The Shifter Romances The Writer (Nocturne Falls Book 6)

by Kristen Painter

  Ten minutes later, he’d parked in the public lot on Broom Avenue, a block away from the bookstore, and was walking into the Bell, Book & Candle. There were a few browsers and a clerk behind the counter, a young man with pointed ears. Alex didn’t recognize him, but Roxy’s stalker definitely wasn’t fae, so whoever the clerk was, he was cool.

  Agnes Miller was crouched in the front window, working on a display of Roxy’s books. He’d never formally met Agnes, but he recognized her from around town. He leaned over the small partition. “Ms. Miller?”

  She looked up, a trio of straight pins sticking out of the corner of her mouth. She put down the book that she was holding, took the pins out of her mouth and smiled. “That’s me. Can I help you, Officer?”

  “I’m a friend of Roxy’s and I’m also going to be handling security for her signing tomorrow. I was hoping you could show me around and we could have a little talk.”

  Her expression took on greater concern. “I didn’t realize she had hired anyone. I can assure you, my events are very well run.”

  “This doesn’t have anything to do with you or your store so much as…” He lowered his voice. “Roxy has an overeager fan that we’re concerned may show up. In fact, we’re anticipating it. So if we could talk in your office, maybe?”

  She nodded. “That’s not good. I had no idea. We can absolutely talk.” She stood, then opened the small door that closed the window partition off from the rest of the store, and jumped down. “Follow me.”

  For an older woman, she was certainly agile, which was made even more impressive by the fact that witches never looked their age. They had their spells and potions and magic to hold back the hands of time. If Agnes appeared fifty, she might be seventy. Or older. But she’d act thirty. The streaks of color in her hair were evidence of that.

  “Lead the way.”

  She started off and he fell into step behind her. She pointed at the young fae man behind the counter. “Leo, mind the shop, I have a meeting.”

  Leo’s brows rose and he smiled. “You got it, Agnes.”

  Her office was in the back and had a small one-way window. The space was tiny and made even more so by the stacks of books, magazines and papers. She scooped a pile off one of the two chairs. “Have a seat.”

  Then she put that stack on her desk chair and sat on the desk. “What do you need me to do to keep Roxy safe?”

  He took the chair. “I’m glad you asked. Do you have any kind of security system? A closed-circuit camera set up?”

  She shook her head. “In Nocturne Falls? Nope.”

  “Not a big deal. I’ll be here tomorrow and I’ll have at least one other deputy with me, possibly two.” He wasn’t going to explain about Jenna’s sister just yet in case Tessa had other plans. “We’ll all be in plainclothes. The women should blend in well with the crowd. I know I won’t be able to do that, so I’ll probably pick a spot where I can see as much as possible and do my best to disappear while generally keeping an eye on things.”

  “You can have the run of the place if you like.”

  “Thank you. I was hoping maybe you and some of your friends from the coven might be able to cast some kind of protection spell over the place?”

  She grinned. “I already have an anti-theft spell in place. I can whip up something for tomorrow. It would be easier for me to do something specific for Roxy, but I’d need something of hers.”

  “Such as?”

  Agnes tipped her head back and forth. “A lock of hair, some eyelashes, fingernail clippings…you know, spell ingredients. But I suppose that would be a strange thing for either of us to ask her for. Especially since she’s human and doesn’t have any clue what this town’s about.”

  “No, she knows. She didn’t, but she does now.”

  Agnes grimaced. “How’d she take that?”

  “It was a little tough, but she’s adapting quickly.”

  “Good to hear. Does she know I’m a witch?”

  He shook his head. “Not unless Delaney told her. Roxy is at Delaney’s now. She’s spending the night there as a safety precaution.”

  “The stalker is that serious, huh?”

  He gave her a brief history of what had happened so far.

  “Okay, that is serious. Hey, if you have anything physical from this guy, I could scry for him, see if I could find out if he’s in town.”

  Alex sat back as best he could in the small space. “We don’t even have a fingerprint. So far, he’s a ghost.”

