Birdie nodded. “I really am.” Then she leaned in and started typing again. “This is interesting.” She turned the laptop around. “Look at the logos for the Talisman Club and Harker Enterprises.”
Julian and Desi studied them. Both had a silver spiked cross at their centers.
Julian let out a long, slow whistle. “So they’re definitely related, but this doesn’t exactly connect Abigail Helsing with the threats.”
Birdie took her laptop back. “Give me half an hour and I bet I can make that connection. You two go eat or make out some more or something and let me work. If there’s a link between them, I’ll find it.”
With the kiss suddenly front and center in Julian’s mind, he slanted his eyes at Desi. “You want to grab some breakfast?”
“Those blueberry pancakes you mentioned?”
He grinned. “I wasn’t sure you heard that with everything else going on.”
“No, I did.” She smiled back. “And I’m game.”
“Good,” Birdie said. “And since you’re going to Mummy’s, I’ll take a cinnamon bun.”
The pancakes were everything Julian had promised, but they still weren’t quite enough to take Desi’s mind off a few things. Her stalker, for one.
That kiss, for another. And what she’d been on the verge of doing because of it.
And thinking about both of those left her at a slight loss for words. Or maybe it was being this close to Julian after they’d almost consummated their marriage in the sheriff’s conference room. Whatever the reason, she felt strangely nervous around him for the first time. Like fireworks were going off inside her.
“You okay?” he asked. His quad stack of cheesecake-stuffed blueberry pancakes was almost half gone.
“Thinking,” she answered.
He nodded as he devoured another bite. “Lots to think about.”
She nodded too and dug into her two plain blueberry pancakes. “Yep.”
He swallowed. “Like that kiss.”
She almost choked.
The sly look on his face said he knew exactly what he’d done. “You didn’t really think we weren’t going to talk about that, did you?”
“I…” Why were words suddenly so hard? “I’ve never been so confused in my life.”
His lids lowered along with his voice. “You didn’t seem confused when you asked me to take you home. Or should I say demanded?”
Heat washed over her. She stared at her plate for a moment. “I was overcome.”
“With what?”
He knew with what. He was baiting her. Awful man. But she could play. “With confusion.”
His brows bent. “Confusion?”
“Yes.” She leaned in and kept her words soft but distinct. “About you. About us.”
“What’s so confusing? We’re divorcing, and you’re going back to Vegas.” He sipped his coffee. “Or did jumping my bones in the station mean you changed your mind about part of that?”
“That jumping was mutual.”
“I’ll accept that. But you started it.”
She pursed her lips at him. “You’re a little rotten.”
“I’ve heard worse.” He shrugged one shoulder. “Never from someone I was married to and just gave a very special, life-changing gift to, but sure.”
The mischievous glint in his eyes made her laugh. For a second. “I have a show to do and responsibilities and a life in Vegas.”
He moved his hands up and down like he was weighing her words. “Calling your existence in Vegas a life is being very generous, but I’ll give you the other two.”
She rolled her eyes.
He smirked. “You like me all of a sudden, don’t you? And you don’t know what to do about it.”
“I’ve always liked you.” But with everything he’d done for her, it had become increasingly difficult not to admit she loved him too.
“Like is good. Like is something. It’s not love. But it’s something.” He held his coffee cup out like he was about to wax poetic. “I must admit, I always hoped for a little more from the woman I plotted my troth to.”
“Pretty sure it’s plighted. And I’d like to remind you that the plighting happened while I was intoxicated.”
He sipped his coffee, then put his cup down and exchanged it for a crispy piece of bacon. “Well, it’s moot now anyway.”
“Why’s that?” She took a bite of her pancakes.
All traces of humor left his gaze. “The lawyer called me this morning. He said the paperwork is done. All that’s left is for us to sign it and get it filed. I guess we should put that on the old to-do list, huh?”
