“How about for right now we worry about some ice cream?” Dorian suggested. “Think there’s any in your freezer?”
“I’m sure I can dig up something,” I said.
Chapter Two
I woke up the next morning on the sofa. There were three empty ice cream pints and dirty spoons sprawled all over the coffee table. Dorian was gone, but he’d covered me up with a blanket. Meri snoozed behind the crook in my knees.
Sitting up gently so as not to disturb him too much, I swung my legs over the side of the sofa. Fortunately, they didn’t get caught in the blanket.
Before I picked up the containers and spoons, I checked my phone. There was one message from Thorn.
It was just a heart, but there were no words. It looked as though it had come in at about three in the morning.
Nothing else.
For a brief second, my heart leapt happily. Maybe it wasn’t Dorian that had covered me up. Perhaps it was Thorn and he was asleep in one of the upstairs bedrooms.
I pushed off the couch and ran up the stairs. The guest rooms were empty, and the bathroom he usually used to take his morning shower hadn’t been used.
“Maybe there’s a note,” I said to no one and ran back downstairs.
I searched the kitchen and looked on the table. There wasn’t a note. Thorn hadn’t come home.
The evening before, I’d just focused on watching movies with Dorian. It had taken every ounce of my strength not to call Thorn a thousand times, but I didn’t. I left him alone, thinking that if I gave him a little space, he’d show up eventually.
I couldn’t do it anymore, though. I had to talk to him. My heart felt like a sucking black hole in my chest, and I needed to hear his voice.
He didn’t pick up when I called, though. I got to hear his voice instructing the caller to leave a voicemail, but I did not. I knew if I tried to say anything, I’d turn into a sobbing mess. That pillar of strength that had kept me going the night before was crumbling fast.
Please talk to me, I texted. I love you.
I stood there staring at my phone for at least ten minutes, but there was no reply. Eventually, my hand started to cramp, so I had to set it down.
“Nothing,” Meri asked from behind me. It startled me a little, but when I turned around, he was just sitting in the doorway.
“No,” I said and bit my bottom lip so I wouldn’t cry.
“Fool,” Meri sniped. “Not you, him,” he followed up quickly. “Let me out the back door.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Just let me out, Kinsley,” Meri commanded.
“Where are you going?”
“Out,” he said in an aggressive tone I rarely heard him use.
“Meri, you’re supposed to stay by my side and protect me,” I said.
“I am protecting you,” he said flatly. “Open the door, Kinsley. Or I’ll just use magic and do it myself. Whatever.” He walked to the door.
“What if I go out without you and get myself killed?” I said.
“Stay here,” he said as he wiggled his nose and the back door popped open. “I won’t be long.”
“What if I don’t?” I really didn’t want him to kill Thorn, and the look in his eyes told me he just might.
“Then I’ll tell your mother,” he said.
“That’s it? That’s your threat? I stay here or you’ll tell my Mom on me?” I mocked him, but he didn’t slow down. “Meri, don’t,” I pleaded.
“Don’t worry, Kinsley. I would only ever do right by you,” he said as he slipped out the door.
I had half a mind to slam it shut, but I didn’t want to mistime it and hurt him. I couldn’t kill him, because he couldn’t be killed, but I definitely didn’t want to cause him any pain. My little soldier. My tiny protector.
I waited an hour for him before I felt like I was climbing the walls. I had to get out of the house, and despite the fact that I was sad and anxious, I was starting to get hungry.
Viv’s coffee shop seemed like the place to go for some breakfast and a friendly face. I knew she was probably worried about me, so stopping in for a latte and a bite to eat seemed like a good way to let her know I was okay.
As I drove down to the square, I kept an eye out for Thorn’s cruiser. I couldn’t be sure that he’d even gone into work, but it seemed logical. If he was going to skip out on our wedding to work, then why not report in the next day too? In my mind, there was a good chance he was just carrying on as if everything were completely normal.
I never saw any hint of him, and as I pulled into one of the parking spaces near the Brew Station, I got another twinge of sadness. Workers were there pulling down the haunted house attraction already. It was all the crew I’d worked with to put it up, but I couldn’t fathom being there to tear it down. I saw the spot where the altar had been the day before, and I had to bite my lip hard to keep from crying.
What was even worse than them tearing down the haunted house was that a huge semi was parked by the library. On the back of it was a preconstructed Santa house. It seemed ready to be plopped down as soon as the haunted house was gone.
I put it out of my mind and walked quickly across the street from my parking space to the other side. There was a short line at the Brew Station, but at least I didn’t have to wait outside.
