Page 59 of After Darkness Falls

"That was awesome. Greer Vespian again?" Chloe asked.

Blair beamed. "I take it for anxiety—one drop per day. Two is for shock, and three is in case of paralysis."

Someone ought to sell GV’s potions worldwide. She'd put pharma firms out of business in no time.

Chloe's full attention returned to the huntsmen, who were examining the piece of scarf on the tip of Jack's knife.

"It's clearly elemental magic. An air mage, I'd say."

"Could be. Or blood magic. Hard to tell, now that it's not active. We'll have to take it to the lab."

"Maybe we should stop thinking about what it is and start wondering how it got inside one of our safe houses, and why it targeted the girl," one of the male guards said.

Becca lifted her head toward him and grinned.

"See, boy?" she told Jack. "Always marry someone smarter than you."

The guard rolled his eyes.

Chloe hadn't paid him or the two others much mind, but now she could tell—the dark blonde hair, tall stature, handsome mouth. This was Jack's father. Or his clone, one of the two. They really looked alike. Chloe wanted to ask Jack to stand next to him so she could compare the two specimens. She doubted she'd find more than a handful of differences.

Becca's attention returned to Chloe.

"You're a guest in our home. This should never have happened, and will not happen again. Now, who have you pissed off?"

A question she would have preferred not to answer. Ever.

"Me? No one. Not pissing off people is my hobby, really. I'm nice."

She'd made a point of that.

The leader of the huntsmen looked like she was about to call bullshit.

"But I'm the daughter of a serial killer. The families of his victims…let's just say they aren't very fond of me."

Chloe didn't look at her friends, eyes on her fingertips. She didn't want to see their expressions change. Read judgment.

But it had to be said, because if George's antics had something to do with the strangling scarf, they needed to know, but damn if she didn't hate talking about it.

Becca frowned. "I guess they could have hired a witch, but it's doubtful. To risk pissingusoff, whoever snuck in here has a clear personal stake in this. Jack, you will watch your friend's back, personally."

Chloe blushed. "No need, I have two guards. Cat and Mikar. They're…"

"The vamps. That's why you wanted them to travel with us." Jack groaned, frustrated. "A little warning next time, Cheetah?"

Now she was getting pissed. "I didn't know they'd do anything here, okay? The people after me are in the States. And until now, they’ve only been regular humans."

The full scale of the situation hit her now. She had witches after her. Witches. Creatures who could stop her heart or make her bleed out or worse.

No amount of GV potions could help with that fact. She was a dead woman walking.

"All right, we'll get to the bottom of this, but for now, shields. Mental, physical, and a warning bell too."

Blair leaped to her feet.

"I can help."

Becca laughed.

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