Page 106 of Blood and Bonbons

“What are you saying? That a human woman kidnapped Miles?”

Cross approached me and pointed to the charm hidden under my shirt.

“If he was wearing one of these, a human with ill intentions is the only creature who would have been able to kidnap him, correct?”

Cross made a valid point. One I’d thought initially, too. But it was a worrying one.

“Do you know how many human females live in D.C.? Instead of narrowing down our suspect pool, it exploded. I wish he would have rigged cameras in here.” I immediately wrinkled my nose. “No, scratch that. That is not footage either Vena or I would want to watch.”

“I don’t understand,” Cross said as he looked thoughtful. “The knowledge I’ve acquired gives me conflicting information on what a camera is.”

“There are a lot of different types of cameras, but the one almost everyone has is in their phone.”

I pulled out my phone and showed him a picture of Vena and me the last time we’d gone out together.

“Lovely,” Cross said, stroking a finger over the image and accidentally flipping it to the next one. The drunk selfie of me in a club bathroom showed way too much cleavage. I pulled the phone away and tucked it back into my pocket.

“My phone is my camera. I use it to capture images. If we knew what the woman looked like, that would at least give us a starting point.”

Cross stared at my chest for a long moment. I told myself he was probably thinking about the wonders of technology and not staring at my boobs. Why did I feel a little disappointed when he turned away and headed for the main room, then?

“No screaming, Everly,” he said as he pulled the front door open. “Please come inside.”

A yip still squeaked out of me when the blue fairy zipped in, and Cross closed the door behind it. The fairy went right for the silver framed picture of Vena.

“I will gladly give you the frame if you answer a few questions for me,” Cross said, halting its flight.

My mouth dropped open.

“It can understand you?”

CHAPTERSEVENTEEN

“The fairy understands us both,”Cross said. “It simply chooses to ignore you.”

“First, that's rude. Second, I assumed they didn’t have any thoughts in their heads except finding shiny objects and stealing them.”

“That might be their main focus, but they aren’t mindless drones.” He attracted the fairy’s attention and held it. “Do you remember the woman who was here?”

The fairy pointed at me.

“Not her,” Cross said. “The one with the perfume. What does she look like?”

“The fairy can talk?” I asked.

“No. But it has ways of communicating if you’re patient enough.”

The fairy began gesturing to itself and pointing to its back.

“Is it trying to say the woman was a fairy?”

Cross frowned. “It is not a fairy who lured Miles away. Please try again.”

With a light huff, the fairy zipped over to me, which made me screech and duck for Cross. He caught me in his arms, one hand cradling the back of my head as I hid against his chest. The way his fingers idly stroked over my hair sent a shiver through me, and I wasn’t sure if I was safer with the fairy or Cross.

Cautiously lifting my head, I saw Cross wasn’t focused on me but on the fairy who pointed to my lower back. Hovering in the air, it struck a pose with its arms and legs bent like it was on all fours but leaning on its elbows to thrust its butt in the air.

“I’m disturbed,” I muttered.

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