On Pins and Needles: Sierra Fox, Book 3 (10 page)

“I recognize it. This is an ancient dialect of symbols used long ago in the practice of witchcraft.” He scrolled down—the text seemed to go on forever. “This might take a while. Do you mind if I get a copy and take it home?”

“Be my guest.”

Oren reached into his jacket and pulled out a slim silver drive. He seemed to carry lots of things in his pocket, almost as if he could conjure up whatever he needed by sticking his hand inside. And for all I knew, maybe he could. If so, it was a trick I was very eager to learn.

I was about to voice my curiosity when
The Ghostbusters
ringtone on my mobile cut through the silence. I groaned. Who the hell kept calling me?

“You should answer that, Sierra,” Oren said while plugging in his USB drive.
 

“Nah, I don’t think I will.” I shook my head before turning to Papan, and found him staring at me with a strange look on his face. He seemed to be lost in thought, a tiny smile twitching his lips. “What?”

His smile broadened. “Nothing, I’m just thinking about something.”

Heat rose along my face. I was pretty sure I knew
exactly
what he was thinking about. The intense look in his green eyes made me feel as if I was already naked.
 

“Yeah, well, don’t think too much.”

“I won’t,” he said. “I like to take the hands-on approach.”

“Could you two stop with the innuendoes?” Oren said, shaking his head. “The temperature’s rising in here already.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I snapped.

Oren turned his gaze away from the laptop’s screen long enough to flash me a look. His light blue eyes smiled at me. “It doesn’t take a mind reader to know what you two did last night and probably this morning, so don’t act surprised when I read between the lines.”

I pushed the chair back and stood, unable to stay seated for another second. “That’s seriously twisted, old man.” I headed for the sink and rinsed my mug before dumping it inside. “Even for you, it’s twisted.”

“I’m just stating the obvious.”

A quick glance in Papan’s direction confirmed he was amused by the exchange.

“Whatever,” I said.

My mobile ringtone sounded again and for the first time in hours, having to answer the pesky phone seemed like a better option than continuing this awkward conversation.
 

I left the kitchen, picked up the mobile and noticed the same number from before. “Hello?”

“Hi, Sierra Fox?”

“Yes, this is Sierra.”

“This is Constable Gareth Crewe.”

“Oh, hi,” I said slowly. I remembered him—he was the nice-looking cop who’d taken my statement when Benita was killed. “How are you?” I didn’t know what else to say. The thought of the missing and very bloody letter opener I used to stab Mauricio in his dog form came to mind. In spite of searching every inch of my office, I still hadn’t found it. Maybe the cop had and was ringing to get some answers.

“I’m…good.” He sounded as if I’d either thrown him off by my question, or he didn’t know how to broach the reason he was calling.

“What can I do for you?”
Might as well get this over with…
I closed my eyes, my heart beating a little too fast and my nerves slowly cutting into my happy mood.

“I’m at your office at the moment, and we’ve got a problem.”

“What, why are you at my office?” Shit, he really had found the letter opener.

“I needed to talk to you about something, but when I got here one of your office neighbors informed me there were some strange noises coming from inside yours.” The constable paused. “He claims to have knocked on the door, but when you didn’t answer he assumed something was wrong. In fact, he was calling the police when I got here.”

“That’s some great timing.”

“Yeah,” he said with a dry chuckle. “Anyway, I found something in your office that you need to see.”

Despite my certainty, my mind raced with other possibilities—a demon, a ghost, a new member of the
Obscurus
.
Maybe even Jonathan waiting inside to ambush me since I’d been doing my best to ignore him. But no, it
had
to be the weapon I’d used to stab Mauricio.

“What is it?” I croaked before clearing my throat.

“Ah…” He sighed into the phone. “I think it might be best if you see it for yourself. Are you able to come in?”

I snapped my eyes open and rubbed the bridge of my nose. My initial response was a defiant
no
. There were so many reasons why I didn’t want to leave the house right now—Papan, what Oren was working on, Papan, the fact I’d have to go in later anyway to see Willow. Out of every reason running through my head Papan was the main one. I didn’t want to leave his side. The thought of spending the weekend together was getting brighter by the minute. But how could I deny going to my own office when something was wrong?

Even though he couldn’t see me, I nodded. “Okay, I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“You, get back inside.”

“What did you say?”

“Sorry Sierra, I wasn’t talking to you,” he said apologetically. “That’s great. I’ll see you soon.”

I opened my mouth to respond, but he’d already hung up. Lowering the phone, I sighed.
 

My day had started out brilliantly—on the highest note possible. But as usual, something was trying to get in the way. Why couldn’t I catch a freaking break?
 

I took a deep breath, filling my lungs with air before releasing it. I was determined to deal with whatever was going on, and would then get back as soon as I could. Yes, I could do this. It would take an hour—tops—to sort this out.
 

I dashed upstairs to my room and grabbed a clean pair of socks and my ankle-high boots. I carefully tucked the dagger’s scabbard in between, securing the clip on the back. Too bad I couldn’t spare the time to reset the shrouding incantation.

I wandered back into the kitchen, prepared to tell Papan and Oren what was going on, but found Papan holding his phone in front of him and Oren still hunched over the laptop. He’d placed bifocals on the tip of his nose.

“Please, Jason, you have to come over,” a grating female voice said over the speaker.

I mouthed, “Her again?” and he nodded.

“I’m busy, I can’t.”

“Are you still with that bitch?” she screamed. “I bet you’re with that fucking—”

“Whoa, Anna, mind your language,” Oren shouted fiercely.

