“A few crafts doesn’t sound like it would be overly costly. What is it you’re trying to tell me, Mr. Phillips?” He grinned, and she smiled back. “I’m not one that beats around the bush to get to the point. I’m more of a beat the bush into submission and get what I need to know.”
“She is at that.” Bryce looked at Noah when he spoke. “But your way, it’s so much faster and easier to believe. Tell her, Mr. Phillips, what you believe is going on with the funding.”
“The mayor, he’s got him an awful lot of toys for a man that only makes about fifty grand a year. That’s not to say that he has to live in poverty. No. The mayor position has a lot of perks—insurance, housing, as well as a car and staff. So that’s the reason for the seemingly low pay. But he has himself a yacht.” Bryce tried to think what that had to do with the funding when it hit her. “I can see your mind working. And so you know, I have an idea what the two of you are. I knew the Farley family when they were alive around here. I was sorry to see them go. But you, you’re a witch. And if I don’t miss my guess, a fairly strong one too.”
“I am. But this mayor thing. You think that he took the funding for the crafts just to fund himself on a few extras. I don’t see how that’s going to pay for a big boat. Unless the funding for the swings for the kids was used as well.” He only looked at her. “I see. And this funding—how much, just a guess if you don’t mind, has come up missing?”
“One point seven million dollars, and some change. That’s not all, either. Last year the school was supposed to have a library put in. New books, better seats for the kids. And a few extra computers for them. But, and this is according to him, the money was taken by the person in charge of it. The accountant. And no one has seen hide nor hair of him since. I’m thinking, and this might just be me thinking aloud, that he’s taken the money and disposed of the accountant too.”
“And you think he was a part of it. Or had someone do it for him.” She didn’t have to hear his answer—it was written all over his face. “What is it you wish for us to do? I’m sure, like me, you have a list, a plan, and people that you know are involved with him.”
“You’re a smart cookie, aren’t you? Yes, ma’am, I have a list.” He handed her an envelope, with his badge there on the top too. “Federal Agent James Phillips at your service. We’re here from the US to take him in on deaths that occurred on our soil. If you don’t mind.”
“Why not just go in and do this on your own? Unless you don’t want to blow your cover because there is someone higher.” He told her there was no one higher that they knew of, but he really didn’t want to blow his cover, not on this. “And after I find this, whatever it is, what happens to the townspeople? They’re already left holding the bag, so to speak. And they’re losing more every day.”
“I’m going to take care of that too. But in my own way.” She didn’t know what his way was and was almost positive that she didn’t want to. “You figure this out, give it all over to me, and I’ll take care that he’s getting what he deserves. But, if you could see your way to helping out the elderly, I’d be very beholden to you. My mom is in the local nursing home here. She was born here in the UK. And all she talks about is how bored she is. She fell and broke her hips some time ago and isn’t able to live on her own anymore. And doesn’t much care for my home. It’s not all that big anyway.”
When Noah and Bryce made their way home, they decided to stop by the school. Not to check on the story, but to find out what sort of things were needed to make the crafting possible. And while they were there, the principal and the janitor—a man as old as the building, she was sure—were trying their best to put buckets in all the rooms that were leaking from the recent rain.
“I’m so very sorry, Lady Farley, but it’s been a heck of a day. And with school starting in a few weeks, we’re not sure how many classrooms we’re going to be able to use.” She asked for a tour. “Yes, of course. But I have to tell you, it’s a mess. A real mess right now.”
The school was in worse shape than she could have imagined. They were still using chalk boards that had been out of style for a great many years. The desks were a hodgepodge of tables with mismatched chairs, and it looked to her like they had very few of them. The closets that the children used had some doors on them, but for the most part, they were broken pieces of wood that someone had propped up against the broken glass windows. By the time they made it to the cafeteria that also served as a meeting room, she was convinced that they had to start here.
How long do you think it would take to build a new school? Noah asked her if she knew the faeries could do it. No. I mean, I know that they can do a great many things, but build a building? Actually, I don’t care. Whatever it takes so that the children can have a place that they don’t have to worry about the roof falling in on them. Our children will go here, and I am terrified that by the time they’re old enough to go, this building will be in less repair than it is right now.
I’ll make a few connections. You and I, we promised to make a difference, and this is the right thing to do. Also, you should add this to your list of things to look into. I can’t believe that this hasn’t been on someone’s list of shit to get done. She told him that she would. All right. But I swear to you, honey, if the other schools are like this one, I’m going to hunt that man down and burn him to a crisp. This is uncalled for.
Bryce wanted to hug Mr. Potter. He was trying so hard to make the place look good by talking it up, but there wasn’t anything much to talk about. Everything in the place needed to be fixed. Most of the teachers’ desks were nothing more than a long table with scratches and dents in them. And one of the teachers had a stool for a seat. It was horrific.
When they left the school, having donated what was needed to get the crafts started, Noah had some answers for the school build. He’d even contacted Devon and a couple of other friends of theirs to help out. The faeries were as excited as they’d ever been for a project. Now all they had to do was figure out a way to make it happen in the shortest amount of time possible.
