Chapter 7 #3
I hadn’t noticed Edger sneaking into the house either. I kinda forgot to keep track of him and Mr. Tom most of the time. People probably weren’t overly pleased about that fact.
“Edgar, if I fly you, you can’t be creepy.” Ulric held up a finger. “I mean it. No lamenting about the atrocities of your made-up gargoyle god. I’ll drop you. I’m serious.”
Edgar gave Ulric a simpering smile, bowing a little, and looked up under his lashes. “We have a deal. Mostly.”
“No.” Ulric wagged his finger. “Not mostly.”
Nessa jogged back down the stairs wearing a stylish black outfit, her hair in a low ponytail.
“Is this your trying to rub in that I have no style?” I asked without meaning to.
“If I’m walking around and someone sees me, they’ll think this is my outfit for going out.” She beamed at me. “But you are also right. It’s fine. We’ll work on it.”
“I have tried,” Mr. Tom said. “It’s easier to just tell her to get out of the way. Judging by their outfits, I assume it will be the same for the visiting shifter women.”
I grimaced, obviously needing to apologize. First, however, I needed to get the others sent off. Time was wasting.
I stepped toward them. “Be careful, all of you. Don’t get caught. I’ll be monitoring connections.”
“Jessie.” Nessa’s eyes were deep and heartfelt. “Connect with me and Sabby. Bring us in. It’s time we join the group.”
I smiled at her, my eyes suddenly glassy. The connection was easy. They’d battled with me so many times, my gargoyle was familiar with extending the invite. I felt them added to the group and opened it up so they could feel the whole network.
“Oh, whoa.” Nessa’s eyes rounded. Sebastian’s turned glassy to match mine. “Wow, that is neat. Yeah, this will be incredibly helpful.” She nodded at Tristan. “C’mon, gargoyle-monster, let’s get going.”
“How do you know they’ll be downtown?” Aurora asked.
“We don’t,” I said. “But that’s the first place we’ll look. I’ll be monitoring all the connections. If I feel anything, I’ll send it through, okay, guys? Be ready to move locations.”
“Above all, do not let them know you’re looking,” Austin said. “Right now, they think they are getting in undetected. We don’t want to put them on alert. Whatever information they are hoping to glean won’t help them against us. I’ve prepared for this. Let’s keep the upper hand here.”
“Wait.” I bit my nail, looking at Sebastian. “They have an insider. That person might know us, and there is no way on God’s green earth you would go to the bar on your own to hang out with Niamh. Especially in dressy attire. Because those are definitely not casual clothes.”
He stared at me, knowing that was true—unless it was someone we’d taken with us on one of our excursions, but even then, Niamh had only taken Sebastian for specific reasons. This would be a specific reason, and that in itself would be a dead giveaway.
I glanced at Austin, belatedly noticing he had put on a light brown, perfectly tailored suede blazer with a notch lapel. He even had a white pocket square, of all things, and a watch similar to Tristan’s.
“What the hell?” I blurted. “Austin, I asked you if this would be okay to wear, thinking you were just wearing the white button-up. Obviously I’m underdressed if you’re wandering around wearing a pocket square.
A pocket square? How in the hell does that say stylish casual to any of you?
” I waved that away forcefully. “This is not the time, but it’s annoying. Anyway, whatever.”
His stare was deep. “Stay safe. Guard my heart.”
“Always. I’m just going to protect a mage from a puca. No biggie. Nessa is doing all the heavy lifting.”
I took a deep breath and turned to Aljoe.
“I gotta go.” I fully faced his sisters, two beautiful women about my age with dark brown hair, hazel eyes like their brother’s, and stony expressions that could give Mimi a run for her money.
I didn’t even know their names. “I’m Jessie, and I’m so sorry to do this to you, but we have a mage breach.
It is the most dangerous kind of breach by, very likely, the most dangerous man we know of.
I have to go help my team. Please, enjoy Ivy House. Relax and enjoy dinner, and I swear—”
“Just go, Jessie,” Aljoe interrupted. “They’re waiting. Your team has made their point. Go.”
“What point?” I asked in confusion as Mr. Tom brought me my phone.
No one answered, and I didn’t have time to wait. The others filed out in front of me.
“Wait, no, leave Sebastian, remember?” I called. “We’re walking. We’ll call this team building. Or…a mage meeting or something.”
“Bye, bestie,” Edgar called to Sebastian.
“What did I miss?” I asked in confusion.
“The reason I need to sleep more often,” Sebastian answered miserably.
“The worst two liars are going out together,” Sue said, glancing at Austin.
“Go,” Austin told him. “It won’t make sense if I do. Not dressed like this and with visiting alphas in town.”
Sue nodded and followed me. And just like that, Aljoe’s sisters learned the hard way that a dinner invite at Ivy House never went according to plan.