The Monstrous Seven (A Hannah Hickok Witchy Mystery Book 4)

by Lily Harper Hart

  “Because I called him ... I said ... .” Cooper couldn’t finish the sentence and Hannah’s heart went out to him.

  “He called me the F-word,” Tyler volunteered, causing Jack and Danielle to suck in twin breaths of disgust.

  For her part, Hannah felt mildly sick to her stomach. “Oh.”

  “Now you know why I’m a terrible person,” Cooper growled. “I can’t believe I said that. I don’t say things like that. I don’t believe things like that.”

  “I never would’ve believed that either,” Tyler offered helpfully, managing a rueful smile that Cooper didn’t see. “If it’s any consolation, in one breath you used the F-word and in the next you accused me of trying to steal Hannah from you. I think it’s entirely possible you didn’t know what you were saying.”

  Hannah cringed. She should’ve known she would be at the heart of the meltdown. It made sense and yet ... . “See. It’s nonsense.” Her fingers were surprisingly strong as she brushed them against Cooper’s cheek to prod him to look at her. “You didn’t cause this,” she said when his tear-filled orbs finally snagged with her understanding stare. “It’s okay. You guys are going to be sore for a few days, but it could’ve been so much worse.”

  “It’s not okay.” He furrowed his brow as he said the words and cupped her hand to his face, letting out a sigh. “I’m so sorry, Tyler.”

  Tyler chuckled, taking everyone by surprise. “I’m sorry, too,” he said. “I mean ... really sorry. I know you didn’t mean what you said. It’s not your fault.”

  “It feels like my fault.” Cooper was morose. “You’re my best friend. I didn’t mean any of those things. I just ... feel sick.”

  Hannah searched her heart for a way to make him feel better and came up empty. Ultimately, she leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his forehead. To her utter surprise, Cooper banded his arms around her and buried his face in her hair, taking solace in her warmth and absorbing the strength she seemed to have at the ready.

  “You shouldn’t let it get you down,” Tyler offered. He was clearly feeling better, because this time the smile he flashed lit up his entire face. “I believe I might’ve told you that you were an ugly guy and bad dresser ... and that you didn’t deserve Hannah. None of those things were true either.”

  “What I said was worse,” Cooper lamented.

  “Yes, but I made fun of your shoes. That is the king of insults in my world.”

  Hannah couldn’t stop herself from smiling as she pulled back and fixed Tyler with a grateful grin. “That was really mean.”

  “I know, right?” Tyler winked at her as Cooper sucked in a steadying breath. “Neither one of us meant what we said, man. It’s going to be okay.”

  “Thanks to Hannah,” Jackie pointed out, affixing a bandage to Tyler’s arm. “She’s the reason we’re all still here. That ... thing ... would’ve killed all of us if she hadn’t reacted the way she did.”

  The statement was enough to have Cooper lifting his head. “My hero,” he whispered, leaning forward so he could press his forehead to hers. “I didn’t even see what you did. I couldn’t get past Tyler. I mean ... that thing could’ve killed you and all I would’ve cared about was beating Tyler to within an inch of his life. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

  Hannah had pity for his situation, but only to a certain point. “You’re going to have to get over it.” Her tone was firm. “I know you’re upset but ... you seriously have to put it behind you. I know that’s easy for me to say because I didn’t throw punches at my best friend, but we have a real problem.”

  “I’ll say we do.” Jackie bobbed her head in agreement. “There are seven of those things total. Hannah has taken out two. That means there are five left ... and given what we’ve seen and heard, I’m guessing the other five have different abilities.”

  Cooper shifted on his chair. “Are we sticking with the seven deadly sins theory?”

  “It makes as much sense as anything,” Jackie replied. “That means we have sloth, lust, and greed left.”

  “And envy and pride,” Hannah added, pursing her lips. “I get how greed and lust will probably play into the mix. Even envy. How does a creature use pride and sloth to kill us, though? Are we going to lay around and watch television with Doritos until we die or something?”

