Recently, Cam just thought he might.
“What’s up?” he asked. “I’m sure you didn’t come all the way over just to say hi.”
It would’ve been nice if she was just looking for a reason to see him, but the way her shoulders tightened at his comment had Cam filing that under ‘wishful thinking’.
“So, uh, it turns out that Heather’s okay.”
“What? That’s great, Avery!” When she didn’t say anything, Cam asked, “That is good news, right? What happened? Did she finally come back to your apartment? What happened? Did she show up after—”
—after I took off on you again?
Avery shook her head. “I wish. After all this time, she finally called me. It was late last night while I was sleeping.” A soft exhale, part huff, part wry laugh. “I say sleep, but really I was passed out. Sleeping pill, you know? I haven’t been sleeping since Heather disappeared and then after I saw you on the roof… anyway, I took a pill and missed her call. Couldn’t call her back, either, since she managed to block where she was calling from, but at least I finally heard from her.”
“What did she have to say?”
Avery placed her purse on the top of Cam’s desk. After digging around in it for a few seconds, she pulled out her phone. She fiddled with it, then laid it flat in the center of the desk. “Hear for yourself.”
A voice, softer than Avery’s, came out of the speaker.
“Bree. It’s… it’s me. I know you’re probably super pissed off that it’s taken this long for me to call but… honestly, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you what’s been going on. I… I met a guy. A shifter, really. And he’s great. I can’t wait for you to meet him, but for now I really need to stay with him. I’ll explain everything the next time I see you, but I’m sure you’ve been freaking out. I don’t blame you a bit, either, but… I’m happy. I’m safe. I’m okay. And I’m so, so sorry, Bree, but it’s gonna be a little longer ‘til I can come see you again. But I love you”—in the distance, a low growl drowned out the next couple of words, though Cam could hear that the female on the phone was laughing—“I love you, too, you big goof, but this is my baby sister. Okay, Bree. I… I gotta go. But we’ll talk soon. Promise.”
The message ended there.
As Avery picked up her phone and dropped it back into her purse, Cam asked, “Do you believe her?”
“Do I believe she’s safe?” At Cam’s nod, she bit down lightly on her bottom lip. The faintest nibble but, Heaven help him, his gaze was locked on the action. Finally, she nodded in return. “Yeah. Doesn’t mean I don’t want to see for myself. The growl… Heather was laughing, but I can’t get the growl out of my head.”
Cam could understand why. “So don’t give up. You want to see your sister. Let me help you.” As if he could walk away from Avery now. For the first time ever, it wasn’t about the points. It was about that forlorn nibble and his fervent desire to see her face light up instead. “Job’s not done just because she called you. I told you I’d try might best to find Heather. That’s what I’m going to do.”
“How? No matter what I tried, I can’t trace the number. I don’t know where my sister is. She could’ve told me, but she didn’t.” She sighed as she gave her head a slow shake. “Maybe she doesn’t want to be found. She said she loves this guy. I should respect that.”
“Fuck that,” Cam said. In the back of his head, he heard Dina’s clipped, Minus two-tenths, Camiel, but he didn’t care. “We’ve come this far. And I might’ve tapped out my contacts, but I’m not ready to give up. What about that psychic you went to see?”
“Madame Serena? What about her?”
“She’s the one who warned your sister about the shifter. The way I see it, maybe she can give us a little more insight on that.”
Avery stared over at him. At first, Cam thought it was because she didn’t agree with his next step, but then she closed her eyes and groaned.
“I can’t believe it never even occurred to me to go back and see her.” She slapped herself in the forehead. “God, I’m a fucking idiot.”
“No, you’re not. You’ve had a lot on your mind.”
Her eyes popped open, the expression on her gorgeous features a mix between annoyed, hopeful, and indulgent as she quirked a grin his way. “Nice try, Cam, but it should’ve been obvious. It all started with Madame Serena, didn’t it?”
“I… wondered. But don’t feel too bad. I kept meaning to fly over and talk to her in person, but… I guess I never got the chance.” Mainly because he was too busy following behind Avery like a lovesick puppy dog. “It’s not too late to remedy that.”
