this.” Kale’s bottom lip started to wobble as I prayed for her to leave so I could drop back into my blissful dreams about sexy men and not murder. But I was a pushover. “Come in.”
She did and immediately flopped onto the couch. “I’m just so mad at Vlad. Did you hear what he did?”
“Allegedly,” I mumbled. “But Kale, it’s the middle of the night. You’re eighteen. You should save the blowing up of ex-boyfriends for daylight hours, young lady.” I stifled a yawn. “Besides, aren’t your parents going to be worried about you?”
Kale waved a nonchalant hand and sniffled. “My parents won’t even notice I’m gone.”
“Oh, Kale, I’m sure that’s not true!”
“No, I put an oblivion spell on them.” She turned her watery eyes to me. “Do you think I’m doing the right thing?”
I looked over her shoulder. “If you mean burning down doors at three a.m., no. If you mean trying to make Vlad pay his debts by throwing fireballs and whatnot at him? Still no. Ditto on the magical parental lobotomy. What’s all this really for, Kale? What do you want from Vlad?”
She sniffled again and used the heel of her hand to push the mascara-edged tears away. “I just want him to notice me.”
“Well, burning things might get you noticed, but not in the right way. Why don’t you try talking to him? Or, possibly sending him a nice, quiet text message?”
Kale heaved a weight-of-the-world sigh. “I don’t know. That’s really subtle. Do you think it would work?”
“I think it’s worth a try.”
She looked at her hands in her lap, shaking her head. A fresh round of tears rolled over her cheeks. “It has to work. You’re right, Sophie. I’m already nineteen. I don’t want to be alone forever.”
I bit into my bottom lip as Kale looked up at me with those round, earnest eyes. Eyes that truly believed that eighteen was, apparently, approaching the crest of “the hill” of which I was most notably over.
“I just don’t know how you do it. You don’t have anyone and you’re still just so confident.”
My left eye started to twitch. I pressed my index finger to it in a vain attempt at stopping the thrum. “You should probably head home now, Kale.”
Kale nodded and touched my hand softly. “Thanks, Sophie. You’re really wise.” She stood up and brushed her palms over her jeans. “And again, I’m sorry about waking you up.”
I swung the lock on the door and crawled into bed after Kale left, intent on getting at least another three hours of sleep.
I wasn’t going to be alone for the rest of my life, I reasoned . My life was very full with two incredible guys. One who was supernaturally bound to me and another who could never be truly happy unless he killed me.
Maybe I should go back on Match.com.
I tried to drift off to sleep—tried counting sheep and reciting the Gettysburg address, both usually fail-safe knockouts—but twenty minutes later my heart was still slamming against my rib cage and my whole body was tense, humming with adrenaline.
Kale was willing to show up in a shower of fire to get Vlad’s attention. She is willing to cut off his head due to jealousy, I thought. Yes, but she’s a teen witch, I reasoned. With non-witchy hormones.
I sat bolt upright in bed a second time.
Jealousy.
I grabbed my cell phone and counted the rings.
“This better be a matter of life or death, Lawson.”
I took a brief, fluttering second to absorb the velvet smoothness of Alex’s voice—even as it was throaty and gruff with sleep.
“How’d you know it was me?”
“A thrilling combination of good detective work and caller ID. To what do I owe this pleasure?”
I sucked in a breath and began pacing. “Sampson said you’re working on the Mercy kidnapping case, too, right?”
“Strictly the aboveground part of it. No creepy-crawlies or bump-in-the-nighties. Why?”
“Have you interviewed the girls’ friends yet? Cathy and Alyssa’s?”
I could hear the mattress
She did and immediately flopped onto the couch. “I’m just so mad at Vlad. Did you hear what he did?”
“Allegedly,” I mumbled. “But Kale, it’s the middle of the night. You’re eighteen. You should save the blowing up of ex-boyfriends for daylight hours, young lady.” I stifled a yawn. “Besides, aren’t your parents going to be worried about you?”
Kale waved a nonchalant hand and sniffled. “My parents won’t even notice I’m gone.”
“Oh, Kale, I’m sure that’s not true!”
“No, I put an oblivion spell on them.” She turned her watery eyes to me. “Do you think I’m doing the right thing?”
I looked over her shoulder. “If you mean burning down doors at three a.m., no. If you mean trying to make Vlad pay his debts by throwing fireballs and whatnot at him? Still no. Ditto on the magical parental lobotomy. What’s all this really for, Kale? What do you want from Vlad?”
She sniffled again and used the heel of her hand to push the mascara-edged tears away. “I just want him to notice me.”
“Well, burning things might get you noticed, but not in the right way. Why don’t you try talking to him? Or, possibly sending him a nice, quiet text message?”
Kale heaved a weight-of-the-world sigh. “I don’t know. That’s really subtle. Do you think it would work?”
“I think it’s worth a try.”
She looked at her hands in her lap, shaking her head. A fresh round of tears rolled over her cheeks. “It has to work. You’re right, Sophie. I’m already nineteen. I don’t want to be alone forever.”
I bit into my bottom lip as Kale looked up at me with those round, earnest eyes. Eyes that truly believed that eighteen was, apparently, approaching the crest of “the hill” of which I was most notably over.
“I just don’t know how you do it. You don’t have anyone and you’re still just so confident.”
My left eye started to twitch. I pressed my index finger to it in a vain attempt at stopping the thrum. “You should probably head home now, Kale.”
Kale nodded and touched my hand softly. “Thanks, Sophie. You’re really wise.” She stood up and brushed her palms over her jeans. “And again, I’m sorry about waking you up.”
I swung the lock on the door and crawled into bed after Kale left, intent on getting at least another three hours of sleep.
I wasn’t going to be alone for the rest of my life, I reasoned . My life was very full with two incredible guys. One who was supernaturally bound to me and another who could never be truly happy unless he killed me.
Maybe I should go back on Match.com.
I tried to drift off to sleep—tried counting sheep and reciting the Gettysburg address, both usually fail-safe knockouts—but twenty minutes later my heart was still slamming against my rib cage and my whole body was tense, humming with adrenaline.
Kale was willing to show up in a shower of fire to get Vlad’s attention. She is willing to cut off his head due to jealousy, I thought. Yes, but she’s a teen witch, I reasoned. With non-witchy hormones.
I sat bolt upright in bed a second time.
Jealousy.
I grabbed my cell phone and counted the rings.
“This better be a matter of life or death, Lawson.”
I took a brief, fluttering second to absorb the velvet smoothness of Alex’s voice—even as it was throaty and gruff with sleep.
“How’d you know it was me?”
“A thrilling combination of good detective work and caller ID. To what do I owe this pleasure?”
I sucked in a breath and began pacing. “Sampson said you’re working on the Mercy kidnapping case, too, right?”
“Strictly the aboveground part of it. No creepy-crawlies or bump-in-the-nighties. Why?”
“Have you interviewed the girls’ friends yet? Cathy and Alyssa’s?”
I could hear the mattress
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