The sheriff reclaimed his desk chair. “They denied ever hearing of him.”
“You believe them?”
“I’m not sure.” He scratched his head. “I’ve got all my patrolmen as well as the state troopers looking for Torres’s 89 Duster.”
“Good. Anything come in from forensics on the break-in at the occult bookstore?”
“Nothing new. You think it’s related to the Saxon case?”
“It occurred within twenty-four hours of when Jilly Livingston was on the news. Can’t hurt to explore all possibilities.” He didn’t want to go into everything Jilly had confided about her abusive ex-boyfriend.
He brought the sheriff up to speed on the case. When they finished, he checked his phone and found two messages from Jilly asking him to call her right away, but assuring him she was all right. He made a beeline for his car and called her as soon as he got on the road.
“Zander?”
“I’m headed to your place now. Everything okay?”
“Yeah, Haley’s still here with me.”
Some of the tension knotting his neck and shoulders eased. “What’s up?”
“I was using my tarot cards and holding Ricardo’s token and I saw something. A sign. I think Hannah or Ricardo or both might have been there.”
He pushed the accelerator harder. “What kind of sign?”
“It’s like one of those yellow and black signs you see along the road. An arrow with a squiggly line.”
Which could be anything. “Draw it for me, would you? I’ll be there in a few minutes.” He prayed that whatever she’d come up with would lead them to Hannah in a hurry. Time was running out not only for him, but more importantly, for Hannah.
* * * * *
Jilly was pacing the living room when Zander knocked on the front door.
“I’ll get it,” Haley offered. “You’re driving me crazy you know. I wish you’d sit down.” She let Zander in. “Don’t give her any caffeine, okay? I don’t know what you two are up to but it’s got her wound up tight as a spring.”
“Thanks for staying with her.” He gave Haley a warm smile then closed the distance to Jilly and drew her into his arms.
She soaked in his comfort. Hopefully he could help her figure out where to find that weird road sign. “Haley gave me some herb tea I’ll drink before I go to sleep that she says will help me have psychic dreams, hopefully about Hannah and Ricardo.”
He narrowed his eyes. “If you say so.”
“We did a few things to make the cottage more secure,” Haley said.
Zander scanned the room. “Yeah? What’d you do?”
Jilly wished her friend wouldn’t tell him about their magical workings, but there was no keeping Haley quiet.
“We set up wards around the house so nothing negative can enter. Plus we strategically placed bowls of salt and lavender near the entrances. And for good measure we made another witch’s bottle, although she already had one buried in the yard. Can’t hurt to have an extra.” Haley picked up her purse from the sofa. “It works, trust me. Gotta run, guys.”
Jilly waved to her friend. “Thanks, Haley. I owe you.”
Zander eyed her. “What, pray tell, is a witch’s bottle?”
She had no choice to explain even though she knew he’d never believe in her ways. “It’s a stoppered bottle filled with bent nails, rusty things, red string, sand and a little wine. It snags negative energy so none can enter my house. We infused it with intent then buried it near the front door.”
“And that’s supposed to keep you safe, huh?” He shrugged. “I think proper window and door locks would be a better bet. Now tell me about this sign you saw.” He picked up the drawing she’d made from the coffee table.
“All I know is I kept flashing on that. It’s got to be significant.”
He flattened his lips as he studied the picture. “Looks like one of those curve ahead warnings, but I don’t recall ever seeing one like this. I guess it could be on some back road. I don’t know where we’d start trying to find it.” He snapped his fingers. “I can put out a call to our deputies and the troopers who patrol the area, ask them to keep an eye out.”
His plan lifted her hopes. Zander phoned his office and made arrangements for a patrolman to pick up the drawing and send it to all the local officers’ computers. Then he took her hand and brought her to the sofa. “I need to talk to you.”
His expression was grim. Jilly’s chest tightened as she sat beside him. “What’s wrong?”
“My grandfather was in the sheriff’s office when I got there. He’s losing patience—or at least he thinks his constituents are—because Hannah’s still missing. I have two days to find her or he’s going to take the case away from me and turn it over the the state.” He set his hand on her knee. “I’m sure the folks from the state won’t agree to let you work with them.”
She couldn’t abandon Hannah, not now after she’d picked up on a couple more pieces to the puzzle. She was sure they were closing in on something big. “What if we come up with more leads by the deadline?”
He shook his head. “I had to talk my grandfather into giving me the two days. He was ready to yank me from the case right then.”
“We have to find that sign. I know it’s significant.”
Zander swept his gaze around the room. “Where’s your computer? I have an idea.”
She headed into her bedroom to fetch her laptop. When she returned, she set it on the coffee table and booted it up.
Zander pulled up a map of the county. “If we zero in on some windy roads, we can go look for the sign.” He checked his watch. “We only have a couple hours of daylight left.”
Minutes later they headed out in search of three potential spots Zander had identified as possibilities. But after two hours of driving, looking for the sign she’d envisioned, they came up empty handed.
Jilly’s hopes sank with the setting sun. “What now?”
