them. “Don’t suppose you’ve got any bright ideas for that, too?”
“Well, sure. We can swing by the mall on the way over to your mom’s.”
I meant the White Hats, but her idea to handle my brother’s gift made me feel a bit better. Though I soon remembered the contract, my not-quite-good mood shattering. “Did you finish with the papers last night?”
“No, not yet. I have to tweak the fonts and cut out a little of the wording to make it all fit right and say what we want it to say but still look enough like the old contract to pass a casual inspection.”
I nodded, wondering miserably how I was going to stand up to Royce. I quivered just at the sight of him, let alone his fangs. What would I do if he actually jumped at my throat?
“Do you really think he’ll just lodge them with the court without looking at them?”
She laughed at the worry in my voice. “Of course. Nobody but lawyers ever wants to read this kind of stuff. The form he used was really cookie-cutter, too.”
That made me wonder how she was familiar enough with this type of contract to know that it was cookie-cutter. “You’ve worked on these before?”
“Yeah,” she said, looking more sheepish than I’ve ever seen her. Was that a touch of red in her cheeks? “I took a job for a Were about six months ago. She thought her contract partner was cheating on her with another Were and wanted to know what he was up to. Turns out he was cheating, just not with another Were. She wanted to know what her rights were, so she showed me the fill-in-the-blanks standard form they had signed. I helped her a little since the guy she was dating was scum and I felt bad about having to break the news.”
Gross. I made a face and shook my head. “You pick the weirdest jobs.”
“Heh, yeah, I guess I do.” She grinned, plucking the hot bagels from the toaster. “Trust me, he’ll just look for your signature. You’re going to have to act really reluctant to hand them over if he’s going to believe you’ve given in, though.”
“That should be the easy part. I am reluctant to hand them over.”
The coffeemaker beeped. Finally. I rinsed out our mugs from last night and poured fresh coffee into both, picking through the cabinets, drawers, and fridge to get spoons, sugar, and cream. After fixing up our drinks, I handed one over to Sara before settling back into my seat at the table with a mug cradled in my cold hands.
Relaxing back into the chair, I shut my eyes, only to be startled by the earsplitting sound of one of the dogs going mental right under the window next to me. Some of the coffee sloshed over onto my hands, dragging a pained curse out of me as I sucked my burning fingers into my mouth.
“Shut up, Buster!” Sara shouted, handing me the spatula on her way to the front door. “It’s probably just the paper.”
I got up to tend to the stove, alternately sucking the fingers of one hand while poking and prodding at the eggs with the other. Sara walked back in a minute later, ashen and pale.
“Shia, what was the name of that woman from The Circle you met on Thursday?”
I glanced back at her over my shoulder, wondering at the slight waver to her voice. “Veronica. Veronica Wright. Why?”
She tossed the paper down next to the stove. I dropped the spatula and grabbed the paper, reeling in shock.
MAGE FOUND MURDERED!!! ARE THE OTHERS AT WAR ? screamed the headline splashed across the front page. Right above Veronica’s smiling picture.
Chapter 16
I didn’t have much of an appetite, but I picked at the eggs Sara set down in front of me. I don’t even remember staggering to a seat, but somehow I managed it.
Whatever the cops found must have been pretty bad for the papers to jump on it that quickly. Apparently a neighbor complained about some strange sounds coming from Veronica’s apartment late last night. When the police showed up to investigate and no one answered the door, they busted in and found her body, mutilated and
“Well, sure. We can swing by the mall on the way over to your mom’s.”
I meant the White Hats, but her idea to handle my brother’s gift made me feel a bit better. Though I soon remembered the contract, my not-quite-good mood shattering. “Did you finish with the papers last night?”
“No, not yet. I have to tweak the fonts and cut out a little of the wording to make it all fit right and say what we want it to say but still look enough like the old contract to pass a casual inspection.”
I nodded, wondering miserably how I was going to stand up to Royce. I quivered just at the sight of him, let alone his fangs. What would I do if he actually jumped at my throat?
“Do you really think he’ll just lodge them with the court without looking at them?”
She laughed at the worry in my voice. “Of course. Nobody but lawyers ever wants to read this kind of stuff. The form he used was really cookie-cutter, too.”
That made me wonder how she was familiar enough with this type of contract to know that it was cookie-cutter. “You’ve worked on these before?”
“Yeah,” she said, looking more sheepish than I’ve ever seen her. Was that a touch of red in her cheeks? “I took a job for a Were about six months ago. She thought her contract partner was cheating on her with another Were and wanted to know what he was up to. Turns out he was cheating, just not with another Were. She wanted to know what her rights were, so she showed me the fill-in-the-blanks standard form they had signed. I helped her a little since the guy she was dating was scum and I felt bad about having to break the news.”
Gross. I made a face and shook my head. “You pick the weirdest jobs.”
“Heh, yeah, I guess I do.” She grinned, plucking the hot bagels from the toaster. “Trust me, he’ll just look for your signature. You’re going to have to act really reluctant to hand them over if he’s going to believe you’ve given in, though.”
“That should be the easy part. I am reluctant to hand them over.”
The coffeemaker beeped. Finally. I rinsed out our mugs from last night and poured fresh coffee into both, picking through the cabinets, drawers, and fridge to get spoons, sugar, and cream. After fixing up our drinks, I handed one over to Sara before settling back into my seat at the table with a mug cradled in my cold hands.
Relaxing back into the chair, I shut my eyes, only to be startled by the earsplitting sound of one of the dogs going mental right under the window next to me. Some of the coffee sloshed over onto my hands, dragging a pained curse out of me as I sucked my burning fingers into my mouth.
“Shut up, Buster!” Sara shouted, handing me the spatula on her way to the front door. “It’s probably just the paper.”
I got up to tend to the stove, alternately sucking the fingers of one hand while poking and prodding at the eggs with the other. Sara walked back in a minute later, ashen and pale.
“Shia, what was the name of that woman from The Circle you met on Thursday?”
I glanced back at her over my shoulder, wondering at the slight waver to her voice. “Veronica. Veronica Wright. Why?”
She tossed the paper down next to the stove. I dropped the spatula and grabbed the paper, reeling in shock.
MAGE FOUND MURDERED!!! ARE THE OTHERS AT WAR ? screamed the headline splashed across the front page. Right above Veronica’s smiling picture.
Chapter 16
I didn’t have much of an appetite, but I picked at the eggs Sara set down in front of me. I don’t even remember staggering to a seat, but somehow I managed it.
Whatever the cops found must have been pretty bad for the papers to jump on it that quickly. Apparently a neighbor complained about some strange sounds coming from Veronica’s apartment late last night. When the police showed up to investigate and no one answered the door, they busted in and found her body, mutilated and
Similar Books
