by Deanna Chase
“Mrs. Masterson?” Dax asked.
“We’re not up for visitors,” she said with a sob and started to close the door.
“Ma’am, if you’ll just give us a moment of your time. We’re here from the Arcane, the paranormal investigation division. We’d like to ask you a few questions about your daughter if you don’t mind. The faster we gather information, the easier it will be to solve this crime.”
Tears spilled from her bright green eyes as she stared at him, almost unable to function.
“Who is it?” a man called from behind her.
“Dax Marrok and Leo Shepard, Mr. Masterson. We’re investigating your daughter’s death.”
Loud footsteps rang through the house, and a moment later a man with silver hair and sad gray eyes placed his hands on his wife’s shoulders and moved her out of the way. “Let them in Vi, they have a job to do.”
“What does it matter?” she choked out, her bottom lip quivering. “She’s gone. Nothing will bring her back.”
“We can honor her memory by bringing down who did this.” He waved to Dax and Leo, inviting them in.
Dax stepped into the immaculate house, noting the expensive antique furniture, fancy built-ins, and abundance of artwork on the walls. This was a well-to-do family and unlikely to be running with the underbelly of the city, but looks could be deceiving. He’d keep an open mind.
“I’m sorry to intrude on you and your wife so soon after hearing the news this morning. I wouldn’t be here if there was any choice in the matter,” Dax said to Mr. Masterson.
“I understand,” he said with a tired sigh, leading them to the informal kitchen table. “Have a seat. Would you like something? Coffee? Water? Iced tea?”
“No. Thank you,” Dax said while Leo shook his head and added, “I’m fine.”
The silver-haired man went to work pouring a cup of coffee and then got a glass of water. He put the water in front of his wife and sat at the end of the table, holding the mug with both hands. “You’re here from the Arcane?”
Dax nodded. He didn’t want to say the Void. The general public didn’t know much about the shadow division, and he’d just as soon keep it that way. “I’d like to ask some questions if you don’t mind.”
“Go ahead. Let’s get this over with.”
“Thanks, Mr. Masterson,” Dax started.
“Call me Colin.”
“Thanks, Colin.” Dax pulled a small notepad from his pocket and flipped it open. “Can you tell me about your daughter? Did she work? What else did she do? Was she involved in your charity projects or anything?”
“She worked and went to school,” Colin said. “She just started graduate school at Tulane for an architecture degree this year, and she worked at a design firm in the Garden District.”
Dax nodded and jotted that down. “Any problems at school or work that you know of?”
He shook his head. As it turned out, she was a straight-A student. And the place she worked, she’d been there for four years, working for her best friend’s mother. There was less than zero indication that anything was suspicious about Maci’s school or work life.
Dax asked about other shifters she might’ve hung out with, any packs she was involved with, or any other paranormals like vampires or witches.
“I’m the leader of our pack, Mr. Marrok. We tend to stay out of vampire/shifter politics and prefer to stay community oriented. Most of Maci’s friends are the kids in our youth group. None of them have been in trouble. We have no idea why a witch would come after our daughter.” He nodded to a picture on the wall beside him. It was one of him, his wife, and a very vibrant Maci. She had a huge smile on her face and her eyes sparkled with life. “That was taken at Christmas.”
It was hard to imagine such a girl being involved in anything that would justify Phoebe killing her. Dax swallowed a lump in his throat and continued the interview. A half hour later, he had the names of her closest friends but absolutely nothing to go on. The Mastersons were model citizens. Colin Masterson was involved in three different charities. One for funding a soup kitchen, another for raising money for college for low-income students, and the last one funded the local public hospital. The Mastersons were nothing short of saints in this city.
As they were leaving, Dax handed the man his card. “If you find or hear of anything that makes you uneasy or suspicious that could’ve led to foul play, please don’t hesitate to call me.”
“Sure, son,” the man said, his face gaunt with grief.
“I’m very sorry for your loss. Trust me when I say we’ll do our best to get to the bottom of this.” Dax shook the man’s hand and felt sick. Something wasn’t adding up.
The door clicked closed behind them, and without a word Leo and Dax headed back to the Trooper.
Once they were back in the vehicle, Leo let out a slow breath. “That was brutal.”
Dax just nodded and cranked the ignition.
“Now what?” Leo asked him.
He glanced over at the kid. “You know, Leo, for once I have no idea.”
Dax took a sip of his Mocha in Motion, the magically enhanced drink that was designed to boost your energy, and leaned forward in the overstuffed chair, staring intently at Willow Rhoswen. After he and Leo left the Mastersons’ place, he hadn’t consciously decided to visit the Fated Cupcake, the shop that Willow owned, but had found himself parked out front anyway.
“Have you heard from her yet?”
The fae frowned and shook her head. “She didn’t come home last night. I thought she must be with you. But then when you called this morning… Did you check her safe houses?”
“Two of them. I don’t know where the rest are,” Dax said.
“Me neither.” Willow placed her hand on her iPhone. “Have you asked Allcot?”
Dax felt a tightening in his chest at the mention of the vampire’s name and shook his head. “I don’t see how he could be involved in this.”
