Defender (The Witches of Cleopatra Hill Book 11)

by Christine Pope

  “Now, how chivalrous would it be for me to ask a guest to sleep on the couch?”

  “But it’s not just a couch. You said it was a bed. So it’s not the same thing at all.” Kate set down her partially eaten egg roll and gave him a pleading look. “I understand why I have to stay here, but I’m just going to be crashing, while you still have to get up and go to work and function. Please — I don’t want to kick you out of your bedroom.”

  For a minute, he didn’t say anything. His fingers tapped against the glass of water by his place setting, but he didn’t lift it to take a drink. Then he gave a very small shrug and said, “All right. If it matters that much to you.”

  “It does.”

  Again he seemed to hesitate. Then he reached for his glass of water and drank, and went on to say that he’d need her to make a list of what else she needed from her apartment, so he could fetch everything the next day. Kate told him that wouldn’t be a problem, and the conversation moved a little more easily after that.

  The whole time, though, she had to keep herself from gazing too long at his mouth, or those dark, dark eyes with their heavy sweep of lashes, or the way the rolled-up sleeves of his dress shirt showed off the hard muscles of his forearms. And she was supposed to be crashing here with him indefinitely?

  Kate had no idea how she was going to survive that.

  8

  Judging by the dead silence emanating from the living room, Kate was already passed out. Jack couldn’t blame her — she’d been through hell today, and even though she wouldn’t suffer any permanent damage from the accident, he knew she needed to sleep, to let her body finish the healing process Alba had begun. He’d actually been surprised by how recovered Kate had seemed already, enough to sit up at dinner and eat with a healthy appetite, and to help him with pulling out the sofa bed and getting it set up with sheets and a blanket. This was actually the first time he’d ever used the damn thing; in the past, when a woman had slept over, she sure as hell wasn’t sleeping on the couch.

  Which led him to his current conundrum. It was absolutely imperative that Kate stay here until the killer was caught and dealt with, and yet Jack knew such ongoing cohabitation was going to make for a serious test of his willpower. He shouldn’t even be thinking of her in such a way, and yet he couldn’t help noticing the way her jeans showed off her long, slim legs and firm ass, or how the T-shirt she’d changed into revealed a small yet tantalizing glimpse of the shadow between her breasts.

  She really was beautiful.

  And too young for him. And a civilian. And technically a brand-new widow, even if she and Jeff Nichols had been estranged at the time of his death. There were probably a few more “ands” Jack could have thrown in there, but he thought that was enough to tell him he needed to stay far, far away.

  Maybe he should have had Kate stay with Luz and her husband David. There was certainly enough room at the big house that had once been Maya’s, especially with Luz’s daughter Alicia attending school down in Tucson at the University of Arizona. But something told him that wasn’t a good idea, that he was better-equipped to protect Kate than even Luz would be.

  Problem was, he still had to go to work, had to pretend as though Kate was staying with her parents and nothing strange had happened the day before. What he really should do was ask for a leave of absence until all this was settled, but then he wouldn’t have the resources of the department to assist him while he was tracking down the killer.

  Can they really help all that much? he thought as he turned over for what felt like the tenth time that night. Normally his bed was comfortable enough, but he couldn’t stop thinking about Kate out in the living room, not so very far away at all. Maybe it would be better to take some leave. This case would only be solved by using his own abilities and the resources of the clan, and he might as well admit that fact right now. Even the world’s best criminal databases wouldn’t help much when it came to finding a murderer who also happened to be a warlock.

  Not that he was sure he’d even be granted a leave of absence, should he ask for one. Taking off in the middle of a murder investigation, especially one so fresh, wouldn’t exactly endear him to his superiors. And yes, when it came right down to it, he didn’t need the job, could up and quit if he wanted to, but the de la Paz clan needed people on the inside, just to help ensure that they stayed safely anonymous. He shuddered to think what would have happened if he hadn’t been around to help clean up the mess his niece Zoe had left behind when she’d summoned her “creature” last year.