She nodded numbly. The divorce was essentially final. That was exactly what she’d wanted. What she’d thought had to happen. But now…it felt like a defeat. Like she’d just lost her best friend.
Maybe because she had.
The pancakes turned to sawdust in her mouth, but somehow she swallowed and held herself together. “Maybe tomorrow? My lack of sleep is catching up with me. I think by the time we’re done at the station, I’m going to be dead on my feet.”
“Pun intended?”
“What? Oh. Not really.” She smiled. “We should order that cinnamon bun.”
“Right.” He got their server’s attention and asked for one to go with the check.
Desi was desperate to keep the subject on something besides the divorce. “You think Birdie’s found anything?”
“Like she said, if it’s there to be found, she’ll do it.”
Desi used her fork to push a hunk of pancake around on her plate. “I still don’t understand how this woman tracked me here.”
“We can ask Birdie about that too.” He cleaned his plate, then pushed it away before wiping his mouth. “Maybe it’s as simple as you sending those flowers to Sam. Maybe Talisman has a way of monitoring your credit card activity.”
“Um, that’s completely illegal,” Desi said.
“Yes, but considering what they’re all about, I don’t think they care.”
“I’m sure they don’t.” She shook her head. Real-life vampire hunters. It was so archaic it was hard to take seriously.
The server returned with a small shopping bag and their check. Julian put a generous amount of cash on the table, then looked at Desi. “Ready to go?”
“Yes.” The sooner they got to the bottom of this, the better.
Birdie was ready for them when they got back. She was at the front desk again, working on her laptop and munching on a neon pink doughnut. “You’re just in time.”
Julian handed her the pastry in its bag. “I don’t know where you get your appetite, but here’s your cinnamon bun as requested.”
Her eyes lit up. “That’ll be my lunch dessert.” She tucked the bag away, then put a piece of paper on the counter between them. “Harker Enterprises was started by Arnold Helsing.”
The name spiked Julian’s memory. “Arnold Helsing?”
Birdie looked up. “You know the name?”
“Yes. I had a run-in with him outside of a plasmateria in Brussels. It’s been over thirty years ago, but the man definitely thought he was a vampire hunter. And that I was a vampire.”
Concern filled Desi’s eyes. “What happened?”
“He attacked me. Tried to run a silver-tipped spike through my heart. But I overpowered him and that was that.”
Her eyes widened. “You killed him?”
“No. I knocked him out and left him inside a nearby church. I thought that would be enough to confuse him. Maybe get him to change his ways.”
Birdie shook her head. “I’m not sure it worked. At least not enough to convince his daughter not to follow in her father’s footsteps. He’s Abigail’s father.” She glanced back at her screen. “Looks like Arnold Helsing died a few years ago, leaving her everything. She’s a very wealthy woman.”
“Great.” Julian rested his arm on the counter. “What else?”
Birdie tapped the paper. “She’s the Talisman Club’s primary contributor
. In fact, she sits on their board.”
“They have a board?” Julian found that surprising.
“Oh, they have a board all right.” Birdie’s brows lifted. “And nearly thirty thousand members. They’re much bigger than I realized. Kind of blew me away.”
“That makes two of us.”
Desi wrapped her arms around herself. “That’s not good at all.”
Birdie nodded. “It’s downright sucky if you ask me.” Then she sighed. “Unfortunately, it gets worse.”
“Perfect,” Desi said. “How?”
“The Harker Enterprises credit card was used two days ago at Salvatore’s.”
Desi grabbed Julian’s arm. “That’s where you took me for pizza. She was following us.”
“More than that,” Julian said. “She must have sat there and watched us the whole time.” He swore softly. “This ends now. Birdie, do you know where she’s staying in town?”
“Not yet, but I’m working on it. The credit card was probably a slipup. I’m guessing she’s paying cash everywhere else. I’ll let you know as soon as I figure out where she is.”
“Good.” Julian thought for a moment. “Do you know what this woman looks like?”
