And then Murphy remembered something she’d read or heard about vampires. They couldn’t see their reflections.
Putting a hand on Nina’s arm, Murphy apologized. “Damn. I’m sorry. That was inconsiderate of me. I forgot you can’t see your own reflection. But if you could, you’d see how incredibly gorgeous you are. You’d make Bellamy and Nova sick with envy.”
Nina cackled as she made a pile of some of Murphy’s yoga pants. “First, don’t be sorry. My life is pretty fucking great since I was turned. Also, I’m already rich. Second, I can’t say I’d mind making those two little snots envious. Chicks like that razz me no end. All glam, no fucking substance.”
Murphy wished that statement wasn’t true, but Nova was mostly flighty and insincere and valued all the wrong things. But some of that was because of how she’d raised Nova, how she herself had taught Nova to treat people. Instead of stopping her bad behavior, Murphy had swept it under the carpet and excused it away.
Digging her suitcase from the closet, Murphy threw it on the floor and started dumping things inside. “I kind of feel like some of the way she behaves is partially my fault.”
Nina rolled her eyes. “How’s it your fault she’s such a shithead?”
“Our parents died when Nova was only fourteen, and I was twenty-one. I left college to come back to Vermont to take care of her, and I’m probably guilty of overindulging her. I was busy trying to start a career, and I guess I let her get away with more than she should have. Not to mention my parents’ part in this. Nova was a little unexpected. They thought they couldn’t have any more children after me. When she came along, they…they spoiled her, I guess is the best word to describe it. I made matters worse by continuing that pattern to make up for Nova losing our parents at such a young age.”
Nina dropped on the floor and rubbed Pancake’s round belly. “Were you two close to your parents?”
Murphy smiled, her throat tight when she thought about Lisa and Abraham Umanski. “Yeah. We were pretty close. It was a really horrible time when they were killed. I tried to do my best with Nova, to make it easier on her, but I guess it wasn’t good enough. I hated to see her sad or disappointed. So I made it my mission to keep her happy—at whatever the cost. I guess this is the cost.”
Nina tucked her shiny hair behind her ears and nodded. “And you made up for her loss with stuff?”
Shrugging her shoulders, Murphy sank to the floor beside the vampire and tossed some of her underwear into the suitcase, keeping her eyes on her pink fingers as guilt washed over her.
“I probably did. She doesn’t really know what it is to do without. When she decided to move to New York after she graduated high school, I sold my parents’ house to help her pay rent for an apartment, instead of making her go to college the way I’m sure my parents would have wanted.”
Nina nudged her with her shoulder. “You must have done something right. Kid’s worth fucking millions. That didn’t happen because she was a lazy ass.”
Murphy’s nod was slow. “Yep. She’s rich, and she pays me well, but the work I do for her isn’t exactly chicken soup for the soul, and the work she does isn’t exactly building schools in Africa for underprivileged kids or feeding the homeless, either—though I do make sure she donates to shelters and such. In truth, all she does is take pictures of herself and sells products. Some products that are just a bunch of bullshit and won’t help you sleep or lose weight. It’s just crap.”
Nina’s gaze was intense and hot as she scanned Murphy’s face. “But here’s the fucking clincher. Nova’s an adult. You couldn’t stop her from doing this if it’s what she wants to do, kiddo.”
Tightening her grip on a pair of socks, she asked, “But do I have to help her? I mean, she pays me to help her be a shallow, vain. For lack of a better word…a troll. Look what that got her. Cursed! Her big mouth and mean-spirited nature got her cursed.”
That’s probably what bothered her the most these days. All the products Nova endorsed—which kids begged their parents to buy them, or young adults thought would get them abs like Nova’s—were crap, and Murphy was almost sure of it.
She was no scientist, but c’mon. How nutritious was a gummy worm?
What Nova should be promoting was healthy eating and loving yourself. Nova was naturally thin and gorgeous, and you wouldn’t look like her if you took the diet gummy worms she hawked on Instagram unless you were also naturally thin and gorgeous. To boot, Nova got fillers and injections to maintain her looks—she had access to things the average Joe didn’t.
