Logan pulled back. “I think I’ll go kill Dane now.”
“Uh, okay.” I had hold of his jacket.
“Or it could wait a few minutes,” he decided before his lips met mine again. I slid my hand up his chest and around the back of his neck. He purred, and I nearly melted.
“Guys. Oh, come on,” Dane said. “Break it up or get a room.”
I giggled, and Logan smiled, both breaking our lip lock. He rested his forehead against mine. “That was pushy of me.”
“I was pushy back. We’re even.”
“I like even.”
“Me too.” I was also enjoying gazing into his eyes, but shivered. “Brr, for reals.”
“I can kill Dane later. Let’s go.” He released me, but held out his hand after stepping back. I grabbed it as he asked, “Do you think Sunny has anything hot to drink?”
“You crazy kids.” Mom shoved mugs of hot, spiced cider into our hands. “Drink and warm your insides.”
“I was going to help with dinner.”
She tousled my chilly, damp hair. “There’s a pot roast in the slow cooker, and it’s almost ready. Plenty for everyone.”
We cheered her, and Mom retreated to the kitchen with a laugh.
Not long after that, we were seated in the kitchen and busy stuffing our faces. Playing in the cold and snow had definitely worked up my appetite. Mr. Whitehaven called as I neared the bottom of my second bowl.
“Would I be correct in thinking you have no objection to accepting another case for Prince Thorandryll?”
“You would. He’s sort of involved in the Aguerra case, and two paying clients is better than one, right?” I knew the boss wouldn’t give Prince Snooty Pants a discount. The elf hadn’t been truthful with him either, during the first case we’d worked for him.
Mr. Whitehaven vented one of his deep chuckles. “Yes, indeed. However, there’s one detail I need to clarify with you. The prince’s impression that Logan is your bodyguard persists, and I didn’t disabuse him of it. Will Logan be assisting you two on the prince’s case?”
“Is it a problem if he does?”
“No, I simply need to know to properly bill the prince, and assure adequate remuneration for Logan.”
“Okay, hang on.” I pulled the phone from my ear and tapped mute. “Mr. Whitehaven wants to know if you feel like temping again.”
Logan swallowed the roast he was chewing. “I have two weeks of vacation time and no idea how to spend it. Temping works for me.”
“Cool.” I unmuted the phone to tell my boss, “He’s on board.”
“Excellent. Someone will meet you at Dreamland this evening. Make certain to keep me updated on your progress.”
“Yes, sir. Bye.” I ended the call and checked the time. “We need to get a move on, guys. We have a meet at Dreamland to make.”
In spite of our best efforts, it was after nine before we arrived at the club. The same tall bouncers passed us through the door, and Angel Elf greeted us with a smile. “Welcome back, Miss Jones. A moment, please.”
“Sure, thanks.” I untied my coat belt. No dress and heels for me this time. I’d chosen jeans, a teal, short-sleeved top, and my favorite pair of brown, aviator-style boots. Clothing I could run or fight in, if either became necessary.
The guys had both gone with short-sleeved polo shirts. Logan’s was the dark gold that looked positively scrumptious on him. Dane’s was baby blue. The color complemented his coloring, too, brightening his rather dark blue eyes. My partner was an attractive guy, but the reasons I liked him had nothing to do with his looks. Dane was smart, dedicated, and fun. It didn’t hurt that he was easy-going and loyal too.
“Miss Jones?” An elf with unusually short hair had opened the interior door. “Welcome. If you’d come this way, please?”
“This way” wasn’t into the opalized Coat Room, but led directly into a short, bland, beige hallway.
“I’m Merlandon, and have the honor of managing Dreamland for my Prince. My office is,” he hurried past me to open a door. “Here. Please, come in and have a seat.”
His office was little more than an over-sized closet. Also done in all beige, it held a desk and five chairs. They were molded plastic, four of them lined up against the wall to face his small, student-style desk, the fifth behind it. Not exactly the most comfortable seats in the world, but we wouldn’t be there long enough for that to matter. I hoped.
