Chapter 45

After ten days of mind-blowing sex in every room in the townhouse—furnished and unfurnished—even I was starting to think we might need to take a break and get out. When not in the throes of passion, Ziola seemed determined to catch up on a lifetime of missed hot baths, so I left her soaking in the tub to check the dead drop I used to receive messages. She was standing in the kitchen wearing only a towel when I returned, her silky red hair loose around her shoulders and her skin still pink from the hot bath.

Instantly, the blood rushed from my brain straight into my groin and all coherent thought ceased. The folded bit of parchment I had retrieved from the drop dangled forgotten from my fingers as I reached for her towel.

Ziola snatched the parchment from my fingers and stepped back. "What's this?"

It took a few seconds for my lust to clear enough to answer her. "It's addressed to you."

She opened it and said, "It's from Ellia. Her shop is closed today, and she's asked me to stop in."

"Mmmm," I said as I pulled her into my arms and slid my hand up under the towel. Her skin was slick and warm from bath oils, and I gripped her ass and squeezed.

Nuzzling her hair, I was about to suggest moving to the sitting room couch, which was closer than the bedroom, when she said, "I'm going to dress. Want to come with me?"

With a deep sigh of regret, I released her. "Sure."

Since the shop was closed, we went to the back of the apothecary and tapped on the door. Ellia answered and led us upstairs to her and Alix's sitting room. Rose-patterned wallpaper adorned the plaster walls, and colorful braided rugs lay on the polished wooden floors. Several framed botanical paintings and a tapestry of a field of wildflowers unmistakably reflected Ellia's personality. Alix looked up from an armchair near the window where he was reading a broadsheet.

Ellia got us settled comfortably and handed us cups of tea. I peered sidelong at Alix. "Is this seriously what you drink at home?"

He smirked at me. "The rest of us like it."

Ellia pushed a small pot of honey to me. "Try adding a little of this."

She sighed when I dumped half the pot into my cup, but as far as I was concerned, it was a definite improvement.

"I've spoken to several of my after-hours clients, and they are eager to come for lessons. Petra says we can use the Mug's taproom on Monday mornings. Do you still want to teach?"

I had no idea what Ellia was talking about and glanced at Ziola.

"Oh, yes. I can't wait to start."

"What are you teaching?" I asked, wondering if Ellia's impoverished women and children were planning on joining the guild.

"How to defend themselves from unwanted advances and violence."

"Do they want to learn to fight with knives? I could teach them that." I said.

All three of them gawked at me before Alix ran a hand down his face with a groan. "What?" I asked. "It's a useful skill."

No one answered me and I smiled inwardly. Ellia turned back to Ziola. "What are your plans now? Return to the guild?"

Ziola shook her head. "That's not possible at the moment. All the Enforcer activity makes any burglary risky."

"Even fencing goods is difficult right now," I added. "Plus, the guild is in disarray following an attack on one of the directors and the discovery of an informant. No one knows how much he told the Enforcers." I shrugged. "They'll be scrambling to find a new guildhall and replace all the safehouses. It's going to be a mess for quite some time to come."

"I need to find something else," Ziola said. "But I don't have any relevant job experience."

Alix rubbed his chin. "Ellia, you or Petra would know more about this, but I think girls from wealthy families would also benefit from being able to protect themselves. It's not just poor men who take out their frustrations on their wives with their fists."

"That's very true. Once women realize they can protect themselves, I think there would be ample opportunity to provide private lessons," Ellia said.

It occurred to me I'd seen fae and human girls in the park trying to shoot arrows. "Is archery fashionable?" I asked Ellia.

"Oh, yes. It's quite the craze right now. A lot of young ladies find it more enjoyable than needlework."

Ziola snorted. "That's hardly surprising. I can't imagine anything worse than spending the day stitching ugly samplers. Do people really hang those things on their walls?"

"I think it goes along with hanging bad drawings of stick people that your children make," Alix observed.

When Ellia glared at him, I said, "Get ready, mate. I have a feeling you're doomed to years of bad art if you and Ellia ever have children."

Ellia shifted her glare to me, then pointedly ignored both of us and returned to Ziola. "I'd forgotten that you are skilled with a bow. I'm sure we can find you work tutoring girls in self-defense and archery."

Ziola sat back and slowly swirled her tea. "You know, I think I'd like that."