But people bought the stuff she promoted in droves because they wanted just a little of what Nova had, and it had begun to eat Murphy alive with guilt. Yet, she still negotiated deals for her sister, she still ran behind her like a lackey, keeping her life organized because, above all, Nova came first.
When her parents were killed in that car accident, it had crushed Nova. Right then and there, Murphy had promised herself she’d always look out for her sister. Her parents would have wanted that—they would have expected it.
But was everything Nova had achieved really looking out for her?
It had turned her into a jealous monster who posted horrible things. A monster who would do anything to one-up the competition—a monster who would create a bunch of different user IDs just to best her competition.
Nina scooped up Pancake and pulled him into her lap, where he sighed contentedly as she scratched his ears. “Listen, Murphy. I’m here to tell you two things. First, your sister was and is GD old enough to know what’s right and what’s fucking wrong. She can get off the ride anytime she wants. I’d bet my ass, you’ve at least tried to talk to her about the importance of something other than money and gigs with gummy worms, haven’t you?”
Murphy nodded. She at least had that to lean on when the guilt began to eat at her soul, but it hadn’t been enough. She simply wasn’t enough.
“I have, but it falls on deaf ears, so I show up to make sure no one screws her over. I insisted she hire a team of lawyers to keep on retainer because I figured if I couldn’t talk her out of some of the endorsements she makes, I could at least be sure she was protected. Yet, it doesn’t make me less guilty. If I walked away—”
“She’d just do something stupid anyway, and then you’d feel worse because you didn’t stick around to make sure she was fucking protected,” Nina finished Murphy’s thought for her.
Twisting her fingers into a knot, Murphy nodded again. “Yes. She’s headstrong and stubborn and she wants what she wants. But what I want is for her to be safe and happy, and the war I have with myself over the two is constant.”
“Then here’s some good news. What’s happened to you is going to fucking change your life. Not just the pink hair and whatever the hell else comes with being a troll. I’m talking about the internal changes. It’s gonna change everything you think you know about yourself, and that also means it’s going to change your bratty-ass sister, too. Maybe this is the wakeup call she needs. Because if lookin’ the way she did before and being turned into something as damn ugly as she is right now isn’t a wakeup call, nothing is.”
Murphy giggled and, on impulse, threw her arms around Nina, giving her neck a squeeze.
It had been a long time since she’d confided her fears in someone other than Pancake. It had been eons since she’d confided in another adult who’d really heard her, and responded like an adult.
“She is a little ugly right now, isn’t she?” Murphy said on a sniffle.
Nina thumped her on the back with a grunt. “She’s a real fuckin’ horror show, kiddo.”
“Thank you, Nina. I think I needed to hear some good could possibly come from this when I feel so shitty.”
Nina grunted and untangled herself, setting Murphy away from her. “Good. Glad to help. Now get the fuck off me. We have shit to do.”
Murphy nodded, pulling out her phone. “You’re right. First, I’d better call doggie daycare and see if they can find a spot for Pancake fo
r a little while.”
Nina clamped her hand over the phone as she looked fondly at Pancake, who lie in her lap as though it was Heaven on earth.
“Tell mommy, no one’s going to doggie daycare. We don’t do doggie daycare when there are plenty of people who can love on you already available back at my house. Right, buddy? You’re coming to Auntie Nina’s house where you’ll get the shit spoiled out of you while that big green Sasquatch teaches your mother how to troll.”
“I might have forgotten to mention, Pancake’s mostly deaf.”
Nina smiled down at him and ran her knuckles over his jaw. “He knows what I’m saying, don’t you, Punkin’? We speak the universal language of love, right, buddy? And that doesn’t change the fact that he comes back to my house with us.”
Murphy’s eyes stung with tears again. These people were neck deep in the pool of her misery, no questions asked, and in this day and age of entitlement and selfishness, it boggled her mind. She didn’t deserve it.
Biting the inside of her lip, she asked, “Are you sure? He’s not a fan of cats, Nina. I don’t want him to cause trouble. I mean, what about Calamity?”
