“No, thanks,” she replied at once. “I don’t think I could eat anything right now. Not until — not until we hear something about what’s going on. I’ll just head back down to our apartment. Maybe Lucinda can come over — Brandon had to work late tonight.”
From Hayley’s tone, I could tell she wasn’t too thrilled about that development. Of all times, this was when she needed her brother close by. But if she could at least hang out with Lucinda until we got some news, I’d feel better about the situation. For some reason, I didn’t think it was a good idea for Hayley to be alone in the apartment she shared with Levi.
“Okay,” I said. “But I’ll call you as soon as I hear something. And if you start feeling hinky again, you come on by.”
“Thanks.” She got up from the couch, and Connor and I rose from where we’d been sitting as well.
There didn’t seem to be much to do except walk with her over to the door, then offer a few more comforting words. They didn’t appear to have much effect; she only nodded in a distracted way, as though her attention was already fixed on something far from Jerome. We waved goodbye as she went down the stairs, and then Connor closed the door and turned to face me.
“Well, I don’t know about you, but I feel like utter shit.”
“I know,” I said. “I’m starting to think we screwed up big-time.”
He nodded. Then, after giving me a searching look from under his lashes, he asked, “Did you really want pizza?”
Fifteen minutes earlier, I’d been seriously contemplating the notion. Now, though, I was starting to understand exactly how Hayley felt. Just the thought of eating solid food made my stomach turn over.
“No. Maybe later. Or maybe I’ll make myself a grilled cheese sandwich at some point. But if you want to order pizza for yourself, go ahead.”
“No, I’m good.” Connor gave me a rueful smile and added, “Well, all right, maybe ‘good’ isn’t the right word. But I’m not hungry, either. How about we get some ice water and sit on the porch and watch the sunset?”
That sounded like it could work. I could lean my head on his shoulder, try to take what comfort I could from his presence. In Jerome about all we really got was reverse sunsets, where we watched the colors change on the landscape to the east because of the high, jagged mountain immediately to the west, but it was still pretty.
Maybe if I distracted myself with watching the sunset, I could pretend that I hadn’t royally screwed up.
5
Alex Trujillo
He hadn’t planned to take Caitlin with him on this little expedition, but as he shoved his phone in his pocket and headed toward the bar in the kitchen where he’d left his car keys, she emerged from her office and sent him an inquiring look.
“You’re going out?”
With someone else, he might have asked how she could have known that, since he was still a few feet away from the breakfast bar and the basket that held his keys. However, Caitlin seemed to know things, even when she wasn’t having an actual vision.
“My mother called. She needs me to check on something for her.” Better to be vague, he thought. That way, there was a chance Caitlin would let it go.
He should have known better. “Check on what?”
“The apartment. Levi went down there today to take a look around, and he hasn’t called or gotten in contact with anyone.”
Caitlin’s dark russet brows drew together. Alex hadn’t bothered to tell her which apartment, because she’d already heard from him that some new disruptions had been occurring there. That information had upset her, because, even with all the time that had passed, the loss of Roslyn still hurt more than she wanted to admit. It was easier to keep an old wound from throbbing when something else didn’t come along to tear off the scab.
“I’m coming with you,” she said.
Alex knew he should have expected such a request. Actually, it wasn’t even a request, just a statement of intent. Was it worth arguing over? Probably not, since he knew she’d get her way eventually.
Still, he thought he should at least make a token protest. “I thought you were writing.”
“I finished the chapter I was working on. I’m ahead of schedule.”
Of course she was. From almost the first moment he’d met her, he’d admired her grit, her determination. She’d made this writing thing work, was now much more than the modest success she tended to describe herself as whenever someone asked her how her books were doing. Actually, she now earned more than he did, and his salary as an advertising director at the local Spanish-language television station wasn’t exactly peanuts.
“Okay,” he said. “But I don’t know for sure what we’re walking into, so you need to stick close.”
In reply, she gave him a brilliant smile and came close, slipped her arm through his. Her shimmering red hair brushed against his bicep, and he wished they weren’t heading out on a possibly dangerous errand, but instead planning for a cozy night in — maybe a sunset dip in the pool, followed by dinner on the patio and lovemaking in the big bed they shared. It was because of evenings like the one he was visualizing that he didn’t mind too much that they’d put off starting a family. Plenty of time for that later. Right now was all about enjoying one another.
And helping out the family when necessary. Everyone was on edge because of that mess with the Santiagos in California, although Alex had to think things would be better now that Matías Escobar was no longer around. True, it sounded like his father was a nasty customer, but….
“I hate the idea of going to that place, but I hate even more the idea of you going there alone, so yes, I will stick close, Alex. We’d better get going.”
True. The sooner they got this done with, the sooner he and Caitlin could get back here, could possibly salvage the evening. He really didn’t expect to find anything, but he knew he needed to stay on his guard. His mother had sounded almost rattled when she called him, and that was very unlike her.
Caitlin trailing along behind him, Alex headed to the garage and got into the BMW SUV they’d bought only a few months earlier. A splurge, but they could afford it. After all, what did they have to spend their money on? The house was paid for, and they’d already upgraded Caitlin’s old Toyota to a Mini Cooper a year ago.
