The Vampire's Accidental Wife (Nocturne Falls Book 8)

by Kristen Painter

  She blushed. “That’s me.”

  “Nice to meet you. Van is a good man.”

  “Yes, he is.” She tipped her head. “Hey, is it true that Desdemona Valentine is staying with you?” She suddenly shook her head. “Sorry, that’s none of my business.”

  The fact that Desi’s visit was so widely known threw him. “She is. How did you know that?”

  “I was there when you called Van about getting someone to do some security work in Vegas. I asked him what it was about and he told me.” Monalisa shrugged. “I only asked you if she was staying with you because I grew up in Vegas, and Desdemona’s sort of a big deal out there. Anyway, I’m sorry about being nosey. Just ignore.”

  “It’s okay. I haven’t really been that secretive about her staying with me.” He put his hands in his pockets. “How is it that you thought you knew me?”

  Monalisa got an odd little grin on her face. “A couple months ago in Vegas, Van and I were out with Pandora, Willa, and Nick at a restaurant. You and Desdemona were a few tables away. We only figured that out when we looked at the pictures we took and saw you two in the background.”

  “Huh. I guess Desi and I weren’t that much of a secret then either.”

  She laughed a little. “I’m learning in this town, secrets don’t stay hidden long.”

  “No, they don’t.” Something that was both bad and good.

  The bells over the door jingled, and he turned to see Pandora strolling in.

  “Julian, what brings you by? Tired of penthouse living? You know I could get amazing money for that place.”

  He chuckled. “No, I’m quite happy at the Excelsior, thank you. I was hoping you could help me in a different capacity.”

  She handed Monalisa a file. “Put this on my desk?”

  “Sure thing.” Monalisa took it and went behind the half wall to do as Pandora asked.

  Pandora looked at Julian. “Do you mean help in a witchy capacity?”

  “Maybe.”

  She nodded. “Let’s go into the conference room and talk.”

  He followed her back. She opened the door, then stepped aside to let him in and turned to Monalisa. “Hold my calls. Hey, did we have any calls?”

  “Two about Pumpkin Point. I got their info and directed them to the website.”

  “Perfect. All right, hold my calls.” Pandora came in, closed the door, and took a seat across from Julian. “What can I help you with?”

  The room was small, and the table only had four chairs, but the space still managed to feel welcoming and professional. Pandora was exceptional at her job. She was pretty good as a witch, too, and he knew she’d appreciate straight talk. “There’s a vampire hunter in town, and I need help finding her.”

  “Someone’s hunting you? And it’s a woman?” She shook her head. “Not to make light of the situation, but this isn’t that surprising.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “You have a reputation as a lady killer. Seems like it was only a matter of time before one of them took it personally.”

  “It’s not like that at all.” Except for the part about being married, he explained everything that had happened, right up to the flowers being sent and the name of the hunter they’d come up with thanks to Birdie.

  Pandora sat back. “Wow. That’s serious. And can I just say this woman has some real nerve coming to this town thinking she’s going to bag herself a vampire.”

  “Agreed, but I’m sure she has no clue about the real nature of Nocturne Falls.”

  “Probably not. She’s in for a rude awakening.” Pandora tapped her nails on the table top. “Or not. If she comes to town, or if she’s here already, won’t drinking the water make it impossible for her to tell if someone’s a vampire or not? Won’t the spell in the water sort of negate this whole thing?”

  “Maybe. Maybe not. I’ve heard Alice say her spell relies heavily on a human’s ability to be persuaded. If this woman has her mind made up about Desdemona being a vampire, Alice’s magic may not have an effect.”

  Pandora nodded. “Magic does have its limits at times. I know that firsthand.” She straightened. “Where do I come in?”

  “I need to find this woman before she makes any kind of attempt at Desi. I’m hoping you can help me with that part of it.”

  “I’m sure Desi is in a safe place now, right?”

