On Pins and Needles: Sierra Fox, Book 3 (21 page)

“Who killed you?” He’d been talking about Willow, but I doubted that’s what he meant.

“The witch killed me.”

“How did she kill you? Didn’t you lose control of the car?”

Jamie nodded. “Yeah, I did, because the brakes weren’t working. They were just fine when I left the car around the corner.”

“Where were you two going?”

He shrugged. “We hadn’t thought that far ahead, but we had my car and a bit of cash, so that was going to be enough to start with. Willow had been talking about you so much. She really wanted to meet you, and couldn’t believe she had a sister no one had told her about. I hope meeting you made her happy. Is she happy?”

“Not happy, really, because she’s lost so much…but she’s safe,” I said. “I’m going to do whatever it takes to keep her safe, but I need to know a few things to help me do that.”

He nodded, and his dark hair fell over his eyes. “I’ll answer whatever I can. I don’t want the same thing to happen to her. She deserves so much from life.”

“Do you remember the name of the woman her father was dating?” This kid seemed really sweet, and I found myself feeling bad for my sister’s doomed relationship. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to lose someone you loved so much.

“Sure, her name is Maya…Maya Anwar.”

 
I took note of the name and repeated it a few times so I wouldn’t forget once I got out of here. “Willow didn’t like or trust her?”

Jamie suddenly looked uncomfortable, winking in and out for a few seconds.

“Maya is a total bitch,” Ronnie said. “If you’re asking Jamie about her, he’ll probably be too embarrassed to tell you she made a pass at him, several times.”

“What?”

Jamie looked confused. “I didn’t say anything.”

“Hold on a second, Jamie. I need to speak to Ronnie.”

Ronnie’s eyes were wide as she looked at me and nodded vehemently. “Yeah, every time Willow’s back was turned, Maya was trying to seduce Jamie with her sultry looks and always-on-show cleavage. But he never cared or took much notice. Jamie was a good guy. He loved Willow and only had eyes for her. His rejection pissed Maya off.”

Why would this woman try to seduce a boy? “Did Willow ever find out what Maya was trying to do to Jamie?”

“Uh, what’s Ronnie telling you?”

“Relax, Jamie, there’s no shame in admitting an older woman tried to seduce you.” I glared at him. “The only shame would be giving in.”

Jamie sighed. “I feel like a bastard for admitting this but you have no idea how hard it was to turn away from Maya sometimes. She would flick her long hair at me and lean over counters so I could see down her shirt. She always walked around in revealing outfits and one time I busted her playing with herself in the bathroom. I always thought she knew I was coming and did it on purpose. But Willow meant too much for me to do something as stupid as give in to that woman. Besides, I know she didn’t want me. She just wanted me to make a move on her so she could tell Willow and we’d break up. Maya wanted me out of the way.”

“Do you know why?”

“I don’t know for sure, but I overheard her on the phone a few times talking to someone and telling them that once I was out of the way, Willow would be hers and she’d have the insurance someone wanted.”

My heart sped up. How could a teenage girl be insurance? Had Maya planned to ultimately use Willow against her own father because there was something else she wanted? I wasn’t sure and it didn’t really make clear sense at the moment, but the big picture was slowly coming together in the back of my mind.

I looked at this kid who’d died so young and had so much inner strength and belief in love that he’d resisted the temptations of what sounded like a very alluring woman. Having such a strong-willed ally by her side probably ensured that Willow wasn’t isolated and easily influenced. No wonder this Maya woman wanted Jamie out of the way.

“Can you tell me what Maya looks like?” I asked.

“Curvy, pretty, exotic, big-breasted—”

“Trampy, overdid the makeup, couldn’t keep her boobs inside her top most of the time, long, black hair, and darkish skin. Did I mention trampy?”

I couldn’t help but smile at the way each of them described Maya.
 

“Thanks guys,” I said. “Now, Ronnie, I need to ask you a very important question—did Maya kill you?”

