Witches for Hire (Odd Jobs #1)(98)
Simone slapped on her money-making smile. “Definitely. How can I help you?”
“This is embarrassing.” The other woman sat across from Simone. “My brother is newly engaged to a man he just met, and I’m wondering if you could do a….” She leaned forward and whispered. “A background check type spell.”
“Are you familiar with magic?”
“There were a few practitioners in my family’s heyday, but it’s frowned upon today.”
I bet a few of them practice without her even knowing, Simone thought. “Do you have hair or other personal items?”
“Yes.” The woman reached in her purse and whipped out an old Polaroid with the dark-haired man’s face scratched out by what looked like wear, and a figure beside him that was almost whited out.
“It was a picture of my brother with a woman.” The potential client looked at her hands. “That’s why I’m here. I was messing with a small truth spell, and it touched the picture. I know my brother probably wouldn’t want me to snoop, but… I need to know why he’s hiding this.”
Simone chewed on her bottom lip. Move up the line or pass? It is a slow day, and plenty of people come in after discovering family secrets. But do I buy her story?
The woman’s shoulder slumped. “I’m sorry for troubling you with my small problems. Thank you for your time.” She held out her hand, and a loud siren went off in the building. The woman withdrew her hand as if stung.
Simone slowly rose from her chair. “Who the fuck are you?”
The woman stood with a smirk on her face. “Interesting security.”
“Our top-notch witch is in charge of it.”
Clive burst from the inner door with Jeremy behind him.
The woman took a step toward them, but an invisible barrier stopped her from taking another one. She glared at Jeremy. “What do you have of mine, Mr. Ragsdale? If you return it to me, I might not kill you.”
“Who are you?” Clive asked.
“A witch with an interest in poinsettias,” Jeremy said softly.
This bitch just waltzed right in, asked us to do her legwork, and… and…. Simone’s hands clenched into fists when the energy vamp’s words clicked in her head. She looked at the tight-lipped bastard who even after she asked him numerous times if he was hiding anything, had withheld a personal item of the head vamp. One call on the emergency line to her aunts, and they’d Mortal Kombat Fatality this puta by strangling her with her own intestines. Simone’s problem was that the only other person in the room who’d be down for a brutal bruja hex was the number-two guy she wanted to torture. Standing in front of them making threats might not rank high enough for outright murder in Clive’s book.
A powerful force banged against the barrier, and Simone hoped it’d break, so she had an excuse to live out every murder fantasy in her head. The energy vamp stared at her nails as if bored. “I considered sparing you after I kill Desmond, but I’m starting to change my mind. What do you have of mine?”
“A few hair strands that Levi procured,” Jeremy admitted.
Clive raised his hand. “None of my people were responsible for the theft, and you can’t take all three of us on. Why did you come here?”
The energy vamp’s eyes glowed yellow as if she wanted to test out that theory, but she held up the photo instead. The scratched face filled with Desmond’s image, but the other figure remained a white blob. “I was going to let you solve the mystery of this whole soul mate business, but I may need to find someone with a less pressing expiration date.”
Simone blinked at the photo, which snapped her out of killing with extreme prejudice thoughts. “Where did you get that?”
The witch smiled. “Funny you should ask because you’re the reason why I’m here. It’s enchanted for only the men in this photo to see the image, so who’s better qualified than you to find out the identity of this other man?”
She’s right. My blood gives me an advantage because I’m a werewolf’s mate. “Why don’t you ask someone else who doesn’t hate you for getting their husband jacked up?”
“Because a human mated to a werewolf is rarer, and therefore can build a stronger spell,” the energy vamp explained. She smiled as she laid the picture on Simone’s desk. “I know there is hostility between him and you, Knight, but more than that, you saw what he did at the hospital. Do you really want a man like him running around impervious to all manner of curses?”
Clive glanced at Jeremy. “Can you control sound in here?”
Jeremy nodded.
The energy vamp tapped her cheek with a sharp intake of breath. “You should decide quickly. The old folks’ home down the street doesn’t have the best infrastructure to endure my spell for long.”
Simone sighed. The murder option was out the window. If Psycho Bitch was telling the truth, her death might spark it.
As soon as Jeremy lifted up his hand and slowly closed it like he was squeezing a stress ball, the three of them formed a huddle.
“We are going to have quite a long talk,” Clive said to Jeremy while barely moving his lips.
Simone covered her mouth with her hand. “Do you think the picture is legit?”
“She wouldn’t have brought it if it wasn’t.”