Page 2
Chapter 1
Meera
“Tase him again. He’s pissing me off.” Sadie kicked the legs of the wooden chair where our thief sat tied up, bound in a magical rope. We were in the back room of my antique shop. It wasn’t the most conventional torture chamber, but it would do in a pinch. Most of my inventory was small and lined the shelves along the wall, leaving the center space empty with plenty of room to cajole our guest .
Something told me the half-fae wouldn’t enjoy his stay. Not that he had anyone to blame but himself. It’s not like someone forced him to bet in the underground fighting rings my family ran. He’d definitely pay up, one way or another.
I walked by, chewing my thumb nail absentmindedly. “It’s not a taser,” I mumbled around my nibbling.
“Tomato, to-mah-to,” my sister said, shrugging her slender shoulder. “It’s still funny to watch.”
I sighed, pressing the metal prongs of the stun gun against his bare rib cage, not bothering to look toward the man. He jerked violently, trying to angle his body away as if that would help him at all. When I released it, Jenkins began breathing in and out in rough gasps.
I had to give it to him. He lasted longer than I expected. With his slight build and unmarred skin, I didn’t expect much of a pain tolerance. Sure, he was half-fae, but those traits didn’t seem particularly dominant in this guy. His ears were rounded. He didn’t have persuasion—otherwise he would have used it. Not to mention the most obvious of traits: his ability to lie. High fae couldn’t do that, but halflings—like me— sometimes could. Which is what landed him in this predicament. The stupid fuck bet money I was beginning to think he didn’t have. Otherwise, why else would he hold out for two hours under Sadie’s ministrations?
He could be a masochist, not that there would be any sexual gratification at the end of this.
Or he was just greedy and hoping we would give up, something he should have known better than to assume.
Alas, his reasons didn’t particularly matter to me.
Normally, I welcomed the surprise. It kept life interesting when people didn’t always act the way I expected.
However, in this case, I was growing a bit impatient. I’d just gotten to the good part in my latest romance novel. The hero had kidnapped the heroine and was slowly winning her over. I gave it no more than two chapters before they boned. Three tops.
Instead of living vicariously through fictional characters, I was playing the good cop to Sadie’s bad. Mostly. I still held the stun gun.
“We’ve been at this for a while. Wouldn’t it just be easier for me to persuade him?” Even as I said it, I knew my sister wouldn’t go for that option. Sadie didn’t care whether something was easy or not. While the most straightforward method appealed to me, she preferred more sensational techniques when dealing with hustlers and thieves.
“That’s too nice. I have a reputation to maintain, and Jenkins here” —she motioned to the shirtless asshole between us — “doesn’t deserve to be let off with a slap on the wrist. After all, this isn’t the first time you’ve tried to stiff me, isn’t it?”
Jenkins groaned, blood and drool trailing from the corner of his mouth. Sadie had already done a number on him before having me bring out the stun gun. It was a game we played often. Sisterly bonding and all that shit.
Smoothing over her long red hair, she gathered it high on her head, wrapping a tie around it, displaying her pointed fae ears. Tilting her head to the side, Sadie cracked her neck. Blood decorated her brass knuckles, droplets sprinkled on her right arm as she crouched in front of him, bringing them face to face. “Where’s my money?”
“How many times do I have to say I already paid you? Crazy bitch.”
I sighed. “C’mon, man. The longer you hold out, the more she’s going to drag this out, which means I have to be here too. She’s going to get it out of you in the end. So just tell her what she needs to know, and we can both be on our way.” I made a little shooing motion, which was a piss poor attempt at motivation.
“Why are you even here?” Jenkins glared at me incredulously. Big mistake. I might be the good cop here, but I wasn’t going to save his ass.
“Moral support,” I answered him flatly.
Sadie punched him in the face. The sound of cartilage crunching echoed as his head snapped back and he let out a loud groan. My sister’s speed caught me off guard as well. There was a reason she was a top-tier fighter. You just never knew when her right hook was coming.
