More Monsters, More Mayhem (Big Easy Bounty Hunter Book 5), page 15
“Good morning. You were sleeping so soundly I didn’t want to wake you, but I also didn’t want you to wake up thinking I was some player who would leave without saying goodbye. I felt a coffee in bed would earn me some goodwill, so I slipped downstairs and got you one. It’s the least I can do since I have to run out so soon.”
“What time is it?”
“Almost nine. If you want to go back to sleep, I understand. Like I said, I didn’t want to leave without saying goodbye.”
Several emotions ran through her, the strongest being shock that her internal alarm failed to wake her at six, and more importantly, that she’d let her guard down so far she’d slept through Steven leaving. She made every effort to keep her true identity secret from almost everyone, but a person in her line of work couldn’t afford that level of carelessness, ever.
“Thank you.”
She rolled over and blushed from her chest to the top of her head when the covers shifted, and she saw where Steven’s eyes were focused.
“Goddess, you’re beautiful,” Steven murmured reverently.
Olyesa felt a thrill run through her but quickly tamped it down. She couldn’t afford to lose her situational awareness this badly again with everything at stake on this job. It could prove a fatal mistake.
“Thank you. You keep saying that,” she added with a giggle.
Goddess, Olyesa, get yourself together. You can’t fall for someone you might have to kill.
Steven’s boyish grin sent that errant thought from her mind, and she reached out and caressed his face.
“What’s so important you have to do it on a Saturday morning? I figured everyone here would be sleeping off the effects of a New Orleans Friday night until noon.”
“It’s a family matter, and I missed the message my friend sent last night while we were, um, busy. She’s headed out of town today, so this morning is the only time we can meet.”
“That’s a shame.” She took a sip of coffee and looked at him over the rim of her cup. “If you didn’t have to go, we could find something much more fun to do.” She trailed a hand from her neck to her navel.
“Don’t tempt me. Wild horses couldn’t tear me away if it weren’t crucial I take this meeting.”
“I understand.” She pouted, playing out the charade to see how the wizard would react.
“Can I call you later?”
“You aren’t just saying that to get my hopes up, are you?”
He placed both hands over his heart and took on a stricken countenance. ”You wound me. Never!”
Another giggle bubbled out of its own volition. Olyesa shook her head and rattled off a number for one of several burner phones she’d purchased for this operation.
“I’ll call you as soon as I’m free.” Steven looked at his watch and frowned. “I really have to go.”
He leaned down and kissed her before he bolted out the door. Olyesa raised a hand and placed two fingers on the spot where the warmth from the kiss still lingered.
She sat like that for several minutes as she pondered what it was about the man who had her breaking all her most sacred rules. She shook herself and reached for the phone on the nightstand.
She dialed a number from memory, and when the call connected, she reported, “He’s on the move,”
That piece of business complete, she snuggled back under the covers and replayed the previous night's events through her mind.
After his less-than-warm welcome at the club, she decided to test Steven and see what information she could get from him about the job. The ease with which he combined bits of truth with total lies and how convincing he made it sound raised her opinion of him by several levels.
She carefully pressed him for information until he’d told her that his cousin Tommy was a skilled tracker his mother had pressured into helping look for his missing sister. From that point, he told her how the sister had fled an arranged marriage, mentioning the intended groom was a cruel bastard from an influential family and that he didn’t blame her.
When she pressed him for additional information, he supplied a fictitious family name and continued to weave a tale that believably skirted the truth. If she hadn’t already known, she would never have guessed the truth of why he was here.
What surprised her the most about the night was when she invited him to her room for a late-night drink. She was pleased from an operational standpoint that he showed no reaction when she brought him to the same hotel he was staying in.
Considering where that led, she could see herself exploring something long-term with the young man in another life. Unfortunately, that was not an option given their current circumstances.
Steven rushed out of the hotel and practically ran to Conti Street to meet his contact. He slowed as he approached the intimate restaurant where his friend wanted to meet and stepped through the door at the exact time they had agreed.
“Steven, over here,” a female called over the din of customers and kitchen noise.
He looked around until he spotted a hand waving from the back corner. He went over and was rocked when the tiny brunette slammed into him and wrapped him in a crushing hug.
“Steven, it’s so good to see you. Why didn’t you call and tell me you were coming? I could have begged off my cousin’s boorish wedding if I'd known. I mean, whoever came up with the idea of themed weddings in the first place? The period dress she wants me to wear from the twenties looks terrible with my figure.”
Steven extricated himself from the hug when she finally stopped for a breath and smiled. “Hi, Mindy. Good to see you.”
“Sit down. I’ve already ordered mimosas for us. I’m going to need mass amounts of alcohol to get through today as it is.”
“You haven’t changed a bit. Still going a hundred miles an hour at everything you do. What have you been doing with yourself?”
“A trip to Milan for shopping, catching a Broadway show, a girls’ weekend in Paris, you know. Spending Daddy's money. It’s what I do best.”
“Can’t argue that.” Steven laughed.
“What brings you here? Without giving me advance notice, you naughty boy.”
“Family business. Have you heard anything from Natalia?”
