by Amy Boyles
I nodded. “Pray that I don’t get fired.”
Kate gave me a quick hug. “Don’t worry. I’m sure everyone will forget in five minutes.”
“I hope.”
After she left, I turned to Dot. “You think the orbs will disappear?”
Dot shrugged. “No clue. I’ll get Vordrid to look into it.”
I kicked off my boots and sank into a chair. “Thanks.” My phone chirped from my purse. I crossed to it and read a text from Stone.
We still on for dinner?
I sighed. Of course we were. I’d almost forgotten. In fact, it was our last date before Thanksgiving and cooking took up all my time.
I showered and got ready. Stone arrived at seven o’clock. Right on time. He looked awesome in a crisp blue shirt that made his silver eyes seem even more, umm, silvery, and dark jeans.
He threaded his fingers through mine and kissed me on the cheek. A tingle of pleasure washed down my spine. For a moment I let myself be overcome by the safety I felt with him. “You look beautiful.”
I tucked a loose strand of hair behind an ear. “Thank you. Where are we off to?”
“How about the steak house?”
“Sounds great.”
As we drove, Stone squinted at the road. “What’s with all the feathers on the road? Did a turkey convention come through town?”
I laughed nervously. “Oh, ha-ha. Funny you should mention that.”
He remained silent while I explained the entire story.
“Hmm. I’m sure it’ll blow over.”
I squeezed his arm. His bicep tightened under my fingers. “I hate to say it but maybe I deserved it. I wasn’t exactly nice to the fairies. Well, let me take that back. I deserved something. I’m not sure I should have been given that exact punishment. I mean. I doubt most of the town even noticed.”
We reached the restaurant. Stone opened my car door and beat me to opening the restaurant door as well.
“When you’re with me, you’re a lady and my date.”
Heat bloomed on my cheeks. After Dex had died, Gabby consumed so much of my time that I forgot I was a woman, and had also let the feeling of being treated like one slip from my mind.
Which was why I adored Stone. He was brutally handsome, incredibly strong, thought of me as woman and, for an angel, even treated me as his equal.
We headed inside. As soon as the cold air retreated behind us, the entire room pivoted their gaze in my direction. All eyes focused on me.
I fidgeted. “Then again, maybe they did notice.”
The hostess seated us, but within five minutes the manager was standing at our table. He wore a wine-colored shirt, black tie and a sheen of sweat so thick on his forehead you could’ve filled a swimming pool with it.
“Umm, yes. Excuse me. Sorry to disturb you.”
“Yes?” Stone said.
The manager cleared his throat and adjusted his tie. My stomach sank. Ugh. I had a terrible feeling about this. “I hate to bother you, but we’re getting complaints.”
Stone’s gaze hardened. I would hate to see the angel angry. I mean, like really angry. His sucker punch could cause a shock wave, something I had experienced firsthand. I hated to see what else he could do.
“What sort of complaints?” he said.
The manager forced an uncomfortable smile. At least, it looked forced and uncomfortable. I liked to think it was.
“It’s about you, miss. The other patrons are uncomfortable with, ahem, a witch in the restaurant.”
My heart fell to my knees, flopped around on the floor and found the nearest cliff to dive over. That’s what it felt like. I twisted the ends of my hair. “Okay. That’s fine. We’ll leave.”
“We don’t have to leave,” Stone said.
I shook my head. “Let’s just go.” I clutched his arm. Tears sprang to my eyes.
Stone sighed and nodded. “Okay.”
Shame overcame me as we walked through the restaurant. All I wanted to do was stick my head in a pile of sand and never surface.
Ever again.
My stomach twisted with anxiety. Ugh. I did not need to get sick on top of being completely ridiculed.
We reached the car. I scuffed the bottom of my shoes on the asphalt.
A flash of inspiration crossed Stone’s face. “Wait right here.” He kissed me on the forehead and dashed into a brightly lit pizza restaurant. He returned five minutes later with an extra-large box.
