Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 91002 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91002 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
He glanced at her. “Orgasms.”
“Like…multiple?”
“Always.”
Fred made a huh expression. “They must’ve been good ones. I wouldn’t let that cooler go for any price.”
“As I said, always.”
His confidence knew no bounds. Then again, Niamh reckoned, it was probably earned. He had a reputation, and with gargoyles, who celebrated their time in the sheets, that must’ve been hard won.
“You went and filled it out of the graciousness of your heart, then?” she asked.
He rested an elbow on the banister. “The beer was left in my fridge. Phil traded the brew for the privilege of watching Mr. Tom’s face when he first saw you with that cooler. He’s now standing close to the house, waiting for you to walk over. And the moonshine…” He shrugged.
“You gave him multiple orgasms, too?” Fred surmised.
“No. I dodged a headbutt, knocked him out, and stole his stash. Seemed fitting for the lip he was giving me.”
“Ye must’ve been giving it back if he tried to headbutt ya.” Niamh reached down and put away her rock. Tristan was in the way.
“Oh, yeah, I definitely started it. This way, it’s his fault that I stole it. He reacted first. Fair and square.”
Fred opened her laptop again, shaking her head. “I don’t get the logic of this place. Don’t get me wrong, I like it, but I don’t get it.”
“Ye don’t want anything in return?” Niamh narrowed her eyes at Tristan.
He grinned. “Don’t mention I gave it to you.”
“Well, obviously. What do ye think I am, like? A snitch? Fell into yer lap, me arse. Since when are ye all hearts and flowers?”
“Since never. Take it or don’t. I got a few doilies if you want those instead. Whatever.”
But he couldn’t hide the true reason. It sparked and glowed in his eyes, sang in his grateful lean toward her and in his newly relaxed shoulders. It had shown in how he’d brutally handled those mage spies. They’d tracked down Nessa, ended the threat to her and Sebastian (for now), and could keep tabs on them. He was thanking her for making this possible, and his relief was plain.
He cared a great deal for that gal pal of Sebastian’s. Niamh was seeing a whole new side of this gargoyle-monster—a side he was applying to Jessie now, taking greater care of her and putting her ahead of himself. It was like he was letting the door into his mushy interior open and showing everyone parts of himself he usually kept hidden.
Or maybe it had always been there, and she was just now seeing it with her true magic. She felt like a kid again, watching the world of mages unfold before her eyes. Making connections, coming up with plans, ideas, horrible pranks that would end in bloodshed. What a time to be alive! Imagine wanting to retire from all of this. The world was so much more complex now. More intricate. More challenging. She could barely contain her newfound excitement.
“Hello?” Fred was leaning way over, her face only inches from Niamh’s. “What’s going on in there?”
“Would ye feck off? Janey Mack, do ye need to get so close? Yer weird might rub off.”
Tristan barked a laugh.
“Well?” Fred demanded. “You disappeared there for a minute. Do you want to know their new setup or what?”
“Our mages have gone off-grid,” Niamh told Tristan.
He became alert really quickly.
“Right.” Fred braced a hand on the top of her computer. “So, we caught them. We tracked them. They tried to kick me out but couldn’t, which the Captain realized, even though she couldn’t actively find my presence. That lady is smart, bro. If she’d had the right training, she could’ve been a helluva programmer, I’m tellin’ ya. So, they move their setup to, like, a shack or something out in the woods. They operate at weird times, but that doesn’t matter, because I’m tracking their keystrokes and sites and everything they’re doing. I record all that. They save their files to an external hard drive, but again, that doesn’t matter. I’ve got them on lock. I don’t think they know what’s actually possible. Phones are left there. All work remains there. When they leave, everything goes quiet. They aren’t doing work from anywhere else. Not on those accounts, anyway. I’m combing the magical dark web—which I didn’t even know existed—for any sign that might be them, but so far, nothing. It’s like they…unplugged.”
Her obvious perplexity was hilarious. She clearly couldn’t imagine a world that wasn’t electronically dialed in. Niamh’s past, before electricity and gas ovens, would have floored her.
“They still show up to do their work,” Niamh said, unbothered. “We know their home base. All we need to do is show up, wait, and grab them.”
“Well, yeah.” Fred pounded on the keyboard. She did not type lightly. “Anyone good enough could, too. I’m running interference, but there’s only so much I can do without direct access. I created a spy hole, and someone else could use it when I’m not looking.”