9.

A KSEL

“How is Stassi feeling?”

“I haven’t seen her since . . .”

“I just spoke to her at the coffee shop, and it looked like she’d been crying. I have to go to Clarisse and make sure she’s working to reverse whatever it was that Stassi did to take my hurt as her own. I can’t live knowing how she feels right now while I’m walking around with not a single pain in my body other than my heart that’s still yearning for Anna.”

“I have a question about that, my friend,” I said as I relaxed against the desk chair in the office I was using at Cas and Ivan’s private investigation business. I wasn’t a full-time employee by any means since I was only here to help with what was going on in Washington, but they’d given me my own space to spread out the papers and photographs I was helping to comb through, looking for any evidence of who might be committing such horrible crimes.

Ivan sat down across from me with a beleaguered sigh and said, “Ask me no questions, and I’ll tell you no lies.”

I smiled at that old saying and then asked, “After Anna died, did you bury her here in Springblood or in Mereu?”

“Neither. I had her cremated so that no matter where I go, I can always take her with me.”

“But you saw her body before . . . well, after the accident?”

Ivan shook his head. “Cas was with me when I found her, and we instantly knew from the scene that there was nothing we could do for her. He insisted that I stay back and let him take care of . . .” Ivan cleared his throat, and there were tears in his voice when he continued, “He gathered up what he could find, and after we got back to Mereu, he washed the blood off of her ring and gave it to me.”

“Her ring? I thought she was in her shifted form when she was hit by the car.”

“She was, but Anna had Clarisse spell our wedding rings as an anniversary gift. They shifted with us and become bands like birds who are born in captivity get when they hatch. Instead of the numbers identifying their species, the numbers on the band are the date of our wedding anniversary.”

“That’s so thoughtful.”

“Why are you asking about Anna?”

I cleared my throat and shook my head before I lied, “No particular reason. I’ve just always been curious. Did you instantly start feeling the physical pain of her loss or . . .”

“No. It took some time. Of course, nothing could hurt nearly as much as my heart did and still does to this day, but the aches started within a few weeks and got progressively worse as time went on.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, my friend,” I mumbled, my thoughts racing a mile a minute as I tried to put the puzzle pieces together and figure out why Stassi was feeling a yearning to go back to Chehalis.

As if he had read my mind, which I knew was impossible since I had mental blocks up to stop that from happening, Ivan asked, “Are you going with Cas on this next trip to Chehalis?”

“I am.”

“He’s asked me to stay back this time since we like for at least one of us to be present to take care of anything important that might come up, but I’m anxious to go on the next trip. As far as I’m concerned, the longer we take to figure this out, the more people will be hurt in the process.”

“Will you check in on Stassi while we’re gone?” I asked.

“Of course. I talk to her everyday. She’s probably tired of hearing from me by now.”

“She likes you, Ivan. If she didn’t, she’d make your life miserable.”

“Like she’s done to you over the years?” Ivan asked with a chuckle. Before I could answer, he said, “I’ve noticed that the two of you seem to be getting along much better now, though.”

“I’d say that we are.”

“That smile you’re wearing says it’s a little more than that,” Ivan teased. Abruptly, he changed the subject and asked, “When do you leave?”

“In two days. Genji, Aneema, and Adair have some things to wrap up, but they should be ready to go by then. If not, we'll just have them join us when they can.”

“Cas is pulling out the big guns, isn’t he?” Ivan asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Other than Cas, you’re the youngest one of the group you mentioned. Neema is the oldest vampire I’ve ever encountered, and Genji and Adair aren’t that much younger than her in the grand scheme of things. Imagine what they’ve seen in their lifetimes.”

“That’s why he asked them to join us. With that much experience in our corner, we’ll be able to find the answers we need much easier than with infants like you on the job,” I teased.

Ivan rolled his eyes and said, “I’d insult your idea, but I believe you may be right. I suppose Razu and Yuma will be going with you?”

“Of course. Neema and Razu are almost inseparable as Genji and Yuma.”

“They always have been,” Ivan mused. “I really wish I was going with you instead of Cas. I feel better knowing I’m out in the world trying to do good rather than languishing around here nursing a broken heart.”

“If you’re looking for something worthwhile to do in your spare time, I have a feeling Clarisse and the others might have a list,” I told him with a laugh.

My phone vibrated on the desk, and I picked it up to see who was calling. I couldn’t help but smile and heard Ivan chuckle as I slid my thumb across the screen to answer the call.

“Good afternoon, beautiful.”

Instead of returning my greeting, Stassi ordered, “I want you to put this gift in your file of items to pull out and wave in my face the next time I’m irrationally angry with you.”

