Page 64 of Infernal Hearts

Internally, my heart is racing at the fact that I may cease to exist in less than seven days. I think about everything I’ve done with my life until now, and while it hasn’t been awful, I don’t have anything meaningful to show for it.

We pull up to the station and walk inside. Not too far in, Jay points out the policeman he’s been in contact with eating at his desk.

I gently jab Jay with my elbow. “Well, that’s not fair. You said he’d be eating Twinkies. That’s a burrito. I’m disappointed.”

“Very funny.” Jay walks up to him. “Detective Rhodes, do you have a minute?”

The man wipes his mouth and scowls at Jay. “Dr. Blackwell, this is completely inappropriate. I said I’d call you. You have no business being here.”

“Lord, enough of this.” I grab his face and flash purple light into his eyes.

His body goes limp and melts under my gaze. “Hi.”

I find myself much more tolerant and patient with people when they’re like this. “What do you know about Alexander Blackwell’s disappearance?”

His head rolls to the side. “We’ve ruled out his friends and family members as suspects.”

Jay scoff behind me and firmly folds his arms. “Fuck, I could have told you that.”

“What else?” I persist.

“We believe he’s left the country. The last time his cell phone was pinged was in the Middle East.”

“Anything else?”

He adopts a dopey smile, and his voice drops to a whisper. “We’ve linked him to the occult. Strange house calls in the middle of the night, unknown ingredients in his cabinets, witchy-looking books in his office full of ‘spells’ and ‘rituals.’”

The hair on the back of my neck stiffens as I whip my head around to Jason. “And Michael didn’t tell you they found any of this?”

“N-no. But I don’t imagine he’d call me after what happened in the bar. Besides, listen to Rhodes. He thinks this is a joke.”

“No. Too close for comfort.” I turn my magic up to full power and unleash it on Rhodes. “You’ll destroy and delete any record of this investigation. You’ll forget this ever happened. If anyone contacts you about it, the words won’t even register.”

His smile grows wider, drooling a bit. “Yes, sir.”

“Good.” I shut off the glow before I storm out of the office.

Jay rushes behind me. “Are you serious? You just wiped a potential lead!”

“He wasn’t a lead. He was a buffoon playing with fire. He didn’t know anything, but he could have exposed the supernatural world. The only thing of note is that apparently the last place your dad was seen is in Abu-fucking-Dhabi.”

Jay’s jaw tenses as we get into the truck. “I get it. Your world was almost exposed. But you don’t need to be a dick about it.”

A lump forms in my throat, and I pinch the bridge of my nose. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped.”

Jason considers my words for a few seconds. “It’s fine. Just don’t do it again.”

“Heard.” God, maybe I am a dick.

A small smirk forms at the corner of his mouth. “Doesn’t make me like you any less. You’re kind of cute when you go on the warpath.”

“Very funny. But thank you.”

“Anytime.”

Shortly after he drops me off, a knocking raps at the door. I smile widely, thinking it must be Jay. Maybe he left something behind earlier. At least I get to see him for a few more minutes.

But the door swings open to reveal a woman. Damn—she could have at least been a rabid pack of Girl Scouts selling diabetes in a box. At least that would have been semi-useful.

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