Charming People

by A. L. Tyler

  I tilted my head down in a slow nod. “I see. Your mother needed the business to fail so she could keep returning here to get investments from Axel, so she chose one that wouldn’t succeed to begin with.”

  Skyla blinked, her face devoid of emotion. “And even so, we would be in the black if she didn’t insist on spending every damn cent we make instead of investing it back in. When I think about what I could have done with all of those investments if I hadn’t been required to waste it on this folly...” She stood up and started to pace, raising one hand to her head. She looked back at me. “If you want the truth, I’m very sorry about what happened to Axel. He was never the problem. I know she did all of this because of my father and his pride. They’ve been separated for years, and she’s still afraid he’ll come after her new boyfriend. I only hope Axel left her enough to get by on. If he had it in his heart, I could make it last for her.”

  She really didn’t know, and in the end, she was her father’s daughter. If Axel cared as much as Molly said, I was guessing he’d left her more than enough to get by on. She had Axel’s business sense, too. I was probably looking at the next great billionaire businesswoman.

  I started to shift my weight and then forced myself to stop.

  Skyla stopped, staring at me. She smiled a little. “Do you know something, Ms. Driftwood? Have you seen the will?”

  I diverted my gaze to the heavy, rich wood of the wardrobe across the room, warmly lit despite the storm raging outside the windows. “I haven’t. I was just hoping for you. You seem like the type of person who could do well with the right resources.”

  She clasped her hands in front of her, the hard lines of her jaw softening. “Thank you, Ms. Driftwood.”

  A knock came at the door, and I rose to answer it.

  It was Nick. “Thank you for your time, Ms. Wolffkyn.”

  He looked at me and nodded toward the hall. I glanced behind us, making sure we were alone as the door shut. Nick waited until we were far enough away before speaking.

  “Rogers intercepted me,” he said. “He’s got Amos and Cal sequestered in the north wing.”

  “You let him stop you?” I asked. “Gods, Nick—this is a murder investigation!”

  “For one person here, yes. For everyone else, it’s a terrible loss. I would love to find Axel’s killer, but you need to remember that isn’t our directive here. We were told to shelter in place until the assigned handler arrives. As far as the Bleak is concerned, we are still suspects.”

  I scoffed. “You listened to Molly. You just questioned Skyla.”

  “You’re an adrenaline junkie.” He hooked his thumbs into his belt. “You can’t stop even when you know it’s not your place.”

  “Only since I met you,” I retorted.

  Nick shook his head. He started walking again. “No. You did what you did with Alex Mordley all on your own.”

  I didn’t relish the mention of my scorned, dangerous ex. “I did what I did to Alex. And I had to. I was trying to—”

  Nick stopped, giving me a significant look. The fact that I’d stolen the Jarvais Topaz right out from under the Bleak and Alex, to break my father out of Bleak custody, was our unspoken secret. It was a crime punishable by death, and I never said it out loud. Nick had steered me back onto the straight and narrow.

  “—keep it out of the hands of the notorious criminal Alex Mordley,” I finished with some ire. “What the hell else are we going to do here if we’re not going after Axel’s murderer?”

  Nick resumed walking. “We could do what we came to do. There is an indoor pool. It has great views of the sunset when it isn’t raining cats and dogs. Or,” he stopped in front of our door, “we could stay in the room and see what happens.” He kept his hand on the door as he smirked. “I knew Axel. He would have wanted this.”

  I tried not to smile. “And what do you think is going to happen with a murderer on the loose?”

  He opened the door. We stepped inside.

  “You, throwing out wild theories and trying to look up suspect histories that don’t exist using the terrible interface on your phone. Lying on the bed together until you’ve worn your brain out running in circles. Me, offering to get you something to eat from the kitchen, and eventually some discussion of the look you gave me in the boathouse.”

  “The look I gave you?” I leaned back on the door until it clicked shut. He had me locked into his gaze again. “I’m pretty sure the look I gave you was mutual. You were the one pulling my hair and breathing down my neck.”

