Simon followed me out. He kissed my cheek as I got to the Hummer. “Be careful?”
“I will, thank you. Sorry if you felt like the odd man out.”
He shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. Go take care of things. A couple nights from now you can come ward my bar.”
I smiled. It was so simple, warding his bar from human eyes, but I wanted to do it. It was familiar, safe, and had nothing to do with my past. “Sounds like a deal.”
I got in the Hummer and started the engine. I had time before I had to head to the mansion, and I could hit up the coffee shop to do my research. If I was honest with myself, I was avoiding facing Levi after learning what he hid from me. Part of me was angry, the other part of me was trying to understand where he was coming from.
I had settled myself on a comfortable chair with my laptop to work. The coffee house was quiet for once, and I relaxed in it. I logged into the PIB databases and started a deeper search for Starla Porter.
Nothing more had come up with her name or a cross-reference with Melody Grace. I sighed and went back to the serial murder.
I read through each article, looking at each victim and picture I could find. After pages of scrolling and studying, I found a picture with Grace, standing behind a gurney that held the victim. Except Grace’s face was tear-stained, and she held a hand to her mouth like she was trying to hide her grief.
She had to have known the victim. I looked at the caption below. “Starla Mortin, eighteen years old, newest victim,” was what the tiny caption under the picture said.
So Grace had taken on the name Starla from the victim? Where did Porter come from then? Who was the victim to her?
My phone rang, and I picked it up. “Liz, please tell me you have something? It’s killing me not being there.”
“Yeah, I have Melody Grace in custody, and I have an ID on the body we found.”
“Can I take a stab at who it is?” I didn’t take my eyes off the article in front of me.
“Sure.”
“Starla Mortin, eighteen years old at the time of death, victim of a serial killer.”
“How did you know?”
“I’m looking at an article about her right now, and in one of the pictures stands our Melody Grace. Can I come in for the interview with her? Please?”
There was hesitation on the other end. “I have her in connection to both our cases, which means I’ll be asking her about Clarissa.”
“Do you think you can charge her? What about the demon? Was that around? And the man that was with her at the house?”
Liz let out a noise that was part laugh and part sigh. “Okay Abby, just come in. If need be, I’ll send you out of the room.”
“Deal, thank you. I’m just down the road at a coffee shop. I’ll be at the station soon.”
She grumbled. “You were supposed to be home resting.”
“I was, then I got cabin fever.”
I’m sure she was shaking her head at me. “I’ll see you in a few minutes.”
I packed my stuff up and finished my coffee before going back to the Hummer. She’d managed to bring Grace in. Liz hadn’t answered my questions about the demon or anything, but we had at least one person in custody.
I drove to the police station, threw the Hummer in park, and nearly danced my way through the station. We were going to get her, and if we were lucky, Grace was also responsible for Clarissa’s death. A sick satisfying feeling rolled through me. There would be at least a little bit of justice served today.
I greeted a few of the officers that I knew and found Mason standing in the hallway in front of the interrogation rooms. “Hey.”
“Shouldn’t you be resting?”
I smirked. “Couldn’t miss this.” I motioned as Liz came waltzing down the hall. The Liz that joked around with me was gone and replaced by a determined PIB officer who wasn’t going to take crap. I nodded my head to her. “Agent Jefferson, thanks for letting me sit in on your interrogation.”
“It’s thanks to you that we’ve made some connections. The strand of hair from your case matched Grace’s DNA; we found a hair at our crime scene as well.” She nodded. “You ready for this?”
Holy shit, we got her. Now, all we needed to do was get her partner. I tried to hide my smirk, I was still riding a little bit of the magical high, and it was making me feel a bit cocky. “Let’s do this.”
We walked in together, and Grace looked up from the silver table she was bound to. I knew her cuffs were magically enhanced to block her from shifting.
“You look awfully good for being shot twice, Collins.”
