by Rhiannon Lee
He found a cloth and wet it. Once he had rung it thoroughly, he handed it to me.
"Might be best if I did the rest alone," I said. He nodded again and backed himself out of the small room, then shut the door.
I gingerly washed the stink of sweat from my body. It made me feel slightly better physically, but worry still hung heavy in my belly. Once I finished up, I walked back to the living room. Thankfully, my head seemed to clear some now that I was up and moving around. Isaac and the guard were ready for me, and they guided me outside and into the waiting car.
Isaac went to get in, but I motioned for him to stop. "I'll be fine," I said.
His brow furrowed in confusion. "I should go with you," he tried.
"No, stay here and watch the place in case that lunatic shows up."
The guard standing at his side said, "I'll stay as back up," without me having to ask.
I was worried that Thain wouldn't speak as freely if Isaac were there since he didn't know him that well. There was also the fact of me bringing a Mimic into his private residence without his permission. I knew Thain wasn't a snob like most Godkin, but he also had a professional image to uphold, and lately, his authority had been questioned more than once.
Isaac went to protest again, but I frowned at him. He stopped and backed up enough to shut my door. Once I was settled inside, I closed my eyes and leaned my head against the seat as they drove on.
I must have dozed off because the next time I opened my eyes we were pulling into a driveway lined with trees. This definitely wasn't the city. Further off from the well-trimmed topiary were hedgerows of unkempt trees overtaken by nature. We were obviously in a cleared off area in the middle of a forest. We drove along the pavement until we reached a cast iron gate. It was highest in the center but rounded off, which ran some ways on either side. I craned my neck and tried to see how far it extended but couldn't.
I almost missed the small gatehouse until a man exited it and walked up to the vehicle. He exchanged a few words with the driver, then motioned him on.
The heavy gate swung open mechanically, and we drove through. The road led up and around a turn to where a house finally came into view. Its size was significant but not quite large enough to be called a mansion. It was three windows high and masoned with light grey stone from ground to the roof. Even the front was outfitted with a stonework awning to protect its owners from the rain. The driveway veered off to the side and looped around into a circle in front of the house. We stopped by a set of wooden doors inlaid with glass inserts that ran their lengths. The artistry that had gone into the multicolored mosaic scenes of a buck on one side and a doe on the other was extraordinary.
Before I could exit the vehicle, Thain was shoving the doors open to meet us. He ran a hand through his already disheveled hair and marched to where I was. He stared at me through the window, worry lines settled in his forehead, before opening the car door.
"I would have come to you," he said, reaching to help me out by my arm.
I shifted with all my strength and let him take most of my weight as I got out. "It wouldn't have mattered. You're not Bea," I replied.
"I almost woke her and sent her home, but I thought you might kill me after the night she had."
My eyes widened.
"She's not hurt, just in a bit of shock," he said. "Come inside and sit down. I'll explain."
If I thought the outside fancy, it was nothing compared to the inside. The ceilings must have been at least fifteen feet high. The walls were covered in gold trim and wallpaper that gave the effect of hand panted murals. There were marble end tables placed evenly apart, each holding a vase or sculpture that looked extremely expensive.
Thain must have seen me eyeing everything as we passed through. "Being in charge has its perks," he said.
"I suppose it does. You've come a long way from the last time we knew each other."
He smiled and led me into a side room that held a collection of furniture that looked much more lived in than what I'd seen so far. There was even a beige couch that had clearly been sat on more than a few times resting in front of a filled bookcase. I made my way to it and sunk into its well-worn cushions. The weight of standing lifted from my tired bones. It was an immense relief and I let out an audible sigh before I could catch myself. Thain sat down beside me.
"Where is Bea?" I questioned.
Thain replied, "Upstairs asleep still. She found Franklin last night and was going to confront him by herself. I didn't think there was a way to stop her, so Victor and I went along."
"You mean you wanted Franklin found and she wouldn't tell you where he was unless you agreed to take her," I said with a hint of venom in my voice.
Thain sighed and ran his hand through his hair again. "I really did go to make sure she was okay, but yes, I wanted to make sure that asshole was taken care of, too."
