Chaz nodded and somewhere in the conversation, all the golden had faded from his features as he was put to work. “I can ask around, get on the white hat broadband and see if anyone else has noticed a ghoul influx.”
I chuckled. “We just said ghoul influx in a grown up conversation. Our lives are weird.”
He squeezed my hand. “At least they are ours.”
I smiled, a warm happy smile for just one moment in the quiet car with my fiancé.
THE FIRST ROUND of housemates landed at about six thirty that evening and the ebb and flow was constant after. Nash and Kandice finished up the dinner that Chaz made for me while I took a very hot shower and a fifteen-minute cat nap. Chaz went to his house when I wasn’t alone to get some laundry and supplies. Tucker showed up and paced, because that’s helpful in a crisis, and by the time Jane made it to my place, it was eight in the evening and everyone had settled into sitcoms and ice cream bars Nash had picked up on the way home.
“Like I said,” I narrated as I lead Jane upstairs, her dark eyes wide. “It’s a little cramped. Kandice is in the guest room right now. Shadow has his bed down stairs.”
“Which one is Shadow?” she asked.
“The dog, but he’s actually a man just cursed to stay in the shift.”
“Oh.”
“Which leaves my office for you. I’ve got a recliner in there. It’s worn, but sleeps pretty comfortable.”
I opened the door for her and went around grabbing my laptop and power chord from the desk and a few notebooks so I could work from the kitchen table. “I’m right across the hall and the bathroom is the one with the vacancy sign. It was Chaz’s idea after a few unfortunately incidents early on.”
Jane nodded and set her bag down on the recliner. “I still wish I knew why you told me to come here. I mean, I am hardly anyone.”
“First of all, never think that. You are Jane and the prettiest white horse I’ve ever seen. Secondly, you belong here as much as any other pack member. And thirdly, Jovan’s been calling on the Demon Lock and I want to do everything in my power to keep you safe from him.”
Jane went pale. Her sun-kissed skin went sallow and she collapsed into the chair next to her. “I knew you told the truth but . . .”
I knelt down before her. “I’m not going to pull punches. I want you to know the truth so you can fight for yourself.”
“How am I supposed to fend off Jovan?” her voice was small and quaking.
I took her hands and strengthened the ties between us. “Well, by being happy, feeling safe. Jovan gets into your fear and your heartache, so be happy. I’ve got a library full of books, a living room full of friends, and a freezer full of ice-cream sandwiches and chocolate. It’s an urban paradise.”
Jane finally cracked a smile, which was all I was going for.
“Now, if you’d like to join us downstairs, I’ll be working and Tucker will be pacing and Nash will be looking at us like we are idiots, but there will be ice cream and coffee. I’m always good for coffee.”
I WASN’T EVEN through my story arc or my first ice cream bar when my phone rang.
“Hewwo,” I managed with a full mouth.
“Vi, It’s Devin. Have you been to the coffee shop today?”
Had I? “I think I was there yesterday. Why?”
“Today’s the last day. They’re closing their doors at midnight.”
My entire body tensed. “What?”
“Massive sign. Didn’t Bastian tell you?”
I stood and ran through every memory of the blond-haired manager. “No.”
“Well, I suggest you get down here and have one last coffee with me before this place is gone.”
I looked up at Tucker, who looked like I’d just flipped on the Defcon 5 buzzer.
“I can’t, Devin. We’re in research mode tonight before the full moon.”
“Oh, right, well. I’ll drink a double in your honor.”
My neurons screamed out at the missed opportunity for caffeine, especially knowing what I was going to be doing the rest of the night. The rest of me could use a Devin fix.
“Well, twist my arm. I’ll be there in ten.” I hung up the phone and looked at Tucker. “I need to go out for a little bit. Tell Chaz when he gets back?”
“Now? Where?”
“I’ll be fine, Tucker. I just need thirty minutes and a coffee and I’ll be back good as new.”
I went to the front door to slip on my Chucks.
“You can’t leave, Violet.”
