He shook his head as the elevator doors opened and led me into his office. Up here, it was easier to ignore the shocked looks as I walked down the fifth floor. If Albert found out I was here, heads would roll. It wasn’t like Keigan to have a pissing contest with his boss.
“That means what you think you want would be the worst thing you could give yourself. The boredom would drive you crazy within three days.”
I wasn’t a sulker, but my lower lip was coming perilously close to sticking out in a pout. Because I had a pretty good feeling that Keigan was right.
“Take a seat,” he said as he broke the ward on his office door and gestured me inside.
I picked up a stack of files off his guest chair and held them above his desk, searching for a clear space.
“Oh, just put them on the floor,” Keigan waved his hand.
This wasn’t like him. The Keigan I knew kept his office spotless. “Uh, are you okay?”
He smiled absently at me. “Never better.” He opened a closet and unlocked a beat-up file cabinet, pulling out a manilla folder which he handed to me.
I opened it, frowning down at the photos. It looked like some kind of… store?
I glanced up at Keigan and for the first time he seemed flustered. “When I became a Discipulus Mage I knew I wanted to make some smart financial decisions. With the state of this world, putting my money in the bank didn’t make much sense. So, I turned to commercial real estate.”
I had no idea where he was going with this. He smiled at whatever he saw on my face.
“This is one of my properties. The tenants have given their notice as they’re moving to South Carolina. It will be empty in a few weeks.”
Was he… offering it to me? I gaped at him. His smile widened.
“It’s not much, but there’s room for an office and a small cell. I don’t have a mortgage on the property, so you won’t need to pay me rent–”
“Hold it right there. If I’m doing this, I’m paying you a fair market rent.”
Tears pricked at my eyes. With the money I’d made from Mariam, I could more than afford to rent it and still pay my other bills. And Mariam had promised to give me a reference. I’d also bargained for access to the library. She’d said she would talk to the fae king about allowing me to visit occasionally.
Screw the Mage Council, I’d do just fine without them.
My mind was racing. Despite all the details I had to consider, I still had to resist the urge to call Samael and tell him my news. I pushed the urge away.
I’d relied on Samael and his people far too much in this investigation. I didn’t regret it— the kids were safe, and so was my sister. But I was done using his resources. Including Steve.
As much as I liked him, I needed to find my own hacker. I’d hire some mercs for when I had more than one suspect to take down. Once I was making some decent money and I’d built up a reputation, I could probably even hire a receptionist.
Keigan cleared his throat. He was still waiting for me to say something, but from the amusement in his eyes, he knew what I was going to say.
“I’ll take it. Thank you Keigan.” I wasn’t a hugger by nature, but I got up, rounded his desk, and wrapped my arms around him.
He flushed. “You’re welcome, Dani. I know you’re going to be successful at anything you put your mind to.”
28
Danica
The sun heated my skin as I walked across the field toward Gary and the kids. Twenty or so black chairs had been set up on the grass, and I took a seat next to Zip. The chairs had been chosen with respect for goblin stature, and I stretched my legs out in front of me.
Gary let the kids fill me in on everything that had been happening over the past week. When they’d finally run out of things to tell me, he smiled at me. “Thank you.” His voice was hoarse.
“You’ve already thanked me. Should you be out of bed?”
He gave me a dark look, and we both turned our attention toward the pyre that was being built twenty feet away.
Goblins didn’t believe in burial, so Merrill’s body would be burned on a pyre. His daughter was helping to light it.
