“Callie Martin? Is that you?” a guy calls out.
I slow, but don’t stop. That voice is familiar…why?
“Callie?”
The guy behind me speeds up, and I make the mistake of turning around to see who it is. And now I know why the voice was familiar. Dammit.
“Shit, it is you!” Damon Ward, one of Scott’s childhood friends, exclaims. “You…you look good.”
For a second, I think he’s hitting on me. I consider being petty and flashing my huge engagement ring…until I see the way he’s looking at me. Right. Once the story of me going off to serve others in a third world country fell apart, Scott started telling people I’d been committed to a state hospital.
“Looks can be deceiving.”
“Do you remember me?” Damon asks, talking loud and slow. I’m crazy, asshole, not deaf. “I’m Damon. Your brother’s friend.”
“Brother,” I scoff.
“He’s here,” Damon starts, jerking his thumb behind him, pointing to a store. “I’ll let him know—ah, there he is.”
Scott and his fiancée step onto the sidewalk holding hands. Scott’s eyes widen when he sees me, and Ella lets out a little shriek. The last time I saw him, he was in Thorne Hill probably hoping to rain on my parade. But all the twat-waffle saw was me in my element, standing in front of my successful business with my husband, passing out candy to the citizens of the town, who just happen to love me.
I’m sure he’s still bitter about it.
“What are you doing?” Scott demands, pulling Ella closer.
“Didn’t you hear?” I flash a smile. “They let me out on good behavior. I promised not to start any fires or stab anyone. Again.”
Damon shifts his gaze from me to Scott, clearly thinking I’m mentally unstable. He might not be wrong about that.
“I know what you did, and you won’t get away with it,” Scott spits, eyes glowering.
“You’ve got to be more specific. Are you talking about the body I buried in the woods, dug up, and buried again, or the one I had sent straight down to Hell?”
Scott lets go of Ella and grabs my arm. “You invited Abby over for Thanksgiving,” he says through gritted teeth, and I can’t help but laugh.
“Ohhh, how dare I invite my sister over for a family dinner. Better call the cops and report me.” I jerk my arm back, noticing Ella quiver. But she’s not looking at me in fear, but Scott. He’s quick to get physical with me—and he knows I can kick his ass any which way I want. I can curse him and have powerful allies. But Ella…she’s just human.
I’ve wondered how anyone can be with as asshole like Scott. Ella lacks judgement, but I never got the reading on her that she’s a complete waste of human breath like I do with Scott. Maybe she’s with him because she’s afraid to leave.
I look at Scott with a whole new level of hatred. I’ll never forgive him for what he did to me, but I don’t live in fear of him. Not anymore. He’s an annoyance, not a threat.
Because I have magic.
But Ella…Ella is defenseless, and I’m overcome with the desire to hurt him. To put the fear of God into him and watch him squirm. To punish him.
A voice in the back of my head reminds me I’m not like Uncle Lucy and I shouldn’t want to hurt people.
Though Scott deserves it, and it will feel so fucking good to turn the tables and dish out exactly what Scott has served.
So maybe I am a little like Lucifer…and I don’t care.
Chapter 28
I hold up my hand, waving to Easton and Melinda. They just got into the restaurant and are looking through the sea of tables for me. Melinda waves back and grabs her brother’s arm, leading him to the table.
“Hey, Callie!” she says, taking the seat next to me. “How are you?”
“Pretty good,” I say, and it’s true. I’ve been sitting here for a few minutes, thinking about all the ways I could punish Scott. I have so many ideas, and the thought of seeing his terrified face, of hearing him beg for mercy, is satisfying. “How are you guys?”
“We’re all right.” Melinda unzips her jacket and hangs it on the back of her chair. “We’ve been busy.”
“Tis the season for demons, right?”
