Cursed Lines (A Peg Darrow Novel Book 2)

by Camille Douglass

  Lola had always been willing to stew for days leaving me in a purgatory when we got into fights since I preferred things to be resolved immediately. My stomach churned at the uncertainty when we were on the outs. I called her. She didn’t answer, so I left a message apologizing. Five minutes later, I still gripped my phone willing a response. I sent her a text again apologizing and inviting her to go on a super secret mission to The Ranch that evening to talk to Vegard. Lola couldn’t resist a good night out. Add a little bit of intrigue, and she really couldn’t. I got a response two minutes later

  Fine. I’ll meet you there at eight.

  Still mad at me obviously, but I’d take it.

  4

  Walking into The Ranch, I wished that Lola had ridden with me. She was a lot more familiar with the Scottsdale scene. After I valeted my bright-turquoise vintage Jeep Grand Cherokee, I stood awkwardly in front of the club. I looked down at the dress and fancy cowboy boots I’d donned to “fit in” at the bar, biting my lip.

  “You look perfect.”

  I glanced up and saw Lola had donned a similar outfit and sighed in relief.

  She gave me a shy smile. “I think I may have overreacted earlier.”

  “I shouldn’t have said that. It wasn’t what I meant.” I tried to explain.

  “I know,” she cut me off. “We can talk about that later. Now what was this super secret goblin mission you promised me?”

  Briefly I explained that I just wanted to get a feel for Vegard. She nodded and led me into the club. She spotted our prey within one minute of walking in to the huge open floor plan of the bar, pointing to a reserved table that was half in the building half in their outdoor space with its own fire pit.

  “There he is.”

  “Damn, Lola, do you have goblin royalty radar?”

  She laughed. “I’d have thought you did after you immediately spotted Deval at Pammy’s holiday get together.”

  “Shut up,” I muttered.

  It only made her laugh harder. “Silly goose, I did an aura scan of the VIP areas. I can’t blame you, by the way. If I hadn’t grown up around him, he’d be on my radar.” She was trying to break the tension from our earlier fight.

  “What do you mean?” I raised my voice a level as the D.J. pumped up the music.

  “Peg, he’s always been an adult to me. Meaning he’s like a favorite uncle. The hot uncle, but still the uncle. No. Interest.” She emphasized.

  “It’s for the best. He’s trouble.”

  “They usually are. I’m so glad I found Michael.”

  I almost gagged at the sharp reminder of the man. “That’s nice, Lola,” I choked out.

  “Shall we?” She motioned to Vegard, who was surrounded by a bevy of human beauties.

  Personally, I was intimidated by the velvet ropes and the burly security guard who looked like he said things like “Let’s crack skulls.” Lola, though, had a lot more experience with this kind of thing and apparently knew the skull cracker.

  “Terrance!” she squealed, putting a little more jiggle in her step.

  “Hey, Lo, what’s going on, girl?” Terrance didn’t smile, likely because that would ruin his image, but his eyes did light up a little.

  “Oh you know, just work, the usual. How are your daughters?”

  That got a hint of a twitch at the corner of his mouth. “Beautiful little terrors. My wife keeps calling them Terrance’s Terrors.”

  “I bet.” Lola grinned, genuinely happy to hear about this man’s daughters, so her next question didn’t feel as manipulative as it should have. “Terrance, I need to talk to a gentleman in there. Any chance you can let a couple of ladies in?”

  He didn’t even raise a brow. “As it happens, the gentleman paying for this table said to feel free to invite any fine young things. You and your friend definitely meet the requirements.” He looked me up and down without ogling. Quite the feat. He opened the rope, gesturing us in.

  I thanked him as we passed. Lola immediately approached the table and reached out her hand to the gentleman currently draped in the “fine young things” that Terrance had described.

  “I’m Lola,” she said, hitting him with a megawatt smile.

  He fumbled a little to untangle himself from his current cohorts, standing to clasp her hand in both of his like a gentleman. He leaned in, and I heard him whisper to Lola. “A pleasure to meet you. Tell me, Lola, are we family?”

  That was supernatural speak for who or what are you.