  “Or, we could just skip the rest of it, and go back to the Vault.” He took a step toward me. “Are you okay? After what happened on the dock?”

  I cocked my head. “You mean after I was attacked by a wolf right after you swore to me that exact thing wouldn’t happen? I’m fine.”

  “You’re fine,” he breathed, half-smiling. “You’re an incredibly rare person.”

  “Are you okay?”

  I let my eyes wander over him and his coat, which was once again completely clean. He had mastered more magic hacks than anyone I had ever known, and it only made me want to know him more. He was smart and sexy, and he fought werewolves and survived.

  I looked back up at the obvious attraction in his eyes. Maybe it was a vampire thing, or just a Nick thing, but his ego loved it when I checked him out.

  He took my hand and held it palm up, trailing his fingers over mine. His index finger traced every line of my hand. Every light touch of his skin against mine sent my mind reeling. It was hard to focus on anything but the smell of him, the way he was looking at me, the pounding in my chest, and the perfectly dim amount of light coming through the storm and into the room. Lightning flashed outside as rain speckled the windows.

  I couldn’t pull my hand away. What he was doing felt incredible, and I didn’t want him to stop. I could barely even form an intelligent sentence.

  “I... um, I’m not sure it’s a good idea...”

  He stopped, laying his hand flat atop mine. “I meant what I said to Marge. I’m not planning for that level of commitment on this trip. I meant what happened in the Vault. Not much more.”

  Relief flooded through me. We were on the same page. I entwined my fingers with his and he closed the space between us.

  “Yes. We can skip the rest.”

  Chapter 13

  I felt like a guilty teenager that night at dinner. It was an odd sensation, because I’d never actually been guilty of sneaking away to make out with someone before. I felt more guilty and suspicious than I had when I was a real, literal fugitive.

  It was refreshing.

  Rogers had come to our door sometime later—it might have been minutes or hours, I lost track of time—saying that Amos and Cal had decided they wanted to honor Axel that evening.

  No questions. No speculation. Just an evening to honor their father and brother, because the time for mourning would end when the assigned handler arrived.

  I was going to have dinner with a house full of murder suspects. Lost wolves lurked outside the dark windows, and Nick was right: I was an adrenaline junkie. In its own sick way, this was turning into a perfect vacation. We had another day, at least, before the assigned handler would arrive. Another day alone with Nick, punctuated by breaks with light background checks and wandering the halls of the most historically magnificent place I had ever been.

  We arrived a little early for dinner. Molly and Skyla were already standing by the bar. Cal was mixing drinks behind it.

  “You’re just in time,” Cal said with a wry smile. “We were going to toast Axel. I assume you’ve met Molly? I’ve just found out that Axel decided to dishonor Natalie’s memory with her. Meaning no offense, Molly.”

  “None taken.” Molly tipped another glass back into her mouth before setting it on the table. “I knew what I was doing, and after the Bleak’s investigation, so will everyone else.”

  “Charming.” Cal flashed her another friendly smile as he poured her another glass. “Mr. Warren
, do you drink?”

  “Gods, I hadn’t thought of that,” Skyla grumbled into her tumbler. She wore a deep blue knee-length dress with a white collar and a white ribbon in her dark hair. Her innocent looks were at odds with her sharp tongue. “Do you use Ms. Driftwood for that, or is blood lust one more thing the rest of us need to worry about while we’re stuck here?”

  “Not tonight, Cal, but thank you.” Nick raised his eyebrows in amusement. “I don’t use Ms. Driftwood for anything, Ms. Wolffkyn, and Axel was kind enough to provide me with a stocked refrigerator. Blood won’t be an issue here, and when it is, I prefer not to mix business with pleasure.”

  I furrowed my brow. Later, I was going to have to ask Nick if I was the business or the pleasure in that scenario.

  Skyla turned to me with a mischievous smile. “Will you be mixing business with pleasure tonight, Ms. Driftwood? I’m sure Axel would be honored that you’re celebrating his legacy.”

