The last place Colleen wanted to be was back in her office. She was pretty sure everyone had heard the verdict and social media had probably made the kiss picture go viral. Right now she wanted to go home and forget she was a lawyer. A glass of wine and Netflix would be on her agenda. Unless Fi and Meg were available. She steeled herself before she walked in the front door. If her firm had made her the sacrificial lamb, would they admit it? She doubted it. There must have been a plan in place or had Tony Tocci acted on his own? Ledger, Chart, and Hier occupied three floors in a building on Chestnut Street, not far from all of the courthouses that they might have trials taking place. The warmth of the day didn't reach Colleen's soul as she stood outside the building. She might as well get this over with. She yanked open the door, waved at the security guard, then punched the elevator button for the fifth floor. When the doors opened on her firm's office, she strode out as if she own
Fiona arrived at Colleen's apartment with ice cream and wine. Colleen hugged her friend tightly. Having no family, friends were important to her. Fiona returned the hug. "Since Meg is still on her honeymoon, I'll try to be twice as good a best friend." Colleen laughed as she closed the door behind her. She followed Fiona out to the balcony of her penthouse. Fiona took in a breath. "You have the best view of all of us."Colleen's apartment overlooked the Delaware River. She faced New Jersey, but she could live with that. The sight of sailboats and duck boats going by in the summer made it all worthwhile. Fiona flopped into a lounge chair."I'll get some spoons," Colleen said. She retrieved two spoons and two wine glasses from her state of the art kitchen. Her bare feet padded across the bamboo floor and back out onto the expansive balcony.She handed Colleen a pint of rocky road ice cream. "Thanks, Colleen," Fiona said."I forgot the corkscrew," Colleen said. "Screw top."Colleen
Donal's still-cursed brothers continued to perch on a shelf above a church outside of Leenane, County Galway. Meg and Donal had been by to see them days before and they couldn't be happier for their brother.But. They were still made of stone. Sean lamented it every day. Seeing Donal in human form had just reminded him of their fates. It hurt a little, but he recognized that his brother was in love and nothing bad was going to happen to him. That didn't mean the two remaining brothers would have such luck. At least they'd been granted the gift of being able to talk to each other telepathically."I can feel your thoughts over here," Declan said. They looked out onto the Atlantic Ocean and the Wild Atlantic Way. Buses and cars passed, but no one stopped. Sheep ate the grass that grew around the crumbling walls of the stone church. The landscape had shifted with the times, but it was still green on their side of the road and sandy near the shore. Sean had lost count of how many years
Sean could see the car that parked on the side of the road. He wasn't optimistic, because a lot of people stopped to take a picture of the ocean here. Only Meg, his brother's new American wife, had ever walked across the road to see them. The day wasn't sunny, but that wasn't surprising. There were always clouds in the sky on the west coast of Ireland. County Galway from what Sean had gathered from hearing people talk on the beach. The world had moved on since they'd been sitting here in stone. He'd seen humans populate where fairies had once lived. He'd seen the sky rain for days on end than when it stopped a rainbow appeared on the horizon. The sea had stayed the same gray. Ships had once traveled these seas. Now it wasn't common to see one, but airplanes now dotted the skies going to who knew where. Sean had spent the time staring out into a view that was once beautiful, but now mundane. Where gargoyles had learned their fighting skills, sheep now chewed on the grass. Did anyone s
Colleen had just encountered a tour bus on the Wild Atlantic Way and she sat in the car on the side of the road, her heart beating rapidly. Her instinct had been to go right, but here in Ireland, you went left. She had to think about that every time. At least on the highway, it was difficult to go the wrong way. Of course, the bus was wide and didn't slow down because the driver probably knew exactly how wide the road was. Colleen put a hand on her chest to slow her rapidly beating heart.A light mist had started. Dark gray clouds rolled past her. The wind had also picked up. Meg had mentioned that she'd encountered all sorts of weather in a short period of time. The sun might come out again, but for now, Colleen would drive in the rain. Her phone ringing made her jump. She looked around for a parking lot. She couldn't handle driving on the other side of the road and talking on the phone. She didn't see anything, but a stone covered pull off. She parked the car there and looked at t
Colleen didn't relish getting back on the plane before she saw more of Ireland, but she'd agreed. She still couldn't understand why someone had asked for her specifically. Why would anyone want her to defend them? She'd crashed and burned. And the video of it went viral.She decided to drive to the church. The gargoyles had seemed like good listeners. What else did they have to do? As much as she loved the ocean, she didn't think she could stare at it for a long time. Even if she had no choice in the matter.She parked by the beach. Walking across the road to the church, her hair blew around her face. She fastened it back in a band, but some of the unruly curls slipped out. The two gargoyles were there. Where would they go? Did she expect them to come alive and fly away?Wouldn't that be a sight? The size of large stone monkeys, their grotesque faces were not friendly, but they didn't scare her. No, she felt a strange, welcoming comfort from them. And, oddly enough, she'd been more at
Sean didn't think naked would work, but where was he going to find some clothing? His wings wanted to come out as much as he wanted them to, but as large as her bedroom was, he'd still break something. Wandering out onto an open area outside of her bedroom, he sniffed the air. Too many scents and too many lights. He'd never seen a place so lit up in the middle of the night. Of course, there had only been torches when he'd been alive. Now moving cars had lights. Everything had lights. "Sean?"Sean spun around, but the voice had been in his head. He let his wings loose just for a moment so they could stretch. "Donal?""Aye. You're alive.""Aye," Sean said. "I need clothing."Donal chuckled. "I wore pink sweatpants with the word juicy on the back of them.""I don't think that is going to work.""You've found your fairy?""Aye, deartháir." Sean was happy to make contact with his brother. If they kept talking he could find him. "You are in this city with all of the lights and scents and n
The little Collen did know of him might mean, he truly may not have committed the murder, but he most likely ordered it. He was known as a hothead in some circles so maybe he let his temper get the best of him. She dressed then rode a SEPTA bus to work. Pausing before the door to her law firm, she steeled herself for what may come. Since she cut her vacation short, this better be a good case in the sense that it should work in her favor. Help her get back into the good graces of the partners. She didn't relish being back nor did she truly want to defend this person. This could too easily be another setup.Otherwise, it would be a waste of time. What she hadn't asked, but would today, is why O'Shannon didn't use his father's lawyers. Something was fishy. She was going to determine what it was before she agreed to anything. If this was a no-go she'd head back to Ireland. Yanking open the door to the building where her law firm occupied the whole fifth floor, she almost ran into a