  She nodded. “I’m the adopted daughter of Amery and Amalda Degroot. You’ve likely seen me around.”

  “And I’ve never introduced myself? How amiss of me. And you have Ms. Darrow with you. How nice.” He turned meeting my eyes. So much for staying on the down low.

  I gave him a rueful grin. “I’m surprised that you recognized me.”

  “I never forget a beautiful woman.”

  “And yet you didn’t remember, Lola?”

  He flashed me a grin, “I knew I’d seen her before. Perhaps I was too shy to introduce myself.”

  Lola’s dimples made an appearance and she playfully batted him on the arm. “You tease, too bad you’re too late now.”

  He covered his heart with his hand. “Say it isn’t so, fair maiden.”

  “Meh, it’s new; give it a week.” I piped in.

  Lola’s head snapped back, and she gave me a dark look. Before I could so much as shrug, she turned back to Vegard.

  He had thrown up his hands. “Ladies, I didn’t mean to cause a tiff.”

  Lola stayed silent, so I took over. “Pssssh, we’ve been friends for years. It takes a lot more than an off comment to get us into a tiff.”

  Lola gave me a look that suggested that wouldn’t be the case later but plastered a smile back on her face.

  I shrugged.

  “I need a drink,” she mumbled before sitting on the loveseat.

  Vegard had to be confused at the strange interaction, but he didn’t miss a beat. He snapped his fingers and a waitress scantily clad in a vest and chaps with boy shorts underneath appeared, eager to earn an extra tip on top of whatever ridiculous amount was added as gratuity on the overpriced bottle service.

  A moment later, both Lola and I had a vodka and soda in our hands, mine with a lemon, and hers with a lime. I took a seat next to Lola and gave her knee a friendly squeeze before Vegard took a seat next to her. The women that had previously held Vegard’s attention looked slightly annoyed, but as they still had access to bottle service, we were only a mild irritation.

  “So,” Vegard said, taking a sip of a smoky-looking liquor in a rocks glass, “How did I get so lucky to get the honor of two beautiful witches’ attention tonight.”

  Lola didn’t miss a beat, “Oh, we were just out, and I saw you and decided we should finally meet. After all, you’d already met Peg.”

  He glanced at me smiling. “Yes, we did. My cousin wanted to shoo her off, and my brother likely wanted to murder her.”

  I arched a brow. “Murder me?”

  “He’s a difficult man.” He shrugged, indicating that his brother’s desire for my imminent death was no big deal.

  I swallowed. “I hope you don’t share his sentiment,” I forced out.

  He looked surprised. “Of course not. I don’t have problems with anyone.”

  “Not even your cousin?” I asked skeptically. “You and your brother seemed…challenging toward him when I saw you last.”

  Lola leaned back into the cushions, letting our conversation fly over her.

  He laughed. It wasn’t a friendly laugh. “Do not confuse me with my brother.”

  I was about to reply when suddenly Michael was at the rope, giving Lola a look that should be reserved for serial killers and puppy abusers.

  Lola saw him as well, hopping up. “Hope you don’t mind, Peg, I invited Michael.”

  She didn’t leave me time to respond before sauntering over to get Michael admitted to the VIP area. I studied them from afar. Michael’s stiff
body language seemed to radiate anger. He didn’t come in the ropes but had Lola come out to him giving her a kiss on the cheek.

  Lola turned around, calling out to us. “Lady’s room, be back in a few.”

  Michael frowned at her but escorted her away. Part of me wanted to follow to make sure she’d be fine, but I needed to talk to Vegard, and we were in a public place. Before I could turn back to Vegard, Michael was back at the rope alone. He didn’t appear to be trying to get into the area. I saw a subtle flick of his wrist aimed at Vegard before he turned, walking quickly away.

  I shot out my arm, comprehension flashing through my mind. My power surged forward, trying to block whatever Michael had thrown at Vegard.

