Page 3 of The Fairy Hunter
I shake my head. “None of this is your fault.”
“It’s not yours either.”
I look up at him, my heart racing. “Then why does it feel like it?”
He smiles and pushes my hair back from my face. “Because you have a soft heart under all that leather and steel. It’s one of the many reasons I fell in love with you.”
“I have to figure this out,” I tell him. “And I can’t walk away until I do.”
“I know.”
“She’d do the same for me.”
He nods. “Tamara was a good friend, and you have every right to avenge her death and stomp on whatever twisted game this fairy is playing. Just… be careful. And when you’re done, you and I are going to enjoy our retirement. Together. Maybe… we could travel?”
I laugh. “You don’t like traveling.”
He gives his fake offended look. “Me? Mr. Exciting?”
My aching heart eases a little. My husband has always liked routine. He eats the same thing every day for lunch. He gets up at the same time every day. And while those are things I love about him, I also have often wished for a little more excitement. I think part of me thought when he was done working, we’d finally get to take all the adventures we couldn’t with a bunch of young kids in tow.
“I’d really love that, but it’s okay if that isn’t your thing…”
He leans down and kisses me gently. “I’m going to take care of some stock stuff… so that I don’t have to focus on it anymore, and then I’m going to start researching things. Maybe an RV?”
I grin. “Yes! Absolutely!”
He kisses me again. “Okay, then that’s our new plan.”
My grin falls away. “After I hunt this fairy.”
He squeezes my hand. “Then go get it done, sweetheart. We have other things to do after this. Good things.”
And I know what he’s not saying; he expects me to be careful. To come back from this mission. Because even though humans think fairies are cute little creatures with wings, supernaturals know better.
This might be the most dangerous mission I’ve ever gone on.
THREE
Luna
Big Fat Earl’s is busy for a weeknight. Olivia and I are seated in a booth in one corner, staring out at the room in silence. This is mostly a shifter bar, but there are fewer of them tonight, probably after the alpha cracked down on them for nearly killing each other. He didn’t care if spirits were working his people up or not, he didn’t allow that kind of crap, and I suspect all of them will be in the dog house for a while.
Still, there are a few shifters, some human bikers, a few warlocks, and witches. Basically, it’s like any other night.
Except that we’re here meeting some jerk fairy who killed our friend and is now pretending to be her.
Olivia and I each have a beer, but we’re waiting to order food until the fairy shows up. And, sure enough, she appears in the doorway.
Seeing her is like a punch to the gut. Flashes roll through my mind of seeing Tamara murdered against the door leading to our vault, soaked in blood, left for days or weeks. It collides with the woman I see now. She wears all black, like always, and is still tall and thin, even though her model days are over. Her white hair is left loose around her shoulders, and her big, black-rimmed glasses make her eyes seem slightly bigger as her gaze swings over the room until it focuses on us. Then she smiles and waves, before heading toward us.
Tamara, but not Tamara.
This fairy needs to die.
“I want to kill it right now,” Olivia hisses.
I feel the same way, but I need to get Olivia focused on our plan, not her hatred. “That won’t help her. That won’t avenge her. We need to be smart,” I respond, as quietly as I can. “Now, pull it together!”