“I’d take your hand, but I’m afraid I’ll drop this,” he said, grinning.
I smiled. “No worries. Where to?”
He nodded toward a fountain just outside the red buildings. A fish with puckered lips spewed water into the basin below. Perfect. If we couldn’t eat inside, I’d wrap myself up tight and eat outside. It wasn’t too cold for that.
We sat on the rim, and Stone opened the box. Six slices of all varieties awaited me.
He swept his hand over the box. “Take your pick. Have a slice, any slice.”
I giggled as I pulled out a simple choice of sausage and pepperoni. “Want to split it?”
He shook his head. His dark hair moved like water as he tossed a shock of bangs from his eyes. “No thanks. I’m going Hawaiian tonight.”
He picked a slice of pineapple and ham and started munching. I chewed slowly, taking a moment to gather my thoughts and courage for what I had to tell him next.
“I went to see Dex yesterday.”
Stone stopped chewing. He nodded slowly. “What did he say?”
“That they still think I did it. But he made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.”
“Oh?”
“He said he’d pack up all the supernaturals and get them to leave if I helped figure out who killed Cal.”
“Sounds like he wants to get back together.”
I pinched my brows together. “I hope not. That’s not going to happen.” I decided to take an opportunity here. “Would that bother you if he was?”
Stone choked on his pizza. “Andie, you do what you want to do. You know that things between us can only go so far. I don’t want you to sacrifice anything waiting on me.” He paused. “I think you know how I feel about you. You’re unlike anyone I’ve ever met before. You’ve shown me a fierceness to your love that I admire, that shoots straight into my soul. I would never ask you to make a choice because my role in this is limited.”
A fissure of pain raced down my heart. Here was a man I wanted to be with, who could comfort me and offer ageless wisdom, but I couldn’t be with.
Oh, the agony. Best think about other things.
“Anyway, not to change the subject or anything…” I shook my head. “But going back to Dex— I’m now on the case.”
Stone crumpled a napkin in his fist. “What’ve you found out so far?”
I poked the air with my index finger. “Some very interesting things. Cal’s ex-girlfriend Chloe just opened up a witch shop in town. Said she moved here to get away from him, but I found out they had a huge argument at the coffee shop and—this is the best part—I found a positive pregnancy test in her bathroom.”
Stone’s eyebrows rose. “So what are you thinking?”
I shook my head. “I’m not sure yet. I don’t know much other than a few random facts.” I chewed on my pizza and thoughts for a moment. “What if Chloe was pregnant with Cal’s child? She confronted him, and he didn’t want to have anything to do with it?”
Stone swiped a paper napkin over his mouth. “That’s certainly a reason for some people to kill.”
I nodded. “I need to see if I can get into Cal’s house. Look around a bit. I’m sure Dex can get me access.”
“I’m sure,” Stone muttered.
I elbowed him. “He made me a promise that I intend for him to keep. He and all the rest of these supers in Normal will get out of here, and life will return to, well, normal. It may keep Gabby safe.”
Stone’s jaw clenched. “And what about tonight? What you did to the fairies, rounding their ear
s, is nothing compared to making your life so complicated.”
I sighed. “I know. I’ll find out tomorrow morning what’s going to happen to me—at least when it comes to work.”
A crash sounded from a side street. Stone and I exchanged glances before dropping our pizza and running toward the danger.
I mean, I was a hunter. Throwing myself in the middle of a dangerous situation wouldn’t have been something I would’ve done two months ago, but with Stone by my side I felt safe.
We reached the side street. A metal trash can clanked down the asphalt as it rolled away from us. The matching lid hit a wall. It clattered as it came to rest on the road.
I paused. I heard Stone breathing beside me, felt his energy. Goose bumps washed down my arms. Something was at the end of the road, but I couldn’t place what. I pulled the energy from the air. My magic flared. Sparks lit my fingertips.
Yes, I knew that if someone from town saw me, this would be more damaging to my reputation, but what other choice did I have?
