by C. C. Hunter
Miranda pulled back. Her mind spun. She’d won. She was going to Paris. Kylie and Della could come with her—if she could get them to agree to it.
“We’re going to win, Miranda. I’ll do anything to make sure you win!”
Burnett stared at her mom. As if …
“Don’t say that, Mom.”
“Why not? It’s true. You finally stood up to your potential. You’re going to be high priestess. I feel it in my bones. This is the day I’ve been living for.”
Burnett cleared his throat. “Excuse me, Ms. Kane. But can you give us a few more minutes … alone?”
She looked slightly insulted. “Sure, but hurry. The press wants to interview and photograph my daughter.” She left with as much commotion as she’d arrived with. The door slammed shut.
Silence fell on them. Miranda looked at Burnett. “Please don’t tell me you suspect…”
“No.” Burnett held out his hands. “Don’t worry. I’m not particularly fond of your mom, but I don’t see her as a potential suspect. That said, do you have any idea who would do this?”
“What about the girl that put horseshit in front of your door?” Della said. “I smelled it when she did it,” she added, looking at Burnett. “I swear, if Kylie hadn’t held me back, I’d have pulled her off the stage and opened a can of whoop ass.”
“What?” Burnett asked, looking at Della for explanation.
Kylie took a step closer. “And she’s the one who was spying on you at Shadow Falls, too, right?”
“I’m lost here!” Burnett said. “Who is she? And when was she spying on you at the camp?”
“A long time ago.” Miranda shook her head. “It was nothing.”
“Piece of cake,” Della said. “Miranda put her in a cage for a while and then Kylie told her she couldn’t keep her, so Miranda released her.”
Burnett shook his head. His gaze and frown shot back to Miranda. “Could Tabitha be responsible for this?”
Miranda shrugged under his intense gaze, but forced herself to speak her mind. “Tabitha is crazy, but … I mean, dropping shit at someone’s door is one thing. Killing … I don’t think she’d do that.”
“Well, someone did it, and until we know for sure, you need to stay on guard. Your winning the competition could mean you’re the next target.”
“Next target for what?” she asked and then her heart pounded when she realized what he meant. She was the next target for murder.
Thoughts ran amok in her mind. Murder. Murder.
“Wait. I felt it,” she finally spit out.
“Felt what?” Burnett asked.
“A foreboding. Danger.”
Burnett looked at Shawn. “You didn’t feel it?”
“No. Predictions of danger is a special gift. It doesn’t run in my family.”
Burnett looked back at Miranda. “Do you know who sent you this message?”
“No one sent it. It’s like ESP. I just picked up on it. But if I feel it again, I’ll recognize the source as the same one.”
Burnett shook his head. “So you felt this warning and you didn’t do anything?”
She didn’t like how that sounded, but he did have a point. “Well, I … I thought it was a mood spell, but then…”
“Then what?” Burnett asked impatiently.
“I thought Tabitha was doing it, and then … Tabitha was acting crazy. She told me to stop it, like I was the one putting the spell on her.”
“So you think you both felt the warning?” Burnett looked confused.
“Not likely,” Shawn said. “As I said, the gift generally runs in a family. And it’s not that common.”
Burnett let go of a deep breath and focused back on Miranda. “So what were you trying to say?”
“I … don’t know. I mean, I sort of thought what you said, that we both were reading it, but Shawn’s right. That isn’t likely. So I’m just trying to make sense of it.”
Burnett’s phone dinged with a text. He looked at it and then back at Miranda. “When you make sense of it, make sure you let me know.” Then his gaze shot back to Shawn. “I need to go do some interviews of the Wicca council. Keep an eye on her. And don’t go out there for interviews or photos until I’m back.”
Shawn’s eyes filled with unease. “But what if her mom comes back in and…”
“Handle her,” Burnett said.
“Didn’t you see her?” Shawn asked. “She can’t be handled.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll protect you,” Della said with sarcasm.
Chapter Six
As soon as Burnett left, Miranda dropped down into a chair and stared at her two best friends standing next to Shawn. “I can’t believe this.”
She took a deep breath and tried to take it all in.
Two girls were dead.
She’d won. She’d freaking won the competition.
Which, according to Burnett, made her a target. She’d possibly just made someone’s hit list. Not good. Not good at all.
But it also meant she was going to Paris.
Going to see Perry.
And Della and Kylie could come with her.
Just before she found some pleasure in that thought, another one hit.
She didn’t deserve to win. Right before the bubble had closed she’d gotten zapped with some kind of juju. And whoever did it had to have some mega power, because no one seemed to notice.
She ran her fingers through her hair. “Crap!”
“Crap what?” Della asked. “You mean your hair? You lost your colors. I almost didn’t recognize you.”
“I think it looks good,” Kylie offered.
“It looks boring,” Della said. “Miranda’s not boring.”
“She’s not boring,” Shawn said.
“No, not crap about my hair. Crap … I’m gonna have to recuse myself from the contest.”
“Why?” Kylie asked.
Miranda hated saying it. “Because … because someone helped me. Someone powerful helped me.” Her gaze shifted to Kylie, a chameleon who could shift into any kind of supernatural. “Oh, gawd, I know you love me, but you shouldn’t have done that.”
