“I don’t—”
Graham cut Eric off. “I’m going. There, we disagree on that, but suck it up. Set up the meeting, tell me when and where.”
Before Eric could draw breath to speak again, Graham turned his back and walked out. His heart was thumping hard, in worry and pain.
What Oison had done scared him, not only for himself but for Shifters like Dougal, Lindsay, and others—Shifters who weren’t strong enough to fight the Fae. They’d end up Fae slaves in a second, their wills taken away, made to fight Fae wars in the realm of Faerie, and maybe here too if Oison’s cryptic statements were anything to go by.
Fae had difficulty in the human world because of all the iron and steel. But if they enslaved Shifters to fight the humans for them, the violence the humans feared from Shifters would come to pass. Shifters wouldn’t be able to do anything about it, even if they loathed what the Fae made them do. And Graham knew plenty of Shifters, unfortunately, who wouldn’t hate killing humans, even for the Fae.
Before Graham had met Misty, he might have been one of those not caring if humans suffered. But Graham had met Misty, and he’d kissed her, and he’d kill every Shifter on the planet, and every Fae in Faerie, before he’d let any of them touch her.
• • •
Paul met Misty at her store later that morning. Her brother leaned on a push broom in the main part of the shop and looked dejectedly down at the broken glass and ruined flowers.
He dropped the broom when he saw Misty and came to her, wrapping his rawboned arms around her in a deep hug. Paul had grown up too fast after their parents’ divorce, and had tried to act tough, but underneath, he was still a frightened boy.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m so sorry, Misty.”
Misty said nothing, only held him close. After a few minutes, Paul raised his head and wiped his eyes. “I’ll make it up to you. I’ll fix it. I’ll get you money . . .”
“You don’t have to do anything at all,” Misty said quickly. “Not your fault Flores is a criminal. Don’t even clean up. The insurance adjuster has to look at the damage first.”
“Insurance guy is already here,” Paul said. “In the back.”
“Really? That was fast.” Misty had known people with property damage who’d had to wait weeks, even months, before their claims started to process.
She left Paul and went into her office to find a man in a white shirt and dark tie, holding a clipboard and making check marks on it left-handed.
“Most of the damage is in the front,” Misty said. “Not much back here.” Thank God. Her safe and most valuable vases had been in her storage room. Flores’s gang had come for Paul and revenge, not petty cash.
“I see that.” The man switched the clipboard to his left hand and stuck out his right. He did it a little awkwardly, as someone who had to practice doing anything with that hand. “I’m Kevin Foster, from your insurance company.” He released Misty, plucked a card from the top of his clipboard, and handed it to her. “They really busted up the place, didn’t they?”
“Pretty much.”
Kevin smiled. He had dark hair and blue eyes that crinkled in the corners. “It’s too bad. This is a nice little place. I hope you can get it up and running again.”
“That’s the plan. As soon as the claim gets filed.”
“Which, I know, insurance companies can take a long time with.” Another little smile. “But I’ll do what I can.”
“Can I start cleaning up? I’d love to get back to work.”
“I’ll clear it. Repairs have to be made by approved workers, though, keep in mind, or the company might not pay the claim.”
Misty strove to remain polite. In the real world, things could move at a snail’s crawl. Meanwhile, businesses went under because customers lost faith in them.
Kevin seemed to understand. “I’ll do my best. Don’t worry. Give it a week, tops.”
“Really?” Misty’s skepticism rose. “I don’t mean to be rude, but . . .”
“But nothing. I’m a friend of Iona Warden’s. She was waiting at my office this morning and pretty much wouldn’t let me even grab my first cup of coffee before she made sure I was headed out here. My company does a lot of work with her family.”
Ah. Iona, mate to Eric, ran a construction and contracting company with her mother and sister. Humans had been kept in the dark that Iona was half Shifter so she wouldn’t have to give up her livelihood. Shifters weren’t allowed to own businesses, or run them, or even hold very high positions in them. Such were the unfair laws governing Shifters.
“Tell her thank you,” Misty said.
“I will.” Kevin gave her another smile. He was cute, really. A normal guy. “You start your cleanup,” Kevin said. “I can recommend a service to help you, if you want.”
“I’ll let you know. Thanks for coming.”
Kevin gave her a final smile and departed. Misty followed him out of the store and watched him get into a conservative four-door car. He started up, backed carefully out of his space, and used his turn signal when he left the parking lot. A guy who played by the rules.
Paul was sweeping the floor inside the store again, and a few men from DX Security were helping scoop up and throw away the glass and petals. When Misty tried to help with the manual labor, Xavier told her not to—she might cut herself on the shards, he said. They’d take care of everything.
Shifters were amazing, Misty thought as she went back into her office. They banded together when any of their own were in trouble and worked to solve their problems. Cassidy’s mate, Diego, had come to Graham’s rescue in the desert; Diego had made sure his security company and Xav helped and protected Misty afterward. Iona had driven across town this morning to urge the insurance adjuster to start on Misty’s store right away. Misty wasn’t even Shifter—she was Graham’s girlfriend, and she wasn’t even sure of that status. But the Shifters had sent resources to help her, even when Misty knew Eric and Graham didn’t get along much of the time. They pulled together as a community. It warmed her that they considered her part of it.
Misty spent the rest of the morning canceling orders, e-mailing or calling customers, and apologizing until she was breathless. This was so wrong. Flores had broken into her store and wrecked her business, and she had to apologize.
By lunch, she needed a break. Paul and the security guys had done a great job sweeping everything up and salvaging what they could. The refrigeration room and the watering system still worked, which was a blessing, but she’d need to replace all the glass doors, her counters, shelving, and the front door and window, which would be expensive, and who knew how much insurance would cover?