Bounty Hunter (The Rover 1)

To be honest, I needed the space to think. Of course I would help, as promised, but I needed more than what he’d given me. I needed to know what information he already had, what we still needed to gather to be in a better position. I needed to know the plan... and I would have to lay some trust down along with it. No way he would just tell me everything immediately, especially since I bet his reasons for going after the Black Mage were just as personal as mine.

I shoved a long elegant butter knife in my boot, and then another in the other one for good measure. A girl needed shiny accessories. And these were pure silver, good for other kinds of supernatural creatures too. Maybe fae.

When my belly was pleasantly full, I poured some coffee in a cup and wished I had a bigger one. This was like an eight ounce. I needed one of those gas station big gulps to see me through the morning. Especially with the pure snark he was throwing my way, as if we’d crossed some boundary where he no longer needed to be the tyrant.

Armed with my coffee, and the queen’s silver, I wandered into his office, taking in the bookshelves and the room dappled by sunlight. I’d seen it the night before. Today it looked more like a library than the darkened dungeon it appeared last night.

“Ready?” I asked as I made it to his desk. A guard took up a place by the door once I settled into the chair across from Fin.

He raised an eyebrow. “Of course. Are you sure you had enough to eat? There’s always plenty.”

I waved him away. “If I eat any more, you’re going to have to get one of your goon squad to hoist me up the staircase.”

The corner of his lip quirked up, but he hid it with a duck of his chin. “My apologies. The security is always around. I kept them away last night as I made my... negotiation.”

“So that’s what we are calling it?” I gave him my slightly unhinged smile and shifted to swing my legs over the chair arm, all while perfectly balancing my coffee cup. “So, where are we starting? To begin, I’d like to know what information you already have on the Black Mage. We can mix and match to see what we think is valid and then start looking at the information we need to find him.”

He nodded once and leaned forward on his elbows. “I’ve been tracking individuals I think work for him. So far none of them are mages. Well, none of them except the man you took into custody a few days ago.”

Wilson, Wallace... I couldn’t remember his name now. “Yes. But he didn’t give me anything before he practically shit his pants and killed himself. Sadly, he’s a dead end.”

I chuckled at my little pun. He didn’t return my smile, and I sobered to hide my awkwardness with a sip of my coffee. “Who were the others you identified? Like kitchen staff or goons?”

He nodded. “Not anyone who might be important. I have a few drivers on payroll for information. So far, I haven’t been given an accurate location. It’s as if he makes multiple calls when he plans to leave, giving out a lot of false information. I want to get someone in his inner circle on our side, however, I know how risky and unlikely that will be. At the very least if we identify one of them we can follow them.”

He stared over my shoulder and I could feel the distance he pushed between us.

I cocked my head to the side. “What is it? You know one of us is going to have to share real information soon. The first actual act of trust.”

And it wouldn’t be me.

After a long-charged moment, he met my gaze again, direct and impersonal. The distance was there, but muted.

Then he said, “I have an inside man.”

I dropped my feet to the floor and spun to look at him head on.

“Uh, excuse me? That is some information you start a conversation with.” I glanced down at my coffee. “I’m sorry, but I have nothing nearly as valuable to bring to the table.”

“I’m more interested in your hunting skills than your information.”

Interesting... He’d gone to great lengths to get me to agree to work with him. Guess he thought me more than a pretty face.

I leaned over my knees and considered the facts. If he had someone on the inside, then he had all we needed to make a move. Whoever his man was he’d be able to get us in, maybe get us a disguise that would pass whatever gatekeeper the Black Mage used to keep people out.

“When can I meet him?”

“I’m sorry, but not yet. I need to prepare him, and I already set up a safe meeting time with him. It’ll be soon. Can you handle it?”

He scanned me from the trembling saucer in my hand to my scuffed boots.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

He sighed. “My apologies for being indelicate, but can you handle undercover work? Of an upper-class variety?”

I put the cup and saucer on the edge of the desk and stared him down. “I can’t Foxtrot or whatever it is the kids are doing these days, but I can look nice in a dress and even kick ass in a pair of heels.”

“Eloquent as always.”