Between the Lines (Here Witchy Witchy Book 7) Page 10

  She studied me for a moment, and it gave my heart a chance to settle down. "There's so much more going on here Abby. You never should have come."

  Magic welled up around us and tried to wrap itself around me. I shook my head as my pentagram warmed up. "Ana, I can't help you here if you don't tell me what is going on."

  "The coven owns this town Abby. Nathan is going to kill you to summon a demon to gain his powers."

  What the fuck was she going on about? I shook my head and took a few steps closer to Simon. I could expand that circle to include me if I needed, but that would trap us here with Ana, and I wasn't sure how much longer I could hold up both circles. I needed to get past Ana.

  "How far in this are you?"

  She pulled her own gun, and I didn't hesitate. I shot her in the shoulder, and she cried out. I pulled the circle down around Simon and shoved him. "Run, run!"

  He dashed to the door, and I followed him, trying to keep a look out behind us. Ana shot at us, but the shots went wild, bouncing around the warehouse. One grazed my arm, but it wasn't enough to slow me down. We got out of the building, and I holstered my gun to keep from drawing any more attention. I pulled Simon against the building, hoping Ana and Nathan were distracted enough. "Turn around."

  He didn't hesitate. "What are you doing?"

  "I'm going to get these cuffs off you." I called my elemental ability up, and a flame appeared in my hand, and I used it to heat up the metal until it was weak enough to break..

  "You're singeing my hair."

  "Shush," I snapped, even though I knew the complaint was in jest. "Pull." He yanked his wrists, and the glowing metal snapped, and the cuffs fell to the ground.

  He looked at me. "I didn't know you could do that."

  "Me either, now let's go." I sprinted out into the street, and he followed me.

  "Thanks for letting me be your test subject."

  I snorted. "You're free aren't you?"

  I hoped that Simon passed Riley's approval so that we were going to be able to hide out in her shop. I pulled Simon into the shop, and nothing resisted, so I assumed that we were safe.

  Riley was sitting at one of the tables looking over paperwork. "Please don't bleed on my floor."

  Simon looked at me, then to Riley, and then back to me. "What?"

  "Great hiding spell." Riley stood. Simon let out a sigh of relief and then pulled me into a hug, kissing me gently on the lips. I laid my head on his chest. "I was so worried."

  "Me too." He admitted and then looked at my arm. "You're shot."

  I shook my head. "It grazed my arm. I've had worse, and this isn't going to keep me down. Ana, on the other hand, is sporting a nice hole in her shoulder. I don't think anyone around here can heal." I glanced at Riley. "Except maybe you or your grandmother."

  "Mmm, met Granny have you?" She laughed. "She can't heal, I can though, but I won't be touching Ana. I promise. You and Simon are welcome to stay here while you figure things out. I'll make you both some coffee and then let you be to talk." She stood up from the papers and went to the counter.

  Simon's phone dinged a few times, letting me know that he had text messages. I pulled both of our phones out of my pocket and handed Simon his. "I had to use your phone to call my uncle since your line is secured and mine isn't. Also, the alpha is supposed to send me pictures of some runes marking some of his pack members."

  "So you have all the information you need, and we can go home now, right?" Simon asked. "Nathan and Ana are the ones killing."

  I shook my head. "No, we can't go home just yet. There's more going on here. Ana is a PIB agent undercover, and Nathan isn't strong enough to be doing the spells we've seen. Curt is sacrificing his wolves because his queen is in danger, and somehow Carson is related to it all."

  "And Carson is?" There was a hesitation in Simon's voice that made me think he might not want the answer.

  "The person who killed Clarissa."

  Simon took in a sharp breath. "Abby, that might not be a road you want to go down."

  "Maybe, but I'm already halfway down it. Do you know anything about the queen?"

  He shook his head. "No, she didn't run with us. I never questioned because I didn't know he had a queen."

  Riley came and set coffee down in front of Simon and me. "Feel free to take it upstairs."

