“Eve.” His voice was smooth as whiskey with a burn at the back end, and he didn’t rise. “Been a while.”
“Hey, Xavier.” Eve’s voice was strangely tight and breathless.
I looked at her. The slightest hint of a flush rose to her cheeks, and she shifted. Her raven sat on one of the boats behind her, almost blending into the scenery. Xavier glanced at the raven, confusion flickering in his eyes, then back at Eve. Her flush seemed to deepen.
I grinned. There had definitely been something here.
Xavier’s gaze moved to me. “Hello, new girl.”
“I’m Carrow.” I didn’t step forward to offer him my hand.
Xavier rose with a long, lean grace. “What can I help you with? Because I assume it’s not me you’ve come to see, Eve.”
“You’re correct.” Eve’s voice had regained its usual tone. “We’re here to see Michael.”
Xavier’s brows rose. “Michael, is it?”
“We need some ingredients,” she said. “And if you could take us, we’d appreciate it.”
“For a price, of course.”
I reached for my pocket, but he shook his head. “Not money, new girl.”
“Then what?” I asked.
“You’re the one with the familiar, the raccoon?”
“Cordelia?”
“That’s the one.”
“How do you know about Cordelia?”
“Not many raccoons in London.” He shrugged. “And that one gets around. I have a job for your Cordelia.”
“You’ll have to take it up with her.” My mind was already spinning with ways to bribe the raccoon.
“You’ll put in a good word for me?” he asked.
“Yeah, of course.”
“Now?”
My eyebrows rose. “What, you don’t trust me?”
He grinned and shrugged, his movements so graceful that he might have been a ballet dancer. “I trust one person: my brother. And that’s it.”
“Would that be Michael?” I asked.
“That’s the one. Now, about Cordelia?”
“Sure. I’ll see if I can get her here,” I said. “She doesn’t always come when I call.”
“Promise her a kebab,” Eve suggested.
I nodded and met Xavier’s gaze. “Just a hint—you’ll get better work out of her if you bribe her.”
The corner of his lips tugged up in a grin. “All right. Thanks.”