“Woah, what’s this? I’m not stressing it, you know that. I’m here, hey, Monday we are shop shopping, like normal people.” He squeezed his hand on her leg. “Think about happy things like that.”
“But it’s not, is it? None of this is normal or happy. Witches, dead bodies. Dillon, why did he hit you?” She studied his face.
He shrugged. “He hit me because I was being an ass. It happens, guys do that when we test boundaries with each other. I deserved it.”
“Boundaries? And what boundaries are you two testing?”
“You are so special to me; you are everything to me. I would take more than a punch on the nose to establish you belong to me.”
“Is that established?” Her lips pursed. “You know you could have just both sat down with me and I would have told him I belong with you.”
Shane grinned. “I know you would have. It’s a guy thing. Now, what’s bothering you? Let me fix it, that’s a guy thing too.”
“I don’t need anyone to fix things for me. I need to do some things myself.” She ran her hand along his thigh. “I…” Her eyes drifted back to Dillon. “When we are alone, really alone, we need to talk.”
“You don’t have more demons after us, do you?” He winked at her.
“Not yet.”
“Then whatever it is will be just fine. Relax, your stress is making me a little nauseous.”
She frowned. “I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be, just tell me so that you can relax. I promise I won’t be as worried as you are.” His hand reached down to hers on his leg and his fingers twined between hers. “I love you.”
His words hung in the air. It wasn’t the first time he said it. Each time it caught her by surprise. Did she love him? She had to love him, they were lovers, that meant something. They were having a family, he wanted to move in. Would they get married? All of the questions flashed quickly across her mind.
His eyes sparkled as they always did. His smile was bright and full of hope. He was her future.
She pulled his hand up and kissed it. “I love you.”
“You do?” His grin grew.
“I do; I do love you, Shane.” Her smile matched his, until she saw Dillon standing a few feet away, looking broken.
“I have to go.” Dillon looked from her to Shane with his haunted eyes. “It’s work.”
“It’s your day off. What is it?” Gwen swallowed. “You’re off the case. Is it the case?”
“Easy.” Shane stood up and stepped beside her so he could hold her. “What’s up?” He looked at Dillon.
“It’s another body.”
“It’s not your case,” Gwen repeated as if that might make it go away.
“I’ll call as soon as I know something else. When I can.” Dillon looked at the table. “You got this, Shane?”
“Yeah, I’ll clean this up for her.” Shane waved him away. “Call us as soon as possible.”
“Wait, no. You can’t work this case, so stay here. You’re next. Stay here.” Gwen stood up and fought down a wave of dizzy. “I’m not kidding.”
“Shane, please.” Dillon took a few steps away. “I have to go.”
Shane put an arm around her and she brushed it off. “Don’t you two treat me like a helpless woman. I don’t see why you are leaving. You said they removed you from the case.”
“Hey, come on. Let him work.” Shane nodded toward the door. “Come back for dinner if you can?”
“Yeah, thanks.” Dillon left to the sound of more protests.
Chapter Sixteen
“C hange, grab coffee, whatever you need. Let’s go.” Gwen grabbed her purse and looked at Shane with determined eyes. After giving him a few seconds, she tapped the toe of her shoe on the wood floor. “Now, sweetheart. You heard Dillon, there’s a body. It’s Steven, I know it is, I can feel it. The time to talk about it is past.”
“Slow down, what time is it exactly? Where are we going?” Shane didn’t make a move to get ready.
Gwen waved a hand at him, looking annoyed. “Shane, now. You get ready or I’m going without you.”
“I’m ready, where are we going?”
“Following Dillon to start with.” She shifted her weight from one foot to the other while she watched him grab a few things. “I thought you were ready.”
He looked puzzled. “Why are we following him? Didn’t you want to be alone and talk?”
“That was before a body turned up.” She sighed, and walked out the door.
Shane followed, and got in the truck. “Why?” he repeated as he pulled his door closed.
“First, I want to see if it’s too late to save Steven.” She started the truck and backed up, quickly spinning it around.
“You can call Dillon for that.” He held onto the door. “You want me to drive? I’m not upset.”
She looked at him and narrowed her eyes. “Listen to me, I know you love me. I need you to understand that I have to do this, for me, for us, for our family. You might as well get used to the idea that I don’t need rescued.”
“I understand, just tell me what we are doing.” He reached over and rubbed her thigh. “You are so upset; it’s coming off you in waves.”
She stopped at the end of the drive and put her hand on top of his. “I am fine. I can handle being tense. We are going to see where we stand now. If she’s killed Steven, I need you to stay with Yardley. I’m going to summon her and kill her.” She pulled his hand up and kissed it. “The time to talk is gone. It’s time to do something.”
“You are? Summoning her? Alone.”
“Yes, alone. I am the only person she won’t hurt. Fannie wants my first born. Josephine won’t hurt me.” She squeezed his hand and rested it back on her leg, before she let go and pulled onto the road.
“Who’s Yardley?”
“He keeps, he’s…” She struggled with how much was safe to tell him. She didn’t want them to have to alter his memories afterward. That could hurt. “He’s Sebastian’s butler.”
