Luckily, in all the excitement happening on the street, no one had called in Wade’s terrible parking job. They climbed into his rental, and he pulled into the street. Traffic was being rerouted, so it was easy enough to do a U-turn in the intersection and head north. Riordan was already typing Lady Caith’s address into his phone’s GPS app, which was nice of him.
“Were you able to find anything?” Riordan asked.
Wade drummed his fingers against the steering wheel. “Kind of? I never made it to Niall’s house in Beacon Hill. Lucien was scoping the area and said he had information on Harper and Casey. I had to pay him for it, but I found out where they were keeping Harper.”
Saoirse leaned forward between the front seats. “Where? Was she alive?”
“His hotel on the waterfront.”
“Really? It’s supposed to open in a couple of weeks for the summer tourist season.”
“Niall is going to have to deal with water damage first. When I left with Harper, all the sprinklers were going off.”
Saoirse reached out and ruffled his hair. “Good on you. How was Harper?”
Wade’s smugness at property damage faded at her question. “Not that great. Niall was using her and Casey to keep each other in line. Casey wasn’t with her, and I’m pretty sure he’s being kept on an island in the harbor.”
“If he’s being kept in the harbor, maybe whatever is in the deep is his jailor,” Riordan said slowly.
“We’ll get some boats and find out. Ella says her pack is coming with us when we do.”
“They can’t swim.”
“They’re better on land than you would be.”
Riordan tipped his head. “Fair point. Our alliance with them should still hold, even with Harper back.”
“Ella won’t go back on her word.” She’d gone out of her way to fight a geas in order to save her alphas, but Wade didn’t consider that breaking a promise. She’d done it to keep her god pack safe from Niall, and she’d already promised to help them fight to bring Casey home.
“Let’s head to Lady Caith’s and get Saoirse behind that threshold. If Niall comes looking for her, she’ll be safer there than at our condo.”
“And if Niall comes looking for you, boyo?” Donal asked.
Wade had to be careful about not breaking the steering wheel with his grip. “He’ll have to go through me first.”
It was lucky he was braking for a stop sign because Riordan leaned over the console, turned his head to the side, and kissed him so fiercely that Saoirse wolf whistled from the back seat.
“Thanks,” Riordan said roughly when he broke the kiss. “For helping us.”
Wade cleared his throat, tongue touching the back of his teeth. “You don’t owe me anything.”
“We’d all be a lot worse off if Ella hadn’t brought you here. So thank you all the same.”
“Guess I’ll keep you, then.”
His words put a smile on Riordan’s face that didn’t fade for the entire drive to Lady Caith’s.
This time, when they finally made it to Lady Caith’s door, hospitality went quicker. The same fae from before was much more polite, even if he wasn’t deferential. That was fine by Wade because the fruit bowl had something that was shaped like an orange but with a deep maroon color to it. The fae was cutting out slices from it, and when Wade shoved his piece into his mouth, he was pleased by the taste. “Reminds me of mango mixed with strawberry. Can I have another?”
The fae sighed but dutifully cut him another piece. Wade munched on it and drank the wine offered to them. With formalities out of the way, they followed the fae to a comfortable room in the rear of the building that overlooked the backyard. Lady Caith waited for them there, drinking out of an intricately designed glass that looked like a stemmed rose. The liquid in its cup was a brilliant honey gold. He assumed it was from somepersonal store that she wasn’t willing to share because no other glasses were waiting for them on the coffee table.
“I am pleased you are willing to meet me at the table,” Lady Caith said.
“I do so for my clan,” Riordan said.
The cadence of their speech was far too formal, which told him the words probably meant more than just the surface tone. Ritual, maybe, knowing the fae. Wade sat on a chair and got comfortable, ignoring the odd look Donal gave him when he pulled one of the fruits from the fruit bowl out of his pocket. Wade bit into it, the crunch sounding like celery but tasting like apple if it was shaped like a banana. Riordan glanced at him, but Lady Caith was doing her best to ignore him. Wade took another bite, hoping to see her twitch.
He wasn’t the best at bargains—though he’d argue he was better than Patrick—but he knew when words were off. Sage was a good teacher, and Wade had spent the last couple of years learning how to help manage the packs under their protection. He’d mediated his fair share of arguments, knocked a few heads together when needed, and in general, figured out what was fair and what wasn’t. From what he could tell as Riordan and Lady Caith got into a deep discussion, they weren’t asking a whole lot from each other, and the timeframe wasn’t open-ended. It was actually kind of hot to watch Riordan get all political with her.
