He was silent for a moment. “What can I help you with, Agent Collins? I assure you that all my houses are free of the paranormal and that I’m not using spells to sell them.”
“Using magic to manipulate your clients isn’t my department. This is about the house at 2525 Prairie Drive out in Ellicott. According to public records you were the last realtor to handle it.”
He took a deep breath. “The house was labeled as abandoned a while ago and last I heard condemned, but I can answer what questions you have. It might be better if I come to your office. I have all my papers and the history on the house.”
“You sound nervous Mr. Savante, I promise you’re not in any trouble. Feel free to come down to the office, or if you like, I can come to yours. Or we can meet for coffee.”
“I’d like to meet somewhere other than your office. There’s a local coffee place on Circle and Austin Bluffs. Know it?”
I’d been there once or twice. “I do. What time is good for you?”
“I have a client I’m meeting with at three, would five be too late?”
“Five would be fine. I’ll see you there.”
I disconnected the call and leaned back in my chair. What would make him so nervous? Maybe he really was using magic to sell his houses and something went wrong with this address.
No. That would be a simple spell and wouldn’t cause a bunch of thumbs to show up there. I rubbed my head.
“That good?” Nick’s voice caught me off guard and I jumped out of my chair. He held his hands up. “I should know by now to make more noise so you hear me coming.”
I couldn’t help but smile. “I wasn’t expecting you back for a couple days. What are you doing here?”
“I mean…I could leave if you’d like, but really now that I’m back I’m bored.” He shrugged. “There’s almost always something going on here, so I thought I’d return to work early.”
I smiled. “Just in time for a big case too. Welcome back.” I motioned to his desk. “It’s been quiet in here without you.”
“Fill me in on the case?” He pulled his jacket off and laid it over his chair.
I leaned back and debated where to start. “We have severed thumbs with no identification. A house with very little public history, a sketchy realtor, and…” I hesitated.
He looked at me. “And?”
“A containment spell with Cult runes.”
He pressed his lips together. “The Cult of Ra?”
I nodded. “They’re back to play.”
“I’m going to talk to Boss Man, you need to be taken off this case.” He shook his head. “I don’t want you near this, not after what happened with Devon.”
Devon was a rogue member of the Cult that had tried to kill me. He also happened to be Nick’s brother. His response was not what I had been expecting. “Like hell. The Cult has nothing to do with me. I can handle this. I’m a big girl.”
“We don’t know that they aren’t going to try for you again.”
Again? My heart sank, he knew more than he was letting on. “What do you mean, again? I was targeted by your brother, not the full Cult.”
“And yet a while ago you mentioned a member visiting you at your home. That means they have an interest in you.” He shook his head. “You shouldn’t be close to this.”
I stood and put my hands on my hips. “You don’t get to make that call. There has been no violent act made towards me from the Cult. I am not in danger.”
He didn’t need to know about the threats or the theory that the Cult had killed my parents. “Now, I have coffee with the realtor this evening. I’ll pass you my notes on the scene, but they are all hand written since our systems are down.”
He met my gaze, but nodded. “Fine, the notes would be great. I’d like to go take a look at the scene too. I’ll call Mason and make sure I’m cleared to go.”
“If you can wait until tomorrow, I can go with you.” I sat back down in my chair and gathered my papers for him.
He raised a brow. “Hot date tonight after you meet with the realtor?”
I wished. Simon hadn’t contacted me at all since he’d taken over the alpha spot for the pack, and the PIB agent I had drinks with at the book fest was in a different state. “It’s my birthday, Levi always throws a small dinner party for me. So I’ll be heading up to the mountains tonight.”
“Happy birthday.” He sat down and leaned back in his chair. “I’ll talk to Mason, if he wants me to wait for you, then I will.” He motioned his hand for the notes. “Until then, I’ll do what I can to catch up. Did help desk say when the system might be back up?”