  I ignored her meaning. After years of suffering for her mother’s affair, her jaded attitude made some sense. “I’ll drink. Thank you, Cal.”

  Cal fetched another glass, filling it and handing it to me. “To Axel.”

  I raised my glass. Molly put a hand on my wrist.

  “We should wait for the rest of them,” she said, sounding more than a little sauced already. “The farce isn’t complete unless we all toast together with Axel’s murderer.”

  “Mother,” Skyla said in warning.

  “Skyla,” she replied in kind.

  I pursed my lips, holding my cup steady. I sidled up to the bar to let it rest until the other guests arrived. A fight with the dead man’s widowed mistress wasn’t worth it.

  Unfortunately, Molly seemed less inclined to let the whole thing go. “And Skyla, let it go. Let. It. Go. I was sleeping with Axel. We’re all consenting adults here. Ms. Driftwood can screw whoever she wants.”

  I shared a look with Cal.

  “Charming,” I agreed. Tonight’s going to be fun.

  Just then, Rogers walked in the door with Amos and Shaina in tow.

  “And here he is!” Molly announced. She set her glass back on the bar and raised her arms dramatically. “The man of the hour! Save us all some time and confess, Amos.”

  Amos looked like a deer in the headlights. “Excuse me?”

  “I know you did it,” Molly said in a nasty tone.

  “Mom, let’s go sit—”

  Molly shook off her daughter. “You think it’s all yours now. Well, you just might be surprised, Amos!”

  Rogers straightened his jacket. Amos’ eyes turned sad.

  “Molly, I never wanted money. If I had, I would have stayed here to begin with. I’m planning to donate a substantial portion of the estate to charity. I honestly don’t know what to do with it.”

  A crazed look followed Skyla’s eye roll. She was living in a world of power and money, and none of it was allowed to her.

  If she only knew. I diverted my gaze.

  “Amos wouldn’t have killed his father,” Cal said. “I stand by him one hundred and fifty percent.”

  Molly laughed maniacally. “Because you’ve known him all of half a day? A lifetime. That’s how long I’ve known him.”

  “And what about you, madam?” Cal demanded. His face turned red. “You admit to being alone with my brother when this happened.”

  “Hey.” Skyla marched back up to the bar, looking taller than I remembered. As a sharp caster, I couldn’t hear where her spell would land until it was cast. “Leave my mother out of this!”

  As I took a step back to give my unpredictable magic the room it needed, Nick took two forward, one hand reaching for his gun.

  “You know nothing about what happened here. Nothing,” Skyla spat. She leveled her finger at Rogers and Shaina. “And for all the accusations that have been flying around here, I would like to know why they aren’t under more suspicion. They live here. They know Axel’s habits. Where the hell were they when Axel died?”

  “We were cleaning up the dining room,” Rogers said stiffly.

  “They were having sex.”

  Skyla dropped her finger. Everyone looked at Nick, who removed his hand from his gun and crossed his arms. I could hear every beat of latent magic strung through the walls and windows in the silence that followed. Axel’s words from the night before came back to me.

  It’s hard to believe they were civil once, isn’t it?

  “You might as well admit it,” Nick said, looking from Shaina to Rogers. “I was here for five years, and I never saw Woodrow pick up his own dishes once. People change, but not that much. He might do it for love, but if this were a serious relationship, he wouldn’t go to the trouble of hiding it.”

  The silence bled on as Shaina turned away, blushing furiously.

  “Well?” Nick pressed.

  Rogers smiled crookedly, once again pulling at his shirt and jacket. “Perceptive, Warren. We were...” He made a gesture with his hand. “Together. But you’ve missed the mark on the rest. Shaina, it’s okay. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”

  Shaina turned back around, stepping up to Rogers’ side. She pulled the delicate chain strung around her neck until a ring pulled free from the modest neckline of her uniform.

  “I must be getting old.” Nick held out both his hands in apology before clasping them together. “Congratulations.”

  Rogers gave him a nod.

  “Holy hounds of hell.” Skyla grabbed the nearest glass on the bar and downed it as Cal gave her a long look. “Figures that me and the creepy old uncle are the only ones here not getting some on the regular.”

