Kiss the Witch Goodbye

by Lisa Olsen

  “Is that so?”

  “Nah, find out what a bad boy wants the most and he’ll purr like a kitten for you.” His fingers brushed against the bare skin from one shoulder to the other leaving tingles all across her back.

  Holy shit, she was so in over her head! More than anything she wanted to ask what he wanted the most, but she wasn’t there to play walk on the wild side, not really. No matter how much she wanted to find out where else he could make her tingle, she had a job to do and it was that determination that made her throw up the smallest of barriers between them.

  “And what does your girlfriend think about you purring like a kitten for anyone else?”

  His head canted to one side, brows pinching closer together. “What girlfriend?”

  “I saw a picture of the two of you online. She was really pretty, long hair…” It was a calculated risk, making him think about Annaliese and possibly her by extension, but one Veronica was willing to take.

  Jax let out a snort. “You can’t believe everything you read.”

  “You two seemed cozy enough.”

  “She’s got a boyfriend.”

  “Ah, that’s a bummer.”

  “You win some, you lose some,” he shrugged. “Her, I lost a long time ago. What about you? A smoking hot chick like you has got to have a boyfriend.”

  Veronica tilted her hand back and forth. “I’m not sure I’d call him a boyfriend as much as an interested party.”

  “I like that, an interested party.” His lips curved in amusement, fingers lightly stroking the back of her neck. “Well, you’ve got me real interested in a party.”

  “I’ll bet that happens a lot.”

  “I do meet a lot of girls,” he admitted.

  “And they’re all more than happy to party with you, aren’t they?”

  “I haven’t had any complaints so far.”

  “How do you know you’re not hooking up with a total stalker?”

  Jax shrugged again. “How do you? How do any of us really know anyone? Shit, you could be a total stalker for all I know, but you’re cute as hell, that’s good enough for me.” Leaning closer, he kissed her bare shoulder, working his way up toward her neck.

  Desperate to keep her train of thought from derailing, Veronica blurted out, “Has anyone ever turned you down before?”

  That got his attention. Pulling back, Jax gave her a penetrating stare. “What kind of a question is that? Hey, I’m not here to make anyone do anything they don’t want to do. You want to go, be my guest, I’m not forcing anything.”

  “I didn’t say you were,” she retracted, talking fast. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to imply anything.”

  “You ask a lot of questions, you know that?”

  Uh oh. “Sorry, it’s a habit, I guess. And you are the Jax May, after all. Who doesn’t want to know all about the rock legend?” Veronica could see the instant she said it, it was the wrong thing to say, as he leaned back against the couch, taking another deep, almost angry drink.

  “That’s what they tell me,” he sighed morosely.

  “You don’t like it? Being famous?”

  For a long moment he stared straight ahead and she wasn’t sure he’d heard her at all, but then he tipped up the bottle, draining the last of his beer. “Sure I do, what’s not to like,” he said, setting it down and turning to face her again. The look he gave her was hungry again, and this time without the grapes there could be no doubt what he wanted.

  “This is cute, but it’s not real, is it?” His fingers brushed across the design she’d drawn over the top of her breast, tracing along the edge of the fabric in a deliberate caress.

  As soon as her lungs started working again, Veronica thought of a suitable reply. “No, the only tattoo I have is more… intimate.” That was lie number one. “I like it though, it’s a cool symbol. How did you guys pick it?”

  “It’s sweet, huh?” His fingers continued to stroke, growing bolder as he scooted closer. “I don’t know, Ruby and I chose it out of a bunch of them. We wanted something to go with the title of the album and this one came out of a book with some freaky shit in it.

  Her heart pounded, but not just from his touch. This was the kind of thing she’d hoped to find out. “What kind of freaky shit?”

  “You know, dark satanic stuff. It seemed to fit what we were looking for.”

  “The way you sing about it, you must know a lot about those kinds of things. Have you ever done it before? You know… like invoke a spirit or a demon or something?” Breath held captive in her lungs as she waited for him to reply, Veronica wasn’t expecting him to burst out laughing.

