Once they were done one of the nurses turned to me. "You must be Abigail Collins."
"I am." I stood so that she didn't have to look down at me. I couldn't hide the flinch of pain, but she didn't seem phased by it.
"I can't release information to you if it's not related to a case, but I can tell you that she's stable and will likely make a full recovery."
I could lie and say it was part of a case, but I knew I could easily be caught in that lie. "Thank you. Her family should be here soon."
"I have a list of people I can release information to. I assume one of them is her pack master and one is labeled as her sister."
I hoped that Greg would bring Rachel to see her sister, but I wasn't sure if pups were allowed to leave the property. I looked at the sleeping Martha. She looked a lot better now than when she was in the alleyway.
"Thank you for everything you and your team have done for her." I said honestly.
She nodded and left the room. I texted Greg the room number and went back to my spot in the chair. Tonight was proving to be difficult when all I wanted was sleep. I leaned my head back on the chair and closed my eyes. Maybe just a little catnap in the hospital wouldn't hurt.
CHAPTER NINE
The click of a doorknob and footsteps drew my attention away from Martha. I stood from my chair to greet Greg. "I was told she was stable and would likely make a full recovery."
"I was briefed by the doctor before coming in. She'll pull through, but she probably has a lot to work on in terms of shifting. Tell me about how you found her?"
I wasn't sure what he meant with the shifting comment, but I assumed it had to do with the control a pup lacked. Did traumatic events make that worse? I made a note to ask Simon about it when I got a moment. "She was in wolf form. I knew she was scared and hurt, she was huddled at the back end of a dead end alleyway."
"She let you approach her?" He turned to me. His eyes were wide and his mouth formed a little 'o' of surprise.
I nodded. "She wasn't too keen on the idea at first, but I mentioned her sister and a little bit of the animal left her. She shifted back and I called a lycan team."
"Do you know who did this to her?" He asked and turned back to the bed.
"I don't, you hired me to find her, not find the person that hurt her." I said easily. "So here she is, alive."
"I need you to find the person who did this now, please." There was almost a begging in his voice. "I can't let whoever hurt my pup go without punishment."
That part of me that wanted to run away from the task kicked in, but I planted my feet firmly into the ground. "I will do what I can. I'll need to talk to her when she wakes up, see if she remembers anything."
"Whatever will help, and I mean that." He met my gaze again.
I saw the worry there and he suddenly looked older than he did before.
"My pack is family. What would you do to protect your family, Abigail?"
"Anything." I answered. "I'd kill willingly if it meant keeping them safe."
"So would I. Please, help us find out who hurt Martha."
I considered him for a minute. I had done the job I'd been hired for; Levi would make sure Greg was good for the money. That didn't matter to me though. The idea of family was strange to me. Levi was my family, and Clarissa, too. I looked at the woman on the bed and then nodded. "I'll do what I can," I said again. "That's the best I can do."
"Thank you."
I sighed. "I'm going to head home for the rest of the night. Please let me know when she wakes." I walked out of the room and headed towards the hospital exit. I walked through the lobby as the sun peaked over the horizon and spilled warm light through the glass doors. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the warmth for a moment. I called a cab company and due to the early hours they were able to send one within fifteen minutes. The morning was looking up.
I paid the taxi driver and walked up the sidewalk leading to my house. Simon sat in the sunlight, cupping a mug of coffee with Osiris by his side.
"I want a nap." I said the moment I was within earshot. "I'm tired and grumpy and the next person that asks something of me may end up with my gun in his groin."
"Clarissa dropped by with some pain medication." He said and stood, they both followed me inside. "Take some and crawl in bed. The cat and I have this handled."
I glanced at him. "A werewolf that is a cat person."
"No, just this cat." He shrugged. "Medicine's on the counter, the home improvement store opens at seven, so I'll make sure to call them the moment the clock switches and order you a door."
"I'll leave my credit card on the counter for you. Thank you." I felt the exhaustion start to wear on me, the pain was starting to get to the unbearable point, and I couldn't see straight. "I promise when I wake up and you take me to the office, I'll tell you everything I know about Martha."
He smiled and kissed my head. "Don't worry about it right now, go sleep before someone decides that they need you right this moment."
I went to the counter, dug my debit card out of my bag, and put it next to the container Clarissa had left. I picked up the vial and held it up to the light. The clear liquid swirled in the palm-sized vial. A pink sticky note clung to the side.
Take a teaspoon as needed for pain, will not make you drowsy, should promote healing.
She was always looking out for me, even if I kept her at arm’s length a lot of the time. She had my back no matter what. I pulled out a spoon and took some of the concoction she'd made. The cold liquid slid down my throat as if it was nothing but water.
I shuffled to my room and lay down on the bed. I kicked my shoes off to the floor and closed my eyes. I felt safe with Simon guarding my door and my gun still on my hip. I took my belt off and laid it on the nightstand, holster and all, then rolled over to let sleep claim me.
"Abigail Collins? Are you sure it's wise to take her in?" A mysterious voice floated through the dark room. I remembered the day well and I wasn't sure why my subconscious brought it up in the dream world.
