Chapter Nine
Niko carefully carved the last little piece of wax off the model and put it on the table top. He rubbed his eyes and turned away from it for just a few moments. He needed to reset his brain about the piece.
He’d been working on a set of unique pendants for what he had thought was individuals—but after his talk with Sia and Poppy knew was actually a set for the sorcerers of Pine Valley. He went back and destroyed the wax samples he’d started, choosing to make a unified design and let each of them come in and personalize the pendant themselves.
Turning back, he studied the wax. It was better than he’d thought. There were places for personalized symbols, as well as choices for stones and arrangements. The blue wax was an electric color on the desk.
“Very nice, Mister T.”
He glanced up at the voice in the door. Aaron, his daytime store assistant, was standing there admiring the wax. He was part Leprechaun, so working at the jeweler helped him keep the gold hoard lust under control as well.
“Thanks.” Niko rubbed his eyes. “Need to check your safe?”
“No, actually. Henry is here to peek in on his.” Glancing back, he took a step in and smirked. “And you have a lady caller.”
“A what?” Niko frowned. “A lady…”
“Hot chick in the showroom.”
Niko stood and handed Aaron the keys. “You know the vault. And you know the rules. Don’t piss off the dragons or the other leprechauns. Check your own stuff while you’re there to calm down.”
Raising an eyebrow, Aaron glanced back at the lobby. “Who is she?”
“My date tomorrow night.”
“Date?”
“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Keep it down.” Niko shook his head. “Just take Henry down to the vault. And for shit’s sake, don’t touch anything.”
“Right.” Aaron spun the keys on his finger. “A date?”
“Aaron.” Niko already regretted saying it.
Smirking and trying not to laugh, Aaron motioned Henry to the back of the store where the door next to the bathroom led down to one of the most secure vaults west of the Mississippi.
Not only was Niko’s own hoard down there, but so were the other three dragons and the entire population of Leprechauns. He hosted for several other dragons as well, as far away as Milwaukee and Minot. It was simpler to have a central depot for all the hoards.
The Leprechauns had smaller hoards than the dragons; his vault was enormous, where the Leprechauns had large safes. They only kept about a pot of gold. There was no way of telling how much gold Niko had—he’d inherited his father’s hoard, which had been shored up by very ancient dragons over the short course of his life. His own gold was mixed in as well, gift for every birthday and holiday from his family.
He was, to put it plainly, disgustingly rich.
All four of them were: Max, Henry, Raissa, and him. But they lived quietly, not drawing attention to their wealth, because there were few people who could touch the gold—and silver and platinum and gems—without bringing the wrath of a pissed off dragon down on them. Parents, but that was touchy, a mate, and children under a certain age.
Galimedis and his own grandfather, Xerdon, had built the vaults into the granite of Minnesota’s northlands before George Washington’s mother was even a thought in his grandmother’s head. They were seeking to hide their holdings and floated up the St. Lawrence, ported and sailed the Great Lakes, and finally made their way to the area of Pine Valley. They dug the tunnels that would be the vault and found there were already shifters and witches and all manner of magical beings hiding in the forests of the North Woods.
And so Pine Valley was born. At first a loose association of houses and spaces, of paranormal and supernatural beings that banded together, and then slowly through the years, non-magical folk came into the area almost as fast as the magical ones were drawn in. They kept the true nature of the town a secret, and Tsavoularis Jewelers changed forms many times over the years, but always remained there, the gate to the vault.
It was just luck that each of the Tsavoularises enjoyed designing jewelry.
Some people thought he was nuts for being the Guardian for the vault. He didn’t mind, honestly. He had to lock the place down with all the gold and gems anyway. It made sense that the vault would be down there.
Henry and Aaron walked by to the second door and disappeared down the stairs—and as soon as the other dragon’s presence wasn’t overwhelming, he could feel her.
Pulling his clothes straight, Niko walked out of the back and found Betsy staring into one of the cases near the back. He leaned against the case next to her.
“Can I help you, miss?”
Betsy jerked her head up and found him smiling at her. “Oh. Hi.”
Her shy grin did things to body parts he didn’t have time to attend to. “I didn’t expect to see you in here.”
Her nonchalant shrug didn’t help him either. “I went to Krieg’s to apply for a job, and I thought I’d wander down here and see the rest of the town. I saw some cute outfits at the little boutique across the way.”
“Esmerelda’s.” Niko nodded. She had a way with cloth that most people didn’t. She was a spider-shifter and her ability with warp and weft was stunning. “She does custom designs.”
Pursing her lips, she glanced back at the door. “Would you like to get lunch with me?”
His dragon roared a yes, and his cock agreed. “I really can’t, Bets. I have two more designs I have to finish soon, and I need the time.”
“Designs?”
His eyebrows went up and he tapped on the glass of the case he leaned against. “I don’t only sell stock jewelry. I design a lot of the pieces in here. This whole case is mine.”
Her eyes bulged and she looked back into the case. Darting over the pieces, he could feel her astonishment. “You? Made all of these?”
