Page 30 of A Skirl of Sorcery (The Cat Lady Chronicles #3)

Chapter

Twenty-Four

It would have been lovely to luxuriate for several lazy hours against Thane’s warmth.

We could have gone for another round of mind-blowing sex and, with growing confidence in each other’s bodies and reactions, it would have been even more pleasurable.

It would have been equally wonderful to make a delicious breakfast together.

I could have popped plump sweet strawberries into his mouth while he flipped pancakes on the stove.

We could have gazed into each other’s eyes over steaming cups of delightfully bitter coffee.

Naturally, none of those things happened because there wasn’t time. We only dozed through the first few golden fingers of dawn before both of us got up with impressive alacrity.

The only cat pleased by the early rising was Tiddles; there were distinct rumbles of disquiet from all five of my moggies – even from He Who Roams Wide, who had been taking advantage of having two warm bodies to snuggle beside.

My furry bunch were older cats who appreciated a lie-in, but not Tiddles.

She began miaowing for her breakfast in earnest before I’d even stood up.

Thane groaned and rubbed his head. ‘Ten minutes,’ he promised her. ‘Breakfast in ten minutes. Let me sort myself out first.’

Tiddles swiped a paw at my foot as if the delay was all my fault. I didn’t take offence; she was a one-man cat and I respected her for that. But I did dart for the shower before she decided to swipe at me again.

Although I didn’t want to waste any time, I took longer getting ready than usual. Today I wasn’t a cat lady, today I was a dark assassin and I had to prepare accordingly. Unfortunately I hadn’t counted on Dave dropping by for coffee and to give us an update on Keres’ condition.

He was already in the kitchen with Thane when I strolled in.

The look in Dave’s eyes when he saw me wasn’t one I’d seen before.

His gaze travelled from my tightly bound hair, with the lethally sharp clips holding each purple curl in place, to my skin-tight, flame-retardant, moisture-wicking, black T-shirt and trousers.

Then he noticed the leather straps encircling my biceps that held the smaller pieces of equipment I might need.

There was a bulge where my favourite curved dagger snuggled against my spine and another where a small handgun nestled against my left calf.

Jet-black trainers with tiny, concealed compartments in their rubber soles encased my feet.

Dave was used to seeing me dressed in colourful loose-fitting clothing covered in cat hair. This was definitely a departure as far as he was concerned.

‘Kinky sex games,’ I told him, gesturing to Thane who responded with a saucily raised eyebrow.

Dave grunted and tried to dissemble, though he couldn’t quite manage to disguise the shocked awe in his eyes. ‘Always knew you were weird.’

I took the cup of coffee that Thane was holding out to me. ‘How’s Keres?’

‘Better than she was – she’s sitting up and talking. That medicine is working. You were right about your doctor friend. He knew what he was doing.’ Unfortunately we all knew that if Fergus was right, Keres’ days were numbered but nobody wanted to say that aloud.

‘Good.’ I nodded briskly and gulped down several burning hot mouthfuls of caffeine.

I reached for a banana, unpeeled it and started to munch while I measured out kibble for the cats with my other hand.

Within seconds, it wasn’t just Tiddles who was miaowing; all five of my own kitties were suddenly milling around my feet.

Dave winced at the cacophony and pulled himself into the corner out of their way.

‘You can stay for breakfast,’ I offered. I finished the last mouthful of banana and dropped a piece of kibble into my mouth.

Even Thane looked disgusted. ‘I kissed that mouth,’ he said.

‘Salmon flavour. It’s tastier than you think.’ I held some out. ‘Try it. You too, Dave.’

My druid neighbour was already shaking his head.

‘You are a vile lady.’ He opened the door.

‘I’ll head home for a few hours where I will eat some real food, but I’ll be back to check on Keres again soon.

’ He glanced over his shoulder and his expression altered.

‘These kinky sex games,’ he said quietly.

‘Will they help find the bastard who’s done this to Keres? ’

‘That’s the plan,’ I said quietly.

‘Good.’ He paused. ‘If you need any handcuffs, rope or whips, let me know and I’ll sort you out.’

I had no idea whether he was still talking metaphorically. ‘I will.’

As soon as Dave had gone, Thane glanced at me. ‘You eat cat food?’

