Something Wicked (Here Witchy Witchy Book 11) Read online

  “I thought your father gave you the order to guard me.”

  “But it came from higher up. We’ll see how it plays out.”

  “You don’t have to worry about me right now. There are a lot of other things you’ll need to handle. Liz pulled me off the case as PIB, but she wants me to work it as one of Levi’s people.”

  He looked at me. “Doesn’t it have to be vampire-related to do that?”

  “Technically it is, I am the princess of vampires after all.” I offered him a smile, and he gave me a very small one back.

  “I need to go to my sister. I will call you when I know anything else.”

  I nodded. “Of course, please let me know if I can do anything.”

  “You can catch the bastard.” He said before disappearing out of his chair, taking his coffee with him.

  I sat there with mine and contemplated how the hell this was going to go down. It wasn’t even noon yet, and I’d almost been arrested for murder, I was on top of the list for suspects, and my roommate was now the high priest of a cult that killed my parents.

  This was not how Fridays were supposed to go.

  This was not how any of this was supposed to go.

  I drank my coffee and closed my eyes. There was nothing I could do from here. I had to sit and wait, and I sucked at sitting and waiting. I wanted to be the one on the field. This seemed to happen more and more often to me.

  Eventually they were just going to pull me off the field and into something else, like desk work. Fuck no.

  #

  A few hours later, I found Liz at my door. I disarmed the alarm and opened it. She jerked her thumb to Nick sitting outside the circle up the driveway of the house.

  “He can’t come in?”

  “He says it’s because of Merick. I don’t know if that means his beef is with Merick or if his beef is with me, but it’s Merick’s magic.” I shrugged.

  “Did you know that O’Donald refuses to go into your office still?”

  I nodded. “Yep, which is why I don’t trust him. The spell on that doll is very basic. I didn’t want it keeping out a ton of people, but I wanted to protect myself in the office.”

  “You’re on leave right now until we can clear you with an alibi. Then I arranged for you to work at the academy.”

  “Doing what?” I tried not to raise my voice. “I don’t really want to work at the Academy.”

  “Working through some cold cases, research on anything new that has come up in them. Just trust me on this okay, Abby? It was the best I could do keep your access to the PIB database.”

  “Okay, that’s fair. I’m really getting tired of visiting the Academy, though.”

  She laughed. “Just don’t blow anything up. If they let you bring the files home, you should be able to do most of the work from here.”

  That would save me from driving back and forth for sure. “Okay. Do you have a time of death?”

  “Not yet. Jason’s still working on that. I want to know when the last time you saw Seth was.”

  I had to think about it. “Honestly, it’s been a while. I don’t make a habit of seeing him, and he typically communicates through Merick. I think last time I saw him in person was when he gave me the sketch of Samuel saying that Samuel had given the order to kill my parents.”

  “That doesn’t make you look any less innocent in this.” She rubbed her eyes. “Abigail, weren’t you warned not to get too involved with the Cult?”

  “Weren’t you also investigating my parent’s murder?” I shot back. “I was using things to my advantage. I was getting to the bottom of it, and now my only source of information is dead.”

  She nodded. “And Merick?”

  “He went to see his sister about it. He got a package with photos and a note that said the same thing the poster board did.” I grabbed another mug of coffee and went to make her one. “Even if I didn’t kill him, it’s possible I caused his death.”

  “We don’t know that yet, Abby. It could be someone that’s just out for revenge.” She took her mug from me and we went into the living room.

  When I first moved in, the furniture had been 1980s style and I replaced it once I knew I was going to stay here. Until an imploded house had forced me to move, the house had sat empty since my parents’ murder. Once I realized that it was okay to move back in and knew memories or ghosts wouldn’t haunt me, I made it my forever home.

  Liz and I sat on the couch and she sighed. “Okay, so rough estimate, where were you last night?”