“Will that work to calm you down?”

“I doubt it, but it’s worth a try.”

“Now you’ve got my mind reeling with ideas because I didn’t know that was an option.”

“Oh, I’m going to have your mind reeling from other things the second I see you again, Mr. Nilsen. I’m going to suck you off so well that you lose feeling in your extremities and black out for at least three minutes.”

Ivan burst out laughing, and I said, “Um, let me take you off speaker.”

“You had me on speaker? Do you know me at all?”

“Obviously not,” I said with a laugh as I put the phone to my ear. “Ivan can’t hear anything now, so give me some details on your plan to blow my mind.”

“Oh, that’s not the only thing I’ll be blowing,” Stassi muttered. “Thank you for the gift, Aksel. It was extravagant, over the top, and fantastically generous. I’ve never received anything that has meant quite so much.”

“You’re welcome. When will I get to see you again?”

“I have to pack for the trip this evening, but when I’m finished, I can . . .”

“What trip?”

“To Washington.”

“What makes you think you’ll be accompanying me to Washington?”

“Are you trying to tell me where I can and cannot go?”

“Of course not. However, what I am saying is that I feel that you would be safer if you stayed in Colorado and let . . .”

“The big boys have all the fun?” Stassi interrupted.

“No. What I was going to say is that it makes more sense for you to stay here where you’re protected and out of the line of fire if we encounter any problems.”

“You think I’ll be a liability.”

“I think nothing of the sort. What I do think is that for once you should listen to me and do what . . .”

I bit off what I was about to say, but Stassi already knew and finished for me when she asked, “And do what I’m told?”

Without thinking, I answered, “There’s a first time for everything, isn’t there?”

“You insufferable ass!”

“Stubborn woman!”

“I take back all the nice things I was thinking about you earlier.”

“Oh, really? Like what?”

“Well, you’ll never know now, will you?”

“You should take some time to . . .”

“Plot your death? No need. I’ve already decided how I’m going to do it,” Stassi interrupted.

“ . . . think about what I’ve asked of you. The entire team has . . .”

“Oh, so now you’re all talking about me?”

“ . . . been briefed on the situation and decided . . .”

“Did you take a vote? How democratic of you.”

“ . . . it would be best if you stayed here until we’ve found the . . .”

“I bet none of you even considered asking me what I want.”

“ . . . base of operations, and then we’ll call and make arrangements for you to . . .”

“It will be a cold day in hell before I let some man tell me what’s best for me!”

“ . . . join us in Washington to give us your input on the situation and see if . . .”

“I can’t believe I even considered giving us a chance!”

“ . . . you recognize any of the beings we happen to capture or any of the . . .”

“I was even going to cook you dinner, asshole!”

“ . . . equipment that they have on site. What are you making for dinner?”

“Roasted chicken and vegetables.”

“My house or yours?”

“I don’t have a house yet.”

“Okay, mine then. Is seven o’clock okay?”

“You better have a decent bottle of wine.” With that, she disconnected the call.

When I pulled the phone away from my ear and looked at it, Ivan burst out laughing. “We’re all going to need popcorn for this show!”

“That woman is absolutely maddening!”

“But you love her anyway, don’t you, friend?”

“Does love raise your blood pressure to dangerous levels and feel like a horrible case of heartburn?”

“With a woman as fiery as Anastacia? It sure does.”

◆◆◆

STASSI

I found it funny that I’d spent the last eight hours in this store, and now, I was pushing around a grocery cart and perusing the aisles as if I didn’t know exactly where everything I’d need for tonight’s dinner was located. As a matter of fact, I already had everything I thought I’d need to make dinner tonight - including spices and seasonings since I had no idea what Aksel may or may not have.

And yet I was still wandering aimlessly, occasionally tossing something else I didn’t need into the cart. Of course, I did this with an open bag of sweet and salty trail mix in front of me because stress eating had always been my thing.

A friend of mine who also happened to be a psychologist had mentioned more than once that my stress eating was most likely due to the fact that I hadn’t had food readily available in my younger years and was only able to eat what was given to me. Of course, I liked that idea much more than the thought that I had no self-control and an oral fixation, something Aksel seemed to enjoy.

“I could turn you in for theft since you haven’t paid for that yet,” I heard Aleta say from behind me.

I slowly turned my head as I chewed another bite of peanuts and chocolate and stared at the woman before I swallowed. I nearly growled as I said, “And I could turn you into a toad.”

“You’re the devil’s mistress,” Aleta whispered.

“Not that I haven’t spent my fair share of time with beautiful women, Aleta, but you’re not my type at all.”

She looked confused for a second before she asked, “What does that mean?”