Her eyes widened and she looked thoughtful for a moment before shaking her head. “No, it wasn’t her. I’d never seen anything like this before.”

“Tell me what you can remember…”

“It’s all broken up inside my head, so I can only remember bits and pieces. Long hair, a bare chest that didn’t look human, a tail wrapped around me so tight I felt like I was suffocating, golden eyes, and huge fangs.” Ronnie sighed. “That’s all I can remember.”

It was enough to confirm we were indeed dealing with a Lamia. The fact Jamie had added the seduction angle only confirmed the folklore.

“One more thing—how did you end up in the alley?”

“Oh yeah, I remember that. I was standing on the street when a really nice looking guy appeared out of nowhere and asked me for directions. I thought it wouldn’t hurt—he was cute and looked totally lost.”
She
seemed to be engrossed in the memory now. “I turned around for just a moment to point the way, when he dragged me into the alley and that thing was waiting for me.”

“I’m so sorry,” I whispered. “I’m sorry about what happened to both of you. No one deserves such violent deaths. I’ll find this bitch and I’ll make her pay.”

“You need to make sure she doesn’t find Willow,” Jamie said.

I nodded.

“Please make sure she doesn’t find Willow,” Ronnie echoed Jamie’s words. “Maya kept calling me and started making appearances at school. She would hassle me, and even threatened to hurt me if I didn’t tell her where Willow was hiding. I just wanted to warn Willow, to tell her to be extra careful when…”

“Ronnie, why didn’t you just call her?”

“I thought Maya might be listening in… When I went into the city I took three different buses, even tried to disguise myself as much as I could. She must have sent someone out to get me.”

The fact both dead girls mentioned a cute guy before being attacked definitely pointed to some asshole posing as bait. But was the Lamia under Maya’s control, or was she the creature?

I took a long, cold breath. “I need to get back, guys. But I want to thank you both so much.”

“I hope I helped,” Jamie said.

“Please look after her,” Ronnie added.

“You both helped a lot, and I’ll take good care of Willow.”

Their smiles mirrored each other.

“What will happen to us now?” Jamie asked. “I know we’re with Will at the moment but I can’t talk to her, just see her.”

I sighed. “You’ll both stay attached to Willow for a while longer because she loved you both so much that she drew you in when you died. I’ll make sure this situation is only temporary.”

“Tell her I’ll always love her,” Jamie said.

“Tell her I miss her,” Ronnie added.

They both nodded and their colors seemed to fade as I crossed back into the living world. Before I did, I reached out and patted Stitches on the head. His tail was wagging but he too was fading fast.

I sucked in a sudden breath and yanked my hands away from Willow’s. An electric shock ran through me, but I was back in my kitchen.
 

It took me a little longer than usual to get my breath.

“Did you see them?” Willow asked.

After a quick nod, I leaned forward and whispered in her ear, “Jamie said he’ll always love you and Ronnie misses you.” I pulled back and found her smiling as tears dripped down her cheeks.

“Fox, are you okay?” Papan kneeled down beside me and reached out for my face, but sprang back when an electric shock simultaneously zapped us.
 

“Sorry, it’s a little residue from the experience.” I was grateful he cared enough to run to my side. “I’m fine, by the way. No need to worry. Did you guys see anything?”

“I saw a boy, a girl and a dog all lit up like Christmas lights,” Gareth said from where he still sat. “But there’s no way I could have seen that, right?”

Oren took a step towards him and put a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry, son. If you hang around here long enough, you’ll see plenty more things you’re not supposed to.”

“Ah, thanks. I think,” he said with a look of utter confusion.
 

“Oh no, you don’t want to thank me.” Oren switched his attention to me. “What did you find out from those poor souls?”

“I found out the woman’s name is Maya Anwar.”

“Okay, I’m on it.” Oren rushed to the kitchen table, grabbed my laptop, and started typing away on the keyboard.

