Page 69

Week Two

A loud squeal of excitement wakes me, and I stretch under the blanket. Prez and I stayed all night because Sugarplum didn’t rouse and we were too exhausted to go home by the time we figured out she was okay, just out like a light. Prez figures it must have to do with her supe side trying to emerge, but we had little research options late at night in the Hollow.

“Don’t eat the head off me for not calling ahead, Peanut. Seein’ as I’ve walked in on your orgy an’ all.”

My ears catch the musical Irish tones of a stranger and I listen for a moment before making myself known. “Not an orgy.”

Jolene wiggles a bit, peeking under the blanket briefly before she drops it back over my head. Looks like she had no idea we were still here, and now she’s got an unexpected guest.

“Aye, Peanut. I s’pose the cute bum on the right is tellin’ ye true. Y’don’t have ‘nough participants to make an orgy. I’m sure I can help y’fix that soon ‘nough.”

When Prez shifts to sit up, I follow, poking my head out for real this time. “You know, Sugarplum, an audience is a novelty, but your friend needs to give us some privacy to get dressed.”

“Unless you’d prefer we?—”

“No!” Jolene practically yells, and it makes Prez drop back in a fit of laughter. “I mean, uh… Seer, go down to the kitchen. We’ll dress and I’ll… make breakfast.”

“Fair play. I’ll leg it downstairs and we’ll chat once you’re settled.”

I can hear her giggling as she exits, and Jolene groans as she covers her face. Prez and I roll off the bed, trying to give her a little space to assimilate. Curiosity gets the best of me and I wander into her closet, hoping I can find something to wear temporarily. Our clothes are outside and they’re bound to be wet from the morning dew.

“Sugarplum, why do you have men’s clothes in your closet?” I frown, tilting my head as I examine the small selection of menswear hanging in one corner. When she doesn’t answer, I poke my head out of the closet and look at her expectantly until she caves.

“They were my dad’s. I cleaned this room, but something told me to leave a few items.”

“That’s just our good luck for the day, eh, Lucy?” Prez says as he walks out of the bathroom. He picks up his glasses from the nightstand and I toss him the pair of jogging pants I salvaged.

“Sure is, baby.” I look at Jolene, holding the sheet up around my waist. “Did you get shy with us overnight?”

Her expression flickers from confused to scared to unsure within seconds. Finally, she shakes her head. “Not at all, puppy eyes. I was waiting until you two got settled.”

I give her a relieved smile, but true to form, Prez walks over and cups her face. “Nothing has to be decided today. We have plenty of time to figure it all out, magpie.”

My heart is so full I might burst. How the hell did I get so lucky suddenly?

She leans in and pecks a kiss on his lips, then walks over to give one to me as well. I smile broadly, and she chuckles. Prez’ reassurance worked and I couldn’t be more thrilled. I step out of the closet to allow her to find something to wear, and Prez crooks a finger at me. When I walk over, he kisses me good morning and then whispers in my ear.

Of course, my goddamned ears are showing.

Focusing harder, I push the points back with a grumble, and Sugarplum comes out with a raised brow. “Something I should know about, boys?”

“Only that I think Lucy should bring a few things for the dude side of your closet, just in case. And maybe a few toiletries.” Presley gives her an innocent smile and I breathe a sigh of relief.

Her face goes ashen and I realize he’s tripped her fear button. I don’t know who fucked my girl up in the past, but I get my hands on him, I’ll kill him myself. “Sugarplum, you look like a ghost. We should get downstairs and get you fed. Your friend may have gotten eaten by your companions by now.”

Jolene gives me a suspicious look, but she nods slowly. “Uh-huh. Well, Seer can manage herself… trust me. But I am hungry, so I’ll let your little secrets slide for now.”

Prez grabs one of her hands and I take the other as we lead her into the hallway, distracting her with talk about the superiority of waffles versus pancakes.

Thank hell she bought that.

* * *

“Sugarplum?”

The Irish girl cracks up, and I look at Jolene curiously. Everyone has been pretty amiable so far, so I’m not sure what’s tickling her. Hell, I even made breakfast because I’m a gentleman like that.

“Yes, Wolfie?” she asks. When I smile again, she reaches over and squeezes my hand.

I pause, looking at Prez for a moment so he’ll back me up. “Prez and I have been thinking since you mentioned that you felt like someone has been watching your house.” She looks confused and my eyes widen.

She has no idea what things I can do because of my supe powers, and I just said we were thinking it even though it wasn’t spoken out loud. Fuck.

“What Lucy is failing to communicate is we’re worried your house is on the edge of the populated part of town. We don’t think getting a Ring camera is enough, even with your companions.” He pushes the long skater cut out of his eyes, smoothly moving past how he knows I’m concerned for her safety.

“Y’said there hasn’t been actual crime in donkey’s years before. Why the feck should she be worried? Don’t ye have peelers here?” Saoirse frowns at us and I worry she sees more than she’s letting on.

Is it because she’s Irish? Her people and mine have a complex relationship. And what the fuck is a peeler?

My sugarplum shakes her head as she looks at her best friend. “Yes, we have a small police force, Seer. They’re useless—or they used to be.”

“Detective Santos is new. He transferred into the Hollow from the city a month ago. He spends a lot of time being run around by the founding families,” I offer, grateful to have the translation.

“That’s shite!”

Prez almost chokes on his tea, and I grin. His whole ‘proper tea’ routine was in full force this morning when he figured out Saoirse grew up near to Swallowtail. He rarely sees anyone from his corner of the world, and it sent him into English butler mode. “It is, Saoirse. And I worry about magpie being here with no one close enough to arrive.”

