Kissed By A Demon Spy (5 page)

Garnet studied the white cabinet doors adorned with copper knobs, keeping her expression neutral, not wanting to look like she didn’t know what was going on in her hometown. Ivydale had always had enough food for its residents, sure. But a big supplier? That was great news.

Dash tugged on her skirt. “Mom, look.” He pointed to a step stool leaning against one wall. “I can sit here and help you.”

“Oh, I-I don’t know…” She stopped herself, forcing her mind to pause and be in the moment. Dash wanted to help, and naturally assumed he’d help the same way he had in the past. In the kitchen. He didn’t know anything different. “Of course, you could. You’re such a good assistant.” She kissed his head.

The swinging doors burst open and Mathias strode in, apparently finished with whatever he was inspecting. His whole attitude seemed both relaxed and watchful at the same time, something she’d observed all morning.

“Nice digs.” He gave a chin lift to Aden. “You mind giving us a minute?”

“No problem. I’ll be outside sanding.” Aden walked out through a different entrance, one that opened to a hallway that Garnet guessed led to the foyer.

Bianca joined Garnet at the island, pulling up a bar stool. “So?” She asked Mathias.

“I picked up the lingering scents of other Deseratis and some elves. No predatory species. Everything looks straightforward. Locks on all the doors. The structure is sturdy. Nothing’s broken.”

“When did you do all that?” Garnet asked.

Mathias winked. “I work fast. Had to see if this place is safe enough for you. I don’t want to be in the same room with Brooke if I got you out of one bad spot and into another.”

“Smart man.” Bianca leaned forward, elbows on the island. “Anything noteworthy, or is this just a nice inn?”

“I detected a trace of scrying magic in the office. But he’s a Deserati, so that’s expected.” Mathias rubbed the back of his neck. “How about you? Do you know this leader of his, Keegan?”

“Not personally, but I recognize the name. My clan has had business transactions with theirs in the past. All favorable.”

Mathias nodded and turned to Garnet. “And you? If you don’t want to stay for any reason, big or small, you don’t have to. You don’t even have to tell us why. Bianca can take you anywhere.”

Garnet looked down at Dash, who was tracing the smooth edge of the island’s granite top with one finger. Everything had passed muster with Mathias and Bianca. The town was thriving. And a small part of her screamed that she could fill a need, right here in this kitchen. She hadn’t thought about cooking in her future…she hadn’t thought of her future before this morning, period. But now the idea teased at her mind.

Her soul stretched out, luxuriating in having a choice. “I’ll stay here. I feel good about it.”

“Aden might offer you that chef job,” Bianca murmured.

“That’s okay. I get to decide whether I’ll take it.” Garnet smiled, then froze. “Oh, but maybe I should. At least at first…I don’t have any money. Maybe I can work for our keep.”

Mathias held up a hand. “You’re set for one week. You need more, you let me know.”

“What?” Garnet gasped. “No, you’ve done so much already, I—”

“Pfft. We’re not going to bring you here and just leave you.” Bianca pulled a roll of cash from her tight pants pocket. “Use this for new clothes for you and Dash. No, I insist,” she added when Garnet tried to protest again.

“And one other thing.” Mathias produced a phone from his pocket and handed it to her. “Got this when I scoped out the stores. I programmed in my number and Bianca’s. Call us any time.”

“I-I can’t take—”

“Yes. You can.” Mathias set the phone in her palm and closed her fingers over it.

“I’ll pay you back. Both of you. Every cent. Before I keep any for myself.” She could count on one hand the number of times people had been kind to her with no expectation of anything in return. This generosity was almost too much to fathom.

“No rush.” Bianca smiled.

“Is that phone for you, Mom?” Dash asked. Garnet had never had one, but Dash had seen guards at Stroehm using theirs.

“Yes, want to see it?” She handed him the device.

He immediately began pushing buttons and two seconds later Bianca’s own phone trilled. She laughed and answered the call with a cheerful voice. “Hello, Bianca speaking. Where would you like to go?”

With a shy smile, Dash looked at her. ”We’re already here.”

G
ARNET
HUGGED
B
IANCA
AND
M
ATHIAS
one last time before stepping several feet away from them on the inn’s front yard. “Call any time,” Bianca said before clasping Mathias’s hands and closing her eyes.

Dash clutched Garnet’s hand. “I’m glad we’re staying here.”

