AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Who offers the contract?” I asked.
“Depends,” Gun replied. “Oftentimes it’s the family member most impacted by the crime. They submit their paperwork to the guild and wait for approval. A couple weeks ago I took out an incubus with a power addiction. He’d been drugging and assaulting women for a constant high. When his picture went up in the bars he’d been frequenting, he switched to stalking high schools.”
A knot formed in my throat. “There was no way to rehabilitate him?”
“He wasn’t interested. He lived for that surge of energy.” Gun’s eyelids lowered. “It was the family of his last victim that contacted the guild. Their daughter died during the assault. The incubus left her underneath the bleachers like discarded trash.”
My voice scratched as I asked my next question. “Which card did you use?”
He leveled me with a look. “The one that inflicts the most pain.”
Camryn swallowed the last of her shake and rinsed the glass in the sink. “Well, this has been an uplifting conversation. I’m tickled pink we’re getting to know each other better, aren’t you, Lorelei?”
Gun twisted the lid back on the bottle of tequila. “I’ll admit I wasn’t thrilled, but I’m glad Lorelei asked. It’s important to have hard conversations, no matter how uncomfortable. I thought it was a lesson only she needed to learn, but I suppose I needed a refresher.”
Cam rinsed the pieces of the blender under the tap. “It feels kind of liberating to share with an outsider. We tend to only talk to other guild members or La Fortuna mages, which can skew our perspective of the world if we let it.”
“Well, I don’t recommend sharing during story time at the library. You might frighten the children.” Not to mention Hailey Jones, the librarian.
Gunther squeezed my shoulder. “How does it feel to get past the surface level? Mind you, my surface is still an amazing place to linger. Ask any of my doomed relationships.”
“I feel like I need to decompress,” I admitted.
“That’s how I feel after too much time with the guild,” Cam said. “The number I’ve times I’ve left meetings with a hangover without a sip of alcohol…”
“Want me to drive you home?” Gun offered.
“Not home.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “Somewhere else?”
“Do you know where the speakeasy is?”
“There’s a secret door in front of One Oak.”
I shot him a quizzical look. “One oak? Which one? There are hundreds of oak trees in the forest.”
“One Oak,” Gun clarified. “It’s the biggest oak tree in Wild Acres.”
“Big enough to earn its own name.” I nodded. “Live and learn.”
“There’s a notch on the trunk. Press it like a button and say the secret word.”
I tapped my fingernails, my impatience building. “Which is?”
“I don’t know what it is now, but the last time I was there, it was rosebud.”
I peered at him. “And what did you do there?”
“That’s confidential.”
I contained my outrage. “Seriously? Do you not see the hypocrisy happening here?”
“Everybody who enters has to sign an NDA.”
I rolled my eyes. “What is it with this town and legal documents?”
“I’m not even supposed to share as much as I have. I’ll drive you as close as I can get. Beyond that, you’re on your own.” He held up a finger. “And don’t use my name. I don’t want a permanent ban. I like it there.”