I grinned. ‘Not as a rule but I needed to get rid of Dave and it was a surefire way of doing it.’ I crouched down to give each cat their bowl.

‘I love him to bits but we can’t hang around here talking.

I don’t want him to know what we’re up to and I don’t want to delay any longer than is necessary.

We need to deal with that damned landlord before nightfall so we can return to the trows. ’

Tiddles miaowed sharply and I glanced down. She didn’t appear to be passing comment on my plans for the day: her problem was her food. Apparently my kibble wasn’t good enough for her, even though I’d watched her chow down a bowl of it the previous day.

‘Don’t you worry, sweetie.’ Thane bent down, picked up the bowl and covered the kibble with a layer of his expensive cat caviar. When he returned it to Tiddles she quivered with happiness and – finally – began to eat. ‘Stop judging,’ he murmured to me. ‘You know you want a man who’s well-trained.’

I pursed my lips but it was hard to argue with that statement. ‘Come on,’ I said. ‘We have to get going if we’re to reach Broughton and get into that building to deal with the trows’ landlord before they open for business for the day.’

Thane uttered the magic words before he bowed in my direction ‘You’re right. Let’s go.’

I had heard of Tobias Hollow long before Tanavantia had whispered his name to us last night while the rest of the trows were busy crossing themselves.

He wasn’t the devil incarnate; as far as I was aware, he wasn’t particularly evil, not in the Coldstream sense.

No, Tobias Hollow was simply another rich schmuck who spent his days trying to get richer as if all that mattered in the world were money.

He lived in the well-heeled suburb of Migden in a penthouse flat that would have made the architects of Thane’s last place blush with shame.

It was a million miles away from the likes of Green Humbleton, and I doubted that Hollow had given the trows and the other rural residents on his land a single thought.

His concerns were purely financial; it wouldn’t have occurred to him to consider the consequences his actions would have on an entire community.

He was a selfish dick and he would have been a contract I’d have enjoyed fulfilling when I’d worked for EEL – but I no longer worked for EEL.

I didn’t have easy access to the resources that would have helped me scope out the Migden apartment and its security.

I also had limited time, which was why Thane and I avoided Migden altogether and headed for Broughton instead.

It would be far easier to get into his office there than his home, and far quicker.

Even if I hadn’t already heard of Tobias Hollow, I’d have recognised that he was wealth obsessed as soon as I saw the building where he worked.

It was a large sandstone affair. There were pretty magicked window boxes outside with perfectly manicured flowers, and the sign for Hollow Estate Management was small and discreet.

The size of one’s exterior company lettering was a good indicator of the size of one’s company bank account: typically the smaller the former, the larger the latter.

As far as I could tell, Hollow shared the building with two other companies with similar aspirations, although his office had its own private entrance.

I was pleased by that: it would make it easier to gain access – and to leave quickly, if necessary.

There would be no need to bother anyone else.

In my experience, other people were rarely anything but a hindrance.

Thane was examining the building’s posh facade. ‘There’s unlikely to be a rear entrance – it’s not that sort of place.’ He brushed his fingertips lightly across the front door. ‘And there’s a ward. It’s not a strong one, but it will slow down our progress.’

I nodded thoughtfully. ‘The ideal scenario is that we get inside before Hollow arrives. If we’re waiting for him when he gets here, we can surprise him. This will be an easier conversation if he’s off-balance.’

Thane agreed. ‘Because we can’t kill him.’

‘Indeed.’ Tempting as it might be, ending Hollow’s life might only amplify the trows’ problems in the long run.

We didn’t have the time to investigate what contingencies were already in place in the event of Hollow’s death or who would inherit his interests, or if any Hollow heir would end up being even greedier than he was. Sometimes it was definitely a case of better the devil you knew.

Thane tapped his chin thoughtfully. ‘If unnerving him from the start is our first goal, why be coy about it? We shouldn’t worry about flashing our bare ankles or giving him a glimpse of tantalising decolletage.’

I eyed him; I didn’t know where he was going with this, but it was certainly an interesting analogy.

He smiled slowly. ‘We don’t bother with a striptease, Kit. We offer him full-frontal from the beginning.’

‘Uh…’ I scratched my head.

‘We break in,’ he suggested. ‘We trip the ward, make a noise and a mess. Do you think Tobias Hollow’s first instinct will be to call the authorities?’