“We’ll cooperate to the fullest extent,” he said after sitting down. He leaned forward, giving me full eye contact. His were a muddy brown. “Anything you need, Miss Jones, anything at all, please just tell me.”
“Thank you.” Something was way off about him. I noticed a tic start twitching in his left cheek, and watched his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed. He was extremely nervous. “We’d like a tour of the employee areas.”
“Of course.” Merlandon jumped to his feet, his thighs bumping the desk edge. That unbalanced a glass of water sitting near the side edge. It tipped over, spilling water, and rolled off the desk top. The office was so small, Dane simply leaned forward to catch the glass before it hit the tile floor.
“Goodness.” Merlandon’s ears reddened, and he came close to dropping the glass when Dane offered it to him. “Terribly clumsy of me.”
I’d never seen a clumsy, or nervous, elf before. “Merlandon.”
“Yes, Miss Jones.” His hands fluttered away from the glass he’d placed on the desk.
“Do you have something to hide?”
He paled, and for a second, I seriously thought he was going to faint. “No, Miss Jones. Nothing to hide. It’s...this is my first true opportunity to prove myself to my Prince, and it was going so well. Now this terrible thing is happening to our guests, who are my responsibility, and I wasn’t even aware of it until his Highness called me earlier.”
His pupils were enlarged. The poor dude was in full-on panic mode. What the hell kind of boss was Thorandryll, to instill such terror with a phone call? “Okay, do me a favor?”
“Anything, Miss Jones.”
“Take a deep breath, and let it out slowly.” I’d never thought I’d feel sympathy for an elf. Merlandon obeyed, but his hands were trembling. “And another one, same thing.”
“Terribly sorry.”
“It’s okay, just calm down. We’re not the Spanish Inquisition.” My attempt at humor failed as he gave me a blank look. “We’ll figure out what’s going on and handle it. I’ll personally make certain Thorandryll is told how very helpful you were.”
“You will?”
“Yes.” That calmed him down. He even managed something resembling a smile. “Now, that tour?”
“Of course. Please come with me.”
The tour was a bust, aside from being a peek into a world I’d never been a part of. I didn’t know if it was a good or bad thing I hadn’t had any other jobs prior to working at Arcane Solutions.
I had to drag Dane away from the casks of Weirding Pale in the stockroom. “But there’s so much of it. Can we take a break now? I’m thirsty.”
“No, now we need to question the employees.” I aimed a smile at Merlandon. “One at a time, please. We’ll set up in the break room.”
“Of course. Bartenders or servers first?”
It didn’t matter, but an elf being so eager to please was a novelty, so I pretended to give it a moment’s thought. “I think the waitresses first.”
“Very well, but we do prefer ‘servers’ here at Dreamland, Miss Jones. It’s the PC term.”
“Sorry.” Ah, political correctness from an elf, when his people referred to shifters as animals. “I’ll try to remember that.”
“Thank you.” Merlandon half-bowed before striding away, leaving us to make our way to the break room alone.
“Either of you notice anything weird?”
“Yeah, casks of ale with my name on them,” Dane said, casting a longing glance over his shoulder before walking out of the stockroom.
I rolled my eyes. “
It was a serious question.”
“Nothing, aside from Mr. Nervous,” Logan said, and Dane agreed. “There’s magic everywhere, but as far as I know, it’s because of the location. Pocket realms are magic.”
Not helpful, but since we hadn’t come across any signs with arrows and “This way to the bad guys” painted on them, I hadn’t expected a different answer.
Ginger was in the break room. I hadn’t seen her since the mini-drama with Danielle. She crawled around on the walls and ceiling the entire time we questioned the employees.
It was really distracting.
“Thank you for your help. We’re going to walk around the club and look things over. I’ll let you know if we discover anything.”
“You’re quite welcome. Remember that your, and the gentlemen’s, refreshments are complimentary.”
Nice to learn I hadn’t ticked off Thorandryll enough to have the free-drink offer rescinded. The mention put a smile on Dane’s face while he gathered the missing people’s photos into a neat pile.
“And if you’d like, you may leave your coats and whatnot in a locker. That exit,” Merlandon gestured to the door at the end of the break room. “Is the door that opens into the club, next to the bar. Just return through it to reclaim your belongings.”