The sun was dipping to the west, but they still had a good hour or so of daylight remaining. That meant there should be plenty of bright sunshine left to run this errand, since the apartment was only about fifteen minutes away from the house in the hills that the two of them shared.
Lots of traffic, though, on this Monday afternoon. Alex wasn’t exactly thrilled to be going back out into it after he’d only gotten home an hour earlier, but this was part of being a member of a witch clan — you never really knew when you might be called on to perform some kind of service for the family. And that just went double when your mother happened to be the prima.
He glanced over at Caitlin, whose expression was brooding as she looked out the window at the cars that surrounded them on every side. “You getting anything?”
“No. Well, nothing more than the creepy crawlies I’ve had ever since we found out about the Santiagos and the Escobars. But those aren’t visions, just….” She trailed off there, as if she wasn’t quite sure how to explain herself.
“Just feelings of impending doom?” he teased, hoping to coax a smile out of her. He did love her smiles.
But she remained sober-faced, her fingers playing with the strap of the purse where it rested in her lap. “Yes, basically. Like there’s this big thunderhead just sitting out on the horizon, and you can feel the air getting charged and smell ozone, and you know it’s going to be bad, but there’s absolutely nothing you can do about it.”
“I don’t know about ‘nothing,’” he countered. “I mean, Levi did us all a huge favor by getting rid of Matías Escobar. That had to have messed up his father big-time.”
Now she did look away from the car window so she could meet his gaze, but the glance she s
ent him wasn’t exactly reassuring. In her blue eyes he saw a haunted echo of the grief she’d experienced over her cousin Roslyn’s death, a worry that their troubles were far from over. “I’m not sure that’s necessarily a good thing. Yes, the world’s a better place with Matías gone, but you can’t tell me that Joaquin Escobar isn’t plotting something to get back at us.”
“It’s been two weeks since Matías was killed,” Alex said, slightly annoyed that Caitlin had pointed out that troublesome fact. He really didn’t want to admit to himself that part of the reason for his annoyance was that he’d thought almost the same thing, even if he hadn’t said it out loud. But now he’d taken up a position, he figured he might as well continue to defend it. “You’d think he would have done something by now.”
“Maybe. Or maybe not. For all we know, he’s backed off because he wants to lull us into a false sense of security.”
“Well, if that’s his plan, it’s not working. My mother has everyone on high alert, and it sounds like it’s the same for the McAllisters and the Wilcoxes.”
Her fingers tightened on her purse. “Yes, but how long can everyone stay like that? People start to get tired, start to make mistakes. Maybe that’s what Joaquin Escobar is waiting for.”
Alex didn’t much like the sound of her comment, mostly because it made too much sense. Still, what else were they supposed to do? Everyone was keeping an eye out for any strange witches or warlocks who might cross their paths, anything that seemed out of the ordinary. This sort of informal system wasn’t exactly infallible, but it was better than nothing. So far, he hadn’t heard of anything particularly unusual, except the phenomena that had occurred at the very apartment where they were headed. He had to believe in that, because his mother had been there, along with Connor and Angela and Domingo, the de la Paz clan’s medium. None of them would have any reason to lie.
He got off the freeway at 22nd Street and headed east. The businesses here were fairly shabby; he even spotted some places with boarded-up windows. The residential neighborhoods weren’t in much better shape, although it seemed like the people who lived here tried their best to keep their yards tended, even if those yards were mostly cactus and decorative rocks.
Then they turned down the street where the apartment building was located. In the seat next to him, Caitlin sat up a little straighter, her fingers still clenched on her purse. She’d never come back here after Roslyn’s death. Why should she? Unlike Angela, Caitlin didn’t possess the ability to speak with the dead, and because of her visions, she’d probably seen enough of the apartment Matías had used as his safe house to last her the rest of her life.
Since it was now almost six-thirty, and most people were home from work, the street in front of the apartment complex was choked with cars. They had to park a block away and walk.
Not that Alex minded. The short walk gave him time to clear his head, to mentally prepare himself for…well, whatever they might find. Even if it turned out to be nothing.
As they began to climb the steps that led to the second level of the apartment building, Caitlin’s left hand stole its way into his right, holding on to him tightly. He knew how difficult this must be for her, to come to the place where her cousin had died.
Had been murdered, not to put too fine a point on it. He did his best to avoid using the word whenever the subject came up, just because being brutally blunt seemed as though it would just make the situation even worse. Actually, Caitlin rarely talked about Roslyn anymore, seemed determined to put the ugly episode behind her. And why shouldn’t she? Both Angela and Roslyn’s older sister Jenny had confirmed that Roslyn had moved on to the next world. She was at peace, despite the horror of her passing.
Alex put his free hand on the doorknob. To his surprise, it wasn’t locked.
That couldn’t be good.
A quick glance around told him the walkway outside the second-floor apartments was empty. He pulled in a breath and summoned his power, bringing to life the shimmering bubble that would protect him and anyone inside it from all kinds of physical harm, whether attack by magic or more conventional weapons.