  “Right.” He nodded. “She’s at my penthouse and Deputy Blythe is on her way over to run security.”

  “You think this hunter would be so bold as to do something in broad daylight?”

  “I’m not discounting anything.”

  “Smart. Okay, do you have anything that belongs to this woman? What’s her name?”

  “Abigail Helsing.”

  “This Abigail. Do you have anything of hers? A standard location spell needs something like that to focus on.”

  “No.” He growled in frustration. “Is there any other—wait. What about something she’s touched?”

  “Hmm. That’s a gray area. It could work, but if other people have touched the item too, the spell is just as likely to locate them. It really needs to be a personal item.”

  “Which I don’t have.” Julian bounced his fist on the table. “I have to find this woman.”

  “I’m sorry. You know I’d help in a heartbeat if I could.” She thought for a moment. “You said Birdie had hacked her way into the Talisman forum, right?”

  “Yes. But trying to contact Abigail that way would take too long.”

  Pandora leaned forward. “I was thinking about a different approach.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “Set yourself up as bait. Use the forum to tell this woman you’ve found a vampire and need her help. Then you can specify the time and place. She’ll come to you.”

  He shook his head. “I get what you’re saying, but putting that kind of info out there could bring a horde of vampire hunters to Nocturne Falls. This place is supposed to be a haven for supernaturals. Not a mecca for those who think we’re trophies to be hunted.”

  “You don’t have to post the information wide. Just PM her.”

  “PM?”

  “Private message. Trust me, Birdie will know how to do it.”

  “I’m going to call her right now.” No point in wasting time. He pulled out his phone and dialed.

  Birdie answered after a single ring. “Julian! Are you a psychic vampire? I was just about to call you.”

  “I hope that means you have some good news.”

  “I don’t know if it’s good. I think it is. I mean, sure, it’s good.”

  That wasn’t very reassuring.

  She kept talking. “What did you call about?”

  “What’s your news?”

  “You first.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Pandora mentioned something about being able to PM Abigail Helsing through the Talisman forum, but we can discuss the details of that after you tell me your news.”

  “Huh. Well, maybe Pandora’s the psychic one. I sort of already did that.”

  He straightened. “You did?”

  “Yep. My membership finally got approved so I was able to get in and start searching for her posts, and I found one where she offered a one million dollar bounty to anyone who could deliver her a live vampire.”

  “And?”

  “And you have a meeting with her in half an hour.”

  Every nerve in his body came to life. “That’s not much time.”

  “I know, but she’s pushy.”

  If Birdie thought the woman was pushy, that was saying something. “Where?”

  “Pinehurst Inn.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Naturally.” If there was something shady going down near Nocturne Falls, that’s where it happened.

  “You want backup? I could send Hank. Or I could come.”

  “No, I appreciate the offer, but I want to draw as little attention to this situation as possible. And a vampire of my years against a human is already an un
fair fight.” He pushed his chair back and stood. “I’ll handle it myself.”

  “All right. I’ll text you the details. Good luck.”

  “Thanks, but she’s the one who’s going to need it.” He hung up and looked at Pandora. “Gotta run. Birdie knew about that private messaging business already and set something up.”

  Pandora got to her feet. “You’re going to meet with this hunter? What are you going to do, if you don’t mind me asking?”

  “I don’t know yet. But I’ll figure it out.” Whatever it was, it had to end with Abigail Helsing coming to a very serious understanding. Julian had never taken a human life and he didn’t plan to now, but if this hunter insisted on threatening Desdemona, she was going to find herself in a world of hurt.

  Desi walked into the lobby and made a beeline for the woman in uniform at the front desk. “Hi. You must be Deputy Blythe.”

  The woman turned. “Miss Valentine?”

  Desi stuck her hand out. “Yes. Pleasure to meet you.”

  Deputy Blythe had a firm grip. “Likewise. Sorry about your situation, but you won’t have anything to worry about while I’m here.” She gestured toward the lobby’s seating area. “Do you mind if we have a chat? Any information you can give me can be useful.”