I thought about racing up the stairs to her, but knew my body would give out on me if I tried. "You mentioned she was in shock."
"He had a gun," Thain said cautiously.
I tried to climb off the couch, but Thain grabbed my arm. "Victor got there in time. I told you she wasn't hurt."
I stopped struggling and sank back into the couch. "He almost had her?"
"Yes. The bullet went right past her. Victor shot him before he could do anything else. He’s dead. I think that shook her more than almost being killed."
"She's not seen that sort of thing," I explained.
"I didn't know. Not with her job and her determination. I thought it would be a normal thing for her. She just sort of collapsed when we got here."
"Oh, my poor Bea," I said to myself. Twisting to him, I was almost shouting when I asked, "What the hell were you thinking?"
"I was thinking that Bea was a grown woman," he answered with a frown.
"A grown woman by human standards, but for us she is still a child," I said.
Thain dropped his attitude and spread his hands in surrender. "Of course, you're right."
Before I could say anything else, a man in a suit swept into the room. "She's awake sir and asking for you."
Thain stood up. "Stay here, I'll bring her to you," he said, following the man out of the room.
While he was gone, I checked my phone. Isaac had left multiple texts asking for updates, so I replied that all was well. As soon as I hit send a different man, this one dressed more casually, came in with a tray of coffee and scones. He offered to pour me a cup, but I waved him off and got my own. I had just taken the first sip when Bea walked in.
"What are you doing here? You should be at home," she said.
I shrugged. "I'm fine. How are you doing?"
She looked at me for a full five seconds before her shoulders sank and she found a seat beside me. "I'm okay, I guess. We got the bastard who did this to you."
"That's what Thain told me."
"We should get you home," she said.
"Mmhmm. After my coffee. Do you want some?" I asked.
"Poppy, for pity's sakes. I know you're not fine, we should go."
I smiled weakly at her. She glanced at the coffee tray and then at me. She was fighting back tears. I knew she wasn't okay either. The only time I'd ever seen her collapse and sleep for over twelve hours was after one of her particularly hard cases, which involved a missing child who was never recovered.
"It's okay to not be okay right now," I said, placing a hand on her arm.
She let her head fall against my shoulder.
"It's also alright to not talk about it if it's too hard," I added.
I felt her nod.
Thain cleared his throat from the doorway. "I thought you would want to know that the woman we found is going to live."
She turned and looked at him. "Thank you. I'm glad."
"Also, you should know that she woke up briefly, and we were able to get a small amount of information from her before she went back to sleep. It's Anna, Bea. You found her."
Bea fell back into me, her e
ntire body this time. I moved to pull her close, wrapping my arm around her shoulder. It hurt like the devil, but I silently held in my pain as she let the stress of the world fall from her. We sat like that for longer than I could count while she cried in my arms.
When she was finally still, I cleared the hair from her forehead and placed a single kiss on her brow. "Come on little one, everything is going to be alright now. It's time to go home."
Chapter 24
Bea
I tapped my fingers against my desk and glared at the closed laptop in front of me. It had been two weeks since Anna was returned to her mother. Neglected and bruised, but whole and healing.
"Bea," Poppy called as she walked into the living room. "Stop this. It's madness."
I didn't appreciate the fussing, but I smiled at her anyway. Seeing her up and around after what she went through made my heart happy.
"You are an excellent PI, and you found Anna and returned her to her mother in one piece," she added.
"But when Anna needed me the most, I froze. I couldn't even help her. If it hadn't been for Victor, I would have gotten us both killed," I objected, and stood up.
I joined her on the couch with a plop.
"You didn't even know it was Anna at the time," I argued.
"That makes it worse! We found her by sheer luck. I had no idea she was there when we went to confront Franklin."
"I know what happened. We've been over it a hundred times. It still doesn't change my opinion. Anna is home safe. You did your job. What wasn't your job was a search and rescue. And what happened has nothing to do with your abilities as a private investigator."
"But people depend on me when I accept their cases."
"Yes, they do. To find them, not to rescue them. There is an enormous difference."
After I not only froze and nearly got shot, but I had also gone back to Thain's in a haze and collapsed like some damsel in distress. Since then, I hadn't had the courage to even check my email for fresh cases.
