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“I think it was Sienna.” The color drained from her face as she met my eyes. “And if I’m right, she could think…”
“That she killed you, too.” My gut twisted. “That’s why the private eye was searching for you. She wants to finish what she started.”
Ruby shrugged and broke eye contact. “She was Lillian’s peer. She’s got to be in her eighties or maybe even nineties if she was a little older than Lillian.” Her attention shifted to me again. “She might not even still be alive.”
“So we look for her. Remember how I said Jackson in my pack is a PI and part-time bounty hunter? If she’s alive, he can find her. I already asked him to look into the law firm. Maybe he can find a connection between them.”
The weight on her shoulders seemed to lift a little. “That could work.”
I paid the check and offered her my hand. “Then let’s get out of here.”
CHAPTER 17
Ruby
We walked backto Essex Street talking about everything and nothing. The usually bustling cobblestone road was empty. I chalked it up to the cold weather and the weeknight. Zeke reached for my hand, and my fingers threaded with his as if we’d been a couple forever.
I looked over at him, thinking out loud. “Normally, I’m kind of awkward with new relationships, and I’m definitely skittish around werewolves, but I can’t figure out why it’s not like that with you.”
He shrugged. “Maybe you just needed to have a werewolf on your team.”
I chuckled, rolling my eyes. “I’d been doing my best not to cross paths with any until Lillian dragged me out to Munro Manor Farms.”
He stopped all of a sudden, releasing my hand as his voice dropped to a whisper. “Shit. Stay behind me.”
I frowned. “What’s wrong?”
“What the hell is this, Zeke?” A man came toward us from the shadows. He had dark-brown hair, and even in the dim light, his green eyes were impossible to miss. He was about the same height as Zeke but thicker. He wasn’t as sinewy as my werewolf.
Wait, was Zeke mine? I didn’t have time to ponder it as the man came closer.
Zeke put himself between me and the man. “I thought you left Salem.”
“Thought I’d have a few drinks first, and then I come out to see you holding hands with one of the witches.” He tried to look around Zeke to see me. “Does Mathias know his pick for Alpha is bedding someone from the coven?”
“Fuck you.” Zeke shook his head. “You’ve been drinking your ass off. Do us both a favor and shut the hell up.”
My heart pounded. This had to be Kiefer, the one who’d cracked Zeke’s rib earlier. My fingers started to tingle as anxiety swelled.
“Smell that?” Kiefer took a long sniff and laughed. “She’s scared. How are you going to protect the pack when you can’t even protect your woman?”
Zeke punched him in the face. Kiefer stumbled backward, pressing his hand to his lips and inspecting the blood on his fingers. His smile faded as blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
He narrowed his eyes. “I’m sober now. Try it again, Zeke.”
Zeke growled. “Get the fuck out of Salem, Kiefer. I won’t warn you again.”
I wasn’t a werewolf, but I could almost smell the testosterone coming off them. I should’ve been able to call to the earth, command it to do something to stop this, but I couldn’t connect through the panic. So I whispered an incantation instead.
Kiefer collapsed to the ground.
Zeke spun around. “What happened?”
“Sleep spell.” I looked at Kiefer. “He’ll think he passed out.”
I expected Zeke to ride the adrenaline and bitch about how he could have beaten his friend in a fight and he didn’t need me to defend him, but instead, he chuckled and gave me a fist bump. “Nice work. I’m impressed.”
The fear dissolved as my heart flipped. His approval boosted my confidence. Even while drowning in anxiety, I’d managed to find a solution protect both of them. Maybe I was more ready for this high priestess gig than I’d realized.
