Blood Magic by Laken Cane

Chapter Eighteen

Though my wolf would’ve preferred staying in her form all night long, I knew people would be worried. Joe, the detective, Lucy, my mother, maybe even Remy.

And when my alpha found out about this debacle, he was going to be irate.

So I didn’t give myself time to heal completely, because that would’ve taken a little too long. When I returned to my clothes, Bastien was gone. It didn’t matter. I had my cell phone.

I called Detective Moreno.

“Kait,” he growled, “where the hell are you?”

“I’m okay, Rick. I was wearing a vest. Other than a few bruises, I’m perfectly fine. But I’m going to need a ride.”

“And I’m going to need one big fucking explanation.”

“Come get me.”

“Tell me where you are.” It sounded like he was talking through gritted teeth.

I was walking back toward the city when he spotted me and pulled off the highway. When I got into the car we both just sat staring through the windshield at a night sky that was quickly heading toward daylight.

“I don’t know what happened,” he said finally. “I saw you being shot. And I saw something…”

“You saw me being carried out of there.”

He nodded “Yeah. Sort of. It’s a blur. The cop who shot you, and the two cops she came in with, they remember nothing, Kait.” Finally, he looked at me. “Why don’t they remember anything?”

Bastien had shaded them to make them forget—and the fact that he’d shaded three cops in a room as he was racing out of it with me in his arms meant that Bastien Martel was one powerful motherfucking vampire.

He’d have to be if he had his eye on being County Master.

“I don’t know,” I lied. “It was traumatic. Stressful.”

“Yeah.” He pulled out onto the highway. “Where do you want me to take you?”

“Home. Everyone will wonder where I am.”

“Why did you call me, Kait?”

“I needed a ride.”

“You know what I mean.” Then he shook his head. “Never mind.”

“Rick…”

“You won’t tell me the truth about anything that happened tonight. You’re not going to tell me the truth about this either.”

Suddenly, I was just tired. Sometimes secrets were too heavy to carry. I’d been shot, and despite what I’d told the detective, I’d not been wearing the vest. Sure, I’d healed, mostly. My wolf would always heal me if the injuries were not extreme—like if my head was sliced off or my heart was cut out. That didn’t mean I hadn’t felt the pain, or that I hadn’t sustained any damage, or that the night hadn’t been upsetting as hell for me. I could’ve been killed. I’d been shot. And that shit hurt.

Quite abruptly, surprising the detective probably more than myself, I burst into tears.

“Shit,” he said. “Shit, Kait, don’t do that.”

“I’m sorry,” I said, sobbing harder. “Just take me home. I don’t know what to say. I don’t know what to tell you. I can’t…”

“It doesn’t matter,” he said. “It’s all right. You hunt and kill demons. You see dead people. They talk to you. I’m sure there are all sorts of things you can’t tell me.”

I forced myself to stop crying and finally, I reached over to squeeze his arm. “Thank you for always being there for me.”

He only nodded.

Ten minutes later, he pulled up in front of my house. Remy’s car was there, parked right behind Joe’s truck. My car was in the driveway beside Lucy’s.

“Rick…thanks.”

“Get some rest,” he said.

But when I opened the door and started to get out of the car, he said, “I’m glad you’re okay.” Then he gave me a smile, sort of. “You killed the demon.”

I patted my pocket. “The demon has been neutralized. He won’t be able to hurt anyone again. It’s over, Detective.”

“Kait…I have a couple weeks coming up. Vacation. I have a cabin up north, and Beth wants me to take off for a while. Do some hunting, fishing, drink a lot and maybe relax a little. Get away from the demons for a while.”

“Good,” I said. “You deserve some time.”

He left me there then, and I stood watching his car until it was out of sight. I thought I might be too tired to walk into the house. I needed food and lots of it. If I knew Lucy, the table would be groaning beneath the weight of it.

She would know I was okay.

Still, when I walked into the house, she flew at me with a shriek. Ash began barking and dancing around, Joe stood with his hands on his hips glaring, and Remy sprawled in a chair and just sort of…smoldered.

Max walked into the living room from the kitchen, if the plate of cake in his hand was any indication. “Oh my God,” he said. Then, “Did he break your fingers?”

I frowned and gave Ash one last pat, then looked at my fingers. “No. Why?”

He shrugged. “That was the only reason I could think of that you wouldn’t call to let some-damn-body know you were alive.”

“I told them you were fine,” Lucy said, smiling. “And dinner is waiting.”

I pressed my fingers against my stomach. “I will eat everything.”

“So how are you healed from being shot in the fucking back half a dozen times?” Remy stood, then walked toward me, and I had to force myself not to take a step or two back.

“I’m bruised,” I told him, “but I was wearing a vest. A good one. And only one bullet actually hit me.”

But he only stared at me, grim and silent, and I knew from the look in his eyes that he knew I was lying—and that he was now suspicious of me. Lucy took my hand and pulled me from the room, and I let her, because Remy was making me nervous.

“Come and eat, everybody,” she said gaily, like we were having a party and not one thing was amiss. “I told you she was fine. Maybe next time you’ll listen to me.”

“Two…psychics in one room,” Remy said, pasting his fake smile back on his face. “That’s two too many for me. I will see you soon, Kait Silver.”

“Goodnight, Remy,” I murmured, and I was relieved when he walked out. I might have gotten to know him a little better during my time with him, but he was still the boogeyman, and I was still a wolf.

If he discovered what I was, would he come after me the way he’d gone after all the wolves and other nonhumans before me?

Yes. I absolutely believed he would.

“I need to change clothes and clean up a little,” I said. “You all start without me. I’ll be back in ten minutes.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Joe asked, but his voice was clipped, and his eyes were angry, and he wouldn’t meet my stare.

He hadn’t stopped glowering since I’d returned, and I knew it was because he’d been so worried—and that he felt he’d failed in his job to guard my back.

“I’m fine, Joe.” As I walked past him on my way to my bedroom, I stopped to squeeze his arm. “I have good people around me, and I can’t tell you guys how much that means to me.” I smiled at them, then left the room. I hoped I wouldn’t end up getting them all killed.

It was only when I was in my bedroom, ridding myself of my dirty clothes, that I discovered something truly alarming.

The spirit jar with the demon inside was missing.

Someone had stolen the fucking demon.