They also made a stop at the elderly home, looking in on Mrs. Carter and getting her list of things that she’d like to craft. The home wasn’t in any better shape than the school, but at least they had better food for the people there. The inmates, what Mrs. Carter called them, had taken over the kitchen about six years ago, and they’d never eaten better.
“And so’s you know, that mayor, he needs to come here and stay for a week or so. Just to see what he’s done to his poor mom.” Bryce asked where she was. “In a bed. He has the nurses keep her out of it so that no one knows that she’s related to him. A little touched in the head, but I remember her from when we lived on the same street. She’s a nice little bird, but she needs to not be so doped up all the time.”
Going to see her was hard to make happen. The people there were loyal to Fuzzy Head. She thought perhaps he was paying them off. But when Noah threatened to make a few calls of his own, not only was she able to see the woman, but she was given her chart as well. Things were about to get all hairy for the dishonorable Fuzzy Head, Bryce thought.
~*~
Fourteen hours after they had their tour and the towns meeting was over, not only did they have a blueprint that had been made up last year, but they had the land prepped as well as the first workings of getting a new grade school in. A new high school was also being built, but it was more the conventional way—for now at least. Noah looked over the things that had been given to them at the meeting.
“You said that at one time you were an attorney.” Noah looked up at Bryce as she continued. “What do you have to do to update that? I’m sure that it’s not easy, but perhaps it would help us along on other projects.”
“I have a valid license now. When my parents were starting to lose the castle, I made sure that I could help in any way that I could. Fat lot of good it did us. What do you have in mind?” She sat on his lap, a sure sign that he wasn’t going to like whatever she was going to s
uggest. “While I think this is a great position for sex, I’m not going to be persuaded to do whatever you’re going to ask with you fully clothed.”
Bryce pulled her top up and over her head. Her breasts were bare, and he leaned down to take one of them into his mouth, but she stopped him. His head was hurting from where she held him there with her hand full of his hair.
“Will you be mayor?” He shook his head. “I’ll let you have your way with me. And not only that, I’ll suck your cock every time I come to visit you in your newly appointed offices.”
“You don’t play fair; you know that, don’t you?” She let him go, and he lifted both her lovely warm breasts up and suckled them both into his mouth. “I believe, my dear, this would be considered blackmail. What a way to start off being mayor for this fine city.”
“Noah, you could do a great job. And if someone pisses you off, you could— Oh yes, that’s it. I love it when you’re greedy like this.” He was having a good time with her breasts, but he really wanted more of her. All of her. “What if I told you that Mr. Phillips has put your name in the hat for the job when this is done?”
“I’d say that you pushed him into it, and that you’ll have to pay for that.” He made them both naked, and watched as she stroked his hard, aching cock. “You keep that up and I’m going to come all over you.”
“I don’t care how you come so long as you take me with you. I want you to be inside of me, Noah. I need you more than I thought.” He lifted her up and slid her slowly down over his cock. “Oh, you feel so good like this. I don’t think I’ll ever get up from here.”
“I’d like that. However, I don’t think we’ll get a lot done, do you?” She kissed him, her tongue making his feel like they were dueling for supremacy. He pulled back, but only far enough for his mouth to run down her throat to her breasts. Noah loved his mate and thought about the rest of his life with her. “Marry me, Bryce. Please?”
“Yes. Now make me come, Noah, or I swear to you, I’m going to do some serious damage to your perfect bod.” He smiled at her and stood up. When she cried out, not from pain but anticipation, she told him, he put her down on the floor and bent her over the desk. He had no idea why he liked having her this way in this room, but it was certainly fun to hear her scream.
As soon as he entered her, she did scream her release. Slowing himself down, Noah took his time touching every part of her back. The muscles along her ribs. He gloried in the way her arms and shoulders held her body up. When she turned to look at him, Noah saw her muscles tense up; her pussy around his cock did as well.
She came three times with him being as slow as he could go. Sweat poured down the center of his back. The way that she was holding onto his desk, he wondered if it would forever be marked by her nails. And when he leaned over, nipping none too gently at her shoulder, he felt his own balls tighten up and then empty deep inside of her.
When she pulled away, her body nearly as glistening with sweat as his was, she told him to take her again. Bryce sat on his desk, her legs open wide, and pulled him toward her. He didn’t even pause but slammed forward hard enough to move the desk again. When she came, digging her nails deep into his arms, Noah came twice more, each time filling her until he was in pain. Christ, he loved his woman.
Sitting down, keeping her wrapped around him, he leaned forward and pulled open the top drawer. Taking out the ring that he’d unearthed in the cave, he slid it onto her finger and was so happy that it fit. Looking up at her when the sparks from the light danced over her body, he told her how much he loved her.
“I think the ring was part of a set. Snow seems to think that the rest of it, a necklace as well as a pair of earrings, are in the treasures someplace. When I asked her if I should use them for you, to marry you, she said it was just what they were intended for. To wed a man and woman who were in love.” Bryce said that she did love him. “And I love you, Bryce. And yes, I’ll take the job of mayor when it becomes vacant.”
