Page 45 of Sweaty Nights & Gator Bites

“I can be the bad cop,” Dea offered. “I’ll push them hard, make them sweat. But we need someone to step in and offer a lifeline, make them think cooperation is their best option.”

Kota nodded in agreement. "I’ll be the good cop.” I snorted out a laugh, making Kota glare at me and ask, “What?”

Sobering, I lifted one eyebrow and looked at her. “You’re more the bad cop type.”

Kota glowered at me and said, “I can offer them a way out and make them think they have something to gain by talking to us.”

I held my hands up, palms out in a sign of peace. “Perfect. What about the setting? Are we going to do this on their turf?”

Lia leaned back, considering. “It needs to be somewhere neutral, where they won’t feel in control. And where they can’t utilize any hidden relics. They could ambush us and we would have no idea. I was thinking we issue a summons to appear before the council. They will be more likely to come and won’t be able to act without witnesses being around.”

“It’s also private enough for us to talk openly,” Dre noted. “We need to be careful with the hotline staff being there. Plus, if things go south, we need a quick exit strategy.”

“We can cast a spell over the coroner upstairs and the hotline staff,” Lia pointed out.

Phi nodded. “We should have a few shifters on standby outside, just in case.”

“Good idea,” I agreed. “Now, what’s our main goal here? What exactly do we want to find out?”

Dea glanced around the table. “We need to know if they have plans to take power from Marie’s ancestors as well as tie them to the dark magic and the murders in the bayou. If we can get them to admit to working with Garrick or having knowledge of his plans, that would be ideal.”

“We should also dig into their motives,” Kota added. “Why are they doing this? What do they hope to gain? Understanding their endgame could help us.”

“They’ll probably try to blame someone else or claim ignorance," I pointed out. “We need to have our facts straight and be ready to counter their lies.”

“Let's use what we already know against them,” Dre said. “Mention the symbols we found. And the connections to the other families as well as their hatred for Marie. We show them we’re not coming in blind.”

We went over the plan once more, fine-tuning the details and making sure everyone was comfortable with their parts. The tension in the room began to ease and was replaced by a sense of purpose and unity. Dre sent a summons through official channels and we headed out to the council chambers.

“Remember,” Adèle said as Lia parked outside the council building and went inside. I waved to the two women answering the phones. “Be assertive, but cautious. These families are powerful, and they won’t hesitate to protect their secrets. Trust in your instincts and your bond as sisters.”

A young woman entered the meeting room a second after we took our seats. She had long, red hair and beady blue eyes. She was stick thin and looked like she might blow awayin a stiff breeze. She also appeared to have something smelly on her curled upper lip.

Dre stood up and extended her hand. “Thank you for coming on such short notice. I’m Dre and these are my sisters, Dani, Kota, Lia, Phi, and Dea," Dre said to the young woman who threw herself into a chair at the conference table. She crossed her arms over her chest and ignored Dre’s hand.

Silence stretched for a few uncomfortable seconds before Dre broke it by saying, “I must admit, I’m surprised at who your family sent. Did you draw the short straw this time?”

I agreed with Dre. This young woman looked like she was about twenty years old. Why would the elders in the family make her come here? She was their sacrificial lamb. It made me want to jump in the car and barrel down their doors.

The Montclair woman glared at us and was silent for several seconds. Finally, she muttered, “I'm Evelyn.”

“Evelyn,” I repeated with a smile and decided to go for the throat. “I’m going to cut to the chase. We know your family is planning something to disrupt Marie Leveau’s family reunion. We need to know what it is.”

Evelyn's lips twisted into a smirk. “You think I'll just tell you because you ask directly?”

Dre leaned over the table with narrowed eyes. “Your family has no idea who they're messing with. I’m sure you think we’re nothing more than mundies pretending to be witches. The reality is we are so much more.”

Dre flicked a finger that had become a talon across the table, scratching a deep groove into the wood. At the same time, Kota conjured her witch fire while the rest of us manipulated one of the elements. We hadn’t planned it, but our display was pretty impressive.

“Cooperate, Evelyn. It’s in your best interest,” Dea added softly. So much for her being the bad cop. This turned outbetter, anyway. She played the role of good guy better than Kota.

Evelyn's defiance wavered slightly under our magical energy. Unfortunately, she remained silent. “She’s hiding something,” Adèle interjected. “Push harder, but don’t let her know what we’ve already done with the stone.”

That was good advice. I hadn’t thought about wanting to keep that a secret. I was too focused on proving our power to loosen her lips. “Evelyn, we know your family is desperate. Desperate people make mistakes. We’ve already discovered some plans. I’m sure your relatives told you that before feeding you to the dragons. You don't want to be on the wrong side when everything comes crashing down.”

Lia crossed her arms over her chest and glared. “We’ve already dealt with the stone you tried to trick us into taking home. We’re not as easy to fool as you think.” My eyes flew open and I averted my gaze so Evelyn didn’t see my surprise. That wasn’t what we were supposed to say. I was seething over how she’d just taken our one advantage. I swear I wanted to punch her and slap duct tape over her mouth.

Evelyn's eyes flickered with surprise, but she quickly masked it. “You destroyed it? That...that was just a decoy.” She snapped her mouth shut and bit her lower lip. She hadn’t meant to say that.

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