“All I have is her driver’s license photo, and it’s a few years old. No telling what she looks like now.”
“Email it to me.”
“I will.” She hesitated. “There’s one more thing I found, but…” Birdie’s shoulders lifted apologetically.
Julian knew that shrug. “It’s more bad news, isn’t it?”
“It’s not good news.” She sighed. “The Talisman forum is all abuzz. Abigail has promised that she’s hot on the trail of a prominent vampire and plans to turn them to ash publicly. She says it’s the only way to prove that vampires really exist.”
Desi grimaced. “This woman wants to make a viral video of killing me? What a psycho.”
“I agree.” He looked at Desi. “Which is why I’m taking you home. And you’re staying there.”
Desi wasn’t thrilled about being under Julian’s version of house arrest, but she didn’t fight it either. Being stuck in his apartment meant she couldn’t go to the lawyer’s office and sign the divorce papers.
Julian dropped his keys in the glass bowl on the foyer table. “I know you’re not happy about this.”
“No, I’m not. But I understand how much danger I’m in with this woman here in town.” She shivered.
“Hey, nothing’s going to happen to you. I won’t let it. Plus, you’re safe here.” He put his hands on her shoulders. “Do you need anything before I go?”
What she needed was for him to stay. “No, I’ll be fine. Can’t say the same for your Swedish Fish stash, but if you leave me alone with all that sugar, you really only have yourself to blame.”
He grinned. “I’ll gladly suffer those consequences.” He looked like he was thinking about kissing her. That thought must have passed because he took his hands off her.
“Where are you going when you leave here?”
“Back to the station to see if Birdie’s found anything new, then to fill the sheriff in on what’s going on. I’ll be calling my brothers too. We need to spread the word. There are a fair number of vampires in this town, and they deserve to know we have a hunter in our midst.”
Desi nodded. “And it’s all my fault.”
“I brought you here. If it’s anyone’s fault, which it isn’t, it would be mine. And listen, before you go having a guilt trip over this, if you have to face down a hunter, there’s no better town to do it in than Nocturne Falls.”
“I’m sure you’re right. But I’ve never come up against anything like this.”
He cocked his head. “Des, you’ve survived far worse.”
She sighed. “And look how damaged that made me.”
“You know what they say about damaged people.”
She shook her head. “No, what?”
“Damaged people are the most dangerous kind, because they already know how to survive.” He lifted his hands toward her haltingly, as if he was about to do something he didn’t think he should, then he pulled her into his arms. “That hunter ought to be afraid of you, not the other way around.”
She smiled up at him. “Thanks.”
He kissed her forehead, then let her go. “All right, I’m off. Be back as soon as I can.”
“Take your time. I’m not going anywhere.”
With a wave, he grabbed his keys and took off. She stared at the closed door until she heard the chimes of the elevator, then she walked to the windows and watched him drive away. When she couldn’t see his car anymore, she plopped down on the couch and turned the television on.
Daytime TV was a mishmash of crazy talk shows, old movies and news. She settled on an old Debbie Reynolds movie, then turned the volume down and texted Sam. It was still pretty early in Vegas. You up?
Desi wasn’t hungry at all after the pancakes, but the talk of Julian’s candy had created a craving in her. She went to the pantry to snag some, coming back to the couch with a bowl of Swedish Fish and gummy cola bottles.
Her phone chimed as she sat down.
Yep. Shouldn’t you be asleep?
Long story.
How are you?
Desi’s thumbs flew over the keyboard. I’m fine. How are YOU?
I’m getting there. Going home tomorrow. Taking Harlan with me. ;)
You like him, huh?
He’s amazing. Super cute, so sweet, & ultra sexy. I wanna keep him.
Desi snorted. I think that’s up to him.
Please. Women decide these things. But I think he’s willing.
Are you healing?
Pretty well. This cast is no fun.
Desi shook her head. I can imagine.
The flowers really are beautiful. Thanks again for those.
