Why?
Because you might have a concussion.
Thats a given, Red. I meant why you? Are you a doctor?
Im a reconstructive surgeon.
Seriously? Laughing, he started for the back door. You do face and butt lifts for a living?
What had come perilously close to going hot and squishy inside her hardened. Her lips quirked into a cool smile. There you go. Whatever pays the bills.
If you say so.
She maintained her pleasant expression. Returning to the omission thing... Can you think of any reason why Nana would neglect to mention you were living here when we talked?
You had a bad connection?
Or more likely insufficient time to relate many details, thanks to Lieutenant Michaels, whod done everything in his power, short of tearing the phone from her hand and tossing her into the backseat of his car, to hasten their departure. Amara glanced up as a gust of wind whistled through the rafters. My mother would call this an omen and say I shouldnt have come.
Yeah? The cophed said McVey, hadnt he?picked up and tapped his iPhone as he wandered past the island. She into the woo-woo stuff, too?
If by that you mean does she believe in some of the local legends? Absolutely.
He glanced at her. Therere more than two?
There are more than two hundred, but most of them are offshoots of the interconnected original pair. The Blumes are very big on their ancestor Hezekiahs transformation into a raven.
Ive noticed.
That transformation is largely blamed on the Bellam witches.
The Bellams being your ancestors.
My grandmothers surname gave it away, huh?
Among other things. Setting the bulk of them aside and assuming youre Amara, your gran sent me a very short, very cryptic text message last night.
Youre just opening a text from last night now?
Give me a break, Red. Its my day off, this is my personal phone and the windstorm out there dislodged four shutters that Ive spent the better part of the past twelve hours repairing and reattaching. He turned his iPhone so she could see the screen. According to Grandma Bellam, youre in a whack of trouble from the crime lord you helped convict.
Amara read the message, then returned her gaze to his unfathomable and strangely compelling eyes. Whack being the operative word. Look, its late, and Im intrudingapparently. Im sure one of my aunts, uncles or cousins will put me up for the night. Wanting some distance between them, she started for the door. I left my rental car at the foot of the driveway. Its pointed toward Ravens Hollow. As luck would have it, thats where my less antagonistic relatives live. So Ill leave you to whatever you were doing before we met and go break into one of their houses. She rummaged through her shoulder bag and produced the back door key. Ill put this back under the flowerpot. Nana locks herself out at least three times a year.
Setting his phone on the island, McVey moved toward her. Forget the key, Amara. Talk to me about this whack of trouble.
Its asticky story.
Im a cop. Im used to sticky. Im also fine with sounds crazy, if that helps.
It didnt. Neither did the fact that hed ventured far enough into the light that she could see her initial assessment of him had been dead-on. The man was...well, gorgeous worked as well as any other word.
Long dark hair swept away from a pair of riveting brown eyes, and what female alive wouldnt kill for those cheekbones? Then there was the lean, rangy body. She wouldnt mind having that on top of her again.... And, God help her, where had that thought come from? She seriously needed to get her hormones under control, because no way should the idea ofokay, admit itsex with an überhot man send her thoughts careening off to fantasyland.
Jimmy Sparks, vicious head of a family chock full of homicidal relatives, wanted her dead. She couldnt go back to New Orleans or her job, and she couldnt reasonably expect Lieutenant Michaels to do any more than hed already done to help her. Her grandmother wasnt in Ravens Hollow, and Amara figured shed probably alienated the Cove cop who was to the point where he might actually consider turning her over to Jimmys kith and kin simply to be rid of her.
I really am sorry about all of this. She backed toward the mudroom. I wasnt expecting to find...
A wolf in Grandmas cottage? He continued to advance. Still waiting for the story, Red. If the trouble parts too big a leap, start with the less antagonistic relatives reference.
First off, Id rather you called me Amara. You can see for yourself, my hairs more brown than red. Which, when you get right down to it, is the story of my relatives in an extremely simplified nutshell.
Gonna need a bit more than that, Im afraid. So far all Ive got is that youre the descendant of a Bellam witch.