"She's a mere child, I'll provide all the training she needs. It's what her parents wanted."
I was supposed to be asleep in Levi's lap, but I was awake with my face buried against his chest, so young, so scared.
"Trouble, that's what she'll end up being."
Sounds of shattering glass and crunching metal surrounded me as the van hit the tree, splintering the wood. Lying on the ground I struggled to catch my breath, my entire body hurt, but my gun was still in my hand. Small favors. I saw the vampire lean over me, his teeth bared for feeding.
The shots rang out, two straight to his head. I had reacted on instinct despite all the pain.
"Hostage, leverage, alive." The vampire gasped out of a half destroyed mouth. "In life or death we serve no king."
The world swirled around me and the ground disappeared beneath me. I spiraled down into a red circle. Power flooded around me and held me in place. I'd seen one like this in my dreams before, back when the Cult of Ra paid me a visit. It wasn't exactly black magic, but it wasn't really good either.
"Show yourself." I demanded.
"Abigail Collins, always in the way, always following what she should leave alone."
I knew the voice, but couldn't place it. No one showed themselves, nothing came out of the darkness. "What can I say, I have a knack for trouble."
"You're not the only one who's powerful."
"I'd be stupid if I thought I was."
Pain laced through me and I cried out, the pressure in my rib grew. If I wasn't dreaming I'd have passed out from the pain.
A woman draped in red materialized in front of me, inside the circle, which told me it was still my dream. Her cloak appeared to be on fire, but it didn't burn her. The flames leapt towards me as if the flames wanted to consume me.
I woke with a jump and growled at the pain. A sound had me reaching for my gun. Banging and thumping made my heart race. I unholstered my gun and inched toward the door.
“Stu
pid fucking door.” Simon snarled and my heart calmed a little. The sleepy fog cleared from my mind and I remembered he had ordered the door and was now installing it. I put the gun down and rubbed my eyes. The red numbers on the alarm clock told me that it was about ten o'clock. I needed to get up and get my day started. I had told Nick I'd be at the office, but finding Martha derailed that. I hadn't heard from anyone since I laid down, not even a text message ding.
I holstered my gun and walked out to find Osiris playing with my phone on the counter. "Seriously cat, you don't belong up there."
I picked up my phone and saw a few missed texts and one missed call. I scrolled through; one message was from Clarissa telling me to take it easy, another from Nick saying that he expected me in the office tonight and have some information for him. Levi sent me one right at dawn to check in and he was the missed call.
"I put your phone on silent so you could sleep. The new door is all set up. Just let me know when you want to go to the office so you can have the Hummer and move about on your own." Simon said as he entered the kitchen.
"I'm going to grab a shower and then we can go. Thank you, for everything." I realized in that moment, maybe it wasn't always a bad thing for me to have someone. Maybe Simon and I really could make something out of the relationship we were trying to grow.
He shrugged. "It's not a problem. Go. I want to go to the hospital to see Martha, but I have to pick up Rachel first."
"Of course, please send me an update when you can? I'd like to know how she is and I need to talk to her when I get a chance."
He frowned. "Your job with it is finished."
"Greg asked me to look further into it, see if I can figure out who hurt her."
"And what do you plan on doing after that? Turning it over to PIB?" There was something in his voice I couldn't figure out.
"Oh no, Levi was the one who contracted me out for the job. It means I turn the information over to your pack and you deal with it." I held my hands up. "I'm not involved as a PIB officer."
He raised a brow. "You know what will happen."
"Just hope I don't get put on the case if the body turns up." But I knew one wouldn't. I've seen pack justice before. It wasn't pretty, but they made sure to take care of the bodies.
He started to say something, but shook his head. "Go grab a shower. I'm sure you're itching to get back to work."
Mostly so I didn't have any more bodies show up. I walked into my room and pulled off my clothes. Another set ruined by blood, luckily it was someone else's. I hoped that Martha would wake soon since I needed to talk to her, but at least I had her phone. I could run that at work and while I looked into the connection between all my victims. Jason hadn't called yet with any news on the newest ones, but it'd only been a handful of hours.
I walked into my bathroom and started the shower. Looking in the mirror I noticed my face was already starting to look better. As a witch, healing was easier for me than it was for humans. It's what made us harder to kill. In a couple days I wouldn't look like someone rammed my face against the ground and I'd be able to move about normally with my rib healing.
I showered, dried, and dressed. When I walked out, Simone was leaning against the counter. "You ready?"
"Yeah." I grabbed the vial with the medicine that Clarissa mixed up and shoved it in my bag with my debit card. "Thanks for being my taxi service."
"Ah yes, because it's such a chore to drive you around." He put an arm around my shoulder and handed me the keys to my new door. "All safe and sound."
Yeah, until another zombie decided to bust in. I shook the thought off and locked the door.
I walked into the office and Mandy about jumped out of her chair. "I didn't think you'd be in today."
"Nick knew I was coming in, just because someone tried to kill me doesn't mean I get to take a day off. Victims to defend, necromancers to bring in, all that fun stuff."
She smiled and waved as I passed by. "Better you than me."