“It’s always the season,” Easton quips. He’s looking around the restaurant, surveying everyone. He has a hard time relaxing, always suspicious of everyone and everything. It was the thing that made me suspect him of being a hunter when we were dating ten years ago. “You okay?” He zeroes his attention on me. “The last time we spoke you were…a little rattled.”
I straighten my menu on the table in front of me. “Yeah. That was a little intense, but I’m fine now.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Melinda says. “Which is fine. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”
“He helped me clean up a crime scene,” I rush out. It sucks keeping secrets from your siblings, and I know Melinda and Easton only have each other. I thought he would have told her, and knowing he didn’t means a lot to me. I trust him, though the past is kind of hard to ignore.
He did try to kill me, after all.
The more he proves himself, the easier it is to think of him as a friend again. And we can use all the friends we can get.
“I don’t want you to keep secrets from each other. Tell her whatever you want,” I let Easton know. “Have you heard anything about other hunters looking for Roger?” I ask, nerves pricking. Please don’t tell me he had a wife and kids.
“I have,” Easton says, and I suck in a breath. “Other hunters in The Order found out he’d taken a job from a vampire, and now that no one has heard from him, they think he ran away because he knew he’d be excommunicated.”
“That’s the hunter who was hired to shoot you, right?” Melinda asks.
“Yeah. It’s somehow tied into a group of vampires who are angry others are assimilating” I reply. “And they’re trying to blackmail Lucas into joining their cause or something. We think that vampire is hiding within the VC somewhere. But that’s an issue for another day. Luckily, time passes differently for immortal beings, and Lucas thinks he’s moving slow on purpose as a tactic to drive us fucking insane.”
“It’s working,” Easton grumbles, and Melinda shoots him a pointed look.
“I’ve been a little crazy for years, I know.” I look down at the menu, wanting both a bowl of pasta and a piece of lasagna. Maybe I’ll order both and eat the leftovers later.
“Maybe that’s why…no…it’s too much of a stretch,” Melinda says, shaking her head.
“What’s a stretch?” Easton and I ask at the same time.
“One of the hunters we were with last week mentioned something, but she was pretty drunk, so I didn’t take her seriously.”
“And?” Easton motions for her to continue.
“She dated a guy in The Order of the Mystic Realm and broke things off because he was getting involved in politics and was supporting policies that would hurt a lot of people. She stopped making sense then, because of all the tequila, but something was mentioned about vampires working an inside job with super conservative humans…specifically Senator Martin.” Melinda winces at the mention of his name. “But, like I said, she was really drunk, and the guy sounded like an asshole even before politics were brought up.”
“Wouldn’t that be a plot twist,” I huff. “Though if this vampire wants all vamps to go back to the old ways, getting someone like Dumbfuck Martin to make their lives hell would add fuel to the fire.”
“And they’d want to retaliate,” Easton finishes, and we all look at each other, knowing how bad this could get. I won’t let it come to that, even though I have no fucking clue how to prevent a politically fueled war.
William Martin is too full of himself to realize he’s being manipulated. He thinks he’s too good to have anyone fool him, that he’s smarter than everyone, and everything is his original idea and whatever he comes up with is the best ever and will have no idea he’s just
a pawn in an ancient vampire’s scheme.
“She showed me this picture,” Melinda goes on, getting her phone from her jacket pocket. She opens up a Facebook post and shows me a photo. “That’s your brother, isn’t it?”
“Yeah,” I say, looking at a smiling photo of Scott in a suit, standing front and center on a podium, shaking hands with another guy.
“That’s what I thought, and that’s my friend’s ex with him. Once she showed me this, I put a little more credit into her drunken rambling.”
“Interesting.” I bite my bottom lip, mind racing. I really don’t have time to get into this, and I know the whole thing is much bigger than I realize. I’m only seeing the tip of the iceberg, and a political fight is the last fucking thing I need.
But a war between vampires and humans will end in so much blood.
“Can you take a screenshot of that and send it to me?” I ask Melinda.
“Sure.”