“Ronnie pretty much confirmed that a Lamia was involved,” I said. “I still don’t know who this cute guy is—the one both girls mentioned as luring them into the alley.” And it was bugging me because something told me I should know exactly who it was. But why would I even think that?

“Ah, here she is.” Oren swiveled the laptop around so we could all see the screen. “This is Maya Anwar.”

I peered at the picture and for a moment thought I recognized her, but from where? To be honest, I couldn’t be sure because her long, glossy black hair seemed to cover most of her face in every shot. “Is that your Dad?”

Willow leaned forward and nodded. “Yeah, and that’s definitely her.”

“Am I the only one who can’t seem to focus on her face?” Gareth asked, rubbing his eyes.

“Sierra…”

I turned to find Willow now standing beside me. “Yes?”

“Do you mind if I go and lie down for a bit?”

“Of course not.” Actually, I was glad she wanted to leave the room because I needed to tell these guys everything Jamie and Ronnie had told me, and didn’t wanted her to hear what Maya had been scheming.

“See you all later.” Willow looked more fragile than ever as she made her way across the kitchen and disappeared down the stairs. She’d even closed the kitchen door behind her, which made it a lot easier for her not to accidentally overhear what I was about to say. Still, I waited until I heard the bedroom door open and close.

“Seriously, why does looking at her give me a headache?” Gareth asked again.

Oren squinted. “Now that you mention it…”

Papan stood up, taking me with him. I stepped past him and leaned forward, trying to get a better look at the pictures of Maya featured on the screen. She was in fact exotic and sported a very curvaceous body she adorned with figure-hugging outfits. Her cleavage was as Jamie and Ronnie had told me—out there—but when I focused on her face, all I could see was the long, straight hair.

What the hell was going on? “I can’t see her face properly either.” I sighed. “It’s almost like I can see it but the more I look, the foggier it gets.” I grabbed Papan’s sleeve and pulled him closer. “Does the same thing happen to you?”

He shook his head. “I can see her face clearly. Well, what’s showing because her hair is covering most of her features in every photo, and then there’s the distracting cleavage.”

I caught Gareth staring at Papan with a strange look, before he met my gaze.

“She’s got some serious cleavage showing,” Papan continued.

“Yeah, we get the cleavage bit.” I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. Then again, I wasn’t surprised to hear Papan going out of his way to mention big boobs. After all, he was with me and a lot of men saw bust size as a plus. “Which reminds me about something Jamie and Ronnie mentioned. According to them, Maya tried to seduce Jamie several times.”

“What?” Papan’s face scrunched up. “This chick tried to seduce a boy? Then again, the guy she’s with has got to be at least twenty years older than her.”

“That’s no excuse,” Gareth said.

“Yeah, not an excuse but with that cleavage, she sure provides a distraction.”

Oren didn’t comment.

“No, it’s not an excuse, but what she apparently wanted was to cause a rift between Jamie and Willow. Jamie was convinced this woman wanted them to break up, which is why he thinks Maya tampered with his brakes and that’s why he died.”

Oren shook his head. “So she wanted to isolate the girl?”

“That’s exactly what I thought!”

Gareth nodded. “That’s the first thing an abuser does. He isolates his victim from the world around her, reeling her into his emotional clutches and even severing close ties between the victim’s family and friends.” Gareth was now sitting forward, doing his best not to look at the screen.

“She wanted to weaken her,” Papan added. “And that’s certainly a great way to do it. What teenage boy can resist that?”

“Are you speaking from experience?” I said with a smile twitching my lips. As attractive as Papan was and the way he teased a woman into submission, I couldn’t help but imagine him being a very active teenager.

He was standing very close but still managed to turn his face towards mine, a bit of shine in his eyes. “I’ve always had control over what I wanted. I only find things I really,
really
want hard to resist.” He hitched a thumb over his shoulder, pointing at the laptop. “I wouldn’t have had any trouble resisting her. You, on the other hand…”