  Despite the serious situation, Cooper’s lips quirked. “If I have to go, that’s the one I would choose.”

  “Please.” Tyler rolled his eyes. “We both know you would go for lust. That way you and Hannah can go together.”

  It was a simple statement, a lame attempt at teasing, but it was enough to have Cooper meeting his friend’s gaze. “I probably would choose to go that route,” he acknowledged. “You’re right ... although I would like to include the Doritos in both those scenarios.”

  Tyler snickered, and although the atmosphere in the room wasn’t completely back to normal, it was as if a weight had been lifted. Hannah was thankful. That didn’t mean she could simply turn her back on the obvious.

  “I very much doubt it’s going to work that way,” she said. “There’s not a lot of punishment associated with Cooper and I going to bed and never leaving. It’s far more likely they’ll try to push him together with someone else — like Astra — than pair us together.”

  Cooper frowned. “I hadn’t considered that.” His hand automatically went to Hannah’s shoulder. “Just FYI, you’re all I want. If you see me with someone else ... .” He trailed off, the possibility too horrible to give voice to.

  “I know.” She squeezed his hand reassuringly but her stomach was upset at the prospect. “We have to figure this out before it gets that far. They’re going to be more organized next time they attack.”

  “That’s not what I want to hear.” Cooper leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to the corner of her mouth. “We definitely need to figure this out.”

  Since he was being accommodating, Hannah decided to spring her opinion on him. “We might need Astra to do it.”

  Cooper immediately started shaking his head. “Absolutely not. We’re not bringing her into this.”

  “I don’t see where we have a choice,” Hannah argued. “She knew about the nexus before we did. That means she might know a way for us to stop the other five. We can’t just sit back and do nothing. It might break us in other ways.”

  Cooper hesitated and then made a face. “Hannah, she’s manipulative,” he said. “She will try to put a wedge between us every chance she gets.”

  “I know that.” Hannah’s smile was rueful. “I’m not an idiot. In this particular case, though, I think her wedge is preferable to whatever these furies can do, which is probably ten times worse than anything her twisted brain can come up with.”

  “I wouldn’t rely on that,” Cooper argued. “In fact ... .” He trailed off at the sound of footsteps on the porch, and when he shifted his attention to the door, he found Jacob standing there with a duffle bag in his hand.

  “We can explain,” Tyler volunteered out of nowhere, gesturing toward the bruises and cuts on his face. “A couple of the horses got out of the paddock and we had to track them down.”

  “That’s a total bummer,” Jacob said blandly. “I’m glad you guys caught the horses.” His eyes drifted around the room until he found Hannah. “So, I’ve been thinking that I need to spend the night out here to get a real feel for how things operate. I know you said there were rooms above the brothel for parties. I’m assuming they’re empty now.”

  Hannah hesitated and then nodded. “They are.”

  “Great.” Jacob flashed a wide grin. “I’m going to camp out there. I still can’t figure out what happened to the bullet that killed Rob. It should be somewhere on the street ... and yet there’s nothing.”

  “I believe the coroner told you there’s also no bullet path in the body either,” Cooper pointed out.

  “Yes, but I’m having him check again. That makes no sense.” Jacob flashed a vacant smile. “I know how this happened. I just n
eed to prove it.”

  “Great,” Cooper drawled. “Do you want to share with the class?”

  “As soon as I have my proof, you’ll be the first to know.”

  “Awesome.” Cooper flashed a sarcastic thumbs-up at the man’s retreating back. “We can’t wait to hear your results.” He lowered his voice and glanced around the room. “Okay, now we’re officially screwed. We definitely need to figure this out ... and fast.”

  13

  Thirteen

  Once Cooper was patched up — he had what looked to be a nasty bruise forming on his cheek — Hannah pressed him hard about going to Astra for help. He hemmed and hawed, scuffed his feet on the saloon floor, stood at the window and stared at the brothel so he could project his annoyance at Jacob, and then grudgingly gave in.