Zander turned onto a dirt road that looked familiar. “Don’t get discouraged. There are a dozen cops on duty keeping their eyes open. One of them is going to find it. In the meanwhile I want to talk to Ricardo’s father. Maybe he can shed some light on where his son went.”
She waited in the car outside the Torres home for twenty minutes before Zander emerged, his brow creased and the corners of his mouth drawn down in a frown.
He slid behind the wheel and started the car. “Total waste of time. They’re all pretty pissed off that Ricardo left without telling anyone where he was going. I’m not sure if that’s because they’ll miss him or they’ll miss his paycheck. Even if they do know something, they obviously don’t care much for cops and I doubt they’d tell me anything.” A brownish-yellow aura surrounded him.
She yearned to ease his frustration, but the only way would be to find Hannah.
“Let’s grab some takeout Chinese. I’m starved. We’re not going to be able to accomplish anything in the dark or on an empty stomach.”
After they’d eaten their fill of Lo Mein and Egg Fu Young, Zander leaned back in his chair at Jilly’s kitchen table and patted his stomach. “Who knew a vegetarian meal could fill me up?”
She grinned as she cleared away their plates. “See what you’ve been missing?”
“Can I help?”
She shook her head. “I’ve got it.”
“In that case, I’ll call in and check if anyone’s spotted your sign.” He took out his phone and strode into the living room as Jilly washed the dishes. After she finished, she threw away the empty food containers, filling the trashcan to the top. She pulled out the bag, hauled it to the backdoor and glanced through the window. It was only a few yards to the trashcan. Hearing Zander still on the phone, she carried the bag outside and deposited it in one of the metal cans she shared with the three nearby cottages.
Something prickled her senses. A chill snaked up her spine. She started for the door but a strong arm suddenly hooked around her neck.
Heart thundering, she tried to
scream but the man covered her mouth with a gloved hand. He lifted her off the ground. She kicked her legs and managed to connect with the cans, which made a loud clang.
She psychically cried out for Zander.
Help me!
Zander lowered his phone when he heard the metallic crash. “Jilly?” His whole body went cold. He dropped the cell on the floor as he charged into the kitchen and out the back door. “Jilly?” God, where was she?
Was he too late? No, he wouldn’t think that way. She had to be okay. He reached for his weapon as he ran around the left side of the house. Where the hell had she gone? Hot fear coursed through him. “Jilly!”
Rustling in the cloche of trees behind the house caught his attention. A muffled scream, footsteps in the pine needles.
Leading with his Glock, he followed the sound into the woods.
Suddenly something shoved into him. He realized it was Jilly. She was choking, gasping for air as she slid to the ground.
A dark figure took off. But he couldn’t go after the person and leave Jilly. He had to make sure she was okay. He offered up a prayer that she was as he crouched next to her, grasping her arms. “Talk to me, baby. What happened?”
She coughed and he knew from the sound she’d be all right.
Thank God.
He helped her stand.
She held her hand to her throat. “It was a man. He tried to strangle me. Until he heard you call me.”
He led her back to her house. “You have a flashlight?” He’d left his in his car.
She rummaged in a kitchen drawer then handed him one.
“Lock the door then call nine-one-one. I’m going after him.” The lock clicked a second after he stepped outside.
He took off through the woods. The night was dark, with only a sliver of a crescent moon. He turned on the flashlight, shined it through the trees.
Nothing.
Damn it. What the hell had she been doing out there in the first place? He gritted his teeth. That bastard was obviously after her. He wondered if it was her ex, as she suspected. But chances were just as high that it was someone connected with Hannah Saxon, someone like Ricardo Torres.
He combed the woods a few more minutes even though he knew the son-of-a-bitch was long gone. Wiping sweat from his face, he glanced back at the cottage. When he heard the sirens in the distance, he started back.
Jilly let him inside then wrapped her arms around him. She was still trembling.
He held her tightly, led her into the living room and sat her on the sofa. “Why did you go outside?”
Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks. “I was just taking out the trash. I didn’t think…” She heaved out a breath. “I just didn’t think.”
“Did you get a look at him?”
“No. My back was to him the whole time.” She shuddered, moved closer. “He had on gloves. I wish I could say for sure it was Jamal or that it wasn’t, but I honestly don’t know. He didn’t say anything or I’d have been able to tell.”
“Which might be why he didn’t speak.” He glimpsed the red marks blooming on her neck and his gut twisted.
Heavy raps on the door made Jilly start.
“It’s okay. That’s the good guys.” He showed the deputy the area behind the cottage where Jilly had been attacked.
After checking the grounds again, the officer came inside with him to take Jilly’s statement. Zander winced at the terror in her voice and the sight of her wring her hands on her lap. He’d let her down by not finding the man who’d tried to kill her.
If it was the last thing he did, he was going to get that bastard. He refused to keep putting her in harm’s way. Soon as the deputy left, he planned to tell her he wouldn’t let her work with him anymore. Even if his grandfather pulled him from the case, he wouldn’t risk letting anyone hurt her again.
* * * * *
“That’s not fair.” Jilly unclenched her fists. A childish display of anger wouldn’t sway Zander’s decision. “I’ll strengthen the wards around my house and I promise I won’t go outside alone again, even for a second.” She’d do just about anything to continue working with Zander to find Hannah.
