No point in fixating on things that may never happen.
I looked at Grandpa, who was trying to avoid eye contact. That was happening to me a lot lately—people being scared about what their eyes would reveal. But I could understand why he was hurt. He’d given my grandmother the benefit of the doubt, chose never to scientifically know the truth about whose child my mother really was—his or Oren’s.
“I’m sorry. I don’t want to upset you, Grandpa,” I finally said, squeezing his hand. “It’s just hard to believe you actually settled for the barest of possibilities about Mum being your child, when it could’ve gone either way.”
He still looked straight ahead, avoiding my eyes. “I loved your grandmother so much. Even the possibility of our youngest child not being mine wasn’t enough to push me away from her. I just wanted to forget that man ever existed. I felt like such a fool. I’d actually shaken his hand upon meeting him after all those years, when all along he returned with the intention of winning my wife over while I worked hard to support the family.”
I could feel the tears coming. I wanted to be angry with Grandma, but I’d encountered Oren and knew just how charming he could be. He must’ve stirred her old emotions into a wild frenzy until there was nothing left to do but give in to old desires.
I hated him because he’d probably sucked energy out of my grandmother to suit himself while seducing her with timeworn memories.
Oren had no right to interfere in the happy, suburban lives of my grandparents, spreading uncertainty then walking away to settle back as a spectator in the shadows.
And how could I ever forget those pink eyes after he’d tasted my power in the cemetery? He purposely withheld what he was until it was too late for me to know what he was capable of doing. He’d already taken something intimate from me.
A shiver ran down my spine at the thought of him watching me all this time. Was he watching the house at this very moment? Had he followed me to Carleen Hocking’s house? Did he know what I’d endured during the last twenty-four hours?
“Oren’s a witch, Sierra,” my grandfather said, finally meeting my eyes. “I know he likes to call himself a witch hunter, but he’s not above all of those evil magicians he captures and sentences to death. He’s a witch with so much knowledge and wisdom that if he’s decided to introduce himself to you, I’m concerned he may have an ulterior motive.”
A pang tugged at my heart at the possibility that I could be the direct result of a product between a long line of spook catchers and a witch. It was probably better if Grandpa didn’t know Oren had already tasted my internal aura.
If I was Oren’s grandchild, after the incident at the cemetery, he’d already have his answer. It was probably what he’d really wanted to find out—if I was his grandchild or not.
Grandpa’s eyes hardened when he said, “Don’t underestimate Oren McKee’s power or intentions, Sierra.”
I nodded. No matter what or who he was, I’d have to keep a cautious eye on the witch. After my conversation with Grandpa, I knew Oren wouldn’t leave me alone.
No matter how hard I tried to avoid him.
Chapter Eighteen
I couldn’t sleep.
All the uncertainty and craziness in my life was to blame. So, what did I do when I couldn’t sleep and there was no anonymous note to respond to? I went to work, of course.
I stretched my arms over my head while still seated in my crappy office chair. My shoulders felt stiff from hunching over the keyboard while completing the mountain of paperwork stacked on my desk, but I felt as if I’d accomplished something.
My head was muddled and my familial identity might suddenly be in question, but this is one of the many advantages of working in this field. No one looks at you funny if you knock on their door at midnight with a smile and a “Hi, I’m Sierra Fox. You called about a ghostly disturbance inside your home?”
Instead, they smile politely, adjust their robes and allow you access into their home. I go in, take care of business and receive a nice wad of cash for my troubles and their inconvenience. Not a bad gig, if you disregarded the whole fibers-of-the-patches-coming-apart thing, or the witch trying to track me down because he suspected I might be his granddaughter. Or even that a spirit was able to enter my body.
Yeah, there were a few work-related hazards I had to deal with, but all in all, it paid well.
Now I had two filled canisters on my desk, each stocked with an unfriendly spook refusing to vacate the premises when confronted. One of them happened to be a wraith and, keeping to its violent ways, had added to my injuries by slashing my cheek. I was lucky it didn’t require stitching. The other was a piece of cake—like demanding a genie back into its bottle—and had me wishing all my cases were as easy.
At least the mysterious black matter hadn’t taken these two or made an appearance. The image of the lost teenage ghost being sucked into the shadow whirlwind continually swamped my mind while I’d been out grabbing these two.
Since I was already in my office, maybe I could do a little digging around on the Internet. Check out if anything peculiar stuck out about those shadow beings. They were nasty things I’d encountered only once, which was one time too many.
Two years ago during a thunderstorm, a frantic man called me claiming that his daughter was seeing things in her bedroom. When I inspected the house, it didn’t seem to be affected by ghostly activity, but he was worried enough to have me scrutinize every corner of the five-year-old girl’s bedroom.
Everything in that room had been pink and white—the walls, pillows, furniture and even blankets. During one of the lightning flashes, the room illuminated bright enough for me to spot a tall, thin, black figure standing a few feet away from the bed, trying to wrap its elongated arms around the small, blonde cutie.
She’d been clutching a rag doll with yellow woolen hair in her chubby fingers, her mouth opened with soundless screams while tears fell along her little cheeks. She was turning a horrid shade of blue as the shadow wrapped its shadowy arms tighter around her small frame.
