ARDEN LEFT QUINN sitting at the bar, mumbling about his broken heart and how he intended on getting even with Paddy. The whole thing seemed strange to Arden. Brandie Underwood did not strike him as the type to go after a jester like Paddy. She seemed more serious than that, more sober-minded, than one easily impressed with Paddy’s brand of mischief. There had to be another explanation for why Brandie had dinner with the cluricaun that night.
After leaving Thirst, Arden decided to seek Kerry out and see what she uncovered without him that day. He couldn’t deny the pull he felt toward the investigator’s sister. The woman had spunk, determination, and grit. Arden just hoped those qualities didn’t land her in some sort of trouble.
Turning the corner, he spotted Kerry walking on the other side of the street, heading for Daydreamer Inn. Her gait was quick, her expression troubled, and Arden’s heart automatically went out to her, wanting to make whatever troubled her better. Of course, he knew the only way to ease her worried expression was to find her sister, but what if Quinn had been right, and Brandie just left town? Could this whole thing be a lover’s quarrel gone awry?
Crossing the street, Arden called out to Kerry. When she glanced up, she seemed shocked to see him approaching her, but he was relieved to see she slowed her pace and didn’t enter the inn just yet. She stood there, arms over her waist, as she waited for him to reach her.
Arden suddenly felt nervous, sliding his hands into his pockets as he crossed the distance. Kerry Underwood did not look approachable, but he couldn’t turn away. “How did it go today?” he asked when he reached her. “Find out anything about your sister?” He knew he needed to tell her about Quinn and Paddy, but informing her of her sister’s love triangle out on the street just didn’t seem like a good idea.
Of course, as he soon found out, Kerry had no such qualms. “I found out that your partner’s been keeping secrets from me,” she snapped. “Apparently, he spent the night in her room the last night she was seen by anyone. They also fought about her seeing that drunk at your bank.”
Arden took a deep breath as he nodded. “I actually just found out some of that myself.” He told her about meeting Quinn at Thirst and everything the other leprechaun told him about being in love with her sister. “The fight happened after Quinn witnessed Brandie and Paddy entering Fireside Grille together.”
“That fits the timeline I heard,” she said. Then she gestured toward the front door of the inn as she started walking again. Was she really inviting him to her room? Arden didn’t hesitate, but stepped in beside her. “Apparently, Paddy visited her room as well, although I’m not sure how that all went down. Brandie’s always been one for the bad boys, but not the drunken sots.”
As they stepped into the Daydreamer Inn, Arden asked, “How did you find all this out? I live here and work with these people, and not even I knew about the little romances going on.”
Arden followed her as she moved up to the stairs, her jeans squeezing her ass as she took each step. Luckily for him, she didn’t turn around when she answered, or he would have been busted gawking at her round posterior. “Apparently, brownies pay close attention to what goes on here. I had a visitor this morning.” She paused in her walking as she turned to face Arden. Luckily, he wasn’t still staring at her ass. “He doesn’t like the chocolate you brought, by the way. He says you’re cheap.”
Arden just stood there, staring, as Kerry turned back around and continued climbing the stairs. “Alizon will be sorry to hear that,” he said with a shake of his head. He then quickly caught up to Kerry.
“Who’s Alizon?” Kerry asked when they reached her floor.
“She’s the witch who owns Sticky Fingers, the candy store.” He highly doubted Alizon would appreciate having her candy called cheap. Whichever brownie said it, better pray the witch never found out.
Kerry pulled the iron key Sandie gave his guests from her purse and unlocked her door. She pushed it open and walked inside, assuming he would follow her. She didn’t even hold the door open for him.
Arden caught the door before it closed and slid inside. He did a quick search for the brownie, but the little guy was nowhere to be seen. Of course, that didn’t mean anything. Brownies were small and sneaky little buggers.
Kerry stopped in the middle of the room and turned, almost making him run into her from behind with her sudden stop. “So, you’re telling me that you didn’t know your friend was sleeping with my sister?”