  The magic shredded my defensive spell. Michael’s power seemed to treat my own shield as a colander. I’d limited the damage, but bits and pieces of his magic made it through and hit Vegard. A few stray tendrils hit me as well, feeling like hot needles in my arm and making it difficult to fill my lungs completely. I looked down. Vegard’s Goblin skin usually had a slightly ashy undertone, but he was positively gray, and the shallow up and down of his chest suggested his breathing was also restricted. I glanced up, concerned with having to protect Vegard, but Michael had disappeared into the crowd.

  The women in the VIP started to gather around Vegard’s prone form in concern. I shooed them back, saying I was a paramedic. I opened his shirt and saw the angry welts that came from dirty magic, but no one was the wiser, so they accepted it when I said allergic reaction. Hovering over his body, I placed my hand over his heart. Reaching out with my power, I felt the spell restricting it and his lungs. I sent some of my power into him, but it was just a Band-Aid on a bullet wound. Vegard took a strangled breath and sat up in pain.

  I got close and whispered in his ear. “You’ve been hit by a nasty spell. I need to get you out of here, so I can call your cousin and get someplace where I can heal you away from humans.”

  His eyes were clouded, but he nodded in agreement. Thank the gods. I considered casting a spell to lessen his weight, but I couldn’t drain my powers right now; I needed them to heal him and possibly defend us, so I called Terrance over.

  He looked at us, realized that a VIP was down, and rushed to Vegard. “What’s going on?”

  “Allergic reaction,” Vegard and I said at the same time.

  Terrance gave us the once over with a grim look. I couldn’t read minds, but it was obvious he was thinking drug use. “I’ll call 911.” He reached for his earpiece.

  “No, I have an EpiPen in my car. I need help getting him there.”

  Terrance gave us an incredulous look, but at the nod from Vegard, he helped him stand up. I took one side, Terrance took the other, and we helped Vegard stagger out of the club. The two minutes it took the valet to retrieve my car were possibly the longest two minutes of my life. Vegard had started to sweat profusely, and I knew he wouldn’t stay conscious much longer. It took a lot to kill a goblin, their natural life spans normally around a thousand years, but I didn’t know what Michael had thrown at Vegard. The Jeep pulled up, and I threw cash at the attendee while Terrance loaded Vegard in and closed the door while I raced around to the other side and climbed in. My hands were shaking as I inserted the key and turned. Pulling out, I called Deval.

  A few months ago, I had been the injured party and had been taken to Deval’s public condo. He also had a secret lair somewhere, but I had no idea where. I began to drive in the general direction of the condo, not quite sure of the exit location. Deval didn’t answer. I hung up and immediately hit the re-dial button.

  Vegard moaned in the backseat. Phone to my ear, I looked over at him. Could his skin get any grayer?

  “Damn it, answer your phone,” I muttered into the still ringing phone.

  Deval must have just answered because I received the sunny response. “Perhaps I should hang up. You’re already cursing at me. Is this about Patrice?”

  “What?” I asked, confused before remembering his date at the Christmas party. “No, you moron. Your cousin Vegard has been hit with a dirty spell. I need to know exactly where to take him. I’m currently driving toward the area of your condo, but I can go elsewhere. Also, I need your healer to meet me, if possible. This magic needs to be pulled from him pronto, and I need to remove some from myself. And for the record, I don’t give a damn who you’re fucking.”

  5

  Deval rattled off directions to his home without further preamble, understanding the severity of the situation. I drove like someone was dying because Vegard didn’t look so good and the traces of Michael’s spell could hit me at any moment. My Jeep’s tires made a lovely screeching noise as we pulled into the high-rise condo’s parking garage, startling the attendant. Deval met us, which stopped said attendant from asking any questions as to why a turquoise Jeep with now bald tires had barreled into his domain.

  I gave the irritated man an apologetic smile while Deval pulled his cousin from my passenger seat. Walking into the lobby, Vegard leaned heavily on Deval. The doorman’s mouth thinned. This is why you shouldn’t live in a snooty building, I thought, grateful that I could often avoid judgment while entering my home, unless of course the neighbors were out. I was a witch after all.

  Deval must have also seen the doorman’s displeasure. “My cousin attended a bachelor party and forgot that his stamina isn’t what he used to be.” Deval offered as an explanation.

