Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 113319 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 567(@200wpm)___ 453(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113319 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 567(@200wpm)___ 453(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
I hadn’t realized he’d broken it the first time. How sweet of Sebastian and Nessa to notice and fix it, and how sweet of Mr. Tom to prize my son’s old watch as a memento.
“You still have that thing?” Jimmy asked with a grin, lounging on the couch with a pair of concert tickets he’d yelled about getting. Apparently Sebastian had asked Mr. Tom what Jimmy might like and come through with impossible-to-get, incredible seats.
“Of course I do,” Mr. Tom replied. “What a stupid question.”
Jimmy started chuckling. “So if I randomly send you another of my watches, you’ll wear that?”
“Of course I would. Another stupid question.”
“How about your watch, Niamh?” Hollace asked, holding his up to the light and watching it glitter. “Mine is cool as hell.”
She was sitting with a plain, waterproofed basket in her lap. It was filled with what Nessa and Sebastian had deemed “perfect throwing rocks.” We’d all watched her go through them until she nodded, put on the lid, and held it in her lap. They must’ve gotten that right too.
She held up her wrist. Black band, white face, fairly simple.
“Wait…” Aurora, closest to her, squinted and leaned toward it. She started laughing. “It has two hour hands, one minute hand, and no second hand.”
“Aye. And both hour hands work, but they go in opposite directions,” Niamh said with a grin.
“Well, that’s perfect,” Jasper said, laughing as well.
“Sebastian was right about one thing,” Austin said, holding up a set of keys intended for Kingsley. They went to some sort of collector’s item car that Kingsley would apparently lose his crap over. The (pink) note that had come with it said:
Dear Austin,
I hope this note finds you well. We recently ran into a mage partially responsible for the attack on Kingsley’s pack. It seems he was at the battle, attempting to kill us all. Sadly, he got away.
Not any longer.
Please arrange transportation and pass this car on to Kingsley as restitution for the mage’s terrible actions. The address where the car is located is below. Given my need to stay in the shadows, please transfer the car in your name. You can explain the situation in person, so the communication isn’t overheard or intercepted. I thought he would be the perfect person to give it a new home.
One of your presents is to see Kingsley’s face when his little brother gives him a car of this magnitude. You’re welcome.
Best,
Sebastian and Nessa
Austin laughed. “I’m going to get a picture of Kingsley’s reaction so I can show it to him someday.”
“What was the one thing he was right about?” I asked, holding a little sleeve that would magically seal shut and stick to whatever surface I put it on. It would help me keep my engagement ring safe. If I had to shift at a moment’s notice, I’d only need take a second to secure the ring. It would be wherever I’d put it when I got back, and it was equipped with a magical tracker if I was on the go.
It was perfect.
“Sebastian is very good at buying presents,” Austin said, leaning into me.
He was exactly right.
A few days later, I woke up to a text message from Camila. Thank you. I left. While it is sad, it is freeing. You helped me see my current reality, which wasn’t the dream I’d been clinging on to. I know this is for the best. Please give me your address so that I can send the cash and credit card back to you. And thank Tom for me.
I heaved a sigh. Matt would find another woman, I knew he would, but at least Camila was able to get out. At least now she had the ability to find someone who valued her for the wonderful woman she was.
I’d shut the door on the past. Now, I was looking toward the future while enjoying the present.
Sebastian
The screen came on, starting up slowly. The encrypted phone was old, the software outdated. It served its purpose, though. They only needed it to get messages from Jessie.
If only Tristan wasn’t so incredibly good at tracking them. He had Nessa positively hopping with frustration. She hadn’t had this kind of trouble before. It was a little disconcerting how quickly he and Niamh were picking everything up.
“We got one,” Sebastian called to Nessa with a smile, waiting for the message from Jessie to come through. She wasn’t one to receive presents without saying thank you.
He read the message too quickly at first, his heart hurting with how much he missed her. Then he read it again, slower this time, savoring each word.
“She’s thanking us for the gifts, of course. She says they were perfect.” He paused for a reply. When he didn’t get one, he assumed Nessa was busy. She must have heard him in their tiny house. They were squatting in Arizona for the moment while they knocked out an important meeting.