I smiled sweetly at her. “I bounce back quickly, and your man missed my vital organs. Is he who helped you with the spell to bring back Starla Mortin?”
She twitched a little bit at the name. “I’m not talking. I want my lawyer.”
Liz nodded. “You called him already, right?”
“Yes, he should be here soon.”
“Well, you’ve already admitted to knowing Special Agent Collins being shot. Let’s talk about that.”
She tried to settle back in her chair and kept her mouth shut. I was itching just to use a truth rune, but I needed to follow Liz’s direction on this.
Liz gave a wicked smile and started chanting, drawing a rune on the table with her finger. I watched as a glow followed her motions.
“I’m not stupid enough to touch your truth rune,” Grace snapped. “Parlor tricks, I know them well. That’s all you can do as a PIB agent.”
Liz raised a brow and put her hand on the rune, with a flick of her wrist the rune grew and the glowing spread to cover the floor. I felt the magic crackle around me; I kept the gasp from escaping my mouth as my hair rose on my arms. I’d never seen anything like it before. “Really? Parlor tricks? Did you not read the handbook about working the Black Magic Task Force? As witches, we’re allowed to do a lot more. But you’re a shifter, so maybe you didn’t think to look into that.”
I wasn’t aware there was a handbook, but I had a feeling I was going to get a lesson I didn’t ask for. Judging by the look on Grace’s face, she was going to get one too.
“We have permission to use a little bit of extra force. I do have to inform you though. Melody Grace, alias Starla Porter, you are now under the influence of a truth spell that affects all members of the room.”
Oh fuck.
Grace started laughing.
“Now, I can’t ask you anything that you haven’t brought up and may require your lawyer, but I can ask you about witnessing Abigail getting shot.”
Grace’s lips formed a straight line. “Your Agent came to my house uninvited. He was just protecting our property.”
“You’re leaving out the demon.” I blurted out without any control. I hated truth spells. “And I came to make amends and to snoop because I had evidence that you were involved.”
It was time to shut up. Grace traced her finger idly over the table, near Liz’s.
“You two are so dense if you think you can stop me. Stop us. Carson is out there now with the demon.”
Carson? It couldn’t be the same Carson that Merick was talking about. Could it?
“He promised me revenge on the bastard that killed my sister. Promised that he could bring her back if I got him the information he needed.” Her eyes met mine. “Your precious partner killed my sister.”
I jerked. “Nick wouldn’t do that.”
“He failed to catch the asshole who killed her, who’s killing now.”
I tried to make a timeline in my head. “Nick would have been a rookie then, just barely starting in PIB.”
“Nick started out as a cop,” she snapped. “Didn’t you research the hell out of your partner?”
“Well no, because until I met you and Tomes, I didn’t think I had to worry about PIB agents,” I shot back.
Liz looked up as people started screaming outside. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I didn’t want to face the demon again. “Wait, Liz, can you do a
full circle that way?”
She nodded. “I don’t know the demon trap one though.”
I grabbed her notebook and pen and drew it out.
She grabbed the paper from me and started tracing the line mumbling the welcoming of the elements and the goddess.
The crashing sounds came closer, and Grace started laughing maniacally. My heart pounded, and I was praying that Liz was going to be able to pull this off, her tiny circle could act like a miniature guide for me.
I felt the magic click into place. “Wait for it.”
“You can’t trap him, Abigail.” Grace squealed behind me. “No one can control him.”
The demon came crashing through the door and the wall. This wasn’t the same one that had knocked me around before; this one had claws the size of my head dripping with blood already. His elongated face had teeth that would make any vampire pale in comparison. Leathery black and red skin stretched over its humanoid form, and it locked red eyes on me.
Fuck. That. Shit.
The damn thing picked up the door and threw it at us. Liz and I jumped out of the way, and I saw her drop the paper with the tiny glowing circle on it.
Crap crap crap.
The demon roared while Grace laughed. “Get her.” She pointed with her bound hands. “Shred her.”