Tucker was just about to be between me and coffee. Maybe my Riko didn’t know me as well as he thought he did. “I’ll be at the coffee shop. It’s as safe as this place.”
He tried to protest again but it fell flat when I grabbed my purse.
“Thirty minutes. What can happen in thirty minutes?”
Chapter Twelve
THE COFFEE SHOP was the saddest thing I’d ever seen. Bastian had dragged out every seasonal decoration he had and hung it on the walls. Hearts and fireworks adorned the window around the Last Day Open sign stuck between the wooden blinds and the window.
I opened the door and felt the shimmer of the protection spell I’d put up six months ago. I saw the mirror that Jessa and I had put up to make sure that she could see into the shop before she magically materialized in the bathroom. I saw the spot where Chaz and I had our first fight.
Devin rose. Ever the drama king, he was dressed in all black with a pair of black sunglasses on. He stretched out his hand and pulled me to him, kissing me on the cheek.
“Whatever are we going to do, Violet?” he said as we walked to the counter.
Bastian had on three different hats with a crown over all those, all strapped with elastic bands under his chin.
I leaned against the counter. “Why didn’t you tell us, Bastian?”
“Figured quicker was better. Like a bandage, my mom used to say.”
I shook my head. “This isn’t right, Bastian.”
“Bank sure seems to think it is. I’m getting out before I go completely under.”
He still mustered a smile. “Last caramel macchiato on the house to my best customer.”
I sighed. “Make it a double.”
“And Stretch here?” Bastian asked.
“Something fancy,” Devin said.
We both slid down the bar to the pick-up counter.
I took one last survey of the place, burning it into my brain, into my energy. Would the magic still pull Wanderers here if they turned this place into a tire shop? Or would the magic fade when I no longer called it home?
When my eyes finally landed on Devin, there was a furrow between his brown eyes that rivaled the Mariana trench. “You look skinny.”
“Thanks?”
“No, like Kate Moss skinny. When was the last time you ate?” he reached out and pinched my bony elbow.
“I know. I’ve been a little preoccupied with work lately.”
“The furry kind or the writing kind?”
“I wish it was the writing kind.”
Devin slipped into doctor mode. He gently took my wrist and looked at the clock on the wall. He pressed his fingers into my throat and looked quickly into my eyes. “You’re cold.”
“I’m fine.”
“No, your basal temperature the last time I checked was one hundred degrees even. You’re not even burning at normal levels.”
“I know, Devin. I’m working on it and I was kind of hoping that a relaxing cup of coffee with my human friend might help with all this stress.”
Devin frowned and then slid his arm around my shoulder. “But you have all those gorgeous men around you all the time.”
“I know. It’s exhausting.” I laughed.
Bastian served us up our last cup of coffee and we went back to my little table.
“I met all my pack here. Where am I supposed to go now?”
“I scope out men here. Where am I supposed to go now?” Devin fired back before he sipped his coffee. “Oh, bravo,
Bastian.”
The man tipped his head to us and went to his next customer.
Devin sighed as he looked mournfully into his cup. “I’m sure you’re needed back at the fort, so catch me up as quickly as possible.”
And I did, I rushed him through the pack meetings, the ghoul attacks, and ended with the piece de resistance. “So now I’m a millionaire.”
Devin’s jaw dropped. “And you’re still wearing those old Chucks?”
I laughed. It felt good to just be Violet for a few moments, not taking or needing anything from him.
“Then why are you bemoaning the loss of your favorite coffee shop?” And Devin uttered the most sinful words I’d ever heard: “Buy the coffee shop.”
The smile spread itself across my face. My toes curled with happiness as I suddenly saw a future that I could live with. A never-ending fount of free coffee. Now that was magic.
But then I remembered the spiel I’d given Chaz and why he wasn’t going to get a yacht for his birthday. “It’s not my money. It’s the pack’s money.”
“And didn’t you just tell me that you met every single one of your pack members here?”
“Yes, but it’s just a coffee shop.”
