“I’m not going to get involved.” I rolled my eyes. “I realize I’m literally getting involved right now.”
Mere’s lips trembled before she firmed them. “Just spit it out. You’ll feel better.”
“He’s a good guy, that’s all. And whatever’s going on between you, I’ve never seen him this miserable. I just wanted to let you know that he’d never do anything to hurt you.”
“Did he tell you what he saw? When he saw my secrets?”
My mouth dropped open. “God no. He’d never even think about doing that. Jeez, Mere.”
Surprise flashed across her face, quickly followed by relief. She nodded, her shoulders hunched, and I backed off. I’d stuck my nose far enough in her business, that was for sure.
By the time I got home, all I wanted was my bed. It called to me like a lover as I took the elevator up to my floor. Evie had texted me and said not to bring back any food since she’d already eaten. That likely meant that she was having an early night.
I opened my apartment door and froze.
Gemma sat next to my sister, her arm around her, while Evie silently wept. Four other witches had made themselves at home in my apartment. I recognized Gail, Zoe, and Gail’s niece Caroline. The witch I hadn’t yet met looked down her nose at me in a way that made me want to slam my fist into her face. I ground my teeth but pushed the irritation away.
Evie lifted her head. “They just got back from New York,” she said wearily. “I said they could come here.”
“It’s fine.”
Gemma stared at me. “Evie says you’ve been investigating the fire.”
“Yes.”
“Well you can cease your investigations now that I’ve returned. I will be working to find whoever did this.”
“I’ll just keep fumbling my way through my investigation, if it’s all the same to you.”
Gemma narrowed her eyes at me. My power decided to stroke against my shields, and the memory of holding Gemma in place while I questioned her rose up, taunting me.
“The coven thanks you for your help,” Gemma said. “But it is unnecessary.”
I raised one eyebrow. “How’d they get through the wards, Gemma? You want to tell me how three men managed to stroll through those wards and take down everyone in that house without them raising the alarm?”
Gemma’s face turned gray.
I kept going. “And how come none of them got out? What kind of spell would do that to a coven of witches?
Evie stiffened. “Enough, Danica.”
“No. Not enough. Because the coven owes it to those women to do everything they can to find out who killed them.”
“The High Coven is investigating. So is the Mage Council.”
I laughed at that. “You think the Mage Council gives a shit about a house of dead witches? I worked for them. This investigation has been passed to some rookie who has nothing better to do. And the High Coven? Where are they? Cause I haven’t seen a single representative while I’ve been investigating.”
Gemma slowly got to her feet. Evie opened her mouth, but the coven leader held up her hand, silencing her.
“You have a lot of nerve,” she said softly. “Instead of rejoining our coven, you worked for the Mage Council for two and a half years.”
“Yeah. And that means I know how to hunt people down. And unlike everyone else looking into it, I actually give a shit. Youknowthis, Gemma. You know I’ll find anyone who threatened Evie. Cooperate with me.”
Zoe cleared her throat delicately. “She has a point,” she said. “Most importantly, she has the demons.”
I loathed that my relationship with the demons was seen as worth more than my years on the streets, but I was no dummy. I kept my mouth shut.
“She has no loyalty to us,” the other witch said. “Everyone knows her psycho demon boyfriend turned most of the McCormick descendants to ash. Who’s to say he didn’t do the same to our coven and she’s trying to cover it up?”
