by Gina LaManna
“What’s his deal?” she murmured. “That seemed quite tense.”
“Just business.”
“I know you have Matthew all in love with you,” Willa said with a sigh. “But if you don’t want him, Grey’s looking pretty good.”
“Grey’s an idiot.”
“Sure,” Willa said. “Whatever you say. Anyway, did I hear you two setting up a date for tomorrow?”
“I’m not dating anyone, and especially not Grey.”
“What about Matthew?” Willa asked with a waggle of her eyebrows.
“He’s my boss,” I reminded her. “Not happening.”
“Right. And dating coworkers is never a good thing anyway.” Willa cast a dirty glance toward Jack, who was nestled even closer to his latest squeeze. “Speaking of idiots.”
“I’m sorry.” I leaned closer to Willa, our heads resting against one another and forming a sort of teepee. “Do you want me to talk to Jack? He’s acting like a jerk. I hired you, and I got you into this mess. I feel responsible.”
“No,” she said quickly. “I’m the one who told him to move on.”
“Yeah, but . . .”
“No.” That was the end of the conversation. “Anyway, sorry I rushed you over here. It sounds like you have your hands full on a case.”
“A big one,” I said with a sigh. “It’ll be a busy few days. Thanks for your help covering the pizzeria.”
She waved me off. “Are you kidding me? This is the best job I’ve ever had. I should be kissing your feet.”
“No need for feet kissing, but I could go for a Diet Coke,” I said. “I’m famished. Working with Matthew all day doesn’t do much for my appetite.”
“Oh, I don’t know.” Willa stood with a smirk. “I bet he makes you ravenous.”
I scowled at Willa, then climbed out of the booth and followed her to the kitchen where I got my own soda and glared at my friend the whole time. “Keep talking like that,” I said, “And you won’t have this job much longer.”
She just laughed. “Yeah, right. You can’t survive without me.”
“True, but I don’t have to like it,” I agreed with a faux-pout. “I’m going to head upstairs and review some files. I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“Bright and early,” she chirped with a wave. “Sweet dreams!”
I headed toward the rear of the kitchen and pushed through the swinging doors into a small, employees-only coatroom. At the rear of that was a door that lead upstairs to the second level living quarters.
I elbowed that door open, soda still in hand, and climbed the skinny spiral staircase. To one side of the long, narrow corridor stood yet another door, this one locked by magic after a series of recent break-ins. My brothers had insisted.
I touched my hand to the knob, and it opened easily. I braced myself for an onslaught of commentary from my furniture—an enchanted bunch who rarely shut up. Sure enough, as I stepped into the room, the first sound I heard was a creak from my coat rack. Marla is a 1920’s soul trapped in a piece of furniture. She purred a greeting to me.
“Howdy, Detective. Where’s the vampire?” she asked innocently. “Any interoffice relationship we should know about yet?”
“Quiet, Marla,” I snapped. “Fred, what do you have for me?”
My fridge barked a curse word back in return, and I took that to mean that I’d forgotten to fill him again. Only my toaster, Tammy, was happy to see me. But when I told her I wasn’t hungry—not even for toast a little bit burnt, exactly the way I liked it—she got a little steamed and shut off.
I made my way to the couch. Carl is the laziest sofa on the face of the earth. He merely grunted as I sat on him.
“Hex Dog,” I said as an explanation. “I was hungry.”
I reached under one of Carl’s cushions, despite his complaints, and scrounged around until I found the notebook I’d tucked there for safe keeping. Matthew had given me a copy of The Hex Files after working a tough case for him a few months back, and while he had explicitly told me not to memorize the contents of the files, it was hard not to think about what I’d read.
Or rather, it was too easy to memorize. Partly because there wasn’t all that much to remember. I suspected a good majority of the files were actually missing—either lost somewhere or stolen.
