Free Motor City Fae by Cindy Spencer Pape Page B

could to help find their missing heiress.” That much was completely true, though not truly complete.
    “Heiress?” Monroe’s dark eyes widened. “There’s money involved?”
    Ric nodded curtly. “Money, land, power.”
    “And somebody stands to lose if the missing heiress shows up.” He wasn’t stupid, Ric thought. For an artist, Monroe had a pretty quick grasp of the real world.
    “That about sums it up.”
    “Come on.” Monroe opened the door of the Jag, motioned Ric outside. “You two need to talk. I’ll make sure she lets you in the door.”
    Ric followed, nodding his thanks.
    “One last thing, Thornhill.” Right in front of Meagan’s door, Monroe halted. “Hurt her again, they won’t find enough parts to identify your body.”
    Ric nodded. Oddly enough, he wasn’t offended. He’d have thought less of Jase if the artist hadn’t warned Ric off. “Understood.”
    Monroe studied him for a moment, seeming to weigh his sincerity. He rang the bell. “You keep her safe, now. This is Detroit. I know enough people to make you disappear for good.”
    Yeah, like George Novak alone . Though he bet Monroe didn’t know all of his new boyfriend’s secrets yet.
    All levity fled the instant Meagan opened the door.
    She’d been crying, he noticed immediately and he fought down the urge to skewer someone. The man who’d made her cry was him and that knowledge cut deeper than any sword.
    Ric detected the surface layer of Monroe’s thoughts and knew he planned to stay and support Meagan during the upcoming conversation. He sent a small surge of magical energy toward Jase, a tiny compulsion. He didn’t need an audience and neither did Meagan.
    “I found him pulling into your drive,” Monroe lied, jerking a thumb toward Ric. “Figured you two have some things you need to talk about.”
    Meagan nodded and held open the screen door. “Come on in, Ric.”
    Ric entered, nodding his thanks to Monroe, who turned and walked down the driveway toward the garage. Ric followed Meagan into her kitchen and took the seat she gestured to at the table, though he would have preferred to stand. He probably should be on his knees, he thought, struggling to control the unfamiliar sensation of guilt.
    What was it about this woman that made him feel things he’d never before experienced?
    He waited until she’d taken the seat across from him and looked up into her eyes. Their green depths brimmed with pain and distrust. “Where would you like me to start?”
    She shrugged, obviously trying for a nonchalance she couldn’t quite achieve. “The beginning, I suppose.”
    He expelled a short bark of laughter. “Hell, Meagan, even I’m not sure where this whole clusterfuck began.”
    He raked his fingers through his hair. “Look, some of what I’m about to tell you is going to seem awfully farfetched. Please promise that you’ll listen first, hear me out, before you toss me out on my ass.”
    She must have seen something in his face, felt some trace of his own roiling emotions, because she held up her hand. “Stop.”
    He paused, grateful for the reprieve. He’d never had such a difficult time putting his thoughts into words in his life. All his bardic talents, training and magic deserted him as he looked into Meagan Kelly’s eyes.
    “Before you say anything else, there is one thing, just one, that I really need to know. You can answer either way, as long as it’s the truth. No matter what, I’ll still listen to your story, but I need complete honesty on this one issue first.”
    “Go on.” He tipped his chin, gritted his teeth, waited for the bomb to drop.
    “When you kissed me, was that for real, or was it part of the job?”
    He wondered if the heartbreak in her expression was mirrored in his own. That she could think so badly of him made his entrails clench and the ache in his chest was a greater pain than he’d known he was capable of feeling.
    This time the words exploded from him before he could even consider