The Hex Files Box Set: Books 1-3 (Mysteries from the Sixth Borough)

by Gina LaManna

  “If you’re thinking of trying to quit,” the chief said, nodding towards my fidgeting hands, “think again.”

  “Sir, about Matthew,” I said with a slight hesitation. “I suspect you’re right. If I had to guess, I would assume Matthew’s resignation had something to do with me.”

  “I figured as much,” Chief Newton said. “I didn’t get to be the chief of police because I’m an idiot.”

  “Touché, sir.”

  “Let me guess.” The chief steepled his fingers as he surveyed me. “You and King have discovered that you don’t work all that well together.”

  I felt my face blush and warm under his piercing gaze.

  “Let me rephrase,” the chief said, waving off my response. “You and King work too well together, especially with you directly under him.”

  I tilted my chin higher. “Suffice to say, I think it’s wise if I don’t report to Captain King anymore.”

  “Very well,” Chief Newton said, impressively agreeable. “You’ll report to me, effective immediately. On one condition.”

  “Anything, sir.”

  The chief reached into his top desk drawer and removed something I recognized as a badge. Matthew’s badge. “Go over to King’s place and return his damn badge. Then, drag his ass back here Monday morning, and we’ll never speak of this again. Can I count on you, Detective?”

  I cleared my throat and shifted my weight from one foot to the next. “Um, yes, sir.”

  “Now get out of here,” the chief said with a flick of his long, mottled fingers. “It’s Friday afternoon, and I don’t want to see your face until Monday morning.”

  “Absolutely, sir.”

  Then the chief snapped his fingers, and my letter of resignation burned up from between my fingers. I hadn’t realized I’d pulled it distractedly out of my pocket while we’d been speaking, and I watched as a cloud of ash fell to the floor. The chief brushed the dusty pile away with a flick of his wrist.

  “Now get out of here,” he said, “And keep your personal problems off my desk, Detective.”

  I nodded and remained silent. I’d said, “Yes, sir,” one too many times in the last several minutes, and I was running out of variations on the theme. Instead, I pulled myself, slightly dazed, out of the chief’s office and let my feet drag me downstairs to my own office.

  I grabbed the report on Cynthia that needed amending and glanced it over, grateful to see that not much needed updating. While I’d given Marcus a little too much credit for the destruction of Cynthia, the rest of it had been true.

  I skimmed through the report and was hit with a mixture of satisfaction for a job well done, though it was tinged with a hint of sorrow for the lives we hadn’t saved. I wished the fate of Maybelline and Lillie had been different, and I wished Linsey hadn’t been drained to within an inch of her life. I found myself wishing she hadn’t been given away in marriage in the first place to an elfin prince, and I wondered if Harry had heard the news that his bride-to-be was alive and well.

  I continued reading, and when I reached the part about Lisa, I found myself smiling. It was because of the strength of Lisa and her daughter, the brave little Tink, that we had escaped at all from the dungeon. Equally important, and despite the awful circumstances, we had managed to keep their deepest secret. I would take the discovery of elfin clairvoyance to my grave, and I knew Lisa and Tink believed in my promise.

  In fact, when I had returned to the pizzeria and given Tink her necklace back, she hadn’t even bothered to ask how her mother was doing. She’d barely looked up from her coloring when I’d explained that she’d be reunited shortly with her mother.

  “I know,” she’d said, and then, “Willa told me I could have another slice of pizza.”

  “You weren’t worried at all?” I asked her.

  “No, silly,” Tink had said with another telltale giggle. “I gave you my necklace. I knew you’d save her.” Then she had begun chomping on her promised slice of pizza and humming, and that had been the end of the discussion.

  I reached the very end of my report, but that didn’t need much in the way of changes. Cynthia hadn’t survived, of course, but that wasn’t exactly a surprise ending. Not after I’d felt the weight of her power course through me while protected by the necklace. Without elfin protection, she hadn’t stood a chance.

  Cynthia’s mother, however, had been safe and untouched. She was being moved into a proper care facility to help with her memory loss. They’d offer around-the-clock nursing care, along with company in the way of other residents.

  I polished off the rest of my report, and then handed it over to the chief’s administrative assistant. With that task completed, I took his advice for once and pocketed Matthew’s badge as I left the precinct. A sense of elation settled over me as I jogged down the steps, thinking that no work for a whole weekend, plus time with friends and family at the pizzeria, was just what I needed.

  “Where are you off to so fast?” Nash asked, stopping me as we crossed paths in the front door of the precinct building. “You headed to the pizzeria? I was thinking about stopping by after work for a bite.”

  “I’ll meet you there,” I said. “Speaking of DeMarco’s have you been around the pizzeria lately?”

  Nash shrugged. “Not any more than usual.”

  “What do you think about Willa and Jack?” I asked. “They’ve been... hot and cold. I’m trying to decide if I should interfere.”

