Even though Willard had probably consumed a cup of coffee within seconds of waking, she took a long swig from her mug before digging into her messenger bag to pull out a manila envelope.
“Is it acceptable?” I accepted the envelope, knowing I didn’t need to count any money she gave me, and slid it into an inside pocket in my duster. “That’s the goblin blend, slightly tweaked since you sampled it last. I understand it’s even more potent now and can launch rockets into space.”
“It’s all right.”
“We look forward to your Yelp review.”
“Uh huh. What’s wrong with your hand?” Willard pointed to my bandage.
“I cut myself on the artifact, and it’s not healing. It’s even got Zav flummoxed.”
Zav was puzzling over the string and tag hanging out of his mug and didn’t comment.
“Even Zav, huh?” Willard waved at it. “Want me to send Dr. Walker over?”
“I guess.” I flexed my hand, wincing when that caused a stab of pain. It didn’t bother me much when I wasn’t moving it. “I haven’t managed to catch Zoltan yet for a consultation. Have you two gone on a date yet?”
“Me and Zoltan? Vampires aren’t my type.”
“You and Walker. The sexy marsupial lion shifter with the thick tail.”
I’d gone on a mission with Walker a couple of months earlier and knew he had a thing for Willard, but she wasn’t reciprocating. She’d hinted before that she would like to meet someone, and he seemed like a good match for her somewhat abrasive always-in-charge attitude, but she refused to see it.
“No, we haven’t dated. And we won’t. I don’t date ostentatious guys who are full of themselves.”
“There is a string with paper dangling from my beverage,” Zav said.
“It’s attached to the tea bag.” I pointed into his mug. “The tea is still steeping. Give it a couple of minutes to reach its full flavor.”
I didn’t like tea any more than I liked coffee—which made my investment in this place strange—but connoisseurs had explained the supposed appeal of both to me.
He read the tag. “Grey is spelled incorrectly.”
“That’s the British spelling. It’s British tea. We also use grey here in the US when we want to be pretentious.”
Willard glanced at the time on her phone. “Let me know when you’re done educating your dragon and want to get to business.”
“You gave me money. That’s the only business I came for.”
“I’m concerned that destroying that artifact isn’t enough,” Willard said. “Why was it placed there? Who placed it? And what did it do besides taint the water, if anything? Is it like that dark-elf pleasure orb that was one of many and part of a larger, more nefarious plot?”
I grimaced, not wanting to dwell on that mission. I was relieved I hadn’t encountered another dark elf in the months since we’d stopped the eruption of Mt. Rainier.
After taking a sip, Zav set his mug down. “I do not like it.”
“No need for you to leave a Yelp review,” I told him.
He gave me a blank look.
“You’re hard to please,” I said.
He turned his head toward Tam. “Bring me water, human.”
I waved an apologetic hand to her, went and got a bottle of water myself, and set a couple of dollars on the counter. “On Earth—” I placed the bottle in front of Zav and sat back down, “—it’s appropriate to say please when you make a request of a person, though it’s even better to lift your butt from the chair and get something yourself.”
“Dragons do not say please. It is the honor of lesser species to serve us. Her day is improved from being in my presence.”
“Oh, I’m sure.” I looked warily at Willard, who probably had a meeting at the office coming up, expecting her to be annoyed by this further delay.
Her elbow was on the table, her thumb and forefinger forming an L to support her chin as she watched us, more in fascination than annoyance, I thought.
“Do you want me to go back out to the coast to investigate further?” I eyed the rain puddling on the sidewalks outside. The beach held no appeal right now, and I would prefer to solve my sword problem before taking another assignment, but Willard gave me more work than anyone else. If she wanted me to go somewhere, I would go.
“I already sent Lieutenant Dumas. You’re good at destroying things, but tact isn’t your strong suit.”
“You say this like it’s a character flaw.”
“Odd.”
Since I didn’t disagree, I couldn’t muster any disgruntlement over her assessment. “You know I prefer assassinations to dealing with clients.”
“I do. I’ve got some of my guys researching fae and known entrances to their realm in the Seattle area—and at the coast. As far as I know, humans don’t know how to get through their doors, but we’re researching that too. If I get some good information or a fae contact, I want you to be ready to pay a visit. Even if the fae weren’t responsible for the artifact, they may know who was.”
Zav pointed at my can of sparkling water. “What are you consuming?”
He’d uncapped his bottle and drunk half of his plain water, which was his usual fare, so I was surprised that anything else would interest him.
“Carbonated mineral water—” I turned the can to read the back, “—bottled from a single source in the South of France.”
“And you thought the tea was pretentious,” Willard murmured.
“Shush. I can’t help it Dimitri stocks the fancy stuff.”
“I will sample it,” Zav stated, forgetting the please. But as the mate of a dragon, it was, of course, my honor to serve him.
“Knock yourself out.” I pushed it across to him.
Willard opened her mouth, probably to get back to the fae topic, but a handsome young man wearing a leather Harley jacket walked up to our table, a motorcycle helmet under his arm. He smiled politely at her before focusing on me. I braced myself for an attempt to get my sword. My senses told me he wasn’t magical, so he shouldn’t sense it, but something about him struck me as not quite mundane. The fact that he was model-in-a-swimsuit-magazine gorgeous might have been part of it.
“Good morning, ladies.” He glanced at Zav, who was scrutinizing the back of my can, and didn’t say anything to him. “I’m Dusty. I see you already have drinks.” He looked specifically at me as he spoke and raised his eyebrows. “Could I buy you a scone?”
“No, thanks,” I said. “We’re having a business meeting.”
“You probably don’t want company then. Could I interest you in dinner later? Or maybe a ferry ride?”
Zav’s head jerked up, and he clunked the can down on the table. I reached over and gripped his arm, hoping to keep him from threatening the guy. Unless he also sensed something not-quite-mundane about him and thought he was angling for my sword.
“No, thanks. I’m already dating someone.”
“We are mates.” Zav rose to his feet, ignoring my hand, and his eyes flared with inner light. “You will not proposition my mate.”