“And he’s like a kung-fu master butler? Wouldn’t I be safer with Dillon and the guns?”
“No, you are safer with the kung-fu butler.”
“So you are just going to drop me at Sebastian’s house to be babysat, while you go summon killer witches?” He shook his head. “Not happening.”
“Don’t fight me on this.”
“Look, I haven’t fought you on anything, except staying. I fought you on that. I’m going to fight you on this. I’m not letting you run off alone. What if you need help?”
“You might be a bigger target now.” She looked toward Sebastian’s drive, but kept heading toward town.
“Why? I didn’t do anything. Fishing, didn’t even catch one.”
“I, we’ll talk later.” She looked down at her buzzing phone. “It’s the station.” She looked at Shane with worry, and then answered. “Yes, yes, we are in the truck. I’m on the way. Thank you.” When she hung up she frowned. “We have to go in anyway.”
“Was that Dillon?”
“No, Agent Linder wants to talk to me again. I assume that means it was Steven.” She focused on the road and drove as fast as was safe toward town.
Agent Linder was waiting at the reception area, talking with another agent, when they arrived.
Before she acknowledged the agent, Gwen turned to Shane. “Wait inside. Please, stay inside.” She held both of his hands and gave him a soft peck before she left him in the waiting area with Ronda.
Agent Linder led her to the same room. There was already a file on the table. He watched as she sat down and then he pulled out a picture from the file and slid it to her. “Do you know this man?”
“Yes.” Her voice was steadier than she expected, but she chalked it up to already having the feeling where this was going. “That’s Steven Greenly, we dated in college.”
“I understand you gave his name to the sheriff. Would you care to explain that to me?” He sat down and took the picture back.
She looked
from where the picture had been up to his eyes. There was no judgement, there was also no sympathy. “It seemed like a pattern. A lot of people knew I loved Steven. I assumed he would be in danger.”
“And the sheriff?” His pen froze, poised to write. “His name was mentioned.”
At that her voice took on a cracked sound. “Yes, most people in town knew, assumed, guessed. There was something there, between us. I, and then there is Shane.”
“Yes, ma’am. Is there anything you want to tell me about witchcraft?”
Her mouth dropped. If it had been any other topic, she would have been glad for the shift in the questioning. “What would I know about that?”
“Personally? Nothing, I should presume. Is there anyone in your past who showed an interest in both your lovers and witchcraft? Any roommates?” His face softened slightly. “Anyone you even regarded as odd?”
“Was Steven, is he, was there another, like before?” Her eyes stayed level with his.
“Yes, Miss Hensley, Steven was found this morning.”
She knew that, but it didn’t stop her from crying. A wash of guilt came over her, she should have stopped this sooner. Dmitry said he would watch over everyone, but he hadn’t. Counting on him to keep Dillon and Shane safe was not an option anymore. “Was it like the others? Some disgusting ritual?”
“Yes ma’am. Is there a reason for that you can think of? Any guess, no matter how farfetched you may think it is, could help me.” He looked at her with patient eyes.
Her eyes flicked down to the folder. “Can I see what they left?”
“No.” He breathed in through his nose and looked at her with an intensity that made her uncomfortable.
“Can you tell me about some things, maybe something will trigger a relevant person from my past.” She knew it was wrong to lie, but she hoped desperately that it had been different, not related to her.
Another body on her conscience was already weighing heavily on her heart. She did love Steven, even if he didn’t deserve her love, he certainly didn’t deserve to die.
This was not the closure she wanted with him.
“It was similar to the last one, you saw photos of that already.” He tapped his pen on the table. “There was one difference. There were feathers this time. Several large feathers.”
She gripped the table as the room started to spin. The lights seemed harsher. The table colder against her fingers. She could smell he was wearing some sort of soapy musk.
Everything assaulted her senses as she fought to stay aware and pulled together. “Lewis, Lewis?”
“Miss.” He got up and walked over with a glass of water. “What does that mean to you? Who is Lewis?”
“My, he’s, was my bird. Pet, my pet.” She sipped the water and focused. For now, she had to remain calm. “I had a bird. When I moved here. I don’t know how that would relate to Steven. What color were the feathers?”
The agent sat back in his chair and scribbled a few notes. “Black. When did your bird pass?”
“He went missing, my raven, was it a raven, were there just feathers? Were they bloody? God was there a raven body there?” Her mind flashed back to the last time she saw Lewis. They parted so coldly. Even though he left her for her enemies, she had felt he was still going to protect her. Was that what happened? Did he try to help? She would have called to him right there, but she had her charm from Sebastian in her pocket and the last thing she needed was to be pulling out voodoo charms in front of agent Linder. “I need, I, was there a raven?”
“Relax please, there were only feathers. Would you like coffee?” He watched her shake her head no. “Will I be able to find any sort of report from when he went missing? Burglary or something that might have prints associated with it?”
“No, no. He just flew away and never came home. What else can you tell me?” Her eyes looked up at him, pleading for something that would make this not about her.
He shuffled a few pages in the file, his eyes scanning the papers. “You are from New Orleans, originally?”
“Yes, why?”
