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“Got something for you out the back of your tavern. Go check it out. I’ll bewaiting.”
He studied me, his arms planted on his narrow hips. The man might have been in his seventies and thin as a pole, but he was tough as nails as I’d once seen him punch a man half his age and knock him flat to theground.
Without a word, Ted marched out the rear door. The girls near the fireplace howled with laughter. Once I completed this job and got paid, hell, I was holding a huge party with Scarlet and her three lovers to celebrate. Just remembering she had three partners made me so proud of her since most of the time she blushed like a raspberry at the mention of the opposite sex. Now, she was probably getting laid by those wolf shifters like a bunny. Damn luckygirl.
“The horse?” Ted asked, and despite his stoic voice, a thread of excitement thrummed beneath hisquestion.
“Well, if you don’t like the payment, I’d gladly keep him. He’s worth ten times what I owe you, so how about we can call this paying my tab and anadvance?”
Ted chuckled and stuck out his hand. “You ought to consider taking up undercover work because you always surprise me. Many people pay well in thatfield.”
I shook his hand and offered him a smug smile. “Who said I wasn’t? But you may want to discard the saddle pretty quick, as it comes with a priestess emblem from Terra. And guards might comesnooping.”
Ted drew me toward him by my arm, wrenching me halfway over the counter. “Seems the innocence in your eyes is deceiving. I’ll take the horse and we have a deal. Now what will you have to drink?” He released me, and I fell into myseat.
“Pear cider, a plate of your famous chicken fingers, andinformation.”
He narrowed his eyes and leaned on an elbow on the bar. “Keeptalking.”
The couple at the end of the counter was deep in conversation, and not paying us any mind. “I was meant to meet Elliana here a few days ago. You know, the girl with the long, blonde hair. We both got drunk a few months ago, then you kicked us out. Have you seen her? Maybe she left a message forme?”
Ted’s lips twitched in a frown. “She owes me a bigger debt than you, and I don’t take messages.” He wiped his stubbled chin, the sound grating on my nerves. “Haven’t seen her since lastweek.”
I forced a brittle smile, weariness eating away at my confidence and the earlier excitement of getting thisjob.
“Has anyone hung out at the tavern most of thisweek?”
“Girl, everyone does that here. I don’t keep record of who comes and goes.” Ted looked over at the couple at the bar, who waved him over. “Sorry I can’t be of morehelp.”
Ted poured me a long glass of cider, placed it in front of me, and joined his otherclientele.
I slouched, coldness washing through my body, and drank half the cider. Its sweetness churned in my gut. If Elliana avoided the tavern, she’d probably turn up disguised. Well,shehad selected this spot as our meeting place. What if she’d given up on me and offered the job to someone else? And to make matters worse, it was too late in the day to head back home, and it would be on foot since I’d soldElf.
So I’d stay for as long as my credit with Ted allowed me to rent one of his rooms in case Elliana made a show. Nervousness chewed on my insides. Getting paid meant paying off Dad’s huge debt, no longer having to live hand tomouth.
I swiveled on my stool, tempted to check out the other bars and shops in town for Elliana. But what if I missed her popping into thetavern?
The man from the corner stared my way. Shadows danced beneath his hooded face, and a shiver raced down myarms.
Had he heard what I’d asked Ted? Did he know Elliana, or was he working withher?
He stood, towering overhead at about six-foot-two, and when he headed toward me, my heart slammed into my chest. Judging by his concealed face, was I dealing with a gang member? They were renowned for kidnapping loners and selling them on the blackmarket.
When he put his hand into the inside pocket of his coat, I lost mybreath.
