I stopped singing, and the banti opened his mouth to screech at me again, only to discover the wonders of the collar. His withering glare was enough to make me not want to sleep for a week.
“You had to sing my favorite Taylor Swift song,” Violet griped. “I’ll never be able to enjoy it again.”
“Sorry, but it was hard to think with all the racket.” I held back my smile. She’d be dancing around in her room to that song by tomorrow night.
She shuddered. “Why didn’t you sing when he showed up, before he got into my head?”
“Because I had no idea if it would work on him, and we could have lost him.” I carried the banti over to my duffle bag and put him into a small animal carrier I’d brought with me. I placed the plastic carrier in my duffle bag and looked over at Violet, who was already stripping out of my pajamas. She threw them at me, and I tucked them in around the carrier to cushion it.
Violet hurriedly dressed in her own clothes while I made sure I had all my gear stowed away. She didn’t speak again until we were in the hallway, walking toward the stairs.
“Despite having the single most horrible experience of my life, I have to say you’re a natural at this bounty hunting thing.”
“I’m sorry I put you through that. What was it like?”
She shivered and rubbed her arms. “You ever have one of those nightmares where you know you’re dreaming, but you can’t wake up? It was like that, only worse. I knew the banti was sitting on me, but I couldn’t move to get him off me. It felt like I was paralyzed.”
Remorse coiled in my stomach. “God, Vi. I never should have asked you to do that.”
“I knew what I was signing up for – sort of.” She smiled for the first time since she’d woken up. “Know that was my one and only banti hunt.”
I pushed open the door to the stairwell. “I’ll make it up to you.”
“Oh, I know you will,” she quipped as we started down the stairs.
We emerged on the first floor and walked over to Amos, who resembled a stone statue. The security guard didn’t move until we were directly in front of him, and even then, only his eyes shifted to take us in.
“Can you let Marjorie Cooke know the job has been finished?” I discreetly unzipped the duffle bag and let him see the angry banti in the pet carrier.
Barely batting an eye at the faerie, he pressed a button on his headset and spoke in a voice almost too low to hear.
Violet and I wandered a few feet away to wait for him to finish the call. We were looking at a large oil painting of Princess Titania when the exit door slid open and two blond male Court faeries dressed in black entered. I barely had time to wonder about their hostile expressions when Violet let out a strangled squeak.
I looked past the two faeries at a third male, and this one I recognized instantly. It was impossible not to when his face had been plastered on almost every magazine cover, billboard, and social media site for over a month.
I took a moment to study Prince Rhys. He already wore the bored, arrogant look of a celebrity who had spent too much time in the limelight. He was handsomer in person, but so was every other Court faerie. I could see nothing extraordinary that set him apart from them.
My gaze moved to the three unsmiling, dark-haired faeries behind him that made up the rest of his personal guard. A sliver of fear went through me when I thought of the Seelie royal guard who had taken my parents. Queen Anwyn’s guard was completely separate from her son’s, but that didn’t mean they weren’t working together.
The prince and his men stopped a dozen feet from Violet and me, and one of the blonds in the lead raked his icy stare over us as if assessing us for threats. His gaze took in my inexpensive attire and narrowed on my duffle bag.
“What is your business here?” he demanded.
His arrogance rankled me, but I kept my expression and voice neutral because I didn’t want any trouble. I’d had enough dealings with Fae royalty and their guards to last me a lifetime.
“I’m here on Agency business,” I said.
The other blond guard moved to block the prince from our view. “You do not look like an agent.”
“That’s because I’m not an agent. I’m a bounty hunter.”
His suspicious gaze shifted to Violet, who stood mutely at my side. “And her?”
“She’s my assistant.” I moved protectively in front of her. The last person I wanted paying any attention to my best friend was a member of the Seelie royal guard.
“I’ve never met a bounty hunter,” said a new voice.
“Your Highness…” protested a voice from the back as the prince shouldered past his guards to stand before me.
His five guards automatically formed a semicircle around him. I swallowed as I faced some of the deadliest faeries in the world, who looked ready to end me if I so much as blinked wrong.
I looked into the blue eyes of the prince and got the strangest feeling I’d met him before, which was absurd. I definitely would have remembered meeting the Seelie crown prince.
We stared at each other for a few seconds before his mouth curved into a smile that transformed his aristocratic face from aloof to boyishly charismatic.
“I am Prince Rhys of the Seelie Court,” he said as if there was anyone over the age of ten who wouldn’t recognize him by now. Reaching out, he took one of my hands in his long fingers and brought it to his lips.
“Jesse James.” I didn’t want to give my name, but it would be rude not to. Chances were his men would have me investigated the moment they were out of sight, and giving a fake name would only raise their suspicions.
“Like the outlaw?” At my look of surprise, his eyes sparkled with humor. “One of the things I like most about your world is your history. I particularly enjoy the stories of the Wild West.” His gaze moved to my hair, which I’d worn in a ponytail for this job, and lingered there for a few seconds. “Are all bounty hunters as lovely as you, Jesse James?”
I raised my eyebrows. “I don’t think the male hunters would appreciate being called lovely.”
Prince Rhys laughed. “I guess not.” He glanced over my shoulder. “And who is your quiet friend?”
Reluctantly, I moved to Violet’s side, giving the faeries a full view of her. “This is Violet. She’s helping me on a job today.”
“Two beautiful hunters. I must be goddess-blessed.” As he’d done with me, Prince Rhys lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it.
Violet made an incoherent sound. I slanted a look at her and found her staring dumbly at the prince. Biting back a grin, I discreetly elbowed her in the ribs. It was enough to shake her from her daze, and she smiled shyly at him.
“It’s…nice…to meet you,” she managed to utter.
“The pleasure is all mine.” His gaze returned to me. “I mean no offense, but are you really a bounty hunter? I must confess I imagined hunters were like the tough western lawmen.”
“I’m not offended. I get asked that all the time.” I pulled my ID card from my back pocket where I always kept it. His guards looked coiled to attack, and it reminded me of how wary Lukas and his men had been with me in the beginning. Shaking off the memory, I held up the card for them to see.