Witch Hunt

by Layla Nash

  “Whiskey,” someone said from behind me, and I tensed. I knew that voice. It sent the same shivers through me as it had in the cemetery. The wolf.

  I didn’t turn or react, though internally I groaned. What were the fucking odds? I just wanted to enjoy a drink in peace, forget all about the double life and the bullshit coven meeting I had to attend later that afternoon, and go about my business. Which included one more flower delivery.

  He actually took a stool two down from me, not looking at me, and I started to hope that maybe he didn’t make the connection. The animals could track by scent from what I’d heard, but that didn’t mean he’d remember what I smelled like. Although I was wearing work clothes both times that our paths crossed. Hopefully more people than just me smelled like dirt and fertilizer; I stood a better chance of blending in in that dicey neighborhood than anywhere else in the city, at least.

  The bartender returned with a whiskey, and I watched from the corner of my eye as the asshole two stools down sipped it and set it down on the bare wood of the fancy bar. With a coaster right in front of him. What a dick. What an inconsiderate asshole. And he’d called me “girl” the other night, and it still smarted a bit—mostly because it wasn’t socially acceptable to use magic to beat the shit out of him and teach him some manners. That was too prideful, and though witches didn’t have to be humble, the universe had a way of grinding down those who stood out too much. Plus it came back in threes, and I couldn’t risk getting a lesson in humility the next time I copped an attitude about something.

  There wasn’t enough time or space to really get my ice-queen mantra right, but I rehearsed it in my head and got a little bit of my protective shell to the surface so whatever he decided to call me that time around wouldn’t bother me as much.

  He didn’t speak right away, and the tension in my chest eased as the expectation of confrontation also waned. If he wanted to prove a point, chances were he would have done so in the first few sips, instead of working his way through half the whiskey before he took a deep breath.

  “How do you know Smith?”

  “How do you know Smith?” I shot back. There were some questions we just didn’t ask and definitely some we didn’t answer.

  “He did me a favor once,” the wolf said. Smith had called him Evershaw, which definitely could have been a first or last name. I had no idea how the wolves named their offspring. “He’s helped a lot of people in our community, and gotten rid of some real troublemakers, as you no doubt know, since you played a part in getting him back.”

  “Then it sounds like you already know how I know Smith.”

  “No,” he said. “I know that someone knew enough to call you when there were no other options, but that’s not enough to understand what kind of threat you pose to... people like me.”

  I shook my head as I sipped the gin. I needed a much bigger glass. “No more threat than the threat you pose to me.”

  “Don’t be so quick to assume you’re impervious, sweetheart. It wasn’t so long ago that the guys who sent Smith away would have loved to get their hands on you.” He tapped the side of his glass in a signal to the bartender, and damn it all if the kid didn’t bring me another gin and tonic as well. I didn’t touch it for fear of creating a debt, but the wolf didn’t notice. “Keep your people under control. Stay out of our way. There are already too many fights over power in this city. If you start one, you’ll lose.”

  “You must have me confused for someone else,” I said under my breath. “I don’t control anyone and I don’t give a shit about power or fighting.” He opened his mouth to say something quaint or insulting, but stopped as I reached for the gin he’d bought for me and flicked my finger against the side of the glass so the contents froze solid and the glass itself cracked from the cold. “And if I were that kind of person, there is absolutely fuck all you could do to stop me.”

  I slammed the rest of the drink I’d paid for, shoved to my feet, and headed for the door. “Have a great day.”

  It sounded more like a curse than I thought possible. But I didn’t look back to see his reaction, since I didn’t much care, but I definitely kept an eye in the rearview mirror as I drove away.

  Chapter 6

  Evershaw

  Evershaw shook his head as he lingered at the bar, finishing off the second whiskey. He called Todd with instructions to follow the girl who’d just left the restaurant since he knew Todd had followed him. Sometimes his cousin was too much of a mother hen and dangerously predictable. But sometimes it came in handy.

