Dave smiled, and that, more than any weird cult references or a town full of dead people, freaked me out. “Easy, Cora. You stop fighting and let him sweep you off your feet.”
“I’m hardly a blushing princess. My feet are firmly planted on the floor.”
Dave huffed. “Listen to him. Make his words count and enjoy his company. Take an interest in his life. That is how you make a cat comfortable.”
My phone buzzed in my pocket. I gripped it and tipped my head back against the seat with a groan. Sebastian looked over my shoulder. “Oh shit, granny Roberts is calling.”
I contemplated ignoring the call, but my grandmother was an insistent creature, and not knowing what she wanted would stir anxiety in my body that I didn’t need right now. I pressed the green circle and pressed the phone against my ear.
“Grandmother,” I uttered.
“Where are you?” she asked.
I squeezed my eyes closed. I should have predicted that question and planned a response before I accepted her call.Stupid Cora, your attention is slipping.“I was investigating a death with Dave,” I explained. There, no lies. Hopefully, she would conclude that the person was a shifter. “We are on our way back to White Castle.”
“A death outside of White Castle?” my grandmother asked. Her words were crisp icicles, sharp enough to cut.
Ugh, that was unusual. “That’s correct.”
Dave glanced at me, and I shrugged. The silence stretched, making me check the phone. She was still there. Probably working through the information and deciding what political angle she could use to further her agenda. I might be related to this woman, but her heritage was isolated to creating a granddaughter whom she could manipulate for her own gain.
“Is the cat still wooing you?” she asked, proving my point.
My hand tightened around the phone. “Hudson is still at Summer Grove House, yes.”
“And are you still keeping him out of your bed?”
Dave’s eyebrows rose. Oh wonderful, now he thought my holding out was a political one, not me protecting my heart. Thank you, grandmother. “That’s correct.”
“Keep it that way, beasts like Hudson like the chase, the second he feels you are fully won, he will lose interest.”
First relationship advice from Mr. Stoic and now from Miss Cold and Heartless. Let me think for a moment as to whether I would be following it—er, no. “Understood,” I responded. There was no reasoning with her, I had tried many times in the past and failed. “Did you call for something specific?” I wanted to get her off the phone as soon as possible.
“Yes. I will be visiting you the day after tomorrow.”
Ugh, grandmother visits. Yippee. She rarely announced it, so what gives today?
“Of course, will you need a room prepared?” Please say no, please say no.
“No.”
Thank you universe.
“But I will need you to start the spell to unlock the Roberts’ third vault.”
And the universe just slapped me in the face. “The third?” I checked. I was itching to ask her what she wanted, but I bit my tongue.
“Correct.”
“Ok.”
The phone cut off and I exhaled a sigh and closed my eyes.
“Your grandmother seems invested in you keeping Hudson on the hook,” Dave said.
“She continues to try to manipulate me.”
“Is she succeeding?”
