Chapter 21
Niko strode into Gothic Books, his face full of tension.
“What happened?” Prim asked. “Is there an update on my case?”
He sat down in a chair across the desk from Dante and said, “Not yet. I’m still gathering evidence.”
Prim stared at him, trying to decipher what that meant.
“You can’t give us anything else?” Dante asked.
“If I do, they’ll take me off the case, and trust me, you don’t want that.
There’s pressure to wrap this up as soon as possible because the tabloids have gotten wind of the story.
If this were any town other than Befana Bay, there would be press everywhere, following Prim and the remaining actors, trying to get anything they can sell.
As it is, it’s become sort of a political nightmare within the MTF due to celebrities being involved and online calls to cut the budget.
People are questioning what we do and writing think pieces about how we aren’t necessary because there isn’t much paranormal crime. ”
“That’s insane,” Prim said. “That sounds like people who have no idea what goes on in this world.”
Niko nodded. “Yes, but you know how it goes. Once something becomes viral, suddenly people who have never given it one thought are experts on a situation. I don’t care about that at all.
What I do care about is the MTF director breathing down my neck to get this case closed ASAP so we can make all the negative publicity go away. ”
“You’re saying if anyone other than you were in charge of this case that Prim would be taking the fall,” Dante said.
“Not in so many words, but yeah. I think so.” He sucked in a deep breath and turned to Prim. “Tell me everything you heard those women say.”
She repeated what the two women had said and then added, “I heard one of them address the other as ‘Dee,’ but I didn’t hear the other one’s name.
It sounded like they didn’t cast any spells themselves, just that they were part of the casting circle.
I suspect they have information, but neither appeared to be very experienced with magic. ”
He then turned to Dante. “But they did steal two books?”
Dante nodded. “I have the footage right here.”
“Get me a copy of that. It will make a great bargaining chip.”
“I’ll have it in your email in a few minutes,” Dante said.
“Thanks.” Niko got up then turned to Prim. “Do me a favor. Stay away from your shop. Don’t talk to anyone about anything. And keep vigilant. I’ve worked a lot of cases, and there’s something about this one that’s just not adding up.”
“What do you mean?” Prim asked.
“I don’t know.” He grimaced. “I wish I did. Just don’t go anywhere by yourself and stay alert for anything that seems out of the ordinary.”
“I’ll do my best,” Prim said as she sat back in her chair, suddenly exhausted.
It had been one heck of a few days, and she just wanted to curl up in a chair at home and pretend the rest of the world didn’t exist. Unfortunately, the last time she was at home, Dante’s crazy ex had tried to burn it down.
“I’ll be in touch,” Niko said and took off again.
Prim stared at Dante, her eyes watering with fatigue, and said, “You know what sounds nice right now?”
“A nap?” he asked, looking just as beat as she felt.
She chuckled. “Yes, but I was thinking something more like taking the kayaks out or going for a hike where we could just be away from the rest of the world for a few hours.”
He gave her a sympathetic smile and said, “I’d love to, but with Mateo at the hospital, I’m here for the next few hours. And then I want to go to the hospital myself.”
“Despite Mateo’s request?” she asked.
“Yes.” He glanced away. “I know what he asked, but she’s still my mother.”
Prim reached across the desk and squeezed his hand. “No one will fault you for that.”
He nodded.
A knock sounded at the door to the office. “Sorry to interrupt.”
Prim turned to find Viv, her employee, standing in the doorway. “Hey, Viv.” Prim stood and walked out of the office to join her. “What’s going on?”
“I tried calling, but I couldn’t get through. Your voice mail is full.”
Prim pulled her phone out of her pocket and noted she had about a million missed calls. Almost all of them from the studio or McKenna. She’d ignored them all day and dreaded that confrontation. “I’m sorry. How did you find me?”
“Indigo. She said you were here today.”
No doubt Niko had mentioned it to her sister. “Right. What did you need?”
“It’s McKenna. She’s losing her mind about not being able to film at the shop. She keeps calling, and now she’s threatening to sue me personally for not letting her in.”
Prim closed her eyes for a long moment, trying to collect herself. A wave of pure exhaustion swept over her, and she had to reach for the doorframe to settle herself.
“Prim?” Viv asked, concern in her voice.
“I’m all right. It’s just a lot.” She opened her eyes and placed a reassuring hand on Viv’s arm. “Don’t worry about any lawsuit. I’ll go see McKenna right now and get this straightened out.”
