Page 51 of Alec

Farlan glanced over his shoulder. “Word, ’tis spread about Alec. He went unarmed to parlay with the MacBren, but the sun set before he could. The bastart’s guards shouted orders at him that he couldnae hear, and then seized and beat him. The last we saw of him, ’twas when they dragged him into the stables.”

For a moment Olivia thought she might collapse. “Did they kill him?”

The seneschal gave her an unhappy look. “’Tis unlikely, my lady. Alec didnae die the first time the MacBren came, before the casting of the curse.”

“But they could kill him anyway. They could tie him up and set fire to the stables.” When Farlan didn’t say anything she looked at Ava. “That’s how the black widow tried to kill you, isn’t it? It’s how she died instead, by burning.”

The laird’s wife nodded slowly.

All the fear inside Olivia spiked for a moment, and then faded as she drew on that unyielding part deep inside her heart that not even Mae could hurt.

“I need your help, Ava,” she told the other woman. “Right now.”

After enjoying himself thoroughly, Bodach erased the exhausted bookkeeper’s memory and took her back to her office, where she fell asleep at her desk with her head pillowed on her arms. In the morning, she would wake thinking of the suggestion he had planted in her mind, which was to embezzle as much of Jean’s money as she could. As for the gallery owner, Bodach left her sleeping in Clagden’s arms—or so he had assumed. Before he could get to his car Jean intercepted him, once again in her svelte mortal guise.

“I think I like you better as a knuckle-dragging half-breed,” he told her. “You have a certain hideous charm in your true form.”

“The changeling is mine,” she told him without preamble. “Release him from his oath to you, and I will not do anything to harm you or yours.”

“What you mean is, you’d like me to burn down your gallery with you tied up inside. That’s what I’d do to anyone of your kind who threatened me.” He reached out and sharply tapped her cheek. “Never issue orders to a dark Fae with superior powers. It always ends badly.”

“I love Clagden.” When Bodach’s brows rose she added, “As much as I can love anything.” When he rolled his hand she sighed and said, “I need to breed soon, and he will make a fine sire for my young. I do not wish him injured or incapacitated while serving you.”

“You are part troll,” he said, amused now. “When they come into their breeding years they’re like rabbits.” He saw the subject of their conversation come out of the gallery and nodded in his direction. “I will speak to your lover about fulfilling his oath to me sooner rather than later. Does that suffice?”

Jean bowed to him, and then hurried to kiss Clagden before disappearing inside the gallery.

“What were you two discussing?” Clagden asked, looking distinctly disgruntled.

“You, of course.” Bodach was beginning to tire of the whole matter, and for a moment considered granting Jean’s demand. Yet he detected a difference in the way Clagden regarded him. “I very much like your darling Jean. When do you plan to mate?”

“She needs to sell the gallery first, but as successful as it is that won’t take long.” He sounded smug now. “Once I’ve finished my obligation to you, we plan to move to Ireland, where she was abandoned by her parents. There’s a hollow there beside a village with plenty of mortals, where we can live and breed in peace.”

Clagden sounded as if he had it all planned out, and now he suspected there was more to what he and Jean had schemed.

“Fine, we’ll discuss the details tomorrow,” Bodach told him before climbing into his car and driving out of the parking lot.