Page 86 of The Rogue's Curse

Diana shook her head.

“I need you to tell me the truth,” Paris said, staring at her evenly. “Is one of Shea’s people here? I can protect you, but I need to know if I’m about to get my head shot off.”

She shook her head again. “I swear. Just us,” she said quietly.

“Are you expecting anyone to come by tonight?” Jonas asked.

“No one,” she said. “One of our church friends brought dinner over, but I’m not expecting anyone else.”

“One of his guys came last night,” Blake blurted.

“Blake!” Diana scolded.

“Can we sit?” Jonas said, gesturing to the kitchen table.

Diana nodded, approached the chair, then glanced back at the stone counter. “Would you like something to eat or drink?”

Paris laughed and said, “Mrs. Goodwin, you are a consummate Southern woman. We showed up at your house, frightened you, and you’re still offering us dinner. I’ll pass, but thank you.”

“Well, there’s never an excuse to be rude,” she said defensively. She took a seat at the end of the table, and Paris pointedly took the farthest seat from her. Blake eyed them warily, then took the seat next to his mother. “Who are you?” she asked.

“We’re vampire hunters,” Jonas said.

That wasn’t entirely untrue, so Paris nodded in agreement.

Diana’s face scrunched up in anguish, and she said, “Please don’t let them hurt Ella.”

“Your daughter, right?” Jonas asked. He glanced at Paris and said, “The obituary.”

“She’s at college at Georgia State,” Diana said, staring at the curtains as if she could see her daughter. “They’re watching her to make sure I don’t do anything.”

“Tell us what happened,” Paris said.

“Not until I know she’s safe,” Diana said. “I tried to call the police when I first caught them at the office, and someone called me back and told me I’d keep my mouth shut if I was smart. Then I got a call from Ella, and she said she’d met someone at school who knew me and Blake. The guy said he was a friend of Mr. Shea’s, and that I’d know who that was. She thought it was just a funny coincidence, but it was obviously a threat.”

Jonas took out his phone and said, “Tell me where to find her. I’ll send someone right now.”

Diana’s eyes went wide. “Really?”

Paris put a hand on his arm. “Hold on. Once we do this, they’ll know you’re compromised. Is there anything else you can tell us?”

Diana sighed, then got up. She paced the kitchen, poured herself a glass of tea, then returned to her seat. When she finally spoke, her eyes were fixed on the glass, fingers drawing lines in the condensation. “About a month ago, Ron was attacked at the office.” She chuckled a little. “At the funeral home. Some people get uncomfortable talking about what we do, so we just call it the office. I usually worked with him until mid-afternoon doing administrative work, but I always left around five to pick up Blake from lacrosse and get dinner started. Ron didn’t come home that night, so I called my sister, and we went up to the office. Ron’s truck was still there, but the lights were off inside. We went in, and I found him…” Her expression crumpled. “I found him dead in the kitchen.They’d beaten his face so badly we had to have a closed casket. Police said it must have been a robbery, because his desk was all ransacked.”

Blake swiped at his nose, then stared resolutely out the curtained window.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Paris said gently. “Do you need a moment?”

His watch buzzed with a text.

Kristina

All clear. Going on the roof now.

Seconds later came a light thump of feet, then rapid footsteps across the upper level.

Blake and Diana both yelped. The boy launched out of his seat and stared up at the ceiling. Paris held up one hand and said, “Don’t worry. That’s a friend of ours.”

“You’re like the others,” Blake said. “You’re vampires, aren’t you?”

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