He reeled back as if I’d slapped him. “You didn’t even know about the gateway then! It’s my family’s most treasured secret. Why would I think it was important to tell you?”
I took a deep breath. “I think you should go. I need time to digest this.”
“Fine,” he snapped, that one word taut and dangerous, his eyes burning wolf yellow. He spun on his heel and burst from the room.
Shit. I was pretty sure I’d just been an emotional asshole. Could I blame pregnancy hormones? Or that freaking letter possibly?
When the front door slammed, announcing Brock’s retreat, it rattled my bones, and I instinctively pressed a hand to my stomach. This sucked.
My body sank onto the bed, the covers puffing around me. Cass and Molly slowly made their way into my room.
“Did someone say Cali?” Molly asked in an upbeat tone that was obviously forced. But bless her for changing the subject.
I chuckled darkly, trying to put Brock, and Gran’s letter out of my mind—like there was a fat chance of that happening.
My eyes roamed the twenty-year-old up and down, from her purple hair to her sockless feet. “Hey, Cass, it’s been a while since we had an apprentice.”
He widened his stance, increasing the danger that his impy bits might fall out of Gran’s apron, and then rubbed his bare belly. “Oh yeah, not since Tag. Poor fella.”
Molly went stock still, uncaring that Tag had met an untimely demise. “OhmyGodpleaseyes.” Her words rushed together, and she bopped on the balls of her feet. “Please, please, please.”
I smiled despite the heaviness left in my heart from Gran’s letter.‘What do you think, Cass?’I asked mentally, so only he could hear.
He gave Molly an appraising look.‘Hell, she’s growing on me. I must be going soft. Besides, she does have a shit-ton of supernatural knowledge. That’s bound to come in handy since you and I never spent much time on the books.’
My smile grew. “You’ll eventually have to get a ‘hunter apprentice’ license, and take a qualifying test.”
Molly was a natural choice for an apprentice bounty hunter. She was fearless, knowledgeable about the supe community, and it would get her out of Croft’s blood whore clutches, giving her a real career.
She squealed and flapped her arms around. “I’m going to faint. This is so awesome! Do I get a badge?”
“No.” Cass and I both spoke at the same time.
She frowned, and I waved her out, thankful for the chuckle when everything else had gone to shit. “Pack a bag. We’re going to see this witch,” I instructed her.
She bolted out of the room like her ass was on fire, while Cass shuffled closer to me.
“A kitsune. A gatekeeper. Are you okay?” His voice held genuine concern, and I looked up at him, offering him a weak smile.
“I’m in a bit of shock. I just want to meet this witch, and hear more about what’s going on.”
He nodded. “I get that. I want answers too, but maybe we shouldn’t be leaving this… gateway, if it’s on the property.”
I shoved my hiking boots into my bag. I had no idea if this witch’s house would be accessible by car. Most witches lived as deep in the woods as possible.
“Cass, I literally just found out about this gateway. I need to meet this witch first and learn more about being a kitsune, before I can worry about some weird gate to the underworld.”
Now that I said it aloud, a gate to the underworld sounded pretty damn serious. Exactly what kind of creatures were coming through? My brain hurt thinking about everything in that letter.
Willemena Worst.
“My gut is telling me to talk to this witch and get all the information, then make a plan,” I told him with finality.
Cass nodded. “Your gut’s never let us down before.”
“Oh, and Cass?” I peered at my bestie, as he looked up at me. “If I find out that siren killed Gran, she’s dead.”
Bounties were useless unless you delivered them alive. We’d get no payment if I killed her, but kill her I would if she was the one to end my Gran’s life.