  “Sure, but would you rather do it up in the penthouse?” Desi didn’t think Julian would mind having the deputy up there. He’d had Remy up, after all.

  “No, I prefer to keep an eye on things from here. First line of defense and all that.”

  “Fine with me.”

  They walked over and took their seats. Deputy Blythe chose the one that allowed her a view of the door.

  Desi sat and folded her hands. “What would you like to know, Deputy Blythe?”

  “Call me Jenna, please.”

  “Jenna it is, then. And you can call me Desi.”

  “Great.” Jenna pulled out a photo, clearly blown up from the hunter’s driver’s license. It was a little grainy, but easy enough to make out. “Do you think you’ve ever seen this woman before?”

  Desi stared at the picture. “I know ticket sales say she’s been to my show five times, so I guess I’ve seen her in the audience, but those faces blur together night after night. Unless someone has something really remarkable about them, they don’t stick in my head.”

  Jenna nodded. “Makes sense. And I think we can assume this woman wasn’t trying to stand out.” She put the photo on the table. “Can you think of any other ways this woman might have crossed your path? Things that happened that you couldn’t explain, or didn’t understand until all of this came to light?”

  Desi stared at the photo and thought. The woman in the picture was as nondescript as a person could be. Caucasian. Brown hair with blunt fringe that reached the top of thick-rimmed glasses, both of which hid her eyebrows. Behind those glasses were brown eyes and a dull stare that did nothing to make the woman appear remotely intelligent. She didn’t wear a speck of makeup or attempt a smile. In fact, her lips seemed pressed together in a way that intentionally distorted her mouth. The only thing that stood out about her was how unusually glossy her hair was.

  Desi looked closer. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” she whispered. She glanced up at Jenna. “She did all this on purpose.”

  Jenna looked at the photo. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean in that photo, the one she knew she couldn’t hide from, she deliberately made herself look different. I bet in real life, she looks nothing like that. I’d swear by it. Why else would she wear a wig in her driver’s license photo?”

  Jenna squinted at the picture. “You think she’s wearing a wig?”

  “I know she is. That shine? That’s not natural. That’s the gleam of cheap wig fresh out of the package. She could have at least shaken it out.” She put a finger on the photo. “Trust me. I wear a lot of wigs. I know a bad one when I see it.”

  “I believe you.” She reached for the radio clipped to her shoulder. “I’ll let Birdie know about this right away. If anyone can do anything with this new info, it’s her.”

  “Good.” But it wasn’t good. They had no idea what this woman looked like, meaning she could be anyone, anywhere.

  Just when she’d started to feel safe again.

  Julian knocked three times on the door of the Pinehurst Inn’s number five room. The place wasn’t much of an inn. It wasn’t much of anything these days but a source of trouble. Unfortunately, it was just outside the town limits of Nocturne Falls and the owners stubbornly refused to sell. At least not for the amounts that the Ellinghams’ had offered.

  He frowned and knocked again. The place was an eyesore, and the odd combined scent of mildew and bleach seemed to waft toward him on every breeze. Although the mildew was winning. Maybe they should up their offer, but he hated to pay such an exorbitant amount for a property that should rightly be bulldozed.

  No one was answering. Maybe the hunter had come to her senses and left. On a whim, he tried the handle. Locked. He glanced down as he started to leave. A postcard leaned against the doorjamb, one corner of the stiff paper crushed as though it had been tucked in the door.

  He picked it up.

  Had to relocate. Come to 1900 Nutmeg Lane. -A

  He sighed. Nutmeg Lane was a street in the new Pumpkin Point development being built at the other end of town, but on a late Saturday afternoon, there’d be very little, if any, construction going on there. For a clandestine meeting, it was a good choice. He wondered if the hunter wasn’t just a little smarter than he’d anticipated.