A dark figure shot out of the back. It scaled up the side of a wall, away from us.
“Wait here,” Stone said.
To heck with that. I ran at full speed, right behind the angel. For a moment I wondered why he didn’t spread his wings, but then I realized there were probably rules about showing off angel gear in public. We rounded the building and looked up, trying to see something, but whatever it was had vanished.
Same as earlier today.
When I caught up to Stone, he was breathing hard, his chest puffed up from the exertion. I had to admit, he looked trim and nearly good enough to lick.
“I thought I told you to wait.”
I smirked. “Yeah. No. I’m not sitting around when there’s a super doing something suspicious.”
“Well, we lost him,” he said. “But I got a strong whiff of werewolf scent.”
I narrowed my eyes. “When I was at the witch shop earlier, a dark figure broke into the back. I think it might’ve been a werewolf, too.”
“Maybe the same one,” Stone said.
I rubbed my chin. “So why is a werewolf breaking and entering certain places in Normal?”
Stone tapped his fingers against his hips. “I don’t know. But I know one thing.”
“What’s that?” I said.
His silvery eyes blazed with a fiery intensity. “I plan to find out.”
NINE
We left downtown. Stone promised to look into the werewolf and would let me know anything he discovered. So I put it out of my mind that night and went to bed knowing the next day would decide my future at Giving Trunk.
When I arrived at school the next morning, my stomach was a jumble of knots. I was running late, so I was already frazzled. But when I reached my classroom, it was completely empty.
That was weird. Usually there was at least one child in there. I knew it was Thanksgiving week and all, which meant attendance would be slim, but still, there should’ve been one kid.
Kate met me in the room. I’d called her on my way to ask if she could cover for me until I arrived, which as best friends go, she was happy to do.
My bestie offered me a sympathetic smile. “No one’s here yet.”
I chewed my bottom lip for a moment. “Yeah. Don’t you think that’s weird?”
Kate gave me a big hug. Now I knew I was in trouble. I wasn’t crying. Why the intimate contact?
“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” she said.
The door opened, and Miss Givens walked in. Givens, as we all called her, had hair the color of steel wool, red lipstick that I swear was tattooed on, and plastic, red-framed glasses.
“Kate, would you please leave us alone for a moment?”
Kate shuffled off.
Boy, now I knew this wasn’t going to be good. Givens hadn’t even bothered to greet either of us.
“Andie, sit down.”
I awkwardly sat in one of the wooden toddler chairs sprinkled around the room. Givens did not sit. With my knees jacked up to my throat, I gave her my biggest, most innocent smile.
“What’s up?”
Givens snorted. “What’s up is that I’ve been toggling calls for the past day. Some very disturbing news is going around town.”
“You mean about those feathers?” I laughed nervously. “Yeah, that whole thing’s crazy. It’s like a huge chicken molted right over the town. Imagine that.”
Givens adjusted her glasses. “That’s an entirely different bucket of worms. Andie, you know why I’m here.”
I swallowed a knot in my throat. “Oh?” I said innocently enough. “You mean that pesky rumor about the whole witch thing? What nonsense.” I splayed my fingers over my chest. “I mean, I can understand a rumor that I’m not a natural blonde, but even that’s total crap. I might touch up the honey streaks, but otherwise, this is au natural.”
Givens cleared her throat in the most intimidating way. Like she had a huge ball of phlegm hanging out in there and had to hack it up. “Andie, I don’t care what you do in your personal life. Short of worshipping Satan, I don’t care. But when I’ve got concerned parents pulling their children from your classroom—”
I struggled to get out of the tiny chair. The back of it hooked around my butt cheeks. I pushed it to the floor, where it clattered on the carpet. Well, there went my cool points for the day.
I shoved up my sleeves. “Wait. Parents are pulling their children?”
Givens grimaced. “I’m afraid so. Many are threatening to pull their children from the school entirely unless I do something.”
My gut twisted painfully. I bit down on the inside of my cheek. “What sort of something are you thinking about doing?”
