Hatchet Hollow
Page 12
Moretti shook his head. “I fucking can’t believe it. Marsha, Abby, and Claire.”
“And Raven, if Zander hadn’t been there.”
The chief stood. “Let’s go talk to our girl.”
***
Raven glanced out the front window as a pair of headlights cut through the darkness.
She smiled.
She wiped her hands on her apron, took one glance in the mirror, and after smoothing her hair, padded down the hall. She opened the front door just as Zander stepped onto the porch.
Butterflies fluttered in her stomach.
“Hi.”
“Hi.”
He stepped inside, looked down at her for a moment with a soft smile, and then pulled her to him, wrapping his big arms around her.
She inhaled, smelling the scent that she had become so obsessed with over the last few days—the scent of Zander Stone.
He kissed the top of her forehead, then pulled away and lightly lifted her chin. He gritted his teeth as he looked at the bruising along her jawline. “How are you feeling?”
She pulled his hand away and smiled. “Fine. I promise.”
His face dropped. He grabbed and squeezed her hand. “Raven, I—
“Zander, seriously, I’m fine. Please, I don’t want to talk about my damn chin. It’s just some bruising. It’s fine.” She stepped in for another hug.
“Okay.” He squeezed her and took a deep breath. “What smells so amazing?”
She smiled as he looked toward the kitchen. “Dinner.”
His eyes rounded with excitement. “Dinner sounds amazing.”
She laughed. “You don’t even know what it is. Maybe I made you mountain oysters or something.”
He slid out of his coat and hung it up. “Sweetheart, I’m so hungry right now, I’d eat cow brain.”
She grabbed his hand, and led him down the hall. “It’s almost ready. Come on, I’ll get you a drink first.”
She pulled two beers from the fridge and handed him one.
“Thanks.” He sipped, leaned against the counter, and she could see the exhaustion in his eyes. It had been a full day since the horrific incident in the cave, and Zander had been working nonstop.
She frowned and leaned against the counter across from him. “Tell me. How did it go?”
He took a deep breath. “She confessed.”
Raven’s mouth dropped. “What?”
“She would’ve been stupid not to, with all the evidence we’ve got mounted against her. She's going to plead guilty, to avoid the death penalty.”
She set the beer on the counter and walked over to him. “Regardless, she’ll be locked up for life, right?”
He nodded, and pulled her to him. He squeezed her tightly, lightly rocking back and forth. He pulled away and looked into her eyes, his face full of intensity.
He tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “Be with me, Raven.”
Her eyes rounded, her heart skipped a beat.
He continued, “Be mine, be my woman. I want you as my own. Only you.” He softly ran the tip of his finger down her cheek. “I want to be with you, Raven.”
Tears filled her eyes. “I’m yours, Zander. I have been since the second I laid eyes on you.”
He smiled and exhaled as if he wasn’t sure what her response was going to be. He lightly grabbed her face, his eyes full of emotion. “I’m going to make sure nothing ever happens to you again, Raven. You’ll always be safe with me.”
And with that promise, he kissed her, swept her off her feet and carried her to the bedroom.
CHAPTER 20
THE SUN SHONE down from a sapphire blue sky as a warm breeze swept over her skin. Spring was in the air. Raven tilted her head up and smiled, letting the warmth of the light wash over her.
“Another beer?”
She nodded and handed Ace her empty bottle.
“What am I, your maid?”
From across the table, Roxy laughed as the other women of Black Rose—Dixie, Harley, Scar and Fiona—pulled up chairs.
It was a beautiful, abnormally warm afternoon, and because of that, Roxy had decided to move their team meeting outside, onto the patio. And because of Raven’s near-death experience a few days earlier, she’d decided to serve drinks along with it.
To help with team morale, of course.
Roxy, the unofficial leader, mother, and indisputable toughest PI of Black Rose Investigations passed out a stack of papers. “First and foremost, congratulations to Raven for successfully closing her first case.”
Raven smiled as she received cheers from around the table. “Thanks.”
Raven had arrived at work early that morning, to twenty-six voicemails, one of which was an anonymous tip that Eric Stevens was on his way to see the Coleman brothers for a secret meeting on the outskirts of town. She pretended that she didn’t recognize the voice of Harold Schumer, the owner of Eric’s firm. And after four hours of staking out the scene, she’d finally, finally, gotten the money shot—the picture of Eric Stevens accepting a stack of cash in return for divulging stock market secrets. Not only was it her first case successfully closed, it also gave Zander a reason to arrest him, which made the entire town of Devil's Den happy.
Roxy leaned forward. “Okay gang, we’ll get to updates on everyone’s current cases in just a minute, but a little housekeeping first. We’ve got the bug guy coming tomorrow morning to spray for shit, so please,” she cut a look at Dixie, who was notoriously messy, “please clean up your offices before then.”
Ace took a sip of his beer. “Hopefully he won’t find a dead black cat anywhere.”
A moment of silence slid by as the group exchanged wary glances.
Raven cleared her throat and leaned forward. “How many is that this week?”
“Four.”
“Four dead, black cats on our doorstep.”
“Righto.” Ace tipped up his beer. “Here’s to Krestel, and the curse she’s placed over Black Rose Investigations.” He winked at Dixie. “Thanks, Dix.”
Dixie rolled her eyes. “We don’t really know it’s her, Ace. Could be any one of our pissed off clients, or some bored high school kids trying to spook us.”
Roxy nodded. “That’s right. The legend of Krestel, and the fact that we uncovered her, has been the constant talk of the town lately. You can’t go anywhere without hearing about it. So yeah, it could be anyone, playing a sick, twisted, practical joke.” She looked at Raven. “Anything new with the Great Shadow Book of Secrets? Did Zander find it?”
“No. Makes me think that Abby was in the early stages of converting. Maybe the book hadn’t come her way yet.”
Roxy nodded, her eyes darkening. “If the book does exist, we need to get it, girls. Destroy it.”
Ace sipped his beer. “I bet y’all twenty bucks that the book exists. Hell, you can’t convince me that she isn’t using it on us now. She’s known for her epic revenge curses.”
“And you can’t convince me that Krestel really exists, Ace.” Roxy inhaled and shook her head, as if to shake away the bad energy. “Anyway, back to business. Next, we’ve got—
Just then, the force of the blast propelled the team into the air, and tumbling off the patio. Tables and chairs crashed around them. Shattered glass shot like bullets past their faces as fire exploded through the house windows, sending smoke barreling into the air.
And as the team of Black Rose Investigations opened their eyes and blinked away the disorientation, they looked up at the sky just as the black smoke swirled into the letter K.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Amanda McKinney
Amanda McKinney, author of Sexy Murder Mysteries, wrote her debut novel, LETHAL LEGACY, after walking away from her career to become a writer and stay-at-home mom. Her books include the BERRY SPRINGS SERIES, and the BLACK ROSE MYSTERY SERIES, with many more to come.
Amanda lives in Arkansas where she is busy crafting her next murder myst
ery.
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