A Southern Charms Cozy Potluck Box Set

by Bella Falls

  Raif sneered. “Neither one of you is Holmes nor Watson.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “And you’re not out of the clear yet. Horatio, let’s go outside and discuss this further. Leave Raif to the wardens and his sweet precious pug.” Looking around, I didn’t spot his beloved pet. “Where is Barklay?”

  “It’s Sir Barklay.” A trickle of pink sweat dribbled down Raif’s temple. “The big oaf must have scared him away.”

  “And you didn’t run after him in a panic?” From what I’d seen after the candidate speeches, the vampire should be inconsolable from losing his dog.

  He swallowed hard, his eyes darting about him. “Er, I had other problems to deal with.”

  An enraged troll definitely counted as a problem. But I still questioned that Raif wouldn’t gather up his pug to protect him. “Where’s your dog?”

  At the mention of his pet, the vampire’s indignant mask slipped a little. His lower lip quivered. “He’s gone.”

  “I don’t believe that he ran away without you chasing him. He’s the most precious thing to you, and you let him go?” I pushed.

  Raif contemplated his choices, glancing around at each of us and realizing his options were dwindling. “You don’t understand. He’s gone. Taken.”

  Mason pushed past me. “Who took him?”

  The vampire slumped into a nearby chair, holding his head in his hands. “Damien,” Raif groaned. “He’s the one you’re looking for.”

  “Isn’t he your friend?” I asked.

  He sat up in his chair, sniffing. “Damien Mallory is no friend of mine. It was not my choice for him to be here. Some demon from below must have it out for me. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine Damien would find me in this small town. Of all the places in the world, I never knew why he chose to come to Honeysuckle, but he did. As soon as he laid eyes on me, I understood that my life as I knew it would be over.”

  With no more items crashing, the wardens from outside filed in through the door, taking watchful places around us and on the other side of the room. Mason held up his hand to hold them in place. “Why didn’t you come to the station and give a report if you suspected him? By staying silent, you’ve been complicit in whatever he’s done.”

  Raif leaned forward in his chair. “At first, he passed off his presence as wanting to find a new place to live. Knowing his affinity for a more luxurious lifestyle, I didn’t believe him. However, he convinced me of his usefulness if I let him stay with me to explore the town more.”

  “You mean, you thought he could help you win the election,” I clarified.

  “Yes,” he nodded. “I confess, his ability to, shall we say, manipulate the situation at hand did entice me not to protest. He possesses a shrewd mind and knows how to win people over. With Lady Eveline visiting her family in Europe, I needed someone on my side. Damien’s skills at helping me shape my campaign made me a front-runner if not the clear choice. After all, we wouldn’t be having an election without my insistence in the first place.”

  Mason started talking, but I interrupted him. “When did you begin to suspect him? There’s so much more than an election at stake. A life was taken.” My stomach churned, wondering if the vampire had remained quiet in order to stay ahead.

  “Let me do the questioning,” the detective murmured to me. “But answer her,” he directed at Raif.

  “I would never have kept quiet had I been sure he was behind Mrs. Kettlefield’s demise. I thought the unfortunate woman had done herself harm,” the vampire said.

  “Despite you benefiting from what the Honeysuckle Holler did in implicating me,” added Horatio.

  “Yes. I figured if foul play was at hand that our team of capable wardens could solve the issue.” Raif took a petty shot at Mason and the others in the room. For someone running for office, he didn’t have a clue how to win fans. Perhaps Damien had been beneficial to his campaign in toning down the obnoxious side Raif couldn’t quite contain.

  Mason tensed beside me. “You didn’t answer the question. When did you suspect Damien?”

  “I heard rumors and concern that someone was breaking into houses when I was talking to the people. They wanted to know what I would do about the town’s safety. And my knowledge of Damien’s past suggested he might be involved,” Raif continued. “But when I finally confronted him about it, he turned on me. Threatened to end my chances in the election and my ability to stay in Honeysuckle if I didn’t keep quiet. When it got to be too much, and I was going to report him,” the vampire paused to compose himself, “he threatened my precious pug. And now, they are both gone, and I may never see my sweet baby again.”

