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AIDAN ARRIVED AT THE St. Claire office shortly after ten in the morning. The city had received a light dusting of snow during the night. He stomped his shoes on the oversize mat by the door and hung his coat on a nearby wooden rack.
Selene’s call had definitely pissed Paige off, and he’d expected her to kick him out of the apartment. Instead, she’d thrown a pillow and blanket at him. She’d muttered something about being exhausted and had stomped off to bed, leaving him alone with the uncomfortable couch.
He’d spent the night drifting in and out of sleep, thinking about her and dealing with a stiffer than hell groin. He’d woken up extremely exhausted, wondering if he was ever going to catch a break with her.
He’d stopped by his house first to take a shower and change his clothes. Neither of which had helped his sore back or improved his bad mood.
At least things had been civil between them, enough for him to find out she would be at the shop most of the day. He’d have time to investigate his case without worrying about her safety. With Alex out of town and someone trying to get into her apartment, he was definitely concerned.
Cassie Gryffon, the new receptionist who’d taken over Alex’s old job, acknowledged him with a pleasant nod. “Good morning, Mister, uh...Aidan.” A bright purple braid was interwoven into the underside of her long black hair. Excessive mascara and black eye shadow enhanced her violet-blue eyes.
Not really the image for a professional investigation agency, but her performance was stellar and the clients all liked her. Even cantankerous old Harold Morris, who came by once a month to hire his uncle to remove the ghost he complained was haunting his house, liked the odd woman. During his last visit, the elderly man smiled the entire time. And Harold never smiled.
“Morning.” He’d already reminded her on a couple occasions the office was informal and not to call him Mr. St. Claire. He hadn’t extended the instruction to include his uncle and enjoyed seeing the older man’s tolerant expression whenever she addressed him with the proper title.
Drake walked out of his office and grumbled, “You’re late.” He set a file in the basket on the end of her desk. “Anything new on the McCrary case?” He walked back into his office.
Aidan followed his uncle and stopped near the door. He had no intention of explaining why he was late. He crossed his arms and leaned against the frame. “I spoke to Kayla yesterday. She said Harker had been acting strange. Thought he might have been seeing someone.”
“Any ideas who?”
“Not yet. I’m going by his house today. See if I can find anything.”
A frown emerged on Drake’s face. Before his uncle could lecture him about his last uninvited visit to the healer’s home, he held up his hand and said, “I have permission.” He pushed away from the frame. “We might have another problem. Someone tried to break into Paige’s apartment last night.”
“I assume since you’re here, she’s fine.”
Aidan nodded. “I think it might be tied to the McCrary case. Just not sure how yet.”
“Keep me posted.” Drake opened a file and started reading.
Taking his cue to leave, he headed for the lab. Cassie was standing in the doorway with her back to him. A blue haze enveloped the room. “Look, Professor,” she said, stretching out her arm and dangling a large manila envelope by its corner. “I wouldn’t care if that cloud was the newest, most expensive perfume on the market. I’m not coming in there.”
“It’s nothing. I swear.” Chance walked around the center island in the middle of the room. He gave her an exasperated snort and snatched the envelope out of her hand.
She spun around and headed down the hall, mumbling something about a crazy scientist and being turned into a damned frog.
“Problem?” Aidan asked, a smirk tugging on his lips.
“Don’t start. It’s bad enough I have to deal with...” He shook his hand at the place she’d been standing. “That woman.” He tossed the envelope on the counter. “You need something, don’t you?”
He retrieved the USB stick from his pocket. “Can I get you to download this for me?” When he’d given the device to Paige the night before, he’d neglected to mention its special function. It was programmed to copy all the folders and information on a hard drive the minute it gained access to a computer.
Chance held out his hand. “Anything specific I should be searching for?”
Yeah, something to clue me in to what’s going on with Paige. “Not sure. I’d like to see what’s in the files. Call me when you have everything downloaded. I have an errand to run.”
“Will do,” Chance said and headed toward the rear of the lab.
Maybe he’d have more luck finding clues to the healer’s death when he stopped by his house.
#
DURING THE DRIVE TO Paige’s apartment the night before, she’d realized Harker might also have a computer in his home. And maybe, if she was lucky, he’d stored the information about the demon magic on his private database.
She stood on the sidewalk in front of the healer’s house, struggling with indecision. When had breaking into someone’s home made its way onto her okay-to-do list? Since she was desperate, needed to expel the dark energies, and realized she couldn’t trust herself around Aidan, that was when. Even now she could feel the unwanted powers scratching below the surface, taunting her, reminding her she was running out of time.
After watching Aidan pick the office lock, she’d been confident she could manage unlocking the back door to Harker’s house. How hard could it be, right?
