Chapter 4. Caitlyn #2
“—my sisters out,” Billy continued, utterly unfazed.
“Honestly. I could kill them. I’ve literally just found you, my fated mate—not that you’d notice unless I tattooed I’m your fated mate, Jake Cole!
across my forehead in glow-in-the-dark ink—and I should be here.
With you. Challenging that siren bitch”—her eyes cut to Priscilla—“for you.”
She stomped the ground. “But no. I have to go home and save my sisters from themselves. Cass has run off on some half-baked mission with a pup from another wolf pack, which will absolutely get her torn to pieces the second she crosses into their territory, and now I’m going to have to explain all of this to the Alpha.
” Billy dragged a hand down her face again.
“Jasper is going to be so mad. I hope he actually is her fated mate, otherwise Cassie is a dead wolf walking. Which is gross, by the way, because he’s my best friend—” She turned sharply to Lex.
“Sorry, Lex. Jasper’s my best friend. But you’re my bestest best friend. ”
She rounded on Jake again. “And my older sister—the one who was supposed to be the sensible one—has gone full Kathy-fucking-Bates and is hiding a whole grown-ass man in her basement”—Billy made dramatic air quotes—“nursing a fucking stranger with a broken leg and a weird dick back to health.”
She threw her hands up. “So now I’ve got to go home, convince the Alpha not to tear Cassie a new one when he catches up to her, pray Maggie hasn’t actually tied this guy to a bed and broken his leg herself, make sure Dad doesn’t find out about him or the wolf pup, and somehow not lose my shit in the process.
” Her gaze snapped to Priscilla, ice-cold and razor sharp.
“All of this when what I really want is to sink my claws into that bitch’s throat”—her attention slid back to Jake, voice dropping to a dangerous growl—“so you might finally realize I’m your mate, you emotionally oblivious dick bag. ”
And then, like nothing had happened, she turned back to Lex, her tone instantly sweet. “If I survive all that, then I’ll let you know if I can look after the house for you.”
Lex blinked, frowning. “Do you have to go right away?”
Billy was already pulling up the Uber app. “Yeah.” Her phone pinged. “Taxi is only thirty minutes away, so I should head back and get my stuff.”
“Want me to walk you there?” Lex offered.
“No, honestly, you go be with your family,” Billy said.
“I could walk you?” Jake chimed in eagerly, resulting in Priscilla smacking him over the head with an annoyed huff.
Billy growled a low warning, just as a flicker of residual magic licked up Lex’s arms, sparking across her skin.
Priscilla, as usual, was too self-involved to notice. “Seriously, Jake? You’re just going to leave me to deal with your family on my own?”
“I’ll be fine on my own,” Billy said through clenched teeth.
She turned to Lex and crushed her in a bone-melting hug. I got the one-armed version. Lochran received a casual fist bump and a grin. Jake leaned in for a hug and was rewarded with an awkward handshake instead. Priscilla, still scowling, earned a raised middle finger.
Without another word, Billy turned and headed down the path, only the barest flick of her gaze tossed over her shoulder.
I gave Lochran a nod and Lex a reassuring smile. “I’ll pop by in the morning with all the cabin details.”
Then I turned and walked away, one hand slipping into my pocket as my phone buzzed with a message from Blaise.
K
I grimaced.
Gods, I really hoped he was more talkative in person, because being stranded in the middle of backass nowhere with a security guard who communicated exclusively in letters of the alphabet was going to be its own special kind of hell.
***
Creep was waiting for me when I got home.
She’d taken up her usual post—perched primly on the couch with her back to me, like she’d been sitting there for hours plotting my demise. Every inch of her radiated barely suppressed homicidal energy.
She was not pleased.
I’d been promising her a break all week. A semi-vacation. Haunted tea parties, spooky scavenger hunts, maybe even a séance or two if she behaved. And then I’d postponed. And postponed again.
Despite her face being frozen in that everlasting porcelain smile, I was about ninety percent sure that if I delayed one more day, I’d wake up missing at least a few toes.
“Evening, Creep,” I said.
Creep responded with a slow, Exorcist-style head swivel. The lights flickered overhead, and the dusty picture frames lining the walls rattled like they were about to fall off.
“The trial’s over,” I said carefully. “And I one hundred percent promise we’ll be on our way first thing in the morning.”
Her head rotated back toward the fireplace as if she didn’t believe a single word.
I eased myself onto the armchair beside her, perching on the armrest like someone sitting next to a live grenade. “In fact,” I added lightly, “I’m about to start packing the car with the essentials.”
By essentials, I meant everything I’d need to make candy in the event she decided not to come with me.
I hesitated. Then continued, “And... I have a surprise for you.”
Creep’s head snapped back toward me.
Right. Time to rip off the band-aid and tell her we won’t be alone on this trip.
“I may have forgotten to mention we’ll be joined by someone,” I said.
Creep’s head tilted a fraction—just enough to make every hair on the back of my neck stand to attention.
“Someone who’ll be... accompanying us,” I added. “To protect you.”
The fireplace erupted.
Flames whooshed out of the hearth as if someone had dumped gasoline straight onto the logs, and I went flying backward off the armrest, landing on the floor with an undignified yelp.
“Did I say protect?” I squeaked, frantically patting my eyebrows to make sure they were still there. “I meant play.”
The fire retreated instantly. Fabric rustled, then her glassy gaze appeared over the armrest, peering down at me in silent, murderous judgment.
“Right, so...” I scrambled to my feet. “I thought it might be fun to have someone around. You know—someone you can play with while I’m stuck working on candy.
” I let out my most dramatic sigh. “Because, unfortunately, I can’t spend every waking moment making friendship bracelets out of human teeth with you. ”
She tilted her head the other way, thoroughly unconvinced.
“And the guy I’ve hired—his name’s Blaise—is really, uh... into crafts. And séances. And... dress-up.” I grimaced.
Hades help me, I was going to owe this man so many explanations.
Maybe I could bribe him. Cash? Candy? A danger-pay bonus for every haunted tea party attended?
An image bloomed in my mind: Blaise—big and broody in his tactical gear—cross-legged on a lace-covered pillow while Creep poured him pretend tea and offered him a plate of rat tails to snack on. Actual rat tails. I still had no idea where she kept them, and I’d officially given up the search.
“So,” I said carefully, “what do you say, Creep?”
Her glossy eyes held mine for a long, terrible moment.
Then she pumped a tiny fist in the air and launched herself off the couch in a flurry of velvet and curls, pitter-pattering up the stairs to plan her murder-themed sleepover.
I exhaled a shaky breath and hauled myself to my feet. “Great,” I muttered. “That’s definitely not going to backfire.”
As I headed for my pantry to pack, I pulled out my phone and opened my messages.
First, deciding that I wouldn’t have time to see Lex in the morning, I texted her with the directions to the cabin for her trip with Lochran and asked her to say hi to BooDini for me when she got there.
It might have been almost a decade, but I was certain BooDini would be thrilled to see her.
Then I opened my conversation with Blaise and began to type.
Oh... forgot to mention. The house is... mildly possessed. You might need to humor her with a few spooky activities. Happy to pay a bonus if you do. See you tomorrow!
I was wrestling my tent and sleeping bags into the already overstuffed trunk an hour later when my phone buzzed.
K
I stared at the screen, resisting the urge to hurl my phone into the trunk too.
Gods help me. Between a murder doll and a security guard who communicated in single syllables, this trip was going to be a disaster.