The woman’s face went cold for a split second. “Not in several months, why?”
“She’s supposed to be here living with some wizard.”
“I thought she was all set to marry that ass Randall Blackwell. One of those old-fashioned arranged things if I heard correctly. If Daddy ever tried that, money or not, I’d run so far they’d never find me.”
“That’s kind of what she did. She’s supposedly involved with some type of lawman or something.”
“Sorry, can’t help you. If I see her, I’ll tell her you’re looking.”
“You’ve lived here all your life, right? Maybe you know the guy. I heard he’s from around here.”
“Maybe. Do you know his name?”
“Matt Bordelon.”
Mindy scrunched her face for a few beats. “There were some Bordelons here. I’ve never met them and don’t know if they still are. If it's the family I’m thinking of, most died before I was born.”
“Well, it was worth trying.” Steven sighed.
“I wish I could help more. If I see Natalia, I’ll tell her you’re worried about her.”
“Thank you. I’d appreciate that. She’s my sister, and I want to know she’s okay.”
Mindy looked at her watch. “Steven, I hate to cut this short, but I'll be late if I don’t get on the road. Call me before you come to town next time. I’ll take you to some places the tourists don’t know about. I promise you’ll have a good time.”
Steven stood, and Mindy wrapped him in another bone-crushing hug.
“I’ve missed you, Steven. Seriously, call me so we can make time to catch up.”
“I will. It was great to see you.”
“You too.”
He turned for the door and stopped when she called, “Steven, be careful asking too many questions about people here. You’re an outsider, and after that unpleasant stuff with the Silver Griffins, folks here are suspicious of anyone they don’t know. Somebody could take it wrong, and I’d hate for you to get hurt.”
“Thanks, Mindy. I don’t want any trouble.”
Once Steven was out of sight, Mindy pulled out her phone and scrolled until she found the number she wanted.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Miss Celine. It’s Mindy Bellefontaine. How are you?”
“I’m fine, Mindy. How are you? Is everything okay with your mama?”
“Oh, yes, ma'am. She’s over in Biloxi for my cousin Bethany’s wedding today. I imagine she’ll have a half-dozen potential husbands lined up for me by the time I get there.”
“That sounds like Brigitte.”
“The reason I’m calling today is about Matt.”
“Sorry, Mindy. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but Matt is off the market.”
“Oh, lordy no. If my mama even thought I had Matt in my sights, she’d be over at your house drawing up a contract today. I’m having way too much fun spending Daddy’s money to settle down now.”
Celine laughed. “Well, okay, then. What do you need with Matt?”
“That girl he’s seeing. Well, I just saw her brother, and he’s asking about Matt and her. I thought he should know. Steven isn’t as bad as his brother, but he’s still a Greymont.”
“Thank you, Mindy. I’ll let Matt know. Tell your mother I said hello and congratulate Bethany for me.”
“Will do, ma'am. Have a good day. Bye.”
Celine frowned when the call disconnected. She thought for a moment, then dialed.
“Celine?”
“Hello, Marie. Natalia’s brother is in town asking questions.”
“Oui, I have the situation in hand.”
“You what? You knew and didn’t tell me?”
“I don’t want the boy dead yet. I knew if you found out there was a potential threat to Matthew, you would not take it well. Trust me. He doesn’t make a move I don’t know about.”
“Marie, I don’t expect you to tell me everything going on. I don’t want to know most of it anyway, but when my family is involved, I expect—no, dammit, I demand to know. Does Matt know?”
“Non. With everything going on with Natalia, the last thing we need is for him to decide the best defense is to go on the offensive. There are things in motion that an open war between magical groups could disrupt. I promise you Matt is safe. Steven Greymont poses no threat to anyone.”
“I appreciate that you believe it, but we both know things happen. You of all people know that. I can’t believe you withheld information like this. We will discuss this further.”
Celine disconnected the call and hurled the phone across the room. “That woman has to be the most infuriating witch I know.” She stomped across the room and retrieved the phone. She glared at it for a moment, then dialed. “Julien, you won’t believe the shit Marie just pulled.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Garden District, New Orleans, Louisiana
“Dammit, watch where you point that thing,” Halaeg grumbled as Geoffrey frantically waved his wand, trying to stem the flow of water filling the tunnel.
“If you would quit hitting water every two feet, I wouldn’t have to.”
“With this high water table, you’re lucky I can get that far. There’s a reason they put the dead in those above-ground graves here.”
The wet and mud-covered pair glared at each other for a moment until Gimbly spoke up. “Geoffrey, you missed a spot. Better get that, or we’re gonna be swimming out of this one too.”
Geoffrey looked down and saw the muddy water rising. He screamed in frustration and started the incantation to contain it again.
“Think this will work?” Gimbly whispered to Halaeg.
“Not a chance in hell. But the dummy didn’t want to listen when I told him what I needed for any chance of this lamebrained plan to work.”
The trio had been trying to dig a tunnel from the storm drains for two days. After almost drowning when the first collapsed, they tried combining Halaeg’s and Geoffrey’s different magics to shore up the walls enough to keep the seeping water manageable. So far, the results were less than optimal.