  I stood with my mug and Simon followed me. We walked up the stairs and into the studio bedroom. I set my coffee on the table. "I'm sorry."

  "For what?" He set his mug down and put a hand on my cheek. It was a strangely intimate touch for me.

  I closed my eyes. "You were kidnapped by a crazy warlock because I wasn't smart enough to realize we were walking into a trap." I shook my head. "You need to go back home. You have a pack to take care of and staying here is just going to get you killed."

  Simon shook his head. "I'm not leaving you here. You wouldn't leave me here alone."

  "I have my magic, I'll be fine. I will not lose you too." I could feel the tears climbing through me. I didn't want to admit that I could have lost him today. That Nathan could have taken him out.

  "Abby?" He tilted my head up, and I met his gaze. "It's okay. I'm not leaving you, and you aren't going to lose me." He pressed his forehead against mine. "We've come all this way together, we've been in scarier spots together, and I'm not leaving your side."

  I took a deep breath and met his gaze. This was a man who was willing to die for me. He was willing to risk everything to see me through this stupid case.

  I smiled at him. "You're right. This is nothing compared to the hex."

  He laughed and ran his thumb over my cheek, leaving a trail of warmth behind. "You're right. And we don't constantly have Levi looking over our back here."

  That was another good point. I took a chance and leaned in and kissed him. He pressed his lips hard to mine, his hands moving from my cheeks to the back of my head and I let myself fall into the warmth of his kiss, letting the passion chase everything away.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  At some point, Simon and I had fallen asleep, our naked bodies wrapped together. I woke to feel his chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm.

  His arms pulled me close as I shifted in the bed, trying to get out.

  "Where do you think you're going? It's the middle of the night," he muttered in my ear. "And you're warm."

  I turned around to face him and pressed my forehead against his. "I need to see if Oliver found anything on those names, and then I need to look at the runes that Curt sent us."

  "Again, Abby, middle of the night." He opened his eyes. "Sleep with me a little bit longer before you get up to work."

  I smiled at him. "I think we've done enough sleeping. It's time for this big bad PIB agent to start figuring out what's going on in this town."

  He muttered something, and then put a hand on the back of my head and tucked me in against his chest. "There's nothing you can do in the middle of the night."

  I sighed as the warmth took me over and my body started to relax against him again. I didn't know how to explain to him that I hadn't been sleeping more than a few hours because of nightmares.

  He kissed my head as if sensing my unease. "Please, Abby."

  I closed my eyes. "Fine, just a little bit longer."

  His chuckle rumbled through him. "At least until sunrise. Then you can be the big bad PIB agent again." He pulled the blanket back over us, and I let myself fall asleep again.

  Simon's hand groped around for someone's buzzing phone, leaving a trail of chills where his arm had been on my skin. I hadn't expected this case to lead me here, into Simon's arms, in a literal sense. But I guess that's how it happened. I opened my eyes to see him leaning on his arm with his phone to his ear.

  "Yeah, I'm safe." He glanced at me. "I can't really tell you where we are, it'll compromise some things, but if you want to meet, we can do th
at."

  There was some chatter on the other end that I couldn't make out. I sat up and pulled the blanket up to my chest.

  "No, she comes with me. This is more than just the death of one of your wolves, and I want to know what's going on."

  Something that sounded like shouting came across the other side of the line.

  "You made it my business when you involved my pack."

  The tone in his voice made me raise a brow. Simon held up a hand to tell me to wait a moment.

  "I understand that. So let's talk and see what we can do. Abby is coming though, because if there's any chance of taking down this coven, she's it."

  That made me happy to hear, but I also felt like he was putting a lot of faith in me. I crawled out of bed and motioned to the shower. Simon nodded and waved me on. I trusted him to make a safe meeting place and set up details for us. I wonder what had changed Curt's mind on meeting. Maybe Simon surviving had impressed him. Whatever the reasons, I felt like we were making a little bit of progress.