  I tried not to blush at the question, because I had spent the entire night wrapped in Simon’s arms doing much more than just snuggling. “I was on pack lands last night. There’s four werewolves that can vouch for me during dinner, but um, after dinner, just one.”

  She smiled, and it turned more into a smirk. “Okay, they would have known if you left.”

  I nodded and hid behind my mug.

  “Why were you on pack lands and not here?”

  I paused and tried to consider my answer. “I was having magical anxiety or something. My magic was uneasy, so I wanted to go somewhere that I knew I could find my calm. Since I own the pack circle up there, it’s welcoming and warm. I went to seek the peace that I needed.”

  “Why were you so uneasy last night?”

  “I don’t know.”

  We both sat there and thought about that. She wrote a few notes down while I tried to pinpoint the uneasy feeling I’d had the night before.

  There was no magic that I knew of that would have gotten through the circle, and Merick didn’t seem affected by it at all.

  “You’re thinking too hard on it. Your magic has been pushed and tested a lot lately, it could have been that.”

  Her phone rang, and she snatched it up. “What’s up, Jason.”

  I waited for her to finish her phone call while I stared at my coffee. I had been pushed and tested a lot lately, but that didn’t usually cause it to go haywire, that just caused me to have nightmares.

  She put her phone down. “Time of death was about twelve hours ago.”

  “I guess it’s a good thing the wolves would know if I left the pack grounds then, huh?”

  “And that there didn’t seem to be any evidence of werewolves being involved.” She nodded. “I’m going to call Simon and Travis to verify your location.”

  It wasn’t that she didn’t trust me, it was what any good Agent did while clearing their suspect list. “Okay, then let me know what I’m going to be doing at the Academy. I don’t think Levi’s going to like that I’m there.”

  She smirked and finished her coffee. “Don’t worry about Levi, I’ve got him handled.”

  The way she said it made me want to question, but she stood before I could say anything. “I have to get down to the morgue. There’s something Jason wants me to look at.”

  “Could I come?”

  “No, Abby, you’re involved in the case. I can’t let you in on it.”

  I made a noise of disappointment before getting up to disarm the alarm and let her out. She walked back to the car and Nick, and she drove off.

  I went back to the couch with a huff and turned on the television. I could pass the day away watching junk television before Levi or Mario popped in for the evening.

  CHAPTER TWO

  The sun had barely sunk behind the mountains before there was banging on my door. “Abigail. Abigail,” Levi’s voice yelled from the other side. “Let me in.”

  I disarmed the alarm and swung the door open. “Seriously, there is no need to be banging and screaming. Hell, my neighbor probably heard you.” My closest neighbor was a mile away at least, but that didn’t matter.

  Levi shook his head and walked in with Mario following him.

  I got my height from Levi. He stood tall with blond hair and blue eyes. Most of the time, his gaze was icy and his face was a careful blank mask, but right that second there was a mix of anger and worry on his face.

  Mario, on the other hand, was olive skin
ned, black hair, Italian as they came. And I’d call his smile handsome, had he not gotten me almost killed a couple times. He crossed his arms and had an amused look on his face as Levi practically spun me around looking for some sort of imaginary damage.

  I swatted Levi away. “Levi, stop.”

  “I’m looking for blood.” He growled.

  “Mine or someone else’s? Not that it matters because you won’t find either.”

  He went to spin me around again and I finally pushed him away. “Would you stop it?”

  “We got a picture.”

  I growled. “Apparently everyone got a fucking picture.”

  They both looked at each other and then at me.

  “Let me guess, whatever the picture was there was a note that said ‘his blood is on Abigail’s hands?’” I went back to the living room and the two vampires followed me.

  Mario sat in the chair. “Yes. Levi was worried you actually killed someone in cold blood.”

  “Nope. What was the picture? Merick didn’t say what his was before he went to see his sister.” I sat on the couch and leaned back.

  Levi and Mario exchanged looks again.

  “Look, I’ve already seen the crime scene so you might as well share.” I crossed my arms.

