Chapter 46

Gracias Madre Restaurant, West Hollywood, California, United States

"He said what to you?" Liv asked, taking a sip of her bright green margarita, garnished with a cucumber and a jalapeno.

Gen sipped her own drink, something orange and fruity with pineapple and berries. "Dwayne Stone said that I had to oversee over three-thousand magical creatures now. But it was only because Bermuda released all the birds while we were there for their nighttime flight and once I watched them all fly away with Emperor, she said I'd just observed over fifteen hundred species in one go. Apparently each of the exotic birds are so different that they classify as their own types. Anyway, when I told my boss I was done with that task, he was utterly pissed and assigned me more to do. He's never going to let me have a case."

Liv nodded, sitting back in her seat. "I've seen this before. He's afraid of you being in the field because as soon as you are, you're going to mess something up for him. He's hiding something. Something you'd sniff out."

Gen leaned forward, not wanting to be overheard in the busy, fancy Mexican restaurant. "I did see something today. Something that Emperor alerted me to. We think that there's a heist that's about to happen at a museum in Los Angeles."

Liv rubbed her hands together. "That's it. That's what you need to intervene on. Find out why it isn't on the Rogue Riders' radar. Because if something bad was happening of that magnitude then Sophia would have known about it. If Dwayne doesn't, then there's something sketchy about that guy. Either he's really bad at his job, or he's corrupt at it. From what I've seen of him, it's hard to say which one it could be. There's so much ego at play in Dwayne that he could be both incompetent and corrupt."

The waitress arrived with two plates of identical servings. One for Liv and one for Gen. They were apparently something called nachos, although Gen had never had them and didn't know what she was staring at presently.

They appeared to be little, thin triangles of crispy bread covered in melty cheese and an assortment of toppings. Based on the look on Liv's face, they were the best thing ever.

"Oh, and now we're in business," Liv said, settling back as the food was placed in front of them. "Get ready for your first experience of nachos. It will blow your mind."

"How do I eat these?" Gen asked, staring down at her plate as if it were a complex math equation.

"With a smile," Liv replied, picking up a piece from a non-covered edge and lifting the weighty portion to her mouth, pulling it away from its brethren. She engulfed the food, chewing with utter delight. "Go on then. I get to watch you do this. Just like a baby taking its first step."

"I'm not a baby," Gen fired.

"Then are you going to intervene on that museum heist or are you going to be a baby?" Liv fired back.

Gen thought for a moment. "I don't know. My boss pretty much hates me and will never give me a case. I'm not sure that I need more heat on me."

"Well, you are a Rogue Rider," Liv countered. "So can I give you a bit of advice?"

Gen nodded, looking between the very enticing nachos and her relative across the table. "Yeah, go for it."

"Go rogue, Gen," Liv encouraged. "Be what you are. Go out on your own. If that sorry jerk won't let you work a case, then throw down your badge and take one on your own. You never need permission to uphold justice. You only need a dragon and a weapon, and you've got both."

Gen grinned, grateful that all these centuries later, there was a Beaufont just like her. Someone so bold and good that she could feel like she wasn't alone—for once. "Okay, you're right. I'm going to do it. Emperor and I are going to. We're going to intervene in this museum heist. We're going to uphold justice."

Liv nodded, encouragingly. "But first, you're going to eat nachos. Seriously, I need to see your face. Try them."

"Right," Gen said, more afraid of the plate of chaos in front of her than armed men. She reached down with a tentative hand and peeled one of the chips away from the stack, finding that it didn't want to separate from the rest, but that it looked and smelled very appetizing as it did.

Then Gen took a bite of the vehicle full of goodness and found it to be the best thing about this time period. It was an assortment of flavors all layered upon a surface and delivered in the perfect way, atop a crispy bottom. Gen realized then that there might be other things in the modern era that would rock her world—and she welcomed it.