Nightwalker by Connie Hall

compliments of the gecko shifter. And her eyes looked numb from being sequestered in an airplane for hours and from sleep deprivation. They were wide open and staring. She was a zombie with bad hair.
    She pushed the errant strands of hair back behind her ear and applied some lip gloss. At least she looked a little more human.
    She desperately wanted to breathe fresh air, see sky overhead, walk on terra firma. Maybe it would help her jet lag and this antsy feeling crawling through her. She hadn’t been able to shake the strange sensation that someone was watching her and Lilly. Nor could she account for the lost time in the bathroom.
    She glanced behind her. A stewardess was helping the other first-class passenger pull down an overnight bag from the storage compartment.
    Takala flanked Lilly as they debarked and headed up the gangplank. The pilot and stewardesses were lined up, saying goodbyes, tired smiles plastered on their faces.
    Takala stayed on Lilly’s right side, keeping her body between the crew and her newly acquired client. Takala had been hired as a bodyguard, and she hoped she was impressing Lilly with her skills—at least enough so that Lilly would keep her around.
    She still didn’t trust Lilly, even though she looked like her mother in the old photo and had the same powers. Hadn’t Nightwalker warned her that Lilly was a killer? But hadn’t Lilly accused Nightwalker of being one, too?
    Takala needed to find out for herself if Lilly’s character was as bad as Nightwalker had said. She was also interested in learning why Lilly had chosen France to escape Nightwalker, and the real reason Nightwalker was after her. Takala didn’t understand why he would set up his own agents to frame Lilly for their murder. Even Stephen didn’t think that was possible, unless they were dirty. She could believe it if one agent was corrupt, but five? Highly suspicious.
    â€œI hope you enjoyed the flight over,” Lilly said, smiling over at Takala. “Nothing compares with first class.”
    â€œYeah, it’s nice, but they scrimped on the meal portions.”
    â€œDinner was four courses.” Lilly’s dark brows met over her nose, and she seemed to take the remark as a personal affront.
    â€œOh, and really good. They just didn’t give you very much.”
    â€œThey were normal portions. I ate so much I must have gained two pounds.” Lilly eyed Takala with distaste. “That fudge you ate didn’t seem to harm your figure. How can you eat so many carbs and never gain weight? If I ate all that fudge, I wouldn’t be able to button my pants.” She eyed the almost empty bag of fudge Takala carried.
    Takala whispered so the people behind her couldn’t hear. “It’s my metabolism, part of my strength. Sampson had his hair. I have food.” She shrugged.
    â€œOh, a curse.”
    â€œI don’t know. Eat anything you want and never gain weight. Some people would kill for that kind of curse.” Takala heard the defensive tone in her own voice, and she changed tracks. “So, what’s next on the agenda?”
    â€œAs soon as I’m safely in a taxi, I’ll pay you. Then you’ll be free to catch a flight back to America.”
    â€œYou won’t need my services any longer?” Takala tried to come up with a reason to be near her, but she didn’t want to seem too obvious.
    â€œNo, I’ll take it from here. As soon as I’m certain we weren’t followed.”
    â€œI’m not going back right away. I’ve never been to Paris. I’m gonna hang around and sightsee.” Takala hoped that gave Lilly a segue into inviting her to tag along.
    â€œIt’s lovely. You’ll have great fun,” she said with an airy tone of dismissal.
    Takala wondered if Lilly had ice water in her veins or was only interested in getting on with the business of murder. She was nothing like the person of