  “It was a red circle with a bleeding man inside of it.”

  “Could be Hannah’s circle.” I pointed out, my mind still on Samuel being the one who killed Seth. “I’m willing to bet it was Seth that was inside the circle. Either way, you need to tell Liz that you got the picture and note.”

  “Why are you so calm about this?” Levi asked.

  “Because I’ve had all day to sit here and contemplate what’s going on. I saw the body drop-point this morning. Liz has already gotten an approximate time of death. I’m in the clear because I was with Simon last night.”

  “Have you heard from him during the day at all?”

  I hadn’t, and that sent a sudden wave of panic through me. I sat up and grabbed my phone, shooting him a quick text before I answered Levi. Any other day I wouldn’t have thought twice about it, but because today was a day that started with murder, I wanted to make sure he hadn’t gotten himself in trouble. Or received a note on me being a murderer.

  “I haven’t, but it’s not that uncommon for us. We both have busy day lives.” I put the phone down. “You need to talk to Liz.”

  “And I will, after we leave here. Where is Merick?”

  “I already told you, he’s with his sister.”

  “So he left you unprotected.” Mario growled.

  “Look, I know you guys aren’t happy with having him on my guard team, but he just lost his father, so we won’t blame him for leaving right now. Both he and I have magical circles around the house, and it’ll keep most things out. There’s the spell on the house for the vampires. I haven’t left all day. You can check the security cameras.”

  Mario motioned to the room. “And it’s nighttime now, where is Simon?”

  “I don’t know. I haven’t heard from him today, remember? Maybe on his way down? I typically stay at work until after dark because I’m working on things.”

  “This whole situation has Samuel written all over it,” Levi grumbled.

  I glared at him. “If you dare suggest I go to the mansion and then kidnap my ass again, I’m going to scream.”

  He shook his head. “I haven’t heard from my maker since your birthday party.”

  It hadn’t been much of a party. I’d been drugged, Samuel had fed from me, and I was in a room full of vampires.

  “Either way, I was thinking the same thing. He has Hannah to do his magic. I’ve never seen her cast a circle, but because of the spells I’ve seen her perform, I can assume that it’s red.”

  “Call Simon, get him here as soon as he can. I don’t want you without a guard. Mario and I will meet with the council and come up with a plan.”

  I snorted. “Call Liz. It sounds like she has a plan already, but she needs to pass it by you first.” I wasn’t even going to mention me working on stuff for the academy right now. Liz said she’d handle it, so I’d let her.

  He nodded. “Is she at the office?”

  “I assume so, either that or the crime scene.” I shrugged. “Like I said, I’ve been here all day so I really have no idea.”

  My phone buzzed, and I snatched it up to see a text from Simon. “On my way to you, like usual.”

  I let out a sigh of relief. “Simon’s on his way.”

  “Good, Mario will stay with you until Simon gets here and then he’ll join me with Liz and see where we go from there.”

  “Okay. I’m going to order dinner and watch television.” My phone buzzed again, and I looked at it. “Never mind, Simon is bringing Chinese food, so I’m just going to sit here and watch television.” I shrugged. “Mario likes game shows, he’ll be entertained.”

  Mario rolled his eyes. He’d watched a game show once with me, a trivia show, and every time a history question came on, he ranted about how wrong it was. It had been entertaining for me, but in the end, we ended up turning it off.

  Levi nodded. “Then I’ll take my leave.” He disarmed the alarm and left.

  Mario sat there. “Hannah isn’t one for killing by magic.”

  “I don’t know if magic killed him or not. What I do know is that Seth signed the death warrant on my mother and Tobias, and he’d recently told me that Samuel had given him the order. Now he’s dead. Ira knew that Seth was feeding me information, so I have no doubt that Samuel knows that as well.”

  “That’s it then? Case closed?” Mario asked, and I swore there was a hint of anger in his voice.