Moving as one, he and Caitlin went inside the apartment. It was nearly empty, with only a few pieces of furniture placed there to make it look as if the place was inhabited. As far as he could tell, everything was in order. No signs of a struggle — in fact, no sign at all that anyone had been here this afternoon.
“Are you getting anything?” he asked Caitlin, and she shook her head.
“No. It just feels like an empty apartment.”
Alex had gotten much the same impression, but he figured he should try something. “Hey!” he called out. “Anyone here?”
Only silence. He glanced down at Caitlin. Her big blue eyes were perplexed, but also worried. “Maybe we should look in the bedroom?” she suggested.
“Sure.”
Still holding hands, still with that shimmering bubble surrounding them, they moved through the living room and down the short hallway that opened off it. Here were a pair of bedrooms, one of them slightly larger than the other, and one bathroom. The tile and fixtures were at least twenty years out of date — Alex was able to make even that much of an approximation because he had some relatives whose houses were basically time capsules of bad design choices — but it was scrupulously clean. In fact, it was obvious that the bathroom had been scrubbed down recently because the air still held a faint, lingering scent of bleach, harsh and acrid, making him want to cough.
One bedroom had a queen-size bed and a nightstand. That was it. The other was even more bare, and contained only a desk and matching office chair. No sign at all that anything had been touched after this furniture — props, really — had been set in place.
“Well, this is a big nothing,” Alex said. “It’s kind of weird that the door’s unlocked, but maybe Levi forgot to lock it when he left. It’s not like there’s anything much to steal here.”
“That’s true,” Caitlin agreed. She glanced around again, as though hoping that a helpful detail might reveal itself after she took a second look at her surroundings. Unfortunately, there really wasn’t anything to see.
Alex pulled his phone out of his pocket and shot a couple of quick photos. The shimmer from the protective bubble would distort the images a little bit, but not so much that anyone looking at the pictures wouldn’t be able to see the same thing he and Caitlin were seeing now — rooms that didn’t look as if anyone had entered them at all today. Of course, just because they appeared that way didn’t mean Levi hadn’t been here earlier. Alex hadn’t met the “man” his cousin Zoe had summoned from another dimension, but by all accounts, he had turned out to be one of the good guys. He certainly wouldn’t have done anything to make a mess here in the apartment.
“Well, we’ve done our due diligence,” Alex said. “Since we’re out already, we might as well go out for dinner. It’s not too far to El Charro. Sound like a plan?”
“Sure,” Caitlin replied. Once again she glanced around the living room, obviously trying to spot that one detail, that one anomaly, which would tell them something had gone wrong here. However, it seemed as though she couldn’t find anything, because she gave a small hitch of her shoulders and shook her head slightly. She began to walk toward the front door…
…and then stopped dead, so abruptly that it looked to Alex as if someone had put out an invisible hand and planted it in the middle of her chest. She pulled in a gasp of a breath and reached up to touch her temples. “Oh, no….”
Although he’d witnessed episodes similar to this one over the years they’d been together, Alex wasn’t sure if he would ever get completely used to it. There was something eerie about watching Caitlin have a vision, as though some part of her was being taken away and dragged unwillingly to someplace else, someplace other. “What are you seeing?” he asked, and reached out to put a comforting hand on her shoulder.
She was shaking. A pause as she gulped in a breath, and then she stared up at him with wi
de, frightened eyes. “He was here.”
“He who? Levi?”
A shake of the head, and then she stopped herself. “No. I mean, yes, he was here, too, but that’s not who I’m talking about. It was him. Joaquin Escobar.”
Although the apartment was stuffy, Alex went cold all over. Escobar, here? How the hell could that happen, especially with every de la Paz witch and warlock on the lookout for any strangers in their territory?
He didn’t question Caitlin’s vision, though. She’d never been wrong before this — and she’d seen Joaquin in another vision only a month earlier, so it wasn’t as though she could have mistaken him for someone else. Trying to quell the sick feeling rising in his stomach, Alex said, “Was he alone?”
“No. He had four other people with him. Three men, one woman.” Caitlin shut her eyes for a moment, obviously trying to recall every detail of what she had seen. “I think they must have been Santiagos, although of course I’ve never seen any of them before. And I’m not sure why Escobar would have bothered to bring them along — I thought his power blocked the talents of anyone with magical ability.”
“Well, that’s our best guess, but we really don’t know that much about how his power operates. It’s likely that he can control it just like the rest of us can control our gifts — ”
“Speak for yourself,” Caitlin broke in, her expression annoyed.
Oops. The way her visions descended, uninvited and unannounced, had always been a sore point with his wife, and Alex couldn’t really say that he blamed her. They’d learned to work with it, and everyone in the de la Paz clan knew she could have a vision at any time, but it still made outings in civilian territory a bit problematic, depending on the intensity of the vision she was suffering. Not that she’d had as many of those lately, probably because the witch world had been quiet enough…until the Escobars resurfaced. “Okay, the way most of us can control our gifts. But I’m pretty sure Escobar can turn it on and off at will.” He paused, not wanting to ask the question but knowing he had to. “Did they get Levi?”
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