Harley Merlin 12 by Bella Forrest (story books to read TXT) 📗

my reply. How did he know that? I’d forgotten O’Halloran’s knack for gathering intel.

Harley shifted awkwardly. “I may have told him what Ryann told me.”

“Ah, right.” So that was how he knew. “Yeah, it’s all… uh… going smoothly. Nothing I can’t handle.”

“Aye, and I’m a soddin’ unicorn,” Diarmuid muttered. “Ye couldn’t handle a donkey.”

“Is it anything I should worry about? If I need to rally forces, I have to know as quickly as possible.” O’Halloran ignored him and focused on me.

I shook my head. “Nope, no cavalry required. It’s more of a self-serving thing for Erebus, from what I can tell.”

“Would you mind coming to my office so we can talk more about it?” O’Halloran said.

“Ach, yer pullin’ me leg!” Diarmuid complained. “Ye drag us all the way out here, now yer wantin’ te go all the way back? I bet if I looked in yer ear, I’d see right through te the other side.”

How do you get through a meeting with THAT chirping at you all the time? I would’ve said it out loud if I wasn’t certain Diarmuid was hiding his mighty shillelagh somewhere. And he’d give me a few choice whacks if I insulted him.

“Actually, we’re in a rush,” Harley cut in, ever the good sister. “Can we catch up another time?” Now that she knew the stakes, it seemed to be working in my favor.

O’Halloran frowned. “Yes, I suppose it can wait. But didn’t you say you were coming to find me?”

“We were just going to stick our heads in and say hello on our way to see the others,” Harley replied without missing a beat. Oh, she was good. I’d forgotten how good.

I missed you, sis. I really did.

O’Halloran nodded. “Right, you must be looking forward to seeing them after being away so long.”

“Very much so,” I said.

“Then, I won’t keep you. But I do want us to continue this talk later,” O’Halloran insisted.

I smiled sweetly. “Sure thing, Director.”

Leaving a curious O’Halloran and a nagging Diarmuid behind, Harley and I pressed on.

“Thanks for that,” I whispered. I expected a “no problem” or a “don’t mention it.” Instead, Harley turned to me with a furrowed brow.

“I just hope you know what you’re doing,” she said firmly. “And, please, remember your promise. As soon as this starts to sour, you tell me so we can figure something out together. Just because I can’t help you now doesn’t mean I’m not ready to dive in at a moment’s notice.”

“Hey, I’ll stick to my promise, you stick to yours.”

“Fair exchange.” Her lips turned up in a slight smile. “On one condition.”

I squinted at her. “What condition?”

“You come to Ignatius’s Restaurant tonight at eight o’clock.”

I groaned. “I’m not in the mood for dinners and stuff. Anything that requires more than a T-shirt and jeans, I’m out.”

“Not taking no for an answer, Finch. You’re hauling your ass to Ignatius’s tonight, or I will flay you.”

“Maybe I’ll flay myself and make you stare at my sinews over spaghetti Bolognese. I bet that’d put you off. Is it mincemeat, is it Finch, who knows?” I managed my first real laugh. What could I say? I was hilarious, even in a deteriorating mental state. Maybe more so.

She shot me a withering look. “Eight o’clock. Be there. I mean it.”

“All right, all right, I’ll be there. I’d rather sit through a meal than have you chasing me around, guilt-tripping me for the rest of my life.”

“Good.” She smiled, evidently satisfied.

My phone pinged. I took it out and hardly dared to look at the screen, in case it was another autocorrect minefield from Erebus. Instead, Melody’s name flashed. Puzzled, I swiped the banner and read the message:

Hi Finch! Hope you don’t mind, but we had a change of plans. I’m outside the Fleet Science Center. Luke’s here, too. I managed to badger him into submission! Yayyyy! Come let us in.

I rolled my eyes. Of course she’d badgered Luke into bringing her here. That man just couldn’t say no to her big eyes. The moment I’d indulged in a bit of showboating and mentioned knowing Tobe back at the monastery, I should’ve known it’d spell trouble. Melody had a weakness for all things knowledgeable, including the Bestiary, and she wouldn’t leave until she’d seen it herself and spoken to its big pussycat of a guardian.

“Who is it?” Harley asked, like a paranoid girlfriend.

I put the phone away. “Come with me. There’s someone I’d like you to meet.”

Six

Finch

“Should I be worried about who we’re meeting?” Harley asked as we exited the coven and headed through Kid City. A few rug rats ran around making a nuisance of themselves. Tommy Pickles had Chucky in a headlock while their moms chattered amongst themselves, talking about their plans for next weekend.

“Nope. She’s all cotton candy and fairy dust.”

Harley pulled on my arm. “Are you being sarcastic?”

“For once, no.” A few minutes later, we made it through the glass doors of the Fleet Science Center and out into the warm sunlight. I drank it in and enjoyed the gentle breeze drying the sheen of sweat that had beaded on my forehead. Here comes the excessive sweating Melody warned me about… The laundromat better be ready. My hands trembled slightly, but I shoved them in my pockets to hide it. It would pass, like it had at the table with the Winchesters.

Melody being here had amped up my nerves and set the gremlins jittering. I mean, she hadn’t really given me time to scope out the security measures. Then again, the SDC had security up to the eyeballs after the Katherine-Imogene fiasco. O’Halloran had implemented every protocol around. After a lifetime in covert military operations, he was practically the maestro of all things security. Without him, Harley and Wade wouldn’t have had their shiny new uniforms. Even so, having the Librarian here just stank of a bad idea. It brought a different kind of danger—one that O’Halloran might not have prepped for.

“Finch!” Melody waved from a short