by C. C. Hunter
Suddenly, he didn’t just want to talk to someone about her over the phone. He wanted to see Miranda—in person. He needed a break from this, from his father and the scum he hung out with.
He needed it now. His eyes stung with heightened emotions. He inhaled once, then twice, hoping to rein it in before he morphed into something big and angry.
Before he said something he shouldn’t.
Before his father guessed that he wasn’t here to rekindle their lost relationship.
“You were impossible to handle. Your mom was going to leave me if I…” Was that regret in his old man’s eyes?
Nothing like a mother’s love. Perry had figured out that it had been his mom’s idea to abandon him. The memories of his early years were not of him clinging to his mom, but to his dad. Even at two he’d sensed her lack of love.
Maybe that was why this was so hard. Because while his dad was the one committing the crimes, Perry knew it was his mom’s idea.
“Hey, you’re the one who looked us up,” his father said. “And if you came just to give us some crap, then pack your shit and leave. If you came to see how we might be able to help each other, then forget the past. And start listening to me.”
He paused. “We can help each other, Perry. With your power and your mom’s and my connections, we can be rich. We can make things right.”
Perry could only nod. Because right then another vision of Miranda hit. She was lying very still in what looked like a hospital bed.
His father exhaled. “When you meet Jax, you can show him what you can do. He’s gonna be impressed. We’re gonna be running this team in no time. You and me. We’ll make your mama so proud.” He slapped his hand on Perry’s shoulder.
“Yeah.” He moved away from his father’s touch. “I need to go check on my girl.” If he left right now, he could be there and back before eight in the morning when Caleb held his mandatory morning meetings. And if he didn’t make it. Screw Caleb. Miranda needed him.
“You can’t go anywhere,” his father snapped. “If Caleb finds out he’ll get all up in arms. He might fill Jax’s head with a reason not to like you.”
“Then it’s your job to make sure Caleb doesn’t find out.” Perry started his morph into a falcon.
“Damn it! Where are you going?”
“Houston,” he said, remembering that’s where his father thought he’d lived before. His form changed. Spreading his wings, he flew up. Before he found a good momentum, he saw Caleb walking to the back toward his dad.
Perry didn’t turn back. If there were consequences, he’d pay them later.
* * *
“Is she trying to escape the hospital?”
Miranda had just stepped out of the hospital-room door and turned down the hall when she heard the familiar sassy voice. She turned to see her two best friends in the world hurrying toward her. Kylie, blond, perky, and pretty, and Della, almost black hair, exotic looking, and generally grumpy.
“Are you okay?” Kylie hugged her cautiously.
“Fine.”
“You scared us!” Kylie said.
“Do you know what’s going on?” Miranda asked.
“You don’t remember?” Della asked. “You were almost blown up in a drug house. How hard did you hit your head?”
Miranda rolled her eyes. “There’s nothing wrong with my head. I meant what’s wrong with Holiday. She snatched Burnett out of my room as if something was wrong.”
Della looked over her shoulder. “They walked outside. They didn’t say anything was wrong.”
“Well, it is. Holiday’s aura was clouded with worry. Are you sure my sister’s okay? Where’s room six?”
“Six?” Della asked.
“That’s where Tabitha—”
“I’m right here.” The voice came from behind her.
Miranda swung around to see the nurse—the part-witch nurse—wheeling Tabitha down the hall in a wheelchair.
“You can’t walk?” Miranda ran toward her sister, who sported a bandage on her forehead.
“I can.” Her sister looked at the nurse. “She won’t let me.”
“Doctor’s orders.” The nurse took a step back.
Miranda knelt down. “Thank God you’re okay.”
“Me?” Tabitha said. “I just banged my head. You broke an arm.”
“Heads are more important.” Miranda hugged her sister, hugged her tight. Her chest ached from the thought that she could have lost her.
“You’re cutting off my air,” Tabitha said.
“See, I’m not the only one who thinks that,” Della said moving with Kylie.