“What the hell?” Her voice echoed out from the phone in a shrilly tone. “Are you with the creepy old man as well?”

“Yes, he is,” Oren answered. “And he can’t help you right now, he’s busy.”

“Whatever, old timer, I wasn’t talking to you.”

“And from what I can tell,” Oren said, “you’re being a mighty pest at the moment. Leave Jason alone. We all know that if there’s anything wrong with you, it won’t kick in until the next full moon phase.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about. I feel like shit. Besides, that’s only a week away.”

“Vixen, I doubt that’s got anything to do with being bitten,” I baited.

Both Oren and Papan gave me a look, but I simply shrugged.

“Bitch!” And with that, Vixen hung up.

“Maybe I should get you to answer my phone from now on,” Papan said with a smile.

“No thanks, I hate answering mine as it is.”

“So, who’s been calling you this morning?” Oren asked.

“Yeah, about that…” I stood between them, trying to look from one to the other so I could gauge their reactions. “That was a police officer calling from my office.”

“What happened this time?” Papan asked, his face darkening.

“I’m not sure. He said I needed to see it for myself.”

Papan stood up. “Okay, let’s go.”

I shook my head. “No, I’ll go on my own. Can you stay here with Oren and see if you can make heads or tails out of this jumble?”

“I’d prefer to come with you.”

I strolled up to him, closing the distance between us so I could get on my tiptoes and kiss him lightly. “And I’d prefer to stay here with you too.”

“I don’t think you should go alone—”

“Jason, she’s going to her office to meet with a police officer. What could go wrong?”

Silence filled the kitchen because we all knew a lot could go wrong. It could be an ambush. Or someone could be waiting for me when I arrived in the building. Still, I refused to live my life as a scared woman who needed a chaperone every time she left the house. No, I’d handle this myself and come back safely.

“Point taken—a lot can go wrong.” Oren looked at Papan over his glasses. “But I don’t think anything will today.”

“What makes you so certain?” Papan seemed to be challenging him.

He shrugged. “Call it intuition, but I think the
Obscurus
will probably take a different approach with their next move. After all, the attack angle hasn’t been fruitful for them, has it? They’ve come so close to getting their greedy paws on her, but she’s still free.” Oren sighed, turning to face me. “And judging from the small amount of script I’ve deciphered so far, this ritual they so desperately want to use you for requires you to be both alive and in your most powerful state.”

I wondered if either of them knew what this powerful state was. I did. These bastards wanted me to receive the full extent of my familial powers before the ritual was conducted. In order to do that, my grandmother had to move onto the afterlife instead of being kept in limbo like she was now.

Papan stepped closer to Oren. “And did your intuition tell you there would be some beast waiting to break into her house? Or that someone would try to run her over?”

Oren’s light eyes hardened, but he didn’t say anything.

I touched Papan’s forearm. “It’s okay. I’m going to pop in and out. I’ll be back before you realize it.”

When he made a move to say more, I shut him up with a deep kiss that probably involved more tongue than it should have in present company. But I didn’t care. Any minute I had to be away from Papan was way too long, so I wanted to take something to remember him by.

I finally pulled away, licking my lips. “Can you walk me out?”
 

“Of course,” he said.

“See you soon, Oren!”

He gave me a quick wave, obviously not brave enough to look our way in case we continued to act so passionate.

At the front door I stuck the phone in my pocket, as well as my wallet. I made sure my dagger was firmly in place and grabbed my keys. Before I got the chance to open the door, Papan backed me up against it and placed his arms over my head. With his considerable height, he towered over me as he moved his face in front of mine.

“Don’t be gone for long, okay?” His green eyes were shiny and fierce. When they flicked to amber for just a moment, I knew how much emotion was roiling inside him.
 

And I couldn’t lie—it excited me to realize he cared so much.

“I promise to get back as soon as I can.”

He met my gaze. “Yeah, see, that’s the problem with you. I know you mean what you promise, but the universe likes to screw around with your plans.”

I grinned. “It sure does, but it won’t keep me away from you for long.”

“Good.” Papan lowered his mouth over mine, dominating my lips in one of the most demanding and possessive kisses I’d ever encountered. It was filled with tongue and the crushing force of our joined mouths.

My body reacted instantly, tightening up in all the places that shouldn’t be tight right now. My legs weakened as I caught my breath.
 

“That’s a little something to remember me by,” he whispered in my ear. “The next time I kiss you like that, it won’t be on the mouth.”

My thighs quivered at the insinuation. “You’re making it hard to leave.”

“No.” He thumbed my breast and my nipple hardened. “I’m trying to make it hard for you to stay away.”

Oh my.
The games were heating up, and I couldn’t keep my excitement from showing. Both of my nipples were so hard they were imprinted on my sweater, and I was rubbing myself against his thigh.
 

“That’s good to hear.” I kissed him quickly and reluctantly pushed him away, causing his thumb to drop. I slipped outside before he could tease me any longer.

I managed to make it to the car. He called my name, and I turned to look at him.

He didn’t say anything, just licked his lips.

I quickly ducked into the car and reversed out of the driveway without turning back, because all my concentration was on keeping my thighs closed. Trying to quell the need to go back into the house and jump Papan.

Chapter Five

Now that I was away from Papan’s
very
seductive influence and had checked way too many times before crossing the road, I raced up the stairs leading to my office. I’d done a pretty good job at not thinking too much about what was waiting for me inside. After all, like Oren said, there was a police officer there.

Yet, as soon as I reached my floor, my heart stopped. Bright flashing lights were bouncing off the wall opposite the open office door and a male voice was saying something I was still too far away to hear clearly.