Knock Knock

knock knock

T he group waiting for the Shark is one of the most interesting I’ve ever been in. Morgana is enchanting, and the hungry looks all the men are giving her make me want to rise to the challenge. Funnily enough, I’m usually the biggest asshole in the room—as Slade loves to point out—but that honor is taken by the churlish dragon sitting in the corner. I know he’s here to protect the Prince, but I’m confused why he’s staying this close if he wants no part in our… possible dating situation.

Perhaps the scaly one doth protest too much?

My lips curve up as I study him, pretending not to pay attention to the lively conversation going on. I’m fairly certain my second assumption is the correct one and I’m going to enjoy seeing him brought to his knees. A loud buzz sounds out, pulling my focus from Kaspar as Morgana’s eyes widen and she stops talking. That’s her phone and this must be Channing, letting her know the lawyer has finally arrived.

“Morgana,” she says as she picks it up and answers. “Yes, Channing. I understand. He’s brought the entire team? Oh, goodness. Well, we could—you set up one of the houses? Yes, of course, I approve. Keeping them close is—Okay. We’ll see you soon. Good job.”

Arching a brow, I wait for her to relay what she learned. I’m not surprised Channing is thriving under someone like her. She’s allowing our old friend to take control and show her capabilities for the first time in years. Channing Oswald is very good at what she does and her previous bosses didn’t give her a moment to blossom. Magnus’ administration was so controlling that only the strongest staff could rise above his corrupt bullshit.

“What’s going on?” Slade asks quietly.

Morgana sighs. “Jackson’s plane has landed. Well, both, really. He has an entire team coming—I don’t know most of them, but since they’ll be here for a while, Channing arranged for them to stay in one of the houses on Chancellor Row. It will make it much simpler for them to strategize and have access to everything they need.”

“They’ll be staying on this street?” Liam says with an amused look. “That’s a lot of access, Morgana. Are you certain about having that much scrutiny near your home?”

Good question, Your Highness.

“I don’t mind. I have nothing to hide, Liam. My trial exposed damn near everything about my life before I got here and I’m not hiding mating with Lucas. Sure, we’re not making it public, but I won’t deny it if anyone asks.” She leans into the big bear and he rumbles happily.

“What about… the rest of us?” I ask, tilting my head. “Will that affect anything?”

She shrugs. “Who knows? You’re all right; the press has skewered me to bone already. What difference does it make if they find out I’m in a poly dating situation? At least I’ll be honest about it rather than being a cheating asshole, like my ex.”

Kaspar snorts. “Small comfort, but not less true. I doubt the Prince’s family will care much. It’s much more common in the Veil, of course.”

“Nana will understand when I tell her what happened,” Lucas says confidently. “She’s always hoped I’d find a fated mate. She thinks people turn out like my parents when they marry non-mates to settle.”

Well, at least two of the families won’t kick up a fuss.

“Iggy and I will have issues. Not because it’s you, per se. It will be because both of our families have expectations about our futures. Mine may be mistaken about what they expect, but they’ll be… vocal.” Slade flushes and ducks his head.

I chuckle at his euphemism. “He’s right. His criminal ties will make their opinions known, but we’ve been managing that for years. My family will be obnoxious and behave typically for rich old money supes.”

“I appreciate the heads up, guys, but what does this have to do with Jackson and his team coming?” Morgana frowns, tilting her head. “I doubt they’re going to publicize our lives.”

“No, but they’ll dig into everyone in Lucas’s life to ensure they have every crumb of information the prosecutors could bring up if this goes to trial. If they didn’t, they’d be shitty ass lawyers.” Kaspar makes an annoyed expression, then continues. “We’ll all be fodder for their research and the mud-slinging of the other side if Jackson cannot snuff this out quickly.”

“Do we think he’ll be able to nip it in the bud?” she whispers.

“If anyone can, it would be the Shark. But… sometimes, once the ball is rolling, it’s impossible to stop the momentum,” Liam replies. “If he can’t prevent Lucas from being charged, that’s when the storm will begin.”

And that’s when we’re all going to need to band together… even the irksome lizard.

The knock at the door makes Morgana jump, despite knowing it was coming. Kaspar stands, glaring before he heads for the door. I will not argue with his obvious need to vet the people coming before they join the party. He’s clearly competent and we’ve already dealt with one dead body and one poisoned heir.

Channing’s voice carries into the living area as she practically growls, “We’re here for a meeting with my boss, you giant dickhead. Move out of the way before I move you myself!”

Fat chance of that. Channing barely weighs a hundred pounds soaking wet and Kaspar is built like a brick shit house.

“Should I go…”

Morgana tilts her head, the errant snake twitching by her shoulder. “No. Perhaps we’ll let them find common ground.”

My rebuttal is cut off by a chorus of loud, dark snarls coming from the other room. I’m surprised to see Morgana’s eyes flicker for a second—just long enough to look serpentine and absolutely delighted before she leans back into Lucas calmly. “Okay, what the hell?”

Channing marches into the room followed by two hulking supes, one dark and one light, a golden boy, a nerd, and the tallest leprechaun I’ve ever seen. The dragon is right behind them, looking angry as hell and ready to bite someone’s head off. “Morgana, your doorman needs a course in appropriate guest reception.”

