“The kill,” I said, gesturing to the dead witch.
“I enjoy your arousal,” he replied after a long pause. “The death itself isn’t arousing. I’m not fond of killing or torture.”
I let out a quick bark of laughter. “You encouraged me to torture someone. How can you say you don’t enjoy torture?”
“I’m a sex demon,” he explained. “Your arousal helps feed my power. The more twisted that arousal is, the more I gain from it. You look shocked.”
“I’d assumed that since you’re imprisoned for some horrible crime, you’d be more brutal,” I admitted. “What was your crime?”
“Tax evasion,” he said simply.
“What?”
“I’ve been imprisoned for tax evasion,” he stated. “The IRS is run by demons, and they don’t take kindly to one of their own refusing to pay taxes.”
“That’s really all you did?” I demanded, unable to believe what he’d said.
“There might have been a few minor incidents involving draining all the blood from some witches,” he added with a wistful sigh. “Witch blood is by far my favorite during sex, and it’s hard to know when to stop. I wonder what Melina Blackwood’s blood will taste like.”
At the mention of her name, I felt my anger rise. I would be glad when she was out of my life for good.
“I’m going to send pictures of the witch to Trevor and the whore. I want them to know that their actions have caused another death,” I tossed my phone onto the table and grabbed the one I’d bought for this.
Zahrel shoved his hood back to reveal a surprisingly boring face with nondescript features, brown hair, and brown eyes. “Are you trying to make it harder to get to your warlock and my demon?” His growl vibrated around the room, making the pictures on the walls shake.
“What should I do?” I demanded. “Should I let them think everything is fine and that I’m not going to make them suffer for this?”
“Yes,” Zahrel hissed. “Let them believe they are safe so they let their guards down. How do you expect to get to them if they know you’re coming?”
I laughed at the foolish demon. “I already have a plan to get to them. I’ve been waiting for you to reach full strength. Now, we can finish this.”
Zahrel flashed an evil grin. “I’m ready to claim my prize. Tell me your plan.”
Chapter Sixty-Four
Melina
I was deliciously achy when we made it back to Trevor’s house the next day. Honestly, I hadn’t realized I could come that many times in one night. I’d lost count at fifteen. Whether Trevor’s vigor had been the result of residual sexual energy from the affinity test or me having admitted to loving him, I had no clue, but it was no exaggeration to say he’d been insatiable.
The first thing I heard when we walked in the door were Gryph’s angry shouts. Trevor had asked him to stay at his house to make it easier to act as my bodyguard if I needed to go into work at the last minute. I honestly hadn’t thought about Gryph being at the house when we’d asked Julia to stay the night to watch Mr. Whiskers, but it was probably a good idea, anyway. With Gryph here, no one was likely to go after Julia to hurt me or Trevor.
“Those two seem to hate each other,” Trevor remarked with a shake of his head.
I barely managed to hold back my snort of laughter. Trevor was still pretending not to notice the sexual tension between his sister and Gryph, which also seemed to be what Julia was doing. The situation with Gryph and Julia could create some complications if it moved beyond sexual attraction, but I didn’t see that happening. From what I’d gathered, Gryph hadn’t been looking for a mate before his accident, and that likely hadn’t changed.
“What are you thinking so hard about?” Trevor asked.
“Maybe we should have suggested Julia take Mr. Whiskers to her place, or asked Allie to keep him overnight.”
Trevor shrugged. “I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Julia can handle herself.”
This time, I wasn’t able to hold back the laughter. “Really?”
Trevor had the sense to look sheepish. “I’m working on accepting that my sister is an adult.”
“What about your other sisters?” I asked.
“Let me get used to the oldest being an adult first,” he replied.
We were nearing the kitchen where Julia and Gryph were arguing, and they still hadn’t noticed we were home.
“If you weren’t such an overbearing ass, you might have a girlfriend!” Julia shouted.
“A girlfriend?” Gryph scoffed. “What the hell do you think I am? I’m not like those pussy warlocks who sniff around you, hoping you’ll notice them. I don’t have girlfriends. I have females to fuck or to mate. What the fuck am I talking about? There’s no mate in my future. What female wants a damaged wolf?”
There was a short silence before Julia spoke, and I half-expected her to get on Gryph’s case about his self-pity again. From what I could tell, Julia’s refusal to pity him was one of the biggest reasons Gryph was drawn to her.
Julia surprised me when she finally spoke. “I’m sorry, Gryphon. I don’t know much about werewolves, and I know nothing about how your relationships work. I never even considered that female werewolves might be stupid enough to react that way to your injury.”
“Don’t you dare pity me, Sass,” he growled at her before storming out of the room, and coming face to face with us. “I think I should get some air, Ms. Melina. When do you need to be at the studio tonight?”
“I’ll take her tonight, Gryph,” Trevor offered.
“What about the buzzard?” Gryph asked.
“He’s a condor,” I corrected. “We’ll take Mr. Whiskers with us. You deserve a night off.” I was still worried about my baby being at the studio with a killer on the loose, but I figured Trevor would take good care of him when I was busy.
Gryph snorted, and I could swear I heard him grumbling something about witches feeling sorry for him as he stormed out of the house.