“What are you going to do?” Viv’s expression was pure concern, and Prim wanted to hug her for it.
“I have no idea, but the one thing she isn’t going to do is threaten you or anyone else because the shop is temporarily unavailable. Thanks for coming and finding me.” She grimaced slightly. “I admit, I’ve been ignoring her today with everything else going on, but I’ll get it worked out.”
“Thanks, Prim,” Viv said. “I’m going to go home now. Call me when you know what’s going on with the shop.”
“I will.” Prim hugged her and then slipped back into the office. “I need to get to the inn. I’m going to call one of my sisters so you don’t have to worry about taking me. Do you want me to go with you to the hospital later?”
Dante walked over to her, gave her a kiss, and said, “After what Niko said, I definitely think it’s best if we stick together. Call me when you’re done with McKenna. We’ll work it out after that.”
“You overheard, huh?”
“Unfortunately. Don’t let her push you around. It’s not your fault the store is closed.”
“The town thinks so,” Prim said. “Looks like I’m destined to be Schlong Pox Girl for life.”
“Not in my book,” Dante said, pushing a lock of her hair out of her eyes. “And even if you are, I don’t care. That guy deserved it.”
Prim chuckled. “Okay. I’ll call you later.”
“Clear out your voice mail,” he called after her.
“I’m not letting you talk to her by yourself,” Indigo insisted.
“I’ve got this,” Prim said. “I’ll look weak if I go in there with my big sister along to protect me.”
“You’re gonna have a big sister and a little sister protecting you,” Lily added. “Besides, as pale as you are, you don’t exactly look the picture of strength, anyway.”
“That was rude,” Prim said with a scoff.
“Maybe, but it’s the truth,” Indigo said.
“Why are you doing this to me?” Prim had sent a group text to her sisters, asking if one of them could pick her up from the library and take her to the inn. Indigo had answered right away. And then when she arrived, Lily was with her.
“Because you needed a ride,” Lily said. “And now that we’re here, we can clearly see that your magic is depleted. Why didn’t you tell us you needed to recharge?”
“Because I thought I was just tired.” Prim pulled the windshield visor down and looked in the mirror.
There were circles under her eyes, and she was definitely paler than normal.
But the real tell was that her eyes were dull and had lost their spark.
She flipped the visor back up, not needing to see more.
“I had to save my house from being burned down last night. What do you expect?”
She’d already told them about the incident with Shari, and the tale had been met with disapproval that she hadn’t called anyone to help. As if she’d had time to make phone calls.
“We’re just going to make sure no one curses you while you tend to business. Think of us as your bodyguards,” Indigo said.
“Fine. Let’s go.”
The three of them walked into the inn, and before they could even get past the front doors, one of McKenna’s assistants was right there, grabbing Prim by the arm.
“Hey, get off me,” Prim said, yanking her arm away from her.
“McKenna said to escort you to her rooms if you showed up. I’m doing just that,” the tall brunette said, grabbing her again and guiding her to the elevator. There was a spark of magic that shocked Prim, making her head swim.
“Back off,” Indigo ordered, her voice full of steel. “And if you use your magic on my sister again, you’re going to find yourself laid out flat on the floor. Got it?”
The assistant glared at Indigo, but when she saw magic coil at the Easton witch’s fingertips and realized she meant business, she released Prim.
Prim took a step back and rubbed at the ache in her arm. Damn, that had hurt like a mo-fo.
The elevator dinged, and the four of them stepped inside. The assistant didn’t say a word until they got to the double doors of the suite. Then she looked at Indigo and Lily and said, “Neither of you are invited. You can wait out here.”
Lily gave the woman a sweet smile and said, “I’m sorry. I know your boss probably gave you those orders, but you’re going to have to tell her that’s not acceptable. It’s all of us or none of us.”
The doors swept open and McKenna stood there, her arms crossed over her chest, a menacing scowl on her lips. “What is this? An Easton sisters posse? You can’t go anywhere without each other?”
“We’re here as Prim’s counsel,” Indigo said. “We’ve heard there have been threats of lawsuits and fines for issues that Prim can’t control, so it’s better if she has witnesses for this conversation.”
Prim knew the real reason was because she was magically depleted, but Indigo’s explanation was as good as any.
“McKenna,” Prim said, “it’s been a rough week for all of us—”
“Rougher for some than others,” the movie executive said.
“True,” Prim agreed, seeing no reason to argue. “My sisters won’t interfere with our negotiations. Can we just come in so we can discuss the issues and decide how we’re going to move forward?”