He sat on her sofa and folded his arms over his chest. “I’m not sure what wards are, but I’ve put a twenty-four hour guard on you. I won’t risk your life for my case. Besides, with us being …you know, involved, I’m stretching the rules as far as I can. Technically I shouldn’t be working the break-in case.”
“Sometimes you have to break the rules.”
He shook his head. “ I don’t like to. Bad things happen when cops skirt the law.”
“Skirt the law? What exactly are we talking about here?”
He waved away her question. His aura was nearly black.
She sensed he’d suffered in a profound hurt, something that had affected him very deeply. She ached to comfort him but she couldn’t. That would send him the wrong message. She refused to let him into her heart. “Fine. Hand over the break-in case to someone else, I don’t care. But please don’t make me stop helping you with Hannah. I just need more time, that’s all. If I abandon this now we might never find her.”
His expression remained stony. “It’s getting late and I plan to start working before sunrise. Will you come with me to my place? I don’t want the man who attacked you to know where you are.”
She wasn’t yet ready to concede the argument. “I’ll agree to spend the night at your house if you let me keep working with you.”
“Another negotiation, huh? No deal.” He got up and offered her a hand. “Come on. Let’s go to bed. If you want to stay here, we will.”
She stared at his hand. Much as she’d enjoyed herself last night, she refused to form any romantic attachment to Zander. Well, any more than she already had. If she started leaning on him too much she’d get soft and forget how to depend on herself.
He shrugged then took his gun out of its holster and set it on the coffee table. “If this is some kind of game, count me out. I’m not bargaining with your safety. I’ll sleep right here.” He fluffed the throw pillows then toed off his shoes and lay across the sofa. But he had to bend himself up to fit.
She sank into the loveseat. “No, you’ve got me all wrong. I’m not playing a game, Zander. Last night was…amazing. But I told you, I don’t do relationships.” She pulled her feet up underneath her and let the seat swallow her. Sleeping with him again would only forge an even stronger connection. No, she couldn’t.
“You can put whatever label you want on what this is between us. But you can’t tell me we don’t have a deeper connection than one night of…earth-shattering sex. And don’t even try to deny that it was fantastic.” He rolled onto his side and shut his eyes. “I’m too tired to discuss it now. Turn off the light, will you?”
No sense trying to convince him tonight. “Fine. We’ll talk in the morning.” She grabbed a throw blanket from over the back of a chair and spread it over him. Then she shut off the lights and headed to her bedroom.
An hour later she was still wide awake, glancing at the window every few minutes, wondering if Jamal or whoever had attacked her was out there, watching. A chill snaked up her spine. Rolling onto her other side didn’t help. If it was Jamal and they caught him, he’d tell Zander who she was, that she was nothing but another messed up black girl from the hood, whose mother was a drug addict who didn’t even know who’d fathered her only child.
Something pulled her attention to the doorway.
Zander stood there, very still. “Can’t sleep?”
She let out the breath she’d been holding at the familiar sound of Zander’s voice. Muscles deep inside her pulled taut as he strode toward her, slow and deliberate. Much as she knew she shouldn’t lead him on, she wanted him, even more than before. Her traitorous libido took over and turned her resolve to mush.
“Your couch is lumpy.” He was only a couple feet from the bed.
“Yeah, well…the place came furnished.” She sat up, suddenly very aware of h
er pounding heart and her flimsy nightgown. With nothing underneath.
He stopped right next to her, so close she could smell his aftershave and feel the warmth of his breath. Mixed in with his red aura signaling arousal there was pink, the color of romantic feelings. His attraction was moving beyond the physical aspect.
She didn’t want to hurt him. Returning his romantic feelings was impossible for her. Although she suspected deep down she might be breaking her own rules on that score.
“How’s the bed? I bet it’s a lot more comfortable than the couch.” His voice was low and gravelly, full of innuendo.
She pulled the sheet tighter around her. Yet at the same time she wanted more than anything to feel his body next to hers, to taste him. One more time. “This isn’t a smart idea, Zander.” But spending the rest of the night in the safety of his arms was beyond tempting.
It was more than that, though. Every cell in her body ached for his touch. She quivered at the memory of making love with him. He’d started an inferno deep inside her and stoked it to fiery oblivion.
Her breasts grew heavy with need. The nipples tightened and pushed against the thin fabric of her nightgown. Her body’s visceral reaction to him didn’t bother her near as much as her longing to lie in his embrace. To feel his strength around her. She wasn’t the weak, frightened girl she’d been before she left Jamal but the attack tonight had unnerved her, stirred up all those insecurities she thought she’d left back in New Orleans.
“If you don’t want me in here, I’ll sleep in the other room. But…” He trailed a finger lightly over the sheet covering her leg. “I’m not so sure you’re being honest with yourself.”
The air between them crackled with electricity. She reached out for him and he sat on the edge of the mattress, cradled her cheek in his hand. His touch set off a storm of passion that chased away her doubts.
He covered her mouth with his and coaxed a slow, sweet kiss from her that grew deeper and more urgent. A growl rumbled in his throat.
Hidden Magic Page 12
