The Harder I Work, the Luckier I Get

by Amber Lynn

The way back to the house seemed a lot shorter with my eyes opened. It was also nice to not have to sit on lumpy Nate. Okay, maybe he wasn’t that lumpy, but after being carried around, I liked having a little room.

  “So after I have my sit down with Ettie, I’m thinking we should probably have some kind of press conference. As much as I hate them, I want the world to know that I’m back and ready to take care of business,” I said as I got out of the vehicle.

  “I’ll give Charles a call,” Rick said, following us inside. “He’s been doing all of our PR work, so he should be able to book you something good. I’m guessing you’d prefer it stay a small affair?”

  “If he can work it out, I’d like to hold the event here at the house. Either outside or in the dining room,” I told him as he took out his phone to make the call.

  “I’m sure that can be arranged,” he replied. “How long before you think you’ll be ready? It might take him a few minutes to hit all the appropriate people.”

  “Better make it two hours. I don’t know how I haven’t lost fifty pounds from not eating solid food in weeks, but I really need something to eat. Throwing fireballs almost made me sweat.”

  I headed to the kitchen to see if there was anything edible, or if the guys had been living off of potato chips and frozen pizza, not that those two things didn’t have a purpose. Nate and the rest of the gang made their way to the dining room to talk.

  A person who I didn’t know was standing at the kitchen sink washing dishes as I made my way through the doorway. I’d been M.I.A. for two months, so a new person in the house didn’t surprise me. I’d already been told they’d brought extra forces in.

  The man had blonde, spiky hair, which could’ve indicated he’d recently stuck his finger in a light socket. He was a decent height and looked to work out as much as the other occupants in the house.

  I opened the fridge and was happy to see what I considered food. Even the milk was still good, so I knew someone had been doing regular shopping. I grabbed some chicken, butter and milk. I determined some sautéed chicken and homemade biscuits would hit the spot.

  As I took my bounty to the counter, I heard, “Sleeping Beauty has finally awaken I see,” from the mystery man.

  “Please tell me that isn’t what everyone has been calling me,” I replied, going to the cupboard to try to find some flour.

  “Not everyone, just the ones who got to play bodyguard.”

  “Really, someone I didn’t know at all was allowed to be my bodyguard? You actually think I’m going to believe that? I know Nate well enough to know the chances of that are next to zero.”

  I turned to get a decent look at the guy. In a house full of good-looking men, he fit well. He had very interesting bright green eyes and a nice face, free of any distinguishing characteristics. I imagined a lot of women found him attractive, but I was a little underwhelmed.

  “You’ll probably eventually remember me. We spent some time together a few centuries ago in Sligo.”

  I stared at him, waiting for a better explanation. I did remember my time in Ireland with Nate, but the guy in front of me wasn’t making an impression. I assumed if he’d been around awhile, someone had explained the issues with my memory.

  “I can see you have nothing for me,” he said, extending his hand. “My name is Rian, my queen, and it’s nice to make your acquaintance.”

  When we shook hands, he shocked me. It wasn’t the nice kind of shock that I felt when Nate and I touched. I wouldn’t call it painful, but it didn’t feel good. I glared at him again.

  “Sorry about that. Nothing to do with you, it’s just a mechanism that I have in place to warn already spoken for ladies they should stick with their spouses. You’d be surprised how many woman don’t pay attention to it,” he said, taking his hand back.

  “Just what are you?” I asked. I could already tell he wasn’t the normal variety shifter.

  “I’m a selkie, the leader of them in fact. That’s why Nate allows me to serve as protection for you.”

  I decided he wasn’t a threat and returned to my biscuit making process. I made quick work of the mixing and moved right on to the rolling. When I got them ready to go in the oven, I could throw the chicken on the fire.

  “A selkie. If my memory serves me correctly, that means you have a seal skin hidden somewhere that allows you to transform into a seal and swim out to sea.”

  “That would be the basic definition. Do you need any help cooking? You’ve been out for a while. I’m surprised you were able to bounce right out of bed.”

  “So am I. Do you know how I was being fed?” I asked. “And as far as cooking, I think I can handle the biscuits myself. I just got back from having a dull fight with warlocks, a little mixing and rolling out dough isn’t going to hurt me.”

  “Suit yourself. They called Elizabeth down after they realized it was going to take more than a few days, and she and Vinnie made up some concoction that kept you strong. They hooked you up to machines a couple of times a day to make sure you were hydrated and all that jazz. Nate even helped out by spending an hour or two each day working your arm and leg muscles to keep them strong.”

  “Is Elizabeth still around? I’d love to visit with her.”