  “Invoke a real demon?” He shook his head, still chuckling. “Come on, you don’t believe in that crap, do you? It’s all a bunch of bull to sell tickets. Aw shit, you’re not one of those goth chicks that’s into drinking blood, are you?” he said, recoiling with distaste.

  “Eewh, no,” she replied immediately, relieved beyond measure over his reaction to the idea. More and more she was starting to believe in his innocence. There just didn’t seem to be a motivation for it. He obviously had girls throwing themselves at his feet, and he didn’t seem into the whole satanic crap as he put it. Why would he need to kill anyone?

  “Good,” he eased, shifting closer to her again. “Now, how about you show me your intimate tattoo and I’ll show you mine.”

  “You have a…” The words fell out of her head as his fingers ghosted over the drawn tattoo on her chest, torn between imagining where he might have an intimate tattoo and imagining what would happen once she got close enough to see it. Jax didn’t give her a chance to try and salvage the question though, as his lips descended over hers again.

  It was a bad idea on so many levels. On the one hand, she knew he didn’t care about her as more than a piece of ass and he’d never remember her name afterwards – hell, he didn’t know her full name now. And he was a lot older than her, old enough that there was a squee factor involved, but all she could think about was how that had to translate into experience. Plus, there was the fact that her father would absolutely kill her if he ever found out. But there were worse things than to lose her virginity to a total hottie like Jax May, rockstar or not. As long as they were safe.

  She’d more than halfway talked herself into letting it happen, when he pulled back to look into her eyes.

  “How old are you?”

  Shit. A lie on the tip of her tongue, Veronica changed her mind at the last minute, going for honesty since he seemed to value it. “A very mature seventeen.”

  Jax slouched back with a groan, hands covering his face. “I think maybe you’d better head on home. The cops are already trying to throw me in jail, I don’t need to give them another reason to come after me.”

  “We don’t have to do anything illegal,” she said, but his gaze swept over her with open hunger.

  “Honey, the things I could do to you…” The look in his eyes sent a flush of heat through her, leaving tingles in its wake. Veronica desperately wanted to know what those things were, to experience them, but in the next instant he shook his head with regret. Jax let out a long breath, leaning against the back of the loveseat, his face pointed at the ceiling. “It’s definitely time for you to go home before I forget the kind of hot water I could get in.”

  Hot disappointment lanced through her, but she nodded, feeling stupid and childish for playing with him like she knew what she was doing. And now he knew she was just a kid. It was humiliating. “Sorry,” she mumbled scooting to get her feet under her and leave.

  Jax’s hand shot out and caught her wrist before she could go. “But ah, the next time I come through town, you should definitely look me up.” His smile retained a trace of that wolfish quality, tempered with a wistfulness that made her smile back. He still wanted her, he was just too good of a guy to take advantage of her. If only she could tell her dad about this without his head exploding, then he could see that Jax May was an okay guy after all.

  The doo
r opened, and Jax dropped her arm like a hot potato, a scowl descending over his features when he saw it was his sister barging in to raid his mini-fridge. “Jesus, Ruby, don’t you ever knock?”

  “Sorry, bro, the cooler in my room doesn’t work for shit. Hey, Veronica,” she said with a smirk on her way to the fridge. “Did Daddy let you out for a little playtime?”

  “Veronica…” Veronica tensed beside Jax as his eyes flew wide with sudden understanding. “You’re Nick’s kid, aren’t you?”

  “Surprise,” she murmured with a weak smile. “See, we have met before.”

  He didn’t seem to find anything amusing about it. “What are you doing here?” Jax demanded, grabbing hold of her wrist hard this time, fingers like a vice.

  “Nothing, I just wanted to see you play.”

  “And what are you doing back here?”

  He looked so angry, a ribbon of fear curled its way around her stomach and pulled tight. “You invited me.” She winced, heart beating fast at his touch for entirely different reasons now.

