The door swung open, and my eyes met Albert’s. He was dressed in a gray suit, his eyes hard, a deep pillow crease on his cheek. Clearly, he hadn’t lost any sleep after firing me.

“Danica,” he said. I nodded at him. He jerked his head at the bounty hunters, and they left the room.

The door opened once more. Keigan. “You’re entitled to a representative,” he said. “Would you like me to stay?”

I smiled at him. “Sure.” It was more for him than me. He was clearly miserable, his face pale and his brow furrowed. If I said no, he’d likely just stand outside the door, wringing his hands. I didn’t know why Keigan had taken me under his wing when I first began contracting for the Mage Council, but he was the only person here who truly gave a shit about me.

Keigan took a seat next to me. Albert didn’t seem pleased, but he didn’t object, sliding into the chair on the opposite side of the table.

“Do you know why we brought you in?”

Oh, is that what they’d done? I gave him a look that said he knew damn well I’d brought myself in. He sat back in his chair, tenting his hands on the table in front of him.

“Rose said the Mage Council got wind of my argument with Gary.”

“Yes. A few hours later, the gnome ended up almost dead. He may still die.”

My stomach twisted. “I have no motive to hurt Gary.”

“Then why were you seen screaming in his store? Why did a bounty hunter nearby report a wave of dark power? If you went back tonight and lost control, it will go better for you if you admit it now.”

“I went back to apologize. I found Gary crumpled on the floor. His shop looked like someone had tried to ruin everything he owned.”

Or, like someone had been looking for something. Had his goods been broken because someone wanted to hurt him, or were they broken by someone who was looking for something?

I hadn’t paid enough attention. I’d been too focused on getting the kids out and keeping Gary alive. I’d kept up the CPR until the ambulance arrived and the fae healer had managed to get his heart beating again.

I needed to get back to his store and take another look.

“Amana?”

“I’m sorry, what was that?”

Albert gave me a hard stare. “Take me through it step by step.”

I complied, telling him exactly what had happened from the moment I arrived, but leaving out all mention of the kids. Albert let me run through it, nodding along, and then studied his notes.

“It says here that the gnome has two children.”

“His name is Gary.”

He surveyed me, his eyes hard. “Where are the children?”