Page 35

THIRTY-FIVE

Three hulking men stood outside the office building when they arrived. Lily hung back, unsure, but Leo just marched up to the trio. "Did Badger brief you?"

The man in the middle nodded. "Protect the lady at all costs, plus any additional security duties as required." He hooked his thumbs into his belt, which bore an ornate horned buckle that Lily thought would have belonged to an American cowboy, instead of the Scotsman he clearly was.

Leo grinned. "Badger sent his best, I see. Let's get this over with, and I'll buy you a round in the nearest pub when we're done." He gestured for the men to lead the way.

One of them did, with the other two falling into some unspoken formation behind Leo and Lily.

"Who are they?" she whispered.

Leo laughed. "They're Highland cattle shifters. Bulls bigger than I am. Implacable and impossible to ruffle in either form. With one of these boys as your bodyguard, you'll be safe as houses. With all three...even I might find them a challenge."

One of the men behind them failed to smother a chuckle. "A challenge we'd accept, sir, when we're not on duty. Always up for a good fight."

They reached the entrance, and Lily fished around in her bag for the keys, but the first man simply pulled the door open and held it for her. It hadn't been locked. That did not bode well.

A greasy looking man with a combover who swam in a suit two sizes too big for him spun slowly on the spot, holding up his phone to capture the whole panorama. Not that there was much to see – just an office with bare desks, all stationery and personal items tucked away in the drawers so as not to gather dust.

Most of those desks would remain bare for the foreseeable future, until Lily found her feet enough to consider hiring more staff. Or managed to win projects enough to keep said staff busy. It would be just Faye and herself to start with, working on the final plans for Hea Sanctuary. After that was put to bed...

Cadence flounced into the room. "I found the boardroom and a quaint little kitchen area, but no sign of stairs to the next level. Must be external access only."

So she hadn't found the trick bookcase that hid the stairs to the second storey. If she'd only pulled out the standard operating procedures manual, the bookcase would have swung open for her immediately. Of course, her stepmother would rather commit fraud than do anything by the book.

"What are you doing here?" Cadence demanded, setting her hands on her hips. "Taking one last look before it's all sold? Who told you?"

"I'm here to see what needs to be done before we reopen for business on Monday," Lily replied, forcing herself to pretend to survey the office instead of keeping her eyes firmly on Cadence. "I'll need to ask Faye to order fresh flowers for the reception desk, and see what the supplies are like in the kitchen. Can't run an office without tea and coffee, of course, but it won't hurt to have something on hand for Friday night drinks, after a hard week. Or for an evening client meeting, if it comes to that." She folded her arms across her chest. "What are you doing here?"

"Why, putting the place up for sale, of course. Mr Minik is here to take photos for the listing. Apparently offices with housing above them are very hot right now, and he says it'll be snapped up right away, for a very good price, too. Maybe even enough so that we can keep the house." Cadence sniffed. "Not that you care about any of that, living in a mansion with your rich husband and all."

"I don't see how you can sell this place, seeing as it's not even yours. You might have persuaded my father to sign over his house to you in his will, but this building belonged to my mother, and now it belongs to me. I don't know how you got in here, but you're definitely trespassing, and if you don't leave right now, I'll have to call the police."

The greasy real estate agent was already gone before Lily had even mentioned the police, but Cadence didn't seem to know when to quit.

"Lily, darling, we'll lose the house if we don't sell this building. It's not like you need it. It's just been sitting here empty since your father died. You wouldn't choose to keep some dusty office if it meant you'd lose your childhood home. Think of all the memories. With your mother and father. What would your father say if he knew it was your fault we were losing your family home?" Cadence wheedled.

"I already lost my father's home, the day you inherited it. But this place...this is where I took my first steps. We lived in the apartment here for years before my parents could afford to buy the place you now call home. You might have sold my father's things and mortgaged his house to pay for this lavish lifestyle you think you and your daughters deserve, but I won't let you steal any more from me. This is my property, and my future, and you have exactly ten seconds to leave the premises before I drag you out of here myself!"

"You ungrateful little bitch!" Cadence screeched, marching forward with her hand raised.

The blow never landed. One of Leo's bodyguards caught Cadence's wrist in his enormous hand. "Mrs King said it's time to go, ma'am." Another bodyguard appeared at Cadence's other side, taking her other arm, before they half carried, half dragged her out, still screeching.

As if by magic, a police car appeared outside. It took barely a moment before Cadence was bundled into it, and they drove off.

The bodyguards came back inside.

"Anything else you need, Mrs King?" one of them asked.

Lily shook her head. "No. Thanks, though."

"Did you want to check if you need to order more coffee?" Leo asked.

Again, Lily shook her head. "Oh, no. Faye would have already taken care of that. If she's okay. We need to go upstairs and check on her!" She raced for the records room, and the trick book case.

One of the bodyguards was only a step behind her. "Let me go first, ma'am."

Numbly, she stepped aside and let him ascend the stairs first. He even knocked on the door at the top.

No answer.

"Faye, it's me. Lily. They're gone. Are you okay?" Lily called through the closed door.

She had the keys to the flat, but she didn't want to have to use them. Much better for Faye to open the door herself, and invite them in. Then she'd know she was okay. Whereas if she had to use the keys, she had no idea what she might find.

"Faye? Are you in there?"

The seconds stretched, until the door cracked open. "Lily? Is that really you?"

"Of course. Who else would it be? No one else knows about the secret bookcase. Well, except for my husband and his security staff."

Lily glanced at the bodyguard who'd come upstairs with her.

"Standard NDA applies to all our clients, ma'am. None of us will breathe a word about anything that happens here tonight. You could have taken your claws to that screeching woman and we'd have all sworn she was attacked by a stray cat." He coughed. "We work exclusively for the supernatural, ma'am. Secrecy comes with the territory."

Lily felt lightheaded. "You mean there are more things out there than just shifters?" She wouldn't even have believed in shifters if she hadn't seen her own paws. It still felt like a dream.

"Takes all kinds, ma'am. Including fae." He nodded toward Faye, who now stood in the open doorway.

She spread her arms wide for a hug. "Oh, Lily, it's been too long. Congratulations on your graduation. Your parents would have been so proud."

Wrapped in her godmother's arms, for the first time Lily felt like she'd come home. But she ended the embrace sooner than she would have liked. "Wait until you've seen what I have planned for the Hea Sanctuary project. Did you get my emails?"

Faye swallowed. "Yes. I think you'd better come in."