Page 42 of Incubus with Benefits
“Could be. Then we avoid active spells until we figure this out,” I said, already calculating the risks.
She nodded, then frowned. “I guess the spell Gigi, Penny, and I cast to hide me didn’t work because they already knew where I lived.”
“Or someone or something followed you back.”
“I stopped off at the library in between. And was there for at least a good hour. They didn’t attack me there.”
That had me stumped. My mood darkened even more at the reminder of what she’d gone through today. I reached over and took her hand, squeezing gently. “We’ll get to the bottom of this.”
After dinner, we moved to the couch. I pulled up Delerium’s security footage, focusing on the nights the two women had gone missing.
Lily sat between my legs as I scrolled through the video from the camera pointed at the bar. At about five minutes past eleven, Marissa sidled up into the frame.
I paused the video and leaned in. “There.”
My little witch squinted at the screen. The resolution was grainy, but clear enough. A gold bracelet jangled from Marissa’s wrist as she ordered a drink.
“That’s the bracelet. No doubt about it.” She shook her head. “So does that mean the researcher has to be involved?”
“Why the hell would the bracelet be there otherwise?” I recalled my own bit of detective work. “Listen, Vixen, I don’t want you anywhere near Nathan.”
“Nathan? You mean your security guy?”
“I went through the security feed again from the nights you were here. There was no way he could’ve missed all the camera glitches when the guy in black showed up. So I followed him. On the second day, he left his job at the jewelry store early and met with the EA researcher. But they shook me before I got anythinguseful. The guy might not be a wizard, but he has access to some strong magic.”
“Did they know you were there?”
“I don’t think so. I wasn’t the only one who followed him. I’m pretty sure Marissa’s family has some private investigator tailing him too. In this case, I think he hid my presence. He wasn’t disguised very well. It was kind of obvious.”
“If Nathan is involved, then no wonder the cops think Delerium is part of it. Because it is, and it’s going to put a mark on you too.” She worried at her lower lip, and her aura darkened. “I know you’re not involved, but—”
I pulled her back to lean against my chest, wishing to soothe her with my presence. She was worried about me. My little witch was next on the list, and she was worried aboutme.
“You’re thinking too much,” I said. “We don’t have enough proof yet of anything. And neither do the cops.”
Shadow interrupted us, pawing my front door.
“I think she wants to go out. She hasn’t used the makeshift kitty litter box I made her.”
Lily was frowning, so I gestured to the cardboard box her cameras had come in and the torn-up newsprint inside it.
“Oh! I hadn’t even noticed. But she’s probably never used a litter box before.” Lily stood and headed toward the door but I stopped her.
“She can use the rooftop. Plenty of empty flower boxes for her there.”
“You have a rooftop patio?”
“I do. The original plan was to extend the club up there, but that never happened. I tried to make it into a garden, but that failed too. I kept forgetting about it.” I approached the curtains and pulled them open to expose the balcony door I rarely used. “There’s another way up through the stairway. But we can also go up through the balcony.”
Lily scooped Shadow up into her arms and followed me onto the balcony and up the stairs to the roof, her eyes just as wide and curious as the cat’s. I braced myself for the look of disappointment at how neglected it was. My rooftop terrace was a tangle of forgotten flowerbeds full of weeds. But instead of wrinkling her nose, a spark lit her gray eyes. Shadow wriggled free, leaping down to explore the overgrown garden and find a place for her business.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been up here.” I went to sit on the bench I’d installed under the pergola. At least the structure was still standing.
“This place could be magical,” she said, brushing her fingers over a vine that had claimed an old planter.
“Yeah. In my head, it was supposed to be beautiful. I had all these plans for it. But I think I bit off more than I could chew, and tried to fix everything at once. Then gave up.”
She looked pensive. “Yeah, it’s a big space. I was imagining a little section of the rooftop but this is the entire building. And Delerium isn’t small.”
