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“Zach,” Angela chided.

The boy looked chastened. “No, he doesn’t. Is that a problem?”

To Wolf’s surprise, Hector, a man likely twice Ira’s age, looked sheepish. “I guess not. I just want to make sure you two are safe.” He sidled closer and stuck his hand out for Ira,and then Wolf, to shake. “I’m Hector Ramirez, Zach and Angie’s uncle. On their mother’s side.” He tugged at one earlobe. “I don’t come around to visit the kids as often as I probably should. I work all the time, and… their dad and I have never really gotten along.” He stopped with a helpless wave of his hand.

“The kids are in no danger here,” Ira said. “We’ll send some pizza home with them and make sure they get home before curfew.”

Hector nodded. “Good, I’d appreciate that. Their dad is a little… okay alotabsent. But they’re good kids.”

“They are,” Alex agreed. “They’re safe here. We’re private investigators, by the way. That’s the business we’re planning to run here.”

“Out of a skating rink?” Hector asked doubtfully, looking around.

Malachi turned away to cover his snort of laughter.

“Real estate’s pricy these days,” Alex said with a mostly straight face, and Hector’s head tipped in agreement.

“How’d it look back there?” Luke asked, getting them back on track.

Water damage was their main concern. The electrical wiring all looked fine. The Rink would need a new roof, some new insulation, and the ceiling had fallen in over the old manager’s office, which would need to be re-plastered. More work than they cared for, maybe, but not unmanageable.

“Your company could handle most of that for a fair price, couldn’t you, Uncle Hector?” Angela asked innocently.

Hector sighed, shooting her a glare. “I could, yeah.”

“Great.” She swanned over and gave him a peck on the cheek.

“Damn kids, got me wrapped around theirfingers,” Hector said, taking his phone out and typing a message while he shook his head in exasperation.

Wolf leaned closer to Ira. “Did you know the kids would help with the repairs like this?”

Talon glanced over at them from across the room, no doubt listening.

“Of course,” Ira said lowly.

Wolf hummed, and Talon leaned over to relay the message to Alex, who grinned.

At least they were all on the same page. Or—the rest of them were on the same page, and Ira was two pages ahead. That was probably how it would always be, though. Wolf was surprisingly fine with it. Maybe it wasn’t the life he’d envisioned for himself, but then, he hadn’t envisioned much of anything before Ira, had he? He’d drifted from year to year, working at the bar, with no change or end in sight. With Ira, the future was full of promise. It was different from anything he could’ve imagined, but as it turned out, different was exactly what he wanted.

They ate while they went over the plans for the building and decided what changes they wanted to make. The bathrooms would need a remodel, and Luke suggested including some showers and a locker room if they were going to be training here. They would also need training equipment and a medical room for emergencies.

“Where does the guild get the oil for their holy oil?” Ira asked, stretching one leg out across the floor and leaning into Wolf’s side. “That’s something we’ll need to stock for ourselves, right?”

Talon cocked his head. “Something the all-knowing prophet doesn’t know?”

Ira chuckled. “I don’t knoweverything. I especially don’tknow everything about how the paladins operate. We’re kept pretty separate from them.”

“It’s just mineral oil,” Luke said.

“What, really?” Ira said.

Alex nodded. “For real. Mineral oil or liquid paraffin. We say the same rites over it that we use to make holy water. Boom, holy oil.”

“Wow, okay, that takes care of that, then,” Ira said.

“Wait,” Zachary said, “so anyone can make holy water?”

“Technically, yes, but you have to truly believe it. If you say the rites but don’t believe, it won’t work,” Luke said.

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