11
ADDIE
With how close the killer had come earlier, I didn’t feel safe going home. Instead, I made my way into the city and went to Bad Moon Café. The others would be there. I would feel safer surrounded by them if only because that might make the killer think twice about making a move.
I couldn’t bring the cat inside, though. A pang tugged at my heart when I looked down at the fluffball in my arms. The thing should have scared me. It wasn’t alive, but it had a spark that seemed so lifelike. I ran my knuckle along the creature’s whiskers and savored its purr before setting it down.
“I’ll be right inside,” I told the cat. “Don’t go too far. Okay?”
It probably couldn’t understand me, but it had helped when I needed a distraction earlier. This creature was smarter than the average cat.
The thought made me pause halfway through the café door. I glanced back, but the cat had vanished.
Was…was it the soul of a person trapped inside a cat? Was that why it wasn’t rotting? I had no idea how this worked, and the damn cat couldn’t tell me. This wasn’t a sitcom about a teenaged witch. The cat’s jaw and tongue couldn’t form human words.
I shuddered and stepped inside. Though I desperately wanted a shower, I was still dressed and ready to take on my shift. I tied up my hair and got to work. No one mentioned that I was starting my shift early. If anything, it seemed like my friends tried to always be around. If one left the room, the other stayed nearby.
When Vi got off her shift, she called Morgan and had him come hang out. Their back-and-forth bickering filled the air with a bright energy that made me laugh despite everything happening. I was sure they all knew, but I didn’t know what to tell them.
I’m being hunted down for the arcana that I never told you about.
Was that even the truth? I had no way of knowing if the first woman had a power like mine. The second woman’s arcana could have been a coincidence. There were no ghosts left behind for me to ask.
I hadn’t expected this one to have a ghost, either. When I felt death collapse on itself, there and then so suddenly gone, I knew something would be up.
Vi leaned on the counter, her elbows bent so she could rest her chin in her hands as she grinned up at me.
“So, what’s the deal with the cop? Are the two of you banging yet?”
Morgan growled at his mate. “Do you have to be like this?”
Vi’s grin split wide. Her eyes flashed with bright light. “Absolutely. Addie doesn’t have her arcana threatening to set everything on fire every time her emotions get too high. She can fuck whenever she wants.”
I blinked at Vi’s choice of words. “Whyareyou?”
“Well, you see. It all started with Lucifer. He came to the mortal realm and had a night of lovemaking with my mom.”
Everyone cringed. Thankfully, the café was empty. There were no humans, and even if they had overheard her, they would have assumed that she was joking. Vi wasn’t, though. She really was the daughter of the most infamous fallen angel.
Vi and Morgan drove me home after my shift. I awkwardly asked them to wait while I searched the dark parking lot behind the café for the cat that I’d stolen from the dead woman. Explaining it was far easier than I expected. Both of my friends took my story at face value.
They’d lived through weirder.
I cradled the cat all the way back to my house. To my disappointment, there was no Lincoln waiting at the curb. I’d hoped that Maddox would show up at the café at some point, but he hadn’t. That made me think that he would be waiting here. Yet, there was no sign of the detective anywhere.
“Are you going to be okay on your own?” Vi asked.
My smile was weak, but they didn’t turn to look at me, so my cover wasn’t blown. Cat in one hand, I got out of the Jeep. I didn’t want to be a burden on my friends.
“I’ll be fine,” I assured them when I stepped around to the driver’s side window. “I’m going to get a couple hours of sleep while the cat stands guard. I’ll be fine.”
“That cat didn’t save—” Morgan started.
Vi cut him off with a backhanded slap to his chest. His lip curled as he turned away from us. Vi’s smile remained thin. I could tell she wasn’t convinced either, but she wasn’t going to force her presence onto me.
I appreciated it. After they left, Morgan grumbling about my safety the whole time, I retreated inside and turned on every light switch I could find. Once I was sure that every closet and cupboard was empty, I locked all the doors and went upstairs to my bedroom.
Sleep came quicker than I thought. I was dragged kicking and screaming into a dream.