  “Literally? No, you said you actually had him pinned to the ground, so that can’t be.” She made a face. “This guy is not going to disrupt tomorrow’s event. I’m going to call a few of my coven members and seed the crowd with some extra help. We’ve got a few who can read auras, and picking out a guy in a group of woman won’t be hard. Then it’s just a matter of reading his aura to see if he plans to do harm.”

  “That would be great. Who do you have in mind?”

  “Right now, Kaley Van Zant is our best aura reader. Pandora Williams is her mentor.”

  “I know Pandora. In fact, I’ve been meaning to talk to her, but I don’t know Kaley. Is she new?”

  Agnes nodded. “She and her dad moved to town last year. He inherited the old Pilcher manor.”

  “Wait a second. Kaley is a kid. I don’t know if her father would appreciate her being involved in this.”

  “There won’t be any danger to her. If Pandora can’t be with her, we’ll find someone else. She’s just the best aura reader we have.”

  “All right, but make sure her father’s in the loop.”

  “I will. I suppose you want to have a look around the store now. Besides the sales floor, there’s a storeroom in the back. It’s where I keep stock, but also the magical books that I deal in. Those aren’t out in the open, for obvious reasons.”

  “I do want to see the rest, but…” He hesitated. “There’s one more thing.”

  “Sure.”

  “There’s a spell that can allow a human to live as a shifter. It’s old magic and very—”

  “No.” Agnes’ gaze turned cold. “That spell will ruin any human it’s placed upon. I don’t do that kind of magic. I won’t.”

  “Good,” Alex said. “That’s exactly the response I was hoping for. If Roxy brings it up, which is more likely something that would happen in the future, I hope you’ll explain to her why it’s such a bad idea.”

  Agnes’ expression softened. “You think she might ask me?”

  “If she finds out about it, and knows you’re a witch, yes. Right now, she doesn’t know such a spell exists. I’d like to keep it that way, but in this town…” He sighed.

  “She sweet on you? Is that why you think she’d want the spell? Or some other shifter?”

  “You know what I am, huh?”

  She grinned. “Honey, my first husband was a tiger. Literally. Too bad he’d used up eight of his nine lives when I’d met him. May he rest in peace. Anyway, I know you big cats when I see you.”

  Alex smiled. “We’re sweet on each other. Which is why I can guarantee you nothing’s going to happen to her tomorrow.” He stood. “I’ll go have my look around now. If I see anything out of the ordinary, I’ll let you know. And thank you for the spell thing.”

  “You got it, Officer. See you tomorrow.”

  Roxy shook her head in amazement. All Delaney had done was offer Pandora Williams a slice of her Tall, Dark and Handsome chocolate cake and Pandora had shown up thirty minutes later. Now the three women sat in Delaney’s kitchen, ruining their appetites for dinner and talking around the reason Delaney had invited Pandora over.

  Roxy couldn’t take it anymore. “So now that I know what Nocturne Falls is really about and I’m starting to find out who people really are—like you being a witch, Pandora—it’s making me feel…I don’t know, sort of like I’m standing on the outside looking in.”

  “I get that,” Pandora said. “Being a witch isn’t that far removed from being human. In fact, being a
witch is pretty different from being a vampire or being able to shift into a different shape. Although we can do that too, if we have enough magic and the right spell. Of course, that shape carries the limitations of the spell, which includes an expiration date, but it’s still a possibility.”

  “I’m glad you mentioned that,” Roxy said. She couldn’t have asked for a better segue. “That’s kind of why Delaney asked you here. So I could talk to you about a spell.”

  Pandora swallowed the cake she’d just eaten. “Oh? What can I do for you?”

  “First of all, I should ask what you charge. I have money, but as you know, most of it has gone into the house and that aquarium. So if this is going to be a lot of money, it’ll have to wait a while for my bank account to recover.”

  Pandora scoffed. “I’m not going to charge you for a spell. I mean, if the ingredients are super expensive, then we’ll have to talk. But seriously, I’m so happy to finally be able to do magic again that I’ll do just about anything for free.”