  Damn it. Well, he’d wait and see how tomorrow went until he made any rash decisions, especially since he’d already reached out to Luz and asked if she could have her son Alex and his wife Caitlin come over and keep an eye on Kate. Alex’s unique talent of being able to cast a field of protection around himself and anyone in close proximity seemed the best line of defense when Jack himself wasn’t around, and Caitlin — well, she was a seer. Maybe she’d be able to catch a glimpse of the killer, provide a few much-needed clues. True, while her visions were almost always accurate, she couldn’t summon them on cue, so her being able to offer any tangible help was a more remote possibility. Anyway, the couple was close to Kate’s age, and the three of them should be able to keep themselves amused while he was gone for part of the day. And after that…well, he’d just have to play it by ear, decide how best to handle things at work once he had a better idea of how everyone had fared today. Yes, he knew he couldn’t rely on Alex and Caitlin indefinitely, since Alex had a job of his own to worry about. He’d taken the day off from his position at a local television station down in Tucson, but he couldn’t keep doing that. Caitlin’s schedule was more flexible, as she’d just finished college and was now working from home full-time, but Caitlin’s gifts on their own — formidable as they might be — weren’t enough to protect Kate.

  And so he went, thoughts going around and around, as he worried at every detail, every contingency, sure he must have forgotten something, left some hole unplugged. It was his way, and one of the reasons he’d flourished in his field, but his ever-racing brain sure played hell with his attempts to fall asleep. At last, though, he let go enough to fall into slumber, even as he thought of the empty space in the bed next to him, and how much better he would feel if Kate was lying there right now.

  Sun slipping through the cracks in the vertical blinds woke her, and for a minute Kate couldn’t quite think of where she was, why the walls were so plain and bare, compared to the ones in her apartment, covered with all the prints that Jeff hadn’t liked and which she’d taken away from the much bigger townhouse they’d once shared. Her back was stiff, and she had a serious crick in her neck. From the bed?

  No, from crashing your car into an empty building, she reminded herself. I don’t care how good your witch healer is — that sort of thing is going to leave some kind of a mark.

  She sat up and glanced around. No sign of Jack, although she thought she heard the faint whispery sound of a shower running way off at the other end of the apartment. Made sense, since it seemed the second bathroom was en suite in the master bedroom.

  And no, she sure as hell was not going to let herself think about what Jack might look like in the shower, water sluicing over the hard muscles of his body, black hair slicked back with moisture.

  Of course, the more she tried not to think about it, the more that image seemed to crowd itself into her brain. God, she needed coffee.

  She pushed back the covers and got out of bed. Yes, now she could feel the various aches and pains all over her body, from outraged muscles that had been subjected to some serious abuse the day before, but a lot of that would probably go away with a long, hot shower. Since she’d slept in leggings and an oversized T-shirt, she wasn’t too worried about Jack finding her wandering around his apartment in a state of undress. What she was worried about was whether it would be too huge an imposition to make some coffee now, before he was out of the shower. Her body was practically screaming for caf
feine.

  When she flicked on the overhead light for the kitchen, she saw that he had a Keurig coffeemaker, and one of those little racks that displayed all the various flavored cups. Surely it would be okay if she popped one in — it wasn’t like she’d have to go rummaging through his cupboards, looking for coffee and filters and whatnot. All right, she’d still have to locate a mug, but first things first.

  Kate pulled out the carafe and got some water from the tap, then selected some mocha java and started the coffeemaker on its cycle. As it began to heat the water, she tentatively opened a cupboard door, hoping she wouldn’t have to dig around too much to find a mug. Luck appeared to be with her, because she located plates and bowls and matching cups on the first try, and got two out. There, that would make it look as if she was thinking of Jack, getting things ready for when he wanted some coffee, too.

  Actually, that was true enough. She was thinking about Jack, only not in a way that involved his caffeine intake.

  She’d just poured the coffee into her mug when he appeared. Giving the lie to her fantasies, he was completely dressed, although his tie hung limply around his neck, as if he wasn’t going to bother to knot it until the very last minute.