Tabitha glanced up at them. “The FRU thinks I’m a drug dealer?”
“They really don’t believe that,” Miranda said, even if she’d worried about it herself.
“Yeah, they do,” Della said.
Miranda pretty much accepted Della’s outspokenness, but occasionally it still scraped across some raw nerves. “Not really.” Miranda graced Della with a don’t-go-there expression.
“Yeah, really.” Obviously, Della didn’t read the look. “They were ready to arrest your asses.”
Miranda cleared her throat in a way that said, Shut the crap up!
The vamp’s eyes widened as if she finally got it. “Not us. We don’t believe it. The police … think it. Burnett had to call the big dogs to stop it from happening.”
“And Burnett’s going to clear this up,” Kylie added. “We’re just glad you’re both okay. Right?” Kylie, forever the peacekeeper, directed the question at Della.
“Duh, that goes without saying.” The vamp looked at Tabitha. “We’ll get to the bottom of this. We’ve got your backs.”
The honesty in Della’s voice had Miranda pushing aside her aggravation. The vamp meant well.
“Burnett’s already assigned Lucas and Chase to the case,” Kylie said.
Della frowned. “He said I was too close to you, but Chase will keep me updated.”
Tabitha squirmed in the wheelchair. “Do you know why they took Anthony down for questioning?”
“They took Anthony down?” Miranda remembered bits and pieces of Shawn’s conversation.
Tabitha sighed. “They said they wanted to question him.”
“About the jewelry store robbery?” Miranda asked.
“What jewelry store?” Della asked. “It was a drug house.” She looked at the nurse, still standing behind Tabitha. “Have you done x-rays on her head?”
“I’m fine,” Miranda snapped. “Burnett called Shawn about a robbery at the jewelry store next to where we were meeting for lunch.”
“Oh,” the vamp said. “I don’t know about that.”
Tabitha looked at Della. “What do you know?”
Della got the deer-in-the-headlights look. “I…”
“What’s going on?” Miranda asked.
Della gave her a don’t-blame-me shrug. “I might as well tell you. When I arrived at the drug house, or what was left of the house, I picked up a bunch of supernatural traces. I recognized one. Anthony’s.”
Hearing the name of her boyfriend caused Tabitha’s mouth to fall open. “His scent was on me.”
“Nope. It wasn’t a secondary trace,” Della said.
“This has to be a mistake.” Miranda focused on the vamp. “Anthony wasn’t with us.”
Della shrugged again. “Which is exactly why he’s being questioned.”
Her sister looked slapped. “You think Anthony has something to do with the drugs? He doesn’t do drugs!”
“Then he doesn’t have anything to worry about,” Della said.
“I’m sure it’s going to get cleared up.” Kylie moved in and touched Tabitha—probably offering a touch of calm.
Her sister glanced up and her brow wrinkled. “Were you in my room earlier?”
“Yeah. I saw both of you.” Kylie looked at Miranda. “Your rib better?”
“Yes. I don’t remember you…” Miranda paused.
“You just didn’t see
me.” Kylie’s expression insinuated that she’d been invisible. Something that only chameleons could do. Not that it was all they could do, she was also a healer, plus she could shift into different types of supernaturals.
“Can we … move into a room before they tell you to leave.” The nurse’s voice shook. As soon as she pushed Tabitha’s wheelchair into the room, she rushed out.
Della stared after her. “I didn’t even growl at her.”
“I don’t think it’s you as much as Kylie,” Miranda said.
“I scared her? I’m not scary,” Kylie said.
“Yeah, you are,” Della said. “You scared the piss out of me when I first met you.”
Kylie laughed. “Ditto.” Then she glanced back at the closed door. “Now that we’re alone … What happened?”
Miranda sat on the edge of the bed and started repeating her story. When she got to the part where the armadillo got loose, Tabitha spoke up. “Your fortune. It grew up your arm. I still don’t get that.”
Miranda looked down at her arm, checking to see if the crazy tattoo had faded yet. She couldn’t see it extending from the cast, so maybe it had.