  “Only because I didn’t know you were you. What the hell is your game?” Lurching to his feet, he pulled her with him, giving her a shake. “Did he send you in here to trip me up or something? Are you wearing a fucking wire?”

  “No, I swear… he has no idea I’m here.” Shit, she probably shouldn’t have admitted that to a guy who looked like he wanted to strangle her with his bare hands. “You’re hurting me.” Veronica blinked rapidly, shame and fear warring for the chance to spill tears.

  “Jax, let her go, you’re scaring her.” Ruby stepped between them, her face a mask of worry as she tried to pull them apart, but his grip didn’t budge, his face dark and deadly. “Jax!”

  All at once his anger broke, realization of the fact that he was actually hurting her dawning. “Shit, I’m sorry.” Jax dropped her arm and backed away, a different kind of fear descending over his features. “I didn’t mean to…” He took a deep breath, hands over his nose and mouth. Veronica rubbed the red welt on her wrist, and Ruby put a protective arm around her shoulders.

  “It’s okay,” she whispered.

  “Fuck, no, it’s not,” he said, his voice growing more gentle. “I’m sorry, V. I’ve been under a lot of pressure lately, you know? And that bitch is stalking me and the cops won’t do a thing about it ’cause she’s one of them too. And then you turn up and you almost got me to… I just saw red. I’m sorry. That’s no excuse, but I’m sorry.”

  “No, I know.” Veronica nodded, the sting already fading, it might not even bruise. She wasn’t sure what to make of the whole incident, but she knew the smart thing was not to antagonize him any further until she could get out of there. “I probably should’ve said something, but I figured it wouldn’t matter, you probably wouldn’t remember me anyway even if I explained who I was.”

  “Aw, honey, don’t say that.” His face softened. “If you hadn’t been under eighteen I would’ve… shit…” Jax rubbed his hands through his hair, a self-reproaching chuckle rumbling from his chest. “I think it’s time you got on home.”

  “Do you need a ride, cupcake?” Ruby asked, giving her shoulders a squeeze.

  “Like you can drive,” Jax scowled. Going to the rack of clothes hanging by the wall, he dug around until he came up with a fat money clip, peeling off a single bill. “Here, take this. You can call yourself a cab, there’s a phone book right over there.”

  Veronica looked down at the crisp one hundred dollar bill in his hand. “Oh, no, I can’t take that.”

  “Go ahead and take it,” he said, waving it in front of her. “I said I’d take care of you tonight, I’m taking care of you.”

  “Thanks.” Veronica took the bill and folded it, tucking it away in her pocket.

  “Are you okay here, sweetcheeks?” Ruby asked, her worry already fading.

  “Yeah, I’m fine, thanks.” Veronica nodded and the singer continued on her way to the fridge, retrieving a bottled water.

  “Behave…” She waggled a finger at her brother before deciding it was safe to leave them alone. Veronica could’ve left at the same time, but she hung around to exchange a few last words with Jax.

  “Look, I’m sorry about misleading you. I honestly didn’t think it’d go on for as long as it did. I just wanted to get to know you better.”

  “You certainly did that,” he admitted with a half smile. “Not many girls can say they witnessed something like this tonight. I’d take it as a personal kindness if you didn’t go spreading this around.”

  Veronica shook her head. “Some memories are personal. This one’s just for me.”

  “Are you sure you’re only seventeen?” His eyes narrowed at her in speculation and a smile curved her lips.

  “Would it matter if I wasn’t, knowing who my father is now?”

  “Ordinarily I’d say what your father doesn’t know… but your old man’s kind of intense when he’s got his protective streak going.”

  Veronica let out a long drawn-out sigh. “The daughter of a cop, I’m doomed to die a virgin.”

  “Shit, you’re a virgin?” His eyes goggled wider as he reached for the door. “It’s definitely time for you to be going home.”

  She could smile now, the tension between them dissipated. “I don’t suppose I can see your tattoo before I go?” she asked with a touch of wistfulness.

  Jax shook his head, finding his smile as well. “Come and see me next year, okay?”