Halaeg had told Geoffrey he needed a charm used by dwarves on Oriceran to block rivers and streams, but when he told him the cost, Geoffrey refused to consider it. Halaeg continued to refine the few spells he knew that dealt with water, but there was a reason he preferred to mine in mountains instead of near rivers and oceans.
Once Geoffrey had pushed the water back, he sat on a narrow ledge and exhaled loudly. “This is not working.”
“Ya think?” Gimbly quipped.
Geoffrey glared at the mouthy gnome but went no further.
“Could you open a portal for the water to drain through?” Halaeg asked.
“Not one I can maintain for any amount of time. Besides that, I’m not comfortable trying to work portal magic with all the water screwing up my spells. I don’t relish a one-way trip to the World In Between. That would be a distinct possibility if the portal got away from me.”
“Hard pass on that shite,” Halaeg agreed.
“How are we gonna do this job if you can’t get a tunnel close to the house? Not to mention that you don’t know if you can deal with whatever wards we find there any better than you can the ones on the surface.” Gimbly added.
“I suspect the water causing us all this trouble prevented them from extending the wards very far below ground. That’s why we’re trying this insanity to begin with.”
“You’re gonna have to tell Blackwell this won’t work or spring for what I need ta dig in this muck. We’re out of options until you do.” Halaeg leaned against the muddy tunnel wall and crossed his arms.
Geoffrey shook his head. “I’m not telling Winston we can’t do this after I assured him we could. He has someone here to assist us if needed. That person isn’t much better to deal with than Winston is, but I’ll call and see what he recommends.”
“Tell him I need that charm. If I’d had it to begin with, you would be working on those wards at the edge of the property now. Without it, there’s no way we’re getting through this mess in the time we have.”
“Very well. We’ll go back to the house and clean up. Then I’ll make the call. How hard will it be to get one of those charms?”
Halaeg shrugged. “It’s as easy as opening a portal in the right place and having a sack full of gold heavy enough to get the crusty old dwarf who makes them give one up.”
“Let’s get out of this damned muck and mess. I feel fifty pounds heavier with all this mess on me.” Geoffrey indicated the front of his muddy clothes.
“About time,” Gimbly agreed.
“What are you griping about, runt? You didn’t even get your pants wet.”
“Moral support. I’m letting you know I recognize your pain even though I’m not feeling it.”
Geoffrey rolled his eyes and grunted, unconvinced. “Sure.”
As he exited the soggy opening, the snickering behind him told him everything he needed to know about his diminutive partner's alleged support.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Garden District, New Orleans, Louisiana
Matt sighed as he pulled into the garage and turned the truck off. Getting everything sorted out on the bounty took longer than expected after the MAS team insisted on buying him lunch after completing all the paperwork from the arrest and bounty. He’d enjoyed the time with them more than expected, but the building supply store was closing when he returned.
Luckily, the manager took pity on him and unlocked the door. Unluckily, they only had six pieces of glass the size he needed to repair the damage at Wizard’s Rest. The salesman assured him the other pieces would be ready Monday afternoon after Matt paid extra for a rush order.
The stunned look on the man's face when Matt opened a portal to the house and levitated the glass onto the porch was worth every extra penny.
Ramy snapped him out of his reverie. “You know that guy hanging out at the edge of the property?”
Matt’s head snapped up, and he shook his head. “Looks kinda familiar, but I can’t place him.”
“Want me to dust him?”
“Nah, let’s see what he wants. He might be a new neighbor I don’t know or somethin’.”
“Big fecker, ain’t he?”
“Yeah. I feel like I should recognize him, but I’m comin’ up blank.” Matt approached the big man. “How ya doin’?”
“Doin’ good, Matt. Is Natalia around? I got somethin’ to tell her.”
“Tommy?”
“Yeah. Aw, hell. I forgot you ain’t seen me since Jordan made me clean my act up.”
“Jordan?”
“Yeah, cute little brunette half-witch. You and Nat saved her friends from that crap down south.”
“Yeah, I remember her. Works at da bank now.”
“That’s her. We met that night, and I stuck around after. Got a job bouncin’ at Angels and Demons now and ain’t really interested in headin’ back. Nice not to have to deal with family shit. Well, until now, anyway. That’s why I need to see Natalia.”
“Why didn’t you call?”
“Trashed my phone. One day, I was clownin’ around with Jordan, and she pushed me off the pier. That’s when I found out Pontchartrain was full of salt water. No amount of magic can revive a phone after a dip in that.”
“Brackish.”
“What’s that?”
“Mix of salt and fresh water. Brackish or brack water’s what we call it ’round here.”
“Don’t matter what you call it. It did a number on that ole phone. I had to get a new one and didn’t have those numbers saved.” Tommy chuckled. “So. Is Natalia around? I gotta get to work in a bit and I been hangin’ out here waitin’ on somebody to notice me for over an hour.”
“Why didn’t you go knock?”
“After the last time I went on your property uninvited? Hell naw. Besides, I can make out some of the wards you got on this place. I kinda like my life now and want ta keep livin’ it.”
