City of Magic: The Complete Series by Helen Harper (book club recommendations TXT) 📕

I turned to Julie. ‘You said before that you’d met Fabian Barrett at a party. You were going to say something about him then you changed your mind. What was it?’ I asked. ‘What were you about to say?’

She scratched at the fabric of her dress a little more furiously. ‘Oh, that darling. That was nothing. Forget I even mentioned it.’

‘Actually,’ I said, ‘I don’t think I will. You can trust me, Julie. After all we’ve been through, you must know by now that I’m on your side.’

‘There are no sides,’ she told me. ‘And there’s nothing to tell.’

I took a long gulp of my beer, swilling it round my mouth before swallowing. ‘I could ask him.’

Julie’s fingers tightened. ‘Don’t. Fabian Barrett won’t remember me in the slightest and you’ll only embarrass us all by bringing up our meeting. I’m thrilled that he’s here to save us all. Honestly.’

There was no doubt that she was lying through her teeth. That was unusual for Julie; despite her errors in the past, I’d never actually known her to lie. Or to hide from the truth. It didn’t seem wise to push the issue so I’d shelve it for now but I wouldn’t forget it.

‘Very well,’ I murmured.

Carter watched us both from behind the bar, clearly interested in our exchange, but he was good at his job and knew better than to get involved. Instead, he flicked a look at Lucy in Julie’s lap and raised a questioning eyebrow. ‘You’re not planning to keep that thing, are you? She won’t stay cute forever.’

‘I’ll work something out,’ I said with more ease than I felt. ‘Monroe and I made her an orphan. The least we can do is make sure she doesn’t starve to death before she’s able to look after herself.’

‘Mmm.’ Carter rubbed his chin. ‘Yes. Far better to let her grow into the size of a house so she can viciously attack all of us instead.’ He looked at me. ‘Fabian Barrett isn’t the only person around here with a saviour complex.’

I’d have loved to argue with him. Unfortunately, I knew when I was on a losing streak. ‘No-one knows what the future holds,’ I said enigmatically.

‘As long as it involves gin, darling, then who cares?’ Julie tossed back her drink and got to her feet, gently depositing Lucy in my arms. ‘Laters.’ She stumbled over to the door and wandered out.

‘Your friend is in self-destruct mode,’ Carter told me with a sniff.

‘You could ban her,’ I suggested.

‘She’s my best customer. And she’s alright. Not quite the bitch I once thought she was.’

I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. ‘Didn’t I see you at one of her Pilates lessons last week?’

‘It’s good to keep the joints moving,’ he said with a smile. ‘I have nothing against flexibility.’

I held Lucy up, gazing into her blinking black eyes. ‘Flexibility is the secret to survival.’

Carter frowned. ‘Are we still talking about yoga?’

The door to the bar opened once more. ‘Are you hiding, Charley?’ Anna asked.

‘Just taking a break.’ I grinned. ‘It appears my Manchester-wide city tour services are no longer required. Thank you for getting back here so quickly and letting everyone know what was happening.’

‘Any time.’ She stayed where she was. ‘I wanted to talk to you before I left,’ she said.

‘What is it?’

Anna’s words came out in a rush. ‘Does he seem like a good guy? I trust your judgment. If you think Fabian Barrett is alright, I can tell Mike to relax.’

Carter looked puzzled. ‘Who’s Mike?’

‘Timmons,’ I said.

His jaw dropped open and he stared at Anna. ‘Are you and the faery…?’

‘Yes, we are.’ She straightened her back. ‘Tell me the truth, Charley. Is Fabian Barrett going to help us or distract us?’

Anna Jones, our one and only police officer, didn’t often get flustered but from the high points of colour on her cheeks I knew she was flustered right now. It was a grim testament to how much we were suddenly pinning on Fab’s appearance. Anna didn’t want him to know about the existence of the Travotel because we didn’t know if he could be trusted. However, she also desperately wanted to know if he could help us. Every cupboard in Manchester was starting to look bare.

‘I don’t know yet,’ I answered honestly. ‘He’s used to getting his own way, so we’ll have to manipulate matters to make sure we get our way as well. I’ve got word out that the Travotel isn’t to be mentioned. I think you’re right that we should hold something back, just in case. It’s probably being over-cautious but that never hurt anyone.’ I picked up a beer mat and began to twiddle. ‘I wouldn’t call Fab Barrett the answer to all our prayers – not yet – but if I were a gambling woman…’

Anna’s eyes glinted. ‘Go on.’

I smiled. ‘I’d give us excellent odds on getting what we need. And he’ll go away happy too.’

‘I’m pleased to hear that,’ she said. ‘Because he’s certainly doing some weird shit outside. Or rather his team is.’

Two vampires entered. ‘We’ve got a million empty houses,’ one of them was saying. ‘Why’s he staying in a fucking tent?’

Really? A billionaire camping in the supposed Plague Lands? Now this I had to see.

If anything, the crowd outside had doubled. There were people everywhere, milling around the barricade and staring agog at what was happening right on our doorstep. Anna tutted to herself and muttered something about going home, before disappearing through the gate. I followed her so I could get a better view of the situation.

There was indeed a tent. This wasn’t your typical one-man canvas affair, however: this tent was massive. It took up the entire width of the street, sitting in the middle of the crossroads just beyond our steel barricade. In fact, the tent was so large that a good third of the barricade was blocked from our view. It was pure white, without any windows. It was hard to