  “I see you found the coffeemaker,” he remarked as he came into the kitchen and began inspecting the rack of Keurig cups.

  Her cheeks colored. “I hope you don’t mind. I was just dying for some coffee, and — ”

  “It’s fine,” he cut in, wearing that familiar grin, the one that probably would have made her knees feel weak even if she hadn’t just been in a car accident the day before. “Everything was sitting out on the counter, after all. I don’t usually eat breakfast, though, so there isn’t much here for you. I’ll try to get something at the store while I’m out today, if you let me know what you like.”

  There was something totally adorable about the way he peered worriedly down at her, as though he was afraid he must be the world’s worst host. Kate lifted her shoulders and said, “Mostly I just have yogurt. Chobani, the Greek stuff. And fruit. But I skip breakfast more often than not, so going without today isn’t that big a deal.”

  “It is a big deal,” he told her. “Your body needs to keep working on recovering, and that’s going to be harder if you don’t have anything to eat. Let me see what I’ve got.”

  He went over to the pantry and started moving things around. Kate couldn’t get a very good look inside, but it seemed he mostly had a lot of canned stuff, as if he’d once thought it would be a good idea to have a bunch of things on hand that wouldn’t spoil easily, and then ignored all of it in favor of going out to eat or bringing home takeout. At last, though, he turned around to face her, a mini-box of cereal in each hand — one Frosted Flakes, and the other Rice Krispies.

  “From when a couple of my nephews stayed here a while back,” he said, sounding sheepish. “I know it’s not the best, but it’s something. And I do have milk…because coffee.”

  “Cereal would be awesome,” Kate said. “Thanks.” She hesitated, then asked, “So you have nieces and nephews?”

  “Tons of ’em,” Jack replied as he got down a bowl from the cupboard. “I have four older brothers, and they all have at least three kids each. They like to take turns coming over to trash Uncle Jack’s apartment, although most of them are getting a little old for that, thank God.”

  “That is a lot.” She reflected on her own fairly small family, fewer than five first cousins combined. Well, it did make keeping track of everyone a lot easier. And then she wondered why Jack, who was handsome and intelligent and had a good job, was so obviously single. Their limited acquaintance wouldn’t allow her to ask the question, though. The last thing she wanted to do was give him the wrong impression, cause him to think that she was making those inquiries for personal reasons. Which of course she would be, even if she didn’t want to admit it to herself.

  “Catholics, huh?” His expression was deadpan, and she wasn’t exactly sure how she was supposed to react to that comment. Then he chuckled and said, “It’s okay, Kate. I don’t take us too seriously, so you don’t have to, either.”

  “So your family is Catholic, even though you’re….” Her words trailed off there, and she realized she was blushing again.

  “A bunch of witches and warlocks? Yes, that’s how the de la Paz clan rolls. Our family goes way, way back here, back to when the Spaniards first came to these lands. Of course, we weren’t called ‘de la Paz’ then. I don’t even know what the family name was before we mingled with the Spanish and took on their religion and their language. But we’re definitely not like the McAllisters, all New Age and Wiccan.”

  “Oh.” It would take a little processing to understand how different this clan must be from the one her brother had married into. To her, the McAllisters seemed to be much more what you’d expect from a modern-day witch or warlock, sort of artsy-fartsy and with collections of crystals and houses that smelled of incense or patchouli, although she had to admit that her sister-in-law Jenny wasn’t exactly your typical crystal-bedecked witch, and Colin was not a big fan of incense, since it made him sneeze. Still….

  “Milk?” Jack asked as he reached into the refrigerator, then extended a small container of two-percent milk to her so she could take it with her free hand.

  “Yes, thanks.” Realizing that her coffee was getting cold, she took a few sips before she set the mug down on the counter. Ah, that was better. She poured the milk into the bowl of Rice Krispies, then drank some more coffee, leaning up against the counter opposite from Jack as he poured coffee into his own mug before he reached over to reclaim the milk so he could doctor his morning drink.