The chill was sharp and the wind bone-chilling. With Halloween over, the main tourist season had ended too. It wasn’t over completely. People would still show up bundled up for ghost tours, but there would be far fewer of them. The college kids were deep into the semester too, so most of them would turn their attention to serious studying until break.
Viv’s face lit up when she saw me walk in, and she offered me a little wave. The line moved quickly as she and her workers took care of orders with enthusiasm.
“It’s so good to see you,” Viv said. “I was hoping I’d get a chance to call you later, but this is better. What can we get for you?”
“I’ll take a hazelnut latte, the breakfast special, and Meri’s extra bacon,” I said. “He’s out and about, but I’m sure he’ll turn up at some point.”
“Coming right up,” she said. “Are you staying or taking it to go?”
“I thought about eating here, but I do need to go over to the shop and see Reggie and Ursula too,” I said.
“Good idea,” Viv said. “Reggie came in for coffee this morning, and she was half out of her mind worrying about you. I’m sure if she didn’t have to open the shop, she’d have been on your doorstep.”
“I’ll go over there and see them,” I said. “I’m doing all right. I don’t want you guys to worry about me, okay? This all really sucks, but I’ll get through it.”
“You’re so strong,” she said with a smile. “I’m sure it will all work out the way it’s supposed to, Kinsley. If I’ve learned anything from you, it’s that if you believe, the universe will take care of you.”
“You’re right, and that’s the angle I’m approaching this whole thing at, Viv. I’m going to keep my chin up and not freak out until I know something for sure,” I said. It was a lie. I was freaking out on the inside, but saying it helped me feel a little stronger.
“You know that I’m here for you if you need anything,” Viv said as she handed me my coffee and breakfast in a brown paper sack.
“Thank you so much for everything. I’m sorry I didn’t get to try the cake,” I said.
“Well, if you ever want to, let me know. I’ll bake you another lickety-split. Probably not seventeen tiers, but I promise you won’t be disappointed,” she said.
“I would love that,” I said.
As I walked across the square, Meri came running out from the other side of the courthouse. He joined me as we walked past the deconstruction of the haunted house.
No one was around, so I said, “I can’t believe they are tearing it down and putting up the Santa house so fast.” What I could have sworn was a single snowflake drifted down out of the dreary sky and landed on my nose. “I kinda h
ate how the Christmas season starts immediately after Halloween. Like, why does it have to be the next day? And what about Thanksgiving? Thanksgiving deserves some love too.”
“I think it’s all kind of stupid,” Meri groused.
“Did you find Thorn?” I asked curiously.
“How do you know I was looking for him?” Meri asked.
“I know you,” I said.
“I didn’t find him, so he’s probably still alive,” he said.
“You cannot kill Thorn,” I whispered.
“Relax, lady,” he said and then darted ahead to wait at the door of the shop.
We went inside and found Reggie and Ursula frantically trying to get things ready to open. I tried to help, but it became obvious after a few minutes that they had a system. I was only being a hindrance.
They stopped working long enough to hug me and for me to tell them I was doing okay. After that, I left and said I’d be back later.
That’s when I decided to go to the sheriff’s station and talk to Thorn. I hated barging in on him at work uninvited, but we had to have a conversation. If nothing else, if he was leaving me for good, I needed to know.
When I walked into the station and asked to see Thorn, the receptionist called Jeremy. “I want to see Thorn,” I said.
She looked at me with pity in her eyes. Everyone knew. “He’s not in, but the acting sheriff will be out in a moment.”
Acting sheriff? Had Thorn already quit and left town?
Jeremy appeared before I could even sit down to wait for him. “Kinsley, come on back.”
The receptionist buzzed me in, and I followed Jeremy to his office. It was next to Thorn’s, and I could see that my maybe-fiancé’s door was closed.
“Where’s Thorn?” I asked as soon as we were in Jeremy’s office.
“You don’t know?” he asked with a sigh.
“I don’t,” I said. “He never came home after the… after what was supposed to be the wedding. He’s sent me one text, and he won’t return any texts or calls.”
“He’s taken a few days off,” Jeremy said and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I don’t know where he is. He’s just using vacation time and left me in charge.”
I felt a tear finally spill over and run down my cheek, but I ground it away with my fist and bit my lip hard. I was not going to break down in Jeremy’s office.
“I’d like to see Azriel,” I said before I could really think about it. “It’s technically during allowable visiting hours, right? I’d like to see him.”
“Kinsley,” he warned.
“You can stop the big brother act, Jeremy. I want to see him,” I said.
“It’s not an act,” Jeremy said, and I could see that my words had wounded him.
I instantly felt horrible. What was happening wasn’t in any way Jeremy’s fault, and he did try to protect me. As far as big brothers went, he would’ve been a good one. He was a good one, and I was just being a jerk. We might not have been blood, but he treated me as if we were.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I know that, and I’m… I’m so on edge right now.”