  With a few nods and silent direction, Mason instructed the other wardens to move forward on both Horatio and Raif. “Now that things are quieted down, let’s all go back to the station. We need to figure out where Damien Mallory has gone and exactly what his involvement is.”

  I tugged on the detective’s sleeve. “We don’t have time for official procedures. Raif, do you have any idea where he might be?”

  Allowing a warden to escort him toward the door, he shook his head. “No. But, Miss Goodwin, if you can find him and my Sir Barklay, I will forever be in your debt.”

  The temptation of having something like that in my back pocket to keep the vampire from bugging me again interested me. But there were more important issues at hand than his selfish desires. I stood out of the way for the apprehensive wardens taking care of the troll to exit.

  “You are smarter and supremely more talented than Holmes, Charli. Follow the path to its end,” Horatio charged me.

  While Mason and the rest of his team were busy handling things, I took the opportunity to snoop around, trying to find anything that might offer a clue to where Damien might have gone. A shimmering movement out of the corner of my eye captured my attention.

  A rip in the space of Raif’s parlor sparkled to life, and a hole opened. Moss, flew through it, hovering in front of the door. Behind her through the veil of the fairy path, I caught a glimpse of Blythe tied to a chair with a gag around her mouth, holding a terrified pug for dear life.

  I opened my mouth to yell for Mason, but the small fairy held up a tiny finger in front of her lips. “One word from you, and I will close the path. The safety of your friend depends on the choices you make in the next few seconds.”

  Anger roared to life, and rage and power surged through me. “What choices?” I gritted through my teeth, speaking low so no one else could hear me.

  “Come with me willingly, and you can save her. Refuse and you risk your friend’s life.” Moss’s normal sour face morphed into a more menacing mask.

  “Those aren’t choices,” I hissed.

  “You must decide now,” insisted the fairy.

  Keeping my eyes trained on Blythe and without looking back, I ran toward the shimmering door.

  “Charli, no!” Mason screamed from behind. His protest trailed off as my feet landed on a rotten wooden floor and the portal closed.

  Not taking in any of my surroundings, I rushed to kneel in front of my friend. “B, are you okay?” My fingers fumbled to check her body for injuries and to set her free. Blythe looked up at me, her eyes full of regret and dread.

  A smooth voice with an impeccable British accent responded. “Your friend’s safety and condition rests completely in your hands, Miss Goodwin. ”

  “Damien, what have you done to her?” Standing up, I prepared to face him with all of my wrath.

  He ceased pretending to be the gentleman vampire, a sneering grin plastered on his face. “It is no longer what I did to her as much as what you choose to do for me that will determine her fate. And yours.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  “Why don’t you let me take care of the both of ‘em?” snarled a large man, entering the room of the small abandoned house. I recognized Butch, one of Dash’s attackers from the other night.

  The vampire frowned, unhappy to be interrupted. “The two of you need to finish loading ever
ything into the truck and depart. Moss’s sleeping spell may not last long on the gate guard, and you need to be long gone to meet up with our contact on the outside.” With a grunt, Butch shot me a dark gaze and left.

  “So you’re just a petty thief,” I accused, my gut tightening. “Everything that happened was so you could steal things from our town? You murdered someone.”

  “I am far from a simple thief. What I do takes skills that few possess,” bragged Damien. “The old woman was not as beneficial of a target as I had hoped. She provided the first domino in my deception, upsetting the election from the first event and providing an excellent cover for my real motives. But her mind would not allow her to fully accept my control. I had to stop her before she broke completely and alerted anyone to my game.”

  “A person’s life is not a game.” I rested my hand on Blythe’s knee, giving her the comfort of my presence as she groaned and struggled against her bindings, Raif’s dog whimpering in her grasp. “Did you influence her, too?”

