“Yep!”
My mouth perked up. “Alright. I’ll see ya in the mornin’.”
“Can we have chocolate chip pancakes tomorrow?”
“After three plates of mackers, you’re still thinkin’ about food?”
“I’m always thinking about food.”
I laughed, shaking my head. “I can do the pancakes, but I think Ms. Ulma would have my hide if I sent you over there hyped up on sugar, so no chocolate chips.”
“Please?”
“Sorry, peanut. Maybe this weekend when I don’t have to work.”
“Okay.”
“G’night, baby girl.”
“Night.”
I pulled her door, leaving it cracked open, then walked down to the first floor. Opening the hall closet, I pulled out the oxygen tanks to check our supply and sighed in relief. We had enough to get through the next three days, even if she had to use it all day. Which was good news. The bad news was that I’d just given Ulma every extra cent I had, only leaving us with enough to buy food for the next week.
Which meant I had three days to find and complete a job, and get paid for it. All without running into that fuckin’ witch that was making my life a living hell.
Putting the tanks back, I went into the kitchen to check our cabinets and assess our food situation. I grimaced as I searched because it didn’t take long to see we were running low on everything. As I searched, I calculated how long we could make it stretch, and if I only ate one meal a day, I’d be able to feed Rasha three meals a day for the next week. That made me sigh in relief. I didn’t mind bein’ a little hungry if it meant she’d be well fed.
But if I didn’t get a bounty in the next few days, I wouldn’t even have enough money to feed her.
Millayna would kill me if she knew what a bad situation we were in. I was surprised her ghost hadn’t hunted me down yet.
I sat at the kitchen table with my elbows on the tabletop, and buried my hands in my hair as I tried to take a few deep breaths.
We were still okay. I’d figure somethin’ out. It always worked out, right?
My heart clenched in my chest as emotions clogged up my throat. How had I let it get this bad? What the hell was I goin’ to do?
And now Rasha had been discovered on top of everything else.
Fuckin’ Basil Ellwood.
I took a deep breath. Basil Ellwood. I shook my head. I couldn’t seem to stop thinkin’ about that witch. Every night, all I’d think about was how much he drove me crazy, but that somehow, he always looked amazin’ doing it.
With a sigh, I pushed that away.
First thing was first, I needed to talk to that witch to be sure he didn’t come back. He needed to understand that I’d do anything to protect her, including killing that sonofabitch if I had to.
How the hell I was going to find him, I didn’t know, but I was a hunter, and a damn good one at that, so I’d figure it out. I’d go to my handler, get my next mark, and track down that little jerk.
With a plan in place, I felt a little better, so I ignored the empty pantry shelves and headed upstairs, peeking in on Rasha along the way. She was asleep, holding her stuffed duck in her arms, her hair splayed out on her pillow. I snuck in to press a kiss to her forehead before I walked to my room, changed, and climbed into my bed.
Of course, the last thing I thought of was Basil Ellwood. But that was because he was my next target, no other reason at all.
The lie worked well enough to let sleep claim me.
My next target was an incubus that had pulled in some guy’s wife and sucked her dry. Most incubi were pretty good at only using willing energy donors, so I was a tad surprised by this assignment, but I’d take it ‘cause the guy that hired us was willing to pay big. This was exactly what I needed, but first, I needed to get that witch off my back so I could collect my bounty.
Since I didn’t know where Basil lived, I went to the only place I could think of for information. There was a magic shop with the Ellwood name on it, so I figured if anyone could give me Basil’s number or get in touch with him, it was them. As soon as I finished here, I’d go take down my mark.
Walking into the magic shop, I felt wards wash over me, but I knew they weren’t meant to harm. They were meant to protect anyone inside. Smart.
A tall, lean man with blue hair, bright blue eyes, and pale, bluish skin called over from the front counter, “Welcome to Ellwood Magical Items and Apothecary, can I help you find anything?”
“Perhaps,” I said as I moved forward.
The man took a step back, his eyes running over me and calculating all the weapons he could see—I had plenty he couldn’t. His nervous energy reached me, and I took a breath to get a sense of the man. He didn’t seem harmful, but I wasn’t stupid enough to believe he wasn’t dangerous.
Still, I wanted information, and if he was scared of me, that wasn’t going to happen. So I halted, lifted my hands to show him I wasn’t dangerous, and said, “I was hoping to speak to an Ellwood.”
The man blinked and said, “What can I help you with?”
I tilted my head to the side, taking him in again to figure out what he was. It only took a second. “You’re not a witch; you’re fae.”
“This is my store. If you need help finding something specific, I’ll be happy to show you.”
I sighed and rubbed my forehead under my hood, to keep my face hidden. “Do you know where I can find Basil Ellwood?”
His eyes narrowed. “I can certainly tell him you’re looking for him. Who should I say needs him?” Shit. He was too wary of me to give me information, but I needed to talk to that little witch before he tried somethin’ with my daughter.
I hesitated before saying, “Can you tell him Grim needs to see ‘im?”
“Grim?”
I nodded once. “He can find me at the bar tomorrow night.” He’d know which one I meant.
After a moment, he said, “I’ll give him your message.”
“Thank you, and… sorry to bother you so late.” I hadn’t meant to scare the fae. I turned and walked out the door without another word.
At least the word was out that I was lookin’ for Basil. Hopefully he’d show.
Pushing that out of my thoughts, I concentrated on my new assignment. Taking out incubi was no easy feat, so I’d need my wits about me. I aimed my truck in the direction of the incubus’s last known location.
I hated working nights, but from all the info I’d gathered about this incubus, he was a night owl, so I’d have no luck findin’ him during the day. Luckily, Ulma didn’t mind sitting with Rasha while she slept. Ulma was actually going to take my bed for the night, and I’d sleep on the couch if I got home early enough to do so.
But I knew I was in for a long night.
“Daddy!”
My eyes snapped open only a second before a bundle in princess jammies jumped on my stomach and knocked the wind outta me, making the piercing pain in my ribs hit me in the worst way. “Peanut,” I gasped.
She giggled, not realizing she actually hurt me. “Ms. Ulma left since you’re home now.”
“She did?”
Rasha nodded. “She just walked out the door.”