Chapter 14
FRIDAY
IN WHICH DESSA’S FRIDAY IS NOT FRIDAY-ING
Dessa hummed, bobbing along to the music vibrating through her earbuds as she typed out her activity report.
Honestly, as a whole, things were looking up.
For one, it was Friday. Secondly, they might’ve attracted the attention of someone related to the abduction case, which, despite Jamison’s minor panic attack, could be a wonderful thing.
If the kidnapper was communicating with them, then there was a chance he’d make a mistake, something that would reveal his identity.
Third, though she’d only been working with Jamison for a week, he was proving to be a fast learner, and his reaction to her gift had lifted the weight of loneliness she’d been suffocating under.
For the first time in weeks, she felt like she could breathe deep again.
All of those things combined, along with her Friday jam playlist, were almost enough to ignore Noah Kane and Rhett Carline squabbling over a game of chess next to the TV like they belonged there.
Richard floated above them, acting as a put-upon referee, which of course only completed the ridiculous picture.
To his credit, Jamison had tried to lock them out first thing in the morning, but Rhett managed to bribe Melba into letting them in with a box of croissants from the Brew.
Melba argued they’d cause more of a scene if they left them on the sidewalk, and Dessa had begrudgingly caved with the announcement that AzRIO wasn’t going to entertain them just because they were loitering in the lobby.
So now there they were, two hours later with no end in sight. Jamison’s message popped up in her office communicator.
Jamison: They gotta get bored and leave eventually, right?
Dessa Blue: They certainly don’t seem like they’re running out of steam, but I also don’t think they realize Richard is milking them for information. It’s only a matter of time before Richard spreads all their secrets down Market Street.
Jamison: Is that the real reason you’re letting them stay?
Dessa Blue: Maybe. Though, by the way Arthur’s glaring at them, I’m a little afraid he’s about to snap at any moment.
Jamison: I would love to watch that showdown.
Dessa Blue: Just as long as they don’t get blood on the carpet.
Jamison: Also, what is it with these croissants? I feel weirdly focused, but like upbeat?
Dessa Blue: It’s the Brew’s Friday special.
Quinley has a baker with a gift for wheat, and between the two of them, they put a touch of magic into everything they cook up.
She has different specialties with subtle effects like calming, energizing, mood-lifting, healing.
They’re all positive so you don’t have to worry too much, but it’s why her place is so popular.
Jamison: You know, I feel like that’s the first positive thing about this whole paranormal shtick I’ve heard so far.
Dessa chuckled and shot him a sidelong glance around her screen, one that he returned with a smirk.
Dessa Blue: Oh, c’mon, admit it. You like the excitement.
The bell tolled with one low, almost serious note, and Dessa looked up only to find the face of Xavier Kane.
The smile faded from her lips as she yanked off her headphones.
Though she’d seen pictures of the business magnate online, she was fully unprepared to meet him in person.
His gray-streaked brown hair was neatly combed, and his green eyes raked the office with a bemused expression.
Though he had to be in his seventies, he held himself like a man twenty years younger with a straight back and a strong frame that spoke of hours in a gym.
His dark suit was perfectly tailored but had a more casual cut to it, in the way of a man who wore business formal attire like a second skin, and the hulking bodyguard at his side followed as silently as a shadow.
The office fell quiet, and Dessa rose from her chair. “Mr. Kane, to what do we owe the pleasure?” The peppery scent of the Kane magic was so thick in the air now, she could barely sense anything else.
Xavier’s gaze slid to her, the quirk of his lips unchanging. “Dessa McKinney, welcome back to the neighborhood.” Her name rolled off his lips as if they’d met dozens of times, his grin easy—almost likable. But underneath, he had a tightly coiled energy about him, like a spring ready to pop.
Rhett rose from his seat with a stiff, “If you’ll excuse me,” and disappeared out the door. The speed of his retreat almost made her laugh, and she just about thanked Xavier Kane for relieving them of an overstayed guest.
“I heard my grandsons were bothering you, so I came to collect them.” He grinned as if they shared a private joke, and Dessa’s gaze darted to where Richard hid behind the TV.
The coward. Had he overheard her complaining about Noah and sent it down the grapevine?
She glanced to where Noah had taken on the expression of a scolded puppy.
Even if she didn’t like him, he didn’t deserve her badmouthing, and shame curdled in her stomach.
