by Tami Lund
“His promise to stay away from me. And Penelope. Although he doesn’t know she exists, which is why I agreed to the contract.”
“Why would it be bad for your brother to know he has a niece, adopted or otherwise? Or is the fact that she is not a dragon the issue?”
Sofia shook her head. “I don’t even know if that would matter. I just…I can’t tell you, Griffin. Please don’t pressure me.”
He sat back in his chair, as if her words alone were enough for him to back off. “Okay.”
Apparently they were. She took a sip of her drink. “Thank you.”
He abruptly stood and faced the window, raking his hand through his hair. “This is a huge complication, especially since I don’t even know what exactly it all means.”
“I’m sorry. I just… I honestly don’t think Darius showing up has anything to do with Penelope, if that helps.”
“It does. If you’re sure?” He turned around and gave her an earnest look.
“I’m sure.”
“So we’re dealing with two separate issues. Does he know where you live?”
She hesitated. “If he found me at that park, it makes me think he’s been watching me. We go there a lot.”
“Which means it’s very likely he’s followed you back here at some point. Shit.” He paced over to the table and splashed tequila into his glass, lifted it to his lips, and swallowed. “I don’t like this. I feel like we’re sitting ducks here. We could go to the City of the Dead, but if there are humans around, Oliver won’t be able to shift to speak to us.” He glanced at the clock on the microwave. “And we have seven hours before the cemetery closes to tourists. Where else can we hide?”
Sofia twined her fingers together and considered their options. She’d never once in her entire life reached out to the reeve of the Rojo colony—not the one who was her father and didn’t know it nor the current one. Asking for help now, after all these years, seemed like it would be more hassle than it was worth. The only other person she could think of who might help was…
“Mitch. For whatever reason, Darius has never stepped foot into his bar. I don’t know why.” Although she had her suspicions. Mitch had never been tolerant of Darius’s drug trade, and he actively supported those who opposed it.
“Looks like we’re taking the kid to a bar.”
***
Despite the fact that Sofia had called off for tonight, Mitch wasn’t upset when she showed up in the middle of the afternoon with Penelope and Griffin in tow.
“How’s my baby girl?” he cooed at Penelope, who rubbed her eyes and hugged her stuffed dragon while she looked around at the dim interior of the bar. She’d woken when Griffin pulled her out of bed and placed her in the back seat of Sofia’s car, but then she’d promptly fallen back asleep until he lifted her out again and carried her into the bar.
“Just woke up from her nap,” Sofia said, and then she introduced Mitch and Griffin.
“You’re the one Sofia tripped over,” Mitch said. “Thanks for paying for the broken glasses.”
Griffin glanced down at her and arched his brows but did not correct the owner. She needed to remember to thank him for that.
“So what’s going on?” Mitch asked.
“I’m sorry for calling off,” Sofia said and then cleared her throat. “We have a situation. I-I’m not sure it’s safe to be at my house right now.”
She could tell Mitch wanted to ask, but instead, he nodded and said, “You want to hang out down here or head upstairs?”
“What’s upstairs?” Griffin asked, looking up at the ceiling.
“An apartment. Bebé and I lived there when we first opened the place. We use it as rental income now, but it’s currently empty. You’re welcome to it for as long as you need it.”
At Griffin’s insistence, Sofia had packed a bag for both herself and Penelope in case they were not able to return to her house for a few days. Staying in Mitch’s apartment was as close to the perfect alternative as they were going to get. Darius wouldn’t think to look for her there, and they were only a few blocks from the City of the Dead.
The apartment was small, maybe six hundred square feet at the most. The kitchen encompassed one corner; the living room stretched across the front, with a row of windows overlooking the street below. An open doorway gave them a glimpse at the only bed in the entire place.
Hopefully, they wouldn’t be here long enough to have to work out sleeping arrangements.
