“If you came here to cause trouble for my employees, I will make sure that your superiors strip you of everything you have ever been given.” She smiled, a toothy warning.
My hackles rose. Lip curled, I said, “If you’re hiding something here, I’ll find out. You won’t be able to get away with murder.”
She…laughed. “There has been blood on my hands for far longer than you’ve been on this earth. Though, I will admit that my hands have been clean for the past few decades. The crimes I have committed were done long ago in cities thousands of miles away from here.”
Not human.
My body made the connection before my brain. I realized that when my feet moved against my will. It was as if the force of her presence had sent me running. What the hell is this woman?
The bell over the café’s door chimed and Addie leaned out.
“Ms. Miura, please excuse him. He’s an asshole. He can’t help it. But I promise he’s a good man.”
My jaw dropped, but neither woman gave me room to defend myself.
Without looking away from me, Ms. Miura addressed Addie. “You’re sure of this? He isn’t a threat to you or anyone else under my protection?”
Addie smiled softly, as if warmed by Ms. Miura’s words. “He’s here to help.”
The woman nodded and pushed past me without another word. I expected her to issue one last threat, but it seemed as though she felt her job here was done. To be fair, I found her threatening as it was. She didn’t have to say more.
Once she was gone, I sidled up to Addie and whispered, “Whatisshe?”
“We can’t figure it out.” Addie moved aside to let me into the café. “We all have running bets. Ness thinks she’s some sort of Alpha shifter. Cerri thinks that Audra is a fae from another country. Vi has called her a spirit, but I know she’s not a ghost.”
I narrowed my eyes at all these unfamiliar names. Addie spoke plainly, like I should recognize these people. If I’d done my job better and taken more than a glance at the background check, I might have.
“You met Cerri last night.” Addie gestured to the two other women behind the coffee counter. “Meet Vi and Ness.”
A tall, athletic woman with short blond hair grinned wide and waved. The sunlight outside shifted and cast a glow over her skin, but I quickly realized that the same didn’t happen to the brunette beside her. The glow had come from within the tall woman. Upon sensing that I’d noticed, her grin became goofier. She wiggled her brows like we had some sort of inside secret.
Beside her, a short brunette with her wild curls confined to a messy bun glared at me. She crossed her arms over her chest in a clear show of defensiveness.
All three women had that same look in their eyes. The same one I’d first seen in Addie’s eyes. The same one I’d noticed in Audra Miura, too. They had all killed before. Yet none of them were behind bars.
What was going on here?
Addie
Maddox stiffenedat the sight of my friends. I wondered what he saw in them. While Vi was warm and welcoming, I noticed a bit of light leak out of her. Her fire had turned into divine light recently, and she was still struggling to keep it contained. We’d shoved her into the walk-in cooler more than once today.
Ness was Vi’s polar opposite. Darkness surrounded my fellow friend with one foot in the grave. She directed all of that darkness at Maddox like he’d pissed in her bed or something.
“He’s here tohelp,” I reminded them before grabbing Maddox’s arm.
I led him to a table in the back and promised that I would return with coffee. While I didn’t ask him how he liked to drink his coffee, I figured it couldn’t be all that hard to figure out. If you paid attention to a person, you could tell what they needed.
Back at the counter, Ness grabbed me and pulled me into a huddle with her on one side and Vi on the other. Between the Barghest and the demi-angel, I felt ridiculously safe. I let out the breath that had been burning in my lungs.
“Are you sure he’s going to help?” Ness asked.
I opened my mouth the assure her that he would, but I hesitated. There was no way to know for certain.
“I can get the pack together. We can go hunting. With the pack’s ability to track scents and our ability to stumble into trouble, I’m sure we can track down whoever is behind this.”
Vi wiggled her fingers, light flashing between them. “Let us at them. We can make sure no one bothers you ever again.”
I glanced back at where Maddox was waiting. The young woman that I’d found in the ravine needed justice. Ness’s previous Alpha had killed so many human women, and, while they’d all been recovered and returned to their families, none of them had found the justice they deserved.