Total pages in book: 140
Estimated words: 131364 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 657(@200wpm)___ 525(@250wpm)___ 438(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131364 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 657(@200wpm)___ 525(@250wpm)___ 438(@300wpm)
Today, when the other man answered, it was to showcase a face with countless prison-style tattoos and a large and thick black beard against truly pasty skin. “Undercover?” Adam asked the man four years his senior with whom he’d once played hockey in college. “Or a really bad drunk that left you with permanent reminders?”
Damon’s grin was huge, revealing a newly chipped tooth. “You’ll have to stay in suspense until the next favor you ask me.”
“According to my records, I’m in favor credits.” Truth was, the two of them had long ago stopped keeping track.
“My mama always told me to watch out for smooth-talking birds. So, what’s happening?”
“You know anything about the Sandman?” Adam gave him the basic facts—including why he was asking the question.
Damon scratched at his upper jaw through the mass of the beard. “I’ve been on a big drug case the entire time since that kicked off, but a couple of my buddies just got pulled into the task force, so they’ll know more.
“I have heard about your J, though. She’s got a reputation—a good one. No personality but also no bullshit, and she always finds the bastards once she’s on the hunt.” He scratched the other side of his jaw. “Fucking beard’s driving me insane. Anyway, give me a few hours and I’ll see what I can scare up.”
“Thanks, man,” Adam said. “Don’t drop your guard on the home stretch.”
“No chance. Got a hot date waiting.”
“Say hi to Mira for me.” Adam had no idea how Damon’s relationship with his sweetheart of a wife remained so strong with how often the other man had to disappear into underground worlds, but the two had been married for seven years and counting, so they’d gotten something right.
Just like Adam’s parents, he thought as the other man shot him a lazy salute before signing off. Even though Taazbaa’ and Cormac Garrett had never felt the pull of the mating bond, they’d been a forever pair, their breaths entwined. Adam had grown up in the warm shadow of that love, their wings spread over him until he’d begun to display a need for independence.
Then they’d taken him flying, taught him the ways of the Diné and of his father’s Irish ancestors…and set him free. That was the falcon creed. They didn’t cage their young or keep them to tightly contained areas—such would be torture to a winged being. Rather, they set boundaries meant to ensure a child’s safety, taught their fledglings how to protect themselves in the air, and took them flying often with the family and clan unit when younger.
“Remember, Adam.” His father’s hand ruffling his hair. “Stay above the safety line. You don’t want some idiot kid from school shooting up with a gun, real or meant for sport, and clipping you.”
“You’ve only told me three billion times, Dad.”
“You got off easy, then,” his sister had interjected in her droll way. “I was at four billion by the time I got to fly solo.”
His father’s deep laughter, intermingled with his mother’s kiss on the cheek, followed by a from-behind hug for a giggling Saoirse. “Just wait until you have a fledgling,” she’d threatened her nineteen-year-old daughter, her laugh bringing out the dimple in her right cheek. “I’ll be sitting right there with a glass of wine watching you lose your mind as your baby bird flies the nest.”
Many years after the sky ceremonies that had set their parents’ spirits free, when Adam was in his mid-twenties, Saoirse had told him something that she could only share with an adult little brother, and not the young teen he’d been during the events themselves. They’d been seated at a bonfire on the plateau, and Amir had taken both Malia and Tahir over to roast marshmallows, his arms around the children as he crouched down to their height.
“I was scared when I got pregnant at twenty,” Saoirse had murmured, her eyes on her mate and children silhouetted against the firelight. “I mean, it was with my mate, but I was so young. But now, I think it was a gift. Mom and Dad got to meet both my fledglings, and they stood with us the entire way, until we figured out what we were doing.”
She’d taken his hand, tears thick in her voice as she said, “I know I’m not Mom or Dad, Bear, but when it’s your time, I’ll be there for you like they were for me. Amir and I will teach you and your mate all the things Mom and Dad taught us for our fledglings.”
Able to feel the weight of her guilt that she’d had the chance to experience something he never would, he’d hugged her close. “Don’t be a silly goose, Chirp.” A kiss pressed to her curls. “I loved seeing them with Tahir and Malia, loved teasing them as they went from strict parents to grandparents who loved to spoil the babies.”