  “Nope. There was an explosion a couple weeks ago on an oil tanker. There were a few uniques onboard, so she went to help. She calls for updates every day, though,” he replied, watching me cut out the biscuits.

  “I hope everyone’s okay. Were there any fatalities?” I questioned.

  “Last I heard there were five humans killed. They’re still investigating the cause. Eye witnesses say there was no indication it was about to blow.”

  “Do we think it might be the forces we’re fighting making a statement?” I would’ve hoped someone in my meeting earlier would’ve brought up that little tidbit of information if it was warlock or demon based.

  “Doesn’t sound like it. Why would they blow up a ship with four uniques on it and tons of humans? The uniques weren’t even that badly injured,” he said.

  “Since I’ve come to the conclusion warlocks are stupid, I wouldn’t put it past them. Do we have our people looking into the incident?” I threw the biscuits on a cookie sheet, and then placed them in the oven. I’d forgotten to preheat it, so I quickly turned it on as well.

  While they did their thing, I grabbed a skillet and placed it over high heat. When the pan was warm, I put in a little butter and let it melt. Finally, I sprinkled some garlic and onion powder on the chicken and put it in the pan.

  “Sure, Nate sent out representatives right away. So far they haven’t found anything funny.”

  “Are we sure they would? If it was magically caused, there may not be any evidence. We can’t always sense their spells, so I doubt we’d be able to pick up any real proof.”

  He shrugged his shoulders. “I couldn’t say for sure, but I personally don’t have magic detecting as an ability. Maybe your robot friend can hook you up with something.”

  “I’m pretty sure he already has, I just haven’t gotten used to all the gadgets yet.”

  “He does appear to be pretty handy. So, now that you’re awake, what are your plans?” he asked.

  “We’ve already taken care of the warlock who knocked me out. I have to quickly interrogate one of the prisoners, but after that, I’m heading home. I have a few things I need to take care of there.”

  My chicken looked like it had already cooked through, so I checked on the biscuits. They needed just a couple more minutes to turn golden brown, so I grabbed a plate and put the chicken on it.

  “There was a rumor that you announced you were getting married tomorrow,” he stated.

  “You know, there’s just something about you that I don't like very much,” I said.

  It wasn’t the nicest thing to say, but the guy was really giving me the willies, and I didn't know why. Even though I hated to dig in other people's minds, I was about a second away from doing it, just so I could figure out what wa
s up with him.

  “It’s always been that way. You explained to me before that it’s because of my womanizing ways. I promise it isn't something I can help. The whole being a selkie generally makes women really interested in me and I promise I don’t pursue anything that doesn't come after me first.”

  I worked to digest his explanation while I got my biscuits out of the oven. “How long have you been here in the house?” I asked, setting the cookie sheet on the counter.

  “About three weeks now. There was a general call put out around that time, stating you needed some strong fighters to convene in this area. I figured Nate and I go way back, and I always like to help friends in need. I learned quickly though that I wasn't as strong a fighter as I thought. That program you put together is killer.”

  “You should try to go through my latest regimen. Unless of course they’ve already released it to the trainees. I like to practice fighting Liam or Kyle while they’re in full berserker mode. The goal is to make them hit you as little as possible. I think the last time I tried it I only got hit three times.”

  I grabbed a fork and dove into my chicken. Solid food never tasted so good.

  “Are you nuts? No one in their right mind would go one-on-one with a berserker. Those guys are crazy fast and have a wicked follow through.”

  “I’m pretty sure if you ask anyone around here, they’ll agree that I’m not all there in my head,” I told him.

  “I don't know about that, sweetie,” Nate said, entering the room. “I mean, you have a great guy like me to spend all your time with, so you have to be mostly sane.”

  He snatched one of my biscuits and took a big bite. He was lucky there was more where that came from. If there hadn’t been, he would’ve been missing a few fingers.

  “I think that might be the big indicator for how poor my mental state is,” I replied, sticking out my tongue at him.

  “Have you guys been having fun catching up?” he asked.

  “About as much fun as two people can when one of them has no clue who the other person is,” Rian replied.

  “These days most of Avery's relationships start out that way, so I wouldn't worry too much over it,” Nate said. “You about ready, my little butterfly? If you want to get back to New York so you can get ready for the wedding tomorrow, we really do need to get this interrogation over.”

  I took the last bite of my chicken and grabbed another biscuit, devouring it almost instantly. After I put my plate in the sink, I said, “Let's go and see if Miss Thing has anything to say for herself.”

  “Mind if I come along? I’ve always wanted to watch an interrogation. Who plays the good cop and bad cop in your duo?” Rian asked.

  “I’m always the bad cop,” I said, leaving the room. If he wanted to watch the masters at work, he was more than welcome.