When I couldn’t shake the memories of the files, I had caved and jotted down the five lines from the heavily guarded sheet of paper. I figured I might as well mull over the mystery behind them—and why I felt the pull to keep revisiting those same five lines over and over again. I’d been reading them on repeat every night since I studied the files, but still nothing clicked with me.
Five people were referenced in the files. Who were these people? Was I supposed to find them? And if I did, what would that mean? I rested my hand on the scribbles and studied the text once more. As my finger brushed over it, the writing warmed beneath my skin. If I closed my eyes, I could trace the outlines of the words by the heat alone.
“Strange,” I whispered. It was the first time that had happened.
“What?” Carl grunted.
“Never mind,” I muttered and quickly closed the files.
I suspected that something was coming to fruition with The Hex Files. Something I needed to unravel before it was too late. However, Matthew was correct on one front—I needed to rest tonight. No doubt I’d be summoned first thing in the morning for the Luca case, and I had to be sharp for my first week back on the job. Matthew would be ready to work at the crack of dawn, and I planned to be right there with him.
If we didn’t find Linsey soon, there was no doubt she’d end up dead like the others... or worse.
Chapter 7
I woke to something poking me in the back.
“Gr-off,” Carl said. “You have a visitor.”
“A visitor?” I groaned, stretched, and glanced around my apartment, curious to find that I’d slept all night on the couch. “What happened to me?”
“You passed out muttering to yourself,” Carl mumbled. “Someone just knocked on the door. I’m guessing it’s the vamp.”
I glanced down and found myself wearing boy shorts and a white tank top. My red bra was visible through the shirt, but at least I’d showered before falling asleep. My hair wasn’t comb-able, but that was the least of my problems.
I stomped toward the door. “Hector, what time is it?”
“Oh-six-thirty,” my clock shouted like a drill sergeant. “On the dot.”
I yanked the door open, rubbing a hand over my eyes. “Captain, you really should...”
I stopped speaking and stared dumbly at the person before me.
“Grey?” I asked. “What are you doing here?”
I leapt toward Marla and nabbed a long peacoat off her arm. I heard her titter as I did so, and if I wasn’t mistaken, she wriggled herself around for a better look at my visitor.
I couldn’t blame her. Grey was a vision, to put it mildly. He had on a V-neck sweater that matched his name. It looked fluffy to the touch and a small part of me wanted to run my cheek over his arm to verify my theory.
His hair curled lightly over his forehead, mussed in a way that told me he’d sprinted through the forests this morning to get here—which explained the reason he looked so good in his jeans. He had the lean, muscled build of a runner, and the tapered waist to go along with it. I was sure Marla would have a comment about his backside the second he left.
I curled my coat tighter around my body. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you were expecting someone else,” Grey said in a slow as molasses drawl. “That’s a nice shirt you’ve got on.”
“Shut up, Grey.”
“Does the vamp often visit you before sunrise?”
I squinted at him. “I’m not fully human before my coffee. In fact, some would call me downright witchy.”
“Ah. I see,” Grey said, shifting, hiding one arm behind his back. He held something out of sight, and when I straine
d to see what it was, he moved it further away. “I’ll just remind you; I’m not the one who asked you to open the door naked.”
“I’m not naked!”
“I’m sure the vampire wouldn’t be pleased with what you’re wearing.”
“He’s my boss, not my vampire. You know what? I don’t have to put up with this—it’s early. Why did you come here, anyway?”
“Besides the view,” he said, “I came with information.”
“Spill.”
“The elves that were found dead were from Silver Street.” He hesitated, weighing his words. “They were seen at a club there the night before they were taken. They left in a rush, I guess. Like they were trying to get away from someone.”
“Which club?” I asked. “And why is that relevant?”
“I don’t know that any of this is relevant,” Grey said, “nor do I know the name of the club, just that they were seen hanging around Silver Street early in the morning.”
“How’d you find out?”
“My sources are confidential,” he said. “I wish I could help you more.”
