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Roman looked thoughtful. “I was jealous more than anything. He has an easy smile and the women flock to him. I thought . . . I worried . . . that I’d be boring in comparison.”
“You could never be boring.”
He met my eyes. “It’s been a long time since I felt that side of me. The monster took over, and all I could think was that I had to have you. I’m sorry.”
“I didn’t mind.”
The waitress returned with our waffles and we dug in. Roman added butter and poured maple syrup over his and I giggled again. He really did have a sweet tooth. I didn’t think I’d ever considered a vampire with a sweet tooth.
I stood. “I’m going to go to the bathroom. I’ll be right back.”
Roman nodded.
As I walked in the building, my phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out and Phoebe’s name flashed across the screen. “Hey, sis, I’m going to have to call you righ—”
A male chuckle halted my words. “Hello, Delphine.”
My eyes darted to the patio door, but Roman was out of sight. “What are you doing with my sister’s phone?”
“She’s my insurance.”
I swallowed. “Insurance?”
“That you’ll do exactly as I tell you to, and you won’t involve any of your boyfriends.”
I closed my eyes and sighed. “What do you want?”
“Come to this address,” he said, rattling off an address. “Tell no one and your sister will be fine.”
I noticed he didn’t say I would be fine. “Yes.”
“I’ll see you soon.”
Hudson
I was jealous of Roman getting to hang out with Delphine, but I knew it was best for keeping her safe. And Phoebe had needed help with the house, so it was good that I was here. I’d put in my earbuds, turned up the music, and tried to lose myself in the painting.
Tripp would find his mentor and he would deal with him. That was all there was to it. I was just a simple turtle shifter. What did I know about fighting evil magicians? All I was good for was calming ocean animals and coming up with marketing campaigns and odd jobs. I sighed. What would Delphine want with a loafer like me anyway? I’d never even held down a job for more than a few months, let alone accomplished something with my life.
I sprayed the paint over the siding, working from top to bottom in a smooth, controlled manner. The blue was similar enough to the original color that they probably hadn’t needed to apply primer, but Phoebe had insisted. I came right up to the corner with the sprayer. Glancing around, I didn’t see Phoebe. I could have sworn she was right there. She’d probably just gone for a bathroom break, and I was being paranoid.
I turned back to the wall, but doubt lingered. Setting down the paint sprayer, I pulled out an earbud. “Phoebs!” I called out.
There was no answer.
I walked around the house, but I didn’t see her working or resting on the porch with a coffee. Jogging up to the front door, I opened it and shouted inside, “Phoebe, are you in there?”
No answer.
There was definitely something wrong.
I reached inside my smock, grabbing my phone and pulling it out. I punched dial on Phoebe’s number and there was no answer. I didn’t hear anything nearby. She really was gone. There’s no way Phoebe would walk off the job, or even go get lunch without telling me. She seemed to be pretty responsible.
Ending the call, I scrolled for Tripp’s number and hit dial.
“What?” his gruff voice said.
“Phoebe is gone.”
