Maybe he didn’t wish ill will on paranormals like his creepy partner, but if not, why work there? Of course, Dex didn’t know that Issy—or anyone in Silver Hollow, for that matter—knew about his real job, but maybe she could find out more about his motivations by asking about the job he was pretending he did.
She leaned forward. “Can I ask you something?”
“Go for it.”
“What made you decide to work for the small-town-crimes division of the FBI?”
He exhaled slowly and sat back, his happy expression clouding, his eyes turning guarded. “That’s a long story.”
“I’m sorry.” She fiddled with her napkin. Was there really a story, or did he not want to elaborate because he didn’t have an appropriate cover story? “I didn’t mean to pry.”
“No, no. It’s fine. I just don’t talk about it a lot.” He smoothed his tie then took a drink of wine before continuing. “I used to work in high-profile crimes, then I got assigned to a kidnapping case. There was a child involved, and…” He cringed. “Well, the case went sideways, and the child ending up dying.”
“Oh, Dex.” Without thinking, Issy reached across the table and took his hand, her heart swelling with sympathy. “I’m so sorry.”
“Me too.” Wincing, he traced his thumb absently over the back of her hand. “I didn’t have the heart for kidnapping cases anymore. Not when someone could die. After that day, I vowed I would do everything in my power to protect the innocents under my care.” Dex blinked hard then looked up at the ceiling, giving a sad little chuckle. “Truth is, I always thrived on the high-profile action. This job is more… sedate. But I’m finding I kind of like that now.”
He didn’t release her hand, and she didn’t pull away.
A warm tingle started somewhere near Issy’s heart and spread outward to her extremities.
He wasn’t with the paranormal division because he hated paranormals—he was there for another reason altogether. Maybe this attraction between them could go somewhere after all.
The bell above the door jingled, and in walked Enid Pettywood and Luigi Romano. Enid waved to Issy, and Luigi did his usual stoic chin nod. Funny, she’d never pictured the two of them as friends. Dex seemed to have noticed them too. He hailed the sommelier over for a refill on their wine as the waiter brought their main course. All the while, he watched the newly arrived pair from across the room.
“What do you make of that?” Dex asked Issy, indicating Enid and Luigi.
“Not sure.” She concentrated on her food, hoping to distract him. “This looks amazing.”
Thankfully, he turned back to his own plate and grinned. “It does, doesn’t it?”
Issy dug into her fish, glancing every so often over at Enid and Luigi. They seemed to be deep in discussion, with an occasional smile or laugh thrown into the mix. That was good. If Luigi liked Enid, maybe he wouldn’t bring her up on charges to the committee for accidentally summoning a demon—if he did figure out it was her. But with any luck, now that the demon was now gone, he wouldn’t even dig further into it.
“Taste good?” Dex asked around a mouthful of steak.
“Delicious.” The buttery salmon melted in her mouth, and the sautéed summer squash and peppers on the side were the perfect snappy compliment. “How’s your steak?”
“Perfect.” He finished first then pushed his plate aside. “What are your plans after this?”
Uh-oh. Dangerous territory. Issy figured she’d better make it sound as though she had important business to rush off to. Otherwise, she might end up spending more time with Dex Nolan than she should.
“Go home. Work on some paperwork for the store.” She shrugged. “I’m trying to come up with a new marketing slogan for the shop.”
“Sounds thrilling.” He grinned. “How about a walk?”
“A walk to where?”
“Don’t know. I hear they have a really nice riverfront.”
“They do.” Issy smiled. Her parents had brought her here when she was a child. “Lots of little shops and a lovely boardwalk.”
“Sounds great. You wanna check it out?”
Her breath caught at the sparkle in his eyes. She opened her mouth to decline. After all, she had an important marketing slogan to work on. “Sure.”
Now where the heck did that come from? She’d meant to say no. To let him down gently. It was almost as if she weren’t in control of her own body. Maybe Dex had bewitched her. Issy almost laughed at the thought, but now that she’d agreed, she was glad. She didn’t want her time with Dex to end.