Turning to me, Sadie started talking like she hadn’t just broken his nose. “Hey, didn’t you say something about a date later?” She blew a strand of hair off her face, letting Jenkins sit and bleed for a while. “Please tell me I didn’t imagine that. It’s been like six months since you dated that poon. What was his name again? Donald? Deacon?”
“Darren.”
Sadie snapped her fingers. “That’s right. He worked in accounting and liked to fuck in missionary. Yawn. I told you when you started dating him, it was a waste of time. I went on a date with his brother, and they were entirely too much alike.” She stuck out her tongue, making a “yuck” sound.
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Can we not do this right now?” I pointedly looked over her shoulder at Jenkins, whose glare wasn’t nearly as effective as he thought it was with his face having been pulverized.
“What?” She looked back at him. “Have you decided to talk?”
Silence greeted us, but despite his non-compliance, I sensed we were nearing the end of this little session.
For one, Jenkins was breathing like he’d ran a marathon.
For another, his muscles were twitching. Shock was setting in.
Some might think we were fucking off, but this was just part of the process.
While the immediate hits hurt, there was an ache they left behind the longer he went without medical attention, and that was the real torture. The pause in his assault served as a moment to let him feel the damage, and with any luck, come to the right decision .
If he didn’t . . . let’s just say I wouldn’t want to be him when we called our big brothers in. Sadie might have a love of violence, but she was no murderer. The same couldn’t be said for all of our family.
Sadie shrugged, turning back to me. “As I was saying, hot date tonight?”
I barked a laugh. “Ah, no. I’m meeting someone at the shop later.” I glanced at my watch. “A buyer.”
Sadie scoffed. “Lame.”
“You’re lame,” I muttered, not having a better come back at all. She gave me a deadpanned look, letting me know she thought it was weak too. “For your information, I had a date last week.”
Her eyes lit up. “Really? You didn’t say anything. With who?”
“Axton Reyes.” He was a regular at her gym who was trying to get in on the fights. While his skills weren’t bad, he lacked the drive, and it showed. My sister had dismissed the idea of training him a while back, which meant my brothers had no idea he existed.
That was important, given their ability to pummel anyone who they deemed unworthy of their little sisters’ affection. It left most of the guys I might actually be interested in unavailable, leaving me with lackluster options.
Sadie motioned with her hand for me to continue. “It was . . . less than ideal.”
“He had to be better than Darren, and you were with that twat for months,” Sadie said, crossing her arms and shifting her weight to one side.
“Two. You act like it was more than a fling. Besides,” I pulled a package of Twizzlers from my back pocket and pulled one out with my teeth, speaking around it before taking a bite. “His idea of a good time was having his mom cook us dinner.” My sister wrinkled her nose and shook her head in disgust.
“I take it back. That might be worse.”
“Yeah. Exactly. He also casually stated he thought foreplay was overrated, so count me out. His mom was a good cook, though. Maybe I should date her.” Sadie blew out a raspberry and I chuckled. “I don’t know, Sade. Dating is the worst. Being alone isn’t all that bad. All I need are batteries and a good imagination.” Or a romance book. Speaking of . . .
“Still holding out for that ‘dream’ guy, huh?” She winked at me, waggling her brows. I threw a Twizzler at her, my eyes widening.
“Shut up,” I said, laughing. Of course she’d bring up my dream man. I’d told her about him a couple of months ago when I was drunk and stupidly agreed to a game of truth or dare. Thank the gods my brothers had passed out and didn’t hear my admission.
I couldn’t remember my dreams. Ever. Except him . I don’t know how long I’d been dreaming of him at this point. Years, maybe? His features changed. Sometimes his teeth were blunt and other times he had fangs. His tipped ears marked him as a fae, but the way his nails shifted into claws suggested something more . Maybe Lycan? I didn’t know. He was faceless, making it impossible to determine, but his voice was always the same. I’d never heard it before in my life. Of that, I was entirely certain. For a while there, I’d wondered if he was real. It seemed strange to dream of someone I’d never met so frequently, but as time went on, I chalked it up to my unfulfilled sex life and overactive imagination. There was just something about him that was . . . intoxicating.