Shortly after midnight, she’d gotten out of bed and crept into the living room. She’d checked to make sure he was asleep, then she’d slipped the pick set out of his jacket pocket and into her purse. She knew he’d be upset if he found out what she’d planned to do. He’d try to stop her or insist he accompany her. Neither option worked for her. It was getting more and more difficult to hide her problem from him. Last night, after he started kissing her, she’d come close to breaking down and telling him everything.
The way he’d held her in his arms—like she was important, special, cherished—tore through her heart. Selene’s call had brought her to her senses, reminded her that no matter how much she might want him, he was something she could never have. Especially not now.
How could she tell him the same destructive magic that almost got his sister killed was coursing through her veins? Or how she feared the powers might eventually consume her, or transform her into an insane creature? He’d never said anything, but she’d glimpsed his guilt and suspected he blamed himself for her kidnapping. If he learned about her condition, she knew he’d feel responsible. She might be angry with him, but she cared about him too much to let him suffer any more hurt.
Knowing Ember could handle things for an hour on her own, she’d left the shop, using the excuse she needed to run some errands.
She’d followed Aidan’s example and parked her car a block away. Classes wouldn’t be over at the nearby grade school for another hour, so she had time before the sidewalks were overrun with any children or their parents.
With renewed determination and her decision made, she glanced up and down the street to make sure no one was watching. She hurried along the side of Harker’s house. Each step of her boots crunched in the inch-thick blanket of fresh snow the city had received during the night.
She flipped the latch on a tall wooden gate and slipped into the backyard. She walked around the corner of the house and stopped. There was a trail of footsteps stretching from the six-foot brick wall at the edge of the property to the back door. Apparently, someone had climbed over the perimeter barricade to access the yard. There was no way of telling how old the tracks were since the steady snowfall had covered them with a fine layer.
Had Aidan come to the same conclusion about the files and decided to investigate without her? Telling him to mind his own business hadn’t stopped him before. Taking his pick set wouldn’t stop him, not if he really wanted to get inside.
She stomped toward the rear entrance and tested the handle. The door was unlocked and opened easily. A knot formed in her stomach. She scanned the adjoining yards for any signs of activity. Satisfied no one was watching, she stamped the snow off her boots and slipped inside the house.
Puddles of melted snow and dirt trailed across the smooth white tiles of the kitchen floor. The path led through a doorway and into a nicely furnished living room. She walked through the room and past a large brick fireplace. When she reached the bottom of a carpeted wooden staircase she stopped. This has to be where Aidan found Harker’s body. She grimaced and tried to push the dreadful thought from her mind.
The heavy scent of amyris and sage hung in the air, the same odor she’d smelled the night before. Fear settled in her chest, and she started to leave. She’d been so consumed with her concerns about Aidan, she hadn’t considered whoever left the kitchen door unlocked might be Harker’s killer returning to the crime scene.
A noise from the adjoining room startled her. Dammit, I need to get out of here. Before she could turn around, something slammed into her back. An electric current seared along her skin with enough force to shove her forward. “Uh,” she gasped. Her foot caught on the edge of a nearby chair. She dropped to the floor, her arm and shoulder hitting first. Her left side throbbed from the impact, and a sharp pain radiated across the back of her skull.
If she didn't move, and now, she was going to end up like Harker. She groaned and rolled onto her stomach. When she tried to get on her hands and knees, her body quivered, her muscles refusing to cooperate. She heard footsteps, and a pair of black boots appeared in her peripheral vision. Please God, I don’t want to die. Her head dropped to the ground like a dead weight. She blinked, a last attempt to fight off her blurring vision as the edges of her world faded to darkness.
#
IT HAD TAKEN WHAT REMAINED of the morning and the first few hours of the afternoon, for Aidan to finish his paperwork at the office. He parked his car in front of Harker’s house and stared at the light snowfall landing in the street. He debated whether to call Paige again before heading inside.
He’d planned to stop by her shop later and was annoyed when both of the calls he’d made in the last hour had gone straight to voice mail. Ignoring the unease twisting in his gut, he tried to convince himself she wasn’t answering because she was still angry, or busy with customers.
He left the phone in his pocket and got out of the vehicle. When he reached the front door, he withdrew the metal ring Kayla had given him. The key apparently didn’t get much use, because he had to finesse the lock to get the door open. As soon as he stepped into the entryway, a door slammed somewhere else in the house.
The smell of amyris and sage swirled through the air of the small foyer. It was the same scent he’d encountered the night before—and the day he’d found Harker’s body. Were the killer and the office intruder the same person?
