Page 47 of Howl for the Gargoyle

And reasonably, I'd know that all along. MSA reminded those of us that worked that we had the same safety measures and ability to tailor our work as our clients did their appointments. But I'd come in to be tossed around and wrestled and scratched and tackled, and it'd all been fun. That was my role, and those were my clients. It wasn't until I realized I was anxious about how Hannah as a werewolf might treat me, that I was just as anxious about any of the other clients I worked with.

"I know, and this conversation is more the result of a lightbulb moment than something I've been sitting on, but…I mean, will MSA still need me if I'm not the indestructible guy?" I asked.

Astraeya relaxed back into her chair, offering me a smile. "You're not the first person to change your boundaries or to alter your role with the agency. We'll figure things out. Now, let's start working out what needs fixed."

I sucked in a deep breath, scuffing my palms over my knees, and sat up straight. "Most important first—I don't want my wings pulled."

"You watching porn in my bar?"

I rolled my eyes and spared Elias a brief glare before scrolling past the video. "Don't be weird, of course not."

A tray full of baskets of food slid onto the countertop, filling the space between Khell and me, but I ignored the orc and the appetizers.

"What are you looking at?" Khell asked, craning across the empty stool.

I turned my phone away from his view and glared at him too, especially when I realized he had his giant hands on my basket of fried pickles. I moved to put my phone down when a pair of quick, soft-clawed hands snatched it out of my grip just as I stole back my tray of food.

"Hey!" I barked, reaching for Elias as he dodged out of the way, protected by the bar between us as he helped himself to my phone.

"Pretty," he mused, pausing on an image in the Picsapp account I'd been…perusing. His own wings rustled, and I gripped at the bar top.

"Don't dent that wood," Khell warned me.

"This is your client," Elias said, staring at me.

"No," I said, because…what else could I say? Elias could probably report me to MSA for internet investigating my client because yes, that absolutely was Hannah's profile. "She's…the lead singer of a band I heard on the radio."

"What band?"

"Sorry Darling. They're local," I answered quickly.

"Name one of their songs."

"I missed the song title. You name a song title from a band you've heard once."

Khell's gaze bounced between us, and I realized he'd gotten hold of my onion rings now. I stole those back too.

"This isn't the band's account though," Elias pointed out.

I gaped briefly and then shrugged. "So what? You've never looked at an attractive stranger's social media?"

"Hmm." Elias returned, and I snatched my phone from him as soon as it was within reach. "You're lying," he said, and I opened my mouth to argue, but he cut me off. "But that's less interesting to me than why you're lying."

"Who's lying? Khell, buy your own food, baby."

We all straightened, and I gusted out a relieved breath. Sunny, Khell's human mate, slid onto the stool available between us and pushed my tray of food in my direction. She was petite and rosy, with gold hair, and she tended to bring out the best behavior from Elias, although none of us, including Sunny, knew why.

"Raphael is lying about why he is internet stalking a woman," Elias said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I'm not stalking," I hissed. "I just looked up the band's social media and then hers."

"Oo, what band?" Sunny asked. She was much better at stealthily mooching my food, but she would order refills of the baskets, so I pretended not to notice.

"Sorry Darling," I mumbled.

"Oh, I love them," Sunny said brightly. "They're local," she said to Elias.

"So I hear," he answered, glaring at me with those abyss black eyes of his.

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