Griffin placed his hand on the small of her back and gently pushed her forward so that he could step inside. She saw him glance at the bedroom, and then, as if reading her mind, said, “Relax, Sofia. I’m a gargoyle, remember? If we stay here long enough that it will be an issue, I’m perfectly capable of shifting into my stone form for the night, so you can sleep in peace.” And then he arched his brows. “Although I much prefer sleeping while in human form—and in a bed at that.”
Yeah, right, fat chance that’d happen. The sleeping comfortably bit, she meant.
For one thing, she had to figure out why Darius had popped back into her life. And then she had to deal with the fact that her adopted daughter would soon be training to become a lethal weapon for all of witchkind.
And then there was the fact that, since he’d shown up last night, she couldn’t stop thinking about what it had been like to share a bed with Griffin.
If she were able to sleep at all, it certainly wouldn’t be peaceful.
Chapter Seven
Sofia found a Disney movie on television, and she and Penelope settled in to watch, snuggled together on the couch. It was such a heartwarming scene that Griffin stood in the middle of the room staring at them until Sofia snapped her fingers and arched her brow.
“Are you going to join us?”
He wanted to. He was surprised by his own craving for such a comfortable, normal afternoon activity. But first of all, he and Sofia were not a couple and he’d promised not to touch her, and second, once they went to the City of the Dead and spoke to Oliver, Griffin would be taken off this assignment and it was entirely possible that their paths would never cross again.
Which sucked, but hey, that was reality. Most things did.
He pointed at the door. “Will you be okay up here if I go downstairs and have a drink?”
She ruffled Penelope’s red hair. “Yep. We have Jasmine and Aladdin to keep us company.”
He needed to leave before he gave in to the temptation to drop onto the couch on her other side. He imagined propping his feet on the coffee table, his arm stretched across the back of the sofa while she rested her head on his chest, maybe trailing a finger across his pec. Or along his thigh. Or…
“Okay, I’ll be back in a little while.”
He bolted, missed the first step, and nearly tumbled the rest of the way down.
“Whoa, careful there.” A woman standing at the bottom of the stairs spread her arms like she was prepared to catch him. She had dark skin and curly hair and was tall and thin, and she was a dragon.
“Thank you. I’m good now,” Griffin said by way of greeting.
She canted her head. “You’re a gargoyle.” She glanced at the stairs. “Are you renting Mitch’s apartment?”
“Um, just staying here for a short while. Until I get everything sorted out.” Why was he telling this woman even that much? She would have no idea what “everything” was, and she probably didn’t care. She was just making polite conversation, and now Griffin had pulled her into his convoluted life far more than either of them probably wanted.
She nodded and thrust out her arm and then pulled it back again. “Sorry, gargoyles don’t shake. I keep forgetting.”
“You’re familiar with gargoyles?”
She pointed at a man who was standing at the bar. “That’s my mate, Ketu. He’s friends with Argyle, from the local gargoyle brethren.”
Griffin hadn’t met Argyle yet, but Oliver spoke highly of him.
“I’m Antoinette, by the way. I’m the reeve o
f the Rojo dragon colony.”
“Griffin.” He nodded once. How should he explain who he was? “I’m new in town. Recently joined Argyle’s—well, Oliver’s—brethren, actually.”
“Ah. Welcome. Where are you from? Somewhere north, I’m guessing from the accent.”
He chuckled. “Canada. So yes, pretty far north.”
“You probably have snow on the ground already back home. My son is obsessed with snow. He’s been bugging me to take him to Detroit so he can experience it firsthand. In truth, the reeve of the Detroit colony has a daughter my son’s age, and I think Henri has a little crush on her.” She rolled her eyes.
“Well, if it helps, we don’t have snow yet, and I’m sure Detroit doesn’t either. You probably have another two months for your son to work on you about going to visit.”
She laughed. “Good to know. Say, would you like to join us? We were out visiting some of our elderly colony members and stopped in for a drink. We’re going to sit outside since it’s so nice.” She waved at the man she’d indicated earlier. He was holding pint glasses in each hand and had just turned to head their way.
