He sat with his muscled forearms resting on the counter. His large hands relaxed on the granite, his gaze taking her in. She didn’t sense any judgment. “I’m not sure I want to be a lawyer anymore.”
He nodded. “How long have you been a lawyer?”
“Five years. I’ve been with this firm the whole time and I’ve always been a defense attorney.”
“What exactly has made you rethink your career? What specifically is bothering you now that wasn’t bothering you when you started?”
Good questions. “I’m not sure I can put my finger on it.”
“Well, you can’t make a decision about you’re a career until you know that.”
She eyed him. “Have you ever questioned what you do?”
“No, lass. I was born to protect. My ancestors have been protectors for generations.”
She’d once felt that sure about her chosen path. “O’Shannon has tipped the balance for me. So did the client before him. I don’t want to deal with these people anymore. They are scum and I’m keeping them out of jail. I’m not sure I’m proud of that.”
She’d never said any of that out loud, but she’d been thinking it for a few months. Sean nodded then he cocked his head to the side. “You aren’t doing good works.”
Colleen waved her hand. “I’m not Meg.”
“Maybe you are more like Meg than you think. If this job isn’t filling your soul then how could you be a lawyer and help people?”
She sighed, turning off the burner under the bacon. She transferred the meat to a plate with a paper towel on it. “I don’t know exactly.”
“Are there people who need lawyers, but can’t afford your fee?”
She noted that he looked around her penthouse. Yes, she was paid well for what she did, but then again money wasn’t everything. Having grown up poor in the foster care system she had always assumed that being rich would solve all of her problems. Now that she was rich, she still had problems. “Yes, there are and many in the company do pro bono work, but I’ve been exempt for years.”
“Why did they let you get out of it?” he said.
She slid the plate of bacon in front of him. He snagged a piece then took a bite of it. She watched as he chewed it. “Because I’m very good at my job and that brought money into the firm. They didn’t want me to lose focus.”
He nodded. The toast popped up and she buttered it. Her stomach was empty, but she didn’t feel like eating.
“So you’ve never given your services for free?”
“No. Not since my first year out of law school.”
“Maybe that’s what you need to do. When this is all over.”
She nodded. “I guess until then I have to work on this O’Shannon case.” Deciding she couldn’t work on an empty stomach, she nabbed a slice of bacon. “Thank you for listening.”
“You’re welcome. I don’t have much to do when you’re home so I don’t mind.”
She nodded. “Is there a girlfriend?”
“No, lass. I’ve had no time.”
She tucked away that information for later.
***
Colleen sequestered herself in her bedroom to work on the case. Sean made her promise that she wouldn’t leave the apartment. He had an errand to run. If he could find a peaceful solution to her problem with a goblin, he would. Then Colleen could pursue what she really wanted to do. It seemed even more important now that she’d shared her misgivings about her current profession.
As much as he wanted to fly over the city, there was too much air traffic for him to go unnoticed. Corporate and tourist helicopters whizzed by the building all morning. Instead, Sean had Tex do some research into where O’Shannon hung out. He could confront the man and be done with all of this.
O’Shannon’s office was in an Irish pub three blocks from Colleen’s apartment. Convenient. Maybe a little too much so. The sign said, “Tipsy McDizzy’s.” Cute. He’d learned that Irish people had a propensity for drink since he’d been alive again. He couldn’t remember the last drop of alcohol he’d had and no one was more Irish than he was.
He pushed open the heavy wooden door. He blinked and let his eyes adjust to the darkness inside. A whiskered old man sat at one end of the bar, a half filled beer mug in front of him. He glanced Sean’s way then back to the beer in front of him.
A bartender wiped down an intricately carved wooden bar that ran the length of one side wall. Sean could see fairies and gargoyles in the wood. O’Shannon was not in sight. Sean slid onto a stool in the middle of the bar. The bartender approached him and before Sean could say anything, the bartender pointed to a door next to where the old man sat. “O’Shannon is in there.”
Was the man expecting him? “Aye.”
Sean shoved open the door the bartender had indicated. He found himself in a hallway that stretched out to his left. Two doors were marked for bathrooms. A third one sat ajar and a sign indicted it was an office. Sean strode to that and knocked on it.
“Come in, you feckin’ gargoyle.”
Sean stepped into the room. O’Shannon, still in human form, sat behind a large, messy desk. He had his feet up on it on top of a pile of papers.
“O’Shannon.”
“Gargoyle.” The mobster had a large, unlit cigar in his teeth as he grinned at Sean. “I smelled you a block away.”
Sean might have risen to the bait, but he wanted a peaceful solution. It wasn’t usually what gargoyles went for, but he was different than his brothers. He didn’t use violence as his primary method of dealing with life. He hadn’t had a chance to try his theories out in his former life, but here he was. Standing in front of the mobster he was going to try diplomacy on.
“What’s your business with Colleen?”
O’Shannon laughed. “She’s defending me.”
“Let’s cut the shite, O’Shannon. You know what I am and I know what you are. We are sworn enemies. I’m here to negotiate a settlement so that you can live and leave Colleen alone.”