  He studied the broken glass and the frozen alcohol inside it, pondering. Smith was right, maybe, that she was both young and powerful, but there was something about her. He couldn’t explain it, but she felt frayed around the edges, like she wasn’t entirely comfortable in her own skin and her own power. She’d grown up too fast and had to shoulder too much responsibility before she wanted or needed it, and her facade was starting to crack just the same as the glass. It was easy enough to recognize after seeing it in himself early on.

  He’d only had to worry about controlling the wolf if he lost it and decided to blow off his responsibilities; he could disappear into the woods and live as a wolf if he really wanted to. But her... He didn’t know what happened when witches went crazy or cracked under the strain of outside pressure. Evershaw would have to talk to Smith about it and make sure they had some contingency plans in case the girl lost control. A witch going nuts and exposing the existence of magic to the humans in the city was even worse than a few people thinking they’d seen animals changing into humans and vice versa. He couldn’t even begin to imagine how spectacular the meltdown would be if the witch lost control in public in the city center.

  Evershaw shook his head, straightening from the uncomfortable stool as Todd texted back the girl’s whereabouts just a couple of blocks away. He started walking, hoping the fresh air would clear his head and show him the way forward, and searched for signs of the coyotes or that damn RedCloud pack. Nothing else stirred until he got a hell of a lot closer to the Chase business building, and then the streets filled with businesspeople in suits and fancy shoes and a couple of beggars hoping for more pocket change from the richer neighborhood.

  He slid into the passenger seat of the SUV where it parked just down the block from the Chase building’s main entrance. “Don’t tell me she’s in there.”

  “Yep.” Todd didn’t look away from the steel and glass monstrosity with three giant revolving doors, nor from the foot traffic that went in and out. “Took a big-ass bouquet of red roses in there about ten minutes ago.”

  Evershaw grunted, folding his arms over his chest. The girl would no doubt stick out like a sore thumb in her crummy clothes and ridiculous rain boots. He had no idea people even wore those anymore. If she meant it to be a disguise, it worked pretty well. He’d never have believed her to be a powerful witch if he saw her in that getup first, without seeing it for himself or hearing it from Smith.

  “Who is she?” Todd slouched in the driver’s seat, squinting at the revolving doors as a flood of well-dressed women strode out in sky-high heels and ridiculous handbags. “And why don’t we hang out downtown more often?”

  “She’s an associate of Smith’s,” Evershaw said. “None of those women would even look at you, wolf, so why waste the money buying them drinks?”

  “You don’t know that,” Todd said, sounding a little irritated. “I have a charming personality, I’ll have you know. So fuck off. I’ll take Henry to happy hour with me and you can go home and wallow in your own dickishness.”

  Evershaw snorted. “Fine. Do what you’ve got to do, but do it after we figure out what the witch is up to.”

  Todd’s eyebrows rose as he glanced over at the alpha. “She’s a witch.”

  “Apparently a powerful one.” Evershaw felt the familiar adrenaline of a hunt start to creep over him.

  “Then why, exactly, are we following her and risking her finding out? We’ve got enough problems with wo
lves and coyotes, man. We don’t need fucking witches coming after us.” Todd shook his head and reached for the keys. “Do you have some kind of death wish?”

  Evershaw scowled as he watched the revolving doors. “I have my reasons, and it’s not a death wish.”

  His cousin must have heard the growl in his voice, because Todd shut up except to grumble under his breath. They didn’t have to wait much longer for the girl to appear, though Evershaw had started to get a little uneasy because it had been at least twenty minutes and flower deliveries generally didn’t take that long.

  She walked back out through the side door meant for emergencies and wheelchairs, and shoved it open despite a security guard behind her saying something and gesturing angrily at the revolving door. The girl ignored him and walked out, still carrying an enormous bouquet of red roses, and strode through the crowded sidewalks like no one else existed. It was almost enough to make him smile; either she was oblivious to the well-dressed men and women she bumped into, or she was and still didn’t give a shit.