“You said he wasn’t a fan of strangers either, but,” she pointed at her lap, “here we are. Calamity’s a big girl. She’ll figure it out. But no way am I letting you take this baby to doggie daycare when there are plenty of us to spoil him while we upset his whole goddamn routine. It’s the least we can fucking do. Arch would have my head if he found out you have a dog and I didn’t bring him back with us.”
Murphy cocked her head, confused. “Arch?”
Nina smiled—and man, when she did, she was beyond beautiful. It took Murphy’s breath away, it was so close to unearthly.
“Yeah, Arch. You’ll meet him when he comes over from Wanda’s. He lives with Wanda and Heath, but when we have an emergency, you couldn’t keep him from showing up to the scene of the crime to fucking nurture the shit out of all of us when we have a new case. He’s the only human among us besides my Nana Lou. He’s what we call a reverse turn. He’s pretty kick-fucking-ass, and he takes care of the damn lot of us whether we want him to or not.”
A reverse turn… She’d save the deets on that for later. For now, she was thrilled Pancake could be with her, so she’d take the win.
Reaching down, she scruffed Pancake’s ears and dropped a kiss on his flat nose. “Hear that, bud? You’re comin’ with us.”
Nina’s phone beeped then, and as she pulled it from her pocket, looking at the text, she grimaced.
Murphy went on instant alert, her stomach churning. “What? Did Nova do something? Is she okay? Did she and Bellamy finally kill each other in a death match of cellulite cream and lip plumper?”
Nina shook her head and winked. “Nah. But Sten did find some possible evidence—a phone, apparently—at your sister’s swanky fucking apartment.”
Her heart sped up, thumping in her ears. “No way…”
“And according to him, Nova says it doesn’t belong to anyone she knows. So maybe this is the perp we’re lookin’ for, and I won’t have to beat the fucking glam out of Bellamy to get some answers. Anyway, hurry it the fuck up and let’s roll.”
Her palms went sweaty and her mouth dry as she rose and began hastily jamming more clothes into her suitcase, sending up a prayer to the universe that this phone would lead them to the person who’d started all this.
Maybe this would be over almost as soon as it had started, and they could get back to their lives.
But before they went back to business as usual, Murphy decided she and Nova were going to have a come to Jesus.
Because the time had come to make some serious life changes.
Chapter 10
“Did you miss the part where I said I’d kill you and post the pictures of your untimely fucking demise to your vapid Instagram account?” Nina growled down at Bellamy.
Bellamy, not quite as cocky as she’d been the night before, paled, her slender throat swallowing hard, her eyes wide with fear. “I swear to you,” she pleaded. “I don’t remember who I got the curse from, Nina! It’s like a big blank spot in my brain. I remember wanting the curse. I remember using it. But I can’t remember who I got it from. I swear, I can’t remember!”
Nina tightened her hold and gave her a shake, her eyes narrowed. “Who the fuck do you think you’re kidding? Every day is a blank spot in your brain, dipshit. Now give up the info or I’m going to kick your ass from one end of the Internet to the other!”
When they’d arrived back at Nina’s place, Sten had been waiting with the phone he’d found at Nova’s, but it needed a password so they hadn’t been able to get into it.
Boo-hiss.
Worse, Bellamy still insisted she couldn’t remember who she’d gotten the curse from. Those words had incited Nina, which had resulted in her dragging Bellamy to the far corner of her kitchen, pressing her up against a wall, and threatening her with all manner of limb relocation.
Just as Sten was about to interfere, a stately man—balding and gray, dressed in a crisp black suit, shoes so shiny you could see your reflection in them, and a very British accent—stuck his face between the two women, tapping Nina on the shoulder with a finger.
This must be the man known as Archibald.
“Mistress Nina, I fear I must impress upon you the importance of taking this outside. If you insist in making yet another mess on this freshly polished floor, I shall have to dole out a dire consequence neither you nor I will enjoy. It will assuredly hurt you more than me. Now, please let Mistress Bellamy go.” And then he clucked his tongue and tapped his toe.