  “Hey,” Cal said.

  “Not a chance, Cal.” She slapped the glass back onto the counter and stalked off toward the windows, staring at the wolves beyond like she might prefer taking her chances.

  Cal’s eyes darted back to Molly, who was systematically pouring the remaining drinks on the bar into her cup, which she then toted to a spot at the dining room table. She sat down with her back to us before saluting with her middle finger.

  “Well,” Cal said. “So much for not discussing it.”

  “I know the gods damn score!” Molly announced. “I’m the only one without an alibi! I was alone with him. I’m the last person to see him. You might as well throw me to the wolves right now!”

  Nick breathed a laugh, and Rogers sighed audibly.

  “You’re not on trial here, Mrs. Wolffkyn,” he said. “I’m not the person you need to convince, either. You don’t have an alibi, but anyone else’s alibi could be lying for them—”

  “Except for Cal,” Cal said with a nod.

  “—except for Cal,” Nick agreed. “But everyone else here has a loved one vouching for them. In my experience as a handler, that’s about as good as nothing.”

  Skyla faced him in disbelief. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Then how the hell do we prove anything?”

  He shook his head. “The Bleak has their ways. Tonight, we should set it aside and honor Axel.”

  The Bleak did have their ways, and I had experienced them. They were going to call in an interrogator. A vampire, like Nick, but one with his hypnotism—and likely his bloodlust—intact. One by one, the vampire would force us to speak the truth about where we’d been and what we’d been doing.

  My last encounter with a vampire interrogator sent goosebumps shooting down my arms. It made my skin crawl and my palms start to tingle uncomfortably.

  I shook them out and followed wordlessly as we all took our seats at the table. Shaina served the food—a simple dinner of chicken and greens—and the wine before taking her place next to Rogers.

  I gave an obligatory smile when Shaina’s eyes met mine. “Congratulations.”

  “Thank you,” she said. Rogers reached over to hold her hand.

  “I assume Axel didn’t know?” Nick asked.

  Rogers used his free hand to put his napkin in his lap. He laughed nervously. “No, he did not. He would have found it improper.
We were only waiting until after this event to tell him.”

  Cal stood up, lifting his glass to make a toast.

  “Wait,” Amos said.

  Cal looked down at him, surprised, and Amos stared back with an expression of misery. Nick shifted his weight, and I saw his hand twitch.

  Amos stood up, holding his drink in both hands. “This unfortunate event has made me think about things I’ve never thought about my whole life. Molly...”

  Amos paused, taking a deep breath. Molly looked up from her overfull tumbler, her eye makeup running.

  “Molly,” Amos said quietly. “My mother passed when I was young, and I can’t help but wonder how different my life would have been if you had been around more. You raised my best friend. Skyla hasn’t always had the best things to say about you—”

  “Go fuck yourself, Amos.” Skyla glared.

  “—but she’s not really someone who minces words. I like that about her. And I know Axel loved that about you. I would really appreciate if you could stick around and help me after all of this is done, because we are family. You are my family. And Skyla... Skyla, I don’t know what I’m doing here. You know it. We’re going to need your help here.”

  “I’m going to bill you for it,” she said with no affect.

  Amos smiled as he exhaled. “Of course you are. I didn’t expect you wouldn’t. Rogers and Shaina, congratulations. Truly. And thank you to Nicholas Warren, who saved my father’s life all those years ago, and Ms. Driftwood, our honored guests. I don’t know what my father would have done without you. And Cal, it’s amazing that you’re here. It’s amazing to finally meet you in person after all those phone calls.” He stopped, taking a deep breath and shaking his head. “I don’t know what happened with Axel, but I know we’ve all been ignoring what’s really important here for too long. It isn’t the money. Whatever happens, you are all my family, and we’ll figure this out together.”

  Molly was in tears again, hands laid over her heart as she stared at Amos with drunk, tearful eyes. Skyla and Rogers exchanged a look that said they didn’t think for a second the money wasn’t important.