Page 105 of Hell’s Half Acre

As she started away, Rory stopped her. “And this time, will you let me know it’s solved if y’all find the culprit? Don’t leave it for me to find out from a drunken elf. Especially if it involves a horny queen trying to make Luke her pet.”

Sorcha burst out laughing before she could stop herself. Luke appeared less amused. “Will do,” she promised.

Luke smirked. “Since you know the truth, I want a copy of the report you filed.”

“Sure,” Rory said with a nod. “It’ll make good bedtime reading.”

And with that, they headed back out to the parking lot.

Sorcha paused beside the car. “I should have asked Rory how long he’s known the truth about our case.”

“I should have asked him the name of the elf who needs its ass kicked for talking out of turn.”

Not wanting to comment on that, Sorcha pulled out her phone to call the number Rory had given her. But before she could complete it, Luke put his hand over hers.

“We need to do this in person. If you call him, he won’t talk to you. Werewolves have more trust issues than you do.”

She couldn’t fault them for that. “Fair point.”

“What’s the address?”

“Bradley Point Road.”

Luke screwed up his face, then nodded. “Makes sense. By the creek, there’s a lot of woods out there. And marshes filled with gators if you screw up and need to dispose of a body.”

She cringed at the very thought. “That’s just chilling.”

He shrugged nonchalantly. “Gators gotta eat.”

These were the times when he made it hard for her to work with him. He could summon nightmares for her without even knowing it. “I don’t want to think about gators. Too many memories of half-eaten bodies in New Orleans.”

“I will cut out my gator jokes, cher.”

“That’s an impressive Cajun drawl you got there.”

He grinned as he opened the car door for her. “I know. Spent a lot of time on riverboats, taking people’s money and their souls.”

She slid into the car and reached for her IA ball cap. “Of course, you did.”

He pulled his hair up and then got into the car. “Delilah? You back?”

Not a word.

Sorcha turned toward him with an arched brow. “Should we be worried that she’s been gone so long?”

“Not sure. On the one hand, I enjoy the silence and lack of groping. On the other, I don’t really want her harmed. While she’s a pain in my ass, she’s been my PITA for centuries. I hate to say I kind of miss her, but…”

“I get it. I’ve got a couple of those myself.” She cut her gaze toward him.

“Ha. Ha.”

Helly leaned forward in the seat. “Hi!”

Sorcha let out a short scream. “Make noise when you pop in! You scared the crap out of me.”

“I did make noise. I said hi.” She nudged Sorcha’s shoulder. “You’re a little jumpy there, O’Malley. You okay?”

“I don’t know. We were talking about Delilah when you jump scared me.”