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I watch her walk toward the rack of shiny keychains. That’s three times she’s called her aunt by her full name instead of her usual “Aunt Bernie.” No. I shake my head. Steph uses “Bernadette” just as much as she uses “Bernie.” I’m reading into everything when I should be enjoying the fact that my best friend is here, in California with me.
I know it’s dangerous, and she has no idea what she’s walked into, but I trust Jesse to keep her safe. I trust him to keep us both safe.
I join her by the keychains and point to ones I think Bernadette would like. We laugh at some of the racier ones, but Steph ultimately decides on one shaped like a pair of sunglasses with the words Los Angeles printed on the lenses. As she’s paying for her items, Jesse walks into the store to join us.
“Are you ladies ready to head back to the house?” he asks, and I can tell he had no luck picking up the scent of any witches.
“Yes,” Steph gushes, and I nod, then pause.
“Wait. Where’s your luggage?” I ask.
“Oh, I stored it in a locker at a storage place down the street. It was only like six bucks and safer than dragging it down Hollywood Boulevard. I watch the news. I didn’t want someone to run up and snatch it out of my hands and take off.”
“Makes sense,” I say slowly, though none of this really makes any sense to me…at all.
Steph, jumping on a plane by herself, not telling me she was coming to surprise me, dumping her luggage in a storage locker, and walking the streets of Hollywood on the off-chance I might be down here? Hoping she’d spot me in the crowds of tourists that clog the sidewalks? Barely blinking an eye at the fact that Jesse is the son of the vampire king? Choosing to stay with us in a house full of vampires rather than a luxurious hotel suite where she’ll be safe?
Maybe she doesn’t realize the full extent of the danger she’s in. Shit. Of course, she doesn’t.
Once we get her tucked safely into her room, I’m going to have to talk to Jesse about the possibility of telling her she’s a witch. The dangers we discussed before don’t hold a candle to the danger she could be in here.
If Bernadette knew she’d be staying in Belloy Manor, she never would’ve offered her this free vacation. She obviously knows that Steph’s a witch and sending her here is like sending her straight into a lion’s den with no way to protect herself.
But Bernadette does know my new boyfriend, with whom I’m vacationing, is a vampire, even if she doesn’t know he’s Franklin Belloy’s prodigy and heir. She had to know sending Steph here would put her in danger, with the witches and vampires being sworn enemies.
So, I guess the real question is, why did she?
25
FEELING BETTER?
“Holy shit. This is where you live?”
I smile at Steph’s reaction as the car pulls through the gates at Belloy Manor. It’s so normal. So Steph.
But even as the thought occurs to me, the sinking feeling in my stomach continues to intensify. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I should be happy my best friend is here, despite the possible danger. And while the worry over her safety is there, the other feelings I’m experiencing are slowly pushing the worry aside.
Suspicion. Doubt. Foreboding.
I’ve been trying to push the dark feelings away since we left Hollywood, but they’re fucking persistent. And as much as I don’t want to believe something shady is happening with Steph’s sudden, unexpected appearance, I cannot deny the truth…I feel it in my gut, and my gut is rarely wrong.
Maybe Bernadette is somehow involved in the plot against the king and sent Steph here to distract Jesse and me from finding the witches responsible for his illness. And while that theory is preferable––it leaves Steph clueless and innocent of any wrongdoing––it doesn’t feel right. Bernadette loves her niece dearly and would never send her into the lion’s den as bait. But by Steph’s own words, Bernie did send her here. And Bernadette may or may not know my new vampire boyfriend is the heir to the throne, but she definitely knows the vampire king resides somewhere in tinsel town. She knows this is a dangerous place for a witch, especially one with no access to her powers.
That only leaves me with a few viable theories.
One––Bernadette has no idea what’s happening with the king or that Jesse is his son. She sent Steph here in good faith and assumed Jesse would protect her from any vampire threat.
Two––Bernadette knows everything, released Steph from the spell binding her magic, told her about her heritage, and recruited Steph to come here and spy for the witches.
Or three––Bernadette didn’t tell Steph anything, but placed some sort of spell on her to keep her safe while making her an unwilling and oblivious spy.
All she’d have to do is get Steph to start talking about Los Angeles, where she stayed, and with whom, and she’d get all kinds of information about Belloy Manor––house layout, number of guards, the status of the king’s health…everything. And while this theory seems most likely, it still doesn’t feel right. Something else is going on here. Something darker and more sinister.
Steph’s eyes are wide as saucers as we walk into the mansion, her jaw dropping open as she takes in the decadence of the place. Jesse escorts us up to his room, and I continue to silently observe Steph as he walks to the locked door in the wall and pulls a keyring from his pocket. The lock disengages with a click, and he swings the door open before stepping aside to let us walk in.
Steph drags her rolling suitcase over the threshold, and I follow slowly behind after giving Jesse a weak smile. I look around the space as Steph falls back onto the giant bed with a squeal of delight. An open door leads to a white-tiled bathroom. Another leads to what is obviously a walk-in closet. I scan the rest of the room, and it hits me. There is no door that leads out to a hallway. The only way in here is through Jesse’s room.
I meet his eyes, and he nods. Steph will be safe here. No one can get to her without going through Jesse, first. I give him a thankful smile, and his lips curve up in that sexy way I love so much.