I don’t even know how I saved her. Everything moved in time with the choppy, slow-motion backdrop of lightning.
I tried to cross over but couldn’t.
The ghostly zone wasn’t open to cross into. The shadows reside somewhere entirely different, separate. They step through walls and venture between their realm and ours through portals humans can’t access. I’m not sure why they take children, though. It might have something to do with using their tiny living energy as fuel. I didn’t know for sure—it’s the only theory I’ve come up with. The way that thing disappeared before I had a chance to capture it reminded me of the black tornado that claimed the teenage ghost trapped inside the Rempel basement. All shadow, menacing red eyes, and capable of consuming anything it desired.
One second it was there and the next, poof!
It never returned for the little girl, and the family moved away. I told her father countless times that the sealing wards I’d set up inside their house would stop the shadows from getting back in, but he wouldn’t listen. He was convinced it was a location issue, and who was I to tell him how to protect his family?
Last time I checked in, she was still all right.
The two canisters on my desk caught my eye.
The full moon streamed in through the windows behind me, shining down on them. Maybe I could take these canisters into the Council myself.
The shattering of glass interrupted my thoughts and intentions of research.
I sat still, watching my closed office door and listening.
I’d intentionally closed it but kept it unlocked in case Papan was around. I probably should be keeping my distance from him at the moment. Yet, if he were in his office and decided to pop in on his way out… Was I secretly hoping he would?
The sudden echo of footsteps on the ceiling confirmed someone was inside his office.
I debated whether to do the obviously stupid thing of going up there to see what was
going on. Nah, it was safer to just sit tight and mind my own business.
Damn! I was too nosey, always curious. Besides, Papan could be in trouble, so I decided to go upstairs and check.
I stepped out into the dark corridor and looked both ways. No one approached from the ascending staircase, but someone was approaching from the opposite direction. A vaguely familiar person took the last step onto this floor and was headed towards me. Her lithe movements seemed impossible in the spiked-heel boots adding to her already impressive height.
“Vixen?”
“Ah, it’s the catcher,” she purred, as leather—white this time—creaked with her every step. “I thought I saw your name on one of these doors.”
I offered a smile. What the hell was she doing here? “So, fancy meeting you here in the wee hours of the morning.”
Her mouth, lips covered in perfectly applied lipstick, stretched into a condescending smile. “I’m looking for someone. Maybe you can help me.”
“I’m the only one here. As far as I know most of the other businesses keep normal office hours,” I lied.
“Right, of course, except if you’re a lonesome wolf.”
I didn’t know what she meant so I kept a goofy smile plastered on my face. “Listen, did you hear glass shattering?”
She shook her head and her long, tight braid moved from side to side like a tail. “Didn’t hear anything, sorry.”
Well, this was going well. “What wolf are you looking for anyway?”
Her dark eyes widened a little. “How do you know I’m looking for a wolf?”
“Well, you’re a werewolf hunter, right? And you just mentioned a lonesome wolf, so I put the two together and voila, there’s my conclusion.”
Vixen didn’t look impressed, standing only a few feet away with her immaculate dominatrix gear. Actually, she looked a little pissed. “Okay, I gotta split, so I’ll catch you later,” she called over her shoulder as she continued past me.
“Hold on, didn’t you want me to help you with something?”
Vixen shrugged like she was bored by the situation and desperately wanted to get away, which she did as quickly as her high-heeled boots could take her.
“See ya,” I said to the empty corridor once she was gone.
For some reason, she didn’t like me, and I found her a little too arrogant for my liking. I remembered Conrad the Vamp Boy hadn’t seemed to like me either. Maybe it was because my line of work was validated and theirs wasn’t. It had to be hard to remain in the dark while fighting monsters. Ghosts weren’t exactly monsters, but they’d been out in the world since I was a kid. I’d never known a time when people who could see them had to hide and pretend they couldn’t. Although I knew it was just as hard years ago, when my grandmother was young.
The thought made me feel uneasy.
Still, nothing explained what Vixen was doing in this office building at three o’clock in the morning looking for some wolf.
Something shiny caught my eye. I leaned over for closer inspection and found a small shard of glass embedded into the carpet.
“Son of a bitch!” I recognized the familiar voice and quickened my step into the office. I’d ducked home shortly after running into Vixen to catch a few hours of sleep. A nice long shower helped to soothe my limbs after I awoke but hadn’t removed the dirty feeling of a body invasion. I felt a lot cooler in my tank top and low-rise cargo pants.
The sun was already blazing at ten o’clock in the morning, so I was glad to be indoors.
Papan sat on the edge of Ebony’s desk with a deep scowl darkening his attractive features. I fought back the urge to think about our almost-kiss, and even harder not to be annoyed that he was sitting so close to Ebony.
I focused on how pissed off he was.
He turned to me as I wandered into the office and said, “Hey, Fox.”
“Hey, what’s wrong?”
Papan pushed a hand through his dark blond hair, but it all cascaded over his face a second later. The blond highlights stood out more during daylight. If I stared at him too much, it was hard to get past just how good he always looked.