After she finished her meal, Dex paid the bill, and they headed down the block toward the river. The night had grown slightly cooler, and Issy couldn’t suppress a small shiver.
Dex glanced sideways. “Cold?”
“A little.”
“Here.” He took off his suit coat and draped it around Issy’s shoulders then kept his arm there as well. “That should warm you up.”
Warm her up was right. Being surrounded by his heat and scent—sandalwood and vanilla and clean male—it brought all the memories of their kiss rushing back. She stumbled over her feet, and he tucked her tighter into his side.
By the time they reached the boardwalk, Issy felt as though she were floating on air. Dex let his arm slip from around her shoulders and took her hand instead, lacing his fingers through hers. Together, they strolled the riverfront, stopping at booths here and there and enjoying all the twinkling lights and other couples milling about.
They made their way to the end of the boardwalk and stopped at the rail. She peered down at the dark waters below, while Dex leaned back against the railing beside her.
“I’ve had a really good time tonight, Issy,” he said, his voice low and rough.
“Me too.” Her toes curled inside her cute purple flats at the deep velvet of his tone. “Thank you for dinner.”
Dex looked at her, his hazel eyes so warm and inviting, then leaned in slowly, slowly, giving her plenty of time to pull away if she wanted.
Issy didn’t want to pull away. She knew she should. She should run for the hills, but she couldn’t help herself. Heck, just one kiss couldn’t hurt, could it?
His soft lips brushed hers once, twice, before capturing her mouth.
It was just as she remembered. It was so much better than before.
Issy turned toward him, and her hands slid around his neck while his arms encircled her waist. He tasted of sweet red wine and so many wonderful possibilities. She wanted to stay there forever. She wanted to keep kissing him all night long. She wanted—
A police siren wailed nearby, and they broke apart fast.
15
Dex stood for several moments, staring down at Issy.
He hadn’t really meant to kiss her tonight, just wanted a chance to get to know her better, maybe see where things might lead for them in the future. Their dinner had been fantastic and the conversation good. In fact, she was one of the few people, outside of the bureau, he’d ever told about why he’d made the shift out of the kidnapping-and-high-profile-crimes division.
The fact that he’d had to lie to her didn’t sit right. Then again, he hadn’t really lied—he’d just let her believe he was part of the small-town-crimes division instead of the FBPI. But he couldn’t very well tell her he was really here seeking paranormals. She’d have laughed him out of the restaurant. And besides, what he’d told her was mostly true—he had every intention of working on the actual crime that had occurred in Silver Hollow.
Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes had that dreamy look, and if that stupid squad car hadn’t pulled up in the alleyway beside them, he would’ve pulled her right back into his arms and kissed her some more.
An officer got out and ran over to them. “Are you Agent Dex Nolan?”
Dex gave Issy one last long look then turned to the officer. “Yes.”
“I need you to come with me.”
“What’s going on?” Issy asked, her gaze darting between De
x and the policeman, her cheeks growing redder by the second.
The cop glanced around then leaned closer. “The sheriff of Silver Hollow sent me to find you, sir. He says there has been another… incident.”
Issy gasped. “Another one?”
“Okay.” Dex guided Issy off to the side. “Are you okay getting home, or do you want to ride with me?”
“I can drive myself.”
“Okay.” Dex walked Issy back to her rusted-out old truck then rushed back to his sedan. Twenty minutes later, he screeched up to the crime scene in Silver Hollow, this one on a slightly busier side street—noticing with slight annoyance that Issy’s truck screeched in right behind him.
Dex got out and walked back to her. “I don’t think you want to go there. You should go home.”
Issy folded her arms across her chest. “I don’t take orders from you. This is my town, and I want to see what’s going on.”
Dex’s eyes narrowed. From what he could see, Owen Gleason was bending over a dead body. Odd that Issy always seemed to be around when a dead body was found. But, this time, she’d been with him. He was about to protest again, when she brushed past him and rushed over to Owen.
