“And the coven?”
“Witness statements. Samael kindly ensured that his people and the ME will cooperate, but the cops aren’t going to want to play nice with the bounty hunter who saved Samael’s life.”
Kyla raised one eyebrow. “I can see why that would be a problem.”
Another knock on the door. It swung straight open, and Vas strutted in like he owned the place.
“You know, just because I matched your power to my wards doesn’t mean you can just waltz in here,” I griped.
He grinned at me, but it fell from his face as he glanced at Evie.
“How’s she doing?”
“She can hear you,” my sister said irritably. Vas stalked over to the sofa and glanced down.
“Have you eaten anything?”
“I’m not hungry, Mom.”
He glanced at me. “She’s just like you. Can I have some of that?”
Evie ignored us, staring into space, and I poured Vas a cup of coffee. With another glance at my sister, he handed me a piece of paper before introducing himself to Kyla. They made small talk while I scanned the email, and every muscle in my body tensed.
Samael had come through with the preliminary details from the investigation.
The smoke detectors were fakes. Fakes with cameras planted inside. Samael’s people would attempt to trace them, but they were one of the most common spy cameras available– easily purchased online.
I kept scanning the page until I got to information about the bodies. I froze.
Beheaded. The witch in Evie’s room had been beheaded.
Bile burned my throat and little dots danced in front of my eyes. If Evie hadn’t been out, if she’d been in that house, she’d be gone as well.
Not gone.Dead.
Vas cursed and steered me to the small table I’d positioned near the window, pushing me into the chair.
I barely paid him any attention as I scanned the rest of the email. The witch’s name was Brooke Jacobs.
I knew her.
I’d sat in the kitchen and chatted with Evie and Brooke just a few weeks ago when they’d invited me to a party at Meredith’s.
Beheading someone took skill, strength, and a strong stomach. But why behead Brooke and leave the other witches to burn alive?
Because if someone got to the other witches in time, there was a chance they could survive. Maybe whoever did this wasn’t willing to take that chance with Brooke. Maybe she caught someone breaking into the house. Or maybe she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
I inhaled and let out a deep, shuddering breath. Then I handed the email to Kyla and steeled myself as I got up and crouched in front of Evie.
“Hey.”
“Hey,” she said, dragging her gaze from the wall to my face.
“I need to ask you some questions, and they’re going to suck.”
She pushed herself up slightly and shoved some of her hair off her face. “They’ll help you find whoever did this. I want to help.”
“Okay. I need you to tell me everything you know about Brooke.”
