“I didn’t mean…” She heaved a sigh. “It is beautiful. I only meant it’s not a very convenient place to get to.”
“That would be the point.” He glanced around. “It is quiet, and everyone in here is human.”
“Except us.”
“Except us,” he agreed. “Regardless, the humans should have no interest in our conversation, should any of them chance to overhear it.”
The waitress returned, and he stopped speaking.
Keira had to hide a smile. Even though he thought no one would have any interest in their discussion, he still wasn’t willing to talk in front of them. Not that she disagreed. They had to be careful.
The waitress set a plate with a burger and fries in front of Caladh and then flipped over two coffee cups on the table. As she poured the coffee, she said, “I’ll be right back with your pie.”
“Thanks,” Keira murmured. She and Caladh remained silent until the waitress deposited a big piece of peach decadence topped by a large scoop of vanilla ice cream in front of Keira and walked away. Keira speared a peach and put it into her mouth, her eyes briefly drifting closed as the sweet fruity goodness hit her taste buds. Then looking at Caladh, she said, “I think I’m about to be invited into the group.”
His dark eyes lit up. “Most excellent! I knew my favorite grifter would get the job done.”
“Favorite former grifter,” she reminded him. He might not appreciate her effort, but she’d been living a quiet, law-abiding life for decades. Just one slip in all that time and he’d taken advantage of it.
“Not all that much former.” He broke open a small container of creamer and poured it into his coffee.
She tightened her lips. By Dagda’s balls, how many times would he be throwing that in her face? As long as it suited his purposes, she acknowledged to herself. Seventy-five years ago she’d found herself on hard times. Partly out of desperation she’d taken up with a charming confidence man. They’d made good money, enough to get them through several lifetimes, but he’d been a con artist through and through and had wanted to do one last job. She’d been so much in love with him, she’d agreed. But it had gone arse over elbows and the mark—the man they’d chosen to swindle—had died. Not by their hands, but certainly because of their actions. He’d returned to his business earlier than expected, and rather than simply calling the police, he’d given chase. Keira and her partner had barely made it across a busy street unscathed. Their mark hadn’t been so lucky. He’d been hit by a car that had tossed him through the air, landing on the pavement where he’d been run over by another vehicle.
To this day she carried the guilt of that like a gaping wound deep in her soul. Caladh had learned about it and now the crafty old seal used that knowledge to his advantage, pressing her into service free of charge.
Not that she disagreed something needed to be done about this rogue group. Caladh had drawn her aside after the last council meet-and-greet of new arrivals to Scottsdale, and told her that he’d become aware of the group’s usage of a small device that opened a mini rift between the dimensions. That was distressing enough. Even more alarming, though, was the fact that by using the small gadget the group had been communicating with prets in the other dimension, and he didn’t know why. That was the reason he’d wanted her to infiltrate the rogue group—to find out who the members were and discover their plans. And, if possible, put a stop to those plans by any means necessary.
In all the jobs she’d pulled, both here and in the other dimension, she’d never killed anyone. When she’d first gotten to Earth, the tribe she was part of had had several skirmishes with other tribes. She’d killed in self-defense or to protect her village. She wasn’t naive enough to think she shouldn’t be prepared to kill now. She only hoped it didn’t come to that.
“So,” Caladh said now, “give me the details.”
She told him about the vampire at the club. “The only thing I can do now is wait for his call.”
“That is fine work, Keira. Truly outstanding.” He pointed at her with his fork, a French fry suspended from its tines. “Remember, though, I am authorizing this investigation on my own. The rest of the council remains unaware of this situation, and until I