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“We were nearly taken out by hunters,” Xander said.
“Before or after the vampires?” Elias asked.
“Before the vampires, after we met the mages at the cemetery,” I said.
“Mages?” Elias shook his head. “I’ll catch up later. Right now, I’m just glad you’re safe.”
“Aw, thanks for your concern, sweetheart,” Xander said.
Elias glared at him and I couldn’t help but chuckle. He ignored him and instead, moved closer to me, an intense look in his eyes. He cupped my cheek with one of his large hands. “They didn’t hurt you, did they?”
I set my hand on top of his. My chest swelled with affection as I stared into his eyes. “We’re okay.”
“We won’t be okay if we stay out here in the open,” Xander said.
Elias lowered his hand. “Xander’s right. We need a safe place to lay low while we figure things out.”
“And to perform the spell,” I added.
“None of our places will be safe,” Elias said. “We can’t trust anyone.”
“I think I have an idea,” I said. “But we’re going to need new wheels. They know what we were driving.”
I looked over at the mortuary. “Anyone opposed to borrowing a hearse?”
It didn’t take long to break into the mortuary and find the keys to the hearse. I felt guilty, but I knew if Heidi were here she’d let me borrow it. I figured we could return it with a full tank of gas and I could pass along some funds to get the door replaced if I ever got paid again.
Driving through Old Town in a hearse was odd but it wasn’t much weirder than the rest of my day had been. Elias was in the front seat next to me and Xander was in the back, crouched down. He looked really uncomfortable and I tried to take the turns slowly so he wouldn’t be knocked around too much.
Since we were already borrowing the hearse, I figured I’d take the breaking and entering up a notch.So sorry, Heidi. I pulled into a parking spot in front of her building. She was out of town and as far as I knew, nobody in the supernatural community knew I had a friend who lived here.
Heidi’s apartment was in a renovated house that was probably quite grand in its heyday. Now, it housed four apartments, two on each level.
Causally, I walked up the wide stone steps between the columns that made up the front entry. Heidi’s door was one of two at the front of the house while the upstairs neighbors used a set of stairways and doors in the rear of the building.
“This the place?” Xander asked.
“Yep,” I said.
He quickly picked the lock and the doorknob turned. I’d seen him do it once before but it still blew my mind.
I crossed the threshold into Heidi’s immaculate apartment. Elias and Xander followed me inside.
It was small, but it looked like it belonged in a decorating magazine. Her living room featured a white love seat that was covered with fluffy blush throw pillows. A large gold framed mirror hung above it and sconces with white candles finished off the decor on either side of the mirror.
A small television was mounted on the wall above a white and gold sideboard filled with little sculptures and some books. I was pretty sure she’d chosen the books based on their colors rather than the stories they contained.
Even her itty-bitty kitchen was perfect. From her white quartz countertops to her stainless-steel appliances, the place was stunning.
I turned on a light then looked back to see Xander closing the door. “I’m sure there’s a story about why you’re so good at picking locks. You’ll have to tell me sometime.”
“Teenage shenanigans.” Xander closed the door behind us.
“Uh-huh,” I said. “Hey, breaking and entering can’t be much worse than how I spent my teen years.”
I looked over at Elias. “Out of the three of us, why do I get the feeling that you’ve got the cleanest record?”
Elias laughed. “You haven’t known me very long.”
