“I doubt it,” Doc piped in. “I think it’s probable the two cases are tied together. Whether that means you’re tied to the first case remains to be seen. But it would make more sense if you were the cause. That would explain a lot.”
I didn’t immediately respond. I didn’t have to. Gunner did it for me.
“We’ll take it one step at a time,” he insisted. “We need more information before we can figure any of this out. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
GUNNER INSISTED ON DRIVING ME home. Mike wasn’t in the office when I messaged, so I didn’t expect to hear back from him for at least twelve hours. He was off duty, which meant he wasn’t checking his email. It was probably for the best, because I needed some sleep.
“Well, thanks for the escort home,” I offered lamely when Gunner walked me to my door. “It wasn’t really necessary.”
“I felt it was.” He watched me intently as I inserted my key into the lock. “I don’t think you should be here alone tonight. And before you jump into your usual routine, it’s not because you’re a weak female. You’re obviously thinking ... and I want to be nearby if you have a nightmare.”
I hadn’t even considered that. The nightmares were close to the surface these days. I was exhausted, but if I was afraid to fall asleep that wouldn’t bode well for the following day. I would need my faculties firing on all cylinders to figure this out. Still, I didn’t think having an over-nighter so early in our relationship was a good idea.
“I don’t think we’re there yet,” I said softly.
“We’re not. I have no intention of trying anything. I think it’s a good idea if we’re together in case ... well, in case of a lot of things. I want to be close if you hear back from Mike, even though I think he’s a tool.”
The derisive comment had me laughing. “I think the fact that you’re jealous of him is amusing.”
“I’m not jealous.”
“You sound jealous.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not.” He gently brushed my hair from my face. “If you have nightmares, I want to know it. If Flint and Drake try to attack you when they believe you’ll be vulnerable, I want to be here.
“And, yes, I know you can take care of yourself,” he continued. “But I want to be part of whatever fiery attack you throw at them. I think I’ll find it funny and I’m always up for a few laughs.”
That reminded me of our earlier conversation. “Are you going to get naked to incur those laughs?”
He extended a warning finger. “Don’t push it.”
I exhaled heavily as I rubbed my forehead. I would be lying if I said the idea of him spending the night — no romance expected — didn’t appeal. It still felt odd. “Are you sure? I really don’t want to jump in with both feet just yet.”
“I don’t want that either. Sleep only. I promise.”
That was all I needed to hear. “Okay.”
He double-checked the lock on the front door while I checked Merlin’s food and water dish. I changed into comfortable sleep shorts and a T-shirt in the bathroom. I considered leaving my bra on because I thought it might alleviate some tension, but that wouldn’t be comfortable. Ultimately, I tossed it in the hamper.
Gunner was already in the bed when I joined him. He was shirtless, which almost made me drool. Seriously, he was unbelievably cut ... and hairless. That seemed to indicate he waxed or shaved his chest, something that seemed out of the realm of normal for a guy like him, but I opted to save that discussion for another time.
“No funny business,” I warned as I rolled in beside him. I lifted the blankets enough to assure myself that he was wearing boxer shorts. “I mean it.”
“I left my clown nose at home.”
I laughed. I rolled onto my back, my eyes riveted on the ceiling. “I’m so tired, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to sleep.”
“You will.” He killed the lights and rolled next to me, wrapping his arm around my waist and tugging so I was on my side, my cheek on his shoulder. It was a new sleeping arrangement for me, something I couldn’t ever remember trying. That didn’t mean it was uncomfortable.
“Shut your mind,” he ordered, his lips brushing against my forehead. “You need the downtime. You’re too wound up.”
I couldn’t argue with that. “Okay.” My voice was shaky whisper. “I hope they don’t attack tonight. I’m not in the mood for a big battle.”
“If they’re smart they’ll stay away.”
That was the question. Exactly how smart were they? I didn’t have time to debate it. My mind shut down relatively quickly and I slipped into slumber. I would think about it tomorrow ... after a good night’s sleep. That’s all I wanted. Somehow I knew Gunner’s determination to remain by my side would ensure that outcome. It was a nice feeling, and something to mentally explore the next morning.
Eleven
I woke feeling rested. As with every morning, I stretched before getting out of bed … and that’s when I remembered I wasn’t alone. Slowly, so as not to wake him, I turned to study Gunner’s face. It was serene in sleep, his chin stubbled and somehow adding to his appeal. He looked relaxed, as if he belonged in the bed … and then, slowly, he opened one eye.
“If you stare any harder I’m going to develop a complex,” he muttered, causing me to smirk.
“You’re kind of pretty. I couldn’t help myself.”
“You’re kind of pretty, too.” He ran his tongue over his teeth, his eyes busy as they roamed my face. “How did you sleep?”
“Good.” I meant it. “No bad dreams.”
“Perhaps that’s because I was here. Maybe I’m the answer to the question.”
It takes me a while to wake up in the morning and today was no exception. “What question?”
“The one about what it is, exactly, you need to chase away the dreams.”
