13. Emma

THIRTEEN

Emma

The clatter of pans and the rich aroma of sizzling bacon filled the air as I slid into a booth in the back of Deva's Delights, alongside Carol. It’s not exactly a quiet corner, since it’s near the kitchen, but it gives a good view of the whole place. The lunch rush had already died down. We were there at the perfect time between lunch and dinner, when the diner only had a scattering of patrons. It was the time we typically planned meetings with Deva, because she could actually take a break from the kitchen and come out and hang out with us.

Carol was already cradling a steaming mug of tea between her colorful, ring-laden fingers. Her shoulder-length light brown hair had been left a little wavy today, and I liked the look on her.

She grinned as we made eye contact. "Morning.”

Rose, a waitress we knew from last year's chaos, darted past us with a tray balanced expertly on one hand, while Michael, the line cook, shot her a playful wink that she returned with a teasing smile.

"Morning." I reached for a menu.

Even though I felt a little guilty about it, I was only half paying attention to what I’d be ordering. My gaze was following Rose around until she came back behind the counter and stood on her tiptoes to better see Michael through the pass-through. He was there in an instant, except that the tall wolf shifter had to lean down to see her. They started talking, and everything about their body language said that they were interested in each other. I was guessing that Michael had finally convinced the fairy to take a chance on him, and I was glad.

Daniel went up to see the wolf shifters at least once a week. They were taking care of their property. They’d stopped having quite as many wild parties. Everyone in the pack over the age of eighteen was required to have a job or be in school. Nathan, the young alpha, had really turned things around. I wanted the best for those boys, and I felt like Rose would be perfect for Michael. He’d be the ying to her yang.

Carol turned and followed my gaze. "Young love, huh?”

"You know all about that,” I said.

A blush stained her cheeks. "Bryan and I are hardly young.”

"I think you’re plenty young,” I tell her. "How’s he doing, by the way?”

She smiled. "He was a little worried about getting the town to give his law practice a chance after his uncle died, but seeing how there are no other lawyers in town, people took to him right away. He loves being back in Mystic Hollow and loves helping the people here.”

"You got a good one there,” I said. "And how’s your… romantic life?”

The blush was back. "Honestly? Amazing. I worried that with two inexperienced people we wouldn’t know what we were doing, but everything just… works well. We can’t keep our hands off of each other.”

"I’m so glad.”

She nodded. "He’s even started talking about getting married and living together. He says there’s no rush, but we kept talking about it. I know we don’t need to rush anything, but it’s kind of amazing knowing that’s where this is headed.”

"That’s amazing!” Bryan deserved good things after being Turned against his will into a vampire, and Carol was obviously one of my favorite people in this world.

Rose was suddenly at our table. "What can I get for you?”

I knew what I wanted. I don’t know why I always look at the menu. "Coffee and water to drink, please, and fried chicken with mashed potatoes.”

"Oh, good choice!” The fairy said happily. "And for you?”

Carol smiled. "The cob salad with chicken, please.”

"Perfect.”

Then, unable to help myself, I asked, "How’s Michael doing?”

Her face went crimson. "Fine.” Then, she hurried away.

Carol and I exchanged a look and burst out laughing. Seriously, I felt bad. I knew she was shy but expected a different response and felt bad for embarrassing her. She was just so dang cute though, it made my heart squeeze.

"Hey, how did it go last night?" Carol asked. "I heard a lot went down.”

I sighed, suddenly feeling more somber. "It’s a long story. I'll fill you in once Deva gets here."

"Fair enough." She sipped her coffee, her gaze drifting to where Rose was now laughing at something Michael had said.

Time ticked by. Rose brought out my coffee and water. Carol and I chatted about how her business, Yarns and Yards, was going. Hazel, the ninety-three-year-old woman who worked for Carol, continued to be both a blessing and a curse.

"A lady tried to buy a nice quality of yarn for ‘her cat to play with’ and Hazel just about threw her out the door. But at the same time, a group of teens have gotten really into knitting, and they seem to find Hazel to be an amazing resource. They keep showing up just to pick her brain and get help with their current projects. She huffs a bit about it, but clearly loves every second of it.”

I took another sip of my coffee. "That’s amazing. It sounds like she’s worth taking the good with the bad.”

"Oh, definitely.”

We didn't have to wait long before Deva emerged from the doors leading to the back, holding three plates piled high with food. Her presence seemed to quiet the room, even if just a bit. Setting down the plates, she slid into the booth beside Carol. "Hope you're hungry." Deva pushed one of the plates toward me.

"Starving," I admitted, the sight of bacon and biscuits momentarily distracting me from last night's revelations.

We ate in silence for a moment, the only sounds being the clink of cutlery and the chatter of the front-of-house customers. It was strange that just a short time ago this place had caught fire, and now it was back to being a pillar of the community. A place people could go to in order to connect.