  The doorman then directed his gaze at me. The leer in his eyes indicated that he thought I’d been the entertainment. He received a return glare from me. I almost zapped him before Deval spoke again.

  “And this is a friend of the family, Ms. Darrow. She may be in and out this evening. I’m sure playing nursemaid to my cousin wasn’t in her plans for the evening. Have a good evening, John.”

  “Very good, Mr. Rougue. Have a good evening.” His previous sneer replaced by a cold facade.

  I rolled my eyes and followed Deval to the elevator, the tension thick in the air while we waited. I needed to call Lola. I’d just left her in the chaos of fleeing. I didn’t think that Michael would hurt her. He had an end game. I just didn’t know what it was.

  The elevator finally arrived, letting out a cheerful ping as its doors opened. An older sophisticated-looking couple stepped out. Taking Vegard’s ashen appearance as he leaned heavily on Deval. The corners of their mouths pinched, but they moved quickly out of our way. Deval maneuvered his cousin in and with one hand fumbled around in his pocket before handing me a key card.

  “Entering your building is like entering a judgmental gauntlet,” I muttered taking the card.

  Deval ignored my comment. “Hit the penthouse button and swipe the card.”

  It took a moment for me to register that, but I caught up quickly. “What, no retina scan? No blood test? Not even a ward? How disappointing.” I needled Deval as I followed his instructions. Nervous sweat had started to bead my skin. I wasn’t sure if it was because of Deval or because of the dirty magic that I could feel coursing under my skin. My stomach churned. No doubt Vegard felt that ten times worse.

  “There is a healer here to help. I will ask that you keep her identity to yourself. She has in the past saved your own life, so I hope that you will respect that wish.” Deval again completely ignored my attempt at humor. Spoilsport.

  The doors opened into the condo before I could respond. Breathtaking nighttime views from the large banks of windows assaulted me, but they didn’t keep my attention long. My magic, on alert, notified me of another witch in the room. The mystery healer.

  A small pixie-like redhead appeared as I heard the elevator doors close behind me.

  “Get him on the chaise,” she ordered.

  Deval deposited Vegard without any argument.

  The redhead’s turned to me. “There’s some bad magic in you.”

  My gaze rested on her cool gray eyes. “It’s not mine,” I said. If she hadn’t been a healer, I would have been affronted by her scanning me on that level w
ithout permission.

  She gave me a brisk nod. “Are you able to remove it yourself?”

  “Yes,” I answered.

  Another quick nod, and she turned her attention to Vegard.

  My shields should have been up anyway, but I’d felt safe with Deval. Stupid probably, but we had a history. He might drive me nuts, but he’d saved my life twice, and I didn’t forget that. Of course, I’d found a thief for him and now worked for his mother, so the scales had started to even out.

  A wave of nausea hit me. The adrenaline from fleeing the bar abandoned me, leaving only the sickly magic that crawled under my skin. I vaguely remembered a bathroom in the condo, and I fled in that direction.

  “It’s the second door on your right,” Deval called from behind me.

  I made it, barely. The porcelain was cool on my forearms as I retched into the toilet. A large hand began rubbing up and down my back in a soothing manner as my physical body tried to rid itself of the toxic spell. It wasn’t until I had dry heaved for another five minutes that my body calmed.

  I stood, flushing the toilet. The hand that had been the quiet calm in the ordeal removed itself. I staggered to the sink, turning on the faucet to rinse out my mouth and splash some cool water on my face. I began to shake, and I leaned forward relying on the granite countertop to support my weight. When I looked up, I met Deval’s eyes in the mirror. Without a word, he picked me up and carried me out of the bathroom.

  Normally I’d have argued, but I needed to save my strength. Deval walked through the living area. Glancing up, I saw that the healer was pulling an angry purple of thread from Vegard’s chest. Something to look forward to.

  Deval took me into the room I’d stayed in when I’d been injured a couple of months earlier. A flip of the switch revealed the heavy furniture and cream sheets I remembered. Instead of taking me to the bed, he took me over to a large chaise longue in the corner of the room. He set me down, and my hands brushed against the dark-blue velvet that covered the piece in tufted intervals.