“It was kinda scary when Miss Bianca brought us here, wasn’t it?” Garnet was all too happy to keep her attention focused on her son and not on Aden, who leaned against one of the porch supports. His dark intensity both intrigued her and made her hyper-aware of his strength and confidence. He radiated rough masculinity but he seemed…good. She gave a quick shake of her head.
Good
was a quality she didn’t know anything about when it came to men.

“Yeah.” Dash twirled his upper body without moving his feet, in that restless way that kids have. But he kept his eyes on Bianca. “How does she do that?”

“It’s her special magic. Just like we can help plants grow.”

“I’m not good at it.”

“Oh, sweetie, I bet you will be. You’re only six, your power is still developing, and Stroehm was a terrible place to try to grow anything. But here, it’ll be better.”

“Wow,” he murmured as tendrils of mist enveloped Mathias and Bianca. In seconds they were gone.

Garnet stared at the spot where they’d just been, feeling grateful and hopeful. She felt a tiny frisson of fear at the departure of her new friends, but stronger than that was the resolve to start over. She’d lived through hell. And her friends were only a phone call away.
I can do this. I will make it work
.

“What do we do now?” Dash asked.

What to do? Good question. “Anything we want. Maybe we can explore.”

Aden’s boots thudded on the stone path behind her. “There’s some shops in town. Bunch of newer ones you may not have seen before.” He cleared his throat. “Depending on how long you’ve been away.”

“Oh.” She swallowed hard and avoided his eyes, not ready to answer his subtle question. “Um, okay.” There were probably a lot of shops she hadn’t seen. “When we’re done, will the door be unlocked? Do you need to know when we’ll be back?”

“Take as long as you like. I’ll be here all day.” He glanced to the inn’s sign laying on the ground. “Still need to paint that. But I leave the door unlocked until all the guests are in for the night.”

“Oh.” She nodded. “We’ll be back later.” She blinked, as the reality hit her that she was free to come and go. Whenever she wanted, for as long as she wanted. She barely remembered shopping, barely remembered lazy afternoons playing with friends.
It won’t be that way for Dash.
Reaching for his hand, she couldn’t suppress a smile. “Let’s go,
nihjo
.”

As she and Dash walked away from the inn, she felt Aden’s eyes on her and dared a glance over her shoulder. Yes, she was right. He was staring. But unlike her when she’d first arrived, he didn’t seem to mind getting caught. In fact, he winked.

A full body flush enveloped her and she whirled back around. Her cheeks burned and her heart thudded in her chest.
Stop it. You’re not fifteen anymore
. She shook her head, trying to gather her thoughts after his molten stare. Instead of setting off warning bells in her mind, his attention sent butterflies zooming around her stomach.

Don’t think about him. Don’t think about any man. Not after the life you’ve led
. She needed to raise Dash in a safe place. It didn’t matter if that place happened to house a devastatingly handsome innkeeper.

“Can we go there?” Dash pointed to a colorful sign above a red door in the nearest block of buildings. Whimsical letters intertwined with drawings of all kinds of sweets proclaimed, “Candy Shoppe.”

“Sure.” Garnet’s voice was light, partly from the heat of Aden’s eyes and partly because freedom felt so darn good.

A silver-haired woman came out of the shop, carrying a broom. She propped it against the doorframe and sat on a bench near the door. “Sweeping can wait,” she chuckled, half to herself and half to Garnet, as she smiled. Then in a sudden double-take, she sat forward, wide eyes locked on Garnet.

Garnet’s jaw dropped in recognition, and her mind searched in vain to connect the face with a name. But it had been too long, and she had been too young when she was taken.

“Garnet? Is that you?” the woman whispered.

Garnet sucked in a tiny breath, managing to squeak out, “Yes.” On an instinctive level, she wanted to like this woman, but caution born of her captivity held her back.

“Gods above, child!” The woman pushed off the bench to embrace her. “We never thought we’d see you again. Oh, sweetie. It’s me, Pearl. I used to help the strawberry fields grow to bursting, until I got too old. Now I run this shop.”

“Pearl.” Memories clicked into place. She’d eaten plenty of Pearl’s strawberries right off the vines. The old woman’s hug radiated motherly comfort. Pearl knew everyone and everything around Ivydale.

“You’re back to stay, child?” Pearl pulled back, assessing her.

Garnet nodded. “And this is my son, Dash.”