Devin leaned forward. “It’s more than that. It’s a special place for you. You have memories here. And now you have the means to make sure others can have those same memories. That some other crazy writer can meet a debonair book lover and form a friendship that lasts forever.”
I smiled and reached across the table to take his hand. It was so warm. “This is why I need you, Devin. A fresh perspective. All those pretty boys and no one thought just buy the coffee shop to keep them safe.”
Devin flashed me an award-winning smile and I was just about to comment on his debonair attitude, when a cold rush of energy washed over me like an ice-cold bucket of water down the back of my shirt.
“Violet?” Devin put down his cup of coffee but kept a tight grip on my hand.
And then there was a flood of roses. I took in a deep breath and pulled out my cell phone. It rang in my hand.
“What is it, Jessa?” I asked. I was already on my feet. Devin followed quickly.
Her voice was tight and rushed. “Rip in the Veil. Not a tear. I’m trying to find it now.”
“I’ll be there in . . .”
I stopped when I saw Waylon walking through the door. He wasn’t Waylon though. He was a cold stony energy down my back and there was something wrong with his eyes.
I dropped the phone from my face and tore at the charm around my neck. Freed from its dampening spell, I truly knew his power. Son of a motherless goat, the man was powerful, like me-on-a-bad-day powerful.
“Waylon?”
His wild eyes landed on me, and they weren’t the light brown I was used to, but a white cloudy look, like a saucer of milk. “Blood, Violet. I saw blood and this big friggin’ snake thing.”
I gulped. “Waylon?”
He ran his shaking hand through his hair and the cool rivulets of power dissipated as I watched his brown eyes return to normal.
“I didn’t want you to find out like this, Violet. But it was bad, there was a . . .” His eyes landed on my coffee companion.
“Devin,” Devin stuck out his hand quickly.
“Devin, this is cousin Waylon. Waylon, this is Devin.”
Waylon shook the man’s hand quickly and I turned to Devin.
“It’s hitting the fan right now, isn’t it?” Devin asked.
I shook my head. “You’ve been hanging out with me too long, but yes,” I looked over at Waylon, the man I thought I knew, and then back at Devin, the man who knew me too well. “I think it’s a keep-your-cell-phone-on kind of night.”
“I love you,” Devin said as he kissed my cheek and grabbed his coffee. I watched as he put a twenty in Bastian’s tip jar, which seemed extra full tonight.
With a jaw of steel, I grabbed Waylon’s arm and pulled him toward the quiet back corner of the shop. Even though there were only a few patrons there, I didn’t want them talking about blood and snakes over their coffees.
“Slowly, Waylon.”
As he spoke, his power sunk so deep inside him that I couldn’t feel anything emanating from him except his regular body heat.
I listened to him like I’d never listened to anything else in my entire life. Knowing that whatever he said was going to redefine my entire world.
“I got the Jourdaine Legacy after Aunt Lily died, Violet. Her future visions.”
My stomach churned over on itself. My mother’s legacy went to Waylon?
“I wanted to tell you. God did I need to tell you. But . . . when I found out about the panther, I knew I had to find you.”
“What?” I looked deep into Waylon’s brown eyes.
“I had a vision about you being attacked. I knew you’d been changed over.”
Thoughts spun through my head. Waylon a psychic? Waylon, who we had gone searching for his daughter with? Waylon, who used to give me Indian burns? One of the most powerful psychics in the country?
I did the only thing that made any sense right now. I punched him as hard as I could on the arm.
“Oww,” he whined as he held his arm.
“That’s for keeping it from me. And this . . .” I said before I stomped on his foot. “That’s for not coming sooner. Do you know how many times I could have used a psychic in the past six months?”
“Do you know how many times I knew that?”
His tone, his eyes killed me. He really had been trying to get here. He really did want to be here with me.
I threw my arms around him and hugged him. It finally made sense why he was here. Why now. And it wasn’t any of the sinister things we’d thought. He wanted to be here because he was my cousin. My family. And he wanted to protect me just like all those years ago.
