“What it does mean,” Rory said, “is that you two may need to watch each other’s backs.”
“And I,” Jackson said, a gleam in his eyes, “have the perfect way to do that.”
“Oh, yeah?” I said, not trusting that gleam for an instant. “And that would be what, exactly?”
“This.” He airily indicated the room around us.
I grinned. “I’m not moving in with you. As I explained, Rory and I need—”
“No, no, that’s not what I meant.” He paused. “Well, I wouldn’t mind if you occasionally stayed here. No sane man is ever likely to reject the possibility of great sex—and certainly no Fae ever did.”
“Then what did you mean?”
“I meant Hellfire Investigations.” His expression was serious, the gleam giving way to determination. “As I mentioned earlier, I’ve been looking for someone to work with for a while, and if the last few days have proven anything, it’s that we work well together.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t anyone tell you it’s a bad idea to sleep with employees?”
“I don’t sleep with employees. Well, I don’t anymore—not after I ended up in court fighting harassment charges.” He grinned. “Partners, however, are an entirely different matter.”
“Only a Fae would think there’s a difference,” Rory commented, voice dry.
“Well, there is. We’d be on equal standing, rather than in a superior-subordinate situation.”
I stared at him for a moment, then said, “Are you serious?”
“Totally.” He leaned forward and caught my hand. “I’ve got so much work, I’m having to turn potential clients away. I really do need help.”
I had to admit, the thought of becoming an investigator certainly had my blood racing. As Rory had noted before this whole mess had begun, I wasn’t usually one to put up with a staid life for very long. But this would be two lifetimes in a row I’d done something dangerous—and joining forces with Jackson against those who would hunt us down was certainly that—and it was supposedly Rory’s turn to live on the edge this time around.
Not that he’d actually taken up the option beyond becoming a fireman.
I bit my lip and glanced at him. He smiled at my unasked question and said, “I’d feel a whole lot better if you were working here rather than off somewhere else where there’s no one to watch your back.”
I returned my gaze to Jackson’s. “So, full partner? Done legally, with me buying a percentage of the business?”
“Fifty-fifty, and everything legal,” he agreed. “With a cooling-off period of thirty days, just to be safe.”
I hesitated, then grinned. “You have yourself a deal. And a partner.”
Jackson grabbed the bottle of wine and refilled all our glasses.
“To Hellfire Investigations,” he said, raising his glass. “Long may we prosper.”
“To Hellfire,” I echoed, and clinked my glass against theirs.
And knew, even as I drank the wine, that it wasn’t prosperity we had to worry about.
It was survival.