Arden stopped just before ramming his chin into her nose, but not before he caught a whiff of her perfume, a jasmine fragrance that stirred him in areas that hadn’t stirred in centuries. “No, I didn’t. Quinn isn’t really one to kiss and gossip, and he also didn’t reveal anything about his true feelings. Although, that does explain his sullenness of late. He didn’t want me to hire her in the beginning, and now that she’s missing, he only blames Paddy for stealing her. The whole thing explains why he’s been acting the maggot, though.” He shrugged. “To be honest, I was busy trying to figure out who was sneaking in to steal the gold.”
Kerry blew out a breath as she turned and leaned back on the dresser. “Nunk said that Paddy lived in a faerie knoll. Is that true?”
Arden nodded. He crossed his arms over his chest, wishing he could sit down, but refusing to sit on the bed with all it implied. “It is. Several of the leprechauns and cluricauns do. Quinn calls them hovels, but they’re knolls that open up into an underground home. Most are small. A couple of rooms at most. It reminds them of being back in the home country.”
“You don’t live out there?”
He shook his head. “I prefer to be close to town and the bank.” He shrugged. “I’m sort of a workaholic. I’ve never really had anything else to keep me occupied.” With a deep breath, he took a step toward her. “It’s funny, but since you walked into Hell’s Brew, my mind hasn’t been on anything else but you.”
She smiled at him, a twinkle in her deep blues eyes. She pushed herself off the dresser and met him, her hand going to his chest. “Arden, I…”
He didn’t give her a chance to say anything else, didn’t give her a chance to tell him there was no way in hell she was interested in him. He gripped her arms, pulling her close, and kissed her, her lips warm on his as he slid his tongue between her lips, tasting her. He braced for her to shove him back, slap his face for his brazenness, but she didn’t. Instead, she returned his kiss, sliding her arms around him, running her hands up his back and pressing him to her.
When they broke the kiss, Arden was out of breath, but not out of desire. “Kerry, I don’t know what to say. I’ve never…” He took a deep breath. “I’ve never felt like this toward someone, and definitely not this fast. I know things are still all sorts of sideways right now, but I promise, we’ll figure it out. Together. Two shortens the road.”
When she gazed up into his eyes, he could see the battle going on within her. “Arden, I shouldn’t even allow my emotions to get involved while my sister is missing.” He watched as she waved a hand near her ear, but it seemed almost done without thought. “I have to find her first.” She leaned up and kissed him again. When she leaned back, she was smiling. “Then, we can see where this goes.”
He grinned at her. “Then we better hurry up and find your sister.” He tilted his head as he studied her. “And you’re sure she wouldn’t have just run off without telling either of us?”
She shook her head. “Not my sister. Once she takes a job, she finishes it, no matter what happens in the process. No. If she’s missing, then someone caused it.” She took a step back, turning to stare out the window. After a quick moment, she turned back around, staring at him with a puzzled expression on her face. “These faerie knolls, are they small?” she asked. “Like would you need to be your normal size to get inside?”
“Yes. They’re built for little people,” he said. “The same magic we use in the hallway to the vault works there. As we walk down the pathway to the front door, the magic kicks in, and we shrink down to the right size.”
“So, does that mean you could take me into the knoll as well, like you did in the vault?” she asked.
Arden just stared at her for a moment, not sure why she was even curious about the faerie knolls right then. He assumed she would have wanted to be concentrating on her sister. Then, everything clicked. “You think someone took her out to their knoll and is keeping her there?”
“What better place to hide her?” Kerry asked him. “Who can get in there but another leprechaun or cluricaun?”
“But who?” He couldn’t imagine one of his employees luring Brandie Underwood out to the woods to trap them in their home.
“It can only be one of two people,” Kerry said, and Arden didn’t like the look on her face. “It’s either Paddy or Quinn.”
Arden liked her words even less.