Page 106 of Twice Bitten

I looked up at her in shock. Cat’s nose was wrinkled, andtears flowed down her face. She let out a wheeze and kept laughing.

I sat up. “Cat?”

She held up a hand. “I— I’m sorry. It’s just—Alric is such an asshole. Most of the supernatural population has wanted to kill him for ages. And a little mysterious hedgewitch accomplished what the most powerful supernaturals on the planet never could?” Cat wheezed again. “It’s poetic.”

I let out my own little laugh. “I’m not sure he’s dead. But I think he’s definitely hurt.”

“Still.” She held her stomach. “Oh my God.” She laughed a few more times before finally getting herself under control. “Alright.” She nodded. “How about we order food and talk this out?”

I nodded. “Sounds good. I’m starving.”

Cat was a good listener. She took everything I said at face value, her face not betraying an ounce of disbelief or skepticism. Occasionally, she butted in to ask a question, but other than that, she let me spill the entire story with minimal interruption.

When I finished, she slowly shook her head. “Well. Sounds like you’re in a real pickle, aren’t you?”

“Cat,” I groaned.

The witch snickered and refilled my wine glass. “I have good and bad news. Both are the same. Alric is likely not dead. The bastard is like a cockroach. He stubbornly refuses to die. I can think of six attempts on his life just this past quarter.”

I let out a slow whistle. “Why does everyone hate him?”

Cat shrugged. “He’s loyal to the vampires to a fault and beyond bribery. In some ways, he’d be a good president for the humans if they ever allowed supes to run, but our society runs on backroom deals. I’ve never met the Prime. Like you, I prefer to stay under the radar, but I’ve heard he’s the most powerfulvampire in the country right now.” She took a huge bite of her pasta and chewed thoughtfully. “We all know how much witches shun power,” she said a moment later. “Alric is smart and brutal. He knows how to stay alive.”

Relief filled me at her words. I didn’t want to have killed Alric. Doing so would bring the weight of the entire supernatural world down upon my head. I only wanted him to leave me alone.

“But,” Cat said with a lazy wave of her beringed hand, “let’s forget about Alric and focus on you.” She reached for the books I’d put on my nightstand and opened them up. “You’ve obviously leveled up. Let’s see if we can figure out why.”

I went to work the next morning feeling like a cat walking on tinfoil—nervous and tweaked out. Every time the shop door opened, I expected Alric to walk in and rip my throat out.

But the shop was as normal as a supernatural coffee shop could be. We had normal customers, tourists, and the occasional weirdo, but no Alric, no Vesper, and no Silas.

After Addy and the others went home for the day, and I was the only one left behind to close, I finally began to relax.

Just in time for the alarm over the door to flare red.

I racked my brain. Had I locked the door? My heart kicked into a panicked beat, the thud against my ribs turning to a roar inside my head.

Quinn was nowhere to be found today, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t here. “Hide,” I said, my voice low and urgent. “Do not come out until I tell you it’s safe.”

Silence was the only answer.

It could be anyone outside. That’s what I kept repeating in my head like a prayer. Powerful people always triggered the alarm. It might not go off often, but there were times when a powerplayer walked through our doors and all they wanted was a shot of caffeine.

We had no blinds on the doors or windows, only decorative curtains we kept pulled back and fastened with pretty ropes. Addy liked customers being able to peer in to see what was going on or to view our specials board. If this were Beckett, maybe she’d change her mind in the future.

He would definitely not be here just for caffeine.

I stepped out from behind the register and slipped into the back, keeping an eye out through the small window to see who stepped up.

A full minute passed. The door charm died down and went neutral. I closed my eyes and released an extended, slow breath and waited a little longer.

When the charm didn’t flare again, I slumped against the door, relief filling my veins. I waited another full minute before slipping back into the main seating area.

I still had to sweep and mop and restock for tomorrow. Shouldn’t take me more than an hour, but I hoped to speed it up so I didn’t have to walk back to my car in the dark. Not with the Prime still suspiciously silent and Beckett out there doing the gods knew what. I wasn’t dumb enough to believe I was safe in the daylight, but dark things prowled in the night, and people paid a lot less attention when the lights were dim.

I liked to think people, supernatural or human, were good at heart, but I knew better. If something went down and the Prime was involved, ninety-nine percent of the population would look the other way.

Beckett made things more iffy. A random vampire attack might trigger someone’s deep-seated good Samaritan instincts.