“Maybe you are the answer.” I rolled to face him, ignoring the way my hair tufted out. He’d seen me after a hard sleep before. If my hair hadn’t scared him previously, it wasn’t about to now. “And maybe I shouldn’t be running from the dreams.”
He arched an eyebrow and rubbed his cheek before moving his hand to my arm. It was a companionable move, nothing sexy about it, but my cheeks burned at the contact. “Are you saying you want to explore your dreams?” he asked. “I don’t think that’s a bad idea. I might put it off until we’re out of this mess, but after that … .”
“How do I explore dreams? They’re not real.”
“You seem to think yours are real.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to. It’s written all over your face. The dreams you’re having are troubling enough that you’ve convinced yourself they’re real.” He moved closer, his hand rubbing soothing circles on my back. Again, there was nothing sexual about his movement … and yet the air between us still crackled with energy. “If you believe they’re real, I’m right there with you.”
My stomach coiled at the look in his eyes. I recognized what he had planned. “Don’t kiss me,” I announced out of the blue.
He chuckled, taken aback. “What makes you think I was going to kiss you?”
“I’m not an idiot. Sure, sometimes I miss obvious signs, but I would have to be blind to miss this one. You can’t kiss me.”
His lips curved in amusement. “Why not?”
“I haven’t brushed my teeth.”
“I haven’t brushed mine either. Perhaps we should just suffer together.”
“No. I need to brush my teeth.”
His gaze remained fixed on me for a long beat. “Are you serious?” he asked finally. “If you’re embarrassed about your breath, I guarantee I don’t care.”
“I have to brush my teeth.” I was firm. “You should probably know this about me going forward because it’s something you’ll have to deal with. I’m rather rigid and set in my ways.”
“I’ve noticed.”
“It’s worse than you think.” I warmed to my topic, gathering my thoughts
so I could lay them out in a precise manner. “I might have a few obsessive-compulsive things on the personal hygiene front. Prepare yourself.”
His hand never moved from my back. “Lay it on me. I want to know all of it.”
Well, now he was opening himself up to a tirade. “Okay, first, I have to brush my teeth before kissing anyone. That’s just the way I am. You’ll have to brush your teeth, too. It’s freaky if you don’t.”
“I don’t have a toothbrush here.”
“I brought extra when I moved in.”
“That’s handy.” His delight was obvious. “What else?”
“I need to shower every day and I absolutely have to shave my legs before we … do anything. Even if I’m completely combusting over you, if I haven’t shaved my legs that day we won’t be doing anything.”
He laughed so hard I thought he was going to choke. “I don’t mind a little leg stubble.”
“I do. It’s a thing I can’t get over. It’s the same when getting a massage. I can’t get a massage unless my legs have been shaved that day.”
“Is that all?”
“No, but those are the biggies. Also, if you put the knife back in the butter and there are crumbs on it we’ll have to break up.”
“I’m glad you warned me.” He tightened his grip on me and stared into my eyes. “I’m going to kiss you anyway.”
“No way!” I vehemently shook my head. “Brush your teeth!”
“Come on. Just try it.”
“No.” I was adamant. “You have to do things my way on this. I can’t help myself.”
“I’ll do things your way if you answer one question.” He was serious now. “Have you always had this obsession with proper dental hygiene? I mean … since you showed up in front of the fire station, that is.”
The question caught me off guard. “I … yeah. I don’t remember anyone in the foster care system going nuts about it. I think I’ve always been this way.”
“Fair enough.” He kissed my forehead and rolled out of bed, heading for the bathroom.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“I’m finding that toothbrush. Then I’m going to kiss the crap out of you.”
“Oh. I … okay.”
He winked. “I thought you might like that.”
AFTER WE CLEANED UP – which included a stop by his house so he could change into fresh clothes – we headed back to the restaurant. This time I didn’t bother to park in the lot. I knew it was a waste of time. Instead, I recharged the spell I’d set the previous day and followed it from the opposite direction. It didn’t take long to find the spot.
“This isn’t far from the road,” Gunner noted, his hands on his hips. “If Fred was meeting someone here it would make sense for them to come from this direction.”
I absently nodded as I circled the area, my mind busy. The blood scent remained, although fainter. There was also the undeniable scent of bleach wafting through the air. “They cleaned up.”
He nodded, his nostrils flaring. “They most certainly did.” He tilted his head, his eyes closing. “Not all that well. I can still smell the blood.”
“Yeah.”
When his eyes opened again, they focused on me. “How can you smell it?”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m a shifter. I should, in theory, be able to smell things you can’t. Even if you’re a super-charged witch, you shouldn’t have a super smeller.”
That was a lot of information to take in over the course of one sentence. “Super smeller?”
“You know what I mean.”
I laughed. I couldn’t help myself. “I don’t know. I’m not like this with everything. Blood, … I can always smell it.”
He turned thoughtful. “Can you really smell it or do you think you can smell it?”
“I … don’t … know. I think I can smell it.”
“I’m not asking to be difficult. I’m asking because you’re extremely powerful. I can’t help but wonder if your brain is tricking you into believing you smell something you don’t.”