I shook my head. “I don’t think they even know what’s causing it. Every computer is blue screening.”
“Huh.”
I walked to his desk with the notes. “Huh is all you have to say about that?”
“It is weird, but I mean, they are electronics, sometimes weird shit happens.” He shrugged and took the papers from me. “What are you planning on doing until the coffee meeting?”
I shrugged one shoulder. “Play on my phone and hope something comes to me I guess. It’s only a couple hours, there’s not much I can do while the systems are down.”
“True that.” He muttered and looked over my notes. “Did you take pictures of the runes?”
I shook my head. I didn’t have to. I knew them on sight.
He glanced up at me in a silent question.
“What? I’ve been studying them. There’s nothing wrong with that. Stop treating me like a child, Nick.”
He went back to my notes and didn’t respond. It was bad enough when Levi became protective, to have Nick go that way felt odd to me. I needed him to be a partner, not a parent.
CHAPTER TWO
The air conditioning blasted me in the face when I walked into Pike’s Roast. I took a moment to get acclimated to the cold building. The single employee behind the counter waved at me and went back to their customer. A Hispanic man sat in the corner, nursing a cup of coffee. A blue folder lay in front of him on the table, and he rested a hand on it as if it was going to get up and walk away.
I turned away from him and went to order my own coffee, because I was going to need it for this conversation. I ordered and grabbed my coffee before heading over to the table.
I met the man’s chestnut brown gaze. “Chris?”
He nodded and motioned to the chair. “Agent Collins, I presume?”
I sat down and put my coffee on the table. “Yes, thank you for agreeing to meet with me.”
His shirt was a casual polo with the top button still undone, the dark green of it contrasting against the blue of his jeans and sneakers. He’d said he had a business meeting before this, but he was dressed pretty relaxed. Of course, I wasn’t a realtor, maybe they tended to dress down when out of the office.
“Of course. I’m not sure what help I’ll be, but I brought all the papers I could on the property. I sold it for cash ten years ago, but something didn’t sit right with me.” He sipped his coffee and waited for my reaction.
I pulled the folder closer to me. “And what was that?”
“In the early 1900s there was a murder there. I disclosed it, and where it had discouraged many of my prospective buyers, this woman said it would be fine.”
I opened the folder and the first page was a copy of an old news article. “This was right after the house was built.” My gaze scanned the article. “There was a young woman kept in the basement?” I didn’t recall any stairs that led to a basement, maybe it was a cellar and not an actual basement.
“It was a horrible story, many aspects of it seemed almost supernatural.” He glanced away and his brows creased. “But we’re talking about an event that’s over a hundred years old.”
Flipping the article over, I decided I’d go back to it when I had more information. “I didn’t see a basement,” I tapped the paper in front of me. “Your entry for the house on the website didn’t list a basement, but this says the house has a finished
one.”
“It was sealed off by the person who bought the house before it was foreclosed on in…” He flipped over a couple papers. “Ninety-eight.” He tapped the paper. “Here you can see that the square footage changed.”
I looked over the information and it was identical to what I had seen on his listing. “How long did it sit vacant?”
“About two years. It was foreclosed on again in 2003. I sold it in 2005. It wasn’t in great shape, which is why it was so cheap.” He leaned back in his chair. “I hope all this helps. The information on the last owner is on the last page.”
I flipped to it and studied the information. The name didn’t sound familiar, but almost fake “Johnny Smiths”. “Thank you, it’s more than I had.”
“If there’s anything else I can help you with, please let me know.” He finished his coffee and put the mug on the table.
“Do you happen to have the original layout for the house? I’d like to see if we could unseal that basement.”
His eyes went wide. “Why would you want to do that?”
“I can’t tell you details because they haven’t been released to the public.” Of course, telling someone there are ten severed thumbs in the house with no bodies and no identities was probably bad form anyways.
“I can see if I can find the pictures of the house before it was sealed off. I might have to call in a few favors though.” He stood. “If you think it’ll help.”
