Page 87 of Magic and Muffins

“Shepard, Everly is listening.”

“Why did you say it like that?” I asked, narrowing my eyes on Cross. “Is there something I’m not supposed to hear?”

Shepard chuckled. “I’m just calling to let you know Hugh confirmed our interview for later today. I’m on my way back and bringing company.”

“What kind of company?” Cross asked.

“Hugh and some of his people. He has a plan.”

CHAPTEREIGHTEEN

Shepard,Hugh, and several others arrived thirty minutes later. I’d cleaned up dinner, and Vena was napping in her room, which I was grateful for when I saw who the guests were.

“Piper? Robyn? What are you doing here?” I asked.

My friends looked equally shocked to see me.

“You know each other?” Hugh asked.

“Yes,” Piper said, flashing a happy yet nervous glance at Hugh. “Everly is a friend from college.” She glanced back at me. “Where’s Vena?”

“She broke her arm a few hours ago and is sleeping off the painkillers.”

“Sleeping them off?” Shepard asked. “Doesn’t she need them?”

“She’s got a very high pain tolerance. I think they gave her something, hoping to shut her up. It didn’t work. It made her worse.”

Shepard glanced at Anchor, who was standing by the island and nodded.

“I thought you guys were in Europe,” I said. “When did you get back?”

“About that…”

Hugh cleared his throat. “I believe we should sit down to have this discussion.”

We sat at the table, with Cross and Shepard sitting on each side of me and Hugh, Piper, and Robyn across from us. Three other agents stood behind them like their shadows.

“Despite the footage Vena captured and public awareness, the NC meetings haven’t stopped,” Hugh said. “With Shepard and Curran’s rings gone and Effora missing, we’re assuming the worst—that Orphia has three of the four stones. If Vivian is telling the truth, which we believe he is, we need to stop Orphia as soon as possible.

“Piper and Robyn, our youngest vampire hunters, have volunteered to attend the next meeting. They’ve registered separately and are waiting for their meetup call.”

Vampire hunters?

I glanced at Piper and Robyn, who seemed at ease with the assignment. How had Vena and I not known what they were up to? When they’d said they were going to Europe, I’d thought it was for a fun vacation. Obviously, that’d been a lie.

Did I really know them at all?

My gaze shifted from Piper to Hugh, and I noted an eerie resemblance between them. They both had the same honey blonde hair and hazel eyes that were more green than brown. Robyn was the opposite with dark hair and eyes.

I turned to Hugh. “You were watching us to keep us safe, and Vena and I still almost got hurt. What are you going to do to keep Piper and Robyn safe?”

Hugh smiled. “They might be our youngest hunters, but they’re well trained. I promise you, they’re more equipped to infiltrate these meetings than you or Vena were. We pulled them from the field just for this.”

“The field?” I echoed.

Robyn smiled. “There’s a lot we can’t tell you, but trust us when we say we know what we’re doing.”

“Orphia and her people will likely take more precautions after last night and Vivian’s video this morning,” Shepard said. “Are you sure the meetings will continue?”

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