“Well, how ‘r ya now?” Niamh asked in greeting. “Get everything sorted?”
He paused, narrowing his eyes at her slightly. “What’d you hear?”
“Ah, sure, same ol’ pandemonium with our crew, so it is. We show up, scare the holy trinity out of everyone, and people start jumping at shadows. Can’t hardly blame them. Especially when some pasts don’t want to stay in the past.”
She paused to get her point across but was incredibly blasé. If he didn’t know her better, he’d miss the subtexts. She knew about the mousy mage attacking, and either already knew the woman’s past, or planned to get it.
“Sure, this place is a safe haven,” she continued. “Ye know something about that, so ya do. I told them all about the anxious wee sorts we had back in the day. Still do. I ignore their bellyaching—ye have’ta or it’ll drive ya mad—but I know what it’s like. Anyway, sounds like you’ve got it all sorted. I didn’t bother me arse to help. They have a strong setup here, sure they do, but nothing like we have. There was no point in me rushin’.”
“Jessie communicated through our link,” Brochan murmured. “I checked it out, but I wasn’t needed so I returned here. I assume you guys calmed down the basajaunak.”
Austin couldn’t help himself. “Without getting dragged behind one of them, yeah.”
Niamh spit out a laugh.
Brochan’s eyes glittered. “Don’t expect I’ll live that one down.”
“Probably not, no. Why are they so riled up, did they say?”
Niamh’s eyes turned sharp, and her body tensed.Shut up!
“Ye know them, like,” Niamh drawled, picking up her glass. “They thought yis were battlin’ without them earlier today, and now they are chomping at the bit. Once they wander around the woods a bit and relax, they’ll be grand.”
He nodded, reading Brochan’s body language, a movement so subtle he barely caught the meaning. He doubted anyone here, or many at all, could pick it up.She’s got it under control.
“I’m telling everyone to lay low,” he told them. “We’ll postpone the dinner until tomorrow night and eat in tonight. I’m going to keep the mages secure, but you’re welcome to stay out. I’d like to remind you that you are a guest here. Be on your best behavior. That said, I have warned the beta that you will not hesitate to defend yourself should you need to. And you’ll do so violently.”
“It’ll be grand,” Niamh said. “I’ll probably have a wee bite downtown and see yis for dinner.”
In other words, she’d gather more intel and meet everyone later to tell them what she learned.
9
Nessa
“Don’t putyourself out too much,” Austin said as Nessa grabbed a smaller bag from the back of the Jeep and headed toward the house.
She grinned, then started chuckling. When the scary alpha let himself relax, he was a funny and great pal. She’d told him that Jessie was lucky to have found him, and that was incredibly true, but he was just as lucky to have found her. They brought out the best in each other, and their crew polished it to a high shine.
“Yeah, you know, hard day ’n all,” she shot back over her shoulder. “Sitting on the sidelines with a beer while you fought nearly to the death was taxing. I need a break.”
She heard him laughing as she climbed the three steps onto the porch and grasped the doorknob. The door opened quietly, and she stepped inside. She’d barely crossed the threshold when a large shape rushed toward her.
She squeaked in alarm and jumped, flinging up her hands to ward off an attack.
“Whoops.” Tristan bent and grabbed the shopping bag before it could hit the floor. “Did I scare you, little monster?” He straightened with a smug grin. “I thought we were beyond that?”
She let out a slow, shaky breath. Glaring at him, she snatched the bag back and stalked into the house with her nose in the air. Tristan’s dark chuckle followed her into the kitchen.
“Hey.” Jessie looked up from the high table, a make-shift island. “Any news?”
Nessa set the bag down on the counter before opening the little broom closet near the hall and pulling out a fold-up wagon. She’d found it earlier when she’d cased the place. “No?—“
“Let me.” Sebastian hurried to help her with the wagon. “What are we doing with this?”
“We have a lot of groceries.”
“Oh.” He hefted it and headed toward the front door. Austin stepped inside, carrying three bags in his huge arms.