Jolene gives him a dirty look and I decide to intervene. “What if the person breaks in? If the animals are immobilized, you’d be at their mercy.”

The colorful girl bursts out laughing, clutching her waist as she works her way to tears. Prez and I look at one another and then at Jolene, who gives us a small grin.

Did I say something wrong? What the hell is with this response?

“Aye, Peanut. Is your stash in bits or have ye set it up like usual?” Saoirse finally asks.

Sugarplum shakes her head, looking rueful. “I want to clean out the basement and set it up there. I haven’t gotten that far yet.”

“Grand. Normal cabinet in the drawing, then?”

Jolene nods at her, standing to clear the dishes. I jump up to help her, tossing Prez a rag to wipe down the counter. Our girl doesn’t expound while her shamrock princess friend is gone, but when Saoirse returns, she’s got a large bag slung over her shoulder and a shit-eating grin.

“C’mere to me, boys. I need you to gather those soda cartons and take them out to the back fence posts. Put one on each pole and don’t open them. It won’t make a bloody difference.”

“Seer, that’s wasteful!” Jolene scolds, her brows furrowing.

“I’ll buy you new ones when we go out to get the messages, Peanut. You can show them the Peanut I remember from our travels. I’ll bet they don’t even realize why you moved back to this Carson McCullers fever dream.”

Prez and I exchange looks, but I pick up the two twelve packs and when she nods, we head out to do as instructed. The cats and the bestie follow us and I laugh when my avian companion grumbles. This has to be the biggest concession he’ll make—he absolutely despises cats and now he’s going to have to get over that hang-up.

I shouldn’t feel smug, but I do. I’ve told him before that he should conquer that little quirk of his.

Once we reach the back edge of Jolene’s property, I raise my hand to my eyes and see her stepping out of the house. She’s staring out into the yard pensively when the giant eagle swoops down nearby, perching on her smoker. My lips curve when I realize she’s talking to it—for someone who isn’t one of my kind, Sugarplum talks to animals as if they understand every word she says.

Oddly, they respond as if they do as well.

Pondering that as the bird screeches at her, I watch our girl fiddle with the furniture and unpack her bag. I’m surprised when she pulls out a BAG— big ass gun —and sets up a tripod. Her hands work without her eyes watching as she loads and checks the weapon methodically.

Our girl knows her way around this gun like she knows her own palms. Where did she learn this and why?

Saoirse waves her hand at the lot of us, indicating we should move out of the field of vision. Jekyll and Hyde trot over to stand at my feet and Prez glares at them. That makes the wild-haired girl laugh, but he doesn’t get to respond as shots ring through the air in rapid succession. I count them—twenty-four exactly—and my eyes widen as I realize she’s hit every single can square in the center.

I let out a whoop of excitement, and the cats do the same, their ‘MOW’s echoing over the quiet land. Jolene carefully places her weapon down, clicks on the safety and trudges towards us. I can’t help but beam as Prez walks along the fence, kicking the cans to hear the rattling inside.

“Sugarplum! Where in the name of Paula Deen did you learn to do that ?”

As her bestie continues to giggle, Jolene finally takes pity on us and explains. “Seer and I spent three months on a project in Ireland for a client we can’t discuss. We stayed in Dublin and Belfast—they’re only two hours apart on the M1. Being the butterflies we were, we made… friends in Belfast. These friends decided I should learn how to defend myself sniper-style. I never got why, because starting with a handgun would have been a LOT easier, but we didn’t argue. I’ve been sharpening my skills ever since.”

My partner arches his brow in surprise, but I’m sure he’s tucking that knowledge away for later. “Well, magpie, I suppose if you need to take a target out from a distance, you’re covered, but what if it’s close combat?”

“Bloody hell, Peanut. Tell the boys you spent the last couple years training for the F.B.I. interview an’ be done with it! I’ve seen ye gut a back-alley pox when he tried actin’ the maggot. Ye can protect yer own arse.”

The girl in question looks at us nervously and I can tell she’s worried that we’ll object. I put a hand on my chest and wink at her. “That puts my heart at ease, sugarplum. I worried that livin’ this far off the town was going to be dangerous for you. I’ve never heard of people sensing they’re being watched like you described—not here in the Hollow, at least.”

When Presley nods, she lets out a long sigh. “I’ll still set up a system. I’d like to catch the asshole in question snooping about and have a friendly conversation about why the hell he or she is trying to give me a coronary. Maybe I’ll let Eurayle do the restraints. Looks like my eagle friend could hold on tight.”

“And break the bones, but who’s worried?” He walks over and wraps his arms around me, kissing my temple.

I hold my hand out, pulling her onto my other side. “Sugarplum, I think we should leave this as a warning for the moment. We’ll go in and put your big ass gun in its place, and then Prez and I will go home to give you two time to catch up.”

Jolene nods when her friend claps with glee. “She can help me with the basement. It would be better if I can move the weapon storage to a more appropriate place. The living room is NOT my preferred location.”

“We’ll come back after we do our stuff and the four of us can have dinner at Bottles ‘N Cans tonight,” Prez says as we walk back towards the house.

“Not to sound dumb, Dr. McSteamy, but Bottles ‘N Cans is a liquor store. Are we eating beer nuts as a meal?”

“Ooh, Prez, she doesn’t know . This is gonna be great .” The Speakeasy part of Benjy’s store is the absolute best part, and it’s a great escape from the flood of tourists who blow through during the racing season.

Saoirse glares at us when we get to the door. “Oi, boys. S’not nice to tease Peanut. Even if she has the best bloody pouts on the planet.”

“Listen up, you eejits. I’ll not have you tag-teaming against me; got it?” Jolene follows her friend in the evil eye and we both laugh.

This is going to be fun.