37. Angie

37

ANGIE

" A re you sure Jasper didn't have them hidden away somewhere?" I asked Tuvid. I paced in front of him in my living room. We'd closed up the brewery and while he'd flown, I'd driven home.

To say I was frustrated was an understatement.

He'd brought home the rest of the bottle of stout. It was my beer. I knew it. The chili had just the right bite. The chocolate notes were exactly as I remember. And that creaminess that mimicked coffee?

I'd crafted that beer myself.

So where were my kegs, and who'd taken them if it wasn't Jasper?

"I looked around, but I think he would've handed them over if he had them," Tuvid said. "He wanted to make the deal. He was quite earnest about it. Why hold them back when he knew he had a buyer? Honestly, I'd pinned it on him. I thought this was a done deal."

Stopping in front of him, I ticked off our suspects. " We're still considering my ex, Benjamin, who is also his supposedly silent partner. He could have the beer."

"Why not just give it to Jasper, then?"

"Maybe he wants to get more money out of you or . . . I don't know. But he's still on the list. Plus all my local competition, including Maureen. Who else are we still considering?"

"Gracie."

"Someone hacked her FaceSpace account. She hasn't been posting nasty fake comments about me stealing Benjamin from her, though someone has. For all we know, Benjamin did it himself. He's the one with a computer scientist whiz father who is quite capable of helping the son he dotes on."

"Do you think a father would do something like that for his adult son?"

"He pays his mortgage half the time."

His face twisted. "Really? He's your age, isn't he?"

I shrugged. "Older, but he does. Makes his car payment too."

"Which means Benjamin has money problems, putting him at the top of our list."

"Who else?"

"Emma with her debt."

"If she wasn't back with her wealthy incubus boyfriend, I'd lend more credence to that. She mentioned they were going to Ghoul's Gamble again this weekend. And being in debt isn't a solid reason to ruin your employer's business. If anything, you'd want to make sure they remained solid so you'd have a job."

"True. "

"Anyone else?"

He shook his head. "I'm sorry. I thought I'd solve this by now."

"We're very close." I waved to the bottle sitting on my coffee table. "That's my beer, which means someone has my kegs, and they hope to sell them to you tomorrow morning. How can we set up this heist to get my kegs back and catch the thief with enough time to get my beer to the brew-off before they no longer accept entries?"

"What time is that?"

"Three in the afternoon."

"Alright. Hmm." His sly smile grew. "I've got an idea. How open are you to wearing your strap-on tomorrow morning?"

"If it gets my beer back, strap it on, baby."

The next morning, we got ready.

"I was sure about this last night," I said as I looked down at my costume. "I'm not as sure about it today."

"You don't need to do this," Tuvid said. "Detective Carter can send someone with me. He said he has a yeti on staff. That's close enough to a gargoyle for Jasper."

I pursed my lips. "A yeti does not look like a gargoyle." However, neither did I, even while wearing a red strap-on tail, red wings, and a red neoprene gargoyle suit. "Yetis are much too furry. "

"Jasper won't know that gargoyles have no fur. For all he knows, we shave."

I tilted my head, frowning. "Do you?"

He shook his head. "No. We naturally don't have hair."

I shot my gaze to his groin, though I'd already made note and wondered about that. "What's that stuff on your head?"

"Well, we have hair there, but nowhere else."

"Nowhere?"

He grinned. "You can examine me closer later, but no. Not one strand other than on the tops of our heads."

"Do gargoyle males develop male pattern baldness?"

"Is it a problem if we do?"

Not at all, but he was fun to tease. I shrugged. "Just asking."

" Is it a problem?"

I loved when he got all growly like that. It made my hormones perk up and take notice, the last thing I needed while wearing a red gargoyle suit it took me five minutes to get into. "Probably not."

"If you're willing to wear a strap-on red tail to our wedding," he pointed out. "Then I'll wear a wig if my potential, and I stress potential , male pattern baldness becomes an issue."

"Deal. As for Detective Carter and his yeti on staff, let alone furry gargoyles, Jasper's not that stupid." Or maybe he was if he truly thought I'd sell him my building. "Are you sure you don't have even a strand of chest hair? I think sometimes, that can be sexy."

He sighed and started pacing back and forth in my living room. "I'll buy some glue-on fur. Wear it to bed one of these nights. Can we get back to the plan? We have to leave soon and despite your adorable wings, you can't fly. We've got to get your vehicle into position and set this up long before they arrive."

Last evening, we'd picked up the rental refrigerator truck I'd drive.

"Sure, sure. Help me zip." I turned my back to him, and he finished securing my red suit. "Couldn't you get me a gorgeous dark blue suit like your skin?"

"They were all out of blue, though I appreciate you mentioning that you prefer the color of my skin over red." His smile curled up, revealing his fangs. Truly, when he smiled, I nearly swooned. Or . . .

Okay, I cried. Tears trickled down my cheeks.

"You can't cry when we're making the deal," he said quite patiently. I appreciated that about him so much. "This is not negotiable."

"I promise I won't."

With his unibrow lifting, he handed me some tissues.

I sniffed and blotted my face. "I'll tell the culprit I have seasonal allergies."

"Gargoyles don't have allergies."

"Well, aren't you all superheroes."

"We certainly are," he said much too slickly.

It was all I could do not to smack his arm. He was too hot when he talked like that. It made me want to press him against the wall and climb him. A lot of good that would do me while I was dressed like a red-skinned hot dog. I just needed a bun and some mustard.

And now I was hungry as well as crying .

"Finish helping me secure my wings," I said. "And then I need to put on my Batman mask and hood."

"I'm Batman. You're Robin."

"Robin's ineffective."

"Robin's cute."

I tilted my head. "You have a thing for Robin?"

"Doesn't everyone?"

"It's the tights, isn't it?"

"They hug . . . everything ."

And now I needed to stock up on tights.

We finished dressing me and rambled out through my breezeway and into my garage. I would drive to the secure location and park close enough to load the kegs while Tuvid would fly in from above. He was bugged. I was not, which was a sore spot between us. How could I be his sidekick if I didn't have a weapon outside my strap-on, and I didn't wear a listening device? The criminal enterprise might steal me away from him to grill me and no one would hear all the clues they'd spill due to my savvy investigative skills.

Now that would be the true crime.

Tuvid secured my seatbelt and leaned in to give me a quick kiss. "You make a perfect reg gargoyle. If we had time, I'd strip all that off and show you."

"Later. Bring your cuffs." Peeved that he was turning me on with kisses and promises, I nudged him out of the opening and pressed the garage door opener, waiting for it to finish lifting before I started the rental truck and backed it out and down the driveway.

I drove while he flew reconnaissance overhead. We had an hour to get everything ready, and I couldn't wait for this show to get started.

I wanted my beer back, that was for certain.

But even more, I wanted to reveal who'd stolen it and discover if they were also trying to drive me out of business.