“Ugh! I can’t believe I act like such a bitch with him!” Julia didn’t give us a chance to talk more about Gryph, which was probably a good thing since I didn’t think Julia or Trevor would like my opinion on what caused her to act that way with Gryph. “My phone started blowing up as soon as your affinity test was over. Seriously, people were sending me messages during the council meeting. I can’t believe no one got busted for that.”
I shrugged it off. No, I did not like the fact that my relationship with Trevor was big news among the witch community, but there was nothing I could do about it. In fact, I’d have to be an idiot not to have realized this was going to happen.
“Shit!” Trevor shouted.
I looked over, wondering if he was honestly shocked by all of this.
“Is your phone on?” he asked me.
“Of course, it is,” I told him, since I never turned my phone off. Grabbing it from my purse, I saw that my phone was in fact off, probably because the battery had died at some point. “How did I not notice my phone was dead?”
“You were a little distracted,” Trevor reminded me, but his voice didn’t have the sexy quality I’d expected. “I’m going to walk Julia out. Don’t look at your phone until I get back.”
“I’ll call you later, Mel,” Julia said, giving me a quick hug. She was as sweet as my sisters, which was both annoying and endearing. Seeing her act bitchy with Gryph made me like her more. I didn’t want to be the only bitchy one in the group all the time.
The first thing I did was plug my phone in. After Trevor’s reaction, I was picturing messages about the affinity test from everyone, maybe even pictures some brave witches had snapped that had gone viral. That I could deal with, even though I’d probably be annoyed.
I’d just turned on my phone when Trevor’s hand slammed down over the screen. “I thought I told you to wait until I got back.”
Trevor’s pissed off tone had me tempted to smack some sense into him. He had to know I didn’t take orders from anyone. At least, I di
dn’t take orders outside of the bedroom.
“Did I do or say something to make you think I was suddenly going to let you start controlling my life?” I asked.
Seeing his strained expression, I should have picked up on how serious this was, but I seemed stuck on the fact that he was ordering me around.
“Melina, please don’t look at your phone yet,” he implored, which is when I caught on that something was seriously wrong. “I need to call the police. Promise me you won’t look at your phone until I do that.”
My gut tightened as his words sank in. “Oh, Goddess,” I breathed out. “Something horrible has happened, hasn’t it?”
Trevor wrapped me in his arms, and I got the impression he was both offering and seeking comfort. “Yeah, honey, something really bad happened.”
Chapter Sixty-Five
Trevor
I could not believe I was meeting with the police again. This was becoming a recurring theme in my life.
This time, Detectives Anson and Morelli had agreed to interview us together. We’d just sat down in the kitchen where Mr. Whiskers was enjoying a particularly offensive can of cat food. At least, he seemed to think it was offensive. If I had to guess, I’d say Melina had picked the least smelly one in the cupboard, knowing he’d be cuddled up on her lap after eating. The condor was pecking at his food and occasionally flapping his wings as he glared at us. At least his antics were helping to lighten my mood some.
“Your buzzard doesn’t seem to like his food,” Detective Morelli remarked.
“He’s a condor,” Detective Anson corrected him, earning the shade a smile from Melina.
“Mr. Whiskers prefers food with a much stronger odor,” I explained.
Melina nodded. “He’s not happy about the tension, so he’ll need cuddles before I deal with his breath today. That’s why I gave him one that doesn’t make his breath quite as wretched. As you can see, it’s not one of his favorites.”
“Did either of you recognize the victim from the photos sent to you?” Detective Anson asked, signaling that we were done with the social niceties.
“I haven’t seen the messages yet,” Melina told him. “My phone battery was dead, and Trevor saw the message first, so he insisted I not look at my phone.”
“Would you say that Mr. Dupree is overly controlling in your relationship?” Detective Morelli asked.
That was the kind of shit that pissed me off about him. I knew he was trying to paint me in a bad light.
Melina’s eyes narrowed, and she glared at the detective. “Had I seen the messages first, there’s a good chance I would have tried to stop Trevor from looking at them,” she said in a cold voice.
“How do you know what you would have done?” Detective Morelli asked.
“Because I know Trevor wouldn’t have reacted that way if there weren’t something truly horrific in those pictures. Can we stick to questions about whatever is in those messages and avoid childish digs at Trevor?”
Detective Anson grinned. “That’s an excellent suggestion, Ms. Blackwood. Mr. Dupree already sent me copies of the messages. Did you recognize the victim or the phone number the messages were sent from?” he asked me.
I shook my head. “She didn’t look familiar to me.”
“You’re sure she’s not one of the women you dated?” Had that question come from Detective Morelli, I would have likely assumed it was a dig at the number of witches I’d been with, but I didn’t get that vibe from Detective Anson.
“Definitely not,” I assured him.
“Trevor’s not the type to forget a woman he’s dated,” Melina added. “We all know I’m going to have to look at the messages. It’s cute that the big strong men want to protect me, and I get why you’re all doing it, but we need to know if I recognize the woman. I should also look at my phone in case I was sent another message. It’s possible the killer sent me more messages.”