  No matter. Being a vampire still meant he had the upper hand. He got back in his car and drove to the address. The houses in this new community were not exactly starter homes, but not exactly McMansions either. They were just the kind of homes a growing family would look for, which was the demographic the Ellinghams hoped to serve.

  Especially with Harmswood Academy’s enrollments growing. Supernatural families wanted the best for their children just like human parents, so Pumpkin Point was an attempt to provide those families with some much-needed room. And at reasonable prices.

  Plus, fresh blood in any town was always a good thing.

  He turned onto Nutmeg Lane. This was the model home street. The seven floorplans that would be available were nearly complete. Number 1900 was the largest at the end of the cul-de-sac and had already been spoken for. There was no car in the driveway. Odd, but then, so was this whole situation.

  He got out and walked to the front door. It was open. He went in, listening. He picked up the telltale thump-thump-thump of a human heart. She was definitely here. “Hello? Ms. Helsing?”

  He shut the door and walked past the foyer toward the dining room. “Hello? It’s DracSlayer4000. From the forum.” He rolled his eyes at the name Birdie had chosen. “Ms. Helsing?”

  The hiss of sudden air movement preceded a sharp sting on the side of his neck. He swatted at whatever insect had landed on him and found something else instead. He looked at the object in his hand. A small glass vial with a needle tip and fletching on the other end.

  The room tilted.

  Tranquilizer dart. “Bloody hell.”

  He spun in the direction the dart had come from, catching a second in the chest. His limbs went leaden, and his feet refused to move.

  A slim blonde stepped out from behind the basement door, an odd-looking gun in her hands. “Hello there, vampire.”

  “I’m…not…” His tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth as his eyes rolled back in his head and everything went black.

  As Deputy Blythe drove them to the station, Desdemona was trying very hard not to have a panic attack, but she was on the verge of failing. Sunset had come and gone and only a faint purple line remained at the horizon. And despite the time that had passed, the texts that had been sent, and the voicemails left, Julian had not responded.

  Strangely enough, the panic attack threatened not because she felt like she’d been left again, but because she feared for the man she loved.r />
  Because she absolutely did love him.

  Allowing herself that realization made things better and worse. There was a vampire hunter in town and her husband had not been in contact with her in nearly four hours. Maybe a short span of time for some, but it wasn’t Julian’s way. He was constantly checking in with her, seeing if she needed anything, making sure she was okay.

  Well, she wasn’t. And neither, she feared, was he.

  Deputy Blythe parked the patrol car. Desi jumped out and ran inside to find Birdie. What she found was a gathering of Julian’s friends and family.

  Birdie waved her over amid the chaos. “You all right?”

  “I’ll be fine.” The correct answer was no, but she wasn’t about to fall apart. Not when Julian needed her to be strong. “Anything new?”

  Birdie shook her head and frowned. “No, sweetie, I’m so sorry.”

  Desi sighed as the noise around them died away and the group’s attention shifted. The sheriff had come out of his office.

  He held his hands up. “We’re going to organize into teams and do a search. We’ve already got Nick and Van in the air.”

  Desi shot a questioning look at Birdie.

  “Gargoyle and dragon-shifter,” she whispered back.

  “We’ll divide the town into quadrants and each take one. The deputies on duty have their assignments.” He glanced over at Deputy Blythe. “I’ve already radioed Lafitte to take the northeast hills. Cruz will take over for him at sunup. You take the northwest.”

  “Got it.” She headed back to the parking lot.

  “Sebastian and Tessa, everything southeast of Main. Hugh, everything southwest. Pandora, Cole, and Willa, your neighborhood and the one adjoining. I already have a team at the Pinehurst Inn, but nothing’s turned up there yet, and I don’t suspect anything will. I’ve got Greyson Garrett covering the industrial park as well. Whatever you do, do not approach the subject yourself. This is a human we’re dealing with, and certain precautions need to be—”

  Desi’s hand shot up. “What about me? I know I don’t know the town that well, but I can follow GPS.”