CHAPTER 16 #3
“I managed to cast a short-duration preservation spell on him,” I told her. “But I only had enough ingredients for twenty-four hours. And those are hard to come by. So, it’d be best if we could, ya know, deal with him soon.”
“Before he ripens, you mean?” she quipped then coughed awkwardly. “Sorry, too soon.”
I shrugged. “Essentially. So, you think we can get him to the morgue without anyone noticing?”
She gave me a blank look, shoving her hands on her hips. “I helped you smuggle that he-man,” she gestured to Cam, “out of my morgue. What makes you think I can’t get a body in?”
I snickered, sidling closer to my he-man. Cam wrapped his arm around my waist, holding me protectively close as he glared at the body bag.
“I’m not doing any heavy lifting this time, though.” Alice added as an afterthought.
I rolled my eyes into my skull, but that only served to remind me of my lingering headache. “Don’t worry, I’ve got some feathers around here somewhere.”
By the time we got him into the back of my car, a wave of déjà vu washed over me as I slammed the trunk shut. I huffed a laugh, shaking my head; it all started with a body in my trunk and was ending with a body in my trunk. How cryptic.
“Let’s not make this a common occurrence,” Alice told me as she rubbed the chill out of her hands.
My gaze softened as I turned to Cam, who I found watching me.
“Don’t worry,” I said with a grin. “I’ve got all I need right here.”
She snorted, “How sappy. Well, I'll meet you two lovebirds there, yeah? The morgue is closed for the holiday, even Miles won’t be there.”
“Who’s... Oh, that security guard?”
“Yeah, but I’m going to stop home first. Meet me by the side door we took Cam through last time. No cameras.”
I nodded and gave her a tight hug. “Thank you, Ali Cat.”
She leaned back and kissed my cheek. “Thank you for telling me.” I knew what she was referring to, how I told her of my past. It was a big step, opening up to her like that.
One of many steps I would be taking to get better at this getting closer to people thing.
“And thank you for including me in your shenanigans,” she added with a sly grin.
“You two certainly keep life very interesting.”
Before hopping into her car, Alice pulled Cam into a hug as well. His beefy arms wrapped around her petite frame, and he chuckled as she whispered something to him that I couldn’t hear.
With that, she was off and Cam and I were left standing in my driveway. I grabbed his hand and guided Cam back up my porch and inside to escape the snow flurry that was rapidly growing.
Once we’d sat on the sofa, I’d curled my legs up under me, leaning heavily into Cam’s side. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders, pulling my head to rest beneath his chin as he combed his fingers through my hair.
We had already dealt with the mess, which thankfully had been manageable. We'd rolled up the blood-stained rug along with Ron’s jacket and backpack before I’d incinerated it with a quick spell.
I stared at the empty space on the floor, a lightened square compared to the darker walnut boards surrounding it.
“We need a new rug,” I mused.
I tried not to think too hard on what had happened and what had almost happened to me.
Along with that mysterious potion, Ron had also had several disturbing, incriminating things in that bag of his: rope, duct tape, photos of me and some of Cam going about our business proving just how long he’d been stalking me… And, most disturbingly, a gun.
My magic had destroyed it all, but a shiver still ran down my spine at the thought. I could only hope that he hadn’t told anyone of his plans, and no one would come looking for him.
Damn, I was becoming a veritable criminal at this rate. Look out world, dark mage and accomplice to murder Vic Grimsley is on the lam, what mayhem will he cause next?
Cam hugged me closer, pressing a lingering kiss to my forehead.
“Wicked Wares?” he asked, and I felt him smile against my skin. “They had a nice selection when we were there- Oof!” I elbowed him in his stomach and his chuckle rumbled through me.
“You want another cursed handcuff scenario?” I warned. “But with a rug that trips us every time we step on it?”
His grin turned heated and practically feral. “Don’t threaten me with a good time.”
I flicked his nose playfully but nuzzled my face into his neck.
“There is something I’m worried about though,” I told Cam, lazily kissing the side of his neck. “I don’t want Byron becoming a ghost, so I need to look into some exorcism spells. Or purification spells.”
Cam shuddered, whether from my lips or my words I couldn’t tell.
“That would be... very bad.”
I teased his skin between my teeth, “Understatement.”
I paused my make-out session with Cam’s neck when a thought bubbled up and I pulled back to eye him curiously.
“Before Ali left, she said something to you,” I began. “What was it?”
Cam’s lips lifted in a smile. “Well, she didn’t say I couldn’t tell you.” He leaned closer to whisper into my ear, “She asked if we’d read that book together yet.”