The Pushy Pixies Are Going Down (Carry A Faerie #2)

Chapter 1

Chapter One

Winter

“I’m not a detective anymore.”

Those words from Miles’s mouth sent a shockwave through me. Not a detective anymore.

What the hell was an ex-detective doing with me, an ex-con?

The Higgins guy—clearly a cop and clearly the ex-partner Miles had spoken about earlier—sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I know that. I just… I could really use your help.”

Miles crossed his arms over his chest, looking defensive and upset. “Don’t you have a partner you can bother with this?”

“Not one as good as you.”

The two of them stared at one another for a long moment, and I didn’t think I’d ever felt as awkward as I did right now.

I was feeling… out of sorts at this revelation.

I supposed I hadn’t actually asked Miles directly what job he’d left, but I still felt…

slighted or something. It wasn’t a nice feeling at all and sorta made my belly queasy.

But more importantly, I hated how uncomfortable Miles looked, and I wanted to go to him to offer comfort.

But I wasn’t sure I should, not with a cop—a detective—standing right there watching his every move.

Sola’s talons dug into my shoulder, and I could tell she was debating flying over to Miles even though he’d clearly asked her to stay with me when this guy showed up.

How dare this random man interrupt what had been a perfect night with my… my guy.

Goliath moved closer to me, and I could tell he was wary of the stranger, so I snapped my fingers and pointed to the spot beside me.

My big, white with gray spots Great Dane sat close enough to lean against my legs.

The fact he wasn’t barking at this Higgins guy actually made me feel—reluctantly—like he must be a good person.

Higgins’s eyes widened for a brief second, but when Goliath didn’t threaten to eat him, he resumed staring at Miles.

Miles squirmed a bit under the man’s attention, and maybe I wasn’t an empath like him, but I could practically feel his anxiety and uneasiness from here.

I wasn’t surprised that Sola squawked, leapt off me, and flew over, landing on Miles’s shoulder. She was his familiar, so she’d know how uncomfortable he was feeling and would want to help him. I was glad for it since I didn’t know if it was my place to help him right now.

Would he care if his old partner saw us together?

“What the hell is that?” Higgins sounded shocked and possibly a little scared.

Miles absently petted Sola’s neck as he said, “Her name’s Sola, and she’s a firebird. She’s my familiar.”

The man’s eyes were full of shock for a beat before he grinned, the expression softening him in a way I wasn’t sure I liked. “That’s amazing, Miles. I didn’t know you could form a familiar bond.”

Miles shrugged. “Neither did I.”

The two of them were so… familiar with each other, yet I could sense how tentative that awareness was between them.

Not to be left out, Odin meowed and trotted over to the newcomer. To my surprise, the man bent down and lifted the cat into his arms, quietly saying, “Hey, Odie. It’s been a long time, little buddy.” He petted the cat, and he started purring.

Well. I supposed it made sense that he knew Odin, but the familiarity made me feel a little… off—even more off than I already felt standing here like a dud.

Should I leave? Should I let the two of them catch up? Or did Miles want me to stay?

I didn’t know the answer to that, so I blurted, “I can leave if you two—”

“No!” Miles flinched at his own loud voice, and I stared at him with wide eyes. In a quiet voice and with beautiful pleading brown eyes, he said, “Please don’t go, Win. I… I…” He shook his head, looking more unsure than he had in days. “Stay?”

I nodded. “Of course.”

He sagged a bit in relief, and even though I was a little hurt by the detective thing, I really wanted to give him a huge hug and promise him I’d stay as long as he needed, that I’d stay with him forever.

And wow. That was a lot for a guy I’d only started dating this past weekend. We hadn’t even been together a whole week yet.

“Thank you,” he whispered, staring at me for an extra beat before facing Higgins. “Why are you here, Higs?”

“I need your help.” Higgins’s voice was quiet, pleading, and it made Miles curl in on himself even more. The small relief he’d had when I said I’d stay was completely erased with one simple sentence.

Seeing the expression on his face was the last straw. I didn’t care who this guy was. He didn’t get to come in here, interrupt our amazing night, and make my guy feel bad.

So I strode across the room, stood beside Miles, and put my hand on his lower back in silent support.

Miles surprised me by leaning into my side for a brief moment before straightening up.

He didn’t move away from me or my hand. In fact, he pressed back against it as if telling me he wanted me to keep it there. So I did.

