Haru was studying me. I was certain I put off the all-tired-out vibe. “Alright,” he finally said. “We’ll resume later this evening.”
I wanted to groan but thought better of it. I was grateful they were even helping me. We hadn’t even moved on to demons yet. They said I needed to master the katana first, and Tianna said my witch magic needed to be anchored—whatever that meant.
Turning, I prepared to start my trek up the hill to Brock’s when I got the nerve to ask Haru something that had been on my mind. “Do you think there’s a chance I could contact my father?” Anxiety swept through me once the question left my mouth.
Haru frowned. “I’m sorry, Evie, but that’s not possible right now.”
I wasn’t prepared for the pang of sadness that hit me. “Not even a letter?”
Reo shook his head. “We truly are sorry, but no contact can be made. For the safety of both of you. The Akuma are always watching him.”
“Well, then how did he tell you to find me?” I clenched my jaw, trying to calm myself. My whole life I’d believed my father was dead. And then I find out that not only is he a rare kitsune who passed his gift down to me, but that he’s alive—and I wasn’t allowed to see him.
Reo pointed to my blade. “He had your katana spelled. The moment you touched it for the first time, we knew it.”
Whoa. That was super smart. Gran hid the katana in the safety deposit box so I’d only receive it upon her death. Still, I wanted to speak with him. He was my father for fuck’s sake, the only other living kitsune on Earth, whether his powers worked or not.
I was about to press them further when my phone rang. Thinking it was probably Brock, I put it to my ear without even looking at who was calling.
“Hello?”
The man on the other end of the line wasn’t in the habit of bothering with hellos. “Have you been getting my emails?” Mack barked. “Get your ass down to the Eugene police department right now! They need a paranormal specialist.”
Just what I needed. My boss at the Bounty Hunter Agency breathing down my neck.
“What?” I asked. Human police sometimes pulled in Supernatural Bounty Hunters on murder cases if they needed help solving them, but it still took me a second to process his order.
Mack sighed gruffly. “You need to get better cell reception up there. I’ve been texting and emailing you. There’s a string of dead humans up there in Eugene, and I need you to find out who’s responsible.”
Shit.
“Of course. I’m heading over now.”
“Oh, and I’m sending two hunters up there to help you catch this siren. They’ll be there tomorrow. The bounty on her head has risen to fifty grand.”
My eyes bugged. Fifty grand! I’d been so immersed in my training—and trying to sneak away for alone time with Brock—that I’d pushed the siren hunt to the back burner over the past few days. Okay, I’d been lax about finding Calista, and Tianna had entranced Cass, so Molly had really been the only one looking for her. Since she was only an apprentice, it wasn’t ideal.
“Wait, Mack, who are you sending? Cass and I’ve got this. We just need a few more days.”
“I’m sending Kenzie and Jack. They’ll be there tomorrow.” Mack hung up before I could protest, leaving me with my mouth hanging open.
“What’s wrong?” Haru asked right away.
“My boss is sending my werewolf ex-boyfriend out here.” To my house. Which was on my current alpha’s land.
There was no way Baby Daddy was going to be cool with this...
This wasn’t going to end well. Not a chance.
4 Jack Ass
“Jack!” Cass screeched from his booster seat beside me in the cab of Brock’s truck.
I was driving Cass and Molly to the police station, after I’d had to tell the alpha about two hundred times that he couldn’t come with us, this was official police business. He’d made me promise I’d stop by later for my blood transfusion and that I’d spend the night afterwards. I was all too happy to oblige on both fronts, especially since Molly assured me she was totally safe with the two warriors at Gran’s cabin. The alpha’s blood had noticeably improved my health, enough so that even Sabine was happy with my progress. And I really, really, wanted to spend some time in Brock’s bed.
“Yeah. Jack. Think Brock will be okay with it?” I asked my pink-haired bestie.
Cass snorted. “No. No way in hell. He’s gonna flip.”
I growled, ignoring his negativity.
When we pulled up to the station, I spun on Molly, pushing all thoughts of Jack and Brock from my mind. “Don’t speak. Don’t touch anything. In fact, barely breathe,” I warned. She was white as a ghost, no doubt nervous for our first official mission.
After a curt nod from the purple-haired twenty-year-old, we hopped out of the truck and made our way across the parking lot.
A human in a crisp suit met us at the doorway. “Evie Black?” he said, extending his hand toward me, eyes sweeping over the badge at my hip.
Nodding, I shook his hand. “Detective Swanson, I take it. This is my partner, Cass, and our apprentice, Molly.”
Cass and I had our official badges on, and I was hoping he’d overlook Molly’s lack of one. I’d filled out all the necessary paperwork for her to receive her apprentice credentials, and after she took her state exam she’d be an official bounty hunter apprentice. Until then, I didn’t want her to miss out on this great training opportunity.
