“Well.” Wadim let out a heavy sigh. “I know this sounds crazy, but there is only one supernatural race that I know of that can make people disappear without a sound, and that’s the fae.” Wadim stared at her with his eyebrows raised. “I mean pixies can move undetected when they want, that’s for sure, and they have some dead useful magic, but kidnapping a powerful healer without anyone else being the wiser, I don’t see it. Which leads me to believe that it has to have been a fae. I mean…maybe Volcan has gotten involved.”
“Hmm, no, I think he’s got his hands full with the healers he’s already nabbed and the werewolves hunting him. He doesn’t need Sally,” Jen answered.
“She’s a gypsy healer,” Wadim said more to himself.
“Way to state the obvious, Sherlock,” Jen muttered.
“I’m not done making my point, Barbie,” he said curtly.
Jen chuckled. “Oooo, look at history fur ball being all snarky and stuff. It’s hot.”
“Why do you always end up calling some male hot when I’m not around,” Decebel growled as he stepped out of the dark stairwell.
Jen glanced up at him. “Why were you lurking in the stairwell like a creeper? Where’ve you been anyway? One minute you were next to me as we tromped through Vasile’s castle, and the next you’d disappeared.”
“I wasn’t lurking, female. I was texting my girlfriend so she’d know not to call me right now. Did you miss me?” Decebel’s eyes danced with mischief as he stared her down.
Jen noticed Wadim trying to look especially busy.
“Tell her I said hi,” Jen said in a much too perky voice. “And that I will rip her face off and eat it in front of her if I ever figure out who she is. And” —she paused licking her finger to turn the page of the book she wasn’t even reading— “no, I didn’t miss you. The librarian is plenty hairy and stinky enough to remind me of you.”
“Damn,” Wadim gasped under his breath.
Decebel rumbled with laughter. “You didn’t realize how bloodthirsty my Alpha female is, did you?”
“Only when I have to remind you that you are mine, and bitches better back off.” Jen flipped through the book, humming happily as if she hadn’t just threatened to eat a woman’s face—not that she believed for even a second that her mate had a girlfriend. Decebel had discovered how to get under her skin and was using it ruthlessly anytime she irritated him. Boy didn’t realize that he was poking an already pissed off wolf.
“Oh, I realize, mate. I just happen to find you irresistible when you get jealous even over my fake girlfriends.”His warm voice filled her mind and melted over her like warm butter.
Jen decided it wasn’t time to deal with their sexual build up, considering she had a friend missing and one not exactly alive. “Back to what history hottie was saying.” She shot Decebel a challenging glare. He simply shrugged and blew her a kiss.
Wadim cleared his throat. “Okay…um…right. So, Sally is a healer, of course. Healers have always been targeted in the past for their magic. Decebel, you know this. Healers are sought after by many, not just Volcan, because their magic is…” He paused seeming to consider his words. “It’s different. Pure in a way that other supernatural magic isn’t.
“You think someone wanted her specifically because she’s a gypsy healer?” Decebel asked as he walked further into the room.
“I’m certain of it,” the historian answered. “The question is, who?”
Jen slammed the book closed and dropped it on the desk, growling. “We aren’t any closer to finding her than we were three hours ago. What am I supposed to tell Costin?”
“We tell him we are doing everything we can to find her. That’s all we can do, Jennifer,” Decebel said calmly. “They will make a mistake, whoever did this, and when they do, we will find them.”
“Maybe, but how long will Sally suffer before they do?”
“How do we know she’s suffering?” he challenged. “Whoever has her might be treating her like a queen.”
“Right,” Jen scoffed. “Because kidnappers are always so kind to their victims. It’s more likely they’ve ripped her toenails off or locked her in a dungeon with rats. Bastards.”
Sally couldn’t remember the last time she had laughed so hard. Her stomach muscles screamed from the abuse that had been inflicted upon them as Jericho entertained the nightly patrons. He was amazing at his job. He talked easily, flirted without shame, and treated people as though each of them was his top priority. It was truly a thing of beauty.
“How’d you like your first day of work?” Cross asked as she finished wiping down the end of the bar.
“It was a lot more fun than I thought it would be,” she admitted. “Jericho is—”
“Something to behold when he’s on,” Cross finished for her.
She nodded. “He definitely knows what he’s doing.”
“I’ll admit. You’re probably learning from the best bartender in the city. Take notes and one day you’ll be as good as he is. He makes a good living slinging liquor and winking at girls” —he paused— “and guys occasionally too.”