I took the elevator to the floor my office was on, walked down the hallway and into the room. Nick was at his desk tapping his pencil on it.
"You should have considered being a drummer." I said as I dropped my bag by the side of the desk.
"You should have been in hours ago." He sat up. "Hopefully you'll have better luck than me. I can't find any connection to these victims."
"You might have to do a tracking spell for each and start from there." I sat down and unlocked my computer. "What systems did you check?"
"All of ours, I ran a full scan. I don't want to have to do five tracking spells."
"Eight if you count last night's victims." I leaned back in my chair. "You can do a tracking spell on a map and see if anything meets up. You don't have to follow the trail."
"That's still eight spells." He muttered. "Can you do that many without it draining your energy?"
I sat up and looked at him. "The only time a tracking spell has taken a toll on me was when I had the hex on me."
"You performed magic when you had a hex? Abby, what the hell is wrong with you?" He shook his head. "It's a wonder you've lived to this age."
I tossed a pencil at him, but he caught it before it hit his head. "I had no choice; I had a job to do. If you’d rather I do the spell, there's a way to do all of them at the same time. Find a common place of meeting and go from there."
"Hold up, you can do that?" He leaned forward. "Can you teach me?"
I wasn't much of a teacher, but it's not like I could tell my partner no. "Sure, let me run a few things and then we'll head to Levi's so I can use the chamber there."
"Why all the way up there?" He narrowed his eyes. "That vampire doesn't like me."
"Don't take it personal, he doesn't really like anyone, but he'll be sleeping. My best map is up there. I'll need it." I shrugged and pulled Martha's phone out of my bag. I swiped up and found a PIN code lock in place. I didn't have the skills to figure it out or get past it. I couldn't drop it off with tech without having to explain it to Nick and that meant letting him know that I don't just work for PIB but took on jobs for Levi as well. I didn't want to trust him with that information right now and maybe not ever. I pressed my lips together and took a guess. I typed in 1234 and held my breath. To my surprise the phone unlocked for me. It was a common password for those who don't realize how important a secure phone is.
I scrolled through the messages that were there. Nothing out of the ordinary until I got to a message from someone named 'witch'. If she was trying to hide that she was in communication with this person she didn't do a good job. She had left all the messages there. The newest message was at the bottom of the screen.
Witch: It has to be tonight, it’s the only time the pack will be distracted enough. If you want it done, it has to be tonight.
You: How?
Witch: I'll set up a circle for you in the clearing to the north, go there. I'll come get you and we'll go to my property to perform the spell. You'll be safe there.
You: Okay.
I frowned at the part of the conversation. I scrolled up and could only find 'the spell' mentioned. Not what kind it was. Not what it was supposed to do. No hint of who the witch was. I checked the calls and there were none made to the number.
I had a couple choices. I could call the number from Martha's phone and see who answered, but I didn't want anyone to know I had her phone or that I was looking into her situation. I could call from my phone, but then the witch would have something personal of mine. I knew how much information one person could get off a phone number.
I scribbled the number on a sticky note and then found the search program on the computer.
"What are you working on so furiously over there? Did you get a phone off one of our victims? You're not supposed to take personal effects."
"What I'm working on is just some simple looking into something." I put the phone back in my bag. "Just some fun research for a friend. Don't pretend you've never done something like that for your buddies."
He chuckled. "Okay, so I've done it for some blind dates. You'd be surprised what comes up."
"Once Clarissa dated a guy who was running a sex line from his cell phone plan." I kept my voice casual as I typed in the number.
Nick snorted. "Once I found a woman who was trying to sell her liver for some extra money."
"Black market, anyone?" I shook my head and laughed. "Did your friend still go out on a date with her?"
"Yeah, they dated for almost a year. Until he found out that she did sell things on the black market, it was other people's body parts, not hers." He shook his head. "You have your fun over there. How do you plan on doing the spells? Blood? Items?"
"As you said, we can't take personal items out of the evidence area, but I'm going to stop by the morgue and pull some blood samples, assuming that the bodies haven't been released yet." I hit enter and watched as the call history and personal information start moving over my screen.
The name was unknown; it was a burner phone, probably a pay as you go. I wrote down the carrier number and the two numbers the phone called on a daily basis. Certainly they had to screw up somewhere, maybe I'd luck out with one of those numbers.
"Blood gathering, sounds like fun. Why don't I go down there and do it since there's not much else to do here?"
"I think that would be fantastic." My phone buzzed, letting me know that I had a message. "I'm going to stay here or maybe grab dinner. I'm trying to take it easy as my rib still hurts like hell."
Nick's smile faded a bit. "Yeah, it should start feeling better soon."
"I hope so. Get going, tell Jason I say hi." I reached for my phone. I checked it to realize that there wasn't a message. Frowning, I checked Martha's phone.
She had a new message. I unlocked it and read the message.
Witch: You disappeared last night. I need to know if the spell worked. Do not tell your alpha or there will be trouble between the packs. I'll make sure of it.
I shook my head. This person was off their rocker, but they gave me a clue, they were in the position to influence more than one pack. My mind went back to Witchy McCreeper that was with the visiting pack, but I reminded myself that her magic was completely different.
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