“Please.” Even if our systems were down at work, I could access my e-mail at home. I handed him my card.
He took it and put it in his pocket. “Of course. Good luck with your case.”
“Thank you.”
He walked out and I took a few minutes to finish my coffee and look through the files he’d brought me. The article on the girl stood out to me, but it lacked details on what exactly had happened. They found a young woman tied up in the basement, dead, but the cause of death was never mentioned and neither was a suspect. Fear sat in my gut. Not only were the thumbs ten years old, but there was a possibly unsolved murder that had happened in the house.
I leaned back and sipped my coffee. Tonight I’d enjoy myself, and tomorrow I’d go over the information I had gathered, and see if Nick had anything to add. Another look at the house would be helpful if we could find where they sealed the basement off at. I closed my eyes as horrors filled my mind on what I could find there. What I was hoping for wasn’t really pleasant, but I was hoping to find the bodies that belonged to those thumbs, even if the timeline didn’t sit right.
I went home and changed before driving up to the mansion. I had no idea what Levi had planned. He’d managed to get a handle on birthdays some time before high school, even if other holidays still tended to elude him. I placed my hand on the scanner and opened the door when I heard the tumbler click. Silence wrapped around me. I frowned, kicked off my shoes, and put my bag by the door. The driveway had been empty of anyone else’s car, so I was writing off a surprise party. It was possible I was early, but normally the mansion had some type of noise.
My heart leapt into my throat as my paranoia started to make my mind spin. Was Levi here? Was something wrong? My feet made no noise as I padded across the floor and peeked into the foyer. I didn’t draw my gun because I didn’t want to accidentally shoot anyone in case they did pop out to surprise me. The fireplace in the foyer was cold, not even a glowing coal left.
It reminded me of the situation I walked into at Oliver’s a few months back. No fire meant that I wouldn’t be able to use my elemental ability if I was in trouble, not that I made a habit of it, but someone taking away that option never boded well. I drew my gun when I heard an unfamiliar voice as I approached the kitchen. I took a deep breath and rounded the corner. A chill shot up my spine when my feet hit the cold tile and a vampire met my gaze.
I started to raise my gun, but Levi’s voice stopped me.
“He’s not a threat, Abigail.”
I still hesitated as I met the vampire’s dark eyes. His short black hair was greased out of his angular face and he smiled and showed me fangs. “Abigail.” He repeated with a thick Italian accent to it, “It’s nice to finally meet you.”
I holstered my gun. “I’m sorry, I don’t know who you are.” I glanced at Levi standing in the other doorway of the kitchen. “I thought it was a birthday celebration, not “spring new people on Abby” night.”
“We had a change of plans last minute.” Levi nodded to the vampire. “This is Mario; he came for a visit after our recent issue with the blood-starved vampires.”
I tensed at the reminder of the terror they caused. “Lovely, I’ll leave you to your vampire business then.” I had wasted a two-hour drive.
“Please, stay. I hear you’re a PIB agent, I’d like to get your expert opinion on the case.”
I had been way too close to the case and I didn’t wish to relive it. I heard the front door click open and I called “In here,” before anyone else could think the same thing I did. Anyone that could get in the door was welcomed here, I wasn’t putting myself or Levi at risk. I didn’t waver in my eye contact with Mario. “My expert opinion as a PIB agent is that the case is closed and the person behind it is in jail.”
“And your opinion as a member of the paranormal world?”
His question caught me off guard. My gaze flickered to Levi and he waved his hand like I didn’t have to hold back. “That there’s something else going on, but I know to keep my nose out of vampire business.”
Levi chuckled and we all turned when Clarissa walked in. Her newly colored red hair was pulled back in a braid with a few curly strands escaping around her face. Her huge smile faded when her eyes landed on the scene in the kitchen. Her hands gripped the cake she held awkwardly as she tried to figure out what she needed to do.
