“What are you doing?” I rasp breathlessly.
“Playing the part.” His lips brush the shell of my ear as he says, “You’re a pixie on a leprechaun’s arm. My date.”
I cross and uncross my legs as blood rushes to my core. I’m suddenly very aware just how long it’s been since I’ve had sex, and despite myself, I melt into his side. “Did you just use luck on me?” I whisper.
His smile goes all the way to his eyes with his laugh. “Not even a little bit. Why?”
“No reason,” I squeak. With all the strength I can muster, I push myself up off the sofa. “I’m going to use the restroom.” I need to put distance between us before I burst into flames.
He grabs my hand as I pass him and gets a faraway look in his eyes. “Do you have that phone I gave you?”
“Yeah, it’s in my purse.” I glance at the small beaded bag hanging over my shoulder.
“Good. I have a feeling you’re going to need it.” Our eyes meet and hold. He releases my hand.
Seven’s got a gut feeling about the case. I don’t trust Seven, but I trust his lucky-ass gut.
Striding away from him, I suck in a shaky breath and reach into my bag, allowing my fingers to graze Kiko. Holding this illusion requires plenty of luck, and I need an extra hit. Luck flows into me in a rush as my mind focuses on finding a clue to Michael Murphy’s murder. Not two seconds later a pixie cuts me off and darts into the bathroom ahead of me.Bingo.
Instead of heading for a stall, I wait at the mirror, fixing my lipstick. The toilet flushes, and then the pixie appears beside me and starts washing her hands. I’m about to ask her about Michael Murphy when she blurts, “You’re the one who came in with Seven. Damn. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him with a pixie before.”
My brow furrows. How did this become about Seven, again? “Thanks, but I’m sure he has a different woman on his arm every night.”
“We all look like different women.” She laughs pointing at her face which is obviously masked in illusion. “Don’t worry, I won’t ask you who you are. Any pixie on that man’s arm needs to hide her identity if she values her life and reputation. The jealousy must be real.”
“Yeah. It’s important to be discreet.”
“But to answer your question, no, I’ve never seen him with anyone.” She shakes her head. “Believe me, many have tried; many have failed. I assumed he was like his father.”
“What about his father?”
“You know, a pixaphobe.” The pixie raises her eyebrows like I must be from another world if I don’t know this. “Before Seven took over, his father tried several times to impose the casino rules on the club. Wanted pixies and satyrs banned from this place unless we were working. Thinks we’re fae garbage.”
I snort. “That couldn’t have been a popular opinion. The humans come here for the pixies.”
She laughs. “Right? Anyway, things are better now that Seven’s in charge. Took it over from his father a few years ago. Before that he was a major reason his father didn’t get his way. He even got Godmother involved. Everyone knows it would be terrible for business if pixies didn’t frequent this club.”
“Leprechauns.” I groan.
She laughs.
“Hey, I wonder if you might help me with something.” I pull my phone from my purse and show her the picture of Michael Murphy. “Have you seen this guy around?”
“Why do you ask?”
“I met him a while ago. Lost his number. Just wondering if he’s been in recently.”
“He’s not Seven, but he pays well. I’ll give you that.” She leans toward the mirror to fix her makeup. “Haven’t seen him in weeks though. Sorry. He sort of dropped off the face of the earth recently, but you know how humans are. They party until they run out of money, and then you never see them again.”
I nod. “Right.”
She tosses her lipstick into her purse and turns to leave. “What about Phoebe Willowbark?” I blurt. “Do you know her?”
She stops and turns around to face me again, a deep vee wrinkling her forehead. “How did you know Phoebe?”
I shrug. “Around. Haven’t seen her in a while.”
“That’s because she’s missing,” the pixie says through tight lips. “It’s been weeks. Her family has been worried sick.”
