Crow studied Rikki tensely from the corner of his eye as he listened to the two women speak. He wasn’t sure what she was trying to do, but he knew that he didn’t trust her for a moment. She had made it perfectly clear that she didn’t approve of his relationship with Penelope, and nothing had happened since then that he could think of that would have changed her opinion about it. He subconsciously moved a little closer to the knight, prepared to step in if the female thief made any moves to cause trouble.

Being focused on what was happening right in front of him, he was caught slightly off guard as Gavin fell back to speak with Penelope. He blinked and turned away from Rikki to watch the other man instead. The knight’s jaw was set tensely and he moved with a faint stiffness that suggested that he was on edge. It wasn’t surprising, considering he hadn’t been expecting to work with more thieves, but Crow still wished he would realize that they were all on the same side.

“Alright,” Crow said quietly when Penelope said she should speak with him. He gave her hand a brief squeeze before letting his arm fall back to his side as she walked ahead with her former suitor. He let out his breath in a soft exhale. They had only just left Myrefall, and yet the trip to Wheldrake was already proving to be much more stressful than the last. It felt like trouble could come from any direction, whether Olivia decided to cause mischief, or Rikki tried to get between him and Penelope, or Gavin did something out of his mistrust of the thieves. The only one he even remotely trusted was Alistair, and that was just because the reckless thief seemed to be too enamored by Olivia to do any damage.

He shook his head faintly and ran a hand through his hair. On top of all that, he still had to handle the dilemma of how he was going to meet Jaxon’s demands without getting caught. Just the thought of working behind their backs—especially Penelope’s—made him feel sick, but he had to do it. He had already lost one of his companions to the murderous thief; he couldn’t be the cause of anyone else’s death.

“You’re quiet,” Rikki, who had stayed by his side, noted curiously. “What’s on your mind?”

Crow hesitated for a moment before answering. “I’m just worried that we might not find Jaxon in Wheldrake,” he lied. “Our lead sounded good, but we can’t know for sure if the group we heard about is really them.”

“I’m sure we’ll find something,” Rikki offered him a reassuring smile. “He doesn’t know we’re looking for him, so we’ve got the advantage. It won’t be long now before that bastard’s head rolls.”

[i]If only you knew how wrong you are,[/i] Crow thought, biting his tongue to keep from telling her the truth. It wasn’t them that had the advantage. Jaxon, as always, was three steps ahead of them. There was no way they could catch up with him now. But he couldn’t reveal that to anyone. “I hope you’re right,” he said after a moment, forcing himself to pretend like he believed her.

“I will be,” Rikki winked at him. Her dark eyes flicked towards Gavin and Penelope for a moment before she leaned a little closer to him and rested a hand on his back. “This will all be over before we know it.”

Crow stiffened at her touch and brushed her arm aside. “I thought you were finished trying to get between me and Penelope,” he muttered irritably.

“What?” she rolled her eyes. “Am I not allowed to touch you anymore? Come on, Crow. It’s not like I reached for your—”

“It doesn’t matter,” he interrupted, casting her a cold look. “I know what you’re trying to do, and I’m not going to let it happen. You’ve said my friendship is important to you, so start acting like it.”

“Gods,” Rikki crossed her arms. “Someone’s in a bad mood today.”

Crow just scoffed in response and averted his gaze. A tense silence fell between them until Penelope dropped back to his side. He reached out to take her hand again quickly in an attempt to make it clear to Rikki where his loyalties laid. “Is everything alright?” he whispered in her ear, tipping his head subtly towards the other knight. While the question was partly out of concern for her, he was also hoping to find out if Gavin was trying to make any plans without involving him. For the sake of his assignment from Jaxon, he had to stay in the loop and know everything that went on during their mission. He felt a stab of guilt, but he concealed it by observing her intently as he awaited her response.