“That’s why I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to visit Azriel. I know you can make up your own mind, Kinsley, but you’re vulnerable right now. Thorn shouldn’t have left you this way, and I blame him for what you’re going through right now, but he wouldn’t want you hurt. He wouldn’t want this to get worse. I know it.”
“I’ll be fine,” I said. “I want to talk to him. Please.”
“All right, but I’ll never forgive myself if he makes this worse for you,” Jeremy said.
He came back around the desk and opened his office door. I followed him out and we walked together the short distance to the holding area.
“You shouldn’t take this on yourself, Jeremy. There’s nothing to forgive yourself for because I’m a grown woman. I’m demanding something that’s probably stupid, and that’s on me.”
He let out a sigh. “Then why do it?”
“Closure,” I said. “I’m willing to take the risk for closure.”
“Okay,” he said and gripped my shoulder for just a second. “I don’t have any official visiting area. It’s probably best for you to just talk to him while he’s in his cell. Stand back from the bars far enough that he can’t reach you. I’m serious about that. I’ll be able to see you on camera, and if you get too close, I can legally end the visit. Please remember that I’ll be able to see you but not hear you. If you need help, wave your hands. I’ll be watching. Come back to this door when you want out. Azriel is in the last cell.”
“Thank you,” I said and stepped through the holding room door when he opened it for me.
“Kinsley,” Azriel’s voice dripped with honey. He’d called out to me when I was about halfway to his cell, and I stopped. For the briefest second, I considered listening to Jeremy and going back.
“Azriel,” I countered and closed the distance between us. Well, as far as I could without Jeremy kicking me out.
“I was hoping you’d come see me,” he said and stood up from the bench in the cell. “They’re moving me soon, and I wasn’t sure I’d get to see you before.”
“Well, here I am,” I said.
“Can you come closer?” he asked as he stood at the bars gripping them.
“No,” I said flatly. “If I do that, Jeremy will kick me out. This is as far as I can go.”
“I’ve missed you,” Azriel said.
“I don’t know what you want me to say to that,” I retorted.
“Have you missed me?” he asked and sounded completely sincere.
“Honestly, I think there may have been a time at first, but how could I miss you? You abandoned me… It was like the second time too,” I said. “I don’t even know why I’m here. Except that maybe I want to know why you tried to have me killed. Did you really want me to die? Did I mean so little to you that you didn’t care if I died for money?”
“That’s ridiculous,” he spat. “Why do you think I tried to have you killed? For money? I have plenty of money, and you do too. If I wanted money, I would have had more than enough when we were together.”
“Thorn has the evidence that you put that man up to killing me. There’s evidence,” I said and felt my fingernails digging into my palms as I held my hands in tight fists.
“Does he?” Azriel asked.
The question hit me like a train. All the blood drained from my head and I felt myself swoon. Fortunately, Meri was in my bag, and I felt his little head bump against my hip. When it did, I felt better.
“I… I believe him,” I said, but I knew my voice betrayed my doubt.
“So, he didn’t show you the evidence?” Azriel asked.
“Well, no, but…”
“This all makes so much sense. I didn’t want to believe it, but it’s a good thing I came back when I did,” Azriel said. “It was so hard to get to you, but I did. Everything is going to be all right.”
I felt that magnetic pull to him again. Suddenly, everything in me wanted to cross the distance and take his hands in mine. Jeremy be damned. I had to touch Azriel again.
“Shake it off,” I whispered to myself.
Enough of Meri’s magic was lingering that I was able to see clearly. Well, sort of clearly. I hated to use magic, but I had to protect myself. I pushed the feelings that Azriel was inflicting on me away. I needed to leave and get away from him, but I had to know what he was talking about.
“What do you mean?” I demanded. “Tell me what you’re talking about. Tell me now, or I’m leaving. And stop trying to lure me in. It’s not going to work, Azriel. I’m onto your tricks.”
“I didn’t try to have you killed, Kinsley. I love you. I love you more than anything in this world,” he said, and I felt my stupid, traitorous heart skip a beat.
“You’re going to have to do better than that,” I said.
“I never left you, baby. I would never leave you again. My men in the MC, they turned on me. They sho
wed up and basically kidnapped me. They’ve been holding me captive. I couldn’t overpower them all, but I reached out to you.”
“I would have heard about something like that,” I said. “Where did they take you from? If it was here, everyone would have heard about it.”
“Not if the town sheriff was the one who organized it,” he said.
“How? How would he have done that?” I said and clenched my fists harder. “This is insane.”
Yule Be Magical (Familiar Kitten Mysteries Book 8) Page 2
