Free In Irina's Cards (The Variant Conspiracy #1) by Christine Hart Page A

reason. You probably won’t get to know everything the company does. We don’t discuss the details of our work with anyone but our supervisors,” said Faith.
    “Lots of projects are shared on a need-to-know basis. But it’s not bad,” said Jonah. “You’ll understand more when Ivan gives you a full tour. Let it happen on his schedule.”
    “I can go along for the ride here, but you’ve got to see how this looks from my point of view, getting drawn to a strange city by visions–which are an entirely new phenomenon to me. Have I mentioned yet that I got jumped the other night?”
    “What?” said Cole and Jonah in unison.
    “And you know why I didn’t get a look at him?” I said.
    The boys had quizzical looks on their faces, but Faith looked anxious.
    “Because there was nothing to look at,” I said. “Some enormous thing picked me up off the ground and threatened me.”
    “You need to tell Rubin. Or Ivan, but not everyone in this restaurant.” Faith scanned the room tensely.
    “No kidding.” I lowered my voice. “But since I don’t have a way to get a hold of Rubin, I have to keep my fingers crossed that he’s keeping tabs on me.”
    “I’m sure he is. It’s his job to keep us safe,” said Jonah.

Chapter 5
    Cole insisted on driving me back to the motel. Even though it was dark, he wanted to take the scenic route. He drove back out to the seaside road Jonah had taken to get to Cymbals. However, instead of heading south, the way we’d come, Cole went north.
    The restless Pacific Ocean lapped at the sea wall on my right, brilliantly lit by a bright white moon. The tide was out leaving expansive stretches of driftwood, sand, and stone in front of the foam-trimmed inky surf. A handful of stars twinkled overhead as I took in the wall of cliff side homes on the other side of the road.
    The drive felt more like something off a British postcard than the far side of Canada’s West Coast. We rounded another corner and came to a gap in the residential landscape. As we approached the thick wall of dark cedars, I saw gravestones in the gaps between each trunk. The graveyard sat patiently in the dark. Cole pulled over on the gravel shoulder across the street.
    “This is Ross Bay cemetery. There’s a whole bunch of touristy crap downtown, but the cemetery is one of the more interesting spots.”
    On his side of the car, the graveyard whispered at us as giant evergreen branches and other dark shapes undulated in the powerful coastal wind. On my side of the car, the ocean lapped at the beach below, glittering with reflected pieces of moonlight.
    Cole looked at me, looked back at the cemetery, and pulled a U-turn back onto the road. He must have noticed the apprehensive look on my face. “I realize it’s a bit sketchy to bring a girl here at night. You don’t really know me. But, there is cool shit to see there. We could come back during the day and take a look at the statues and carvings. Or we could go for a drive and find other stuff worth checking out. If you wanna take some classes up at the university, that’s something to see. There’s a college here too. If you’re on foot downtown, then you’re stuck riding the bus to see the rest of the city. There are more beaches, a couple of castles, lots of parks. I could show you around if you’re into that.”
    I hesitated, but Cole sounded so sincere, yet so aloof at the same time. I didn’t want to give him the idea I was interested in a date and I didn’t want to be rude. Cole had the worst combination of strength and temper I’d ever seen. I remembered “a master’s in geology” and the idea still didn’t fit. I remembered the crunch of our dinner table under his grip. And then the memory of being hoisted in the air behind a garage popped into my head. Whatever else Cole might be, a makeshift bodyguard was in my best interest.
    “I’d like to do a little sightseeing. I wouldn’t want you to go to any trouble though. I don’t need to rush