Novel Squares
Chapter 41
I stand in stunned silence staring at the house AJ and I had visited many times as teenagers, back when AJ and Alex dated. Before John came along and before Alex's accident. It wasn't something I ever talked about with Joe or my grandparents, what happened that night. Michael and I went to the prom with AJ and Alex, but Alex got too drunk and none of us were willing to drive with him, so he left alone. And then he crashed.
It's a night that weighed heavy on all of us. I always thought it was part of the reason Michael broke up with me. Now I know better, but still.
Emotion clogs my throat and my eyes pool with unshed tears as Darius and Zev each take one of my hands. They don't speak, and they don't demand anything from me. They just stand by my side, holding my pain in the silence.
After several minutes, a tear finally escapes and falls down my cheek. Darius turns to face me, using his free hand to catch the tear with the pad of his thumb.
It takes me a moment before I can speak. "H--how?"
"We'll find out," Darius swears.
I nod and release their hands, missing the contact instantly--the cold touch of the vampire and the heat of the werewolf, but I know they can't get me answers if they're tied to my side.
Crossing my arms over my chest to ward off a chill, I watch as Zev sheds his clothes and shifts into wolf form, then sniffs around the perimeter of the house. Darius dashes toward the side door with his impossible speed and is inside before I can blink.
Nothing makes sense in my world anymore, so logically I know Joe could've been evil or mixed up in some dark magic, but my gut says otherwise. Maybe Alex did recover from permanent brain damage, and maybe my ex is a unicorn and my best friend's a nymph and I'm from a line of witches. But it'll take a lot more than that to convince me Joe is anything but good. He was always so sweet, looking out for Tilly while she still lived at home, then taking care of Ed once he was alone. And then he took care of me. Even if Darius and Zev come back and tell me he was part of this ridiculous Order and he got killed for not stealing my baby when he was supposed to, I'm not ready to believe them. Some people are still good. Not everyone is tricking me with magic and lying about their past. Joe's on the right side of this, I'm certain.
Zev returns first, shifting back into human form and standing naked on Joe's front lawn. Darius arrives a moment later as Zev is getting back into his pants and shirt. I'm just hoping none of Joe's neighbors are watching us. If so, they just got an eyeful.
Now clothed, Zev steps over to me. "I'm so sorry, Bernie," he says as he pulls me into a hug.
"What happened?" I ask, hoping they'll say it was natural causes, but knowing they won't. Nothing is natural in my world anymore.
Darius answers first. "I can't say. He's seated at the dining room table, a glass of water by his hand. No blood, no sign of struggle."
Zev nods, stepping away from me but keeping his hands on my shoulders. "The smell works with our timeline. He's been dead for four days, five at the most. I will say..." He pauses mid-sentence, taking a long, full breath, then slowly breathing out. "Bernie, do you know Joe's wife?"
I shake my head. "I knew her, past tense. She died a couple years back."
Darius and Zev share a look.
"What do you smell?" the vampire asks.
"I don't know," Zev answers. "But it's not a scent that should be here. Not if Joe's wife really died two years ago. Not if he's been living alone."
"How... how the hell do you smell that?" I probably sound angrier than I am, but I take so many impossible outcomes as fact these days that I just need a little piece of logic to hold onto.
The werewolf frowns, bringing me in for another hug and whispering the answer in my ear. "The same way I smell your fear and your sorrow. And the many other things you feel."
His answer doesn't really have a science behind it, but it'll have to do for now. It also makes me a little bashful, knowing that not only can the vampire hear my thoughts but the wolf can smell my feelings. Not a lot of privacy around a group of men who make me think and feel the types of things I'd rather keep secret.
I pull out of Zev's arms and take a deep breath, trying to steady myself and think clearly. "What do we do? About Joe?"
The question brings a steady flow of tears, as the reality of his death starts to sink in. Darius steps forward, putting a hand on my shoulder and softly running it down to my elbow.
"Anything we do will only bring attention to us, and there's already too many watching."
"But we can't just leave him there. I'll call the police, or an ambulance..."Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.
I start to pull my phone from my pocket, but Darius stops me. "Make that call, but not while we're here. We need to be back with Rain. I'm more convinced of that now than ever."
My phone is in my hand, and I have half a mind to ignore Darius even though he's probably right. Joe just deserves so much better. He's a stone's throw away, lying dead at his table, and I'm just going to leave?
I nod, acquiescing to the vampire's point. As I look down, I notice I have a new text message.
It's from AJ. Two minutes ago.
And it just says, Help.
.n
The instant I show the message to Darius, I'm in his arms and we're bounding through the woods of Rowley. Joe lives just a few blocks from Morgan's, and clearly this vampire thinks it will be quicker to leap over fences and barrel through snow banks than take my fancy new ride. Zev follows close behind, once again in wolf form, sprinting on all fours.
Darius comes to a stop when we get close to Morgan's, waiting two seconds for Zev to catch up. I watch the two of them make eye contact surely discussing an unspoken plan, and then Zev darts off into the shadows. Before I can ask where he's
going, which, like an idiot, I was
about to do, Darius whispers into my
mind.
We mustn't speak. Zev's going to check the perimeter to make sure we're not being lured into a trap. Then we'll follow him inside.
I think some sort of affirmation, probably just the phrase "uh-huh," and then hold my breath while I wait for Zev to lead us in. My baby's in there, and while I take the slightest bit of comfort in knowing Rune's nearby, I'm starting to think that there's a limit to the powers my Sexies possess. There, Darius mind-speaks, and I follow his gaze to the roof where the wolf now stands. Hold tightly to my neck.
I
wrap my arms around him as
firmly as I can and a rush of wind hits my face as Darius takes three huge steps, and then leaps into the sky. I guess he's jumping, but I feel like springing from the ground to the top of a two-story building is more like flying. And just as impressive as him going airborne is the silence with which he lands. Dude is high level stealth mode.
Zev gestures us forward, leading us toward the roof above the bathroom. As he nears the edge, he shifts back from a wolf to a naked human. The cold doesn't seem to bother him. It also doesn't affect him in the ways it might affect other men, I can't help but notice. "The baby is in the bedroom," Zev says in a whisper, not nearly as aware as I am of his nudity. "I'm guessing she's being concealed by Rune. There are at least four bodies in the front room, though I can't hear all their movements because... well, because AJ won't stop talking. She seems very angry."
I bet she is. But whatever rage she's dishing out now, it's going to look like a soft rap on the knuckles compared to the fury I'll unleash.
"Darius, go in first," Zev continues. "Careful of any energies you feel--I'm not sure what's Rune's magic and what's not."
"I'll know," Darius says in a deathly serious tone, then he quickly vanishes over the edge of the roof.
I shiver, glad I'm not on the receiving end of him when he's angry.
Zev turns to me. "We need to get inside, but I want you to stay in the bathroom."
"Not a chance," I hiss with as much quiet rage as I can. "I need to find my baby."
"You won't be able to see her," Zev says. "I'm sure Rune took every precaution, and now you need to do the same. You're too important, Bernie. Please do as I ask." His forest green eyes, practically aglow in the moonlight, plead with me.
I give the slightest nod, knowing he's right, but not trusting myself to heed his advice. I've said before that I'll die for my child, and I don't think anyone can talk me out of that.
Zev takes me under an arm, then uses his free hand to lower us down to the window that Darius left open. I can't imagine the strength it would take to hold two adult bodies with one arm, but I suppose his strength is as magical as all the other magical shit that's taken over my life.