“Why are you telling me this?” I asked. “The elves weren’t snatched until the next day.”
“No, but Silver Street isn’t exactly a nice area of town,” Grey said. “I’m just saying, someone could have scoped them out the night before. Maybe even made contact and spooked them.”
“And then what? Let’s say the girls smelled something fishy and turned this mystery man down. Are you suggesting that he came after them the next day, held them hostage for three months, then killed them and dumped the bodies? It’s a stretch, Grey.”
“I’m just saying, maybe you should ask the girl who survived what happened to them.”
“The girl who survived?” I blinked. “The third girl was with them at the club?”
He gave a dry smile. “I gave you my end of the bargain. Here’s yours.”
From behind his back, he pulled a hanger with an expensive covering draped over it. I’d never bought any sort of clothing that required such exquisite care. Mostly, mine came in crumpled up balls with clearance tags dangling from them.
“Wow, this is a gorgeous bag,” I said, reaching out to admire it. “I’ll look fabulous with this draped over me. Very shapely.”
“Open it.”
“Come on, Grey. This is overkill. The bag is more expensive than my daily attire.”
“Probably.”
I rolled my eyes and tugged the protective layer off the hanger. I felt my ears getting hot at the sight of the dress. “Absolutely not.”
Grey gave me a stare with innocent, puppy dog eyes. “What do you mean? I showed the woman at the store a photo of you, and she picked it out.”
“Yeah, what’d you tell her to do—make me look like the prom queen?”
“Nah, I went with sex goddess.”
“You wanna keep yourself alive? Get me a different dress. You’ll see my underpants through the slit in the side.”
“You’re welcome for the dress, and for the tip about the elves,” Grey said. “I am very excited about our non-date tonight, sweetheart.”
I slammed the door, Grey’s laugh reverberating as he retreated down the hall. He moved quiet and smoothly, like all supernaturals, and I didn’t hear him on the staircase, nor did I hear the downstairs door open or close. All I could see was a blur of white in the distance as he sprinted toward The Depth.
“He is fine,” Marla said. “I’m changing my mind. I always did have a thing for them bloodsuckers, but I don’t know. The wolf is inching out Matthew. That man knows what he wants, and he goes for it. Did you see that dress? It’s sex on legs.”
“I’m not wearing it.”
“You have to,” Marla said. “If you want to get into the high stakes room, that’ll get you through the door. Sorry, honey, but those leather pants ain’t gonna cut it. Plus, it’ll make your man jealous.”
“My man?”
“Come on, we all know you’re hung up on Matthew,” Marla said. “He’s hung up on you, too, but he isn’t exactly stepping up to the plate and taking charge now, is he?”
“Things are complicated,” I said. “Our careers are on the line. Amongst other things.”
“I’m just saying,” Marla said. “Back when I was a witch, I had a man go off to fight for me in a war, then come back and sweep me off my feet. He didn’t lollygag around, picking his nose, playing games.”
“I told Matthew I needed time,” I explained to her. “He’s respecting me and giving me space.”
“Whatever makes you feel better,” Marla said with a little sniff. “You’re not over him, and it wouldn’t hurt to give him a peek of what he’s missing. You’re both unattached adults with enough sexual chemistry to blow up the necromancy lab, so I’d think you might want to do something about it.”
An image of the elf with the bright lip gloss getting all friendly with Matthew at the Gilded Gate popped into my head, and I reconsidered. “Okay, maybe I’ll wear the dress,” I said.
“That’s my girl,” Marla said. “Now, go get your man.”
“No,” I said. “I’m going to get my missing girl, and then I’ll wear the dress.”
Before I could head to the bedroom to change, another knock on the door startled me and the furniture into silence. I crept across the living room and peeked through the peephole.
“It’s you,” I said, pulling the door open. “You’d think it’s a fast food restaurant around here open all hours of the night.”