  “I didn’t ask if you wanted sugar.”

  “No, I drink it plain.”

  “Hardcore.”

  She couldn’t help smiling, the twinkle in his eye was so infectious. For the first time, she realized she was standing there with her hair a mess from sleeping and not a speck of makeup on her face, and she hadn’t even stopped to think about it. There was something about Jack that made her feel at ease, even though she knew there was absolutely nothing easy about their current situation.

  “So who’s babysitting me today?” she inquired.

  A pained expression crossed his features at the term “babysitting,” but he only said, “My cousin Alex and his wife Caitlin. She’s actually a McAllister, so I guess you can say you’re cousins by marriage.”

  Of course Kate had heard of Caitlin, although she hadn’t actually met her. Going against her clan’s wishes, Jenny and Colin had had a very small wedding in Sedona, just the immediate family on either side, and so there really hadn’t been an opportunity for Kate’s and Caitlin’s paths to cross before now. Kate’s work prevented her from going up to visit Jerome more than two or three times a year, and it sounded as if Caitlin and Alex didn’t get out of Tucson all that often.

  “Aren’t we all sort of related, then?” she asked, and Jack lifted an eyebrow. “I mean, since Caitlin is Jenny’s cousin and is married to Alex, who’s a member of the de la Paz clan.”

  “I guess you could say that.” Jack shrugged and sipped some more of his coffee. “That’s how it works with witch clans — a lot of people distantly related or related only by marriage. But yes, my oldest brother Luis is married to Luz’s sister Andrea, so that makes me Alex’s uncle-in-law. Or something along those lines. Most of the time we just say ‘cousins’ and leave it at that. It’s simpler.”

  “Jenny told me pretty much the same thing about the McAllisters. Does anyone keep track of everything?” What she really wanted to know was whether there were designated record-keepers in the witch clans to make sure no one got involved with a cousin who was too closely related, but asking that sort of question veered a little too close to those thorny topics of marriage and relationships, so Kate decided to let it pass.

  “In my clan, my cousin Rosalie handles all that. She set up a huge database on her computer that tracks all the various relationships and how
closely connected everyone is. I don’t know what the McAllisters do — their clan isn’t nearly as big as mine. But I have a feeling the Wilcoxes must have something similar, since there are a lot of them, too.”

  Yes, Kate had gotten that impression, although she had yet to meet any of the fabled Wilcox witches or warlocks. Since she knew she’d better eat her cereal before it turned into a total soggy mess, she picked up the bowl and dutifully started to work on it, having flashbacks to slumber parties when she was a kid and her friends’ parents had provided big packs of the little cereal boxes so they wouldn’t have to make a real breakfast for a whole gang of little girls.

  Jack’s phone buzzed, and he pulled it out of his pocket and peered down at the screen. “Alex and Caitlin are on their way.”

  “Which means I should probably get in the shower.” Kate scooped the last spoonful of cereal out of her bowl and ate it. That had gone quickly. Then again, those little boxes were intended to feed small children, not grown women.

  “I put out fresh towels for you.” Jack’s tone was almost too casual, as though he didn’t really want to dwell on the thought of her taking a shower in his apartment. Or maybe she was reading way too much into the innocuous comment, just because she wanted him to be having the same inappropriate thoughts about her that she was about him.

  Better not to dwell on it too long. If Caitlin and Alex were just leaving Tucson now, that meant she had a good hour and a half before they appeared, but still, she might as well go and get herself put together. “Thanks,” Kate said. “I’ll get moving. What time do you have to be at work?”

  “Not until ten. Alex and Caitlin should be here by then. If they’re not, I’ll manufacture an excuse for being late.”

  The unspoken intimation being that he wasn’t going to leave her alone, not even for ten or fifteen minutes. While Kate appreciated the solicitude, it also made her realize how dire her situation truly was. For a few minutes there, she’d almost forgotten why she was here, had allowed herself to relax and enjoy a chat about coffee and family and other innocuous topics that didn’t involve being the target of a murderous warlock.