“Though I’m new to this paranormal business, I hear AzRIO does important work,” Xavier continued, “and I wouldn’t want my boys to get in your hair while you’re trying to keep the peace around here.”
Melba rose and sidled over, her colorful long skirt swishing around her ankles. “A man in your position probably hears a lot.” She gestured to Carly’s missing poster on the corkboard, next to their “No Bloodshed Zone” sign. “Have you heard anything about a girl named Carly Jowett?”
“Jowett? It doesn’t ring a bell.” Xavier frowned, his gaze shifting between Jamison and Noah, who had yet to recover from their shock. “Should I know her? Was she a friend of my grandsons or something?”
“No, no,” Dessa said. “But we’re asking everyone who comes in just in case.
Since it’s a small town and all.” She tapped her fingers on the desk in thought.
She knew she shouldn’t poke the most powerful man in fifty square miles, but there was something about his magic that was burning her nose.
“And your family has recently been involved in the case of three other missing women.”
Jamison’s head snapped to her in equal parts shock and warning.
Meanwhile Xavier only chuckled. “My dear, if you are desperate enough to accuse us, then I fear for the girl’s chances.”
“Well, I might feel better if you’d tell me about the magic that’s now settled onto your family.” Dessa crossed her arms. Even if it wasn’t related to Carly, there were too many coincidences here for this to be nothing. “Such things don’t happen without ripples.”
For a moment, Xavier only stared at her, his smile unmoving, and his silence more unnerving than if he had bit back.
Finally, he tutted. “Here I was hoping to make a good first impression. But alas. Noah, Jamison, you’ve played in this sandbox long enough, and Ms. McKinney obviously needs to get back to her work. ”
Dessa’s stomach fell at the command. Was Jamison really his grandfather’s pawn after all? Had Rhett been right? If so, she seriously needed to have her character judgment recalibrated.
Noah rose with a rueful smile. “Well, it was fun while it lasted.” He gave Dessa and Melba a sardonic salute. “Until next time, ladies, I’m sure I’ll run into you all again. C’mon, Jase.”
But Jamison only sat farther back in his chair, stacking his heels on his desk. “Nah, I think I’ll stay.”
Noah stopped dead, his face paling as he looked at their grandfather.
Xavier’s brow furrowed like the disobedience didn’t compute. “I’m sorry, I’m sure I misheard you.”
“And I’m sure you know I work here now.” Jamison shrugged as easily as if this were just some nobody stranger asking him to give up his seat. “So I guess you’ll just have to lean on Noah.”
Dessa wasn’t sure if she was delighted or terrified at the public defiance that oozed out of Jamison’s pores. Tactful didn’t even live in the same zip code as the indifferent expression on his face.
Xavier let out a low sigh, his tone tight with annoyance. “How did I end up with the two most disappointing grandsons the world has to offer? I told your parents their coddling would only turn you into a ne’er-do-well.” He tsked. “Lucky for you, I can be patient.”
“He’s not a ne’er-do-well-whatever,” Dessa snapped, her anger tripping over the words. “He works hard here.”
Xavier laughed, side-eyeing his bodyguard as if he were in on the joke. “That is rather sweet, but let me tell you something, Ms. McKinney. You can work hard all you want and still get nowhere. When you have the money and resources to move mountains, slaving in an anthill is just ridiculous.”
Dessa’s cheeks burned with the insult but before she could respond, Jamison cut in.
“Yeah, thanks for the lesson and all, but we’ve got work to do in this anthill.
” He returned to his screen as if his grandfather’s words meant nothing to him.
“If you hear anything else about Carly as you’re moving mountains, be sure to let us know. ”
Melba snorted, and Richard went so pale, Dessa thought he might disappear entirely.
Noah fidgeted with the buttons of his shirt while Arthur went more still than usual, his whole body rigid as a statue behind his screen.
For a moment, Xavier’s face went blank, his expression unreadable.
If he were a Werewolf or a Vampire, he would’ve attacked his grandson for his open disrespect—bloody carpets or no.
Dessa tensed, ready to intervene as necessary.
But then Xavier’s gaze flitted from Jamison to Dessa and back again.
The smile returned to his lips, seeming out of place on his angular countenance.
“Well, isn’t that something. Is my grandson growing fond of Dessa McKinney?
This could be interesting.” He chuckled.
“Good luck, grandson, and when this”—he waved a dismissive hand at Dessa and the rest of the office—“plays itself out, I’ll be waiting for you. ”