  “No, that’s a theory, not a verdict. Liz will go through all the motions of finding the evidence and forming the conclusion. She’ll find suspects, clear them, find more suspects. It’s a process, and you know this.” I looked at him. “Why do you sound angry about me thinking it’s Hannah?”

  “I’m not angry. I just don’t want your quick snap judgment to cause you to go after her and get yourself killed.”

  I snorted. “Don’t worry, I’m not on the case. Besides, I don’t need PIB to give me the motivation to go after Hannah. If I ever see her again, I’m going to kill her. Simple as that.”

  Mario let out an exasperated noise.

  I grabbed the remote. “You and Levi act like I’m held to the same rules as you. I’m not. I have no maker. I’m a witch, not a vampire. Samuel and Hannah cannot control me like they control Levi and you.”

  “You are the princess of vampires, they hold you to the same rules. You are Levi’s daughter, and Samuel could control you.”

  “Mm, yes. There’s that theory, because technically I’m of his bloodline. No one really knows how that works.” I shrugged. “The thing is, if Samuel comes after me, I’m not going to worry about politics. I would have defended myself against him last time if I hadn’t been drugged.”

  Mario chuckled. “That would have been an entertaining birthday party.”

  It probably would have ended much differently, too. I tried not to think about it and turned to the trivia show.

  Mario grumbled. “Can’t we turn on a movie or something?”

  “No, I enjoy watching this. It’s normal and calm, and I don’t really have to think when I’m watching it.” I went to drink my coffee and found it empty.

  “What do you mean, you don’t have to think? They have everything wrong on these shows.”

  I went to get up to refill it, but Mario went to grab it. “No, I’ll do it.” I pulled the mug out of his reach.

  “It’s just me getting you coffee, Abigail.”

  “And I want to point out last time I let someone else get me drinks I was drugged. I’m not taking chances that Hannah is ordering you around.”

  Mario looked like I had slapped him. “Paranoid much?”

  “Don’t even get me started. I think I’m justified in my paranoia.”

  He looked hurt, and I sighed. “I’m sorry, Ma
rio. I’m just tired of worrying about if Hannah is pulling your strings, or Samuel pulling Levi’s.” I went to the kitchen, still feeling a little bad about throwing Hannah in his face. I paused as my body started shaking and the world tilted to one side. I closed my eyes, trying to steady myself with a deep breath, but even with my eyes closed, the world still tilted and my body felt weak.

  “Abby?” Mario asked, and I shook my head.

  “I’m fine.”

  “You’re pale.”

  “I’m fine,” I said again. Ever since Oliver and Merick had used the cleansing spell on me, after the crazy blood witch tried to kill me, fits like that would come over me every now and then. Liz knew, but she didn’t push. Simon knew, but he swore to keep it a secret because I was working on it with Oliver. It was like my magic disappeared for a moment and then came back, and as a witch, my magic was my life force.

  The feeling passed, and I went back to making coffee.

  “What was that all about?”

  “Don’t push it, please Mario. It’s nothing. I’m fine.” I went through the motions of making coffee.

  Mario made a noise, and I knew a lecture was about to come. Until the alarm system unarmed and Simon walked in.

  He walked straight into the kitchen and wrapped his arms around me. “Mm late night coffee? Must be a rough day.” He kissed my cheek and then turned to Mario. “How’s it going?”

  “I was just about to talk to Abigail about how if we ask her a question, she needs to answer honestly.”

  “And I was just about to tell Mario that it’s time for him to go home, because you’re here.” I kissed Simon. “Do you want a cup of coffee?”

  He wrinkled his nose. “It doesn’t go well with Chinese food.”

  Mario was about to say something again, but he threw his hands up and left the room.

  Simon turned me toward him. “You had one of your little spells, didn’t you? In front of Mario?”

  I nodded. “It’s the only one that’s happened today. Actually, I think it’s the only one that’s happened this week. The meditations and magic work Oliver is having me do seem to help.”