* * *
I called Mack on my way to the hotel bar. In his gruff satyr way, he all but begged me to catch Calista, and added a bonus bounty of a thousand dollars on top of the five grand he’d already paid me. He didn’t want to look like an ass to the human authorities, and ruin the bond they’d built, he explained. Any time a supernatural committed a violent offense against another supe, the Supernatural Council got involved, dishing out swift punishments. But when a supernatural harmed a human, the human authorities were permitted to use their own justice system and grant whatever sentence they deemed appropriate. Mack was giving me a week to catch the siren before he put me on suspension.
Dick.I was supposed to be on bereavement leave!
After parking in the lot of the Blue Table Inn, I put on my bright red wig, and fetched a spell vial from my hunting kit. Tears welled as I cradled the glowing blue-glass vial. Gran made these. She made all my spells so I’d be safe, so that I’d be a better hunter.
I’d never forget my seventh birthday. Age six is the latest a witch’s magic will reveal itself, and mine hadn’t shown. Gran cut my cake, gave me a slice, and told me I was perfect… that I was exactly as I should be. No matter what the assholes at school said to me, no matter what the distant Black relatives whispered, Gran maintained her mantra:there is nothing wrong with Evie Black.
Fuck… I was crying… in the parking lot of a supernatural hotel.
I’m losing it.
‘Jesus Christ, you need a shrink,’Cass stated in a playful tone.
I burst out laughing and wiped my tears, shoving the vial in my messenger bag, and slinging it over my shoulder.
‘Are you still at the bar? Any sign of her?’I ignored his assessment of my mental health.
‘I’m not, but I’ve told the bartender you’ll need to speak with him. I’m on my way upstairs to fulfill my every fantasy.’
I shivered, working hard not to get mental images. ‘Have fun.’
‘Call me if you need backup. I’m not above fighting a siren in the nude.’
Yuck. I didn’t want to pull up that mental image either.
‘See you in the morning,’I told him.
‘I’ll bring breakfast,’he promised.
He’d better. Fucker. Ditching me, so I had to work alone.
The doorman nodded when I flashed my badge. Supernatural bounty hunters werenotto be fucked with by any means. Not gonna lie, part of the reason I got this job was to intimidate large men with big egos, who automatically assumed I was a wispy-nothing woman.
After he let me in, I slipped the badge into my bag. If the siren was here, and on a revenge-killing spree, I didn’t want to announce myself.
“Bounty hunter coming in!” the bouncer yelled behind me.
Great.
I gave him the finger over my shoulder, and tried to hide my grin as two obviously underage elves booked it out the back entrance—I wasn’t a cop, but they didn’t know the difference.
A quick scan told me that my green-haired sea goddess wasn’t here.
Walking right up to the bartender, I nodded to the back office. He sighed, looking annoyed, but did as I asked. If you didn’t do me any favors, then I wasn’t doing you any favors, and everyone in the supernatural community wanted favors from bounty hunters.
“Back for more drinks? Your alpha isn’t here,” he stated once we entered his office.
Glaring at him and his stupid horned forehead, I gave him a fake smile. “I’m looking for a siren.” I slammed her picture down on the counter. “She’s evading capture.”
He glanced at the picture. “Never seen her.”
A growl ripped from my throat. “Fuck off. She was here the other night. I have her on security footage.”
He grinned, showcasing a set of large, pointy teeth. Demons liked it when a girl talked dirty. “What do I get if I talk?” He looked at my body from head to toe.
Yuck.