Willow let out a humorless snort of laughter and brushed her strawberry blond hair out of her face. “Since when is he not involved in the crazy shit that happens in this town? I swear, every time something goes down, he’s always in the middle of it.”
She had a point. Why hadn’t he thought of that?
“I can make the call,” Leo said from his spot on the floor near Link’s dog bed. Link, the shih tzu shifter, was in wolf form, his paws in the air, twisting back and forth while Leo rubbed his belly.
“Why you?” Dax asked.
“Why not me?” he countered. “If I’m going to be a Void agent, I’m going to need to deal with all kinds, right?”
“Sure,” Dax said with a nod. “Fine. Go ahead. Ask him what he knows and if he’s seen her. If he hasn’t, find out if he can put the word out among his vampires that we’re looking for her.”
“I’m on it.” He pulled out his phone and tapped a couple of buttons. Link rolled over and rested his big head on Leo’s knee, nudging his hand to indicate the petting session wasn’t over.
Willow laughed. “Link, stop.”
The wolf turned his big head in her direction but then went right back to nudging Leo’s free hand. Leo grinned down at the wolf and started stroking his ears. The wolf let out a contented sigh and relaxed.
It took Leo a few tries to finally find someone who could get Allcot on the phone. The kid had met Allcot a few times and had participated in a few battles against mutual enemies, but it wasn’t like Leo was important enough to be on the vampire’s radar. But Leo was persistent, impressing Dax with his tenacity, and eventually he got the powerful vamp to talk to him.
When Leo ended the call, he said, “Allcot hasn’t seen her. But he did say he’ll send out a directive to his employees that they are to contact him if anyone sees her. He said he’d let us know right away.”
“That’s probably going to be a lot faster than waiting for the Void to track down her car,” Dax said.
Willow worried the edge of her apron. “Did you call it in stolen or s
omething?”
Dax nodded. “I need to find her as soon as possible. It was the only thing I could think of at the time.”
“It wasn’t a bad idea,” she agreed.
“It was Leo’s.”
Willow smiled at him. “Good thinking, Leo.”
A slight flush stained his cheeks.
“All right. Let’s go.” Dax stood and held his hand out to Willow.
“Nun-uh,” she said and opened her arms to give him a hug.
Dax welcomed her embrace. He’d been on edge ever since he’d realized Phoebe hadn’t gone home the night before.
“We’ll find her,” Willow whispered. “I’m sure there’s a good explanation. There always is.”
“I know.”
She released him and patted his chest like a grandmother would do when trying to soothe her grandson. “And try to remember she’s a big girl and a talented witch. She’ll be all right.”
“Yeah she will,” Leo chimed in. “Phoebe is a badass.”
Dax said nothing. He knew she was more than capable. He was her partner. He knew that side of her better than any of them. No, he wasn’t worried about her safety; he was starting to worry about what she might have done and why. “Thanks again, Willow.”
“Sure. If you need my help with anything or need Link for backup, you know where to find us,” she said as she opened the side door that led to the street instead of her bakery.
“Seriously?” Leo glanced once more at Link. “You’d let us borrow him?”
She glanced at her wolf who was sitting right beside her, watching the two men leave. “Sure. If you need him. He comes in very handy sometimes.”
“Awesome. Thanks, Willow,” Leo said and waved as they made their way back out into the oppressive summer heat.
Dax climbed into his Trooper, but instead of taking off, he just sat there thinking.
“What is it?” Leo asked him.
“I’m trying to decide where I’d go if I were Phoebe.” He bit down on his bottom lip, running the past few weeks through his mind. When she hadn’t been looking for him, she’d been looking for her brother. Did she have any leads? Yes. In fact, he’d been the one to give it to her. Someone had told him her brother had been spotted out on River Road. Had she gone out there with just that little bit of information? Knowing her, he’d say she most definitely had.
He started the engine and took off, heading toward the highway.
“Where are we going?” Leo asked when they got on the bridge headed toward the west bank.
“To track down my girl.”
7
I was fuming. Pure unadulterated rage was surging through my veins. Willow Rhoswen was lying in a bed made of the finest linens as a healer tended to her raw wrists and ankles while I paced, plotting a way to murder Eadric Allcot.
How was it possible an even worse version of that vampire existed in an alternate reality? At least back at home he had someone he cared about enough that he retained some humanity. It was pretty clear that whatever he’d had with my doppelgänger had never come close to what he had with Pandora.
“Phoebe?” Willow said, her voice weak after being strangled with a scarf.
“Yes, Wil?” I said, moving to sit on the edge of her bed.
“Thank you,” she croaked out. “You did it. You really did it.”
“Did what?” I asked, confused.
“You saved me. You said you would and you did.” She reached out and squeezed my hand. The healer had wrapped both wrists with white gauze and cleaned her hands of the dried blood. She already looked a hundred times better… except for the bruising around her neck. Her lips were cracked from what I assumed was dehydration, but she smiled at me anyway. “Now we can be free.”
The pit in my stomach grew. How was I going to tell her she’d traded one captor for another? I couldn’t. I had to convince Allcot that the only right thing to do was to help these women get on their feet and find good jobs, not exploit them further.
