Page 10 of Fresh Old Bounties

From the other side of the van, Shane lifted his hand in greeting and walked toward the gate. The second of Ian’s strays, he was a contrast to Alex’s blond surfer looks with his tan olive skin, short dark hair, and black eye patch.

I turned to Ian. “You’re working today?”

“Just doing some prep for the week.”

It warmed my insides that Key was being included. Ian had promised to give her a job on a provisional basis for a month, and I was glad to see he really meant to give her a chance rather than simply drag her along for thirty days, then give her the kick. The parallels with me and the shop weren’t lost on me, and just as I meant to pass my six-month probation period with flying colors, so would Key.

With a dark magic user, truculent fire mage of an uncle as her only family in town, Key could use extra help to remain on the good side of the paranormal world. Working with Ian and his strays was the perfect solution for this.

Especially since I couldn’t afford a second hire for my shop, and, to be truthful, I wasn’t sure putting a penniless, innocent young woman within Bagley’s reach was the best thing to do. Sure, Key had lied to me in an effort to get to my supposed dark magic items, but she’d had good intentions. She was a lovely, shiny egg easily washed, not a rotten one.

And speaking of rotten eggs…

“Have you talked to Hutton?” I asked.

“No.”

The speed and assurance in Ian’s reply didn’t give me much hope for further brotherly reconciliation, but one had to try. “Maybe you should check on him?”

“Why?”

“There might’ve been repercussions from the alpha challenge. What if he’s in trouble?”

“I’m sure you’ll tell me if he is,” he said wryly.

I hated it when he made sense. Not that it’d stop me. I checked our surroundings in case some sort of new paranormal creature had teleported onto the empty lawn around us and lowered my voice. “At some point in the future, we’ll have to do the alpha power transfusion again. Your magic is powerful, but it won’t last forever.”

Ian looked even less impressed. “Hutton got my blood, my magic, and my help in the challenge. I’ll keep my words.”

Dealing with this man was like moving boulders sometimes. “One day.”

He leaned down until our noses were almost touching. “One day?”

I poked his chest. “One day you’ll see the light and admit you care more than you show.”

“Show like this?” He gave me a fast peck on the lips.

Loud whistling made me jump back. Over by the garage, Alex was making kissy gestures while Key dragged him into the workshop. Fluffy, guessing it was a wonderful new game, barked and ran around us. Even Rufus woofed from the porch.

Flustered, I pushed Ian toward the house. “Let’s go inside. I have something to show you.” And, Mother Earth, was I happy Alex hadn’t heard that one, or I’d never hear the end of it.

“Oh?” Luckily for me, Ian sounded genuinely curious and not in the least teasing. He allowed me to turn him around and we stepped onto the porch and inside the house.

Once out of prying eyes, I took my phone, brought up the photos I had taken of the envelope and the note, and showed them to Ian. He took the phone and studied the screen, then lifted his eyebrows in question.

“I went to visit Sonia this morning with Dru, and when we came back, someone had slipped that note under my door.” Reaching over, I swiped to the photo of the note itself. “Read it.”

I watched his eyes follow the writing, then my brain did a record scratch.

Wait, it screeched suddenly. Did Ian just admit he cares for me more than he shows?

What had been the words? I’d said, You care more than you show, and then he’d kissed me and said?—

Ian put the phone back in my hands, and I stared at it like it was an alien object from planet What Just Happened.

“You think they mean Bagley’s,” he said.

With an effort of will, I refocused on the problem at hand. The note. Bagley’s spellbook of dark magic horrors. “Yes. It has to be.” I still hadn’t told him about Key’s dark magic family or the fact I was in possession of her grandmother’s spellbook. I felt a twinge of guilt at the thought, but some things needed to stay private. I didn’t believe for a second Key was a danger to him or the strays, and I didn’t want to share her secrets without her permission.

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