  That was a curious thing to say. Roxy squinted at her. “What do you mean about finally being able to do magic again?”

  Pandora finished the last of her cake. “My magic only recently started working again. All my life, my gifts were so unreliable that they were worthless. Nothing I did went as planned. I pretty much gave up using magic altogether. Then I met my boyfriend, Cole, and everything changed. Turned out he’s a human familiar. Long story short in terms a normie can understand, his presence makes my magic work. And work well.”

  “Wow, that’s really cool.” Roxy looked at Delaney. “Did you know about that?”

  “A little.” Delaney smiled. “Nothing stays secret in this town for long.”

  Something to remember. “Well, I’m really glad you got your magic working again. And not just because I’d love your help. But I would.”

  “All right,” Pandora said. “What kind of spell do you need?”

  Roxy took a breath. “I don’t know.”

  “And neither do I,” Delaney said.

  “But,” Roxy went on, “Delaney said if anyone would know, it would be you because your mom has a pretty intensive library of spell books, and because you’re mentoring a young witch, so you must be pretty knowledgeable.”

  “I like to think so.” Pandora smiled. “I spent years trying to figure out why my magic didn’t work, so I’ve done my time with those books. And now I’m super curious to hear what you’re after.”

  Roxy sat up a little straighter. “I want a spell that will turn me into a shifter. Specifically, the same kind as Alex Cruz. A panther shifter.”

  “Oh, fun.” Pandora’s eyes sparkled. “I’ll have to do some research, but I’ll see what I can come up with. In fact, I’ll swing by my mom’s on the way home and have a look through that library.”

  “Really?” Hope rose through Roxy’s body like a current of spring air. “So you think it’s possible?”

  Pandora chewed on her bottom lip. “I think it might be. I feel like I’ve heard about a spell like that, but let me do some research before I give you a firm yes. Hey, maybe I can tell you tomorrow at the signing. I plan to swing by anyway. I’m going to bring Willa Iscove with me. But be prepared. She’s probably going to go total fangirl. She loves your books. She got me reading them.”

  Roxy smiled. “I love her already. Is she a witch too?”

  “Nope. She’s fae. And legitimately the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. It’s a fae thing. They’re like unnaturally pretty. Totally not fair to the rest of us, but there you have it.” Pandora’s phone buzzed, and she glanced at the screen. “Huh. Speaking of witchy things, Agnes Miller just texted me to call her about tomorrow.”

  Roxy tilted her head. “Is Agnes a witch?”

  “Yep. Besides the regular books she carries, she handles a lot of grimoires and spell books too. I should call her real quick.” Pandora looked at them. “Do you mind?”

  Roxy and Delaney shook their heads at the same time.

  “Great.” Pandora dialed. “Hey, Agnes, what’s up?” She listened intently as she ate the remaining crumbs on her plate. “Uh-huh. Really?” Pandora glanced at Roxy. “No problem. I’ll ask him, but I’m sure it’ll be fine. Okay. See you then.” She hung up.

  “Everything all right?” Delaney asked.

  “Not exactly.” Pandora looked at Roxy. “You didn’t say anything about having a stalker. What the heck is going on?”

  Roxy explained as briefly as possible. “But why would Agnes call to tell you about that?”

  “Alex Cruz was in her shop doing some recon, and Agnes offered to have me bring in Kaley, my boyfriend’s daughter, to read the auras of any male customers who show up to see if they mean you harm.”

  Roxy flattened her hands on the table. “I had no idea that was even a possibility. But I really hope this guy doesn’t show up tomorrow. I don’t want any trouble. It’ll be chaotic enough with the signing and the parade.”

  Delaney patted her hand. “It’ll be fine.”

  “I agree,” Pandora said. “One guy against an assorted bunch of supernaturals? He’s got no chance.” She stood. “And now I better get going. I have a lot of work to do before making it to Cole’s at seven. Thanks for the cake, Delaney.”

  Delaney started to get up. “I’ll walk you out.”

