeing as that was the club’s standard procedure, but it seemed Djinni was through with the fun and games.
    “This way,” he said, leading them across the room. The club wasn’t crowded yet—too many people were still waiting outside—so they didn’t really need him to lead them to Angel. Nate could see her sitting at a table in the far corner. He let out a little breath of relief to see that Nadia and Bishop were also seated at that table, although even from a distance he could read the body language and see the tension. Maybe negotiations were going badly and showing up here had been a big mistake. But it wasn’t like they’d had a lot of choices.
    Djinni didn’t let go of Agnes’s arm until they were practically on top of the table, and even then, he stood in such a way as to block her retreat—and keep Nate and Dante from getting to her.
    Angel leaned back in her chair, lacing her hands over her stomach, showing them how completely relaxed and in control she was.
    “Why Ghost,” she said in a slow drawl, “what a pleasant surprise. I had no idea you had so much fun the last time you visited. Back for more?”
    Nate was sweating, unable to suppress his body’s visceral memory of what Angel had done to him. He tried to project an image of nonchalance, but he was probably failing, and there was no way he could scrape up the words for a witty comeback.
    He was an utter coward. Timid little Agnes did a better job of standing up to bullies than he did. His face flushed with shame, and he hoped the layers of white powder he wore to make his complexion ghostly were thick enough to hide it.
    “Leave him alone, Angel,” Kurt said, pushing back his chair and rising to his feet.
    Nate’s cheeks flamed hotter. Bad enough that he was showing his fear in front of everyone, but to have Kurt have to jump to his rescue … He was being a total wuss about this. Yeah, the beating had hurt like hell, but Angel and her merry men hadn’t done any actual damage. In the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t that big a deal. At least that’s what he tried to tell himself.
    Kurt interrupted Nate’s shame-spiral by clapping a hand on his shoulder and squeezing. “What are you doing here?” he asked.
    The simple touch of Kurt’s hand helped steady and balance him, chasing the shadows away. He cleared his throat quietly to make sure his voice didn’t come out sounding weak and thready.
    “A security squad showed up to search the building,” he answered. “We had to get out of there. This seemed the only logical place to go.”
    He wanted to ask what was going on, how the negotiations were going—if they were indeed still going—but Kurt wasn’t in a position to give him an honest answer with Angel hanging on his every word, so there was no point.
    “Are you sure they were looking for us?” Nadia asked, biting her lip, but then she shook her head. “Never mind. Stupid question.”
    Angel snorted. “As if I needed another reminder that