“It might be a bit sooner than we thought.” She gave him a rundown of what she’d been able to unearth. “Most of the stuff that we’ve been able to find are big ticket items. And here’s the thing—if he was taking money from the pots around town, and there is no reason to believe that he hasn’t been, he has also received a tax refund every year since he took office. I don’t think he’s supposed to do that. But I’m looking into it.”
When Bryce got up and dressed, he did as well. As soon as they were both suitably clothed, she went to the door and called for Allen. Allen had been Gray on the Witches’ Council. Noah asked about his charge.
“She is going to be living with me for a time. The missus here, she found me a place to live, furniture, as well as some food. I’ve not ever shopped before, so she made sure that we had all we needed. Kelsey, she has no one else but me, she told me, and we’re going to make a go of it.” Noah told him that he was happy for them. “Not nearly as happy as I am that I was able to help out to get rid of Black, sir. He was bad news for a great many people. Lady Bryce told me that he paid his dues. I’m pleased for that as well.”
It appeared that Allen was going to be working with Bryce as her assistant. There was a great deal of paperwork that she was to fill out when something happened, and Gray was very good at it, Bryce told him. So, it was working out for everyone. Kelsey would work for Noah, as she’d always been a secretary before being hurt by Black, and he had a feeling that as mayor, he was going to need as much help as he could find.
The rest of the evening was spent going over paperwork, chasing down creditors, as well as finding out all the things that had been purchased by Fuzzy Head, a name that Noah thought suited him perfectly. After supper, not only did they have a good lead on where some of the money was going, but also an accounting of where all the funds had been taken from.
“The building is about ready.” Noah asked Snow what she meant. “The grade school is nearly finished. We have also found the teachers that will be working in the building and found out what sort of supplies they might need in the way of teaching. I had no idea there were so many things that humans would need to learn.”
“Like what? And I got word that you and your men are also working on the high school. Thank you for that, Snow. You are doing this community a great service by helping them out.” She told him that it had been their pleasure. “I got word, too, that the construction company that is being used is going to start planting a fruit tree with every build they have. Usually they plant a maple, but now they want to plant fruit trees that will grow in this area.”
She looked very pleased, and Noah was glad that he could help Snow with that. He asked her again what sort of things she’d been told about from reading the teachers’ minds. Snow smiled at him.
“Allen has helped us a great deal as well, sir. He will need to be able to speak faerie before much longer. I can do that for him, but I should like to have Lady Bryce’s permission. She did save him.” Noah said that she could ask her. “I will. Thank you. But the things that we were to find were computers. They were most difficult for us. They differ from company to company. But as I said, Allen helped with that. We have also given each class an endless supply of markers, paper, and tissues. Those are things that they run out of quite frequently.”
“Were you able to find anyone that would want to cook for the schools? I know that I said we’d only need a few, but I’ve heard that they might need as many as fifty on staff. Not all of them want to work full time, so we’re dividing the work up so that a lot of part-time people can work if that will help.” Snow told him that she had several that were excited, and some of the brownies wanted to help as well, but not with the cooking. “Good. We’ll need staff to clean up too. They’ll work with that should they want to.”
They had a lot of teachers applying for work at the new schools. Some of them were human, but for the most part, they were shifters. Wolves, bears, and cats could also keep the children safe from any kind of intruders if they were to encounter a
ny.
When she left him, Noah had a better understanding of the school system. Snow had gone above and beyond the call of duty on this, and he was going to have to reward her in some way. All the faeries were helping them so much that things were looking up.
“I just got a call from Phillips. Man, that man is slick. Anyway, he said that he was showing his boss what we’ve been able to put together. He’s very impressed that we were able to do this in such a short amount of time.” Bryce grinned. “I guess this has been in the works for several months, and until today, all they had was speculation on some of what we found to be real. But they’re going to make a move sometime today or early in the morning. And when I told him that you were throwing in your hat for the job, he said that he’d like for you and I to be there, along with Devon. Apparently, he’s been trying to get them to do something about the man for a few years.”
“All right. When will we have narrowed down time to do this?” She said that Phillips was supposed to call them, but they might not have a great deal of time to be there. “So, we’re to just drop everything and be there?”
“Pretty much. The only thing that I know for sure is, they have gotten into a couple of accounts he had. Nothing overseas, as they thought he might do. In fact, mostly he’s been spending it as quickly as he could pull it out of some account. Bastard.” Noah asked what was going to happen to his toys. “They’ll sell them off and put the money back in the places he took it from. I don’t think they’re going to get as much as he paid for them, but it’ll be a start anyway.”
Yeah, Noah thought, a start. But he had a feeling that wasn’t going to be the end of it. They were going to find something bad about the guy. Really bad. He hoped not, but he didn’t have much faith in men in power, especially human men in power.
Noah: House of Wilkshire ― Erotic Paranormal Dragon Shifter Romance Page 14