“You’re right. And I guess with everything going on, that trip to Woodbridge didn’t seem so important. Hell, the night I went with Heather, I never even got to meet Madame Serena since Heather went in first and she dragged me out with her after her session was done. I just thought it was because she got twitchy around anything paranormal, but then she told me the last time I talked to her that the psychic said ‘he’ was coming for her. Maybe… maybe she might know who that ‘he’ is?”
“There’s only one way to find out. We go pay her a visit.”
Avery reached for her purse. As if by magic, her keys were suddenly clasped in her palm. “Let’s go.” She slung the strap over her shoulder, turning on her heel before stopping suddenly. She let out another curse.
“What’s wrong?”
“I just realized it’s Sunday. She’s closed on Sundays.” At his curious look, she explained, “I found Madame Serena on the internet. She had really good reviews, which is why I thought it would be fun to bring Heather there, but I wanted to go on Sunday. She was closed, so we went on that Thursday night when Heather got off of work early instead.”
“Is she open on Monday?”
“I think she opens at noon, yeah.”
Woodbridge was about a two hour drive from Grayson, a little long if he flew. “Then we’ll go see her tomorrow.”
“We? You mean, together?”
Cam nodded. “Yeah. Together.”
13
Five star reviews
The next day, Avery picked Cam up in Grayson.
She’d invited him to stay over in Spring Valley last night so that they could head for Woodbridge first thing in the morning. It had been such an unexpected offer, Cam almost choked when she made it. After spending the last few nights hanging out on her roof, the thought of following her into her apartment, into her space, where they would be alone…
He wanted to. He wanted to so badly that he knew his only hope of surviving the next part of this mission was putting some kind of space between them. So, trying to ignore the disappointment in her eyes, he politely refused, then promised to see her in the morning. They’d already made plans to take the trip into Woodbridge together so he knew it wouldn’t be more than twelve hours until he saw her again, and he started the countdown as soon as she left.
Since Avery was the only one with the car—and Cam had never learned to drive at any rate—she was in charge of transportation. She’d laughingly suggested that Cam could fly the pair of them from Spring Valley to Woodbridge, and it wasn’t until he had gone upstairs that he wondered if she hadn’t been joking.
It wasn’t the first time she mentioned wanting to go for a flight with him. Cam still couldn’t believe that she was as amazed by his wings as she was. Maybe when this was done and he helped reunite her with Heather, he could take her for a spin before he said goodbye.
Because, as much as he hated thinking of a time when this job was over, walking away from Avery was inevitable. It had to be.
And didn’t that just suck?
Shaking off the unsettling sensation that washed over him as soon as Avery walked out of his office, Cam had locked up, headed toward the stairs and, instead of heading to the kitchen, he veered toward his bathroom. Cold showers had been coming in handy lately, and he was willing to do anything to help take the edge off of him even if it was surefire way to wat
ch his drain get clogged with a few more fallen feathers.
Dina was still out when he finished toweling off. That was becoming more and more usual these days, too. At least Cam knew why now. She’d been meeting with some of the other auditors—especially Robert—while trying to figure out what was really going on with Cam. It couldn’t be the curse, she argued, since that hit hard and fast, so she focused on learning more about the amar mark.
Though he thought she was wasting her time, Cam appreciated her more than he’d ever be able to express. Dina was the smartest being he knew, but she was missing the most important trigger to the curse of the Othersiders. He could flirt with Avery, he could kiss her, he could even touch her… and while he was shedding more and more feathers every day, he still had his wings and his abilities and, well, a chance all because he hadn’t gone too far.
If he slept with his mortal, it would be all over. Unless, of course, she was his soulmate—and while he had his suspicions, he wouldn’t know until he had sex with her. He could find forever, or he could lose everything he’d worked so hard for seven decades for.
Was it worth the risk?
If you asked him more than a week ago, Cam would’ve laughed. No way in the down below. His halo for a chance to finally get laid? No contest.