“You redcap bitches are crazy,” Jenkins grunted, interrupting us. We both turned our heads in his direction, pulling me from my musings. I wasn’t a redcap like my sister, but I didn’t correct his assumption.
Most assumed we were blood related because of our red hair and familial ties. Where Sadie’s was a deep, dark color that rivaled that of blood—mine was lighter, more of a copper than a true red. Then there was the skin. Mine was pale and burned if I spent too long in the sun. The rest of my family were varying shades of olive and sepia. Despite frequently staying indoors, Sadie stayed a golden color that reminded me of the Saharan desert. When we visited Greece a few years back for our high school graduation, she’d turned a beautiful chestnut under the Grecian sun.
“Hey, fuck you,” I said, jamming the taser into his lower abdomen. We’d stripped him down to his boxers to give me ample surface area. The shit didn’t realize how lucky he was that I hadn’t shocked his dick yet. “Can’t you see I’m having a moment with my sister here? If you’re not going to give her the money, the least you could do is keep your trap shut. You’re the dipshit that stole from her.”
Sadie barked a laugh while his body writhed in pain. “Prick.”
“I didn’t take anything from you,” he said once I let go of the trigger, gulping in air and then spitting a glob of blood onto the floor.
I rolled my eyes and checked my watch again. My sister noticed, raising an eyebrow. “What kind of ‘buyer’ is this?”
Sighing, I mouthed the answer to her. “Lou.”
Sadie’s eyes narrowed. “Trusting that creep is a bad idea, Meera. He’s tricky.”
Pointing my Twizzler at her, I defended myself. “He also pays well.”
“Speaking of payment . . .” My sister turned to Jenkins , grabbing his nipple and twisting painfully. Blood vessels burst under his skin at the sheer strength of her hand. “You placed a bet at my match. With my bookies. At my ring. What’s more, this isn’t the first time. Nor the first time you’ve lost. Do you remember what I told you would happen if you ever pulled that stunt again? “
“I fucking paid you,” he countered. “I don’t know what you want from me.” Blood dripped from his face, running in rivulets down his chest. His bottom lip was busted open, and his eye had swelled shut on one side. While those injuries had to hurt, I wagered the shattered cheekbone was worse. I knew what would happen next if he didn’t fess up.
Sadie pulled the cash from her back pocket, holding it out in front of me. I smirked, blowing gently over the top. The bills shimmered, the spell on them flickering. Counterfeit. Jenkins paled, somehow managing to shrink in on himself even though he was tied down. “How did you . . .”
“Meera finds things, understand? That’s her specialty.” He looked at me and I waved, taking another bite of my candy, uninterested in the exchange. “People come from all over, paying for her services. Me included. Of course, I get a family discount, but that’s beside the point. See, Meera knows that underground fighting is a dangerous business, and a few of our patrons are sketchy. So I had her find me a way to track and expose spells on money. Can’t have little weasels like you stealing from my profits, now can I? How would I feed my family, Jenkins?”
“What did a weasel ever do to you? Poor thing doesn’t deserve to be compared to him,” I muttered, butting in. She side-eyed me and I shrugged. “I’m just saying.”
She shook her head, looking at Jenkins again. “I’m going to make this really simple. Make my money appear in the next two minutes, or I’m going to start cutting things off.” She glanced down, insinuating she’d start with his manhood. Would she actually do it? Ehhhhh. Beating the shit out of someone was one thing, but real, true torture? We usually leave that to Cadoc, our second oldest brother. However, threatening a guy's dick typically proved to be their breaking point.
Shocking, I know.
Sadie sighed, holding her hand out to me. “Hammer.”
Reaching over to a shelf, I grabbed one and exhaled just as long and loud as she had, but that was all it took.
