"No.""Yes Trent. Come on. Go back to gargoyle form and take me with you."Beth stood with her hands on her hips. He'd seen that stance more than once while she'd been working. She wasn't going to give in. His eyes fell closed. He didn't have a choice did he?"Fine."He transformed. He grabbed his backpack and he gently clutched her in his claws. Taking off he headed back to the house in West Philadelphia. A battle raged in the skies over Philadelphia and he hoped that no one was watching. Or maybe it was time for humans to discover what was going on. Maybe it was time for them to open their eyes and see that their world was very different than what they thought it was. He didn't consider himself a crusader and he'd have to talk to his fellow gargoyles. They might want to continue living under the radar. It wasn't his choice alone to make. On the other hand, the goblins were taking over the world. He couldn't stand by and let that happen. Donal and his wife stood on the roof and took

Trent hoped that Beth would be successful, but he also hoped that she would come back to him. He missed her and he hadn't even kissed the woman. Now he waited for his partners as he sat at the island at Deke's place. Deke cooked lunch for them. Whitney, Deke's wife and fairy, had taken their child out to the park and would be back at some point. "Thanks for letting me use your place, Deke.""I'm always the one cooking. We might die if you did it.""I'm not that bad. You are just that much better than I am," Trent said."It's all in the details."Kel was the first to show up. He was back only a few days from his honeymoon with his wife and fairy, Maggie. Pete and Ben arrived at the same time. Both of them were single and Trent hoped they at least would be on his side."So why are we here other than Deke's great food?" Ben asked. He would be the one to start the conversation. Pete was probably the quietest of them all so he wouldn't. Trent wiped his hands on his napkin then looked aro

When Jenna opened her mouth to speak he put up his hand. "Do your job Jenna. I want that report on my desk by the end of the day."She had gotten it to him, but she'd held back some of the sample that the company had given her. Despite her boss not wanting her to, she had been determined to test it, and she had. She'd run the sample through another test, and it was just finishing up when she arrived at the lab. Her boss would know she'd been in, but she could explain it away. She'd never lied to her boss, but something about this ingredient bothered her. Something about the company bothered her. She hadn't been given the full story, but she was going to figure it out. The name of the company hadn't been on the report she'd been given which was odd. She'd signed a non-disclosure agreement so that she would know who she was working with. It wasn't essential to her job, but it helped her know what they were looking for. The people who wrote the report she read weren't scientists. Someti

Pete paced as they waited for Donal. He wanted Jenna away from him as soon as possible. If she was his fairy, he wanted nothing to do with her. Having watched his father die a slow death without his mother had convinced Pete he wasn't interested in finding his fairy. His relationships lasted only six weeks. That was his rule. Any longer, and he would risk getting too involved. Of course, he'd known none of them were his fairy. Still, he hadn't risked his heart. He could live his whole live by himself."Do you have to pace?" she asked."Yes."He didn't make eye contact with her. His uniform scratched and he undid the top button on his shirt. The weather was turning and thankfully the humidity was almost gone for the fall. She was attractive. Dark curls had fallen out of her bun. They framed her round face. He shouldn't notice that. He shouldn't notice in the rising light that she had dimples in that round face. "Should we talk about it?" she asked.That question stopped him. Had she se

Pete's heart went out to Jenna who had lost all of her belongings. He didn't know when or if they could get that car for her. Maybe Donal would have a plan. Pete was out of practice with these things. He just put in his time as a security guard and put in his time as a bouncer and owner of a nightclub. He didn't take responsibility. For anyone. He barely took responsibility for himself. Poor Jenna if he was the gargoyle for her. He truly wasn't. He didn't think he could protect anyone. At least, he hadn't been able to protect anyone when it was important. He shook away that memory, not wanting to think about that now. Right now, he had to plan how to get away from Jenna. "You really don't like me," she said.There was no rancor or even any insecurity in her words. She just stated it as fact. "I don't know you."She frowned. "Well if it's such a problem then leave me with Donal."He couldn't do that. No matter how much his rational brain wanted him to. Some other part of him—maybe his