Well, heck. Guess I better follow.
“What’s happened?” Dex knelt beside Owen and took in the details. This victim had a blue rope around her neck, and she was… alive! Her chest rose and fell, though her eyes remained closed. “She’s not dead?”
“Nope,” Owen said. “Not yet, anyway.”
Paramedics pushed through the gathering crowd to tend to the victim, and Issy stepped aside to let them in.
Owen held up a voodoo doll triumphantly, the same kind as with the first victim. “Looks like we could have a serial killer on our hands.”
Dex frowned, even if his interest was piqued. “People are dying. That’s not good.”
“True enough.” Owen nodded, his eager expression turning grim.
Issy stumbled, and Dex reached for her. “You okay?”
“I just… This shouldn’t be happening.” She looked scared and confused, and more than anything, Dex wanted to pull her closer and tell her everything would be all right. Before he could, though, her cousins showed up. He remembered meeting them during the Drummond case. There was the gardener—Raine—in her overalls, along with Ember, the chocolatier whose shop he’d been getting those great sea-salted caramels from. And Gray. He owned the local hair salon. Kind of a strange occupation for a guy, at least in Dex’s estimation, but to each his own.
All the Quinn cousins exchanged a look that made Dex feel even more like an outsider, a sort of secret communication he wasn’t privy to, but he didn’t have time to worry about that now. He had one homicide and another attempted killing to solve.
“Wait a minute, let me see that doll,” Dex asked the sheriff. It was the same construction as the one found with the dishwasher, but something was off. This one had black stuff dripping from its mouth. He glanced at the blue rope. “Dang!”
“What?” Owen looked concerned. “It’s the same kind of doll. I’m sure we got a repeat killer on our hands.”
“No, not that,” Dex said. “The first doll at the first scene had a blue string around its neck like a noose. And now, tonight, the killer tried to strangle the victim with a blue rope.”
Owen glanced toward the ambulance. “Yeah?”
“So the murderer isn’t giving us a rendering of their current crime. They’re giving us a depiction of the next one.”
“Oh…” Owen looked at the evidence bag. “Huh, if that’s true, then I bet the next victim will be poisoned.”
“Just ducky,” Issy said.
Her cousins put their arms around her. Ember leaned closer to peer down at the tiny doll.
Dread bored a hole clean through Dex’s stomach as the EMTs closed the back bay doors of the ambulance on the latest victim. There were more similarities Owen hadn’t mentioned. It was likely he hadn’t caught on to them, but Dex was trained to notice things like this, and the similarities he’d noticed spooked him far more than those crazy voodoo dolls.
All the victims were women.
And they were all redheads.
Issy’s strawberry-blond curls glistened beneath the orange streetlights.
If this crazed killer harmed even one precious hair on Issy’s head, he would not be responsible for his actions. Dex had failed once to protect those entrusted to his care. This time, he wouldn’t screw up again and let Issy or her cousins die because of his lack of diligence.
This time, he’d protect Issy and her family.
No matter the cost.
An hour later, Issy was tucked on her living room sofa while Raine fixed them all cups of hot tea in her kitchen. Her cousin seemed to have made a full recovery from her Benadryl-induced coma, which was good. Ember sat on one side of her and Gray on the other. Dex sat in a chair across from her as he watched her carefully.
“I’m sorry.” She rubbed her tired eyes. “I still don’t understand why you think I’m in danger.”
“Because you’re a redhead.” Dex’s tone was filled with patience. “Just like Raine and Ember. All three of you are at risk. Both of the killer’s previous victims had red hair too. I want Owen to put each of you under protective custody until we catch whoever is doing this.”
Issy shook her head. The only problem was that the killer wasn’t really the killer. Not like Dex thought, anyway. It was the demon inhabiting some unsuspecting host’s body. She couldn’t tell him that, though, so she went with a more plausible excuse. “The Silver Hollow Police Department is too small to accommodate something like that. Besides, there are plenty of other redheads in town. I don’t need protection.”