You got it. Anything else you need?
Not since the first delivery.
Desi frowned. First delivery?
Harlan. :D
She laughed. Right. Got it. Take care of yourself. See you soon.
You too. Bye!
Desi tossed her phone onto the seat next to her, then settled in to watch the movie. By the time it was over and the candy was gone, she’d started to drift. She had a feeling if she took the amulet off, she’d probably pass out.
But she didn’t want to be asleep when Jules was out there working on her behalf. She grabbed her phone and dialed.
He answered right away. “Everything cool?”
“Yes. Just wondering how it’s going.”
“Good. I thought you’d be asleep.”
“I can’t. I mean, I could, but it doesn’t seem like the right thing to do with everything else going on.”
“Darling, you really should get some rest. At least for a few hours. Now is not the time to get run-down.”
She sighed. “I understand. But…it still feels wrong.”
He laughed. “Whatever you want to do. Listen, Birdie found a location tag on one of Abigail Helsing’s Instagram pics from two days ago. It pinged to Atlanta. She could definitely be in Nocturne Falls by now. Especially if she’s the one who used the Harker credit card at Salvatore’s.”
“Well, who else would it be? We have to assume she’s here.”
“Unless she’s not…” He cut himself off.
“Not what?”
He sighed. “Not working alone.”
“There’s a cheery thought.”
“I know.”
“And since when does a vampire hunter have an Instagram account?”
He snorted. “Yeah, social media at its finest.”
“I guess that’s part of her plans to make my death go viral.”
“Hey, let’s not talk like that, okay? It’s not going to happen.”
She took a beat. “No, you’re right, I can’t think like that.”
“No, you can’t. And listen, Sheriff Merrow is sending a deputy to hang out with you.”
Desi froze.
“Not Remy. I’m sure he’s a decent guy, but—”
“No. It’s daylight, remember? And he doesn’t have our extra something. Sheriff Merrow is sending Deputy Jenna Blythe.”
“Blythe? That sounds very piratey.”
“It’s not, I promise. In fact, you’ve already met her sister, Tessa.”
“Sebastian’s fiancée?” Now this was interesting. Desi sat up a little. “So is Jenna a Valkyrie too?”
“Yes. And an excellent deputy to boot.”
“Okay, sounds good. When will she be here?”
“Not sure. Soon, probably. I’m sure Freddy will call up.”
“Has Birdie found anything else new?”
“Nothing yet.” He softened his voice. “Everything’s going to be okay. I promise.”
She smiled at his words, knowing how deeply he meant them. “I know. Call me if anything happens.”
“I will. See you later.”
“Later.” She hung up and went to the windows in time to see a patrol car pulling into the parking lot. Desi snorted at the thought of a valkyrie coming to protect a vampire. If the hunter showed up here, she was going to get more than she bargained for.
A lot more.
On a whim, Julian drove to Pandora’s office. He hadn’t called so he had no idea if she was out showing a house or not, but he was in the area, so he took a chance.
He walked in, the little bell over the door announcing his entrance.
The receptionist turned around from the whiteboard she was updating and smiled. She was a pretty redhead, which made him wonder if Pandora had a gingers-only employment policy. “Hi there. Welcome to Williams Real Estate. How can I help you?”
“I’m looking for Pandora. Is she around?”
“She should be back to the office in a few minutes.”
“Thanks. I’ll wait.”
“Would you like some coffee or water?”
“No, I’m good.”
The receptionist gave him a closer look as she capped the marker in her hand. “Have we met? I feel like I know you.”
“I don’t think so.” He stuck his hand out. “Julian Ellingham.”
“Oh, that’s why I know you.” She shook his hand. “Monalisa Devlin.”
“You’re Van’s girl.” He’d heard the name but had yet to meet the woman who’d metaphorically slain the dragon.
The Vampire's Accidental Wife (Nocturne Falls Book 8) Page 17