"Whenever I'm hired to discuss security measures, I can recommend self-defense lessons for the wives and daughters," Alix said.

"And I'll talk to some of my customers about having their daughters take archery lessons," Ellia added.

Ziola's eyes were bright, and she swallowed hard. I threaded my fingers through hers and squeezed her hand. "That's very kind. Thank you," she said.

Ellia waved it away. To me she said, "With the city this tense, I hope you'll be careful."

"I've been thinking that a change might be in order."

Alix's brows lifted. "You have?"

"My relationship with the guild has been uncomfortable for a while."

"The team lead stuff?"

"I realized that pushing me to take responsibility was their way of tying me to them. They're not sure they can trust me."

"After all these years?"

"That's the depressing part. If I were going rogue, I'd have done it a long time ago." I swallowed a mouthful of tea with so much honey it made my teeth ache. "I could set myself up as an information broker."

"You'd be brilliant at that. I don't know anyone who can uncover secrets like you can." Alix regarded me over his cup for a long moment. "I can't believe I'm going to say this, but do you want to work with me?"

I couldn't believe he'd asked either. I respected Alix tremendously, and we got along, but our outlook on life was quite different. His business revolved around catching criminals and mine revolved around larceny. He frequently worked with law enforcement and I, well, didn't.

I squinted at him. "How do you envision that working?"

"To be honest, I've got more business than I can handle. Handing off some of the surveillance and investigative work to someone else would let me take on more security consulting. And let's face it, your ability to circumvent anyone's security measures would prove invaluable."

If I told everyone how to improve their security to the point I couldn't breach it, my days as a thief would be over once and for all. I wasn't sure I was ready for that. Although I could always leave one vulnerability unplugged that I could exploit if I ever needed to. I chewed on my lower lip. That wouldn't be so bad…

Alix peered at me shrewdly. "But you can't use what we learn from clients to target them later."

I threw my hands up. "But that's like tying one hand behind your back in a fight!"

"In my line, clients have to trust that you have their best interests at heart."

"I'm not good with trust," I said. Bad enough, I had finally admitted that I needed Ziola. Asking me to trust was a step too far.

"You trust us, don't you?" Ellia waved at Alix, Ziola, and herself. When I nodded, she continued, "And Ralph and Petra, right?"

"Five, Ellia. Five. That's a grand total of five people, out of … how many people live in Sageport?" I countered.

Ellia sighed. "You have to start somewhere."

I wasn't sure I did.

"Could the two of you compromise?" Ziola asked.

I looked at her and asked. "What do you mean?"

Ziola pointed at me. "You handle clients seeking information. As long as you don't inform others about their inquiries, you won't be breaking their trust." She pointed to Alix. "And you handle all the security consultations. If your recommendations aren't good enough to keep Remy out at some point, that's on you." She shrugged. "That's no different than the situation today."

Ellia spoke up. "You could work together to bring down anyone dangerous." Looking at Alix, she continued, "I know you stopped taking the more lucrative bounty assignments because I worried for your safety. But I'd be much happier if Remy was backing you up."

Alix and I eyed each other. "I can live with that," he said. "But you have to keep any questionable activities completely separate from our business. Nothing can taint our reputation."

Nodding, I stuck out my hand and we shook.

When we returned to the townhouse, I pulled Ziola close and captured her lips with mine. We hadn't made love since that morning, and I was feeling amorous. I ran my hands up into her long, shining locks and deepened the kiss. I didn't truly understand how this slender, fiery woman had slipped through my defenses, but I thanked all the gods that she had. There had been a piece missing inside me that she filled and for the first time, I felt completely content.

Slipping my arm behind her knees, I scooped her up and climbed the stairs to our bedroom. Ziola threaded her arms around my neck and nibbled on my ear, sending a dart of desire through me. I laid her gently on the bed and she pulled me down with her, pressing her body tight to mine. She reached up and brushed my jaw with delicate fingers and gazed at me with her beautiful green eyes.

"Working with Alix will be a big change for you. Will you be happy?" she asked.

I leaned back and let out a long breath. "I think so. It will be awhile yet before the Council gives up on finding the Eye in Sageport and the Enforcers go back to their normal duties. So, this is better for now."

"I hope you don't get bored." Her brow furrowed and she bit her lip.

I smiled and playfully tapped her nose. "I'll never be bored as long as you are here."

Then I drew her close and began kissing her in earnest, all else forgotten.