  He scoffed. “You witches continually underestimate others, creating communities to live in supposed harmony and expecting everyone to live by your rules and authority. I am a vampire, and we should not be living a less-than-ordinary life, trying to fit in with others. We were made to take lives.”

  Damien paced as he talked. “Sweet, simple Blythe here was a much easier target. So eager for someone to pay attention to her. Did you know that she is jealous of you because you hold two men’s interests? It hardly drained me at all to manipulate her. Such interesting information she has, working that menial job and interacting with so many from your town.”

  Blythe shouted outraged words through her gag, struggling harder. If she broke free, the vampire would have a difficult time defending himself against both of us. I let a little power trickle down my arm to my fingertips, reaching my hand to touch the rope around her feet to free her.

  “Stop right there, Charli.” Damien placed a hand on Blythe’s shoulder, and she stopped fighting, her eyes clouding with an eerie calm. “No fair cheating when you are unaware of the rules. You haven’t heard the pièce de résistance yet. Your part in all of this.”

  “What about my part?” The only advantage left to me was letting the man monologue for as long as possible until I could figure out a way to get me, my friend, and a dog out of here. Preferably still alive.

  “It is a wonder you do not recognize me.” He crouched down until his face rested in front of mine. “We crossed paths not that long ago. I had been taken in for questioning at a local warden station for suspicion of…other activities that are not relevant. When I was waiting to be processed, I overheard someone speaking to a young lady I was thrilled to discover possessed the very valuable abilities of tracking. This beautiful maiden spoke so warmly about her hometown with such affection that I couldn’t help but visit the location.” He reached out to touch me, and I flinched away. “I thank you for the suggestion. It has been most beneficial in more ways than I could have ever expected.”

  Blood rushed through me, and I almost collapsed under the weight of realization. I understood the nagging feeling that had plagued me when I was with him. A part of me had recognized seeing him at the station in my last days away from Honeysuckle. And because of me, so much had happened. I leaned on Blythe’s lap for support, trying to keep the contents of my stomach from coming up.

  Damien patted my head like he would an animal. “Don’t fret, dear girl. If you had recognized me, I could have used my influence on you to make you forget again. But I would rather not hold you in my thrall because it would benefit us both for you to choose to help me on your own.”

  Moss joined us, shooting me a dirty look and hovering possessively close to the vampire. I didn’t hear their conversation, too wrapped up in my own guilt. “What have I done?” I moaned.

  “Chin up. Being maudlin does not become you. The added bonus of discovering my old acquaintance living in this quaint backward town allows me to concoct an even bigger plan than a quick fleecing. Raif,” Damien snorted. “The man liked to put on airs he didn’t deserve even back then. You understand, that is not his name. I knew him as Baines. Bartholomew Baines. Old Barty was a mere porter and a complete mumper at the social club for my kind in Victorian London, always looking for a way to move up in the social chain. The Claret served as a perfect setting to hatch schemes and make connections, but anyone with the right motivation could garner precious information and use it to their advantage.”

  I didn’t know if Damien spoke of himself or Raif, nor did I care. Whatever past the two vampires shared didn’t help me at the moment. But the man enjoyed the sound of his voice enough to give me a chance to survey my surroundings. A broken chair lay on the floor so close that if I lunged for it, I could break the wood and get a piece sturdy enough to drive through the heart of the undead monster.

  When Damien stood up, he grabbed me by my shirt, dragging me upright and dashing my hopes of hurting him. “Enough talk. The boys will be finished loading the goods soon, and I will need to leave. So here is my offer. You come with me, and I will allow your friend and that blasted dog to remain alive.”

  “And if I don’t,” I challenged.

  He sneered. “Then I will force you to come with me and kill them both. But I think you will accompany me. How could you not? There’s a wide world out there ripe for the picking for someone with your talents. Do you not know that you could have riches beyond your wildest dreams? If people do not pay you to use your magic, then you can find and take what you want. You could afford a life much richer than the meager existence you settle for here, and it would be my honor to show you how.” His eyes sparkled with passion, and he released me for a brief moment, caught up in his own reverie.