And when she didn’t obey, while her nostrils flared and her eyes glittered, Arch got serious. “Mistress Nina, let the young woman go this instant! There will be no violence in a house I run. Are we clear?”
Quite suddenly and, if Murphy did say so herself, quite contritely, Nina let Bellamy drop like a sack of flour with a snarl, her slender body sliding down the wall.
But she pointed her finger at the crumpled heap of Bellamy’s limbs on the floor. “If your Botoxed lips don’t get moving with an answer, I damn well will take your cellulite-free ass outside and make you beg for death.”
“I don’t use Botox!” Bellamy cried, her tone filled with horror.
“Liar! You do so! Your lips are so overinflated, you look like you attached yourself to a tire pump!” Nova squeaked, making Murphy grab her sister by the hand and shoot her the evil eye.
“Can it, Nova. Now’s not the time to make things worse.”
Sten offered a hand to his sister, pulling her up, his face hard and stoic. “I want to believe you, Bellamy, but I think you know why I’m having a hard time with this sudden amnesia. You’ve done a lot of things in the past that make me doubt you’re telling the truth.”
Bellamy’s eyes filled with tears, and she twisted a strand of her shiny hair around her index finger. “Do you think I’d lie if it means this beast is going to continue to torture me? I swear to you, Sten, I can’t remember where I got the curse!”
Murphy put a hand on Sten’s big, luscious arm, ignoring the crackle of electricity in her fingertips. “This is getting us nowhere, Sten. I have to admit, Nina’s an admirable foe. No matter how strong trolls are, I have to believe vampire trumps troll. So why would Bellamy continue to lie if she knows she’s in for it?”
“Yeah, listen to your girlfriend,” Bellamy crowed, shrugging Sten off.
That snide response angered Murphy. So much so, she cornered Bellamy herself. “I’m only going to ask nicely once. If you have nothing helpful to add to this mess, if you’re going to be sarcastic, shut your mouth and say nothing at all, or it won’t only be Nina you have to worry about!”
Bellamy’s pretty face contorted as she huffed, “Sten! Why are you letting these people treat me like this?”
But Sten shook his head and chucked Bellamy under the chin. “Sorry, kiddo. I’m with Murphy on this. If you’re going to go with the story that you can’t
remember where you got the curse, then go with it, but don’t make this worse by behaving like a child. In other words, be quiet.”
She crossed her arms over her chest and jutted her chin forward. “Fine! I’ll be really quiet. It’ll be like I’m not even here—because I won’t be. I’m going home.”
Sten grabbed her arm, his orange eyes glowing. “Um, no. No, you’re not going home. You did this, you admit to doing it, you will ride this out until the last drop. You’re going to help us find the person who sold this curse to you, and you’re going to do whatever it takes to find the cure right along with us. And if you even think of skulking off to your fancy apartment in the sky? I’ll put you in isolation in The Realm so fast, your pretty head will spin around on your pretty neck.”
Bellamy’s face crumpled the same way Nova’s did when she couldn’t have her way—as though you’d just denied them the organ that would save their lives.
“You can’t do that, Sten!”
Sten’s hard jaw visibly clenched. “You forget who I am now. I can, and I will. For far too long your hijinks have gone unchecked. But you’ve gone too far this time, little lady. So consider today your day of reckoning. Now, go find somewhere to sit, and sit quietly. I hear our man Carl likes to read, and Charlie loves a good book, too. Why not do something worthy and read to them? Or maybe help Arch in the kitchen? Do something other than take a picture of yourself eating in a bikini.”
“But—”
“Go!” Sten thundered the word with a jab of his finger to the living room, where Charlie played on an activity blanket and Carl sat next to her, Goodnight Moon in hand, Pancake curled up beside him.
“I’m sorry,” Murphy said softly. “I’m not helping things either. I probably shouldn’t have lost my temper, but all this bickering is ridiculous. We need answers.”
Sten smiled down at her and somehow, in the midst of this entire mess, it managed to make her tingle with pleasure. Though, to be fair, it was a devastatingly handsome smile and would likely make even the most immune tingle.
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