Goliath came over, and instead of leaning against me, he went to Miles’s other side to lean against him.

My sweet dog was such a good boy. Odin meowed at Higgins, so he put him down, and the cat was right there with Goliath, rubbing against Miles’s legs as he sat on his feet.

And of course, Sola remained on his shoulder, a constant support.

If I hadn’t already known how in tune Miles was with animals, this surely would’ve given it away. All three of our babies wanted to comfort him, and I loved them for it.

Higgins looked surprised again for a brief moment—likely because Miles didn’t generally let other people touch him because of his empath magic—but once he got over his shock, he didn’t seem to care whether I was standing there or not.

He glanced at me, examined how close I was standing to Miles, glanced at the animals who looked like they were their own Miles-protection-shield, then dismissed us quickly to focus his full attention on the man at my side.

Higgins sighed and ran a hand through his hair again—clearly a nervous tic—glancing away with something that looked like hurt on his face. “Look, Curbelo, I know you blame me for what happened—”

“I don’t blame you.”

Higgins turned his head sharply toward Miles and stared at him for a long moment before sighing again. “Yeah, you do. And I don’t fault you for it. I blame myself—”

“It wasn’t your fault. You had no idea Booth would do that. I’ve never blamed you, Higs.”

Higgins’s face went through an array of emotions before settling on confusion. “Then why… why have you been ignoring me? You pushed me away, Miles, and—”

“I don’t know. I just… I haven’t been able to… deal…”

I was lost in this conversation, but they both seemed upset, so as much as I wanted to ask what the hell they were talking about, I kept my mouth shut. I could ask Miles later, when we were alone.

Miles grabbed gloves off the table near the front door, leaned back against my side, and tugged them on, a visible shield he was placing between the two of them.

I hated that he felt the need to put his gloves on even when he was standing in his own home.

I wanted to step between the two men and be a human shield for him instead.

But I wouldn’t do that unless I thought he was in danger or something.

And as much as I didn’t appreciate this guy and his interruption, I didn’t think for even a second that he meant Miles any harm.

And that was high praise coming from me since I absolutely hated cops.

I glanced at Miles.

Okay, so I supposed there was one cop I really, really, really liked—er, ex-detective, rather.

Miles leaned more heavily into me, and I braced my feet to hold him more firmly as he spoke. “Look, I’m sorry, Higs. It’s nothing you did or didn’t do. I was just… in a bad place for a long time…” He trailed off, looking like he didn’t know what to say or do next.

Higgins sighed and ran a hand through his hair yet again. “Are you in a better place now?”

Miles stared at him for a long moment before shooting me a quick glance. “I… am, yeah.”

Higgins shot me a glance, looking mildly more interested in my existence before he quietly said, “I’m glad to hear that. Really glad.”

Miles gave him a short nod, and the two stared at each other for another long, uncomfortable moment.

Since I could tell Miles was dying to get the man out of his house, I decided to step in after a few silent minutes. So I said, “It was nice meeting you, Higgins, but we were just about to go to bed.” I waved at the door to make my intention clear.

Higgins scowled at me but still mumbled, “Nice to meet you too.” He met Miles’s eyes. “Can you please help me? I can leave the file with you and go.”

“I don’t do that anymore. You know that.”

“I do, but I… I just really need your input. Please, Curbelo. I’m begging you. Just a quick look?” He thrust the manila envelope at Miles again, and my…boyfriend—could I call him that yet?—took it from him this time.

“Fine. I’ll look at it.”

Higgins sagged in relief. “Thank you.”

Miles waved him off, already peeking into the envelope.

“Paul Ferguson is supposed to come in for an interview tomorrow afternoon. I don’t have enough on him to arrest him yet, but I’m working on it. Maybe you could come down and help me interview him—”

“I don’t do that anymore, either.” Miles was still looking at the envelope, but his jaw was tense. Actually, his entire body was tense. He looked like he was holding a live grenade.

“I could use someone with your skills to—”

“Higgins.” Miles cut him off with only his name, sounding firm and upset.

The guy closed his eyes for a moment, then nodded at the envelope. “Let me know if you change your mind, and give me a call after you go through everything.” He stepped toward the door.

Miles closed the envelope and held it up. “Come pick this up before your interview tomorrow, and I’ll talk to you then.”