The waiter comes over to take our order, and I order both dishes I wanted, along with an appetizer for us to share. I hand the menu to the waiter and watch him walk away. When he’s out of earshot, I rest my hands on the table, needing to get down to business.
“The reason I asked for help on a demon case is because I promised I’d take some time off from running headfirst into danger if I can help it.”
“Why?” Easton asks.
“Lucas was cursed with humanity and knocked me up.”
“You’re joking,” Melinda says slowly.
“Nope. You were right,” I told Easton. “That’s why I felt so sick.”
“Fuck. I’m, um, sorry?” Easton offers, and Melinda swats his arm.
“It obviously wasn’t expected or planned,” I press. “But we’re married, and if he wasn’t a vampire this would be the next step.”
“Would it, though?” Easton asks, not afraid to be too bold. “You married the guy thinking you couldn’t procreate.”
“I married him because I love him, not because vampires can’t typically get anyone pregnant,” I correct. “The ability to procreate—or not—didn’t have much to do with it. I love Lucas, and he loves me. The curse was an interesting twist to our story, I’ll admit, and it’s going to change things for sure, but I have to believe it’ll work out. We’re going to have a family, and it’s scary but exciting and I don’t want you to treat me any differently, okay? Oh, also I’m a Nephilim. I just found out a few months ago,” I add, remembering Melinda doesn’t know.
Silence falls over the table, and both Easton and Melinda stare at me.
“Don’t be weird,” I tell them. “I’m still me, just slightly more badass than before.”
“Okay,” Melinda grabs the drink menu though we’ve already ordered. It’s a lot to process, I know, but I’ve discovered how much easier it is to just come out and say things. There’s no reason to dance around the truth. It’s such a waste of time. “So, this demon…”
“Right.” I reach into my purse, pulling out a notebook. “Here’s what I know.”
“How’d things go?” Lucas looks up from the computer. The office in the Lincoln Park house is impressive, with floor-to-ceiling built-in bookshelves and a large executive desk in the center of the room. He’ll have an office just as grand in the new house. I still don’t really understand exactly what Lucas does. He doesn’t really have a job in a traditional sense, yet whatever he does makes him a lot of money.
“Good. Interesting, but good.”
Lucas closes his laptop and gets up. He’s wearing my favorite pair of gray sweatpants and a white t-shirt and looks so fucking good. “Interesting how?”
“Well, I ran into Scott and his friends on the way there, had some fun pushing his buttons because I just can’t help it. I think he’s abusive to Ella, his fiancée.”
“That wouldn’t surprise me. Men like him are small. They need to put others down in any way to feel good about themselves.”
“Yeah, like father like son, right? And I know it was Ella’s choice to start dating him, but she could be a victim here.”
“Callie,” Lucas says gently and brushes my hair back. I know what he’s thinking. I can’t swoop in and save the day. I can’t solve all the world’s problems, and even if Ella wants out of the relationship, I’d be the last person to actually be able to help her. Instead of telling me this, Lucas puts his lips to mine. “I love you,” he whispers.
“I love you, too,” I whisper back, eyes falling shut. “And that wasn’t the interesting thing.” I put my hands on his waist and look up. “Melinda’s friend was dating a hunter in The Order and broke up with him because he was getting involved with politics and his stance was too strong on something she opposed. Wanna guess whose political campaign he was backing?”
“The Martins.”
“Yep. And she had heard talk of some vampire also being on their side, probably as a way to manipulate that ass to pushing more anti-vampire laws.”
“To piss us off and make us retaliate,” Lucas finishes. “Fuck.”
“Right?” I rest my head against his chest. I want to go upstairs and snuggle in bed with him, taking solace in his embrace. “Hunters in The Order are hardcore,” I go on as the thought enters my mind. “They hate anything supernatural, and so does William Martin.”
Lucas meets my eyes and finishes what I don’t want to say. “The Order knows about witches, as do the Martins. Together, they could expose you all.”