"Do you have any idea how many people could be in trouble right now with no one to help them because you won't open your computer?"
My heart sank even further into my gut. I just looked at her. I didn't even know how to respond.
"While you're sitting here, feeling sorry for yourself, someone could be in serious trouble. But no, you are afraid you'll freeze up again. You might want to at least respond to them and let them know you're no longer in business and they'll need to help themselves. Only seems fair," she said briskly, and grabbed the remote off the coffee table.
She was playing against my guilt. I knew that because she had said 'help themselves' instead of to tell them to find someone else to help. She also knew I couldn't leave helpless people in the wind if they were desperate or in danger.
"Maybe you could hire Victor to help you with the dangerous bits," she added.
It sounded like an afterthought, but a feeling told me it wasn't. She had thought that one through. And as much as I hated to admit it, she had a point. There wasn't nearly enough good PIs who actually gave a crap like I did. Most of them just did the bare minimum and collected their payday or flat out refused to take anything that wasn't easy-peasy.
I got up and walked back to my desk. My hand reached for my laptop but fell on the cold wood desk before I could open it. When I glanced over at Poppy, I caught her staring at me before quickly averting her eyes to the television like she wasn't waiting with bated breath to see if her speech worked.
I lifted my hand again, but this time I picked up my phone and called Victor.
"Can we talk?" I asked in reply to his hello.
"Sure," he answered.
"In person."
"Now?" he asked.
"If you're not busy, yeah."
"I'm not busy. I can be there in five," he said.
"Okay, I'll meet you outside," I said, and hung up. I didn't want to have this conversion in front of Poppy. My stubborn side wasn't ready to admit she was right to her face just yet.
When I got to the parking lot, Victor was standing there against the sun. This time he wasn't a wolf, and his form against the light was striking. It made my breath catch in my throat.
"You were already here, weren't you?" I finally asked.
"Maybe," he replied with a boyish grin.
I was going to have to install a twin bed for him in our living room, or at least buy him a tent if he kept this up. Inviting him in for coffee in the mornings had become a ritual over the past two weeks. I was growing even more fond of his company. He had a way of making me smile no matter what was going on. But with everything that happened, I wasn't ready to take it any further. Plus, I was worried asking him would ruin the friendship that had developed between us, especially if he wasn't interested in that kind of relationship with me.
"Look, I know you already have a job with Thain, and you probably wouldn't even want to, but…" I pressed my fingertips to my forehead.
"It's okay," he said, placing a hand on my forearm. "What is it?"
"I'd like to hire you to help with my investigations. You know, when things get interesting. Like with Anna."
He would be the muscle I needed when things got difficult; plus, his connection to Thain's men and the magical world made him an invaluable asset. I would bet money that Poppy had also considered these things before she mentioned it earlier.
His face lit up. It was not the reaction I was expecting.
"I would love to," he agreed, staring into my eyes. "On one condition."
My eyebrows furrow. "What condition?"
"That you let me take you out on a date."
My throat was suddenly parched, and I nearly choked. "Your condition is a date?" I asked with a chuckle.
He smiled and took a step back. "Yes, a date. Surely you knew I fancied you?"
"Fancied? Honestly, I wasn't sure how you felt exactly," I replied.
His face dropped. "I… I'm sorry if I overstepped," he said. His chin was now resting against his chest.
"That's not what I meant at all. You just surprised me."
He looked back up at me, hopeful. "Is that a yes?"
My lips lifted into a smile. "How could I not let my knight in shining… knight in furry armor take me out on a date," I teased.
"We are going to make a great team," he said.
I had to agree. Through all that happened, I could admit that Victor had been my rock despite our first meeting when he snatched me out of the sky with his wolf jaws. My initial frustration and anger toward him had developed into an ever-present comfort that I no longer wanted to live without.
He had already taken up residence in my heart as a friend, and now the possibility of more gave me butterflies. And as I stood there, staring back into his clear bright eyes, I could see nothing but genuine affection. My heart responded with a flutter. In that moment, I knew that no matter what else was wrong in my life, this was right.
A NOTE FROM RHIANNON
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