Givens clasped her hands in front of her. “I hate to do it, but I have to put you on administrative leave. At least until we figure this whole thing out. Hopefully we can get some things straightened out over the Thanksgiving holiday. If the parents’ temperatures cool off, I may be able to bring you back. Otherwise…”
I just didn’t even want to ask, but I had to. “Otherwise?”
“Otherwise I have to fire you.”
All the feeling drained from my skin. I felt numb, dumb and overcome.
Givens patted my shoulder, but I barely registered the contact. “Go home, Andie. I’ll be in touch.”
I shouldered my purse and left, blinking back the tears threatening to blind me. I got behind the wheel and gripped it hard between my hands. It was early. I didn’t want to go home. I needed to put all this witch crap behind me. Get it right. Obviously going straight to the fairies who cast the spell wasn’t going to work.
I needed their leader.
I picked up the phone and dialed home. Dot answered on the tenth ring. I swear. I knew that woman wasn’t doing anything. She was probably waiting for Gabby to answer it.
“Hello?” she said.
“Thankfully I’m not in mortal danger. I’d be dead by now if I was waiting for you to pick up and save me.”
Dot laughed. “You’re so silly, Andie. I have on my danger bracelet.”
Excuse me? “Your what?”
“The bracelet that lets me know if anyone close to me is in danger. That’s how I know you’re okay. But if you’re insinuating that I let the phone ring for a long time, that’s because I like to screen my calls during the day.”
“What? Do you have a warlock with bad breath trying to date you or something?”
Dot scoffed. “Of course not. Anyway, we’re doing good here. No need to check on us.”
I pressed my forehead against the steering wheel. “I’m not. I need to talk to Vordrid.”
“He’s not here.”
“Where is he?”
“We dropped him off at Dex’s house a few minutes ago.”
I jerked up at that. “You did what?”
“Andie, he’s helping out with the investigation. So that’s where he is.”
“Is Dex there?”
“I assume. We didn’t walk in.”
/> “I don’t believe you.”
“Andie, I’m not going against your wishes. When you want Gabby to meet Dex—”
“Which is never—”
“Then I’ll let you do the introducing.”
I sighed. “Give me the address.”
Ten minutes later the 4Runner was idling outside a two-story brick house standing on a large swatch of yard.
Where had Dex gotten the money for this?
A tornado of butterflies whirled in my stomach. I don’t know what the heck I was so nervous about. I should be mad, not nervous. Still, I flipped down the vanity mirror and made sure my vanity was in place, as well as every hair and the shiny new lip gloss I’d purchased on sale from the dollar store.
I turned off the engine and headed down the sidewalk. From the outside I could tell the windows had either dark curtains covering them or steel-plated shutters. Hard to know which unless I got inside.
I rang the bell. An older man, probably in his midseventies, answered. He had a plump nose, red cheeks and thin hair.
“Yes?” he said.
“Is Dex here? I’m Andie.”
The man’s jovial face instantly transformed into one of complete understanding. “Come in.”
I stepped inside to luxurious surroundings. Dark walnut paneled the walls, sconces lit the corners and full green ferns added a touch of nature to the inside.
“Who are you?” I said. I mean, up until my husband had been turned into a vampire, I knew everything about him. But now he was clearly fabulously wealthy with some sort of manservant answering the door.
“I’m Fitzsimmons. You can call me Fitz for short. Please excuse me while I let Mr. Taylor know you’re here.”
I took a moment to drift into the living room. Twelve-foot ceilings, a crystal chandelier, and steel-plated shutters were the dominant features. Little metal statues of naked people graced the tabletops, and more crystal hung from the wall sconces.
When did Dex get all glass and artsy on me?
“I didn’t realize I’d put in a call for a warrior princess, but I’m glad you came.”
My shoulders pinched together, while at the same time my heart jumped. It was a strange combination—one of tension but also of hope, of longing.
I shoved all those darn feelings down, down, down to where I hoped they’d never surface ever again.