“Ah, stop yer moaning. The standoff would have been even tenser if Austin Steele had thought Jessie was in any real danger—”

“Are you sure he didn’t? I saw the gargoyle alpha from the very high cliff. He looked huge compared to the others.”

“The whole host of them were standing there, Jessie off to the side. If Austin Steele had thought they were a threat, he would’ve approached from behind and barreled through them all, taking on the largest last. Otherwise the rest would have piled on him while he tangled up with the big ’un. Honestly, Edgar, how have ye lasted this long?”

“Hiding in holes and shadows, mostly. People seem to forget about me pretty easily…”

She scratched her nose, then knocked on Earl’s head. It was nice when he was quiet, but it was also nice when he served her beer and snacks. Although, when he came to and realized she’d bled all over the rug, plus pulled off the trick with the doilies and potted plants, he’d probably need a cooling-off period.

She reached down and checked the leg wound, a nasty affair. The mage who’d hit her had attacked with some sort of healing-resistant spell. She’d leaked out her leg all the way back to the house. Thankfully, as soon as she touched down onto the property, Ivy House had patched her right up. It still hurt like a Texan’s butthole after a chili contest, but the blood had stopped pouring. She’d mend.

She’d mend, and she’d hold a grudge.

Someone had sent those clowns after them, and that someone was going to die slowly and painfully. She’d make sure of it.

“Well, ye can believe me when I say Austin Steele knew they were no threat. Still, I half thought he was gonna launch himself at that big el’ gargoyle. He wanted to, I could see that. He wanted to give that gargoyle a nice el’ slap,” she said, thinking back with a grin. She shivered. That had been a nice little treat, all that hostility. Too bad the pain of her wound had blocked out the rush of adrenaline.

“Why do that if he knew there was no threat?”

Niamh knocked on Earl’s head again. She really did want a beer. Or a cuppa with a biscuit. She hated sitting around empty-handed. It wasn’t right.

“Because they are two alphas, that’s why.” She grinned. “They are two alphas who can each handle a large territory without blinking, and this is a very small town.”

“Oh. Yes, that is a problem. Austin Steele doesn’t like competition.”

“It’s not competition he’s worried about, it’s insubordination. And this other guy won’t like that someone is trying to make him submit, especially someone that doesn’t hold the actual title of alpha.” She rubbed her hands together. “And here I wanted to retire before Jessie came along.”

“This is the danger Jessie felt coming.”

“Must be. Those two together will be trouble, ye mark my words. Very astute, our Jessie. Very emotionally in tune. It’s probably because she’s a mother. Mothers seem to sense things normal people don’t. If it wouldn’t have meant looking after a carpet shark, I would’ve had a bebe just to get the extra powers.”

“I don’t know that they are exactly powers…”

“A little extra patience for dealing with you and Mr. Tom could certainly be counted as a power…”

“Yes, I see what you mean.”

A presence interrupted the plane of Ivy House, immediately morphing into the feeling of Jessie and Austin Steele.

“Speak of the devil and the devil doth appear,” Niamh murmured, wincing as she stood from her chair. “Come on, Edgar, let’s go watch the fireworks.”

The front door swung open as Jessie neared, Ivy House welcoming its mistress home. Her hair formed a fuzzy halo around her head, and her tired eyes drooped. A smudge of dirt darkened her rosy complexion, and her disheveled clothes revealed a little more side boob than she probably realized.

“Hey,” she said when she saw Niamh. Glancing around the empty front entranceway, she added, “Where is everyone? Where’s Cedric?”

Jessie had the ability to feel everyone in the house, but she was clearly too exhausted to bother.

“In one of the sitting rooms. I didn’t pass any remarks about which they chose.” Niamh looked behind her at Edgar, wondering if he’d paid any more attention to the strangers.

He shrugged. “They’re intimidating. I figured I’d make myself scarce.”

“Excellent protection of the house, Edgar, yes,” Niamh said, nodding as she turned back. “It’s well sorted with you around.”

“What did you guys do with the body?” Jessie asked quietly. Austin Steele stood at her back, looking with hard eyes deeper into the house. “Alek’s body?”

“Oh, that.” She glanced back at Edgar again. Grounds burials were his department.

“I thought it best to drop him in the incinerator,” Edgar replied, entwining his fingers. “If someday someone digs up the grounds of Ivy House, we don’t want them to find a supernatural body. It would raise questions.”