“Okay, okay!” Jenkins shrieked, nodding his head in quick successions. “I have it. Just give me a phone. I’ll get your money.”
My sister bent over and patted his cheek gently, then softly pinched his nose as though he were a child. “See? Was that so hard?”
“Well, my part here is done.” I waved my hand in a circular motion. “It’s been lovely, Jenkins. Say hi to your sister for me. Don’t steal from my family again. Better yet, get help for your gambling addiction. You suck at it, and it’s going to get you killed. Just my two cents.”
“Thanks, sis,” Sadie said, giving me a hug. “I’ll lock up back here.”
I gave her a salute and left the room, closing the heavy wooden door behind me. She’d call Fearghal, our youngest brother who was still older than us by three years, and he’d handle moving Jenkins through the back door to the unmarked van that would take him to a random drop location.
Strolling through the quiet space, I sat behind the counter on my favorite stool and placed a Beatles record on the record player. I set the needle on as it started spinning, turning down the volume so it was more of a soothing background hum. The lights of my store had been dimmed for hours, and the closed sign had been flipped. Not that it was likely someone would stop by, given I hadn’t had a buyer in weeks. Human buyers were scarce, but their antiquities weren’t my primary focus—just the front I gave to the world for the occasional straggler that wandered through.
No, my real specialty was finding items of magical variety. Rare trinkets, imbued with power. I was more interested in their history and creation, but their usefulness is what usually brought in the cash.
Unfortunately, in the last few months, work had been scarce. While I had quite a few items in my back room, my antiques shop still couldn’t pay the bills. Which made my dream, this store, more of a hobby than a business. Something like failure burned in my chest. I knew Sadie would lend me the money, but I would never ask. I didn’t want her to know that the business I poured my heart, soul, and savings into was floundering. I’d chosen this line of work for myself because it’s what I loved.
The family business was fighting, but it wasn’t me . While I could hold my own in a fight, I didn’t live for it the way Sadie did. I didn’t feel that rush in my blood that she described. I attributed it to the fact I was adopted, and not a full redcap. I didn’t have the full-blown desire to beat the crap out of things like they did. I was more . . . crafty and suited to undercover type work. I suppose in a way that was a saving grace, because taking those undercover jobs for specific buyers was the only thing keeping me afloat right now. Besides, getting hit sucked. As a fighter, you had to be willing to dish it out and take it.
I didn’t want to take it. The very idea of being in the fight ring made me cringe. No, I’d much rather acquire rare knickknacks and read romance books.
When the cuckoo clock started its loud, obnoxious announcement, I wondered for the hundredth time why I kept the damn thing. It was horrible, and the shrieking grated on my nerves. It was no wonder it hadn’t sold. The only reason I hadn’t gotten rid of it was because it served as an excellent security system, going off anytime someone stepped foot in my shop.
“Well, well, well,” I said casually as my ‘buyer’ came around the corner. “If it isn’t Lousy Lou, late as usual.”
He smirked, glancing at his watch. “It’s good to see you too, Meera, the mighty pain-in-my-ass. See, we can all do nicknames, ya’ fiery ginger.”
“It’s about time you showed up. I was going to close up if you kept me waiting any longer.” I slid from my stool and arched my back, letting out a series of pops.
Lou tutted playfully as he stepped into the light, his smile mischievous in nature. His tall, wiry stature was cloaked by a black trench coat that went down past his knees. He wore a matching deerstalker that tucked away his jet-black curls, his beard kissed by droplets of rain. “You weren’t,” he said, calling out my lie.
I huffed, settling my hands on the curve of my waist, tilting my hips to the side. “That hat looks ridiculous on you. You look like Sherlock Holmes.”
“You don’t like it? I wore it just for you, lass.” He winked, grasping the edge between his index finger and thumb, tipping it just slightly.
Always the charmer. I fought the emotion playing on my lips, biting down on the side of my tongue. As much as I valued my working relationship with Lou, this past job pissed me off and I couldn’t give my amusement away by doing something stupid like grinning.