“What grew up your arm?” Della asked.
“The ashes,” Tabitha answered. “When the witch does her spell, she places the bowl upside down on your palm and it creates a pattern on your palm. She reads your love fortune from the pattern. For some reason Miranda’s grew larger than mine, and mine was always bigger than anyone else’s.”
Della looked at Miranda. “What did she tell you? Are you going to get hot and heavy with Shawn now?”
“She didn’t tell me anything. That’s when everything went crazy.” Miranda felt a light tickle and glanced again at the edge of her cast. And damn if she didn’t see a sliver of a swirl peek out.
Her gaze shot to her sister. “How long until it goes away?”
“What goes away?” Tabitha asked.
“The tattoo.”
“It’s gone as soon as she reads it.”
Miranda gave her arm another quick peek and sure as hell, it was there, and inching up another fourth of an inch. “What if she doesn’t read it? How long am I going to have this?” She looked at the tattoo.
“Huh?” Tabitha moved closer.
Della and Kylie did the same. “Oh, that’s freaky.” Della stepped back.
Kylie nodded in agreement. Tabitha’s eyes rounded. “I…”
“What?” Miranda asked her sister. “Does it mean something?”
“I … I don’t know,” Tabitha sputtered.
“What do you mean you don’t know?” Della looked from Miranda to Tabitha. “You two are witches and this is witch crap. How could you not know?”
“We don’t know everything!” Tabitha said. “Especially…”
“Especially what?” Della snapped.
Tabitha looked at Miranda with fear in her eyes. “Black magic.”
Miranda felt the tattoo crawl up her arm. What the hell was happening to her? Would it ever stop growing? Was she marked for life?
“Did you show that to Holiday?” Kylie worried aloud.
“No, I thought it went away.”
“Well it hasn’t,” Della said. “That shit’s climbing up your arm now.”
“I’m getting Holiday.” Kylie yanked out her phone. She hadn’t touched one button when her phone rang.
Kylie looked at the screen and up. “It’s her.”
Miranda got that feeling again. Like something was wrong, or something was about to go wrong. Her gaze shifted to Tabitha. “Do you feel that?”
Her sister nodded.
Kylie took the call. “Hello?” Her gaze shifted to Della. “Yeah. What’s wrong?” Pause. “Okay, we’ll be right there. But … you need to come see Miranda.” Pause. “She’s got a … thing growing up her arm.” Pause. “No, not a rash.”
“What was that about?” Della asked the second Kylie hung up.
“Burnett needs to see us.”
“What’s wrong?” Miranda asked.
Kylie hesitated, but then just said it. “It’s Perry.”
“What about him?” Doom and gloom crowded Miranda’s lungs.
Concern filled Kylie’s eyes. She wasn’t good at hiding things. “All she said was … Burnett wants us to check on him.”
Miranda felt another pang of doom. “Is he in some kind of trouble?”
Before Kylie answered, a big scream, followed by some loud crashes and bangs, echoed outside the hospital room’s door.
“Shit!” Della bolted toward the door, but it swung open.
The nurse stuck her head in.
“Are you doing okay?” Her gaze shifted to Kylie and then Della.
“What happened out there?” Della asked.
The nurse almost flinched. “Uh, one of the nurses thought she saw uh … an armadillo. I’m sure she just imagined—”
“Call Burnett.” Della shot toward the door. The nurse ran as if Della were after her.
Miranda dialed Burnett’s number for the second time that day.
Chapter Six
Shawn arrived at the jewelry store as an ambulance pulled out. Sirens filled the cloudy sky. He watched the vehicle with red lights flaring pull away. The moon, missing only a sliver, already hung in the sky. Walking through the door, he smelled the coppery scent of blood. His chest tightened remembering the pretty clerk. Was she the victim?
“You can’t come in here.” An officer shot in front of him.
Shawn flashed his badge.
“What the hell is FRU?” the officer said.
