“You’d have to ask him, and since he’s gone…” I leave the rest hanging. “Do you think it was Antonio? I mean, nothing else would makes sense, but why would he be snooping around a school I haven’t been to in over ten years?”
“Stranger still that he had a house right down the street from your parents,” Grim adds with a calculating look in his eye.
“If he is the one snooping around the school, then who killed the Charmed in Savannah?” No one answers me, because no one knows.
* * *
I hopup off the couch when the doorbell rings. “Got it!” I can already hear stomping feet on the stairs behind me, so I pick up the pace. By the time I rip the door open, I’m a little winded.
“Goddamn it, Dami,” Gunnar growls. I grin because I love to piss him off, but it immediately falls when I see who’s at the door.
“What are you doing here?” I lean against the doorframe, not inviting her in.
Kim rolls her eyes as if she’s already praying for patience because she has to deal with me. “It is my house, you know.” Under her breath, she adds, “It’s bad enough I have to ring the fucking bell.” Her eyes go behind me, and I know Gunnar is standing a few feet away. “I need to speak with Torin.”
I turn just in time to see Gunnar lift his hand in an invitation. “Do me a favor and take him with you.” Torin’s presence is still a sore spot, even after a week of being back in Savannah. The fact that he seems determined to keep his distance from his pack while actively looking for a successor is the only reason I think Calix is tolerating him. He knows that if Torin just walks away, he will be the one who has to deal with the pack until someone can hold the position without being challenged.
“Don Warren is here to see him,” Kim spits, as if the words taste bad in her mouth.
“Don, that’s Calix’s friend, right? The one who kept going on about his sister?” Gunnar waggles his eyebrows at me. He gives just as good as I do and loves pissing me off just as much. I tip my nose in the air and pretend like I’m going to just walk past him, but instead I wrap my arms around his neck and jump on his back. Gunnar doesn’t miss a beat, and he loops his arms around my legs to help hold me up. “He’s in there taking up the entire couch with his fat ass,” he adds, as Kim steps past us.
I chuckle. Torin reallyhasput on some weight. He’s not fat by any means, but definitely much heavier than when we first met, which feels like forever ago now. We follow Kim into the living room. Torin is eyeing Samson, who’s doing a marvelous job of pretending no one else exists in the world until he sees me clinging to Gunnar’s back like a monkey. In my head, I hear him click his tongue. For a Hellhound, he’s quite regal, but for all I know they all are—I’ve only ever met him.
I tap Gunnar’s shoulder, and he lets me slide down his back after bending his knees to make sure I’m closer to the ground. “Hey, Samson.”
Hello, Damiana.Even the way he says my name sounds proud.
“Another of her friends?” Torin asks behind me. Since we’ve been here, I’ve had a few baddies stop by. The wolf seemed most disturbed by the sea creature I call Melvin. He resembles a giant worm with fins and hundreds of rows of serrated teeth disappearing into a black hole of a mouth. Not that I’m judging the wolf. I guess Melvin could seem scary if you didn’t know him.
Samson’s long, barbed tail flicks a few times as he watches Kim from across the room. She’s doing a good job of pretending not to notice him, but she’s in a room full of supernatural creatures, so it’s impossible to hide everything. Especially when her eyes keep darting in the hound’s direction. Is that interest I see?
“Alpha.” She dips her chin in a respectful manner. “Alpha Don Warren is here to see you.”
Torin taps his fingers on the arm of the couch then lets out a heavy sigh before rising to his feet. “You know him personally?” he asks Calix.
Calix wets his lips then glances in my direction before focusing back on Torin. “Yes, he’s the one we talked about,” he confirms.
Not wanting to ignore Samson, I step a little closer to him and plop on the floor.I was surprised to find you are still here, he remarks, speaking directly into my head.
“Yeah, we haven’t had much luck finding the witch we came here for.” I lean back on my palms. “Is something wrong?”
No, but Death is away.
“Ahh, Grim sent you?” I smile.
No one sends me anywhere, Damiana, but he did ask politely. Who is that?He doesn’t have to elaborate. I know who he’s asking about.
“That’s Kim, the most uptight shifter I’ve ever met.”
Samson tilts his head a bit and makes a slight humming noise. A wicked idea forms. I lean in a little closer and whisper, “You should tap that.”
His red eyes dart to mine, and I’m pretty sure I see a spark of interest there.
Unfortunately, Kim and Torin head out shortly after she arrives. Samson never really got the chance to speak with her. I’m willing to bet that will be the only time I ever think her leaving is unfortunate. He didn’t end up staying much longer himself, just long enough to check up on us.
Calix leans back on the sofa, spreading his arms over the back, and lets out a long breath. “This is it. If Torin finds a reason not to relinquish his leadership over to Don, I’m going to assume he’s going to stay in control, and we can leave.”
“Really?” I ask eagerly. Don’t get me wrong, Savannah is a beautiful place. I love how awake the city is all night long, and how the urban sprawl can’t quite take over the backcountry feel with all the park-like squares dotted through the city, but I want to go home.