  I turned on the water and gave it a moment to warm up. I didn't think Ana was in on the demon summoning. It didn't sit right. Her father had still been under the truth spell when he said something about the family being in danger. I ran my hands over my face, clearing the water from my eyes before I put soap in my hair. The water drowned out the sound of Simon's voice but did nothing for the thoughts in my head.

  What on earth was I thinking? Getting closer to Simon was a bad idea, especially if he didn't survive this case. My stomach tightened. I wasn't sure what I was thinking, but apparently my heart decided to run away with the idea that comfort and companionship were more important.

  I let out a small groan and tried to convince myself that it wasn't a mistake. I finished washing and then got out, grabbing a towel off a small rack near the shower.

  Simon looked up from his spot on the bed. "We have a lunch date with Curt at noon."

  I wrapped the towel around myself. "What does he want? He wasn't very keen on the idea of finding you. Told me that you were already dead."

  "He wants my help to take down Nathan and the cult."

  I snorted. "And what are a bunch of wolves going to do to a bunch of witches who are playing with black magic?"

  Simon met my gaze. "Eat them."

  For a moment I thought he was joking, and then I realized he was being completely serious. "I guess that's one way to do it. Except when they can control your shifts." I crossed my arms. "There's more going on than what we see on the surface."

  "You think someone is controlling them?"

  I nodded. "Just like I had said at the warehouse. That magic wasn't Nathan's, and it wasn't Ana's."

  "This Carson fellow?"

  I wasn't sure. I'd only felt Carson's magic a couple times. "I don't know. I need to talk to Ana when she's not under the influence of the coven." I sighed. "I also need to do some research, but without access to the PIB database I'm kind of stuck with just the internet."

  "It seems your uncle blew up my phone last night." Simon stood and put the phone on the table. "It's there for when you're ready. I'm going to grab a shower and then we can figure out what we're going to do from here."

  "I can't believe you're staying."

  He kissed me as he walked by. "You're crazy if you think I'm going to leave you here alone."

  I rolled my eyes. "No need to get all protective of me."

  "Never, I'm just along for the ride." He got in the shower and shut the glass door.

  I laughed and looked at what Oliver had sent us. There wasn't much on the names, but a little bit on the runes. I picked up the phone and called him.

  "Simon or Abigail?" he answered.

  "Abigail. Look, we ran into some issues here, and I need to know what you know about this coven."

  "I know they are a nasty piece of work. Their actual high priest or priestess isn't known, but their members get their powers by making deals with demons and offering constant sacrifices."

  Like the wolves. "Do you know of a rune that can copy another rune's effect?"

  "It's a nasty one, and it requires getting a rune on both targets…it's possible though."

  I sighed. "Okay, I have a theory now, thanks."

  "Niece, about that assassin…"

  "Did you find them?"

  "They have moved on, watch your back, please."

  "Do you know who sent them?"

  "No, I'm still working on that, but whoever it is knows how to cover their trail. They left no paper trail or footprints that I can follow. But as soon as I know, I'll tell you."

  I sighed. "Okay. Thank you."

  "I can't contact you much more. Please don't do anything crazy, Abigail. There is so much that could go wrong there." The line went dead in my hand, and I set the phone down.

  I got dressed while Simon took his shower. I pulled my hair back and told him I was going downstairs for coffee. He was stepping out right as I was leaving.

  Riley was at the coffee bar serving someone who walked out the door the moment they got their coffee. Riley looked back over her shoulder at me.

  "Morning sleeping beauty. I assume you and the wolf had a good night?"

  I had no real way to respond to that, but I nodded. "Yeah." I could feel a blush creeping up my face.

  She chuckled. "You're an adult Abby, there's nothing to be embarrassed about. Sit, I'll make you some coffee. Do you plan on wandering the city today?"

  "I'm going to go see if I can visit some murder sites, and I think we're meeting with the alpha for lunch."

  She hmmed for a moment. "Do you think that wise?"