Yes, but the question is which witch? Most Bellams can trace the roots of their family tree back to Nola. There are only a handful of us who have her lesser-known sister Sarahs blood.
Finally, thankfully, he stopped moving. If Nola and Sarah were sisters, whats the difference blood-wise?
Nola Bellam was married to Hezekiah Blume. At least she was, until Hezekiah went on a killing spree. According to the Blume legend, he repented. However, all those deaths got him turned into a clairvoyant raven. There wasnt a large window of opportunity for Nola to get pregnant. Unless you add in the unpleasant fact that Hezekiahs brother Ezekiel raped her, accused her of being a witch, then hunted her down and tried to destroy her. Thus, Hezekiahs killing spree.
Complicated stuff.
Isnt it? It gets worse, too, because, as luck would have it, sister Sarah had a thing for Ezekiel.
And that thing resulted in a child?
You catch on quick. Sarah had a daughter, who had a daughter and so on. So did Nola, of course, but not with Hezekiah. Even in legend, humans and ravens cant mate. Long story short, and rape notwithstanding, Nola never gave birth to a Blume baby. Sarah did. Amara shrugged. Im sure you know by now that Blumes and Bellams have been at odds for...well, ever. Ravens Cove versus Ravens Hollow in all things legendary and logical. So where does a Bellam with Blume blood in her background fit in? Does she cast spells or fall victim to them? And which town does she claim for her own? You can imagine the genetic dilemma.
McVey cocked his head. Youre not going to go all weird and spooky on me, are you?
Havent got time for that, unfortunately.
Knowing Jimmy Sparks, I tend to agree.
Her fingers froze on the doorknob. You know him?
Weve met once or twice. McVey sent her a casual smile. Well, I say met, but it was really more a case of I shot at him.
You fired bullets at Jimmy King-of-Grudges Sparks and lived to tell about it?
Put the living-to-tell part down to pure, dumb luck. I was painfully green at the time, but I was also a better shot than my partner, who took it upon himself through me to try to blow Sparkss tires out after we witnessed an illegal late-night exchange.
And?
I hit two tires before someone inside the vehicle fired back. The shooter winged my partner. He got me in the shoulder, then got off when our report of the incident mysteriously disappeared. Before the night was done, wed been ordered to forget the whole thing.
I hit two tires before someone inside the vehicle fired back. The shooter winged my partner. He got me in the shoulder, then got off when our report of the incident mysteriously disappeared. Before the night was done, wed been ordered to forget the whole thing.
Lucky Jimmy.
Is that censure I hear in your voice, Red?
On the off chance that you actually do have a concussion, lets call it curiosity.
Lets call it not your business, and move on to why one of this countrys least-favorite sons is giving you, the descendant of a Maine witch, grief.
I helped send him to prison. Seems my testimony pissed him off.
Thereby landing you in a whack of trouble and leaving me with one last burning question. Without appearing to move, he closed the gap between them, wrapped his fingers and thumb lightly around her jaw and tipped her head back to stare down at her. Why the hell has your witchy face been in my head for the past fifteen years?
Chapter Four
He didnt expect an answer. He wasnt even sure why hed asked the question. True, she looked very much like the woman in his recurring dream, but the longer he stared at hercouldnt help that part, unfortunatelythe more the differences added up.
On closer inspection, Amaras hair really was more brown than red. Her features were also significantly finer than...whomever. Her gray eyes verged on charcoal, her slim curves were much better toned and her legs were the longest hed seen on any woman anywhere.
He might have lingered on the last thing if she hadnt slapped a hand to his chest, narrowed those beautiful charcoal eyes to slits and seared him with a glare.
What do you mean my face has been in your head for fifteen years? What the hell kind of question is that?
A faint smile touched his lips. Given my potentially concussed state, call it curiosity and forget I asked.
The suspicion returned. Are you sure my grandmothers in the Caribbean and not locked in a closet upstairs?
This might not be the best time to be giving me ideas. With his eyes still on hers, he pulled a beeping iPhone from his pocket and pressed the speaker button. What is it, Jake?
Got a problem here, Chief.
His deputy sounded stoked, which was never a good sign. But it was the background noisesthe thumps, shouts and crashesthat told the story.