I sucked in a breath, reminding myself that I was with Jonathan. Still, it obviously didn’t mean my body was willing to ignore Papan. As long as I kept it strictly look-but-don’t-touch, it was fine.
“Damn, some son of a bitch broke into my office last night,” he said, his scowl deepening. His green eyes darkened with anger as he squeezed his fists together. “I was just telling Ebony about it.”
My heart stopped for a second. “What happened to your office?”
“Someone shattered the glass panel on the door, got inside and made a mess of everything!”
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. A bitter taste filled my mouth, the heat inside the office suddenly stifling. The only thing cooling me down was my wet hair pressing against my scalp, the back of my neck and shoulders, but it wouldn’t take long to dry in this heat.
Papan lifted a shoulder. “That’s going to cost me a bundle to replace too.”
Ebony pressed a hand to his thigh. “Maybe insurance will cover it?”
“What insurance?” Papan looked down at her hand and jumped off the desk. “I don’t have insurance. Unlike you fancy supernatural chicks, I can’t afford that kind of thing.”
I looked at him and he winked at me, trying to make light of a serious situation that would apparently hurt him financially.
“We can lend you some money to fix it,” I said.
He held a hand up and shook his head. “Nah, listen, it’s all right. I just needed someone to bitch to, and since we’re such good neighbors, I thought I’d pop in.”
I couldn’t help but smile back. His grin was infectious and suited him much better than anger.
Papan nodded at Ebony before strolling towards me. I struggled to get past the two of them sleeping together. They just looked like polar opposites and didn’t seem to have any chemistry or connection between them. Well, except for me.
He stopped just in front of me, staring down at me. I fought the temptation to get lost in the texture of his exotic eyes. Papan lowered his voice. “Listen, is everything okay with the boyfriend?”
I cleared my throat. “He understands nothing happened.”
“Good, good.” Papan kept his eyes fixed on mine. “The last thing I wanted to do was come between you.” The way his grin widened, I found it hard to believe. “Is everything all right with you?”
“Sure.” I nodded, trying to ignore his hand on my elbow.
“Sounds like you had a bit of bad luck out there the other night.” The heat of his rough fingers scorched my skin.
“We sure did.”
“If you ever need some muscle out there, give me a call.” Papan winked. “I’m curious about what you do to rake in so much money, and I sure could use the extra cash.”
The thought of having Papan beside me out on the field both excited and terrified me. I nodded, not knowing if I could ever really have him beside me all the time. “I’ll keep that in mind, thank you.”
“Make sure you take care of yourself, huh?” His fingers trailed over my cheek. “I won’t ask how you got this, it looks fresh.”
“That’s because it is,” I whispered. My ghostly injury stung at the touch of his skin, but it felt good. I tried not to close my eyes or shiver with delight. I shouldn’t be enjoying his friendly caress this much. Papan dropped his fingers and headed for the door but paused just outside the doorway. “I’m curious, how do you feel about what happened the other night?”
I looked at Ebony. She was staring at us, probably wondering what we were doing whispering to each other. I turned back to him. “I’m fine, what about you?”
A little glimmer lightened his eyes. “Yeah, me too, everything’s fine and dandy.”
I knew he was lying. He wasn’t fine with what had happened that night. Was it because he’d been hoping for something physical to happen between us? Or because he’d never intended for us to
get so close to something physical? I sighed. I just never knew with him.
I cleared my throat and raised my voice. “Do you have any idea who broke into your office?”
“No clue at all, but the glass trail ends just past your door,” he said.
I wasn’t sure whether to say anything about my suspicions of Vixen’s involvement in his office break in or not. I decided to keep my mouth shut for the moment. There were too many other factors associated with Vixen that I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life explaining to Ebony. “Yeah, I noticed. Have you called the police?”
“Nope, not involving the cops in this one. It could’ve been someone’s ex. There’s always one of those angry at me for exposing them to their suspicious partners. Such is the life of a PI. No insurance, no need for the cops.”
He sounded adamant about the police involvement, so I dropped it. I had a feeling there were more than a few skeletons in Papan’s past.
I opted for a change of topic. “Speaking of your clients…” I lowered my voice again and checked to see if Ebony was still watching. Her back was facing us as she typed away. “I checked out the lead you mentioned and it’s clear. We got everything sorted out. Actually, I’m attending the proceedings with her next week.”
“I’m glad. There’s nothing worse than being surrounded by someone you suspect.”
“Take care of yourself, okay?”
“I always do. No one else does.” I caught a spark of sadness cross his face before he looked away.
I wanted to tell him that I was there for him. I considered him a friend, but would he get the wrong idea? And if he did, how would I handle another intimate encounter with him if no one was there to interrupt that time. “Hey, you still got someone asking about my whereabouts?”
Papan smiled and left the office without another word.
I watched him until he wandered down the stairs and met my gaze one last time. Should I have mentioned Vixen? What on Earth could she want with Papan? Maybe he was investigating a werewolf and didn’t know it? At least I now knew for sure that she’d been rummaging around in his office. Why, I had no idea, but maybe it was time for a little confrontation the next time I saw the dominatrix werewolf hunter.
A Patch of Darkness Page 20