“I love working with metals. So yes. I’ll work in any metal medium. Gold, silver, platinum, titanium, steel. Whatever.”
In fact, Niko admitted to himself, there were times working the metals when the pleasure he derived was nearly orgasmic. He was sure that was the dragon’s doing, since the bastard loved his preciouses so much.
“God, they are gorgeous…” Her words were utterly sincerely, and he was proud she liked them. “I will still see you tomorrow night, though?”
“Absolutely,” Niko said. “I have a few cool ideas, but we’ll see what the weather is like.”
“Okay, good. I’m going to go check out the clothes. I hope I hear from Krieg’s soon.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Without warning, and definitely surprising him, Betsy popped up on her toes and planted a quick, sweet kiss on his lips. A smile followed, and she walked out of the store with a spring in her step.
“So, is that your date?”
“Nope. I’ve started kissing strange customers.” Niko turned and stared at Aaron.
Henry snorted from the other side. “You deserved that one, Aaron.”
“Yeah, I did.”
Standing in a line, they stared at the door Betsy had just walked out. Henry cleared his throat.
“You know she’s the thief.”
“Yup.”
Aaron sighed. “And you’re still going to date her?”
“Yup.”
Another moment passed, and Henry broke the silence again. “Got any logic behind this one? I mean, you should probably just turn her in.”
Niko sighed. “Henry. Do you have any control over your dragon?”
The shifter standing to his left snorted. “Nope. One hundred thirty-five years, and I shift like a newb as soon as my foot plants on soil.”
“Well, until last week, the exact same thing happened to me. As soon as the water hit me, I’d shift like a newb. But once I had sex with her last week, it’s been completely different. The beast listens to me now. I had—”
“Wait. You had sex?” Aaron’s mouth hung open.
Niko slid him the side-eye. “I did.”
“Well, it’s about damn time. Good job.”
“She thought so too.”
“Excuse me,” Henry interjected. “It’s fantastic that he got laid, but these are serious questions. You’re dating a petty thief.”
Slowly, Niko turned and looked at Henry. “There’s not a whole lot of petty about her theft. She’s got some serious grand theft warrants out.”
Aaron and Henry looked at each other, and then back at him.
“So again, I ask.” Henry’s eyebrow quirked up.
“When I met up with her again last night, I swam across Darkwater Pond. Nothing unusual about that, but until that moment I had no real control over the dragon when I shifted. When I dove into that water, I had to call up the shift. It waited for me. The dragon listened to me. And I want to find out what it is about her that makes that happen.”
“Well, you had sex for the first time, couldn’t it be that?” Aaron asked.
“No, doesn’t work that way.” Henry dismissed him.
“Why not?”
After another slow stare, Henry answered, “Because you really think I’ve spent one hundred thirty-five years celibate?”
“Ah. Good point.”
Shaking his head in disbelief, Henry motioned to Niko to elaborate.
“Well, I mean, that’s most of it. But now that we sat and talked a bit, I don’t think she really wants the life she’s in right now. She works with some guy to do the thefts, but she’s not happy. I think there’s a story there and a way back for her. And I’m willing to help her.”
Aaron waggled his eyebrows. “And bonus, sex.”
“Bring up the sex one more time, Leprechaun, and you’re going to eat rainbow.”
“In all seriousness, Niko. You really think dating a thief with the hoard down below is a good idea? And damn, if Messers gets ahold of this…”
“Messers is the one who gave me the printout on her warrants,” Niko said. “I already talked to him. I asked him to hold off on bringing her in. I want to see if this will work. I mean, what do we really know about mates, Henry? None of us are mated, and we’re all kind of clueless about this. What if she’s my mate? Do I really want to toss that away without a little bit of a fight?”
Cocking his head, Henry looked worried. “The old Tsavoularis stubbornness?”
“Family trait.”
“Just remember how it ended last time with something like this.”
Niko shook his head. “I don’t remember because I wasn’t alive. I only heard the story. So I’m not repeating history. We don’t know her—I don’t know her. Yet. I need to let this happen. I’ll repay anyone who she steals from while she’s here in town.”
“What about this partner?”
“I’m going to let this happen as it happens. We’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.”
“Er, Niko, does she know you’re a dragon?” Aaron twisted his mouth to a doubtful frown.
He nodded. “Yes. She does. She met the dragon before she met me.”
With a hand on his forehead, Henry headed for the door. “Good luck on that one. Seriously, Niko. Be careful. Please. The four of us exist here for the balance. I don’t want to break our circle. It works well right now.”
“I’m not going to let her swindle me or trick me. I know she’s a thief. It just remains to be seen if she’s born to it, or it was something she didn’t really want but got sucked into.”
Niko really hoped this wasn’t going to backfire on him.
* * *
Betsy heard the door jingle as she let it close behind her. She headed down the sidewalk to the little diner there and took a seat at the counter.
The sobs took over a moment later as the waitress pushed a cup of coffee at her.
This was not going to work.
All that gorgeous jewelry in Niko’s cases was his. He had designed it, crafted it with his own hands. He was beyond talented, whisking the metals around and making them create shapes that caught the light and made it dance.