Cautiously, he moved across the entryway and around the corner into the living room. He froze when he noticed a pair of woman’s legs, wearing snow boots and jeans, lying on the hardwood floor. A large, cushioned chair hid the top portion of her from his view. He quickly stepped over her feet.
Holy shit, Paige.
He dropped to his knees and pressed trembling fingers to her throat. He found a pulse, and some of his tension eased. What was she doing here? She was supposed to be at the shop. Safe.
He gently rolled her onto her back and lifted her into his lap. Using his arm as a brace, he tucked her head against his shoulder and brushed the hair off her cheek. Thankfully, he didn’t see any injuries. “Paige, sweetheart, can you hear me?”
She moaned, and slowly opened her eyes. “Aidan, what are you—”
He didn’t give her a chance to finish and crushed her tightly against his chest. “I thought I’d lost you.”
“Need...air.” She wiggled in his arms.
He loosened his grip but refused to let her move. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, I think.” She pressed her hand to the back of her head. “Son of a bitch really hurts.” When she lowered her hand, a thin layer of red powder coated her glove.
Within seconds, the residue transformed into a fine mist, then evaporated into the air. If he had to guess, her attacker had used some kind of stunning spell. Thank God he’d arrive when he had. He hated to think what her assailant had planned to do to her before he’d interrupted them.
“You could have gotten yourself killed.” He scowled. “What the hell are you doing here?”
She tried to move away. “It’s none of your business.”
His tightened his grip and kept her in place. “Don’t tell me it’s none of my business.”
When she pursed her lips and wouldn’t speak, he scooted her off his lap, stood, and pulled her to her feet. “Fine. Let’s go.” She might not want to talk to him, but he knew someone she wouldn’t dare refuse. He grabbed her hand and tugged her toward the front door.
“Where are we going?” There was a slight quiver in her voice.
“To see Drake.”
#
TENSION FILLED THE spacious lab at the St. Claire office. Paige could feel Aidan’s angry glare drilling into her and avoided meeting his gaze. He’d kept his distance and hadn’t spoken directly to her since they’d entered the building.
He’d been upset with her when she wouldn’t answer any of his questions and insisted he wanted Chance and his uncle to examine her. More like interrogate her, but she chose not to point his obvious intentions out to him.
Drake sat on the stool next to her. “It was possibly a stunning spell, but I’ll have Chance run more tests to make sure.”
She rubbed the sore spot on the back of her head. “It sure felt like they did more than stun me.” It was what the person planned to do to her afterward she’d been more worried about.
“I don’t think whoever cast the enchantment meant to kill you, at least not initially.”
She was lucky to be alive. She hadn’t missed the unspoken meaning in the older man’s words. Paige risked a glance at Aidan. If the infuriated glare he shot in her direction were any indication, he hadn’t missed the insinuation either.
“You didn’t see who did it?” Drake asked.
“No. Everything was too blurry. All I remember seeing was a pair of boots, then everything went dark.”
Drake glanced at the other two men. “Can you two give me a few minutes alone with Paige?”
“Sure,” Chance said.
Aidan scowled at his uncle, then reluctantly followed his coworker out of the room.
As soon as the door closed behind them, Drake shifted his full attention to her. “You haven’t told him, have you?”
She knew without asking he referred to her problem with the demon energies. “No.”
“How about your mother? Or Alex?”
She shook her head. She couldn’t stand to see his disappointed expression and stared at her hands clasped together in her lap.
Her father had walked out on her family around the same time Alex and Aidan lost their parents. It was one of the reasons the three of them had become such close friends. Drake had taken on the role of guardian for his niece and nephew. A role that somehow always included her.
“You went to Harker’s home hoping to find answers.”
It was a statement, not a question. The man’s uncanny ability to know things always unnerved her. When she didn’t respond, he remained silent, waiting for her to speak. His patience was one of the qualities she appreciated about him. He continually seemed to grasp more about what people were feeling then they did themselves.
She raised her head. “I know you think it’s temporary, but what if it’s not?” She hated showing any signs of weakness in front of the man she’d considered to be like a father, and blinked back the threatening tears.
“What if it is?” His soothing cadence tugged at her heart. “Don’t you think he deserves to know?”
“So he can blame himself for what happened?”
He placed his large hand over hers. “What happened to you is not his fault.” His grim features softened. “I’ve watched you two dance around each other for years. He cares about you.”
She did know which was why this was so hard. She opened her mouth to argue, but he raised his hand to stop her.
“My nephew comes off a little too laid-back sometimes, but he’s a good man.”
She couldn’t disagree with him. How many men would do what he’d done for her in the last week without being giving a reason why? The answer was none. “I know,” she said.
“Trust your heart. I think he’ll surprise you.”