“Gods, I hope so,” I said and stormed out of the room, intent on finding the man I was supposedly married to. Just the thought made me gag. The sounds of footsteps filtered up the stairs, followed by evidence of furniture being moved. Someone was crying in the room just to my left. I paused, unsure if I should check on the weeping woman or keep going until I found Allcot.
Definitely find Allcot first. I had to, while I was still fueled by pure anger. Only I had no idea where he was. Willow had been taken to a room at the other end of the hall, and it sounded as if the rooms near hers were occupied. That left the downstairs or the wing where I’d first found Clio.
Since I was upstairs, I decided to try Clio’s office first. The doors were closed, but when I pushed on the right one, it opened with ease. I glanced around at the broken chair to the left, the bloodstains on the rug to the right, and the piles of paperwork that had been scattered all over the room. The place looked like a tornado had hit it. But there was no one there. Not even Clio’s corpse. Thank goodness for small favors.
I turned to go but paused when the door swung open and Dax walked in.
A look of surprise lit his handsome face, but then he scowled. “What are you doing in here?”
“Uh, I was looking for Allcot,” I said. “I wanted—”
“Your husband is downstairs, forcing the girls to sign new contracts. You should probably join him before he finds us breathing the same air.” He dropped the bucket he was holding, pulled out a trash bag, and started to gather the garbage.
I stood there, stunned at the pure hatred I’d heard in his tone. I supposed I couldn’t blame him for being angry. Allcot had treated him like a dog. And if he really was forcing the women into new contracts, then the vampire was truly vile. But I didn’t have anything to do with that.
You’re married to him, the voice in my head said.
“Shit!” I muttered and moved toward Dax. When I was near, I reached out to touch his arm, but he flinched away.
“Don’t touch me,” he snarled, his dark eyes flashing gold.
I stepped back, startled. “I’m sorry. I just… I wanted to say I don’t agree with anything Allcot is doing.”
He stared at me for a long moment. Then he shook his head and went back to work on cleaning up the mess. “Does it matter, Phoebe? You’re with him now. You can’t just turn back time.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked. “I’m still my own person. Just because I’m…” I couldn’t even say the words. “Allcot doesn’t own me.”
Dax let out a bark of laughter. “Is that what you’re telling yourself?”
“Hey!” I took a step closer, getting in his face. “No one owns me.”
“No? Clio did until he bought you off her. So what? You think because you wear his ring it’s any different? It’s not like when we were kids, Phoebe. We’re both obligated to that bastard, and whatever you’re hoping to get out of me, just fucking forget it, all right? I’ve already lost enough.” He turned away from me and let out a growl as he kicked a chair out of the way.
“Not like when we were kids?” I asked, unable to get the words out of my head. Had we been friends in this world?
“Fuck.” He turned his tortured eyes on me, and I swear I saw more vulnerability in him than I ever had with my Dax. Not even when we both thought he was dying and his days were numbered.
“Why are you so angry?” I asked, my voice so low I wasn’t even sure he could hear me. I was certain my doppelgänger would know, but seeing him so tortured was nearly ripping my heart out. All I wanted to do was wrap my arms around him and reassure him that we’d beat Allcot at whatever game he was playing. But I couldn’t do that. I had some sort of history with this Dax, that was certain. But did we trust each other? Clearly not. Maybe we had at one time, but not now. I was married to a man we both hated, only Dax had no way of knowing my true feelings.
He stood up straight and pierced me with his glare. “You’re not that stupid, Phoebe. I know you did what you h
ad to do. But that doesn’t mean you didn’t rip my heart right out of my chest when you walked away from me and into the arms of Allcot.”
I opened my mouth to deny that I’d ever do anything even remotely like what he’d described. But there was no truth to those words in this reality. I wasn’t my doppelgänger, and it appeared that she had done exactly what he’d just accused me of doing. And according to my brother, she was trying to start a family with a shitty vampire. Or was she? She’d left, hadn’t she? The more I learned about her life, the more I couldn’t blame her. I just hoped she wasn’t making a mess of my life back in my reality, because I fully intended to get back there, sooner rather than later.
Instead, I frowned and just said, “I’m sorry, Dax.”
He held my unflinching gaze for a few beats before turning and disappearing from the room without saying a word.
“Dammit.” That had hurt more than I cared to admit. It was hard to look at the doppelgänger of the man I loved and not feel everything.
“Have a nice visit?”
I jerked my head up and found myself staring into the steel-gray eyes of Eadric Allcot. He was leaning against the doorframe, his arms crossed over his chest as if he was patiently watching me. But I knew better. His jaw was tight and his eyes slightly narrowed. He was pissed.
“No. Not really,” I said, tired of playing the game.
“I never did understand what you saw in him.” He pushed off the frame and strolled in, kicking the door closed behind him. “He was never destined to be anything more than a servant.”
“Why?” My entire body was rigid as I watched him come closer, stalking me as if I were prey.
He didn’t answer. Instead, he grabbed me by the chin and twisted my neck, exposing the bite marks from the night before. “You remember these, right, love?”
How could I forget?
He reached up and brushed his thumb over the two puncture wounds.