But then he met Avery Hayes. There was something about this mortal, something that he tried to ignore—and failed miserably. And it wasn’t about sex. It never had been. It was about this connection he felt to her, and what he saw whenever he dared look in her eyes…
Every time he thought about it, he got hard. So maybe it was a little about sex, but only because he’d finally met the first woman who made him wonder if it might be worth it to see if she felt the same connection in return.
But he couldn’t. Not yet, at least. Not until he understood just how she was affecting him, and Dina was his best hope for that. He had faith his auditor would get the answer for him. At the very least, she’d eventually return to the office and, in that haughty voice of hers, tell him how many points he’d sacrificed in his futile pursuit of his mortal.
Oh, and her sister, too.
Then maybe Cam could pretend things could actually go back to the way they were before Shea sent Avery to his office.
For now, he enjoyed her company. If this trip to Woodbridge did what he hoped it would, Avery would be one step closer to reuniting with her sister—and Cam would then have to stay behind.
But that was later…
Cam clung to later.
Woodbridge was a rural town similar to Spring Valley in size, though that was about the only thing they had in common. True to its name, it was a forested area where neighbors had some space to breathe and the locals barely recognized each other. Like Grayson, it was a mixed town. Despite the trees, it was too far from pack land to house too many shifters; closer to Coventry, there were more witches than other Paras.
The second Avery told him that Madame Serena was a psychic with lovely purple eyes, Cam knew she was a witch. Because of that, he’d always put stock in her prediction that a shifter was after Heather Hayes. Now, with proof that Heather was staying with the shifter of her own free will, he decided it was time to pay Madame Serena another visit.
Cam didn’t know what he expected when they pulled up in front of the psychic’s shop. He knew that, since the Paras came out into the open, most witches—male and female both—joined together, turning their covens into a conglomeration. In a way, it was like the shifters’ packs, only Coventry was run more like a business than an extended family.
Not all witches worked for Coventry, though. Shea didn’t. One glimpse at the tacky shop with the neon crystal ball in the window and he was pretty sure that this Madame Serena was another one of the lone witches, like the sort who took individual contracts for their diamonds.
Cam gave Avery a look out of the corner of his eye. “This place got good reviews?”
She shrugged. “All five stars on Third Wish.”
Third Wish, the Para version of review sites like Yelp. Huh. Cam never lingered on his computer long enough to cruise the site—the hum and the buzz and the promise of an explosion had him doing any tech work ASAP since he couldn’t afford to replace another computer—but he heard of it. It wasn’t the type of site he expected a Spring Valley mortal to use.
Avery, though? He wasn’t even a little surprised.
He trusted her instincts, too. And while the amount of magic made him itch almost as bad as the overwhelming scent of baby powder in the air—the mark of a witch practicing her craft—Cam squared his shoulders, grabbed the door handle, and yanked it open.
“After you.”
Avery shot him one of her blinding smiles. “Thanks.”
Cam froze on the spot as she stepped inside of the psychic’s house. That smile… these days, they were coming easier and easier. He’d like to think it was because, in the close to two weeks that they’d been working together, she’d come to… what? Like him? Trust him as much as he found himself trusting her? Her suspicious nature rarely reared its head anymore, but was that because of Cam? Or because, after all of her worrying and waiting, she finally had confirmation from Heather herself that she was doing all right?
With a frustrated scowl, he shook his head and followed Avery inside.
He didn’t know what he expected. A Para himself, he should know better than to make assumptions about some of the other races, especially when it wasn’t the “good” thing to do. Still, the white walls, art deco decor, and pale purple stuffed sofas pushed up against opposite walls… it wasn’t quite what he thought he’d find beyond the darkened windows, though the purple and gold beaded curtain across from him was. A shade was pulled down, blocking the shine from the tacky neon crystal ball, with fluorescent lights brightening the space instead.
This had to be the waiting area and, wouldn’t you know, Madame Serena had something Cam didn’t: a bona fide secretary sitting behind a glass partition.
It reminded him of the set-up of the D.P.R.—the Department of Paranormal Regulations—where Paras went to renew their P.I.D. cards and update their records according to the Claws Clause ordinance. Despite being like Motor Vehicles but for regulating every nuance of paranormal life, it was staffed by mortals who sat behind Para-proof glass.