It came rampaging toward me, and I threw my hand out for a circle, it probably wouldn’t work, but I had to try. I didn’t try for a purple one this time. The red glow wrapped around him, but he crashed right through it.
I cringed as my magic shot back into me, and I backed up and drew my gun. My body ached with the movements as I aimed and shot, the recoil sending a wave of pain through me.
Liz grabbed the paper from behind the demon and gave me a nod. The demon didn’t hesitate as my bullets pierced its shoulder or stomach. A head shot wasn’t working because I couldn’t keep the gun aimed with the pain.
I jumped out of the way as a claw swiped at me. I felt the magic flair up as Liz seemed to shoot the circle off the paper and onto the floor under the demon’s feet. I threw my own magic into it to fortify Liz’s.
It stopped as the red lines circled it and the intricate designs crossed below his feet.
I held my breath as it seemed to laugh at me. He tried to move forward, but his foot wouldn’t budge. Oh, thank the goddess. I smiled, and I knew it wasn’t nice. This was more advanced than the circle I had used at the book fest, but with Liz and my magic together, we had him.
Grace shouted behind me, but I paid no heed to what she was saying. I spoke the words that would send the demon back to his hell hole. With each phrase he started banging against the circle trying to get out, pushing against the magic. His claws tried to shred the red around him, but it was no use.
The last word fell from my lips, and I felt my magic push out, and the circle spun and shrank until that and the demon disappeared with a little pop.
I tried to catch my breath and fell to my knees. Exhaustion filled me, and pain floated through my stomach and arm. Liz came up next to me. “Where on earth did you learn that?”
I snorted. “My uncle, he thought I needed to be well prepared.” It was that moment that I realized that the truth spell was still active. I stood and turned to Grace, ignoring the shouts and busted wall behind me.
“Why the demon Grace?”
“Because he could kill someone for a sacrifice and it wouldn’t taint Carson’s aura. He didn’t know how many sacrifices we’d need to bring Starla back.” She met my gaze.
I put my hands on the table and leaned forward. “Tell me exactly what is going on.”
“You’re breaking the rules,” she chided, “I can’t answer that without my lawyer here.”
It was a way of getting around the truth, she knew it, I knew it, and all I wanted to do was smack her. Liz wiped the truth rune away as I heard sirens get closer to the building. How many people had the demon killed as it rampaged in here? How many more people was Grace trying to kill to bring back the real Starla?
“This isn’t over.” I spun and turned around to look at the damage. It looked a lot like a movie when something barrels through a building, except there were more bodies than you see in a film. My heart fell as I looked around for Mason. I saw him off to the side talking with some officers and giving orders, pointing his finger in various directions.
The knot in my stomach eased, and I looked at Liz. “I think I’ve had enough excitement for today.”
“I’ve got it from here. I’ll see you in the office tomorrow? For paperwork?”
I rolled my eyes. “For paperwork.”
“Not so fast.” A PIB agent I didn’t know stepped up to us. “We need statements.”
I glanced at Liz, and she nodded. “You’re not getting out of it Abby.”
Of course I wasn’t. I looked at Grace who was waiting patiently with her hands folded. She looked more like a cat who ate the canary than someone waiting to be interrogated.
I turned to go with the PIB agent who held his hand out to introduce himself when the man who had shot me stepped up.
He wore a three-piece suit and held a black leather briefcase in his hand. He brushed passed me with a knowing smile and went to Liz.
“Hello, I’m Carson Trimm, and I represent Melody Grace.”
You had to be fucking kidding me. I turned to tell Liz about him, but the PIB agent cleared his throat. “Agent Collins, I’m Agent Cavendish, we need to talk about what just happened.”
“Give me a second; I need to tell Liz something.”
Liz raised a hand. “I think I know Abby, go.”
She wanted me out of there. I could trust her. I needed to trust her on this. I took a deep breath and turned back to Agent Cavendish and followed him away from what was left of the interrogation room.