O’Shannon threw back his head and roared with laughter. His cigar stayed firmly clamped in his teeth. Sean fisted his hands, but then did his best to relax them.
“You are going to let me live?” O’Shannon yanked his feet off the desk, resting his hands on it instead. “I don’t see your fairy here and you are powerless unless you have something to protect. It’s your weakness.”
The man had a point. Sean couldn’t defeat the goblin without his fairy. He wasn’t here to defeat O’Shannon. He was here to get him to leave Colleen alone. That was his sole mission.
“You really think you can just get me to leave her alone?”
“You have no beef with her. She can keep you out of jail, but then again, I’m sure there are other lawyers who can.”
“My family and hers have been at odds for centuries. My sister just died at the hands of your brother. I’m not letting this go.”
Sean would have to use all of his diplomacy on this man. “My brother was defending his fairy. It is our code and what we are born to do. Your sister attacked him. She tried to attack his fairy.”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“Doesn’t matter? This feud has been going on so long that I doubt that you even remember why.”
The smirk fell off of the mobster’s face. He put his feet on the floor with a thud. “Maybe you don’t remember, but I do.”
“And you’re going to hold onto this until what? You find all of the fairies? You don’t even know who they are anymore. And how many innocents die in the meantime?” Sean said, putting his hands on the desk.
“I’m not concerned about humans. Our kind have always gone about our business melding into their world when necessary, but not truly yielding to the power they think they have. The feckers don’t even believe in magic.”
“So because someone hundreds of years ago did something to offend you, you have to get revenge?”
“Aye.”
None of this made sense and if he could stop this now, he would save fa
iries and gargoyles and even goblins. “Why no truce? No one else has to die. No supernatural folk or humans.”
“Because I’ve sworn to wipe out fairies.”
“So you set your sights on a woman who has no idea she is one?” Sean said then realized he’d tipped his hand. If Colleen didn’t know what a fairy was, she couldn’t help him defeat the goblin.
Shite.
“Interesting. She can’t help you. She has no idea of her power. That is even funnier.”
Sean began backing towards the door. With one flick of his hand, O’Shannon could paralyze him and then kill him. Then Colleen would be vulnerable. She would die at the hands of this man and Sean would be responsible.
Deciding not to use diplomacy anymore, Sean raced out the door, through the bar then out to the street. He doubted O’Shannon would do anything in public. Sean had to get to Colleen. He looked up at the roofs overhead. He picked a building then ran up the stairs to the roof. He flew home, hoping that no one saw him.
He had to show Colleen who she really was so they could end O’Shannon.
He had to do it now.
Chapter Ten
Colleen surfaced from her research into O’Shannon’s case and wandered into her kitchen. Sean entered the apartment from the deck, out of breath. What had he been doing out there? He was buttoning up his shirt. How long had he been out there?
She poured herself a glass of water then drank it, watching him walk towards her. He was the most attractive man she’d ever seen. Under different circumstances she’d jump him, but now she didn’t want to see him. Not that way. Oh, no. She could so easily be distracted by him.
“Colleen. I have something to talk to you about.”
She put down her now-empty glass on the counter and cocked her head. “What happened while you were gone?”
He shrugged. “Not important. Yet.”
“Go ahead.”
“I don’t know how to ease you into this so I’m just going to say it.”
“Okay,” Colleen said.
She crossed her arms, waiting for whatever revelation would come out of his mouth. She hoped he wouldn’t be disappointed when she asked for a different bodyguard. He was too distracting and she needed to win this case. At least then she could demand to do more pro bono work and see if she enjoyed it. She had to figure out what was next because this defending scumbags was getting old.
“You’re a fairy,” Sean said.
She expected him to laugh. Tell her he was just kidding, but he didn’t. He just stood there, studying her. “I’m a what?”
She couldn’t hold back the chuckle.
“A fairy, Colleen. I’m serious.”
This was good. Had the sun melted his brain? “Like the winged woodland creatures?”
“You’re a beach fairy,” he said.
“Oh, I see.” That was the last straw. As much as she was attracted to him, she couldn’t be around a man who was trying to tell her a story to get her in bed. If he’d asked she would probably have slept with him, but not now. She turned away from him. “Sean. I think I need a different bodyguard.”
“I can prove it.”
She put up her hands to stop him coming towards her. “I don’t want proof. I don’t know what game you are playing, but I want none of it. Call Donal. Call anyone, but I need you out of the apartment by tonight.
When she looked back at him, she saw the hurt in his eyes, but she was not going to be swayed.
“Colleen, listen to me.”
“No, Sean. You listen to me. I don’t know if you’ve been in the sun too long or you just have a character flaw. I’m not a fairy. There are no such things and I’d appreciate you leaving me alone until your replacement arrives.”
His eyes closed. “I’ll call Donal. You might have to move in with them for a time.”
“So be it,” she said.
He stalked to the patio. She saw him pull out his phone. Fairy? With wings? He came back in.
“Donal will be here in fifteen minute to take you to his house.”
“Fine. I have to pack. I’m sure you can see yourself out.”