  “I wouldn’t.” Nash’s eyebrows shot up. “If last night was anything to go by, they’re hot at the moment. They were looking cozy enough in the kitchen, so far as I could tell.”

  “Huh,” I said, and made a mental note to check with Willa to make sure my brother was behaving. “Well, see you. I have my own problems to deal with.”

  “Matthew?” Nash asked. “Or Grey?”

  I shot darts at him with my gaze. “Why are my only two options in this scenario men?”

  “Well?” Nash shrugged one shoulder. “Am I right?”

  “You’re wrong.” I frowned. “The answer is both.”

  Nash gave a wink that wasn’t at all apologetic. “Good luck on that, Detective.”

  I jogged down the front steps of the building, ashamed that I’d completely forgotten about Grey in my haste to visit Matthew and pick up where we’d left off. I’d somehow forgotten the fact that Grey had been there in the dungeon the night Cynthia had been destroyed. He’d been the one who had first come to me with the issue at the casino—the scandal that had ended up breaking the entire case wide open.

  “I thought I might catch you here,” a familiar voice said. “Playing hooky on a Friday afternoon?”

  I turned to find Grey’s long, lean body perched against a tree, his face masked in shadow.

  “How come I can never get ahold of you?” I asked, sauntering toward him. “While you always know when I want to talk to you...”

  “Let’s call it a gift and leave it at that,” Grey said, with his traditional infusion of mystery. “What can I help you with?”

  “I was just thinking of you, wondering if we’ve solved your friend’s little gambling problem.”

  Grey’s face sobered. “Of course.”

  “Did you get your gems back?” I asked. “It was... a lot of money.”

  Grey shrugged. “I’ve plenty more where it came from.”

  I looked down at my fingernails. I would never be able to relate to any such sentiment.

  “I truly appreciate the favor, Detective,” Grey said. “I had no clue how far things would go. I wouldn’t have asked for an off the record favor if it wasn’t important.”

  “I know,” I said. I wanted to ask more, but I knew pushing the wolf wouldn’t get me anything. If Grey wanted to open up to me, he would. “You know, if you ever have anything you want to talk about, I’m pretty understanding. I’ve been through a lot.”

  “I know,” Grey said, and we stood there in quiet understanding. “Anyway, I should let you go. You look like you�
��re headed somewhere in a hurry.”

  “I’m sorry I don’t have longer to talk, but I do have somewhere to be.”

  “Or rather, someone to see?” Grey suggested innocently.

  “You could say that,” I said stiffly, without realizing I was toying with Matthew’s badge in my palm.

  Grey’s eyes were drawn to my fidgeting hands. “I see. Can I assume the captain had a change of plans in career choice?”

  “No,” I said shortly.

  “Ah.”

  “Listen, Grey...” I started.

  “You don’t have to explain anything. I understand. Really, I do.”

  “Matthew and I...” I hesitated. “It’s not like it’s a choice. It’s not really a choice at all. It’s just the way things have to be.”

  Grey gave me a somewhat forlorn, almost tender smile. “I know, Detective,” he said, raising a thumb and dragging it gently across my cheek. “Trust me. I know that, too.”

  Chapter 28

  I knocked on the door to Matthew’s house, my chest tight with adrenaline. In theory, I shouldn’t have been nervous at all, seeing as Matthew had quit the precinct and was no longer my boss. The only thing that remained between us was personal. But that’s what scared me most.

  “Good afternoon, Detective,” Matthew said with the slightest wrinkle of his nose as he swung the door open. He obviously could tell I’d just seen Grey, but he kept his face passive and didn’t comment. “Congratulations on wrapping the Luca kidnapping case.”

  I gave a one-shouldered shrug. “I didn’t do it alone.”

  “If you expect me to believe Marcus had anything to do with taking down Cynthia in that prison...” Matthew spluttered and gave a shake of his head.

  “I didn’t mean him,” I said. “I meant you. And Lisa, and Tink, and Linsey, and everyone else. Yes, including Grey.”

  Matthew closed his eyes for a long moment, likely holding an internal debate about the appropriate response. Eventually he settled on nothing and opened his eyes. “Of course.”

  “Look, Grey’s a part of my life now,” I said. “He’s just a friend. We understand each other, and our work lives seem to intertwine quite often.”

  “Grey has a work life?”

  “You know what I mean,” I grumbled. “If it weren’t for his tip on the casino, I don’t know that things would have fallen into place like they did. He might have helped in saving several lives, and I can’t ignore that.”

  “He didn’t do it for you.”

  “I know he had his own reasons,” I said. “But he’s not evil.”

  Matthew gave a little derisive snort, but he didn’t disagree.

  “Can you deal with that?” I asked. “I mean, really, seriously get over it?”

  “There’s nothing to get over.” Matthew’s eyes flashed. “What brought you around today, Detective?”

  I pushed past him, a difficult task, seeing as it was like trying to move a brick wall with a toothpick. “I came here to finish what we started.”