A crease formed in Jessie’s brow. “How would they even know? The wings? Because, I mean…we buried a ton of supernatural bodies a couple months ago after that battle…”

Edgar leaned forward a little bit, his eyebrows crawling up toward his hairline. “Oh yes. I forgot about those. Well…” He hesitated, clearly searching his pea-sized intellect for another, more believable, excuse.

Niamh saved him the trouble. “He got lazy and was too afraid to ask the gargoyles to dig a grave.” She waved it away.

“Yes. That’s the way of it. But don’t worry, Jessie, no one will miss him.” Edgar crossed the room to stand just beside Niamh. “He wasn’t all that bright and he wasn’t a great flier. Why your magic called someone with training wheels, we’ll never know, huh?” He smiled, his teeth still stained red.

Jessie’s mouth fell open and she pointed at him. “Oh my God, Edgar, did you drink from him before you disposed of him?”

Edgar’s mouth snapped shut.

“Waste not, want not,” Niamh said. “Don’t worry about Cedric, Jessie—he and Alek weren’t close. They were both summoned, sure, probably because you were just thinking about flying and not someone useful in other things, but they were more associates than friends. They both came here knowing the risks. Besides, he’s found…new friends.”

Austin Steele’s cobalt gaze slid to Niamh, wild and vicious and sending chills down her spine.

She’d be damned if she took a step back—

Her back bumped into Edgar, who’d retreated quickly, neither fighting his fear nor attempting to hide it.

Bollocks!

Jessie nodded, looking left. “What’s the story with Mr. Tom? Is he—”

The sound of boulders rolling drifted to Niamh. Porcelain crashed to the ground.

She couldn’t help a smile.

“That insufferable woman. She did this, I know it,” Mr. Tom muttered.

The chuckles were unavoidable.

“Yes, miss. Coming! Coming, miss.”

Niamh cleared out of the way as Earl emerged from the room, stiff, wincing, a doily on his head, and one wing still nearly torn in two.

“Oh no, Mr. Tom, are you okay?” Jessie reached out to him, compassion soaking through her eyes and a pout pushing out her lips. “You should be stone, right? Doesn’t that help you heal?”

“I am completely fine.” He jolted forward, a lot of effort for one step. “It’s perfectly all right. You need something to take the edge off, and I need to prepare for company. Don’t worry, I will see to it directly. I just need a bottle or so of painkillers, and I’ll be at your service.”

A man with a compact frame and short, spiky, pink-and-blue-dyed hair stepped out of the room across the way.

“Oh. Hi.” Jessie stepped forward with her hand outstretched. “I’m Jessie. Welcome. Thank you for helping earlier. You guys came just in the nick of time.”

“Thank us?” he said with a huge grin. “No, thank you! We’re honored you called us.” He motioned back at the room. “We’ve been waiting for you.” He looked at Austin Steele, his eyes not losing their sparkle. “Hey, bro.” He bowed, the movement casual but poignant. He was registering Austin’s superior status as the dominant male.

Austin Steele nodded at the pink-haired man, his posture large and imposing, but then turned slightly toward Jessie and grazed his hand across the small of her back. “Would you mind if I used your restroom?”

Niamh barely stopped herself from grinning and nodding in approval. Austin Steele had accepted the gargoyle’s acknowledgment of his status and rank, and then passed it on to the holder of the establishment. By asking about “her” bathroom, he’d made it clear that this house was Jessie’s, they were there with her permission, and he was just a player in her game.

They’d been incredibly lucky that Austin Steele had been tricked into coming on board, no matter his bellyaching about getting the magic. So few truly powerful people were willing to share their status and prestige.

“Sure, of course,” Jessie said, absently patting his chest, the house sweats much too small for his powerful frame. Mr. Tom needed to up his ordering game.

Austin Steele left, and Earl stepped up beside Jessie, his arms rigid at his sides in a way that spoke of his incredible pain. Niamh had to hand it to him for holding it together.

“Oh, excuse me. Where are my manners.” Jessie pouted at Mr. Tom again, like she would’ve an injured child. She rubbed his arm. “This is Mr. Tom. He’s the caretaker—”

Edgar jabbed Niamh’s side with a claw, making her jump. The magic of this place had restored much of the vampire’s strength and vigor, but maybe the years of being TOTF (too old to function) had gotten to him—he constantly forgot to retract claws and fangs after feeding.

He pointed at Earl’s wing as Jessie rambled on.