A couple hours later, I was done giving statements, and Liz had moved Grace to a more secure location. I had barely had time to get back to the mansion before the vampires woke for the evening. I had just slipped into the kitchen to make me some coffee when Levi and Mario both walked in.
I tried to give them a casual look as they eyed the coffee and then me.
“What have you been doing today, Abigail?”
I didn’t miss the accusing tone of Levi’s voice. “Oh, you know, I went into town to the house to feed my cat and get a few things. Then I went to the coffee shop to work and came back up here.”
“Is that why you have plaster in your hair? And dust on your clothes? Why you smell like gunpowder?” Mario raised a brow. “Why do you bother trying to lie?”
I looked down at my black clothes and let out an irritated sigh. “Okay fine, I went to the station to help Liz interrogate Melody Grace, and there was a rampaging demon, okay?”
“While you were wounded.” Levi hung his head in defeat. “Abigail, how could you do something so stupid?”
“I wasn’t expecting the demon. And isn’t it normally Mario’s job to call me stupid?” I narrowed my eyes. “Oh, Merick will be here in a couple hours.”
“What?” They both spoke at the same time, and it gave me some satisfaction.
“That’s who I’m bringing in as my second.” I grabbed my coffee and headed toward the hallway. “I can trust him to have my back, and I know he’s stronger than Hannah. I can’t use magic, but he can. Isn’t that part of the truce?”
“We didn’t negotiate about magic, we tried, but Ira didn’t want to agree, saying he wanted Hannah to be able to defend them if you lost control.”
I sipped my coffee, proud of myself for not lashing out about the information I was now aware of. I met Levi’s gaze. “Then I want Merick to have my back. I’m wounded. If something goes wrong, there’s only so much I can do with a knife with my non-dominant hand.”
“Mario—”
“Can’t do jack shit against Hannah.” I shook my head. “You’re not winning this one. Now, if you would excuse me, I apparently have to go shower because I have plaster in my hair.”
L
evi followed after me. “Abigail, Merick is Cult. He cannot be trusted.”
I spun around to face him. There was so much I wanted to shout and scream at him, but I couldn’t. Not now. I needed to focus on surviving tonight first. “That is my call to make right now. If Clarissa were alive, I would have asked her, because her magic focused on protection. I don’t have that option now. Oliver would have been my next choice, but no, he had to give some things up to save me from Mario’s fuck up. So he’s not an option. Nick is…well, I don’t know what the hell he is.”
“But Cult?” Levi searched my face. “They are responsible for your parents’ death.”
“Not Merick. He didn’t sign their death warrant.”
“How do you know you can trust him?”
I sighed. “Because he’s saved my ass a couple times.”
“You’ve been lying about him. No secrets, that was the deal when you turned eighteen Abigail.”
I snorted. “You’re one to talk. I have to go get ready for my trap with Ira.” I brushed passed him and went to my room. I wasn’t going to look back at him. I wasn’t going to call him out right this moment about him lying to me. No. Survive first. Ask questions and demand answers later.
I got into my room and set my coffee down on the nightstand. On the bed was a new outfit laid out. Originally, I had expected a dress, like when I meet with the council with Levi, but no, this was something much more suited to me.
Leather pants and a blood red shirt. Next to it sat my blades, two that would go in my boots, and one that would go in a sheath on my back. I wouldn’t go in looking weak. I’d go in looking dangerous.
I smiled at the ensemble before going to the shower. I faced down a demon today. I could handle a couple vampires. I took my time showering and then getting dressed. Taking pleasure in arming myself. If things went down tonight, I wasn’t going without a fight. I was free from Ira’s influences, so the only thing I had to worry about was Hannah’s magic.
The moment I walked into the foyer, I knew that wasn’t true. Oliver stood there with Merick. Levi was shaking his head. “No. You can tell Ira that we are done with negotiations.”
Here Witchy Witchy Box Set 2 Page 62