“Eating his face might be easier than letting him talk to Nic,”my cat chimed into my thoughts, and I clamped down on the words as quickly as I could before they drifted up to where my mate was checking on his mother.
“Hey!” I called out. “You coming here?”
“Beal?” the guard turned toward the fence.
“The one and only as far as I know,” I nodded.
“Is there any chance that I can speak to the lady of the house?” the guard asked.
“Uh… Do you require that she speaks back?” I asked.
“What?”
“Do you require that she speaks back?” I asked again.
This guy needed to clean his ears out.
“I know no one wants the guards to show up on their doorstep unannounced but the lady of the house hasn’t been answering her phone.”
The kitten growled and hissed, warning the guard away. The corners of the dragon’s lips curled into a grin.
“Well, I don’t reckon she would,” I said.
“Clarence is trying to confirm that she is in fact okay.”
“He’s just worried about bad press,” Nic walked up behind me, having spotted the guard from the window. “She’s not making a statement to anyone right now and no we won’t promise not to discuss the events that took place with the public. We’re not making any promises or signing anything.”
The guard blinked.
“I’m not a lawyer,” he said a second later.
“Then don’t argue about it with me. Tell Clarence she’s fine but that’s all he gets for now,” Nic said. “We’re on our matingmoon and do not wish to be disturbed.”
The guard opened his mouth and shut it again. The kitten hissed and Nic took him to hold the orange ball of fur against his chest. He sniffed his little head and eyeballed me. He knew I gave the baby pieces of hotdog and all that salt wasn’t great for him.
“I’ll let him know,” the guard rubbed the back of his neck. “You do know Clarence didn’t do this, right? He causes a lot of problems sometimes, but this wasn’t about him. We have to investigate crimes especially when such wild rumors fly around. He’d like me to take her statement on what she knows about Sharon Claudis.”
“Not much,” Nic said, stroking the fur on the kitten’s back as it dozed off warm, cozy, and with a full belly.
“We found one three second clip of them walking together,” the guard said.
“Who knows why crazy people do anything? You’re not accusing my mother of being an accomplice to her, are you?” Nic asked.
I crossed my arms over my chest and stared into the guy’s face. He took a step back and I’d have put good money on the hair on the back of his neck standing up. Modern shifters hated when we turned our primal gaze on them.
“No, but if she has any information that may help us capture her, it would be appreciated.”
“I didn’t know my mother was on the guard’s payroll,” Nic said. “It seems to me she’s given the flight enough free labor by being forced to defend our family against three men with known criminal backgrounds.”
Annila had never asked for help and she hadn’t started the whole ordeal either. Still, protective Nic was sexy. I raised an eyebrow in the guard’s direction, waiting for him to speak.
“Will you ask her to give Clarence or Medwin a call if she has any information to share?” the guard asked.
“Sure,” Nic nodded.
“Do you want a hotdog?” I asked.
Bemused, the guard shook his head and took his leave.