“Thanks.” The lockers had stubby little keys, making it simple to determine which weren’t already in use. We dumped our coats, the folder of photos, and my purse before hitting the bar.
Dane drank his first ale before the bartender finished mixing my mojito. Thankfully, the mojitos were served in more normal-sized glasses.
Irritated by our lack of progress, I didn’t notice the change in décor until I turned away from the bar. The underwater grotto was gone, replaced with a jungle. The coral columns had become huge trees, their uppermost branches forming a canopy over the dance floor. White mist wafted along at ground level, swirling with the movements of dancers. The tables, chairs, and bar stools had changed to bamboo creations.
Instead of flashing, neon fish, there were glowing birds roosting and flitting about. “Wow, now I’m getting the name.”
“Hate to say it, but I like the place.” Logan sipped his ale. “Do you want to circle around?”
“That’s as good a plan as any,” I agreed. It was also a plan that netted nothing before last call. We collected our belongings, and one of the bartenders helped us shortcut from the back rooms to avoid the exit line.
Out in the parking lot, Logan stopped short halfway to his truck. “Damn.”
“What?”
“I completely forgot to figure out a place to stay.”
“Oh.” I covered a yawn. It’d been a busy day. “It’s late. You can both stay at Mom’s tonight. She won’t mind. I have a trundle, and there’s an airbed we can pull out too.”
“You’re already crowded enough.”
“Dude, it’d be like five AM before you dropped us both off and found a motel. They kick you out at noon.”
Logan glanced at Dane, who shrugged. “I’m good with whatever you decide.”
“Well, if you’re certain Sunny won’t mind.”
“She won’t. Come on.” I was tired and cold. “Forward march, then home, Jeeves.”
“Yes, madam.” Logan jingled his keys the rest of the walk to his truck.
ELEVEN
My first peaceful night’s sleep in weeks was destroyed by the sound of my bedroom door rebounding off the airbed with a deep boing, followed by a high-pitched shriek. That second sound sent me rolling over, off the edge of my bed, and directly on top of Logan, who’d won the coin toss for the trundle bed.
He grunted when I landed on him, a wince following as I tried to scramble off and managed to hit a sensitive spot.
Dane snickered.
“Ooh, sorry. Let me...”
“Yeah, just don’t,” Logan sucked in a breath, and I stopped moving. Well, everything but my head, which I turned so I could see who was at the door.
Grandma Jones stood there, her brown eyes wide and her jaw slack. Her short, white hair trembled as she closed her mouth.
“Hi, Grandma.”
Mom appeared, looking over her shoulder. “Good morning. I’ll set two more places for breakfast.”
“Morning, Sunny,” Logan said after spitting some of my hair out of his mouth. I settled for giving the best deer-in-the-headlights impression of my life.
My mom winked at me. “Let’s allow the children to rise, Estelle. You did want coffee?”
“I...yes.” Grandma about-faced and followed her to the kitchen.
Tonya stuck her head around the edge of my door to survey us, a grin immediately blooming. “Did you see her face?”
I groaned. “I hate mornings like this.”
Twenty minutes later, everyone was dressed and in the kitchen. Grandpa Jones, a burly man of over six feet with hazel eyes and a shiny pink, bald head, bear hugged me. “There’s my little doll.”
“Hi, Grandpa.”
He released me. “Now, who are these two, and do I need to have a talk with them?”
“Logan Sayer and Dane Soames, and no. They’re working with me.”
“In your bedroom?”
“Grandpa,” I whined. How did grandparents do that? Make you feel about ten years old, and act like it too? “It was snowing last night and they live all the way across town.”
“Ah.” He ruffled my hair before shaking hands with them. “Theodore Jones. Call me Ted.”
“Nice to meet you, sir.” Logan smiled and glanced at my mom. “Did you need any help, Sunny?”
“No, have a seat.”
Hah, no escape for him. We all sat down under Grandma’s thin-lipped, narrow-eyed gaze. The morning didn’t improve as Leglin, Bone, and Diablo burst into the kitchen. My grandmother uttered another loud shriek when Diablo planted his front paws on the table’s edge, right next to her.
