Page 137 of Home to the Hollow

“Detective Santos is new. He transferred into the Hollow from the city a month ago. He spends a lot of time being run around by the founding families,” I offer, grateful to have the translation.

“That’s shite!”

Prez almost chokes on his tea, and I grin. His whole ‘proper tea’ routine was in full force this morning when he figured out Saoirse grew up near to Swallowtail. He rarely sees anyone from his corner of the world, and it sent him into English butler mode. “It is, Saoirse. And I worry about magpie being here with no one close enough to arrive.”

Jolene gives him a dirty look and I decide to intervene. “What if the person breaks in? If the animals are immobilized, you’d be at their mercy.”

The colorful girl bursts out laughing, clutching her waist as she works her way to tears. Prez and I look at one another and then at Jolene, who gives us a small grin.

Did I say something wrong? What the hell is with this response?

“Aye, Peanut. Is your stash in bits or have ye set it up like usual?” Saoirse finally asks.

Sugarplum shakes her head, looking rueful. “I want to clean out the basement and set it up there. I haven’t gotten that far yet.”

“Grand. Normal cabinet in the drawing, then?”

Jolene nods at her, standing to clear the dishes. I jump up to help her, tossing Prez a rag to wipe down the counter. Our girl doesn’t expound while her shamrock princess friend is gone, but when Saoirse returns, she’s got a large bag slung over her shoulder and a shit-eating grin.

“C’mere to me, boys. I need you to gather those soda cartons and take them out to the back fence posts. Put one on each pole and don’t open them. It won’t make a bloody difference.”

“Seer, that’s wasteful!” Jolene scolds, her brows furrowing.

“I’ll buy you new ones when we go out to get the messages, Peanut. You can show them the Peanut I remember from our travels. I’ll bet they don’t even realize why you moved back to this Carson McCullers fever dream.”

Prez and I exchange looks, but I pick up the two twelve packs and when she nods, we head out to do as instructed. The cats and the bestie follow us and I laugh when my avian companion grumbles. Thishasto be the biggest concession he’ll make—he absolutely despises cats and now he’s going to have to get over that hang-up.

I shouldn’t feel smug, but I do. I’ve told him before that he should conquer that little quirk of his.

Once we reach the back edge of Jolene’s property, I raise my hand to my eyes and see her stepping out of the house. She’s staring out into the yard pensively when the giant eagle swoops down nearby, perching on her smoker. My lips curve when I realize she’s talking to it—for someone who isn’t one of my kind, Sugarplum talks to animals as if they understand every word she says.

Oddly, they respond as if they do as well.

Pondering that as the bird screeches at her, I watch our girl fiddle with the furniture and unpack her bag. I’m surprised when she pulls out a BAG—big ass gun—and sets up a tripod. Her hands work without her eyes watching as she loads and checks the weapon methodically.

Our girl knows her way around this gun like she knows her own palms. Where did she learn this and why?

Saoirse waves her hand at the lot of us, indicating we should move out of the field of vision. Jekyll and Hyde trot over to stand at my feet and Prez glares at them. That makes the wild-haired girl laugh, but he doesn’t get to respond as shots ring through the air in rapid succession. I count them—twenty-four exactly—and my eyes widen as I realize she’s hit every single can square in the center.

I let out a whoop of excitement, and the cats do the same, their ‘MOW’s echoing over the quiet land. Jolene carefully places her weapon down, clicks on the safety and trudges towards us. I can’t help but beam as Prez walks along the fence, kicking the cans to hear the rattling inside.

“Sugarplum! Where in the name of Paula Deen did you learn to dothat?”

As her bestie continues to giggle, Jolene finally takes pity on us and explains. “Seer and I spent three months on a project in Ireland for a client we can’t discuss. We stayed in Dublin and Belfast—they’re only two hours apart on the M1. Being the butterflies we were, we made… friends in Belfast. These friends decided I should learn how to defend myself sniper-style. I never got why, because starting with a handgun would have been a LOT easier, but we didn’t argue. I’ve been sharpening my skills ever since.”

My partner arches his brow in surprise, but I’m sure he’s tucking that knowledge away for later. “Well, magpie, I suppose if you need to take a target out from a distance, you’re covered, but what if it’s close combat?”

“Bloody hell, Peanut. Tell the boys you spent the last couple years training for the F.B.I. interview an’ be done with it! I’ve seen ye gut a back-alley pox when he tried actin’ the maggot. Ye can protect yer own arse.”

The girl in question looks at us nervously and I can tell she’s worried that we’ll object. I put a hand on my chest and wink at her. “That puts my heart at ease, sugarplum. I worried that livin’ this far off the town was going to be dangerous for you. I’ve never heard of people sensing they’re being watched like you described—not here in the Hollow, at least.”

When Presley nods, she lets out a long sigh. “I’ll still set up a system. I’d like to catch the asshole in question snooping about and have a friendly conversation about why the hell he or she is trying to give me a coronary. Maybe I’ll let Eurayle do the restraints. Looks like my eagle friend could hold on tight.”

“And break the bones, but who’s worried?” He walks over and wraps his arms around me, kissing my temple.

I hold my hand out, pulling her onto my other side. “Sugarplum, I think we should leave this as a warning for the moment. We’ll go in and put your big ass gun in its place, and then Prez and I will go home to give you two time to catch up.”

Jolene nods when her friend claps with glee. “She can help me with the basement. It would be better if I can move the weapon storage to a more appropriate place. The living room is NOT my preferred location.”

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