Page 159 of Shades of Silver City

“Wouldn’t Archer be the best man for High Chancellor?” I ask instead.

Godric rolls his eyes and chuckles. I love giving him a hard time, considering he gives Archer such a hard time.

“Oh yeah,” she agrees. “I tell him that all the time. He basically runs the city as it is. It would be the same job but in a more legitimate capacity. He’d wield power to make change from beyond the city shadows.”

“See?” I say, tilting my head to the side to give my boyfriend a gentle kiss. “We all agree.”

He hoists me off his lap and sets me gently down beside him. His hand comes to rest naturally on my thigh. “I don’t know that I’d get the backing I need.”

“Archer,” I mutter. “Glamour.”

Pixel chuckles.

“I’d want to win the fair way,” he says. “A legitimate challenge. With the backing of the Ministries and the cityfolk.”

“So you have thought about it,” I tease.

Before he can respond, the front door creaks open. I cringe at the loud noise that echoes through the lobby. That door could use some grease.

Remy slowly steps in, his face stern and unsure. He scans the room, his gaze landing on Godric before shifting to Archer, who stands.

“You again, asshole,” Remy says.

“Remy,” Archer says. “Language in front of the ladies.”

“Finally got a wife?”

Archer looks at me and smirks. “Something like that.”

Wanting to give them some space to talk, I cross the room to where the resident hacker sits. The red hair she had when I met her has faded into a strawberry blonde, and jagged bangs skim across the top of her glasses.

“Hey, Pixel,” I say softly, not wanting to disturb her.

She turns, curiosity burning brightly in her eyes. “What’s up, T?”

I lower my voice even further so the men can’t hear. “Can you…hack bank accounts?”

She squints. “Depends.”

“Not to withdraw anything,” I quickly add. “But to…deposit?”

“Yeah, but why go through all the trouble of hacking for that? It might be quicker and easier to do it the old-fashioned way.”

I bite my bottom lip, thinking of Mellie. The woman I considered a friend for so many years. A woman who deserves a better life than the one she’s living. A woman whose son deserves to grow up strong and healthy.

But sadly, a woman who will never be my friend again. That door closed when she chose to turn me in.

“I, uh, want it to be anonymous,” I say through the knot in my throat.

Pixel mhmms her understanding. “I’ll need their name and the amount of money you’d like to transfer.”

I rattle off Mellie’s information, then say, “All of it. Everything Archer’s paid me.” I tell her the number and give her my bank account information.

Pixel freezes. She glances up at me. “You sure?”

Archer has been paying me the amount he promised, every week since the day we met, despite us being a couple. I told him I didn’t want his money, but he swore he was only paying me for the services I provide the Nightcrawlers. Since I’m one of them now.

I nod. “She needs it more than I do.”

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