Page 1 of Fae Farewells

5 Years Ago

A week was how long it took me to pin down Radolphus Bowers’ schedule. He was too predictable in his complacency, especially for a fae so well-known and hated.

I hadn’t been face-to-face with him since I was a young teen, but he still made my skin crawl. It was the way he leered at women, reminding me of the way he used to watch Ruby when she played.

I should have killed him then; now I had to be patient.

In only a few days, I’d managed to befriend several security guards at the pharmaceutical company. And from there, I’d been able to steal a key card.

Ralph, as he was called on Earth, had nothing useful in his office. There were no passwords saved on his computer for the bug to pick up. All he did while he was at CBP was fuck up the paperwork.

Today, I was going to follow him.

At least for the next two hours.

Then I’d have to catch up with the guys at some shady bar on the west side of town, because we were meeting our sixth roommate.

He wasn’t a mer, like Novak thought, but he was a druid. Not that they were related in any way other than living in the same realm… The vampire had been bummed for three days.

Radolphus climbed into his white SUV, leaving the company parking lot an hour after my shift ended.

I was driving Briggs’ truck today, since he was staying home until we met up. The whys and wheres of that conversation had been exhausting, though I’d finally explained that I was investigating my boss for the Kings and couldn’t use my car.

It was a classic. And she was too easy to spot.

Ralph took the interstate into town, driving exactly the speed limit for thirty-seven minutes before he veered onto the downtown exit. But instead of going left into the thick of it, he turned right.

Twelve red lights later, he parked in the lot belonging to The Ivy Buffalo.

The bar we were meeting the druid at in less than forty-five minutes…

I grabbed my phone from the center console, scrolling through the group chat where Palmer had sent the address. There was no mistaking this bar for another.

The giant plaster buffalo on the roof was a dead giveaway. It had flashing, neon green ivy leaves wrapped around it.

For Devil’s sake. How the fuck did we end up here?

I tucked my wallet and phone into my pockets, locking Briggs’ truck as I opened the darkly tinted glass door. The establishment wasn’t big, but there was enough space for me to stay away from Bowers.

The bartender waved in greeting, and I walked up to the corner of the counter as I scanned the tables and booths along the walls. Bowers was in the back corner, opposite me, with his son across from him.

Creed Bowers was a few years younger than me, closer to Ruby’s age. But I could point him out in a crowd. His platinum blonde hair was still as shaggy as it had been the last time I saw him. The fae symbols etched on his skin and peeking from the collar of his t-shirt didn’t help hide his identity.

I ordered a local brew the bartender recommended and sat on a stool in my corner, hoping I would go unnoticed. There were twenty-one people in the building, including myself. It wasn’t busy by any means, but I settled in to watch Bowers until the guys showed up.

His son was upset with him. He’d found something in the research and development department, and he was demanding answers that Bowers refused to give.

I only caught bits and pieces of their conversation, though it didn’t end well. Creed slammed his glass of water on the table, walking out. His only goodbye was the finger he held over his shoulder.

The beer tasted disgusting, but I pretended to be interested in the bartender’s explanation of how it was brewed right here in Nashville. His friend’s cousin, or something to that effect, owned the business, and he’d started it in his basement.

That felt accurate. It did taste like basement beer.

A man with black short-cropped hair sat a few tables away from me, an amused smirk on his face as I glanced around for an exit out of this one-sided conversation.

“That’s really fascinating,” I replied dryly to something about herbs or burs or… I wasn’t quite sure. He could have been talking about astrophysics for all I knew.

I truly could not care less.