  Chapter Twelve

  “He didn’t do it.”

  Nick switched the handset to his other ear so he could keep writing. “I’m not on the case anymore, I told you the other night.”

  “That’s good because he’s totally not your guy,” Veronica insisted. “I just thought you’d feel better about Annaliese being friends with him.”

  “Took a look into your crystal ball, did you?” he smirked. “You barely talked to him.”

  “I’m telling you he’s not like that, I can tell.”

  “Okay, okay, so he’s not like that. Is that the only reason you called?”

  “No, I also wanted to know if you’re going to be home for dinner or if I can go out.”

  “Again? You just went out last night. Didn’t you already hit your fun quota for the week?”

  “That was a special occasion, this would be with Kristen and Beth to talk about the concert and stuff. So can I? We’re going over to Beth’s to hang out, it’s not a big deal.”

  “Ah… I should be home on time, but it’s fine with me if you go to Beth’s for a while. Maybe I can talk Annaliese into dinner.”

  “You haven’t talked it out with her yet?”

  His cell rang, Brady’s face flashing across the screen. The top third of his face anyway, from the candid shot Nick took of him. “One second, sweetie, my plans might be changing.” Nick juggled the calls. “What’s up?”

  “Uniforms just called in from Lucky’s Motel on Division. Do you know it?”

  “Yes, why?”

  “The cleaning staff found a body.”

  Switching back to the other phone, Nick spoke to Veronica. “Gotta go do cop stuff now. It looks like I’ll be late for dinner after all, so go have fun with your friends. Can you take care of the dishes before you go though?”

  “Sure. What’s going on?”

  “One sec, V.” Brady was talking on the other line and he’d missed it. “What was that?”

  “You said to let you know if they turn up a suicide with slashed wrists. That’s what we’ve got here.”

  Nick swore under his breath. “I’ll be right there. If I’m right, we’ll need CSU rolling ASAP. Don’t let anyone else in but the medical examiner and Park. Get the uniforms started knocking on doors. I know it’s a long shot, but maybe somebody saw someone coming or going.”

  “You got it, boss-man.”

  “What’s going on?” Veronica repeated when Nick came on the line again.

  “It doesn’t look good for your idol. I think there’s been another mu
rder.” A crashing sound immediately followed his statement. “Hey, what was that?”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’m on my way to the crime scene now. I’ll catch up with you later, I’ve gotta go. And remember, Jax May is off limits, right?”

  “Of course,” she said with an odd little laugh. “How could I forget?”

  * * *

  Lucky’s Motel didn’t rent rooms by the hour, but rates were so cheap, it didn’t hurt much to get a room for the whole night even if your plans were just to spend an hour or two. One of the few in the city that didn’t require a credit card for deposit, it catered to anyone with something to hide and cash to burn.

  The units faced a dirty parking lot, twelve rooms on each of the two floors, the manager’s office in the back away from the streetlights. No other facilities, no amenities, the only complimentary thing you were likely to pick up was a rash. It was about as no-tell motel as you could get.

  Cops on the scene had room number three marked off with yellow tape, and after locking his car up, that’s where Nick headed. Ducking under the tape, the first thing that struck him was the quality of the air. Even with the door open, the air felt heavy and oppressive, the stench almost like burning hair, though he could find no sign of any obvious burns on the threadbare carpet or furniture.

  The bed was still made, the bedspread faded and stained but undisturbed. There was no TV, an empty bracket attached to the dresser the only sign there had ever been one. The walls were grayed out drywall, with no attempt at artwork or decoration. Even thinking about taking off a single item of clothing in the sad little room was enough to make him itch.

  Park and Brady crowded close to the bathroom door, watching the proceedings inside with interest, only stepping away to make room for the crime scene photographer.

  “Hey, Owens,” Nick nodded to him in passing. “You done in there?”

  “Yep, Fielding’s still in there with the body but I’ve shot everything I can.”

  “Gotcha. Don’t go anywhere yet in case something comes up when we move the body.”