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Chapter Three
Having Kase out of my house was the best feeling in the world. Funny that a looming, dangerous vampire would bring down the vibes of a place, but he did.
He’d needed to report to the coven, so after a day full of little conversation and one awkward attempt at playing board games, I’d been only too happy to see his ass leaving the moment the sun dipped behind the mountains.
He’d given me a check for the job—a more-than-generous one—and warned me against speaking of the events to anyone.
It was almost enough for me to consider working for them again.
At least, until I recalled that sinking void and that I was trying to talk to someonetheyhad killed.
It was probably best to not entangle myself any further with murderers.
Still, no matter how I tried to shake off the feelings, I couldn’t. It was in the memory of that pit, the darkness. Whatwasthat?
In all my years of dealing with spirits, I’d never encountered anything similar. What did it mean?
Ignoring a lot of the supernatural world was easy because it didn’t affect me. Who cared about vampires or werewolves or their nonsense? However, this wasmyarea of expertise. I understood the dead, how spirits worked, and this wasn’t following the rules I’d spent my life mapping out.
A knock on my door drew me short. People visiting me wasn’t ever a good thing. It wasn’t like I had girls’ night friends who might show up out of the blue with wine and rom-com movies. A second, louder knock made me groan.
Not answering wasn’t a choice, and ignoring it wouldn’t solve a thing. The big bad monsters in the world didn’t let flimsy wooden doors stop them.
I pulled it open, prepared to find god only knew what.
Thankfully, it wasn’t all that bad.
“It’s a bit late, Troy. Isn’t it?”
Troy, my neighbor, offered me his bright smile that never failed to melt me. He had that silver-fox thing down, with his neatly cut, graying hair but extraordinarily fit body. His eyes were a blue so pale they looked silver. The man had to be in his late forties or early fifties, but with him being over six feet tall and having the frame of a fridge, I was never too disappointed to find him on my porch. How one man could be every hero in every small-country-town romance at once, I didn’t know.
“I just got home and saw your lights on. I thought I’d stop over.” His voice held an odd wariness and a tightness to his cheeks that sharpened the edges of his smile.
Maybe he’s having a bad day.
He worked as a detective for the local police station. No doubt he had some days where he saw things he’d rather not, and those days brought him to my porch. Then again, I understood how an empty house could weigh on a person, especially on those bad days.
Even with my own shitty day, I couldn’t turn him away. Troy was too nice a person for that. I moved backward and nodded toward the kitchen table.
Troy always made my place feel small, but when I hit the button on my kettle and turned around, my home grew even tinier. His gaze moved around the room, his motions slow and almost predatory.
Despite his unfairly deep voice and his size, Troy hadneverunnerved me like this. Maybe it was hisI’m a good guypersona that made that all seem less threatening.
His gaze darted to mine as if he’d noted my discomfort. He gave me another smile, though it still held the sharp edges. “No caffeine,” he said. “I think my heart rate is fast enough.”
I nodded and pulled down two cups along with herbal tea.
Don’t be stupid—you know Troy. You’re just paranoid after dealing with the vampires.
“Did you have a visitor earlier?”
The question made me frown. “I thought you just got home?”
“I did.” My kitchen chair complained as it always did when Troy sat. My cute little finds from a thrift store hadn’t been made for a man his size. “My front camera picks up your driveway, too, and I saw a big black town car here all day.
At least he didn’t see me being carried in.
“I also went back and saw you were carried in early this morning.”