"Rose and Michael seem close." I nodded subtly in their direction.

Deva chuckled. "Those two? It's been brewing since the holiday party."

"Good for them." Carol watched the pair banter through the pass-through.

Deva set down her fork, lifting a brow, her dark eyes curious. "So, are you going to tell us what happened?”

I took a deep breath, the warmth of the restaurant soothing my tense muscles. "Okay, so about last night..." I dove into the details. Deva and Carol would have insights, or at least a listening ear.

As I finished, Carol's fork clattered against her plate, eyes wide as saucers. "Holy crap." She blinked rapidly, processing the information.

"Yep." I fiddled with the napkin in my lap. "Beth and Wade have been up all night treating her."

"Is she... I mean, will she be okay?" Carol leaned forward.

"Looks like it." I tried to offer a comforting smile. "They're pretty sure she'll pull through. They want to talk to her when she wakes up, to see if she can tell us anything."

"Talk to a unicorn..." Deva murmured, almost to herself, her mind evidently racing with the implications. "This is... wow." Her gaze drifted off, likely imagining the scene at the psych office, the mysterious creature lying there amidst the familiar setting.

"Wow indeed." It wasn’t every day that mythology walked into your workplace, after all.

"Enough about unicorns, though it may be related," I said, as Rose came and refilled all our coffees. "We've got another issue on our hands, the werewolf case."

"Right," Carol said, picking up her mug. "What's the latest?"

"Beth is trying to catch a few hours of sleep this morning." I sipped my own warm coffee and relished the bitterness. "As far as we know, there are only two werewolves in Mystic Hollow. We visited Andrew already.”

"Oh, Andrew had nothing to do with this,” Deva said, with a wave of her hand.

"Absolutely not,” Carol said. "He and his husband come into the store all the time, and they’re an absolute delight.”

"We figured that out,” I said with a smile. "But we're planning to visit the other werewolf later today. We need to see if he's involved."

"The other werewolf?" Deva raised an eyebrow, folding her arms as she leaned back in her chair.

"Yep." I nodded, pressing my lips together. "He could be connected to the recent attacks. It's a shot in the dark, but we’ve got to check all leads."

"Be careful," Carol warned quietly, a complete change from a minute ago when she was talking about Andrew. "Werewolves are unpredictable."

"We know," I said, though my stomach tightened at the thought. The uncertainty of what we'd find gnawed at me.

I reached for another sip of coffee. That's when I caught it, the briefest exchange of glances between Carol and Deva. It was subtle, but enough to set off alarm bells in my head.

"What?" I asked, setting my cup down with a clink. My gaze bounced between them, searching for an answer in their faces.

"Nothing." Deva looked away.

"Deva..." Carol began, but stopped herself, biting her lip.

"Spill it." Impatience bubbled up inside me. I wasn't in the mood for mysteries; not today.

Deva hesitated, her eyes flicking to Carol before settling on me.

"Emma," Carol interjected, "the other werewolf we're looking for... it's Broth Riversteel."

"Riversteel?" I frowned, the name scratching at the edges of my memory. I'd heard it before but couldn't place it. "Who is he?"

"He owns Steel Knife," Deva said. "The motorcycle bar, just outside town."

"Steel Knife..." It clicked, a mental image of chrome and leather surfacing. I'd never been there, but everyone knew of it, the local haunt for bikers and those who liked living on the wild side. "Right, I've heard of the place."

"Broth's not someone to take lightly," Carol added. "He's got a reputation for being tough. Rough around the edges doesn't quite cover it."

"Great," I muttered under my breath. The last thing I needed was a potentially hostile werewolf. But we had no choice. If Broth Riversteel was involved in the attacks, we had to know.

"Listen." Carol pushed back from the table with a determined glint in her blue eyes. "I'm coming with you."

"Carol—" I started to protest, but she held up her hand.

"No arguments. I've got some spells that might come in handy. Just in case things go south with Riversteel." She stood up, her quirky attire, a vibrant mishmash of colors, somehow not clashing with the steel in her tone.

"Spells?"

"Trust me." Carol's lips quirked into a half-smile. "They're more than just party tricks."

"I’m coming too,” Deva said. "The kitchen can handle dinner without me. If you’re going to that biker bar, you’re going to need me more than they do.”

"Of course, we’ll be glad for the help." Both their skills could be the edge we needed. "But we do this carefully. No unnecessary risks. Let’s avoid getting confrontational."

"Agreed." Carol pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose, even though they were more for fashion than function. "Let's get going then. Time isn't exactly on our side."

"And we have bad guys to catch,” Deva said, flashing a smile.

"Thanks." A weight lifted off my shoulders, having them at my side.

"Hey, what are friends for?" She winked, already pulling out her phone. "I'll call Beth and let her know our plan."

"Right." I grabbed my jacket off the back of the chair. "Steel Knife, here we come."