“I’m not the first person here this morning?” Matthew tried diligently to hold eye contact with me, but he was a vampire first, and then a male. And both of those traits made him glance down with interest at my gaping peacoat. “And here I thought you’d dressed up for me.”
I clutched the coat tighter around me. “Aren’t you here on official business?”
“Unfortunately, I am.” Matthew brushed past me, startling Marla into scratching the floor in her attempt to study the vampire. “Good morning, Marla,” he said dryly. “Sorry to startle you.”
I hid a snicker as I turned to face him. “What brings you here?”
“Work,” he said. “Get dressed. We’re visiting Sienna.”
“Sienna...” I closed my eyes. I needed coffee. “About the bodies of the two elves that were found?”
“Exactly,” Matthew said. “Now get dressed before I decide I don’t care about my career enough to keep my hands off.”
“Sheesh, Captain,” I said. “I didn’t know peacoats were your thing.”
“Move it, Detective. And that’s an order.”
Chapter 8
As Dani jumped in the shower for a quick rinse, Matthew prowled her apartment in a fury. He could smell the wolf on her. In her apartment. Or, at least, in the doorway. Thank God she hadn’t let him inside, though if her outfit reflected what she’d been wearing all night, Grey had gotten an eyeful.
And Matthew didn’t like it.
Matthew knew he and Dani couldn’t be together. At least not the way things were going at the moment. And it frustrated him to no end that Grey had that opportunity. Matthew could feel his advantage slipping away, and while winning Dani’s heart wasn’t a competition, it was a zero-sum game. If she fell for the wolf, that was it. Game over.
Matthew paced, prowled, growled, and stomped around the room in such a fury that even Dani’s smartass refrigerator dared not toss out his usual snarky comments.
By the time Dani had changed into her standard black on black on black—an outfit that never ceased to get Matthew’s blood boiling—he’d spotted a new object for his fury. It hung on Marla and smelled expensive.
“What’s this?” Matthew clutched the luxurious fabric, appreciating the feel of the blood-red dress under his fingertips. “And why does it smell like the wolf?”
“It’s mine,” Dani said with a haughty sniff. “And what happens in my apartment is none of your business.”
“Why do you have this gown?�
�
Dani looked annoyed, but then a smug smile edged out her frustration. “I have a date tonight.”
“With who?”
“I thought we had to get to the morgue,” Dani said, snatching her travel belt and attaching it to her hip. She had a Stunner there, along with a few vials, potions, and standard spells. “Let’s move it, Captain. We’re on the clock.”
Matthew had no choice but to join Dani as she left the apartment. He frowned as he caught a strong whiff of wolf, and he inherently knew that Grey had purposely run his hands along the wall as he left, leaving his scent sprinkled everywhere. Grey had known it would infiltrate Matthew’s senses and destroy his mind from the inside out, wondering... just wondering what had happened between the wolf and Danielle.
The idiot.
Grey didn’t know who he was dealing with. But unfortunately, Matthew couldn’t do anything about it now. Like Dani had so kindly pointed out—they were on the clock, and an innocent elf’s life depended on their quick work.
“Keep up,” Matthew said, deliberately moving too quickly for Dani. “I want to get this thing wrapped today.”
“So you don’t have to deal with me anymore?” Dani asked pointedly. “Us working together has its pain points. Obviously.”
“I’m fine with it,” he said. “If you are.”
She was breathless, jogging beside him. “Right,” she huffed. “You’re fine. Because this is what fine looks like.”
Matthew and Dani arrived at the morgue in record time.
Matthew had burned off some of his frustrations, but not nearly enough. To do that, he’d need to run the length of the world twice over, and then maybe he’d be able to control his breathing into normal patterns. Now, he’d just given up on breathing and blinking and formulating other basic human behaviors because it simply wasn’t worth the effort.
“You’re not blinking again,” Dani said. “Or taking breaths. It’s weird.”
“So’s the fact that a wolf came to your door at six in the morning.”
