Read Online A Witch's Fury by Kim Schubert - Free Book Online Page B

had
things to do.
    “I got nothing, boss,” Becky informed me
through the cell phone clamped tightly to my ear. I hated when she
called me that. I had flashbacks of that horrible strip club I had
been forced to infiltrate.
    “Dammit,” I hissed, listening to her chomp
her gum.
    “You do the boys dirty?” she asked
eagerly.
    I stifled a laugh, looking around at the dust
on the floor.
    “You would have been proud.”
    She sighed, “I always miss the good
ones.”
    “Next time I’ll show more restraint,” I
promised. I felt better having mutilated the two vampires but
Jerry’s words still stung in my raw wounds.
    “I’ll try Mal.” Not that she wanted to hear
from me. “Thanks, Becky. “
    “Anytime, boss.”
    I cleaned up my mess, my mind occupied as I
completed the menial task before heading down to the kitchen. There
I washed my hands under the cold water and dried them on the paper
towels.
    Satisfied that my mess was cleaned up, I set
the alarm and locked the doors before stomping down the faded white
steps and into my SUV.
    I texted Mal my request and fiddled with the
radio while I waited for her to respond.
    I needed her to run the names that the now
deceased informants had given me. I had spent the night toying
around with boys and though it would be bedtime for Mal, I was
hoping to catch her before she turned in.
    Fine, hurry up, she responded to my text.
    I smiled, pocketing my phone and heading
out.
    …
    A grumpy Mal met me at the front door.
Apparently, I caused too many problems on my own. Silently, we made
our way to their computer lab.
    “What do you have on Patricia Bellarosa?” I
asked, sitting in a chair next to her and looking over her
shoulder. It was just she and I here at this early hour.
    “What do you want with her?” she grumbled as
she typed rapidly, still annoyed that I was keeping her from her
beauty sleep.
    Tommy, my usual hacker and computer guru, was
on a group vacation to Disneyland. I missed him dearly. I did not
want to be here.
    Resting my chin in my palm, I watched the
screen pull up a beautiful woman with long ice-blond hair and a
cruel smile.
    “Wow,” Mal whistled. “Every House that took
her in exiled her. That takes talent.”
    I grunted in agreement. She was just under a
hundred years old and, from the information listed about her, as
twisted as they came. There was even a mention of her draining
babies.
    “Why hasn’t anyone put her down?” I asked,
both disgusted with the file and annoyed that the vampires hadn’t
taken care of their dirty laundry, especially after they’d come out
of the proverbial closet and announced themselves to the
humans.
    “They’ve tried, it wasn’t successful. She’s a
killer for hire now and her record is impressive.”
    “Not as impressive as mine.”
    “Is this what you need?”
    “No.” Rubbing my tired eyes, I searched the
screen again, trying to see a connection between her and Tate.
    Mal’s phone pinged at her and she sighed
heavily. “I gotta go, security issue.”
    I nodded, still staring at the screen.
    “Let yourself out and do not start
trouble.”
    I nodded absentmindedly, not hearing the door
shut behind her. What was I missing? Tate had never taken her in
and there was no mention of them being at the same Houses. Maybe
they met somewhere? The name would ring a bell? Maybe this was all
a wild goose chase. I didn’t even know if this name was real or a
trumped up lead to keep me spinning in circles. I needed to find
the bitch and have a conversation, one killer to another.
    Leaning back in my chair, I closed my eyes,
mentally ticking off my to-do list: I had to find Patricia
Bellarosa. I needed the witches to stop whatever weird shit they
were up to. And I’d better patch up my rocky relationship with
Grams, not to mention my damaged relationship with Jerry. The list
felt endless, my burdens had never felt this heavy before. My life
was divided into two categories, before and after Blake. Damn my
weak