  “I’m doing the talking,” he announced as he parked in the lot of Astra’s store. He’d changed his clothes because the shirt he was wearing before was ripped during the scuffle with Tyler. “I’ll know if she’s playing with us.”

  Even though they’d had a trying day — all Hannah could think about with any zest was crawling into bed and taking a nap — she mustered a legitimate smile. “Of course. You’re the man. You should do the talking.”

  He scowled. “That’s not why I want to do the talking and you know it.”

  Hannah barreled forward as if she hadn’t heard him. “I mean ... what do I have to offer the conversation? I’m just the one who has taken out not one but two of these things. Clearly I’m out of my depth.”

  He leaned back and pinched the bridge of his nose. “You’re going to turn this into a thing, aren’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Fine.” He threw up his hands. “I can’t stop you from doing what you’re going to do. I don’t even know if I should want to. It’s just ... I don’t want you getting hurt.” He kept his eyes forward so he didn’t risk getting lost in the blue of her eyes. “I failed you earlier. You had to put yourself at risk to keep Tyler and me safe.”

  She arched a challenging eyebrow. “Do you think I regret that?”

  “No, but ... I’m head of security. It’s my job to keep you safe.”

  The simplistic answer made Hannah laugh. “Oh, you’re so funny.” She poked his side as she leaned over and kissed his cheek. “It’s not as if there’s a handbook on how to deal with this. We can only do what we can do.”

  “Yeah, but you’ve done everything so far.”

  And, Hannah found, she was proud of that fact. That didn’t mean she wanted to keep risking it just so she could be designated the Casper Creek hero. “Cooper, what happened with Frank was ... unfortunate. Personally, though, I’m glad we got him out of the way so early. I think these creatures are going to start working together, which is going to make the battles that much harder going forward.

  “The things we’re going to be dealing with aren’t going to be easy, no matter how we would like to believe otherwise,” she continued. “Personally, I can’t think of a way for sloth to attack without us being able to take him. It’s a mistake to allow that sort of egocentric thinking in, though.

  “What happens if his power is to make it so we don’t want to get up from the couch? What if he attacks and we don’t care because we’re watching reruns of The Golden Girls or something? I mean ... is that what you want your obituary to read?”

  Even though he was determined to keep the pity train going, Cooper had to admit there was a point buried under the lame attempts at humor. “I get what you’re saying,” he said after a beat. “I even agree with what you’re saying. I still feel as if I let you down.”

  “You didn’t. You’re alive. Tyler is alive, too. You also have that rugged ‘I’ve been in a fight and won’ thing going for you,” she teased, her fingers lightly feathering over what she knew would be a bruise in two hours. “You did the best you could. I did the best I could. We came out the other side. What’s not to like about that?”

  Cooper scowled. “You did a lot better than I did.”

  “I didn’t realize we were in a competition.”

  “Ugh.” He rubbed his forehead to ward off what he was certain would turn into a righteous headache. “I know you’re right. I’m just not ready to admit it yet. Can’t you just let me wallow for another hour or so?”

  She smiled but shook her head. “No. We’re about to take on Astra. That means both of us need to be on top of our games.”

  “Fine.” He pocketed his keys and exhaled heavily. Interacting with Astra always got his dander up, although he recognized it was a necessary evil today. “I guess we should get this over with.”

  “We should.”

  “Once we’re done, though, I want to head back to town and worship you as my hero for the rest of the day.”

  She pressed her lips together to keep from smiling, but it was a wasted effort. He always knew exactly what to say to make her feel better. “I think that sounds like a nice night ... even though we’ll have an FBI agent watching our every move.”

  The statement was enough to have Cooper scowling again. “Yeah, that’s going to be obnoxious. Do you get the feeling he just wants to stay at the town because it means he’ll have a free room at his disposal?”

  Hannah shrugged. She honestly hadn’t considered it. “I think it’s more that he doesn’t trust us. He thinks we’re hiding something. The fact that he walked into the saloon and we were administering first aid to you guys couldn’t have been a good look.”