“Ketu, this is Griffin. Griffin, Ketu.”
The men nodded at each other.
“What would you like?” Antoinette asked Griffin while waving at Mitch, who was behind the bar. The owner lifted his chin, no doubt waiting on Griffin’s order.
“How about a pilsner. Something local?”
Mitch nodded, reached under the bar, and pulled a bottle out of the fridge. “It’s called The Boot. Made by Abita and sold only here in Louisiana.”
“That sounds great, thanks.”
Mitch popped the top and poured the pale, foamy liquid into a pint glass before placing it in front of Griffin.
When Griffin reached for his wallet, Mitch waved him off. “You more than paid for this already.”
“Thanks.” He accepted the beer and followed Antoinette and Ketu onto the patio.
“What did Mitch mean by that?” Antoinette asked after they’d seated themselves at one of the wrought iron tables.
“I accidentally caused one of the waitresses to drop a couple of drinks last night, and I guess I gave him more money to cover it than was necessary.”
“That was nice of you,” Antoinette said.
Griffin shrugged and took a drink of his beer. “Wow. This stuff is fantastic.”
Ketu chuckled and lifted his much darker brew. “Louisiana makes some damn good beer.”
“I’ll say.”
They lounged in their chairs, chatting about nothing of great importance. They were simply being friendly. It wasn’t something Griffin was normally comfortable doing, but Antoinette and Ketu made it easy to relax.
After the second round of drinks, he leaned forward and said, “Do you know a dragon by the name of Darius?”
Just like that, the relaxed atmosphere was gone. Both Antoinette and Ketu sat up straighter, their focus more intense. Antoinette was holding her glass so tightly Griffin half feared it would crack under the pressure. Ketu kept opening and closing his fist.
“Based on your reactions, I’m going with yes. Who is he?”
“How do you know that name?” Antoinette shot back.
He carefully worded his answer. “I was at the park earlier and overheard someone say it. And they reacted with a great deal of fear.”
Ketu nodded. “He’s been in hiding for almost a year now, but many in the colony are still very much afraid of him.”
In hiding? Why? Should he tell them that he saw Darius only a few hours ago?
If he did, would that put Sofia in danger? Because if that were the case, the answer was a resounding no.
He finally settled on, “Why?”
Antoinette and Ketu exchanged one of those glances couples did when they were trying to communicate without letting the outsider know what they were saying. And then Antoinette said, “We might as well tell him. It affects his brethren as well, so he’ll find out eventually.”
Ketu shrugged, which was apparently his consent, because Antoinette leaned back in her chair and proceeded to weave a tale of dragon-manufactured drugs and witches as dealers and gargoyles in forced servitude.
“Hold on,” Griffin interrupted, leaning forward as if that would ensure he did not miss a single word. “Argyle and several others from the brethren were forced to protect someone who did not deserve it?”
“She tricked them into believing they were protecting her mother, who did deserve it,” Ketu said.
“She must be very clever,” Griffin said. “Gargoyles are not so easily duped.”
“She is,” Antoinette assured him. “And now that she is on our side, her cleverness has come in handy, although the process of getting information out of her is more often than not frustrating as hell.”
“What do you mean, on your side?”
Antoinette rolled her eyes and then Ketu explained, “We approached her and made a lucrative arrangement with her if she would stop dealing dragon’s blood. We needed to cut Darius off at the knees, and she was his largest distributor. The plan worked…sort of.”
Antoinette picked up the story. “And now she’s mated to the previous reeve, who happens to be Darius’s father.”
Darius’s father? Sofia had said Darius was her brother. “How many offspring did the previous reeve have?”
If they thought it was an odd question, they didn’t let it show. Antoinette said, “One, which was more than enough.”
So they didn’t know about Sofia. Or at least that she was Darius’s sister.
“What happened to Darius’s mother?” Griffin asked.
“I assume you know that dragons have fated mates?” Antoinette asked.
He hadn’t realized that, but he nodded at her to continue.