After lingering on Cass for a while, the detective scanned Molly’s hip, clearly noticing the lack of a badge. Human cops were sticklers for the rules.
“She’s a walking supernatural encyclopedia,” I told him.
He relented with obvious reluctance and ushered us inside. “I’ve got a big problem and I’m hoping you can help.” He led us farther into the precinct at a brisk pace.
After being frisked by a female cop, we were allowed into the back part of the station, where there was a conference room with blinds drawn. Upon entering, my gaze was immediately drawn to a whiteboard from which ten dead faces stared back at me. All with white eyes and no irises.
I whistled. “Geez.”
I looked back to make sure Molly hadn’t fainted, but she appeared fascinated.
A few other cops milled around inside the room. When they noticed us, they quieted and stared at us. “Supernatural bounty hunters,” Detective Swanson told the group.
The cops nodded, looking at Cass a little longer than was polite.
‘Assholes. I hate humans,’ Cass spoke through our bond.
‘Calm down. You’re unique. They just want their look.’
I moved closer to the pictures. The victims were all women and seemed to be well on in age.
“Are all the victims elderly?” What was with the white eyes? I’d never seen that before. Could be witch magic though, taking their sight so that a witch could see the future?
Detective Swanson ran a shaky hand through thinning hair. “That’s the thing. When we arrive on the scene, the bodies look elderly. But the vics’ families assure us their daughters were in their early twenties.”
I gasped.
The siren. A chill worked up my arms, confirming my hunch that she was involved.
Sirens could suck out the souls of humans, and with the help of a witch, Calista could siphon that magic to others, making them look younger. These young girls were literally being drained of their youth. I was sure of it.
“Was there any water present, or evidence of water damage at the scenes?” Molly asked.
I was about to shoot her a look to shut up, but it was a really good question. By the way the detective’s eyes sprang open, the answer was yes.
“Every scene has had some type of water involved or water trail left behind. Is this some kind of water witch?” he asked.
Cass and I shared a look, trying to contain our snickers. There was no such thing as a water witch. Humans never took the time to learn about the supernaturals they feared.
“No, sir. I think we’re dealing with a very dangerous siren who’s colluding with a witch. Not a water witch,” I amended.
I’d have to go digging through the Black family tree to see what kind of witch enemies we might have in town. Actually, that’d be a good job for Molly.
The detective looked unsure. “Siren? Like a mermaid?”
Cass fluttered his wings, flying up onto the desk. “Like a mermaid that lures you to your death and sucks out your soul before drowning you.”
The detective swallowed hard. “How do we nab her? I’ve got ten dead bodies already, and the media is going to get a hold of this soon.”
The media. Ugh. Whenever the media got hold of a supernatural serial killer, things got ten times worse for supernaturals.
“Don’t tip off the media yet. We’ll find her,” I promised.
His jaw set. “Fine. But I can only give you forty-eight hours before I’ll be forced to make this public. My boss’ll roast my ass if I keep this quiet any longer than that.”
Two days to find this bitch. As usual, the odds were against us.
‘I’ll bet the witch she’s working with killed Gran,’ Cass said.
Oh hell no. If that was true, I’d tear them both limb from limb.
“We’re going to need the case files to figure out the siren’s patterns. How she finds her victims and the such,” Molly told the detective.
‘Damn! She’s better at this part than we are,’ I said to Cass, who just chuckled.
After filling the back of Brock’s truck with ten case file boxes, we drove home in silence as we stewed over what we’d learned.
I dropped them off in front of the cabin but kept the truck running. “I gotta go to Brock’s for my transfusion.”
Molly nodded and got busy unloading the boxes. I would’ve helped, but I didn’t need Sabine or Brock on my back for lifting weight in my delicate condition. Cass tried to help her, but the boxes were nearly as big as he was and he couldn’t quite manage to wrap his stubby arms around them, especially with his belly in the way. In the end, he flew up into the cab and pushed the boxes toward her, trying to look extra strong while he did it, flexing his muscles on purpose. I bit back a smile, because Cass would kill me if he noticed I was laughing at his expense.
“We’ll start wading through all this stuff,” Molly offered, and she and Cass finally waved me off. Reo and Haru opened the door to the cabin and started carrying boxes inside.
When I reached Brock’s mansion, he was already outside waiting for me. I jumped out of the truck and grinned. “You’re stalking me with GPS, aren’t you?”
A sexy smirk lit up his face as I drew close to him. “That, and you’re pack. I can sense you.” His voice was rough as he ran a hand through my hair and tucked me into his body.
Hello, Baby Daddy. I rose onto my tip-toes and pulled his bottom lip into my mouth, just as I had that first night at the bar.