Page 92 of Bright Dark Curses

Unable to stand it anymore, I went to him and kissed him on the cheek. “Good answer.”

Ian’s mouth kicked up at the corners, then he snuck up a hand around my neck and gave me a long kiss.

“Oh, for the love of God,” Hutton muttered.

I straightened and gave him a superior what? look.

“What’s happening?” Ethan demanded.

“Nothing,” I said, returning to my seat. Sitting on Ian’s lap again was tempting, but it was time to focus. “Until yesterday, Lydia Lee was our prime suspect. She could’ve been around all the incidents, and she had two vials of possible potions in her room.”

The coffee maker beeped and Hutton poured himself a cup of coffee. “Possible potions?”

“We, ah, didn’t have the time to test the contents. By the way, do you have blood testing kits in the pack? The kind that tells you if there’s human blood on something?”

“I have no idea.”

“Could you ask? Maybe get one of your contacts to get some?”

“Why?”

“It’d make detecting dark magic in potions a lot easier.”

His eyes widened a fraction, and he stared intently at me. “Absolutely not. Find your own supplier, witch.”

I supposed if my alpha powers were dependent on a dark magic potion as Hutton’s were, I’d also not want any kind of dark magic testing device near me. “Fine.”

He bored his pointed gaze into me for another long second, then said, “Being denied the main role doesn’t seem motive enough to sabotage the whole movie.”

“Oh, she’s a total diva,” Ethan said. “She would totally do it.”

“Why is it the actresses who are always the divas?” Key asked in annoyance. “What if she was just trying to get things done and people didn’t listen?”

“Nah,” Brett said. “She told me to get coffee for her one day. She was really mean about it.”

“Sanders is kind of an ass too,” Ethan said. “We should investigate him next.”

“We’re investigating Charles McKee, previously known as Craig Turner. You both saw him around two of the incidents, he had access to the trunk in the truck, and he has a grudge against the city.”

“We don’t know if he’s a paranormal,” Shane warned me.

“He is,” Hutton said.

We all turned to him.

He smiled—a little meanly if you ask me—and took a long sip of his coffee.

“Care to elaborate?” I asked, tapping my fingers on the table.

He set the cup down by his side on the counter and crossed his arms. “Dad had some dealings with his father. He’s a witch.”

My attention immediately moved to Ian, who appeared unaffected by the information as he looked back at Hutton.

“What kind of deals?” I asked slowly.

“Nothing illegal,” Hutton said with a warning note in his voice. “His family is known for putting down good wards, so he asked McKee’s father to strengthen some of the ones on the walls.”

That was surprising. The Council hadn’t told me about a powerful witch family living in the area. Perhaps they had assumed, like Wyatt, that he had stayed away after the arrest instead of moving back to Olmeda?

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