Chapter Four

“There’s a Fae in this town.”

Zac looked up as Rat burst in through the door of the shop. Fortunately, his morning client had already left, and Zac was enjoying the quiet, sketching out a new design for another client who was flying in for his appointment the following week. Even so, Zac checked to make sure no one had followed the lesser demon into the shop.

“Is there a reason you’re making a fuss about someone who’s probably a tourist passing through?” Zac had wandered around town a fair bit in the week since his tattoo parlor had opened. He’d seen no sign of paranormals anywhere, and while he might have felt a pang at the idea that he was the only paranormal within shouting distance, he reminded himself he’d moved to Appleton to get away from clans, packs, and covens that seemed to lead him astray.

“I know you don’t believe me, but it’s true.” Rat slumped into the nearest chair. “I saw him with my own eyes. The man is definitely a Fae. Apparently, he works as a hairdresser in one of those poky little shops on the other side of the fountain.”

Rat was referring to the main road that ran through the center of the CBD, somewhere Zac would’ve preferred his shop to be. But he’d been informed by the agent who handled his purchase of the shop he had, that shops on the main street rarely ever came up for sale or lease. Then the rest of what Rat said hit Zac’s brain matter, and he snorted as he shook his head.

“I’d love to know what you’ve been sniffing, but whatever it is, stay off it. It’s killing off your brain cells. Fae do not work. They use their magic to live lives of incredible privilege and uselessness. Fae definitely do not handle human hair or interact with humans on a customer/client basis. They see humans as nothing more than amusing pets if they have anything to do with this realm at all.”

“I know what I saw.” Leaning forward, Rat rested his elbow on his knee and his head on his fist. “Fae have that magic that reminds me of sweet things, all soft and billowy like clouds that smell like cotton candy.”

Zac glared at Rat’s dreamy expression. “How close did you get to this person? You know Fae don’t take kindly to being stalked by lesser demons, and most humans don’t either.”

“Hey, I only followed him until I saw him go into his business. Then I asked the guy at the corner shop who the man was – he has very distinctive hair. Corner shop guy told me that the man with the pink and gray hair was the local hairdresser. He’s been in town for five years, and the people here love him.” Rat shook his head as he sighed again, his eyes lost on some horizon only he could see. “He sure is pretty. He has a butt like a peach. You know, one you just want to squish with both hands.”

“Keep your hands off the Fae’s butt,” Zac snapped, shifting in his seat as his cock stirred. He was rather partial to peaches. “Honestly, do you have absolutely no sense of self-preservation? Any Fae I’ve come across, and there have been a few over the years, all walk around as if they shit the confectionary you’re mooning over, and they would never have anything to do with the likes of you or me.”

“Oh, ho, brother. Sounds like I turned up just at the right moment.” Zac’s brother, Taric, appeared in a puff of smoke, with a lecherous grin on his face. “Where’s this Fae with the peach butt, Rat?”

“Rat, piss off to the post office, now!” Zac scowled at his brother, as Rat fell off his chair and scuttled out of the tattoo shop. “What the fuck are you doing, popping in here when you know I could’ve had customers.”

“As if I’d upset your precious business,” Taric scoffed. “I was peeking in on you before I appeared, which is how I heard Rat describing the Fae’s peach butt. Where did he see the Fae?”

“None of your business. No Fae would have anything to do with you either, so fuck off.” Zac didn’t know why, but he didn’t want his brother around anyone in his new town.

“Your man, Rat, could save me a lot of time hanging around this town,” Taric teased. “I’m on a job. But if I can’t find the person concerned - who knows, maybe you could introduce me to some of the locals. We could drink together, you know. It’d be just like old times.”

Bounding up from his chair, Zac grabbed Taric by the front of his T-shirt and slammed him into the wall hard enough to make two pictures rattle. “We’re not recreating any old times here. I’ve got a chance to fucking make something of myself in this town. That means staying out of trouble and leading a semi-decent life. I do not need you, or any of the rest of the family here to stir up shit for me. Tell me!” He banged his brother’s head against the wall for good measure because the man wouldn’t stop grinning. “What the hell do you want with anyone in this town?”