“Well, aren’t you a handsome boy?” Pearl gazed at him with nothing but sweetness. No raised eyebrows or sideways looks at Garnet, showing up out of the blue with a child. Garnet let out a breath.
So far, so good
.

Dash stared at Pearl. He hadn’t seen many people with gray hair. Creatures didn’t live that long at Stroehm.
Dash has had a lot of firsts, today. And the day’s not over yet.

“Would you like some candy? My treat, I insist,” Pearl said, then slapped a hand over her mouth. “I’m sorry, I should’ve asked your mom first.”

“It’s fine.” Garnet smiled. Dash had eaten candy maybe once in his whole life.

They walked inside the shop and the aromas of sugar, caramel, and fruit bathed her senses. “This smells amazing!”

Dash bounced around, inspecting every type of candy and describing the bright colors.

“Your shop is beautiful.” Garnet looked from the sweets to the multi-colored decorative fire bulbs along the ceiling. The whole place radiated happiness. “I didn’t know you had this place…I-I couldn’t get news of anything that was going on in the realm.”

Pearl smiled, her blue eyes clear and bright despite her advanced years. “You don’t have to explain anything, child. I’m just glad you’re back.”

Tears pricked Garnet’s eyes at Pearl’s acceptance. “Thank you.” Wiping at her eyes before Dash noticed, she took a deep breath.
Please let everyone here be as kind as Pearl.
She turned to Dash. “Pick one,
nihjo
.”

He chose a huge red and blue lollipop and held it out in front of him. “This one!”

Garnet laughed. “That’ll turn your tongue purple.”

“Cool.” Dash grinned.

Pearl pulled Garnet in for another hug. “You come back and see me now.”

“I will. Thank you again.” She grabbed Dash’s free hand and guided him out of the store. “Next we need some new clothes.”

“Aw, clothes are boring.” Dash licked his lollipop.

“I guess they’re boring to little boys. But I want us to have new things, not these yucky clothes from Stroehm.” Her own dress was drab gray and too big, Dash’s shirt and pants were the same. After a visit to a clothing store, she spent as much of Bianca’s money as she dared on new items for the two of them. The stores in Ivydale all took cash. But they also worked on a trade, service, and credit system. Right now, Garnet had nothing to offer as a product or service, but she would soon. Then, and only then, would she consider browsing and looking at items that weren’t necessities.

The sun dipped below Ivydale’s tree line, leaving the sky streaked with pink and gold as Aden rubbed the back of his neck and clicked out of the spreadsheet program. The inn may be a front for his main activities, but it was still a business with a hundred different expenses. Funds weren’t a problem, though Keegan still wanted the financial details in case he repeated the operation in another village.

With the last of the week’s purchases logged in, Aden stood and stretched. He needed to get out of this office, maybe go for a run. Heading down the hall toward the kitchen, he caught the enticing aroma of lavender.

Garnet
.

That scent and those dark eyes had beguiled him the second he’d touched her hand today. She was the last person he’d expected to show up in Ivydale, let alone accompanied by a child, a porter, and the Lash demons’ Hunter. She must be well-connected. But if so, why had she been at Stroehm in the first place? Questions ping-ponged around in his head, tempered by her omission of where she’d lived. Who could blame her for not wanting to tell him? Just the name of the compound made many creatures shudder. There were no secrets about what went on there.

No, Aden wouldn’t push her to talk. Maybe one day she’d volunteer her story once she felt more comfortable around him. That would require spending more time with her, something he looked forward to with relish. Reaching the wide doorway to the kitchen, he stopped.

The lights were off save for the pendant lights above one island. Garnet stood with her back to him, on the opposite side of the room. She trailed two delicate fingers along the edge of the stove, reaching out as far as she could and then drawing her arm back in to her waist…which he could now see was incredibly tiny.

Holy hell. She’d showered and changed, obviously into some of the new clothes she and the child had returned home with after their afternoon exploring the town. They’d had several bags, which Aden had insisted on carrying up to their room.

Now, without that oversized sack of a dress, he couldn’t look away from her perfect curves. Dark hair hung in shiny waves down her back. The silky strands brushed the top of her ass, which was shown off in snug-fitting jeans. She leaned over the stove to trace the colored ceramic tile he’d installed as a backsplash, and he stifled a groan as his cock stirred to life at the view she was unwittingly giving him. He wanted to bend her over the nearest chair and—