Chapter 29
“Ugh, it’s so cold in here.” I wave my hand over the door, sealing it with magic. We’re back in Thorne Hill and I just took off my coat only to want to put it back on again. “I had to have the heater fixed last winter and the guy told me it might not make it another year.”
“The heater is working just fine.” Lucas takes his shoes off. “I turned the heat down.”
“To what, arctic?” I take my phone from my purse and hang my jacket on the back of a kitchen chair.
“Sixty-five.”
“That’s freezing! I’m turning it back to seventy. I’m too cold.”
Lucas cocks an eyebrow. “Can’t you put on a sweater?”
“I don’t want to wear a sweater inside the house. Which is why I keep it at seventy. It’s warm enough to be comfortable.”
“It’s a waste to run the heat that high. You have a fireplace.”
“In the living room.” I put a hand on my hip and look at Lucas, amused. “I think I finally found something you’re cheap about.”
“I am not cheap,” Lucas counters.
“Usually not,” I say. “You were the one suggesting I trade my Jeep in for a BMW instead of just fixing the headlight, which would cost so much more than just getting the headlight fixed.”
“See, not cheap.”
“Then let me keep the temperature set to what I like. You don’t even get cold like I do.”
“Fine,” he grumps, and I laugh. It’s such a normal thing to disagree over, and I secretly love it. Only because I know I’ll get my way in the end.
“Now, in the new house,” I start. “I might be willing to use the fireplaces more. There’s one in nearly every room. This house only has one and the living room gets unbearably hot without heating the rest of the house.”
“Speaking of the living room fireplace, we never did get to spend the night in front of it. Would you like to try again tonight?”
“Heck yes!” I say, and Lucas goes upstairs to bring the mattress down. I forgot my leftovers from lunch in the car and put my jacket back on to go out and get them. We’re going to have a covered walkway from the estate to the garage area, and it’ll be the first time in my adult life that I’ll have an indoor spot to park my Jeep.
I bring Scarlet with me and she races through the yard, bringing me a slobbery tennis ball. I throw it for her, using magic to send it all the way to the woods. I unlock the car and get my food, looking forward to going back in and heating this up.
Scarlet barks, and I spin around, slamming the car door s
hut.
“Seriously, Julian,” I huff. “You need to stop doing that.” I let out a breath and Scarlet bounds over, jumping in place, tail wagging so hard her whole body shakes.
“You changed her glamour?”
“No, Lucifer did it while we were in Florida. Eliza said she woke up like this, quite literally.”
“Interesting choice, though more fitting for her.”
“Lucas said the same thing,” I tell Julian and pat my leg to get Scarlet to follow us into the house. “Is everything okay in angel land?”
“Everyone is on high alert looking for Lucifer, and the demons continue to grow more and more restless with no one to keep them in line.”
“The ones in Hell, you mean?”
“Yes. And without Lucifer to manage them, they are able to come and go through the gates of Hell much easier than before.”
“Well, that’s lovely…and something Lucifer left out.” Using magic, I open the front door. Lucas has the mattress in the living room and is getting the fire started.
“Julian,” he says, giving him a nod. “Everything good?”
“Yes, I suppose I do show up mostly to bring bad news.”
“Do you have any?” Lucas asks and strikes a match, lighting a small piece of wood on fire. He has the wood neatly stacked in the fireplace and gets a good blaze going. I’ve never been able to get a fire going “the old-fashioned way” like that. I’ve tried and failed so many times I have no idea how things accidentally burn down. Luckily, I have powers and can get a fire going with one simple spell.
“As I informed Callie, the demons are growing restless. They need a leader, and it won’t be long before one rises through the ranks.”
“Lucifer said he’s left Hell before,” I start, and Julian nods. “And demons didn’t take over then?”
“They try to organize something, but as soon as Lucifer is sent back, the plans fall apart. I believe the last time he incinerated any who tried to oppose him.”
Queen of Night Page 26