“It’s just the Fae I’m after. No concern of yours.” Taric’s arms shot out, slapping Zac around the face with both hands. “I’m more than happy to leave this place to your ugly mug. It’s not like there’s anything here worth sticking around for.”

“Is the Fae a job of yours?” Zac had a sinking feeling that the Fae’s life expectancy was going to get cut short.

Taric shrugged. “Look, you know what those guys are like. They get a bee in their bonnet about the stupidest of things. This is just some political shit. A son not following daddy’s orders or something equally banal.

“I picked up some mutterings about an arranged marriage this guy has run out on or something like that. You know I don’t give a shit. Their money is the same as anyone else’s. So, if you want me out of town, save me some time and tell me where the Fae is. I’ll be in and out, gone in less than ten minutes.”

Zac remembered what Rat had said about the hairdresser being well loved in town. That type of business meant, if it was the Fae doing the hair for whatever freaking reason, he would be missed within a matter of an hour. And Zac, being the new boy in town, would be the first person law enforcement would be looking at sideways.

It killed him to do it, but Zac knew there was only one way to get rid of his brother. “How many favors is it going to take for you to leave the Fae connected to Appleton alone?”

It was a good feeling, knowing he could still shock his brother. “What the fuck? Have you become some kind of philanthropist or good Samaritan since moving here?”

It was time for some bullshit. Fortunately, Zac was fluent. “If you’d done your research then you know I’m the head paranormal in this area. If something happens to the Fae, who’s the council going to come looking for to sort this shit out? You as much as admitted the Fae’s not a criminal. So he doesn’t want to marry somebody his father’s picked for him? You or I wouldn’t do that either. What’s it going to take for you to leave him alone?”

Taric’s grin caused a lump of lead in Zac’s belly. “Head paranormal in the area, ha? Nice. You keep telling yourself that. In the meantime, I’ll cut you a break, seeing as we’re family and all.” Breaking out of Zac’s hold, Taric wandered around the shop. “All you have to do, if you want me to leave the Fae alone, is to physically tell the Fae, face-to-face, that he’s been targeted by his father.”

“What do you get out of it?” That sounded too easy, which meant there had to be more to it.

“What happened the last time you tried to talk to a Fae?” Taric’s grin was pure evil.

Zac’s cheeks heated. “That’s not something I’ll ever discuss with you, and if you heard anything, it was probably a lie.”

“Maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t, but I heard it was deliciously awful. Take it or leave it, that’s what has to happen if I’m to leave the Fae and your town alone.” Taric glanced around once more and then cocked his finger in Zac’s direction. “Do we have a deal?”

Deals among demons were currency. “If I tell the Fae within the next twenty-four hours, face to face, that he’s being targeted by his father, in return, you will leave the Fae, me, and this town alone permanently. Agreed?”

“So long as you don’t blame me when the Fae’s father sends someone else.”

That was fair enough. As much as Zac would love to catch his brother out welching on a deal, the Fae’s father, whoever the hell he was, clearly didn’t have a problem handing out his son’s location to bounty hunting demons like Taric.

“Deal,” Zac said firmly. “Although, I still don’t see what you get out of this?”

Taric folded his arms across his chest, literally hugging himself, a huge smile on the git’s handsome face. “Instead of working and having to deal with the fucked up guy who put out the contract, I get to sit in the pub tonight with our brothers and friends while we imagine all the delicious ways the Fae is going to humiliate you, to your face. It’ll be such fun.”

“Fuck off,” Zac snarled. And his mom wondered why he didn’t want anything to do with his brothers. “Take your pretty boy face and get the hell out of here.”

“I’m going,” Taric sing songed. “Have a fun night. I know I will.”

Fucking bastard. Zac went back to his design and then folded the cover over his art pad. With the mood he was in, he’d be likely to wreck what he’d already done. What on earth am I going to say to a Fae?