  She reached the florist’s van on a small side street, still within view for the wolves’ better sight, whipped open the side door so hard it almost slammed back shut in her face, and threw the bouquet into the back hard enough that it must have destroyed the arrangement completely.

  Todd blinked. “Well, whatever the fuck happened up there wasn’t good. Jesus.”

  Evershaw frowned as the girl slammed the side door and got in the driver’s seat, though she didn’t start up the van and drive away immediately. Instead she slumped over the steering wheel and covered her face with her hands. His eyes narrowed as he tried to see whether she was laughing or crying or fuming, but a meter maid walked up to tap on her window and blocked his view. He growled in irritation as the van pulled out a second later, and he couldn’t see the witch as she drove off.

  Before Todd could do or say something, Evershaw took out his phone and dialed Edgar Chase, the security chief for the lion pride and all their businesses. When the lion answered, Evershaw cursed himself as a fool but still spoke, “It’s Evershaw. I need a favor.”

  “Evershaw.” Edgar sounded just a touch wary, since Evershaw had probably been an asshole the last time they spoke or interacted. He couldn’t keep track. But Edgar didn’t hesitate to go on. “I’ll help if I can. What’s going on?”

  “Someone just delivered flowers in your building,” he said, ignoring Todd’s disbelieving stare. “She came back out and it was clear something happened. Can your security team figure out who the delivery was for and whether there was an altercation?”

  Edgar paused, then said smoothly, “Sure. Do I need to know who the delivery person is and why it matters to you?”

  “It’s a long story and I don’t know how it ends, so no. The delivery girl’s name is Deirdre. The florist is Uptown Blooms. The delivery was about twenty minutes ago.” Evershaw held his breath just a second, hoping Chase wasn’t going to be a dick about it like some of his brothers would have been.

  “Right. Give me a moment.” The call got put on hold and Evershaw scowled out the windshield, holding up a hand to cut off Todd when his second-in-command started to object to putting so much effort into figuring out what happened. Evershaw couldn’t explain it himself.

  After what felt like an eternity, Chase picked back up. “Okay. Luckily the delivery happened in one of the elevator vestibules where we have audio and videotape, if you’d like to review it later. You’d have to come into the security office. Either way, the delivery was for a guy named Palmer Studemeier.”

  “Sounds like a real douchebag.”

  Chase didn’t react. “He’s a financial analyst with one of our subsidiary companies. No criminal record, of course, and no disciplinary issues in the last five years. He ordered the flowers to be delivered to his office and arranged for the florist to have Deirdre deliver them. Studemeier apparently has feelings for the girl and thought it would be cute to have her deliver the flowers so he could give them to her. They know each other but we’ve got no records of the girl having visited the building before or otherwise been involved in Chase business.”

  Interesting. The kid thought he was being clever and instead managed to piss off the witch. Maybe the kid didn’t know she was a witch. Or maybe he did. Evershaw frowned, rubbing his jaw, and watched the yuppies walking around like their business was life or death. Maybe one of them was Studemeier. “Anything else?”

  “She didn’t fall for it,” Chase said, sounding just faintly amused. “He miscalculated. There wasn’t exactly a scene in public, but Deirdre wasn’t pleased with having to make deliveries, having to come downtown, and having to kill roses so he could make such a stupid gesture. It was pretty entertaining to listen to, but I feel for the kid.”

  Evershaw grunted, unimpressed. Stupid kid was wasting time and money on getting a girl to pay attention to him. “The girl is a friend of Smith’s. She’s the one who helped free him; apparently Nick was the one who introduced them. She’s up to something but I don’t know what it is.”

  Todd shot him a dirty look, rolling his eyes dramatically and gesturing for Evershaw to end the call, but Evershaw turned away to scowl at the sidewalk. He had his reasons. He had really good reasons for caring whether the witch was involved with someone from the Chase company. Or at least he hoped so.

  Chase made a thoughtful sound. “Interesting. Is she dangerous?”