“I highly doubt you do anything for my benefit, Lou.” I swallowed, holding my ground as I narrowed my eyes at the leprechaun. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’m missing my bed, so let’s get this over with so I can go home. Unless you don’t have the cash . . .”
Was I tired? Yes. Did I have a book to finish? Also yes. Was I behind on the building’s mortgage and needed him to pay me no matter how brazen I acted? Gods, yes.
“Relax. I wouldn’t show my face around here if I didn’t have the money,” he said, stepping closer to the counter. Reaching beneath his trench coat, he pulled out a wad of cash. I went to take it, but he pulled it back quickly. “Did you get what I asked for?”
“Would I be here if I didn’t?” I rolled my eyes, reaching beneath the counter and pressing my hand onto the scanner of a biometric safe. It looked like any safe you’d buy at a sporting goods store, but this one was enchanted. It didn’t just read my palm print. It read my scent. My magic. And most importantly, my intent. That last bit was a special addition I was quite proud of. And it cost me a pretty penny to imbue it in such a way, but when you worked with magical artifacts, the last thing I wanted to do was leave them unsecured. They were just as important as the cash.
I pulled out the pouch, showing him the small leather bag. A grin curled up one side of his face and his emerald green eyes sparkled with mischief as he plunked down the stack of neatly organized bills. I shook it around, slightly smiling in return before I tossed it to him.
I had half a mind to kick him out the door before he could say anything else. Instead, I watched him open the pouch, take out the glass eyeball and hold it up to the light. He turned it this way and that, twisting his fingers as he looked at it with appraisal.
“Aye, Meera,” he said with pride, “You’re my favorite bounty hunter. You always pull through for me, darlin’.”
Scoffing, I flipped through the money, checking to make sure it was all there. Not that Lou had ever screwed me over, but there was a first time for everything. A huge sense of relief flowed through me when every dollar was accounted for. This was enough to keep me afloat for two more months. “Keep your terms of endearment. Your charm doesn’t work on me.”
“My charm works on everyone, love. To what extent, well,” —he shrugged playfully— “it varies.”
He was working an angle. I’d done business with him long enough to know some other offer was coming. “Just say it.”
Lou raised his brows innocently. “Whatever do you mean?”
I sighed. “Stop beating around the bush. You’re trying to be cute so you can butter me up?—”
“You think I’m cute?”
Shooting him a stony glare, I sighed. “I said you were trying . Not succeeding. Now speak up or get out.”
He tutted. “You’re awfully brazen tonight. Some might think I’d done you wrong.”
“Getting that eyeball was a nasty job, and this”—I held up the wad of money—”isn’t enough to cover how gross it was. I had to crawl through a sewer to get into that guy’s house. A sewer, Lou. There isn’t enough magic in the world to block that stench. Do you have any idea how bad that was?” I crossed my arms, jutting my hip out. “I should’ve gotten paid at least twice this. You set me up. ”
“I did not,” he said firmly. “If I knew how to find it, I’d have saved the money and done it myself.”
“You would have crawled through a sewer?”
“Eh,” he shrugged. “Maybe not. Either way, we both know I can’t do your job. That’s why I hire you. I’m just the middleman, lass.”
As much as I wanted to argue, it was the truth. He was nothing more than a broker. The go-between. Lou got paid to find rare items for wealthy buyers. Only he couldn’t actually find them. His expertise wasn’t in retrieving things, so much as knowing who to ask to find them. He had contacts all over the realms and knew how to keep his mouth shut. It granted his buyers anonymity and his bounty hunters a small layer of protection. Or so he said. Honestly, I didn’t trust him, but I also didn’t have a lot of options.
He paid well, and I was desperate.
Hence why I crawled through a fucking sewer and why I wasn’t kicking him out right now.
I sighed, not in the mood for games after the past couple of hours interrogating Jenkins. “What do you want?”
“I have another job for you.”
