“Beer?”
“I’d kill for one. Travelling is thirsty work. Sure you don’t mind, though, seeing as you’re not drinking?”
“The whole world can’t stop for me. I’ll sniff it and pretend.”
“Thank you. You look well.” He almost drank her in, and that set her to blushing.
She patted her stomach. “Yes, this little one is being gentle. I feel fine. But look, get settled first. I’ve put you in here.” She opened the door to the guest room that suddenly seemed far too small for Nahum. It wasn’t really, but his presence was so overwhelming. Breathe…
“This is great!” He put his bag on the double bed, taking it in quickly. He’d never been in her flat. Since her New Years visit to Cornwall, they had stuck to phone calls. “It’s a nice place. Roomy.”
“Well, I earn enough money, and I hate pokey flats. Come on, though. My room is opposite, with the ensuite, and there’s a main bathroom, too—that’s yours. And this is the living room and kitchen-dining area. All in one.” She was gabbling and she knew it. She also had another room she could use as a nursery, but there was no way she was discussing that now. Calm the fuck down! For a while she bustled about, glad to keep herself busy. “I’ve bought lots of food. I know you eat like a horse.”
“Okay. Rule number one. I pull my weight around here. I know it’s your place, but I can cook, pour my own beer, make my own snacks.” He gently took the can and glass from her hands, and the touch of his skin was like electricity. “I’m imposing, but well, things are weird…”
“You’re not imposing! Please don’t think that.” She took a breath and smiled at him. This was Nahum. They were friends before their night of awesome sex. He was moving in for a while, and she couldn’t deal with this awkwardness. “Yes, things are weird. But, like I said before, I wouldn’t change a thing. This,” she gestured between them, “will be something we’ll work out. We’re friends, right? We were before that night, and still are!”
“Of course. Friends.” A trace of some emotion Olivia couldn’t quite work out flashed across his face. Relief, or regret? “So, you have cases, I presume? I can help you with them. I really should be with you all the time, so…”
She made herself a cup of herbal tea to keep busy. “Yes, a few cases. The early stages of some, wrapping up others, but nothing urgent. I will have to go into the office at some point. I’m not entirely sure what I should say to Mason, though. No one at work knows I’m pregnant, and even if they did, I can’t explain a bodyguard easily.”
“But Mason knows all about us, and the paranormal. Does he know about when you were possessed?”
“Yes, actually. I had to have time off. He was very sweet about it.” Mason could be prickly, but she’d always got on well with him.
“Just tell him we’re worried he’ll come for you again. That should suffice.”
“True. I think I already have baby brain.”
He laughed. “I’m sure you haven’t. I’ve got a few things I have to do, actually, and wondered if you’d like to come with me. I need to go to Cornwall tomorrow to deliver the collection of jewels we found. My brothers will caretake them.”
Her eyes widened. “You found more?”
“Yes, lots. I’ll give you all the thrilling details if you want. It involved a near-death experience, so that was fun.”
Her heart almost skipped a beat. “Near-death! Why am I surprised, though? Yes, of course I want to know!” More jewels, and they were here. “It might sound odd, considering what happened, but I’d like to see them. No touching, obviously.”
Nahum shook his head. “No. Sorry. I don’t want to give him any quarter at all. You and our daughter are too precious.”
“I like being precious! It’s gives me a fuzzy, warm glow.” She couldn’t resist a tease. It was in her nature.
“Well, it’s true. My brothers will kill me if I let anything happen to you. And I’d never forgive myself.” He held her gaze for a moment, and her brain emptied of everything except a desperate urge to kiss him. “So, do you fancy a trip tomorrow? It’s a long drive, though. And we can’t stay overnight,” he rushed onwards, “because I have to go to the British Museum on Monday.” He briefly outlined what had happened.
“I can go with you?” Vision of golden, jewelled treasures filled her head. “Holy shit! Yes, please! Templar treasure! An enormous finder’s fee!” All embarrassment vanished. “Sit and tell me everything about what’s going on.”
“So, you see our problem,” Zee said to Alex Bonneville as they were cleaning the bar of The Wayward Son in White Haven after a busy Saturday night. The other staff were well out of hearing range. “A box won’t cut it anymore. We have too many jewels.”
“Oh, no! What a terrible dilemma!” Alex shot Zee a wry grin. “So much gold!”
“Funny, if they weren’t so dangerous!
Alex poured them both half a pint of Skullduggery Ale. “I’m kidding, obviously. You need another spelled box. Or a treasure chest, at this point.”
“More like a bunker. Me and Eli have already prepared a place in the cellar. We’ve dug a pit. It was a rough brick and dirt floor anyway. We’ve lined it with slabs and made a trap door to go over it. Can you spell that?”
“Bloody hell, mate. How much stuff are you expecting?”
“Prepare for the worst, and all that.” He’d already told Alex about what had happened to his brothers and Shadow in Florence. “There could be more. Weapons, too.”
Alex’s grin vanished. “I’d rather it be in your cellar than anywhere else. I’ll come round tomorrow with the whole coven. We’ll set up a protection spell.”
Zee knew that Alex would help, but it was good to have it confirmed. “Thank you. I don’t like us having them. Feels like we’re sitting on dynamite, but like you said, better with us than anywhere else.”
“You’re sure you don’t want to be with them? Your brothers, I mean.”
“No! It’s important that me and Eli are here to keep everything safe, and besides, I like my new job.”
“Good, because you’re great at it.” Alex raised his glass. “And way easier to deal with than Simon!”
It had been two months since Simon, Alex’s previous Bar Manager, had left and Zee had taken over the role, and he loved it. He also loved the fact that he had use of the flat upstairs. A partial sharing arrangement with Abigail Kendall, the DS on Newton’s team. He was currently spending half his time there, and had debated whether to fully move in, but with more of Belial’s jewels arriving now, he couldn’t really.
“Cheers, Alex. That’s good to know. Any idea what we can do with all of his stuff long-term, though? We can’t keep it forever.”
“There are a few options, I guess,” he mused while he sipped his beer, “but the more you accumulate, the more overall power you’ll have to contain. Digging a hole is a great idea. Maybe the best yet. However, with all your newfound wealth, you should have a proper safe installed. A big one.”
Zee blinked in shock. “I hadn’t considered that. The kind we can walk into, like in a bank?”
“Pretty much. You can then add spells to it, and you’d have double levels of protection. Make sense, right?”