“It’s reminiscent of voodoo in some abstract ways. Did you know anyone associated with hoodoo or voodoo growing up?” His pen tapped the page and then stopped when he looked up, locking his eyes on hers.
She could feel the weight of his stare, even though he didn’t have the unsettling look she came to loathe in her uncle and in so many other officers. “No, I kept to myself.”
He put everything back in the file and stood. “I know you are aware of your shadow from us, but I want to stress that does not ensure your safety, or that of Shane.”
“Is Dillon. Is the sheriff here?” She sipped her water again and looked around the harsh room.
His eyes flicked toward the door. “No, it’s his day off.”
Her brows creased. “Was he here? Was he at the site?”
“No ma’am. He’s no longer working this case.”
“But, never mind.” She wasn’t sure if his call had maybe come from Charlie, or someone who wasn’t supposed to tell him, and she didn’t want to get him in trouble. He would be the first person she called when they left. “Was there anything else?”
“Is the list you gave us complete?” He looked at her from beside the door, his hand resting on the handle. “Two names?”
“Yes.” She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t care for your insinuation.”
“I didn’t mean anything ma’am. I will be in touch. Please call me if you think of anything else. Even something you think sounds minor.” He opened the door and gave a fleeting smile that was more dismissive than comforting.
She agreed and walked out, feeling a sense of relief when she saw Shane waiting for her, reading the paper. He looked up as soon as she stepped in the room, folded the paper, and smiled. They walked out together, and got in the car.
“I need to call Dillon.” She was already dialing as she spoke. “The agent said he wasn’t called to the site. I am thinking Charlie is feeding him information, since it is so close to him.” She held the phone to her ear and started to frown as it rang. After leaving a short message, she hung up and tapped her fingers on the steering wheel. “We need to go back to the house. I need to summon Lewis.”
“That’s your familiar?”
“Where is yours?” She started the truck and pulled out.
Shane looked almost shocked at the question. “I don’t really do things like you do, sweetheart.”
“But you do have one, don’t you?”
“Sure.” He made an exaggerated frown. “I mean, maybe. I guess. There is a little critter that comes when I cast spells. I don’t summon anything, and I don’t chat with it.”
“Huh.” She could tell he didn’t want to talk about it, and drove toward the house as quickly as the speed limit allowed. “I’m going to need to summon him alone. I just don’t know what sort of things he is into right now, and I am going to call him into a bound circle.”
“Sweetie, if he’s dangerous enough for that, should you be calling him to our house?” He rested his hand on her knee. “I mean, we have enough to contend with, without summoning angry magical things.”
She gave a nervous chuckle. “I don’t think Lewis would hurt me, not really. I just don’t want to risk you. Not with his attachment to Fannie and now the babies.”
“Excuse me?” His hand on her leg twitched.
Gwen sighed. That was not the way she wanted that to come out. She had planned a quiet dinner, maybe a walk to the lake. Maybe next week, after she had killed the witch and seen the doctor. “I mean.”
“Babies?” He looked at her even more intense than the agent had. “You said babies?”
“I’m sorry. I wanted to make the announcement special, but I’m just not good with brain to mouth filtering. Mine’s broken. Shane, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean for this to happen like this.” She pulled off on the shoulder. “It’s…”
He flipped up the console and took off his seatbelt, sliding to her. “Swee
theart, that is the most fabulous thing ever.”
“F-fabulous.” She swallowed. “Shane, you…”
“I’ve never been happier. You are amazing. How do you know? Did you do a test thingy?” He hugged her as best he could, considering they were in the truck and she still had her seatbelt on.
His happiness brought tears to her eyes as it washed over her in waves. “You are the amazing one. I can’t believe how you are handling this.”
“Handling? You’ve got no idea how happy I am.” He kissed her deeply. You’ve saved my life, he thought. “You’re sure? Babies, plural?”
“Yes, I’m a witch, that’s how I know, and yes, plural.”
“Oh, check me out. Twins? Hot damn.”
“Shane, we can celebrate. I want to celebrate, but first. This really puts you in grave danger. Josephine has cursed the father of all children in my family, that may move you to being the only target. Do you understand that?”
“We should celebrate. Is there cake at the house, or do we need to turn around and get some?”
She turned his head gently with her hand on his chin. “Are you listening to me? I have to summon Lewis, there were feathers at the last murder site, he could be hurt or worse yet, he could be a part of it. If he is part of it…”
“I understand that. You do what you need to do, and then we celebrate. It’s not every day you start a family, you know. This is a big deal.” The relief he felt didn’t allow the new dangers to register. As far as he cared, the vampires would be appeased and he was in the clear. “Hey, did you say you just knew? When did you know?”
“After you went to bed last night. I intended to tell you after Dillon left and we were alone. I told you I wanted to talk, remember.”
“Let’s go home, I want to hold you and kiss you, and this truck isn’t best for that.” He grinned and scooted back to his side of the cab.
She shook her head and started the truck again. “You never fail to amaze me.”
“That’s good, right?”
“Yes, you are too good. Unreal.” She pulled back onto the road to finish the drive home.
Fateful Attractions Page 17