She was a witch, and now more the ever, she knew she had confidence in her abilities. If it came down to a paranormal battle, she could more than hold her own. She’d proved that with Christian Vonner and all his vile, dark deeds. If she was strong enough to defeat him, she was strong enough to defeat anything or anyone.
“I disagree.” Dex pushed to his feet and paced her tiny living room.
Issy had no idea why he’d gone all caveman protective, but she didn’t like it. Not one bit. Sure, the kiss they’d shared back on the boardwalk had been spectacular, and yes, the time they’d spent together prior had been pretty magical too. But it didn’t make him the boss of her. And his current alpha-male mood didn’t bode well for when she told him the truth about her abilities.
Nope. Perhaps things between them wouldn’t work out after all.
Perhaps it was best that that kiss hadn’t progressed to something more.
No matter how much it hurt to realize it.
“I need to check in with Owen at the station.” Dex stalked toward the door, stopping to face her one last time. “Tonight was nice.”
Part of her wanted to run after him and tell him that this evening had been way more than nice. But the other part of her knew she couldn’t. With the way he was acting, she was starting to remember why she’d thought things would never work between them. Besides, now she had to deal with the fact that the demon was still around and figure out how to get rid of it. Issy lowered her head and said, “See you later, Dex.”
“See you, Issy.”
After he’d gone, Issy couldn’t forget the look on his face as he’d walked out her door—hurt, crushed, defeated.
“Dang it, the potion didn’t work!” Ember said as soon as they heard Dex’s car drive off.
“At least now we know what the similarity the demon wants is, but if having red hair is the common theme, then all three of us Quinn girls need to take extra precautions.” Raine took up residence in Dex’s now vacant seat, her face dead serious. Issy’s heart constricted. She wondered if Raine was having doubts about being able to protect herself with her magical abilities. Issy knew how that felt—she’d had those same doubts once herself.
Ember shrugged. “Maybe Dex was right. Maybe we should let Owen help protect us.”
“Owen’s got his hands full with the case,” Gray said. “We take care of our own.”
Issy sighed and squared her shoulders. “Gray’s right. We need to handle this ourselves. Did you guys see Nikki doing anything suspicious tonight?”
“Nope.” Gray raked a hand through his black hair. “Not a thing.”
“I’m beginning to think Nikki’s not possessed at all,” Ember said.
“Great.” Issy pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger. Ember might have just been defending her potion-making skills, but the thing was, she’d felt the same way when they’d last seen Nikki, but maybe the demon was just a good actor. “Well, if Nikki didn’t attack that woman tonight, then who did?”
16
“That’s a good question.” Raine sipped her tea and stared at the front door. “Maybe you should go after him.”
“Why would I go after him?” Issy crossed her arms against the ache in her chest. So she’d just had the best date of her life. Didn’t mean she had to go crazy over the guy. “We’ve got important things to discuss. And why don’t you tease Gray about Starla for a while and forget about me and Mr. Paranormal Hunter, huh? The way Gray was drooling all over the floor of her shop earlier, I should’ve brought a bucket.”
Ember’s emerald-green eyes widened, and Raine snorted. They both looked at Gray. “You’ve got the hots for a Knight.”
“I don’t have the hots for anybody,” Gray said, his tone testy. Dots of crimson dotted his high cheekbones. “And I wasn’t drooling. She must have hexed me. Can we get down to business here, please?”
“Whatever.” Raine went back into the kitchen to fix herself another cup of tea. When she returned, she had Mortimer’s pot tucked under one arm. The poor guy looked a bit wilted, which was unusual. Normally, plants thrived around Raine. “Hey, Issy,” she said. “Think you can keep Morty here for a couple of days? He’s a bit under the weather, and spending time with you and Bella always seems to revive him.”
Spell Disaster (Silver Hollow Paranormal Cozy Mystery Series Book 2) Page 9