“Obviously.” I angled my head at the pouch as he tucked it away in his coat’s inner pocket. “But if it involves taking a swim through excrement, my answer is no.”
I might be desperate, but even I had my limits.
Lou grinned, the cunning glint in his eye making the hairs along my arms rise. “It doesn’t.”
“You’re sure? Because you claim you didn’t know about this last one.”
“I didn’t know, and I am sure. Now, do you want it?”
The record had stopped playing, leaving only a lazy static circling the air. “What’s the pay?” Some might ask what the job is first, but in the end, they were all the same. I found whatever thing needed to be found, whether it was a glass eyeball or an enchanted cuckoo clock. Ultimately, the object didn’t matter. It’s what he was willing to pay that did.
Lou took a step to the side, picking up a pair of antique bone dice that sat in a bowl on the shop counter. He rolled the hand-carved trinkets as I waited for him to answer. The dice clattered against the counter, producing snake eyes. Lou looked up at me slyly. “More than any other job I’ve given you.”
I bit my bottom lip, moving the dice aside so I could think without him distracting me. “Give me a number.”
“A hundred grand. Cash.” Lou leaned his hip against the checkout, watching in amusement as I choked.
“A hundred grand?” I knew he wouldn’t joke about this. Leprechauns were serious about money. Especially Lou.
Even if I ended up in the sewer again, this would be worth it. With a hundred grand, I could almost pay off my mortgage. A year or two and I’d own the building outright. My shop. My apartment. Keeping up with maintenance and utilities after that would be a breeze. And most importantly, it would buy me time to figure out a long-term solution to my money problems that didn’t involve doing shady jobs for Lou or mooching off my sister.
I licked across the bottom of my tiny-fanged teeth.
“You sure this gig is real?” I asked, suspicion filling me.
Lou straightened up at the accusation, placing a hand over his heart. “I swear on my mum’s grave. It’s as real as I am.”
For a mythical creature in a mundane world, that answer wasn’t as reassuring as I hoped it would be. To be honest, maybe it was just how light-headed I felt by the amount. That number was . . . unthinkable. There was no doubt the price tag came with a healthy dose of danger. Why else would someone pay that much?
He pulled a sealed wax envelope from his coat pocket. Once I broke the wax, the hunt would begin. An agreement bound by magic.
I could turn down the job, up until then. But once I knew the objective, there was no turning back. The job had to be completed in the specified time frame. If I tried to delay, I’d be compelled to start. If I tried to tell someone what I was after, I’d be rendered mute.
And if I tried to break the contract?
It wasn’t even an option.
When Lou approached me the first time, I’d almost turned him down. But the leprechaun had a knack for sniffing out desperation. When the job turned out to be easy, I took another. Then another. And another.
Each time, I was wary. And yet, I never turned them down.
The money was the primary reason, but a small part of me also enjoyed the thrill. The challenge. I could find anything, and I do mean anything . I'd tested the bounds of my gift thoroughly, but even if the object weren’t in this realm—I could still track it.
That part was easy and gave me a sense of peace because I wouldn’t be left unable to complete the contract out of inability.
It was the pursuit that gave me satisfaction. Following that thread and facing whatever risks lie in my way.
In a mundane world, I craved the experience for something . . . new. Uncommon. A glitch in the matrix that was my life.
Some called it wanderlust, but it wasn’t simply the desire to see new places. I wanted to experience everything life had to offer.
Even danger.
“Well?” Lou prompted. “What’ll it be, lass?”
After a long moment of silence, I finally said, “I’m in. What do I need to find?”
Reaching across the counter, I took the envelope from him. My stomach twisted. The feeling of dread coiled tight. I hadn’t experienced the feeling so viscerally since my first job all those years ago.
I ignored it and cracked the seal. The magical agreement snapped into place as I stared at my assignment.
He couldn’t be serious.
This had to be a joke.
Except magic didn’t lie, and I knew it was too late to turn back now.
There was a glint in Lou’s eyes as he smiled wickedly. “For that price, it’s not what you need to find, but who .”