Kylie bit down on her lip. “I do love you, but I didn’t do anything.”
“You … you didn’t send me power?”
“No.”
“Now me, on the other hand,” Della said. “If I could have, I’d have sent you a bucket load of power.”
Miranda just sat there. “Then who would have done it?”
“Your mom, maybe?” Kylie offered. “We know how much she wanted you to win.”
“No.” Miranda shook her head. “She’s a rule follower. Hates cheaters.”
All of a sudden, Miranda felt Shawn’s gaze on her. She looked at him. His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. Guilt was hard to swallow. She stood up. “You?”
When he didn’t immediately deny it, she knew she was right. “Why would you do that?”
“I … I didn’t…” He paused, then ran a hand through his thick, blond curls.
Miranda looked at Della. “Is he lying?”
Della tilted her head to the side to listen to Shawn’s heartbeat with her ultrasensitive vampire hearing. “Do bears shit in the woods?”
Miranda gazed back at Shawn. “Yes. They do!”
He held up his hands. “No, I didn’t send you power.”
“Now, he’s telling the truth,” Della said, looking puzzled.
“I offered you some calm. That’s all.” He raked a hand over his face. “You looked panicked and I just … I didn’t even mean to do it. I saw you and it just happened. And it was just a breath of calm.” He inhaled and his oh-so-blue gaze seemed to ask for forgiveness, even when he didn’t say the words. “You pulled off the spell … you did that all on your own.”
“Yeah, but…” Miranda stood there befuddled. Shawn knew if he got caught, the council would have come down on his ass. Why would his instincts push him to … why did he care if she botched it and made an idiot out of herself?
And why did … why did knowing he cared make her lungs accept air a little better? Finally, she spoke. “It’s against the rules.”
“So is putting horseshit in front of another contestant’s door,” Shawn said, his tone firm and wide shoulders widening. “You took a ten-point deduction to protect someone who didn’t deserve protecting. And guess what the deduction is for someone offering calm? Ten. So you’re even.”
“I like how this guy thinks,” Della said.
So did Miranda. She liked a lot more than just how he thought, too. As in the tall firm body, blond curls, and blue eyes. He looked like a swimsuit model, who should be photographed on a beach, holding a surfboard at his side.
She could still remember how it felt to be in his arms. Safe. His scent had been … yummy—fresh and kind of like the seashore. But she didn’t want to go there. There was another scent she craved. One of a certain shape-shifter. A certain shape-shifter who’d turned his back on her.
“Oh, hell,” Shawn muttered. “Do you know what this means?”
“What?” Miranda asked and Della and Kylie stared at him, too.
“As Burnett said, winning puts your life in more danger. And if what I did really helped you, then … it’s partly my fault.” He placed his hands behind his neck and squeezed. “You’re right. You need to recuse yourself. I’ll tell the council what I did.” He started to walk out.
The idea of him getting into trouble for helping her didn’t sit well.
“No.” She caught him. The touch sent another jolt of attraction through her and she pulled her hand away. “I can just say someone did it.”
The look in his eyes brought home the fact that the reason he was doing this was to protect her. And that little insight led her to another one. “If I recuse myself from the contest, someone else will win.”
“Yes,” Shawn said as if confused.
“So by me walking out, it would likely save me, but put someone else’s life in danger.”
Shawn frowned. “And if you don’t, it’s your life that could be in danger. And it would be my fault. If someone else wins, it’s not my fault.”
“No, then it would be mine. Because if something happened to someone else, then … I would know it would have been me if I hadn’t pulled out.” She shook her head. “I can’t do that. I can’t just say I don’t want to be killed and let it be someone else.”
“Better than you being dead,” Della said and Kylie seemed to agree.
Shawn’s frown came on strong. “Exactly—”
“No!” Miranda set a hand on her hip and glared at her best friends. “I know you two. Neither one of you would step aside to save yourself. You’re too brave.”
Neither of them could deny it.
“The hell with being brave,” Shawn snapped. “Two girls have already died.”
“Then you three just have to make sure that doesn’t happen to me,” Miranda snapped back. “Face it, whoever would take my place, wouldn’t have you guys to protect her.”
* * *
Burnett texted Della and Kylie and asked them to help take the names of everyone in the crowd since some of them were dead set on leaving. That left Miranda and Shawn alone. She didn’t know what to say, so she said nothing. She dropped into a chair. Shawn pulled another one over.
She considered grabbing her phone and going back to killing shape-shifters, but the desire to do that had waned. Still, she pulled her phone out of her pocket and feigned interest in the screen. Tension filled the small space and made even breathing uncomfortable. And loud. She could hear him take in air and tried not to make any sound herself when she drew in oxygen.
When her cell rang, thankful for the interruption, she answered it before even checking to see the identity of the caller.
“Hello,” she said.
“Hi, angel.”
His voice, that’s all it took and she could feel his arms around her, smell his familiar cologne. “Hi, Daddy.”
“I heard you’ve been playing with fire again,” he said. “Is that why my buttocks were itching?”