  “If you piss her off, yes.” He had no doubts about that, at least. “I’m still trying to evaluate what degree of threat she holds for the rest of us, but she’s unpredictable. Unstable. No one should approach her because she tends to lash out, and somehow she can identify shifters.”

  “Even more interesting.” Chase cleared his throat, and the clicking of a keyboard betrayed he made notes or prepared an email or other business. “On a separate but potentially related note, I received information that some of the former BadCreek wolves were in the city to meet with you. Is there anything going on with them, and is it related to the witch? I wouldn’t be surprised if BadCreek had had a witch on the payroll, considering what they did with the djinn.”

  Evershaw frowned, eyes narrowing as he scanned the sidewalks. He hadn’t considered that. She’d freed the djinn and Smith, but there was no telling how Nick knew about the witch. Nick had been undercover in BadCreek for a long time. Maybe it was all a tangled web, and the real culprits behind BadCreek’s evil plots were still unaccounted for.

  “I don’t know if the witch was involved in that. My gut says no but I can’t account for why or why not. And the wolves want territory in the city and have begun to encroach on mine as well as the BloodMoon pack’s. We’ll have to sort it out sooner rather than later.”

  He didn’t point out that he and the O’Sheas had brought up the same damn issue at the last Alphas Council and no one gave a shit then, but it was on the tip of his tongue to point that back out to Chase. Except Evershaw might need more information from him later, and as satisfying as it was to be a complete asshole, it didn’t serve his interests with Edgar.

  Chase hmm’d again. “I’ll keep an eye out for her returning to the building. I can have some of my guys keep her under surveillance, if you think it’s necessary. I’ll dig a little into Studemeier’s background, see if there’s anything there we ought to be concerned with.”

  For a second, Evershaw was tempted. Having Chase’s trained security teams keep an eye on the girl would take a lot off his plate, but the wolf side of him didn’t trust anyone else to chase after her. If she got spooked, she might flee or blow something up. “No, it won’t be necessary to follow her. She doesn’t know there’s any suspicion. Better to stay back.”

  “Let me know if that changes. I’ll be in touch if I learn anything useful about the kid.”

  Evershaw grunted and passed along some grudging thanks, then ended the call. He didn’t look at Todd or his disbelieving expression. “Go back to the house. We’ve got work to do.”

  His cousin rol
led his eyes and started up the SUV. “Unbelievable.”

  He didn’t dignify that with a response, and instead focused on the sight of Deirdre in the dinged-up van with the bright flowers painted on the side, her face in her hands after a guy tried to give her flowers. Unbelievable for sure.

  Later that afternoon, as he continued to ponder over the mystery of the witch, he sat in his office and tried to concentrate on one particular real estate deal that would net the pack quite a bit of money. He’d felt off the whole ride back from downtown, and growled at anyone who showed up to bother him — so the whole pack left him alone once he made it to his office.

  Evershaw blinked to clear his vision but it didn’t work, and when he lifted his hand to rub his eyes, his fingers trembled and his arm felt like fucking lead. His chest squeezed and a weight settled on his lungs and it suddenly took too much effort to breathe. Evershaw’s heart started to race. What the fuck was going on?

  He pushed to his feet behind the desk, ready to stagger to the bathroom as his stomach gurgled, but looked down and saw a bright red rash appearing all over his arms. That wasn’t good. None of it was good. He gripped the edge of the desk to keep from falling as his balance disappeared and the whole room grew dark around the edges. “Todd!”

  His cousin stuck his head through the partially-open door, then started frowning. “Boss?”

  “Get in here. Close the door.” The words came out somewhere between a whisper and a gasp, and Evershaw hoped the door was all the way closed as his knees gave out and he went down behind the desk.

  Todd cursed and bolted forward, dragging him into the open and laying him out on his back. “What the hell is going on? What’s wrong?”

  “Can’t…breathe,” Evershaw choked. He held up his arms so Todd could see the rash, and managed to touch his chest. “Hurts. Get help.”