  Taking my chance, I dove for the broken chair, the force of my body splintering it. My hand grasped the nearest fragment of wood and held onto it in a tight fist in front of me. “I like my life just fine, you arrogant unicorn’s behind. There are more treasures here in Honeysuckle than you will ever understand.”

  Damien clapped his hands together. “Such spirit. I shall have to make sure not to dampen it too much when I compel you to leave. Hold her,” he commanded a menacing presence behind me.

  Strong muscles restrained me, and a rough grip forced the wood out of my hand. I resisted, fighting back hard with kicks and twists, but my captor clasped me close. My elbow contacted his stomach, and the man cursed. “You should have just come with us,” he grunted in my ear.

  “Trey,” I identified him. “I thought you promised Dash to leave town.”

  “I told that idiot what he needed to hear for him to leave us alone. It was an added bonus shattering his heart.” He buried his nose in my neck and took a deep breath, scenting me from collarbone to ear. “I wonder if it would hurt him more to know that I had you right now.”

  “He means nothing to me,” I lied.

  Trey snorted. “Sure. That’s why you listened in on our conversation in the alley. Not too smart, hanging around angry wolf shifters.” He brought his hand to my neck and squeezed. “A girl could get herself hurt.”

  “Enough,” barked Damien. “She is not to be harmed, do you understand?”

  Trey’s growl vibrated in his chest. “Then finish things and let’s go.”

  Butch stood in the front doorway, and Damien addressed him. “Since Miss Charli chooses not to come willingly, then I need you to take care of them.” He pointed at Blythe and Raif’s dog.

  I writhed in protest, building up a charge of power in my center and blasting the crackling hex through my body. It zapped Trey who dropped me with a bark of surprise. Rushing to Blythe, I used what sparks I had left in me to do away with the ropes holding her. I set Sir Barklay on the floor, and yelled at him to run, watching his tiny body dodge the two shifters and escape into the night.

  The room erupted into chaos. One second, Butch snarled at me and coiled his body, ready to spring on me. The next, a hulking form tackled him and threw
him on the floor, beating and punching him until he stopped moving.

  “Get outta here, Charli,” Dash ordered. “Now.”

  “Not without Blythe,” I called out. Putting my arm around my friend’s shoulders, I attempted to lift her up, but Trey got to me first. He picked me up in his arms, holding me tighter than before, and I struggled to breathe.

  “Back off, Dash, or I will hurt her,” he warned.

  Both Damien and my wolf shifter attempted to plead with him. Trey backed away with me in tow. “This couldn’t have worked out more perfectly. First, I can take all the goods myself since Sir Vampy here values your life so much,” he explained in my ear. “And as an added bonus, I can finally get my revenge on you, Dash.”

  “Why?” Dash growled.

  “Remember when I told you about Dina? How she was doing okay in college? It was all a lie. The Red Ridge pack has her captive, and your brother forces me to pay him every month to keep her safe, as if I don’t know that he’ll take what he wants in the long run. But you…you hide out here and think you’re sheltered from it all, ignoring the destruction you left behind. Well, how about I destroy something you value while you watch it being taken away from you?” He strangled me with one hand, his fingers curling tighter, my gasps growing short and loud.

  “Trey, stop. Don’t do this,” pleaded Dash, looking on in helpless conflict.

  “And what did you do when we all begged you not to go? You didn’t listen either. I hope her death tears you apart,” Trey snarled, squeezing. The world faded away and darkened.

  In desperation, Damien cried out, “No. Moss, contingency plan. Now!”

  The fairy who’d been hovering on the perimeter of the room, spun in tight circles, gray-green dust spiraling off her wings. A glow pulsed around her small body, and with a shriek, she exploded, hurdling power at all of us.

  The old structure disappeared, and I collapsed on the ground of dirt and tufts of grass, gasping for air. When I got my bearings, I recognized the thick twisting branches hung with Spanish moss of the Founders’ tree with the last rays of the sun radiating through the lush canopy.