“According to Trennon—that’s the previous reeve—he never mated with Darius’s mother. Darius was six when she found her fated mate and moved away to be with him.”
Where did Sofia fit into this picture? Was Trennon her father, or did she and Darius share the same mother? He had so many questions, and most he could not ask.
“Hey.”
He glanced up at the softly spoken word. Sofia stood before them, Penelope on her hip. She wore a pair of pale blue capri pants and a white-and-blue striped shirt, and her dark hair was mussed as if she maybe fell asleep during the movie.
“Hi, Sofia,” Antoinette said, waving and smiling. “And look at you, Penelope. You’ve gotten so big. Or, more likely, I haven’t seen you in forever.” She shifted her attention to Sofia. “You need to bring her over to have a playdate with Henri.”
Sofia paled, and that fear Griffin had seen earlier flashed in her eyes. He hopped up and moved to her side. “Hey. Is the movie over already?”
She nodded.
“Wait, you know each other?” Antoinette asked. “How?”
Griffin grimaced. “This is the waitress who I caused to spill those drinks last night.”
Sofia groaned. “Man, rumors spread quickly in this place.”
“Actually, I just told them,” Griffin explained. “I take it you know Antoinette and Ketu.”
She waved at the two dragons. “Yes, Antoinette and I know each other. I don’t know Ketu, though. Nice to meet you.”
She did not know the reeve’s mate? What was her connection to Antoinette then?
He must have looked confused, because Antoinette said, “Ketu lived in Detroit for the past decade. He only moved back here in January.” She frowned. “This is probably the first time we’ve seen each other since then, isn’t it?”
Sofia nodded.
Antoinette said to Griffin, “I used to bartend here until I became reeve. Although even then Sofia and I didn’t see each other all that often. I worked days, and she usually works nights and weekends. Are you on tonight?”
Sofia shook her head. “I was supposed to be, but I asked Mitch to find someone to cover for me. I, uh, I need to take care of some things.”
&nbs
p; As far as excuses went, it was pretty lame.
“We need to go talk to the gargoyles because I’m a god,” Penelope announced.
Sofia gasped. “Penelope, baby, we aren’t supposed to tell people that.”
“Why not?” the little girl asked.
“It’s, ah…”
“She’s a god?” Antoinette asked, peering at the child. Her eyes widened and she darted a glance at Ketu. “Gods above, Ketu, is she another Daughter of Light?”
Ketu studied the little girl. “I don’t know how to tell. We’d have to ask Argyle, except he’s in Asia with Becca right now. That would be pretty cool, though, because I’m sure they could use the help destroying those warlocks.”
“You’ve met another Daughter of Light?” Griffin asked.
“Yeah, we have,” Ketu said, but before he could say any more, Antoinette started directing questions at Sofia.
“Your adopted daughter is a Daughter of Light? Did you know this?”
Sofia shook her head. “I…I didn’t know what she was at all. I actually thought she was a gargoyle.”
Griffin tensed, waiting for the accusatory looks, but none came. Apparently, she hadn’t told them that she’d believed Penelope was his child. Or, if she had, Antoinette and Ketu hadn’t made the connection that he was that gargoyle.
Antoinette jumped out of her seat and hurried over, reaching out and grabbing Sofia’s arm. “This is serious, Sofia. She could be in grave danger. If any warlocks find out about her existence, they will come after her.”
“I know. Well, I do now. That’s why we’re—”
“You need to come stay at the mansion, where I can ensure you are both protected.”
Griffin hadn’t seen that one coming. And yet it was the perfect solution, dropped right into his lap. He wouldn’t have to go to Oliver after all; he wouldn’t have to admit that he was in over his head and couldn’t handle his first assignment.
He wouldn’t be a failure.
Chapter Eight
Antoinette wouldn’t take no for an answer, no matter how much Sofia insisted she was fine. And Sofia couldn’t very well tell the reeve that going to her mansion would break the rules of the contract she signed with Darius.