I let out a sigh and nodded. “I know, honey. I’m an idiot for hoping we could avoid having you see them.”
When Melina saw the picture, she sucked in a sharp breath, and I understood her reaction. It was difficult to believe someone could be that cruel, and even harder to believe I’d dated someone that cruel.
“Do you know who it is?” Detective Anson asked her.
She shook her head. “Not really. She seems vaguely familiar. I’m almost positive I saw her when we were at the council meeting last night.”
“You’re right,” I agreed. “Now, I remember her.”
“Out of all the people who attended that meeting, you remember one witch you’ve never met?” Detective Morelli asked suspiciously.
“I overheard her talking to her friends about the affinity test,” I explained.
Melina nodded. “She argued that it was stupid that people were there to watch us like it was some big spectacle, and then she told them she was going back to her office to get some work done.”
“So, she must have worked for the Council of Witches in some capacity,” I told the detectives, feeling foolish for stating the obvious.
“That’s a good place to start,” Detective Morelli praised, and I didn’t detect a hint of sarcasm in his voice this time.
“I’m beginning to wonder if this might be about the show and have nothing to do with Trevor,” Melina mused.
I shook my head. “All the messages from the killer indicate they’re punishing you for being with me.”
Melina nodded, but still looked thoughtful. “You’re right. I know it sounds like it’s about you, but most of the victims have had nothing to do with you. I’m even beginning to wonder if the human actress who was killed at the beginning of the month may have been one of the killer’s victims.”
“Human actress?” Detective Anson asked.
“The human police were called in,” Melina explained. “They solved the crime, or at least they think they did. What if this whole thing has been about Night High?”
“It is likely that this has to do with your show, rather than Mr. Dupree,” Detective Anson agreed.
“What about the message on Lindsey’s wall?” I asked.
“According to her mother, she painted that on her own wall several months ago,” Detective Anson replied.
I took a moment to process what he’d said, wondering if it was possible this really didn’t have anything to do with me.
“We’re going to check to see if anyone else working on Night High has received any of these messages. This will tell us whether it’s a personal issue with you, Ms. Blackwood, or it’s a general issue with the show,” Detective Anson stated.
“They may focus on Ms. Blackwood because she’s been representing the show at the Council of Witches meetings,” Detective Morelli pointed out.
“While I agree that it could be about Melina’s job, I think it would be a mistake to stop looking into my exes,” I insisted.
Detective Morelli looked seriously pissed by my forceful statement. “We don’t need any suggestions on how to do our jobs, Mr. Dupree.”
Before I could respond, Detective Anson jumped in. “What he means is that we won’t stop looking into any possibilities.”
I nodded, not sure I could buy into the theory of this being strictly about Melina. Then again, maybe I’d gotten used to feeling guilty.
It took another hour to go over questions from the detectives, mostly because Morelli kept making snarky comments to piss me off. Throughout it all, Melina remained surprisingly calm. I hadn’t been expecting her to breakdown, sobbing, and beg people to protect her, but I’d expected her to be shaken and angry about the murder of an innocent woman.
After the shades left, Melina did something I never thought I’d see her do; she burst into tears. As I held her and listened to her cry, I felt more helpless than I had in my entire life. When the sobs finally eased, she was curled up in my lap.
“I need to quit my job,” she finally said.
“No,” was my knee-jerk response. “You love your job.”
&
nbsp; Lifting her head, she looked at me. “Trevor, people are dying. Maybe it is one of your exes, but something tells me this is about me and the show.”
I let out a sigh, not knowing what to say. Would I do the same in her shoes? Probably. That meant I’d be a hypocrite to argue. Still, I hated seeing her stop doing what she loved.
“I know what you’re thinking,” she said. “You’re worried that I’m giving up something I love, and I am. That show is my baby, but I can find something new to love. Maybe I’ll stay home and write a book. I have enough money to go a few years without working.”
I kissed the top of her head. “I just want you to be happy, honey.” Whatever it took, I intended to make my witch happy and keep her safe.
Chapter Sixty-Six
Melina
To say my call with Leo hadn’t gone well would be the understatement of the year, but quitting my job seemed like the only solution. Naturally, I couldn’t quit because I was under contract. Apparently, having a psycho out killing people because of me wasn’t enough to get me out of my contract. The powers that be at the network could be real assholes.
“Fucking Leo!” I shouted as I tossed my phone down on the sofa.
Gryph looked up from where he was doing one-armed pushups. Shirtless, his muscles rippled under his skin as he effortlessly supported his weight. I could see why Julia got all hot and bothered with him around. I wasn’t looking for a man, but I wasn’t blind, so it was impossible to not enjoy the view.
“You keep looking at me like that, and you’ll make me blush, Ms. Melina,” Gryph drawled.
I couldn’t help it, I laughed at the idea of Gryph blushing. “Something tells me you’ve had plenty of women checking you out over the years.”
Gryph got to his feet and shrugged. “Not so much as you’d think. I scared most females when I was in the pack. They only came around when they wanted to dance with danger. You know how some females love a bad boy, and that’s what they saw me as.”
Shamelessly Spellbound (Spells That Bind Book 2) Page 24