  "I don't know what's wise and what's not." I glanced at her. "You're the only person here who has shown no signs of being black-magic-laden. and you haven't tried to kill me, yet."

  She set the coffee down on the table. "Yet? How often do your allies turn on you?"

  I sighed. "More often than I'd like."

  "Maybe you need to consider better allies."

  I considered her words for a few minutes as I sipped my coffee. Was I wrong to place my trust in people just because Levi or the PIB trusted them? My track record currently said yes, except for Simon, Levi's people had gotten me into tight spaces. PIB had their fair share of corrupted people as well. The only person that hadn't tried to kill me was Merick, Nick, and Liz. Of course, Nick was up in the air still.

  "I didn't mean to make you question your life."

  I shook my head. "It might be a good thing that you did."

  Simon came down the stairs, and Riley went back to the counter. "Another cup of coffee coming up."

  Simon sat down at the table with me. "Deep in thought?"

  "I might be questioning some of my life choices right now is all." I held up my cup of coffee. "You know, typical coffee conversations."

  He snorted. "Better than bodies being torn apart."

  Wasn't that the truth. As if on cue, a scream echoed from the street outside. I sighed and downed part of my coffee before running out of the building to see what was going on.

  There on the road was a body torn to pieces. Globs of flesh covered the street, and blood was splattered everywhere. I looked for any signs of a circle, but there were none. There was no trace of magic in the street, which made me wonder what could have caused this.

  No one in the street was moving toward the body, or what was left of it. There was no PIB here, and I waited to see if anyone from the coven stepped up. Nothing. I had no jurisdiction here. I poked a glob of flesh with my toe and flipped it over. There on the skin, a branding of a rune.

  I put a hand to my mouth as I turned away from the scene. The copper smell of blood hit my nose suddenly, and my stomach churned. Simon looked at me and then to the mess behind me. Sirens started to wail, and Simon ushered me back into the coffee shop.

  "I've seen how things like this go. The stranger i
n town is always the first one they interrogate and lock up."

  Someone stood in our way. I looked up to find that the coffee shop had faded back into its old exterior. It wasn't safe for us to enter. The man crossed his arms.

  "I have witnesses that say you were one of the first on the scene."

  I studied the tall man in front of us. His bald head caught the sunlight, reminding me of Mr. Clean. His muscular arms were crossed, forcing them to bulge against his shirt. What I didn't see was any sort of badge that declared him as law enforcement.

  "We were out for a walk, and we weren't the only ones." I crossed my own arms and tried to stare him down. "What's it to you?"

  Simon put a hand on my shoulder. "Abby." There was a small warning in his voice that I didn't really understand.

  "It's my concern because I think you caused this." He motioned behind me. "Every damn one of them."

  I snorted. "Really? Because I only learned about the other ones a few days ago. Who are you?"

  He flashed his badge at me, and I felt myself relax a little bit as I saw the PIB badge staring back at me. I nodded. "Shall we go talk then?"

  "Thank you for cooperating. Follow me."

  Simon walked behind me. "I thought PIB wasn't in this area, except for Ana."

  "Yeah, me too. Keep your guard up." I followed the man. "I'm sorry, I hadn't caught your name."

  "Agent Patrick Lawrence," he said easily as he led us back through an alleyway and to an office building that looked like it was going to fall down any moment. He unlocked and opened the crooked door and held it open for Simon and me. I glanced back at Simon who shrugged.

  We walked in, and I waited to feel any magic flow over me. Nothing happened. Nothing changed in my aura or threatened me. Lawrence closed the door behind us and motioned to the chairs in front of a desk. Simon and I both sat, and I looked at Lawrence as he sat behind the desk.

  "I did not kill that person."

  "Oh, I know." He leaned back in his chair. "Your reputation proceeds you, Agent Collins."

  "Not Agent right now. I'm on leave."

  He nodded. "So the paperwork says, but I could use your help, unofficially of course."