“I feel like I missed a memo.”
I nodded and motioned for her to put the cake on the island in the middle of the kitchen. “So did I, so don’t feel bad.”
“Mario is visiting for a few weeks to make sure that everything is sorted out with that case.” Levi looked at me and I could read the tone in his gaze. It meant that I needed to stay away from the mansion for a bit.
I nodded. “I have a big case with PIB right now and Nick is back in town, so I won’t be much help.” I glanced at Clarissa. “Chinese food for tonight? I think the little place down the road is still open.”
“It’s your night, hun.” She grinned at me. “I was thinking of feasting on cake. Anyone else coming?”
It was almost a sad question; I didn’t have many friends. I assumed that Levi hadn’t invited Simon because we broke up. “Nope.” I ignored the questioning look from Mario as I went to the fridge and grabbed the menu from under a magnet.
“I’d like to speak further with you on this matter.” Mario stepped up to me. “Without the influence of Levi.”
I shook my head. “I don’t have much to say about it. There were blood-starved vampires attacking people in the area. It was linked to a necromancer PIB agent who was using them as a distraction to keep the focus off of the zombies.”
“You were targeted, do you really think that’s all there was to it?” Mario asked, his accent becoming just a bit thicker. “Think deep down, Abigail.”
I didn’t want to think about it. The PIB agent had almost taken my life twice, I still saw him in my nightmares. “I have a dangerous job.” I locked my jaw. “Now if you would excuse me, I’d like to enjoy the rest of my birthday.”
“That’s enough, Mario.” Levi stepped up and it made me wonder what he saw about the situation that I didn’t.
Mario took a few steps back, giving me room to move. I waved the menu in the air. “We’re going to order food and watch some TV. Then binge on cake. In case you needed to know how my night was going to go in detail.” I couldn’t keep the sarcasm from my voice.
“She’s a spitfire.” Mario grumbled, but I heard him.
I turned and smiled. “Oh, you have no idea.”
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Levi nodded in agreement and his hand moved over his mouth to cover his smile. “Mario and I have business to attend to. I’m sorry about dinner and your birthday.”
I shrugged a shoulder. “Chinese food and television sounds better than spending the night with my cat.”
Clarissa hooked her arm with mine and dragged me out of the kitchen.
I put my phone down on the edge of the chair and looked at Clarissa. “You really had no idea that Mario was going to be here?”
She shook her head and reached for the remote. “Levi didn’t say anything to me when I called. He said that he’d handle dinner and I just needed to pick up a cake. You don’t know who the vampire is?”
I shook my head. “Italian, judging by how thick his accent is. Levi said he was visiting about the vampire attacks a few months ago.” I shook my head. “I don’t like it when strange vampires visit.”
“You don’t like the idea that Levi may be hiding something from you.” Clarissa leaned back in the overstuffed chair. “You’ve rarely questioned his choices until the past year.”
I shrugged. “There’s been a lot of vampire business going on. It seems the more that goes on, the more that it’s hidden from me.”
“He has his reasons.” She assured me, which made me wonder how much did she know about what was going on. I rarely doubted Levi, but the events over the last year started to make me wonder. If I pried more into the vampire politics and events, what would I find? What was he protecting me from?
I clicked on the television. “All I know is that things changed last year, between finding out that the Cult was behind my parents’ death, to Agent Tomes trying to kill me to wage war on the Vampire King…If I’m in the center of something, I want to know.”
She was silent for a moment. “And you would deserve to know. I think that you just happened to be in the wrong places at the right times.”
I should have told her that the Cult was back in town. I should have let her know that Nick was the one who planted doubts in my head last year, but I couldn’t. Clarissa, though older than me, still had an innocence about her and I didn’t want to ruin that. I knew she trusted Levi and she would until she died. I wasn’t sure why, it’d never really come up in conversation. I was about to ask when Levi walked into the room.
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