“I didn’t do it,” she said, feeling her chest grow heavy even when she heard the tease in his voice.
“I’m joking. Your mom told me you saved the day. I just wanted to call and make sure my little girl’s okay.”
“I am,” she said and wondered what her mom had told her dad. Especially since her dad had never been in favor of the competitions.
“I won, Dad,” she said, wanting him to be proud of her, even if she wasn’t completely sure she deserved the win.
“You’ve always been a winner to me,” he said, his tone making it clear that he still didn’t approve of the contests. “But I’m proud of you. Gotta go now.”
She hung up, and realized Shawn was studying her. “My dad,” she said.
He nodded and then went back to staring at his own phone. And breathing.
The silence felt awkward. And after about twenty minutes, she couldn’t stand it.
“Why did you do it?” she asked. “Why did you help me?”
He didn’t glance up. “I told you. You were panicked.”
“I’m sure a few of the other girls were nervous as well.”
“I don’t know the other girls.” He continued to stare at his feet.
“You don’t know me all that well either.”
He looked up, his blue eyes intense. “Yes, I do.”
She shook her head. “Not really. I was your sister’s friend for a few years.”
“You were my sister’s friend who had a crush on me.”
She frowned. “How do you know that?”
He smiled, and damn if that smile wasn’t a heart stopper. “A guy knows.”
She rolled her eyes. “Fine, but that still doesn’t mean you know me. You never gave me the time of day.”
He arched one brow and half smiled. “I knew exactly what you looked like in that lime-green bikini you used to wear when you came to swim with Ellen in our pool. I knew when you laughed, your hazel eyes brightened to a light green. I knew you ate ketchup on your scrambled eggs. I knew you had PE fifth period when I was a senior. I would sometimes walk through the gym just to get a glimpse of you in shorts and a tank top. And then there was our kiss?”
Miranda stared, his words slowly filling her brain. “You … Wait. What…? We never kissed.”
He grinned. “So you really didn’t know it was me?”
“I don’t know who you kissed, but we never—”
“So you’ve never kissed anyone when you didn’t know who they were? Like on a balcony one night during a full moon?”
“What… ?” Holy shit! There had been the New Year’s Eve masquerade party she’d gone to when she was fifteen. A guy dressed like Zorro had found her on the balcony seconds before midnight, and when the bell rang, he’d … he’d pulled her into his arms and kissed her like … she’d ever been kissed before.
“You were Zorro?”
“Ah, so you do remember.” A confident smile lit up his face. “That said, if your memory is blurry, I could remind you.” His gaze dropped to her lips.
She shook her head. “But … I mean why … why didn’t you tell me who you were? What kind of guy kisses a girl like that and runs?”
He shrugged. “The kind who’d been caught by his dad admiring you sunbathing and got the back of his head slapped because I was sixteen and you were fourteen.” He glanced down for a second and then looked up. “You didn’t look fourteen in that bikini.”
“I was fifteen when you kissed me.”
“Yeah, but I was seventeen and about to go away to college. And that didn’t feel so right either.”
Angry for reasons she wasn’t even sure of, she snagged her phone and started scanning Twitter.
He let the silence linger for only a few minutes. “Why did you call a couple weeks ago to see if I was okay and then not call back when I asked you to?”
“Because I’m confused.” She spoke the truth without realizing that it might
require an explanation.
“About what?”
She hesitated and stared down at her phone. It just didn’t feel right talking to him about this.
“About Perry?” he asked.
She looked up, shocked that he … “How do you know about him?”
He leaned his chair back on two legs. “I met him a while back when Burnett had used him as a lookout for a case. He seemed like a nice guy.”
“He is,” Miranda said.
He dropped the chair back down on all fours. “I admit I liked him less when I found out that you and he were … an item. But I heard he left, and that he sort of broke it off.”
She glanced back at her phone as if she’d stumbled across something interesting, but in truth it was an avoidance tactic.
“We’re just taking a break,” she said, hoping that didn’t sound as lame to Shawn as it had to her when Perry had said it.
“I see,” he said.
She looked at him again. Did that mean he understood? Because if he did, would he please explain it to her?
Their gazes met and held.
Or they did until voices started booming on the other side of the door.
Chapter Seven
“I said no, Ms. Kane. She’ll not be interviewed or photographed until I’ve checked out the media!” Burnett’s baritone voice penetrated the door.
Miranda’s heart went out to him. Sure, he was accustomed to dealing with rogues and serial killers, but he’d never dealt with her mom. And she was a whole other animal.
“Why?” her mom asked. “Someone pulled a prank with that fireball. Granted, it was dangerous, but why so much precaution?”
“Because I care about your daughter,” Burnett answered.
“Can I at least see her?” Her mom’s high-pitched voice rose.
“I would never keep a mother from her child,” Burnett seethed and slung open the door. It banged against the wall, causing Miranda to jump.
Her mom stormed in, and on her heels was a bright-eyed Burnett, looking ready to kill. Thank goodness Miranda knew his moral ethics prevented him from murder. Then again, this was her mom, who could skew moral ethics with her headstrong personality.