So, it seemed, was Madame Serena’s.
Avery was already talking to the pleasant-faced mortal male. Cam felt everything inside of him go tight—go jealous, damn it—as Avery leaned in, chuckling softly at something he said to her.
Though he’d pulled his wings inside instead of tucking them beneath his jacket, Cam all but flew to her side. “What’s going on?” he asked gruffly.
The mortal male’s attention swiveled right to him. When Cam saw his purple peepers, he amended it to male witch. Like the psychic, he was also a witch. And, from the way his eyes widened, he knew exactly what Cam was, too.
Probably because, due to his jealousy, he was letting his celestial aura escape. The partition might be Para-proof, but that usually meant witch’s spells and the brute strength of a shifter. Against the pulsing energy of a ticked-off Othersider? It didn’t stand a chance.
The air crackled. The computer on the witch’s desk started to hum and whine. One of the fluorescent lights flickered. Cam knew that, if he didn’t pull his aura back, there was a good chance the whole place was going to start pop-pop-popping as his energy fried the tech in the space.
And that was if he didn’t blow it up first.
The male witch threw a worried look at his computer, then opened his mouth. Before he could say anything, though, Avery reached out, laying her hand on Cam’s upper arm.
That’s all it took. As if by magic, her touch had him regaining all of his lost control. His aura settled to a more tolerable level until it faded back inside of him completely.
“Sorry,” he grunted.
Even though his apology was for Avery, the witch nodded. “I understand. And, as I was telling your—” He paus
ed, most likely waiting for Cam to confirm his suspicions that Avery was his mate. Because, in a world where Paras were free to experience the many facets of a mate bond, the only way to explain his behavior was as a bonded male being possessive of his mate.
Cam wished. He wished he could explain it away as easily as that.
When he kept quiet, Avery glanced up at him. Her fingers squeezed his arm. “He’s my friend.”
Friend, thought Cam. It wasn’t what he wanted from her, not deep down, but it was something.
He’d take it.
“Mmm, yes,” murmured the witch. He obviously didn’t believe that, but he didn’t push it, either. “As I was telling your… friend, Madame Serena is booked today. If you want to leave your number behind, I can call you if there’s an opening any earlier, but right now I couldn’t possibly let you in to see her until Wednesday at the earliest.”
Two days from now?
“I don’t know any of my numbers offhand,” Cam said. That was the problem with having a drawer full of burners and no one who really called him.
“I’ll take down the lady’s, then.”
He wanted to jump in and say ‘no’. After the way the witch was being overly friendly with Avery before he realized Cam was with her, he hated the idea of leaving him any way to contact her. But that wasn’t his right.
She wasn’t his soulmate.
“Yeah,” he said gruffly. “That’s a good idea. I mean, if you want to, Avery.”
“I guess. Hopefully there will be an opening—”
Later, Cam wondered if Madame Serena did it on purpose. That, or if she used her psychic abilities to appear at the best possible moment because, just as Avery was about to dictate her digits, the purple and gold beaded curtain—the only thing in the room that looked like it belonged to the storefront outside—rattled and shook as she pushed it open and stepped out into the front room.
The room might look like it belonged in the coven’s skyscraper in Coventry, especially with the secretary in his black-and-white suit, but at least Madame Serena looked like she fit the part. She was younger than he guessed when Avery told him her name, probably in her mid-to-late thirties. Her color was similar to Shea Moonshadow’s: a rich, olive tone to her flawless skin, hair nearly as black as his wings, though straight as a pin instead of Shea’s curly mess, with eyes a brilliant purple that flared a lighter violet shade as she took in Avery and Cam. She wore a long lilac-colored dress that hugged her narrow waist while flaring at the wrists and her boot-covered ankles. When she moved, she clanked softly, as if there was more jewelry than just the oversized golden hoops hanging from her ears.
True Angel: a Fallen Angel romance (Curse of the Othersiders Book 1) Page 12
