Last Wish (Highland Magic #4)

I’d never been inside the Haven but the place was much as I expected. Loud music thumped and I swore I could taste the tinge of tequila in the air.

A burly Bauchan was on the door, no doubt to prevent anyone who wasn’t on the stag party list from getting in. I had more wiles than that, however. Rather than approach the front, I skirted round the side of the building, weaving in and out of empty beer barrels until I found the back entrance. There, inhaling deeply on a glowing cigarette was a young, pretty human woman wearing a large coat. Handy. I’d even put a bet on with Taylor at this point that she wasn’t wearing much underneath.

I loped up to her, nodding in greeting. She nodded and took another drag. Despite my lack of disguise, there was no flicker of recognition in her greeting. It helped that it was now dark; in this light I could pass for a blonde.

‘Hey,’ I said cheerfully, ‘I was hoping you could help me. I’m looking for a friend of mine. Chandra. She’s…’

The woman blanched slightly. ‘I’ve heard of Chandra. If you know her, then you’ll know where to find her.’

My mention of my ex-assassin buddy did the trick, placing me at an advantage. I kept my tone casual and continued. ‘Yeah. She’s not at her shop though, so I thought she might have gone out for the night.’

‘She wouldn’t be here. The Haven is off limits tonight.’

I nodded. ‘So I hear. You’re working inside?’

‘Yeah. What of it?’ She eyed me, the unspoken challenge obvious, but I wasn’t about to comment on her job. As long as being a stripper was her choice, it wasn’t my place to say anything.

‘Nothing. It’s a stag party, I take it?’

She shrugged. ‘So I’m told. My boss wouldn’t say who it’s for.’ She stubbed out her cigarette and tossed it into a bucket. ‘Like I care. Just another bunch of spoilt Sidhe wankers.’

I coughed slightly. She tilted her head and looked at me more closely. ‘Oh. You’re Sidhe too. Sorry, I didn’t mean any offence.’ She gave me a pretty smile but there was no denying that she was suddenly scared. She clenched her fists and there was a faint wobble to her voice. Personally I was thrilled. She wouldn’t have any qualms about abandoning her job for the night if she didn’t care that the Steward’s son was the party boy.

‘Don’t worry about it,’ I said. ‘I might be Sidhe but I’m still a nobody. I have a useless Gift and I’m from a useless Clan. I think the lot of us are wankers.’ I smiled slightly. ‘I’m on your side, not mine.’ The woman relaxed a little but she was still very wary. I had to make sure she stayed here until I got what I wanted.

Before she could vanish inside the club, I forced my eyes to well up with unshed tears. Unless she had a heart of lead, she’d feel compelled to stick around for at least a bit longer. I sniffed and bit my bottom lip. ‘Maybe it’s just as well that Chandra’s not around. I was going to ask her to…’ I shot the woman a look and faltered, as if I’d just realised I was talking to a complete stranger and was about to reveal that I wanted someone killed. ‘Never mind.’

She raised a knowing eyebrow. ‘Let me guess. Ex-boyfriend?’

‘Ex-fiancée.’

The woman winced. ‘Ouch.’

‘Yeah. Between you and me, he’s the one getting hitched.’ I laughed humourlessly. ‘I should just let bygones be bygones. It bloody hurts though.’ Unfortunately, I wasn’t lying.

‘I don’t think Chandra is the answer.’

Yeah, she definitely knew all about Chandra’s old job. ‘You’re probably right. I’d still love to get my revenge on him.’

‘I hear you.’

I took out the gold I’d carried with me for emergencies. ‘I was going to give this to her as payment.’ I gazed at it ruefully. ‘I’m not sure what to do with it now. I’m tempted to throw it at him. Maybe I’ll get lucky and hit an eye.’

The stripper stared. ‘That’s a shitload of money.’ Her expression soured and I immediately knew what she was thinking. I was Sidhe; to me this was probably small change.

I bit my lip. ‘I’d give it all away if I could just confront him. Let him see what he’s given up for that bitch. I don’t really want to hurt him but I’d love to bring him down a peg or two.’ I sighed loudly. The best way for this to work would be for her to make the suggestion but I could only lead her so far. ‘He’s got a bunch of minders with him though. They’d never let me get near him.’

I could see her mind working through the possibilities. I was holding the equivalent of more money than she’d probably ever seen in her life; she had to weigh up the chance that she would get fired versus the chance that she could be set up for years to come. I held my breath. Come on, love. You want to do this.

‘Well,’ she said slowly, ‘you could always take my place.’

Yahtzee. ‘What do you mean?’ I asked, looking surprised.

She dug into her coat pocket and pulled out a pretty feathered mask. ‘I usually wear this when I go in to these kind of parties. Some men like imagining you could be anyone, you know? I wasn’t going to bother because of today’s outfit.’ She opened her coat and I caught a glimpse of a fake police uniform. ‘But it’d let you get in and close to him and then you could say your piece.’ Her eyes drifted back to the gold in my hand. ‘I’m all for the sisterhood.’

I threw back my head and laughed. ‘I’d just love to see the look on his face. But won’t you get in trouble with your boss?’

She shrugged. ‘I’ve been thinking of finding something else to do with my life. These hours suck and there are only so many times you can let men paw at you before it becomes tired.’

I nodded. ‘I hear you.’ I thrust out my hand before she could think about it any further. ‘Here, take this in return. You’re doing me a massive favour and I won’t forget it.’

She took the gold and hefted it before it disappeared into her coat. ‘You’re really not going to hurt him?’

I met her eyes, hoping she could see the truth; I didn’t want her to feel bad about this in any way. ‘No,’ I said. ‘I really won’t. I just want to say my piece then maybe I can get on with the rest of my life.’

‘Amen to that,’ she murmured. ‘Well, good luck to you. Someone will come out soon and tell you when it’s time.’ She smiled slightly. ‘Don’t get hurt.’ With that, she whirled round and took off into the night.

I grinned. That was easier than I thought.

There was a flash of light and Bob appeared, two points of colour high on his cheeks. He was absolutely furious. ‘What on earth do you think you’re doing, Uh Integrity? This is not part of the plan! I thought you were going to hide in the corner and watch him. Do this and you’ll get caught and everything we’ve done up to now will have been a complete waste.’ He threw up his hands. ‘If you want your revenge on Byron so badly then ask for your last wish. I’ll do what I can to minimise the damage. But you can’t throw everything away because you’re feeling hurt that he’s moved on.’

I was touched by his concern. ‘Chill, Bob. I’m not going to get caught. And I’m not looking for revenge.’