  “Rest, mama-to-be. I know where the door is.” Pandora waved as she hiked her briefcase strap onto her shoulder. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

  Morning came bright and early, and as Alex was carrying his mother’s things to her car, a gleaming black Bentley pulled into Roxy’s drive. Roxy got out of the back, an overnight bag in her hand. Stanhill, Hugh Ellingham’s rook, was behind the wheel. She waved to him, then walked over to Alex. “Hiya.”

  “Hi. How was your night at Delaney’s?”

  “Oh, you know. Full of girl talk.”

  He popped the Caddy’s trunk. “You two all right now?”

  “Yep. We talked it all out. She told me about the history of the town and the Ellinghams and everything. Even about the water and the spell that’s in it to keep humans from figuring out the truth about this place.”

  “You really did talk it out. Did you get any writing done?”

  “A little.” She leaned against the car. “Kind of sad your mom’s going home today. I haven’t eaten that well in a long time.”

  “She’s not happy she’s missing the signing, but I told her I know people. And my freezer is full of meals. You’re welcome to join me anytime.” He put his mother’s bag and cooler in the trunk and shut it.

  Roxy smiled. “I like your mom. If you give me a few minutes, I’ll go sign a set of books for her to take home.”

  “You don’t have to do that.”

  “I know.” She lifted one shoulder. “But I want to. She’s the mother of the guy I’m crazy about. I need her on my side. And I have to come over and say goodbye.”

  He laughed, warmed by her words. “She’s already on your side, trust me.”

  “I do.” She stared up at him.

  He tried to read her expression. “Are you worried about today? Because you shouldn’t be. It’s going to be fine. Even if this guy shows up, I’ve got it covered.”

  She nodded. “I know. I’m not worried. And I think I’m going to be too busy to get worried.”

  She continued to study him, but he couldn’t read her. “There’s something on your mind. I just can’t figure out what.”

  She pursed her lips. “I was thinking that you could kiss me hello from now on.” She ran her fingers along the line of the car’s trunk. “If you wanted to, that is.”

  Hell yes, he wanted to. He leaned in and laid one on her. “Does that answer your question?”

  She laughed. “Very well.” She took a step back toward her house. “I should go get ready.”

  “What time do you need to be at the bookstore?”

  “The signing is from one to four. I told Agnes I’d be there at twelve thirty.”

/>   “Okay. I’ll drive you. If you want, you can come over here and have lunch, then we can go.”

  “I might be too nervous to have lunch.” She fiddled with the earring dangling from her right ear.

  “You have to eat something. That’s too long to go without food.”

  She laughed. “I can tell your mother’s been visiting. Okay, I’ll come over. In fact, let me go grab those books for your mom and then I’ll come say goodbye to her.”

  “Excellent. I’ll keep her occupied until you show up.”

  She turned to go, then stopped. “You didn’t see anything going on around my house last night, did you?”

  “No, and I did a perimeter check this morning. Nothing out of the ordinary.”

  “Good. Thanks. See you in a bit.”

  He watched her go, distracted by the sway of her hips and the flavor of her berry gloss on his mouth. He was still smiling as he went inside.

  “That happy I’m leaving, huh?” Carmen turned back to the sink and put the last of the breakfast dishes into the drainer.

  “You know I have a dishwasher.”

  “Eh, this is faster.”

  He doubted that, but if she wanted to hand-wash his dishes, he wasn’t going to put up too much of a fuss. If there was anything he knew about Carmen Cruz, it’s that she liked to feel useful. “I’m not happy because you’re leaving.”

  “Then why were you smiling?”

  “Because I’m a happy guy.”

  She turned to face him again. She leaned against the sink, taking off the rubber gloves she must have also brought with her. “You’re in love.”

  “I’m not in love.” No way. Not yet. It was too early for that. Much too early. But if Roxy really was his soul mate—

  “You smile like a man in love. Your father gets the same look every now and then. Mostly when I make flan.”

  “I like Roxy a lot, but our relationship is very young, Mom. I’m happy to just let it happen right now.”

  She pointed at him. “You’d better protect that woman. Whoever this nut is that’s after her, you find him and put him in jail.”

  “I’m working on it. And I will. Promise.”