Bar fight got out of hand, huh?
Wasnt my fault. Jake had to yell above the sound of shattering glass. All I did was tell the witch people to mount their broomsticks and fly off home.
You know youre in Ravens Hollow, right? Ravens Hollow, Bellam territory.
Can I help it if folks in this town are touchy about their ancestors?
This night is deteriorating faster by the minute, McVey muttered.
Jake made a guttural sound as a fist struck someones face. Ravens Cove was settled first, and thats a fact. Whyre you sticking up for a bunch of interlopers who cant hold their liquor and are proud of the fact that one of their stupid witch women made it so my great-great-whatever-granddaddy got turned into a bird?
Were they actually having this conversation? McVey regarded Amara, whod heard every word, and, holding her gaze, said calmly, Ill be there in fifteen.
He could see she was trying not to laugh as he pocketed his phone and bent to retrieve the gun hed lost during their scuffle.
Sorry, but I did warn you, McVey.
No, you didnt. You said your Ravens Hollow relatives represented the less antagonistic side of the family. Thats not how Jake Blumes telling it.
Twenty bucks says Jake started it.
Since that was entirely possible, McVey stuffed his weapon. What can I say? He came with the job.
The jobs a powder keg, Chief, a fact that whoever talked you into it obviously neglected to mention. Ravens Cove goes through police chiefs
Like wolves go through grandmothers? In a move intended to unsettle, he blocked her flight path. Gonna need your keys, Red.
Unfazed, she ran her index finger over his chest. Are you telling me, Chief McVey, that a deputy came with the job, but a vehicle didnt? Sounds like someone suckered you big time.
Im beginning to agree. And, damn it, get hot. Keys are in case your cars closing my truck in. Knowing Jake as I do, we need to leave now.
We?
Youre coming with me.
Excuse me?
Whack of trouble, he reminded her, and was relieved when she ground her teeth.
Their banter was getting way out of hand. Given the situation, a distraction like that that could turn into something bad very quickly.
He caught her shoulders before she could object, turned and nudged her through the mudroom. As much as Id love to argue this out, my instincts tell me you have a functioning brain and no particular desire to wait here alone for whatever family member Jimmy Sparks chooses to sic on you.
I wasnt planning to wait anywhere.
Right. You want to search for a place to flop in Ravens Hollow. At night, in a windstorm, with no idea how many of your relatives are home and how many are participating in the destruction of a Blume-owned bar at Harrow and Main in the Hollow.
The Red Eye? She laughed as he reached back to snag his badge from the table. Thats gonna piss Uncle Lazarus right offassuming he still holds the lease on the place, which he will, seeing as hes notorious for acquiring properties and never selling them. Never selling anything, except possibly, like his ancestor Hezekiah, his soul.
Im getting that you dont like your uncle.
Its not a question of like or dislike really. Uncle Lazarus is a miser and a misery of a man. Hes also quite reclusive. Even so, your paths must have crossed a time or two since you arrived.
More than a time or two, only once that mattered.
Wind whipped strands of long hair up into her face the moment they stepped onto the back porch. What did you do, fine him for jaywalking?
Nope. McVey held the key ring in his mouth while he clipped the badge to his belt and checked his gun. I arrested him for being drunk and disorderly.
Amara clawed the hair from her face. Im sorry. I thought you said he was drunk.
He was hammered.
And disorderly.
He lurched into a dockside bar in Ravens Cove, staggered across the floor and slugged a delivery driver in the stomach. He pointed left. My trucks that way.
I see it. Im waiting for the punch line.
No line, just two punches. The second was a right uppercut to the drivers jaw. Hes lucky the guy didnt file assault charges. Id guess your uncle did a little boxing in his day.
He did a lot of things in his day. But burst into Two Toes Joes bar drunk? Not a chance. She hesitated. Did he say why he did it?
Driver was a courier. Hed delivered a large padded envelope to your uncles home in the north woods earlier that afternoon. Four hours later the guys eyes were rolling back in his head. Lazarus pumped a fist, laughed like a lunatic and fell facedown on the floor.