“Dude, down.”
“Bacon.”
“No bacon. Get down.” Grandma was leaning away from him and about to fall into Dane’s lap.
“Bacon,” he repeated with a snap of his teeth, and she cringed.
“I’m sitting,” Bone said. “Can I have bacon for being a good boy?”
“Argh.” I tossed him a slice from the plate already on the table. “Diablo, down if you want bacon.”
The black pit dropped to the floor. I tossed him a piece, and one to Leglin too.
“My Lord, what are these beasts? Oh my, they’re those killer dogs that...”
“No,” I snapped at her, only to wince when Grandma glared at me. “Sorry. No, they’re rescues.”
“Pitties,” Grandpa said. “Come here, boys. You like bacon?” Bone and Diablo took up station next to his chair. He began feeding them and Leglin softly whined. “What kind is that one? You come here too. He’s a handsome fella.”
“Elf hound, Grandpa. Guys, come on. Go to the living room.”
“I don’t mind,” my grandfather said, collecting more pieces of bacon. “Who’s a good boy?”
“Me, me.” Bone’s tail swished across the floor. “I’m a good boy. Give me all the bacon.”
“I’m sitting. I’m a good boy too.” Diablo wagged his tail. “Don’t be a pig, Bone.”
“Well, I do mind sharing the table with beasts,” Grandma declared.
Jeeze. I closed my eyes for a second.
“Now, Estelle, let’s not toss that word around at the breakfast table.” Mom deposited a platter of pancakes in the middle of the table. “Logan and Dane are shifters, and ‘beast’ is a derogatory term some use for shifters.”
My grandma eyed Dane as he transferred a few pancakes to his plate. He’d eaten with us several times, and felt totally at home. “You’re a shifter?”
“Yes, ma’am. Tiger.”
“Oh.” She looked at Logan. “And you?”
“I’m tiger, too.”
My turn for scrutiny and a question. “You’re sleeping with two shifters?”
“Oh, my
God.” Instant face furnace, because her tone made it clear what she meant by “sleeping”.
“Estelle,” Grandpa snapped. “That’s enough. Cordi’s sex life...”
“Oh, God. Kill me now,” I begged the ceiling, which failed to respond by falling on me.
“...isn’t any of our business.”
Dane poured syrup over his pancakes. Logan’s gaze was glued to his empty plate, but I saw his lips twitching.
“No, I’m not sleeping with both of them. Holy crap, Grandma.”
“Not that there’d be anything wrong with it, if you were.” Mom patted Logan’s shoulder as she put the coffee pot on the table. In that instant, I knew exactly why some people spontaneously combusted.
“Mom.”
“What?” She went to the swinging door to call Tonya to the kitchen.
“Stop. Please. My embarrassment quota has been exceeded for the day.”
“Cats have spines.” Grandma was studying Dane. “Do you have spines in your...?”
I couldn’t believe my ears. “Holy frickin’ crap, don’t finish that question.”
She didn’t, but Dane answered anyway. “No, ma’am. We don’t resemble normal felines that closely.”
“Oh. Well, good, because spines would be,” Grandma shuddered.
Tonya entered the kitchen. “What spines?”
“Penis spines. They,” Grandma waggled her forefinger between Dane and Logan. “Don’t have them.”
I groaned and planted my elbows on the table, in order to hide my face in both hands. “Could everyone please shut up?”
Instead, everyone ignored me. Tonya dropped into a chair. “I’d wondered about that.”
I peeked through my fingers to watch Mom pile pancakes on everyone’s plates.
“Well, we don’t in human shape,” Dane said between bites. “We do in tiger shape.”
“Does it make taking a leak as a tiger difficult?” Grandpa wanted to know, and I lifted my head.
“Okay, people. Enough. Seriously.” I didn’t yell, but spoke loudly enough no one could ignore me. “No more talk about spines, penises, or sex at the table. Ever. I’m beyond serious about this.”
Frost & Bothered (Discord Jones Book 4) Page 9