Shadow's End (Elder Races, #9)(50)

Claudia chuckled, her own affection for Luis obvious. She said to Graydon, “He is one big-ass, mean-looking dog. I had to name him Precious.”

If Graydon was not mistaken, that big-ass, mean-looking dog had mated with his non-Wyr, human partner.

And Wyr mated for life. Luis would never leave Claudia, never stop in his devotion to her, yet she had a different nature entirely.

If she ever felt the need, she could leave Luis, and eventually that decision would kill him. Their lifespans were also quite different. She would age quicker than he. When she died, he would too. It was a hell of a thing for a member of another race to take a Wyr as a lover.

Of course, it was a hell of a thing for the Wyr, as well.

Belatedly, Graydon caught up with what they had said. He put two and two together.

“Wait,” he said. “Are you the two that discovered the magic-sensitive silver mine in Nirvana, Nevada? The one where the owner kept slaves in a small pocket of Other land to mine the silver?”

Both Luis and Claudia sobered, their smiles dying. Luis replied, “Yes.”

“I’ll get everybody a cup of coffee,” Claudia said. She walked out of the living room.

Graydon said to Luis, “That explains your Peacekeeper background.”

Luis nodded. “I was an investigator for the Elder tribunal and met Claudia in Nevada. I was close to death when she found me. She saved my life. After the case was concluded, we took time off. When we decided to look for a job, we had some very specific requirements.”

“One of my requirements was I needed to become a Vampyre attendant,” Claudia said, as she walked back into the room, carrying coffee mugs. “Short of becoming a Vampyre myself, which I don’t want to do, being an attendant is the only way for a human to significantly improve their health and lengthen their life.”

Ah. So she knew that Luis had mated with her.

She handed a mug filled with coffee to Graydon, meeting his eyes with a direct, steady gaze, and he realized she had seen how troubled he had become. He murmured a thanks and sipped the hot, black brew.

She said, “Working for Carling will extend my lifespan significantly. It still won’t bring me to anything near what Luis’s life would have been before he met me, but instead of having thirty or forty years together, we’ll now have eighty. Maybe even a hundred, if we’re lucky, and I’ll be fit and healthy to the end.”

“You fuss too much,” Luis told her. He accepted a mug too. “Things have turned out better than I could have hoped. I like fieldwork and being independent, so those were my requirements. Long story short, we ended up in Florida, applying for positions at Carling and Rune’s agency. We’ve been working for them ever since.”

“Well, you know I wouldn’t have trusted you with an investigation as sensitive or dangerous as this if Rune hadn’t recommended you so highly,” said Graydon. “I want to go over everything to make sure it’s in order.”

“Of course,” said Luis. “Since we didn’t know what you might choose to do, I’ve created files that meet Elder tribunal litigation requirements. It’s kind of my thing.”

Graydon glanced at Claudia again. The twinkle had returned in her eyes. She said in a gentle voice to Luis, “I get all hot and bothered when you talk about files and litigation requirements.”

The younger Wyr laughed a little under his breath, and his skin darkened.

Watching them, Graydon’s sense of discouragement turned to hope. If anybody looked mismatched at first glance, it had to be Luis and Claudia, yet they appeared to have found a solution that allowed them to be together in the best way possible.

Maybe he and Bel really could find a way to be together. Of course, they might not, but at least it looked more possible than it had earlier at Ruby’s Diner.

“I want to have a meeting on this sometime later tonight,” he told them. “I would like for you both to attend, if you would.”

“Of course,” Claudia said. “Rune and Carling are in town, and they wanted to be kept updated. Is it all right if they attend too?”

“I would prefer it.” Rune was one of the most formidable fighters Graydon had ever known, and as a Powerful witch and Vampyre, Carling had once fought in a war against a first-generation Djinn—and won. Her input would be invaluable.

“I’ll let them know,” Claudia promised.

Luis led him to the dining table and logged him onto a laptop. Once Graydon had taken a seat, Luis handed him something square and black. It was an external hard drive.

“The laptop’s Wi-Fi capability has been disabled,” Luis told him. “The only record of the files is on that hard drive. This is as secure as we could possibly make it.”

“That’s terrific.”

Plugging in the drive, Graydon explored the contents.

The files were massive. Neatly labeled, each folder contained copies of financial records, photos, and extensive notes, each document logged with the date and time. There were also interviews in audio files.

The other two left him to his reading. It took him several hours, but he reviewed each file thoroughly. He worked through lunch.

Silently, without interrupting him, Luis set a plate stacked with roast beef sandwiches beside his elbow. Graydon nodded his thanks and, without taking a break from reading, plowed through the food.

Finally he closed the hard drive, unplugged it from the laptop and slipped it into his pocket. Looking for Claudia and Luis, he followed the sound of a TV and found them in one of the bedrooms.