“Well, you are the devil, aren’t you?” Her confusion turned to horror, and she gasped. “No worries, though. Like I said, you’re not my type.”

“I’m going to pray for you,” Aleta said primly as she reached up and touched her hair and then smoothed the front of her shirt. “That’s what you need.”

“After dealing with you all day, what I really need is a drink.” I looked up at the speaker mounted in the rafters above us and said, “Not that I’m sorry we have to cut this short, but it’s time for you to get back to work.”

“There aren’t any customers up front, so I’m facing the shelves,” Aleta said as she turned away.

A disjointed voice came through the speaker and said, “All available checkers to the front, please. All available checkers to the front.”

“Hmm. Imagine that.” Aleta looked terrified at the thought that I’d predicted what was about to happen which wasn’t actually one of my skills. I had just seen quite a few people wandering toward the front with full carts, so I knew it was inevitable. “Run along now, Satan, and remember what we talked about earlier.”

As I watched Aleta hurry away, I felt someone come up beside me. Before I could turn to see who was there, I knew that it was my favorite customer - an elderly woman we all affectionately called Ms. Debbie.

“What is it about that woman that makes me want to run her over with my buggy every time I see her?”

I smiled at the frail woman and suggested, “Good sense?”

“Murderous intentions.”

“I think that the two can go hand in hand sometimes, don’t you?”

The woman chuckled, and it was so full of glee that I had to fight the urge to take a step back, especially when she said, “That just makes it doubly fun!”

As soon as I helped Ms. Debbie find what she was looking for, I finished my own shopping and checked out, making sure to go through Aleta’s line just because I knew it would make her uncomfortable and then drove straight to Aksel’s. I had a bone to pick with that man, and if he insisted on being an intolerable ass - in other words if he acted like himself, it was going to be his bones I tossed in the trash and not the chicken’s that I planned to roast .

When I arrived, I found that Aksel wasn’t home alone, which meant I had to table my plans to rip him to shreds about what made him think that he had the right to tell me where I could or couldn’t go. However, the rage simmering inside me was instantly extinguished when I opened the door and heard him in a near-shout say, “She’s coming with us whether you want her to or not, Cas! She’s much more intelligent than any of you acknowledge and will easily give us valuable insight into who we’re looking for, and that’s not even taking into account her powers, which can only be a help.”

“I don’t think that’s . . .”

“You’re not thinking at all because you’ve already made up your mind!” Aksel argued. “Stassi wants to go because she feels like she would be a help to us, and I agree.”

“What in the world caused you to make such an about-face, Aksel?” Gengi asked. She shifted her eyes my way, and I understood that she was asking the question for my benefit since she knew I was standing just outside the room.

“I listened to what she had to say and thought it through. And yes, I let my emotions get involved because I don’t want her to be upset . . .”

“Chickenshit! You’re afraid she’s going to roast you like a marshmallow!” Ivan chimed in cheerfully.

Aksel sighed and then laughed before he agreed, “That might be part of it, but this is one of those things I’m more than willing to bend on because I believe in her, Gengi. If she says she’ll be a help, then I know she will. I’m sure that if we talk to her rationally about her safety, she’ll understand our concerns and take them into consideration.”

“She is a very powerful witch which makes her a formidable opponent, and when you add in her other skills, I have to agree with Aksel and say that she would definitely give us an advantage and not be a hindrance in any way,” Neema said.

“The decision has been made. We took a vote and . . .”

“You must have a mouse in your pocket, youngling, because no one asked for my opinion,” Genji said sassily.

“Or mine,” Neema chimed in.

Cas blew out a frustrated breath and said, “Adair, what are your thoughts on the matter?”

“I’m not asking for a vote, Cas. I’m telling you that Stassi is coming with us,” Aksel said firmly.

“Obviously, Aksel is very set on this, and I don’t disagree with what he’s pointed out. However, Stassi isn’t exactly known for her easygoing temperament, so I would like some reassurance that she won’t go in with guns blazing and ruin everything before we have a chance to gather enough information to put an end to this atrocity once and for all.” Suddenly, Adair looked at the doorway and asked, “Can you do that, Stassi?”

“Yes.”

Aksel spun around and frowned at me before he asked, “How did I not hear your approach?”

“I’m a ninja.”

“I don’t understand why my senses are so dull when it comes to you.”

“Don’t leave yourself open for insults like that when I’m so happy with you, Aksel.”

“I thought you were pissed,” Aksel said as I walked toward him.

“I was until I heard you defend me,” I told him. I walked toward him until I was close enough to wrap my arms around his neck. Just before my lips touched his, I whispered, “Thank you.”