I released him and he sucked in a huge breath. “You’re a little stronger than I remembered.”
“I’m a little more of a lot of things than you remember. Now what’s going on with the blood and the snakes?”
Waylon didn’t falter with my quick change of pace. It really was a Jordan thing. “It was horrible. You were there and there was this huge snake and then there was blood . . . and why are you taking this so well?”
“Been through a couple of these prophecies now. The first of them was laid down by our ancestor, actually. Most of them have my blood all over the place. What else was there? A mirror maybe?”
The blood drained from Waylon’s face and he nodded. “It was a museum of sorts and there was this mirror thing, I think.”
“Any clue on the location?”
“Don’t know.”
“Can you try?” I pushed.
He furrowed. “I don’t know Dallas. There was a garden with statues and the mirror was outside.”
I closed my eyes and searched through everything I knew about Dallas, which, thanks to my freelancing articles, was more than the average person knew. “Nasher Sculpture Center. Wrote an article on the installation of a new reflecting pool.”
I started for the door. I grabbed my bag and coffee and headed out of my favorite coffee shop. I smiled at the possible new possessive: my coffee shop.
Waylon caught up to me on the sidewalk outside. “What is going on, Violet?”
“Do you really want to know?” I asked as I got my keys in my hand.
“Yes. I came here to help you.” His brown eyes started to water. “I’ve seen the future, kid. And without you, it’s grim on a good day.”
I licked my lips. He wanted the truth. I laid it out for him. Let him choose to fight.
“My sire Spencer Haverty is in the Neveranth. For a long time now, I think he’s been trying to get back, or at least learning how to get back. He can use a pond or a mirror to break the Veil and get across but not without a sacrifice. Jessa and I can fix it if we get there in time.”
Waylon’s jaw hung open.
“So go home, keep Lexie safe and I’ll see
you for dinner on Tuesday.”
He licked his lips. “Who are you?”
“Just Violet,” I shrugged as I jumped into my Miata and sped off toward the Nasher.
JESSA MADE IT there first. Her penthouse was only a few blocks from the sculpture center. The spring night was warm and there was the slight scent of a storm on the horizon. Got to love those April showers.
“Why’d you call in the cavalry?” she whispered as we hid in a dark corner of the parking lot waiting for the big guns. “It’s just another rip in the Veil.”
“Turns out innocent cousin Waylon is a full-blown psychic. Gave me a little heads-up that it’s not just another rip.”
Jessa went cold. “What?”
“My cousin got my mother’s legacy. So all that psychic stuff that I can do is just genetic predisposition.”
“Holy cow, Violet.”
“Yep. We are going to have a major family sit down after this.”
Jessa leaned against the wall. “So Lexie is special.”
“More than we knew. What kills me is that I couldn’t feel him. I mean, he was human by every sense I had.”
“Fairy blood might cover it up.”
“What?”
“Fairy blood could explain why he’s hidden from Wanderers. We are pretty good at hiding in plain sight.”
“Are you saying that his father was a fairy?”
“Wouldn’t take much,” Jessa shrugged. “What do you know about him?”
I tried to remember. “Nothing. I’m not sure I ever knew.”
“Scandal.” Jessa wiggled her eyebrows, but as soon as Tucker’s truck pulled up, she got all serious.
Tucker had brought everyone from the house. Kandice and Jane looked scared out of their minds, Nash looked a little too excited to play hero, and Tucker was armed to the teeth with every piece of weaponry Chaz had brought to the house so far.
“What is it?” he asked.
“Rip in the Veil,” I said. “And possibly a cross over.”
“You didn’t say that,” Jessa said as she punched my arm.
“It’s said now. So the plan is to sneak in and stop it before it gets even worse.”
“Got it.”
I looked at the others’ faces. “No. Kandice and Jane need to go home.” I pulled out my car keys and handed them to Kandice.
Nine Lives of an Urban Panther Page 13