Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 128061 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128061 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
“I’ll need all the information. I’ll want to instigate a warning system, just in case.”
“So you’ll do it?”
He threw the shirt up and then caught it, still not giving it back. “I would’ve said yes if you’d just mentioned the battle. But thank you for the blackmail material. I’ll have to think on how I can best use it.”
He threw her a winning smile before walking away.
Apparently they were playing games after all, and she’d just handed him an ace.
THIRTY
Jessie
Austin stopped the Bentley in front of his newest and fanciest restaurant—the location of the farewell dinner with the gargoyles and a great spot to give them a good riddance. I only wished it could’ve been the few days sooner, like they’d initially requested. High-maintenance Gimerel had pushed it back, citing no reason and offering no apologies.
It was not as if it really mattered. Not one of them had reached out to me after the raid. I’d sent invites to come for coffee on a couple of occasions but never received a reply. As far as I was concerned, this whole thing had been pointless, and I couldn’t wait to see the back of them.
“Ready?” Austin said, pulling forward again. The valet looked at him in confusion.
“Why, what are you doing?” I asked, turning to look back at the restaurant. “Are we not going to show up to the dinner?”
“We are, I just…don’t particularly want to entrust a young kid with this car. I’ll park in our spot.”
I laughed, running my hand across his thigh. “It’ll give us more time before we face the buttheads.”
“Did Ulric and Jasper tell you about all the interest they’ve received at the bar about their jobs? Pay, perks, how we are as leaders…”
“Yeah. Patty, too, I guess. It hasn’t resulted in anyone approaching us about joining our crew, though.”
“Give it time.”
I held my breath for a moment to keep from reminding him that we were already on borrowed time. Surely Momar was going to make a move soon. Being cautious made sense, but he seemed like he was dragging his feet at this point.
Or maybe that was just me projecting. Over the last few days, it had felt like danger was once again bearing down on us. I couldn’t shake the feeling that we should batten down the hatches and get ready. The mages hadn’t heard of anything, though. It made me wonder if the gargoyles were going to decide to attack or something.
Austin stepped out of the car and came around for me, opening the door and putting out his hand. I hesitated for a moment and then took it, dragging my made-up self into the early-evening air and feeling the heavy weight of the jewels around my neck.
I’d gone gaudy. Super gaudy, actually. I’d put on the most ridiculous set of jewels I owned, huge rubies and diamonds that probably should’ve been kept in a locked vault somewhere. If I had a crown, I would’ve worn that, too.
Mr. Tom had thought I was nuts. Patty had been speechless, and my team hadn’t known where to look. It was only Naomi who’d taken me in from head to toe, cracked a little smile, and nodded. Time to show Nelson that Gimerel didn’t hold a candle to the random wealth Ivy House possessed. Jerk.
My stilettos clicked against the cement, and I slipped my hand into Austin’s.
“What would this situation be like with shifters?” I asked as we circled the building.
“You proved dominance in a spectacular fashion. They might not have been happy about it, but they would’ve acknowledged the superior might of your pack. The others wouldn’t have stayed away just to keep from offending an established leader. It’s customary to congratulate the winning pack. A custom that opens the doors for alliances or pack friends, whatever the case may be. There are still a lot of politics with shifters, but it seems we are, by and large, a lot more adult about it.”
I laughed at his last comment. “Are you calling gargoyles petty?”
He didn’t even pause. “Yes. And cowards. The leaders, at any rate. But then, they are all mostly isolated when it comes to trading—something they try to keep within the gargoyle community. Maybe they can’t afford to step on toes.”
“They are shooting themselves in the foot.”
“Yes.”
“Has Anthott said anything?” We rounded the next corner and saw the teams standing out front in orderly lines with still wings and hard eyes. Only one member of my team was present—Mr. Tom, waiting for me. “Last I heard, he had gotten cold feet, but hadn’t left the territory.”
“He’s still hanging around. He’s watching and waiting, I think, like everyone else.”
“I need to do something to shake the fruit loose from this tree.”
“We’ll figure out something.”
Why was everyone around me so positive all of a sudden? Was it because they were trying to balance out my incredible grumpiness?