Page 44 of Bitten By Desire

“I don’t… I don’t know. I have to get back before dawn. They kept me here during…the…day. One more, and I don’t think I’ll…make it.”

Shit.

“Julian, what do we do?” I cried, panicking. “How do we get him to another realm without his magic?”

Julian’s face melted into his usual form as he looked at me wide-eyed. Instantly, I knew he had no idea.

I pulled out my cell and pressed 0, then handed Binx over to Hazel and Tabitha, explaining the problem.

“Keep him on the dark side of the planet,” I suggested to Zoe, having gone into scientist mode. “Until we figure out a solution. If you follow the time zones and portal to wherever it’s night, he should be able to survive.”

She nodded, and the portal closed behind them. I swung on Lorraine.

“I didn’t mean to,” she said weakly, still kneeling before Julian. “I went there to try and save him. I swear.”

“And you found it ransacked?” Julian asked.

She nodded vehemently. “But Binx was just tied up there and I…I wanted to bring him here to safety, but?—”

“But?” I asked, stepping next to Julian and folding my arms.

“I think his magic went awry. I wanted him so badly that I couldn’t give him up.” She was sobbing now, down on her hands and knees, shaking and hysterical. “I was out of my mind with desire. I didn’t mean to push you…I…I don’t know what came over me.”

Julian looked at me and I frowned. “His magic wasn’t even working.”

She snapped her head up. “What? No. It was. I wanted him so much. I, if you hadn’t come when you did, I might’ve, might’ve done something unforgiveable.”

“You mean like trying to kill me? Get up,” I said, done with her. I didn’t buy it. But I also couldn’t figure out another motive. This woman made no sense. “Now what do we do with her?” I asked Julian.

“We have to investigate the other board murders,” he said, considering her. “You’ve already told her she can’t harm us or run, so I propose we’ll have to take her with us until we connect the dots.”

Lorraine stood, wiping her eyes. “There were others killed?”

“Potentially two,” I said, watching her. Her aura remained as dark grey as before, but that wasn’t hard to believe.

“I’m happy to help if I can. I’ll get dressed. If that’s okay?” She looked at me.

“Fine,” I said, closing my eyes and setting a hand to my forehead. “Julian, go feed before we travel. That’ll give Zoe more time too. I’ve got this.”

Julian nodded and zipped from the room. I knew he wouldn’t go far or take long despite what that might mean for his meal. I trusted him to be gentle and leave them alive and well.

I sat on the corner of the bed where she’d kept Binx and tried to focus. What the hell was up with Lorraine? I supposed her excuse was entirely plausible had Binx’s abilities been out of whack, so to speak. But it didn’t sit right. How did she haul him back all by herself? How did his magic flare then vanish so quickly? I imagined it was the major and her brute squad that beat him. That fit their MO. But why had they been attacked by fae in the first place?

I grunted, frustrated, and Lorraine appeared, fixing a gold watch to her wrist and perfectly put together in a beautiful crimson dress that screamed Grace Kelly yet didn’t look out of style at all. She was far too pretty and far too obsessed with Binx, and possibly Julian, even if she had by some stretch been telling the truth.

Julian returned through the window at my side, flushed and healthy. “Shall we, ladies?” he asked.

I dialed Zoe, and the portal appeared before us. We stepped right through to the scene of the crime, bypassing whatever police resistance we would have had to deal with. Unfortunately, I didn’t think we were the only ones interested in the crime scene since the bodies hadn’t yet been moved. In fact, nothing was tagged or marked. I doubted any legitimate law enforcement had been allowed in the area.

Narrowing my eyes, I scanned the room. “It’s so quiet.”

“The board has likely put up wards and doesn’t want anyone touching the bodies yet,” Julian said, stepping over a large chunk of wall and broken glass from the shattered window. He leaned down over one of the sheets and pulled it back, revealing a man ripped open from neck to thigh by claws, the same as Gerard and Mama.

I threw a hand to my mouth, and Lorraine shrieked, backing up until she hit a mountain of rubble.

“Do you recognize him?” Julian asked her, looking up from where he knelt near the body.

She nodded slowly, eyes wide. “I’ve seen him before at a party in Norway I think.”

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