Page 24 of Cinder's Trial

Watching.

As we drove off, I said, “Mind swinging by the bureau so I can grab my car?”

“I take it Levi gave you a ride this morning from the office?”

“Actually, he gave me a lift from my place. He insisted on taking me home last night after the elevator fiasco.”

“He did?” Hannah took her eyes from the road for a second.

“Yeah, even did a scout of my place, although I don’t know for what. I don’t have anyone targeting me.”

“Levi doesn’t do things without reason.”

“If you ask me, he’s convinced there’s bad guys around every corner.”

“In our line of work, that’s often true.” She swerved to avoid the green goblin that darted across the road.

“The Little Ash Girl story doesn’t have bad guys, just an evil stepfamily, and in my case, since I have no family left, it was coworkers.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. How did your parents die?”

“Nothing fairytale related. Mom died having me, and Dad got caught in a house fire when I was at camp.” A camp for misbehaved girls, which, no surprise, didn’t apply to me. The irony being my stepsisters could have used it, but the fire took them, along with my stepmom and papa.

“My parents gave up trying to be responsible when I was young. At times, I’m pretty sure they didn’t even remember they had a kid. Best choice I made for myself was running away. Scrounging for food is what led me to Gerome and eventually the witch.”

I already knew he wasn’t her brother, a variation on the tale. “You have to wonder how much the curse has to do with the tragic events that shaped some of us caught in the Grimm Effect,” I mused aloud.

As she stopped for a red light, some pigs trotted across, followed by a bulky figure in a trench coat with impressive sideburns. I fired a quick text to the bureau to advise them of the location. We had someone attempting to track down the little pigs to keep them safe from the wolf that would try to eat them. They’d proven to be wily at hiding.

“Which is your car?” Hannah asked, pulling into the parking lot for my work.

I pointed to the small electric smart car, nearly identical to Belle’s, as we’d bought the same model a year apart. Though Blanche hated them, I found them less scary than Blanche’s motorcycle. The lot had quite a few vehicles still parked, which had me frowning. Had people already gone back to work?

“What’s wrong?” Hannah asked as she parked beside my vehicle.

“I guess the exterminators got the job done fast.”

“What exterminators?”

“The ones to handle the rats. Levi said I couldn’t swing by the office this morning because of them.’

“Odd. I didn’t hear or see anything when I popped by around lunch to grab something for the boss.”

Why would Levi lie?

I headed for my car, and Hannah followed, for some reason dropping to her knees to check the undercarriage, poking her head inside, and then even popped the hood to glance at the engine.

“Good to go,” she declared. “I’ll be right behind you.”

“You don’t have to follow me home. I’ll be fine.”

“The boss gave me an order, and he’ll skin me alive if I don’t obey.”

I sighed, but what could I do? I didn’t want her to get in trouble.

The drive proved uneventful if I ignored the turtle doves that swooped past my windshield. Please don’t tell me the Twelve Days of Christmas would become a thing.

My triplex appeared fine, but as expected, Hannah trudged up the stairs to do a cursory check. She met my friends, and Izzy fell in love after a good scratching.

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