“Well … how would we even test that?”
“Good question. I don’t know. I’ll file it away to think about later.” He circled the clearing and peered inside a bush. “I think it’s likely Fred died here.”
“Why, though?” That was the part I couldn’t wrap my head around. “Why kill him?”
“Maybe they thought he knew too much.”
“About what?”
“My guess is they wanted him to steal from you to get our attention. Perhaps they wanted to gauge how you would react.”
“Like I would kill some random guy for stealing twenty bucks?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know what to tell you. Whether they were following you or me, they clearly wanted to see how one or both of us reacted.”
“If they’re even guilty. I mean … we have no proof they were behind this.”
“No, but we have a lot of circumstantial evidence. For me, that’s more than enough. Isn’t it for you?”
“I don’t know.” Something didn’t feel right about this situation. I simply couldn’t put my finger on why. “I need to give it some thought.”
“Fair enough.”
I circled the small clearing, closing my eyes and opening my senses. I wanted to see Fred, get a glimpse of what he’d faced during his last stand. There was nothing. My abilities felt clouded.
“There’s something different about Drake,” I announced, causing Gunner to slide his eyes in my direction. He was kneeling next to the bush and using a stick to dig in the foliage beneath.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that he’s more powerful than he lets on. Can shifters be more than one thing? You said I was more than one thing … a witch and something else, although we can’t be sure what. Can shifters be more than one thing?”
The question clearly piqued his interest because he became animated. “I don’t know … but I don’t see why not. I mean, I don’t think you can have a half-wolf and half-vampire because those two creatures are total opposites. A shifter who is also a witch? Absolutely. That might explain why I feel I should know Drake but can’t place from where.”
“There’s just something off.” I shifted from one foot to the other and focused my full attention on him. “Why did you ask if my dental hygiene stance was something I came up with myself?”
“Wow. Has that been bothering you this whole time?”
“Maybe a little,” I conceded. “I just want to know why.”
“Well, I assumed that it was something you carried over with you from childhood.” His voice was soft. “From what you’ve told me, it sounds like you were on the run. Whoever had you, whoever was keeping you safe, likely couldn’t risk having to take you to the doctor.”
Oddly, that made sense. “It’s funny you should mention that. I thought about something similar when I had that needle sticking out of my rear end yesterday. I’ve always hated needles because I was poked with so many of them right after I was discovered.”
“Why were you poked with needles?”
“They said I didn’t have any vaccinations or anything. They drew blood looking for a DNA match and pumped me full of every vaccine available … and then they shoved me into the system.”
“I’m sorry.” He looked sincere. “I knew you were uncomfortable with the needle. Part of me wondered if it was because you had to drop your pants. Was that thing about having small veins in your arm true?”
“Yeah. I almost died once because I was having an allergic reaction to a bee sting – so, if I’m ever stung, make sure you shove an EpiPen in me. They spent far too much time trying to find a vein in my arm once I reached the hospital. I was almost a lost cause.”
He scowled. “Do you carry an EpiPen with you?”
“There’s one in the storage bin on my bike.”
“Well, that’s good to know.” He looked annoyed. “You are a lot of work. Has anybody ever told you that?”
“Every foster home that booted me.”
He stilled. “I hate it when you say things like that. It makes me look like a jerk for teasing you.”
“Why do you think I say those things?”
Even though it was obvious he wanted to remain sour, he laughed. “You really are fascinating.” He looked around the clearing. “I think we’re done here. There’s not much else we can ascertain.”
“Where do you suggest we go next?”
“Well, I have an idea. I’m not sure you’ll like it.”
DUNCAN AND SWAN FUNERAL HOME was exactly as I remembered. The house was majestic, interesting to look at, and shrouded in death.
“Don’t get worked up,” Gunner chided as we stowed our helmets with our bikes in the parking lot. “Bart didn’t try to kill us. That was his sister.”
Cecily. How could I forget? The woman was demented. “I don’t dislike Bart,” I reassured him. “I’m just surprised you chose to come here. I’m not sure I understand.”
“Fred’s body is here. Bart volunteered to do the funeral for free – given Fred’s financial circumstances it was either that or a pauper’s grave at the county plot. Once the medical examiner was done, the body was transported here.”
That made me like Bart even more, despite his crazy sister. “Well … that was nice of him. I’m surprised they released the body so fast.”
“They only needed it long enough for an autopsy.”
“Do you know how he died? Other than the obvious, I mean.”
“My father said he couldn’t tell me. This was after I jumped all over him for requesting a blood sample from you, so I probably should’ve seen it coming.”
“Odds are Bart will know, right?”
He flicked my ear. “You catch on fast.”
BART WAS IN THE FRONT PARLOR when we entered, a serene smile on his face as he folded his hands on a table and greeted us.
“Welcome to Duncan and Swan Funeral Home, where we strive to make the journey from life to the other side as pleasant as possible. How may I … oh, it’s you.” His voice turned rugged and he dropped all pretense of being a salesman. “I should’ve figured you would show up eventually, Gunner. You’re here for information on Fred, right?”
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