  “No, but he barely noticed.”

  “Or he pretended to buy the lame story about the horses. I think he wants to see if we do weird stuff when we think nobody is looking.”

  “Like what?”

  She held out her hands and shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess we’ll find out tonight.”

  “The only thing we’re doing tonight is locking ourselves in your apartment and watching television in bed while eating ice cream.”

  She cocked a challenging eyebrow. “The only thing?”

  “Well, to start,” he hedged. “I’m tired, although I’m betting I’ll rally.”

  She chuckled as she climbed out of the truck. “I’m betting you’ll rally, too.”

  ASTRA WAS IN THE MAIN STOREFRONT when they walked through the front door. She looked to be in a foul mood, and that didn’t improve when she caught sight of her guests.

  “Oh, geez.” She rolled her neck and glared at the woman behind the counter, as if it was her fault that Hannah and Cooper had decided to stop in. “Why does the Goddess hate me today?”

  “It’s probably karma,” Cooper answered dryly. “We need to talk.”

  Astra pasted a flirty smile on her face and focused her full attention on him. “I always have time for you, lover.”

  Cooper kept his expression neutral, although it took profound effort. “The three of us.”

  Astra’s smile slipped. “Of course. I don’t do weird threesomes, just for the record.”

  “That’s good.” Cooper inclined his head toward the patio at the back of Astra’s store. “I’m only interested in twosomes.” He realized Astra could take the statement the wrong way given her returning smile. “With Hannah only.”

  “Ugh. You’re absolutely no fun.” Astra stalked toward the patio, not even putting up a token fight. “Fine. Let’s talk. It has to be better than listening to Stormy’s plans for world domination.”

  The witch behind the counter, the one who had been giving Astra fits since she joined the coven, smiled serenely. “Not world domination. That would make me a megalomaniac. My efforts are more localized than that.”

  “Whatever.” Astra was still grumbling under her breath when she slid into one of the wrought-iron chairs that belonged to the table set she had strategically placed in the middle of a magical wonderland that was only accessible to the chosen few she deigned to allow into her personal space. “If this is about Stormy convincing those guys to fight at the bar last night, I’m not to blame. She’s her own witch ... and she won
’t listen to reason.” Astra’s expression was so dark it sent a shudder down Hannah’s spine.

  “We’re not here about Stormy,” Cooper countered, pulling out a chair for Hannah before settling next to her. He was careful to arrange the chairs so they were close, presenting a united front, and Astra was located on the other side by herself. “Although you should probably rein her in or cut her loose. She’s going to be trouble.”

  “That’s such a black-and-white response,” Astra groused, shaking her head. “Only a consummate good guy would think it’s that easy. Stormy is smarter than she looks — I would never say otherwise — and I can’t simply cut her loose now. She’ll cause problems for all of us.”

  “Keep your enemies close, huh?” Hannah mused.

  Astra shrugged. “Something like that. If this isn’t about Stormy, I’m guessing it’s about the nexus. I probably shouldn’t have mentioned it to Hannah the other day because she’s obviously worked up about it. I was serious when I said she should let you go for your own good and I refuse to take that back.”

  Cooper scowled. “You suggested that for your own benefit. It had nothing to do with what’s happening at Casper Creek.”

  “Believe it or not, I have no interest in watching you die,” Astra countered. “Suffer? Absolutely. Dying is another story, though. Your little girlfriend has obviously caught the attention of some very bad magic-wielders. You’ll die if you don’t distance yourself from her. I’m the messenger, not the threat.” She shot a wicked smile in Hannah’s direction. “At least this time.”

  Cooper made a disgusted sound deep in his throat and shook his head. “Stop saying stuff like that to her.” He was annoyed because he believed Hannah was the type who would actually push him away in an attempt to protect him. Astra was the exact opposite. She would cling and sacrifice him to save herself in a heartbeat. That was only one of the myriad of ways the two witches were different.