AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Yes. What happened to Karen?”
“I shot her.” He glanced at me. “I figured what worked for a zombie might work for a vampire.”
Meaning the shots I’d heard had been at her head, not her heart.
“Zombie?” Tala’s gaze shot from Aiden to me and then back again. “Did I miss something?”
“Plenty.” His voice held a note of weariness, but I guessed it had been a long day for him, too. And it hadn’t ended yet. “I’ll tell you later. Right now, we have a crime scene and two bodies to deal with.”
“I’ll get the kit.”
As she returned to her car, I said, “I’ll leave you to it.”
He nodded. “Don’t forget I want to be present when you try to find either Mason or our vampire.”
“Sure.” I reached out then froze, not exactly sure what I’d intended. I made it a wave instead then spun around and walked away.
Another car pulled up as I walked out the gate, and Ciara climbed out. She grabbed her kit from the rear seat of her car then nodded my way as she headed for the house.
I shoved my hands into my pockets and kept on walking. The night was hushed and there was no trace of energy in the air. The wild magic, like the vampire, had disappeared.
I walked back to the café without incident. I hung my coat on the hooks near the door then headed for the stairs, but a whisper of wrongness pulled my gaze to the counter and made me pause. The broken watch sat on the bench, glinting softly in the café’s low lighting. I couldn’t leave it there, out in the open, emitting that sort of energy. We’d worked hard to create a happy vibe in this area, and I wasn’t about let this thing corrupt that. I walked into the kitchen to grab a pair of tongs, then picked the watch up and carried it into the reading room. Even though I held it at arm’s length, the sensations that continued to roll from it had my skin crawling.
And, rather oddly, they were getting stronger—something that shouldn’t be happening, given Mason’s strength came from our vampire, and our vampire should be well and truly hitting the wall after everything that had happened tonight.
Unless, of course, he was feeding.
Vampires might not generally seek nourishment in their own backyards, but our vampire wasn’t intending to stay here. If we didn’t find him before his revenge plans had reached full fruition, I had no doubt he’d simply slip into the night, never to be heard from again.
I thought about ringing Aiden to warn him, but in reality, there was little point. It wasn’t as if I was even sure there had been an attack—it was just a vague suspicion thanks to the emanations from the watch.
Once it was securely stored, I headed upstairs to wash the sweat and the foul feel of magic from my skin, and then wearily climbed into bed. I was asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow.
It was the awareness of being watched that woke me. But there was no rancor in that gaze, no heat or harm, and the brief flash of tension that had risen with wakefulness quickly evaporated.
I stretched the kinks out of body then opened my eyes. Belle leaned a shoulder against the doorframe, her shoes swinging lightly in one hand and her expression one of concern.
“Your thoughts are all kind of ugly,” she said. “What the hell happened last night?”
The spells I’d placed around our bedrooms were preventing her from reading those thoughts, which was why she wasn’t seeing the details. And for that, I thought grimly, she should certainly thank me.
“Plenty happened.” I threw the blankets off and climbed out of bed. “How was your date?”
“Awesome, but don’t change the subject.”
“I’m not, but you need to shower and grab some sleep, and I need to get downstairs and get the day’s prep done.”
“I’m not going anywhere until you tell me—”
“No,” I said firmly. “It’ll take too long and your eyes are practically hanging out of their sockets. Not a great look if lover boy drops by today.”
“I can assure you with more than a little smugness that Zak will be incapable of doing very much at all today.” Amusement touched her lips and crinkled the corners of her eyes. “A werewolf’s stamina has nothing against that of a woman who hasn’t had decent sex in weeks.”
I snorted. “That doesn’t alter the fact that you need to rest—for my sake if not yours.”
“Well doesn’t that statement ease all my worries,” she said. “Just give me the bare bones.”
I hesitated then grabbed my clothes and began to dress. “Only if you promise to then drop it and get some rest.”