***
Sean waited for Donal in the lobby of Colleen’s apartment. He didn’t know the ramifications of Colleen asking for another bodyguard, but he doubted his job was in jeopardy. Maybe Donal or Meg could convince Colleen of her heritage. Clearly she wanted nothing to do with him, but what she didn’t know is he would still be on the job.
She was still his responsibility.
Donal pulled up in the dark SUV he’d had last time. He hopped out. “What happened?”
“I tried to tell her about being a fairy and she wouldn’t listen to me. That’s when she said she needed a new bodyguard.”
Donal frowned. “I guess it is up to Meg.”
“Yeah, especially since I screwed up and the goblin knows that she doesn’t know she is a fairy.”
“You went to be diplomatic? Create a solution?” Donal said.
Sean nodded. Donal clapped him on the back.
“I’ll still be around if something happens,” Sean said.
“I know. Meg knows that Colleen is on the way and she’s invited Fiona over also. I’ll be in my man cave at the top of the house, watching the perimeter. No one will get to her. I promise, brother.”
“I know you’ll take care of her; it just should be me doing it.”
“Is she ready?”
“Text her. She doesn’t want to see or talk to me, but I’m going back on the roof until you’re out of sight.”
“Okay, brother. Thanks for the backup.”
“No problem. I’ll be out to see you later,” Sean said.
As soon as he knew Colleen was safe and wouldn’t know that he was around he’d fly out to Donal’s house. He took the elevator to the floor below Colleen’s. He walked the two flights up to the roof and looked over the front of the building.
He didn’t have to wait long as Donal escorted Colleen to the car. She paused and looked up, but he doubted she saw him. The car was out of sight in minutes. Sean waited until dark to fly out to Donal’s house.
The dull ache in his heart kept getting worse. Or something like that.
Chapter Eleven
Colleen didn’t say much to Donal as he drove her out to his house. She had all of her files with her, intending to work on the case, but she would be happy to see Meg and spend some time with her. This would be the first time they had gotten together since the wedding. Colleen had missed her friend.
Donal pulled into a two car garage. He took her suitcase out of the trunk, then opened the door to the house for her. “I’ll put your case in your room and leave you two alone.”
Meg appeared and hugged Colleen. “So glad to see you.”
Donal kissed Meg then left them in the kitchen gleaming with stainless steel appliances. “It’s been crazy.”
“Wine?” Meg offered.
Colleen nodded as she slid onto a stool at the eight foot island. Meg put a glass of red wine in front of her. She sipped it. “This is good.”
Meg sat down beside her. “We need to talk before Fiona gets here.”
She couldn’t imagine something that the three of them couldn’t share. They knew just about everything about each other. Setting her glass on the counter, she cocked her head at Meg. “Oh?”
“I know Sean has been your bodyguard.”
Colleen couldn’t help rolling her eyes. “He’s a little odd.”
“There’s a reason for that. And you may think that I’m nuts also.”
Colleen put her hand on Meg’s. “I could never think that of you.”
Meg squeezed. “You might after this.”
“You’re scaring me, Meg. Out with it.” Colleen pulled back slightly.
Meg licked her lips, a sure sign that she was stalling. “Sean tried to tell you something.”
“Yes.”
“That you’re a fairy,” Meg said.
“Oh, Meg.”
“Listen
to me. Sean is right. I’m a fairy, too. It came as very much a surprise.”
“This is all nuts, Meg. Fairies? Woodland creatures?”
“We’re beach fairies technically. We can only do good, but once a year we can wish something bad to happen.”
Colleen stared at her best friend hoping that she was going to smile and laugh. Any minute now her friend was going to tell her she was joking.
It never happened.
“You think you’re a fairy.”
“Yes. And Sean is a gargoyle.” Meg did not break into her characteristic smile. Colleen felt a twinge of worry skitter up her spine.
“Seriously? One of those ugly things on the top of buildings?”
“Something like that. They are protectors. Sean is your protector,” Meg said.
Colleen gather her hair into a pony tail which she did whenever she had to think. In some ways it made sense and in others it didn’t. Sean had been acting strangely. “What proof do you have?”
“I’ve seen Donal as a gargoyle. I’ve seen him. Remember when my boss was gone all of a sudden. It was Donal and me. She was a goblin who wanted to kill me and we defeated her together.”
Colleen let out a laugh. “You cannot be serious.”
“Colleen, I am. It’s important that you believe this. You have a goblin after you. Apparently our ancestors battled with theirs and they’ve sworn to kill us. To eliminate all our kind.”
Shaking her head, the lawyer in her refused to believe this. “You’re not making any sense, Meg. Have you had a bunch to drink tonight?”
“Colleen. Listen to me. You need to believe.”
Colleen stood up. This was crazy. Someone was after her? Sean was supposed to be a gargoyle to protect her and she was a fairy. Meg seemed to believe all of this. Suddenly Colleen felt as if her life was spinning out of control. Everyone around her had gone mad.
She didn’t know what to think anymore. She backed out of the kitchen and into the door to the garage. “I need time to think.”
When Garogyles Love Trilogy Page 14