It didn’t matter if he had the gems that would get her and Wyatt to Vegas. That store would be destroyed if they robbed it. It was his life, his livelihood. It was him. Even more than the dragon she saw rise out of the lake.
She couldn’t do this. She couldn’t rob him.
Everything was wrong. She didn’t want to go to Vegas. She didn’t want to be anywhere near Wyatt anymore. Betsy felt sick. Worse, she felt the weight of all the thefts she had committed over the years.
“You okay, hun?”
Betsy raised her head, and the waitress shook her head. A moment later, she found the woman handing her a napkin. “You look like a little slice of hell there, hun. Tell me it’s a guy?”
“It’s me.” The words hurt, but they were the truth. It was all her. Niko didn’t deserve her and she sure as hell didn’t deserve someone like him.
“What could you have done that would make you this upset?”
Betsy stole a glance at the woman’s name tag. Keni. Short for something.
“My whole life. I don’t…” Betsy shook her head. “It’s too much. There’s too much I’ve done. I don’t deserve the good that just walked into my life.”
“We all deserve good, doll.” Keni grabbed the milk and sugar and pulled the coffee back to her. “How do you like it?”
Without thinking about it, Betsy answered, “Light and sweet. No, I can do that…”
Keni pushed her hand back. “You are a mess. Let me get this. You want something to eat? You could probably use some good comfort food. I’ll get you a plate of Hot Dish from the back in minute. And this is butter coffee, now.” She dropped two pats of butter into the cup of coffee.
Her jaw dropped. “Did... did you just put butter in my coffee?”
“Minnesota, love. Our great grammies taught us to it in there.” Stirring the coffee, Keni pushed it back to her a moment later. “Trust me. I’ll get you a plate.”
Wiping the tears off her face, trying to calm herself down, Betsy took a sip of the coffee. While the butter was clearly there, Keni was right. The drink was incredibly delicious and went down easily. A moment later, the waitress was back with a dish of food.
“This is Minnesota tradition,” Keni said, leaning on the counter. “It’s Hot Dish. It’s leftovers with tater tots. Today’s dish has roasted chicken, rice, corn, and green beans with cream of mushroom soup.”
“That sounds vile.”
Keni leaned up. “Vile is when your new chef thinks that veal and rhubarb in mushroom soup is a good idea.”
“What?” Even the thought of that combo made Betsy’s stomach flip.
“Yeah. He meant well, but it wasn’t something we could sell. Now he gets that the combos have to work.” Keni laughed. “Try it. It’s kind of like Sheppard’s Pie. It’s also good for the soul, and bad for the waistline.”
“Well, with that billing, how can I resist?” Betsy grabbed the fork and dug into the small casserole dish in front of her. She scooped some of the dinner up and took a bite. It was exactly like the potpie her mother used to make.
Her eyes filled with tears again.
Keni’s smile fell. “It isn’t that bad, is it? Did he put ham in it again?”
Betsy shook her head and grabbed the napkin to wipe away the tears. “No, it’s fine. It’s actually really good. It just reminded me of something my mom used to make.”
“She passed?”
“I can’t talk to her.”
“Oh, hun, I’m sorry. You sure you can’t?”
“I’ve been gone too long. Done too many bad things. That’s not my life anymore. I don’t have a right to it.”
“Have you murdered someone?”
“No! God, no.”
“Then you can always go home and you can always earn back what you need. Knowing that what you did was wrong is the start.”
It sounded like a good theory. And Keni seemed honest and sincere in her belief. “I don’t know. I mean, what about the incredible hot guy I just met? What’s he going to do when he finds out what I’ve done?”
“I don’t know about that part of it, but just about anything can be forgiven as long as it didn’t involve murder.”
Did it? “Thank you for the butter coffee. That’s a pretty interesting drink.”
Keni smiled. “You’re not from Pine Valley. I haven’t seen you around. Are you here for the university?”
“No, just… passing through, I think. Bit of a nomad.”
“Ah, lucky,” Keni said, filling a cup of coffee for another customer.
“Lucky?”
“You’re not tied down. That can be a lot of fun.”
Betsy shook her head. “It’s old now. Getting really old. I…”
“Grass is always greener?”
“Yeah.” Betsy laughed. “Always is.”
Keni put a piece of paper next to her plate on the counter. “Look. If you want to think about hanging out, there’s a group of us local girls who get together at the Barcade. Anyone is welcome, and it’s just a night of pool, snooker, darts, and drinks. I don’t know how long you’re here, but you’re welcome to join us.”
“Why?” The words slipped out before she could stop it, or even realize it.
“Because you look like you could use a friend that doesn’t have an ulterior motive or a love interest in you.”
Betsy laughed. “You are so right about that.”
“We usually hang out on Thursday nights.” Keni tapped the paper. “That’s the address, the phone number, my name and phone number.”
“Thanks.”
Keni refilled her coffee. “Never did get your name.”
“Betsy Tillman.”
“Nice to meet you, Betsy. I hope you’ll hang around for a little while anyway.”
Sipping the coffee, Betsy started to hope she would too.