  Matthew spun around and faced me. “And what might that be?”

  I scowled. “I’m not here to play games, Matthew. Do you want to be with me or not?”

  “Of course I do, Danielle. I gave my notice—”

  “I know,” I interrupted. “Here’s your badge. Take it back and stop being an idiot.”

  His lips pursed into an amused smile. “But—”

  “I’m reporting directly to the chief now,” I said. “We don’t have any obstacles anymore—at least not through the precinct.”

  “Who says I want to come back?”

  I pushed the badge toward him, but he didn’t take it. “I tried to quit too. The chief didn’t flinch.”

  “Ah.” Matthew reached out and took the badge. His fingers roved over the leather as if the answers were hidden in the seams. “So where does this leave us?”

  “It leaves us right where we should be,” I said. “Unofficial partners on the job. And off the clock...”

  Matthew watched me carefully as my words trailed off. His eyes, dark and murky, flicked over my body from head to toe, and he waited.

  But I didn’t have anything left to say.

  Then Matthew smiled and opened his arms.

  I fell into them, letting my head rest against his chest, and his arms envelope my back. I’d felt like I was drowning for the right words, and the second our skin collided, I could breathe again. Our lips met in a kiss.

  Then he swooped me off my feet and cradled me to his chest, taking the stairs in record time. We reached the bedroom in a fury, and this time, we finished what we had started.

  Epilogue

  “And now,” the man said in the dim, dusky room. “It’s time.”

  “But, master—”

  He surveyed the image playing out before him. The vampire and the witch, lips locked as they fell into bed. He waved a hand over the clear image and brought about a deep sea of murkiness instead. A lightning bolt jolted through the crystal ball and the rumblings of thunder sounded overhead, rattling the table on which it sat.

  “We cannot allow the witch and the vampire to gather the rest of the files,” he explained in a patient, slithery lisp. “If they do, it will ruin everything.”

  “Master, the witch and her lover are stronger today than they were yesterday, and their bond will only grow deeper. The witch has already seen the first of the files—if she finds the other five, we’ll be finished.”

  “She won’t. They’ve been hidden well,” he said with a slow, deliberate laugh. “But we don’t have any more time to waste.”

  “What is it you propose we do?”

  He withdrew a long, crooked dagger that gleamed in the moonlight. “Kill the witch.”

  Author’s Note

  Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed spending a little more time in Wicked! I’m very excited to let you know the next book in the series, THE HEX FILES: Wicked Moon Rising, is available on Amazon now! Click HERE to order.

  To be notified of new releases, please sign up for my newsletter at www.ginalamanna.com.

  Thank you for reading!

  Gina

  Now for a thank you...

  To all my readers, especially those of you who have stuck with me from the beginning.

  By now, I’m sure you all know how important reviews are for Indie authors, so if you have a moment and enjoyed the story, please consider leaving an honest review on Amazon or Goodreads. I know you are all very busy people and writing a review takes time out of your day—but just know that I appreciate every single one I receive. Reviews help make promotions possible, help with visibility on large retailers and most importantly, help other potential readers decide if they would like to try the book.

  I wouldn’t be here without all of you, so once again—thank you.

  List of Gina's Books!

  Gina LaManna is the USA TODAY bestselling author of the Magic & Mixology series, the Lacey Luzzi Mafia Mysteries, The Little Things romantic suspense series, and the Misty Newman books.

  List of Gina LaManna’s other books:

  Women’s Fiction:

  Pretty Guilty Women

  Mystery and Suspense:

  The Hex Files:

  Wicked Never Sleeps

  Wicked Long Nights

  Wicked State of Mind

  Wicked Moon Rising

  Wicked All The Way

  Lola Pink Mystery Series:

  Shades of Pink

  Shades of Stars

  Shades of Sunshine

  Magic & Mixology Mysteries:

  Hex on the Beach

  Witchy Sour

  Jinx & Tonic

  Long Isle Iced Tea

  Amuletto Kiss

  Spelldriver

  MAGIC, Inc. Mysteries:

  The Undercover Witch

  Spellbooks & Spies (short story)

  Reading Order for Lacey Luzzi:

  Lacey Luzzi: Scooped

  Lacey Luzzi: Sprinkled

  Lac
ey Luzzi: Sparkled

  Lacey Luzzi: Salted

  Lacey Luzzi: Sauced

  Lacey Luzzi: S'mored

  Lacey Luzzi: Spooked

  Lacey Luzzi: Seasoned

  Lacey Luzzi: Spiced

  Lacey Luzzi: Suckered

  Lacey Luzzi: Sprouted

  Lacey Luzzi: Shaved

  The Little Things Mystery Series:

  One Little Wish

  Two Little Lies

  Misty Newman:

  Teased to Death

  Short Story in Killer Beach Reads

  Chick Lit:

  Girl Tripping

  Gina also writes books for kids under the Pen Name Libby LaManna:

  Mini Pie the Spy!