Oh, that gesture is - it makes his stomach drop, and his hand tightens on the stranger's shoulder protectively as he casts his eye at their surroundings, too. Their luck is holding out, so far; this isn't a neighbourhood that stays active at night, by and large, and there's little reason for anyone else to be patrolling it.

Theoretically they'd answer to him regardless, but he's been circumvented before. When, for instance, people who can do high-level memory tampering are involved.

By the time his eyes dart back to Neal, his gaze has gone stormy. "Does the name 'Avalir' ring any bells at all?"