“Does he now?” our girl replies, her voice filled with humor. “Prince Liam, take note of Kaspar’s deficiencies for later.”

“I do fucking not!” the bodyguard roars at my diminutive friend.

Surprisingly, Channing doesn’t cower when the enormous lizard gets in her face. Instead, she puts her hand on her hip and juts her chin out. “You definitely do, jack ass. Back off—and try a mint. Yikes.”

The golden boy bursts out laughing, holding his fist out to her. “Sweet cheeks has bite . I fucking love it.”

The Prince stands, preventing Kaspar from venting his rage further. “Perhaps we should do some introductions? I’m Prince Liam of the Daybreak Court. Kaspar is my well-intentioned, but rough-edged friend and guard. That’s Ignatius Briarton, Slade, and of course, Lucas is sitting with Morgana. We appreciate you coming.”

The outsiders look at one another for a minute, then Captain Goodlooking shrugs. “I’m the bear’s lawyer; of course we came. I’m not sure why the rest of you are here, but I enjoy a party. This cute little geek is Eli, the mischievous looking one is Foley, blondie is Rainier, and the sour faced one is Kendrick. I brought everyone because your delightful assistant told me my client was poisoned. It changes everything.”

“Why?” I ask. “What about the attack changes your stance on the court case?”

The mop-headed nerd pushes up his glasses. “Because we feel it was an attempt to prevent anyone from finding out who really killed LaMount. If Lucas died under suspicion, people would believe the story that he killed Pierre because of a rivalry and then got killed for revenge. It ties the whole thing up in a bow. Murder is never that simple.”

Lucas frowns, and Morgana squeezes his hand. “You think Lucas is being framed to cover up something else?”

“I do,” Rainer cuts in. “We need your truth, Dean, to understand how and why. Inform us about the undisclosed aspects of the trial. Don’t insult my intelligence by protesting it; I know better.”

What the hell is he talking about?

Our girl’s head drops and I can feel the tension radiating from her across the room. “I… I can’t.”

“They told you it was spell-locked, right?”

Again, I look at the enormous blond guy skeptically. “Who the fuck are you, man?”

Jackson rolls his eyes, walking over to drop into a chair. His pet nerd drops onto his lap and he sighs. “Look. My team is… let’s say, a bit morally gray. Rainier worked for various agencies ranging from human to supe to other over the years. His species is rare and very useful in many situations. Exceptions have been made because he’s so valuable. If he says he knows something, he knows. So spill it.”

“It’s spell-locked, yes.”

Morgana’s answer shocks the hell out of me. That sort of confinement was outlawed centuries ago. What the fuck else did they do to this woman in return for not killing her? “Is that all?”

Slade squints at her and then shakes his head. “No. I knew I sensed something when we first met. There’s more.”

“Geo tag,” the dark man says. He and Kaspar have been glaring at one another since they got in the room and I’m pretty sure they’re deciding whether or not to kill each other.

Morgana doesn’t lift her head as she whispers, “Yes.”

“ Unacceptable!” Lucas roars as he sits up straighter. “They have you spell locked to keep you from telling people the truth and geo-tagged to track you? What the fuck are they doing? I’m calling Nana.”

“Wait.” Eli shakes his head as he looks at us seriously. “Your grandmother might know already, Lucas. She’s not part of the tribunal, but the eldest, most powerful members are usually aware of judgements. Their control over Morgana is something that can be dealt with later. We just need to trick the lock long enough for her to help us connect the dots. Removing it is an ‘another day’ item.”

“How in the hell do we do that?” I ask curiously. “I’ve never heard of a way to beat those. What about you, Liam?”

The Prince shakes his head. “I’ve not heard of one, either. They’re indestructible.”

Fucking perfect.

“That’s our first order of business then,” Jackson muses. “K, this is one of yours. I know you’ll be skulking around campus on your own, but… contacts.”

The man nods, not taking his eyes off his new nemesis. “Understood.”

I arch a brow, looking at the newcomers critically. “You really think you can solve an unremovable spell created so long ago no one remembers who first uttered its words?”

Channing blinks. “My sister and her cadre have been working for the Fates.”

Jackson’s head turns slowly until he’s looking at my old friend. “Your sister… is a Guardian?”

“Yep. She’s somewhere secret in Europe, doing some task for the crones with her Guardian mates. I don’t know what, because she can’t tell me.” She flushes pink, pushing up her glasses nervously. “Why?”

“Because your sister is working with the best friend of my other favorite client.” He laughs and shakes his head, looking at the guy on his lap. “I’ll be beer battered cod at the fish fry. Jojo’s BFF is shacked up with this adorable woman’s sister. How incestuous—I love it.”

Slade coughs. “Uh, that’s not exactly what incestuous means…”

Eli rolls his eyes. “Of course not. He’s being… Jackson. Ignore his odd phrasing. He simply means it’s a very, very small world in the South. In fact, it’s sort of like all roads lead to Whistler’s Hollow at this point.”

“And the roads are just filled with delightfully rebellious women,” Jackson says with a grin. “I’m just happy to be in the middle of it all.”

Good thing someone is.