Dark Choices - I. T. Lucas Page 0,93

going over the contracts by then. For the first time, Kian is going to get subpar work from me.”

“Good. Maybe he’ll fire you, and our problem will be solved.”

Edna affected a scowl, but her lips twitched with a suppressed smile. “Go already, so I can do my work and be done with it by lunchtime.” She gave him a gentle shove and went inside.

He watched her through the glass door as she walked toward the staircase. It was a shame that she loved her work. Things would have been easier if she didn’t and had no qualms about leaving it.

Except, it wasn’t just about her job and her position on the council. Edna loved her clan, and even though she wasn’t very social, she would hate to leave.

He would hate parting with his friends as well, especially Kalugal, but if he could, Rufsur would do it in a heartbeat to have a life with Edna.

Taking another look at Atzil and Ruvon, he decided not to join them. Atzil was all smiles as he flirted with a dark-haired beauty, and Ruvon was having an animated discussion with a tiny blonde.

He could join Theo, who was in charge of keeping an eye on those two, but Rufsur decided to go back to the house. Perhaps Kalugal had had time to rethink his position on the federation idea.

When he got to the fence, Rufsur was surprised to see the gate closed, but when he tried the handle, it buzzed and then opened. Lifting his head, he smiled at the security camera and waved.

It was probably closed because of the Chinese crews working on phase three of the village, and not to keep the clan safe from their five guests. Still, having it there was an eyesore, and it detracted from the serene atmosphere of the community.

Hell, it made it feel like jail instead of refuge.

If a permanent solution required a fence, they would need to rethink the style of it. A double chain-link barrier with barb wire on top and security cameras mounted on its posts wouldn’t cut it.

The question was, what would?

A moat? A river?

Theoretically, it was possible, but to make it insurmountable for immortals, it would need to be damn big.

Rufsur chuckled. Kalugal would love the idea of building a castle for himself and his men, with a moat and a drawbridge to separate it from the rest of the village.

Jay waved at him as he climbed the steps to the front porch. “Your buddies and Theo are at the café.”

“I know. I just came back from there. Did Kalugal and Jacki go anywhere this morning?”

Jay shook his head and lifted a plate. “Jacki brought out breakfast for me even though I told her that I had already eaten. Can you take this back inside?”

“Sure.” Rufsur took it. “Can I get you something to drink?”

“No, thanks. I’m good.”

The two daytime Guardians had become good friends by now. The night shift duo was more reserved, but Rufsur was warming up to them as well, which proved that if he moved into the village, making new friends wouldn’t be a problem.

Regrettably, he couldn’t.

Well, that wasn’t entirely true. He could assign Phinas the job of watching Kalugal. The guy was capable, but he and Kalugal weren’t as close, so he might not be as effective as Rufsur.

Except, Kalugal had already proven that their friendship didn’t mean much to him when it stood in the way of his plans. When he’d conducted his test on Jacki, he hadn’t shared his plan to do that with Rufsur. And what was even more troubling, Kalugal had had no qualms about freezing him in place when he’d tried to help her.

69

Eleanor

Eleanor parked her car two streets over from the mansion and walked towards it while checking out the neighborhood houses on her way.

She was dressed in a maid’s uniform, or rather an outfit that resembled one, and carried two more disguises in her large fabric tote. The thing was reversible, so she could flip it inside out, and it would look like a different bag.

With her slim build and height, Eleanor could pass for a man, and one of her disguises was a technician’s uniform. Well, it wasn’t really a uniform, just a pair of dark blue pants which would fit right in with the light blue button-down shirt that was part of the maid’s outfit. All she would have to do was to exchange the ugly skirt that was the same color as the shirt for the