Val smiled. “I was actually about to thank you.”

Enzo raised the brow ringed with traditional orc tattoos.

“Thanks for telling Tetra to do the right thing.” Val paused. “You’ve seen something in her since the beginning.”

“She’s shaping up. She’s a good kid underneath all the... Well, you know. Everything.” Enzo chuckled. “She’s been so cut up about what happened the other night. All she wants is to live up to what you’re doing for her.”

Laughter rose from beside Val as Tetra gestured wildly, entertaining the humans with her account of the fight.

“Yeah,” Val murmured. “I believe you now.”

Enzo smiled and withdrew to pour more drinks.

“Then Val was, like, ‘Get him, Tetra!’” Tetra lowered her voice to a gravelly snarl.

Val scoffed. “Excuse me! I do not sound like that.”

“She’s pretty close.” Liam grinned.

“It’s not far off,” Isabella agreed.

Val rolled her eyes. “Whatever, you lot.” She raised her glass. “Thank you for the 911 call, Lee. It was perfect timing.”

Liam groaned. “This was the most stressful week of my life. I’m going back to interior decorating now, thank you. No more hacking into major corporations or making bogus 911 calls for me.”

“That call wasn’t bogus. Shots were fired,” Tetra pointed out.

“Aw, c’mon, Lee.” Val grinned over her beer glass’ foam-streaked rim. “You’re really good at this shit. I should make you my operations manager.”

Liam barked a dry, mirthless laugh. “Ha-ha. No.”

“You know it’s happening.” Isabella chuckled.

“It’s not happening. No. Do you hear me, Valerie? I’m not doing it.” Liam shook his head vehemently.

Val chuckled as she sipped her beer. “We’ll see about that.”

Liam rolled his eyes. Tetra laughed, a tinkling sound rising above the bar’s hubbub, and Val couldn’t help smiling.

“Are you pleased that you don’t have to spend the day parked outside our brewery tomorrow?” Blair asked. He’d unbuttoned his shirt’s collar, and he slung a lazy arm around Yuka’s shoulders.

“Merlin’s beard, yes. That was unbelievably boring.” Val chuckled. “But I’m mainly pleased that you two can now go back to your lives. BrewCorp will no longer be a problem for you, and neither will the gang.”

Yuka grinned. “BrewCorp won’t be competition anymore, either. I’m sure the cops will seize all their assets.”

Blair gasped. “That’ll leave every craft beer buyer in the city scrambling for a new supplier.”

“We’d better start a new batch in the morning, honey.” Yuka raised a hand. “A big one.”

Blair gave her an enthusiastic high-five.

“What can I get you, sir?” Enzo asked someone on Val’s right.

“Anything that’s not a BrewCorp beer,” a familiar voice answered. “I’ve had enough of cleaning up their mess.”

Val raised her head. “Sid! Hey! You made it!”

Tetra scooted over, making room for Sid to put a bar stool between her and Val. The cop looked like someone’s favorite uncle in loose-fitting jeans and a sports coat with a bright yellow T-shirt underneath. “Yeah, no thanks to you.” He raised his IPA. “Your call came at the end of my shift. Next time you attack a bunch of violent gangsters, do it at least an hour before shift change, please.”

“Sorry.” Val laughed. “It’s good to see you here.”

“It’s good to loosen up and have a drink, knowing that Brooklyn’s streets are a little safer.” Sid smiled.

Val grinned. “I know you can’t accept gifts from the public, but surely you’ll allow a friend to buy your drink?”

Sid studied her. Beer foam dotted his silver mustache, but his eyes were bright gray and piercing. Val wondered why she hadn’t noticed them before. Could he be…

Nah, he was aging too fast.

Sid blinked, and the moment passed.

“I suppose I could allow that,” he told her.

Yuka beat her to it. The dwarf clambered onto the counter, eliciting a squeal of dismay from Enzo, and raised her glass. Light sparkled and fractured through the pale amber pilsner.

“Anvil Brewery, bitches!” she whooped. “A round for everybody on us!”

The resulting cheer rattled the windows of the Iron Fist.

THE STORY CONTINUES

Valerie’s story continues in book four, Jewel of the Night’s Mantle, coming soon to Kindle.

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AUTHOR NOTES RENÉE JAGGÉRMAY 12, 2024

Thank you for reading book three and here to the back! This series is so much fun to write!

It’s Still Spring, and This Woman’s Thoughts Turn to…

Shrimp! Not what you expected, was it?

Seriously, I used to be a diver (not much opportunity in Arizona, and I’ll be damned if I’m putting on a drysuit to dive in Scotland! I’ll get back to Sumatra and Fiji someday!). One of my favorite pastimes was to overweight myself and lie on the bottom, watching all the denizens of some crowded rock go about their business.

Since I largely dove in tropical climes, there were always eels, crabs, damselfish, other juvenile fish, sponges, anemones, sometimes octopi (highly amusing as well)…and the ubiquitous shrimp!