Another officer, larger in stature, who was standing behind the counter speaking to an elderly woman, turned around. “Let him in. He’s from a special crime unit, an offshoot of the FBI. They’re looking into cases similar to this one.”
Shawn nodded at the officer, checking his forehead for his pattern. Half vampire. The FRU assigned many supernaturals to work with emergency public service jobs so they could keep the FRU informed of any suspicious cases.
They exchanged a knowing nod. The petite elderly woman next to the officer was human. Shawn’s focus shifted back to the blood on the floor. He recalled the girl again.
The half-vampire officer walked over and extended his hand. “Officer Johnson.”
“Agent Hanson.” Shawn didn’t waste any time. “Whose blood is this?”
“Mr. Crow’s. He and his wife own the store,” the officer answered. “He walked in during the robbery and tried to stop it. They took him to the hospital.”
“How bad is he?” Shawn asked.
“The paramedics thought he was going to make it.” Johnson paused. “Where’s Agent James?”
“On another case. I work under him.” Shawn glanced back at the woman. “Any other employees present?”
“She hasn’t mentioned anyone.” He lifted his nose in the air. “I get were, witch, shape-shifter, and traces of vampire.”
Shawn glanced back at the blood. With the exception of the were trace, those scents could be explained by the employee he’d met, along with his and Anthony’s earlier presence. That said, the FRU wasn’t called out just because of scent.
Still sniffing the air, Johnson looked suddenly puzzled. “Is that your scent?”
“Yeah. I was here earlier. Along with a vampire. There was an employee, a mix-breed. Vampire, part witch and fae. But no were.”
“But I’m picking up more than one shape-shifter.”
Shawn started trying to connect the dots. “Besides the scent is there another reason you called?”
The man moved in to make sure they weren’t overheard. “According to Mrs. Crow, a couple walking past saw the fight and rushed inside to help. The three assailants took off to the back. She assumed they’d run out the back door, but Mrs. Crow realized the door was locked. She even has the key around her neck. With the scents of shape-shifter, I assumed—”
“Sounds like a good call.” Shawn paused. “Is that Mrs. Crow over there?”
Joh
nson nodded and Shawn walked over to the woman. “Can you tell me what happened?”
She frowned. “I already told the story three times, and I’d really like to get to the hospital.”
Shawn, knowing you could get more flies with honey, smiled. Normally, his smile alone could put people at ease, but when her expression didn’t relax, he cast a minuscule spell, settling the woman’s nerves.
“I totally understand, Mrs. Crow. And I promise to be quick. Do you have an office? Maybe you’d like to sit down.”
She nodded. “But quick.”
“I promise.” A minute later, he had the elderly woman settled behind her desk. She spotted a photo that held an image of her and a man. Concern filled her eyes. She touched the frame and appeared to say a silent prayer.
Shawn got her a drink of water and dropped into the chair across the desk.
Between sips of water, she told him what occurred. Honesty resonated from her voice. Or it had until she answered his question of who all had been working in the store at the time of the robbery.
That’s when her tone shot up an octave higher, and she glanced away from him to the left.
Shawn, envious of his fellow vampire agents’ ability to detect a lie, had made a mission of studying human behavior to recognize a mistruth. While his method wasn’t as reliable as hearing someone’s heart rate, he seldom missed a falsehood. Why was this old lady lying?
“Can I go now?” She stared back at the picture.
“Mrs. Crow. Look at me.” Her eyes met his. “I’ll let you go as soon as you tell me why you’re lying to me.”
* * *
Holiday, the school leader, came walking into the hospital room at the same time Della shot out. Miranda hadn’t even set her phone down after calling Burnett and telling him about the armadillo when Holiday started asking questions.
“What’s the deal with the armadillo?” Holiday pressed. The redhead was soft-spoken and caring, but when she asked something, she wanted answers.
“The witch had one chained up. Miranda freed it,” Tabitha answered.
Another crease of worry etched in Holiday’s forehead.
“I don’t think it wants to hurt us,” Miranda blurted out.
“We don’t know that for sure,” Tabitha said.