Something Wicked (26 page)

Her fingers went to her gray amulet, and she twisted the chain nervously as she waited.

Darrak stayed by her side but didn’t try to make her talk . She knew he was angry she’d used black magic to find Andy, but she’d had no other choice. In fact, it was one time that she was actually thankful she had some extra power. If she’d been a regular, everyday woman, then she wouldn’t have been able to find him in time. She felt certain the werewolf would have finished Andy off if they hadn’t been there to stop it.

Over an hour later a doctor came out to speak with them.

“He’s going to be fine,” she said.

Eden exhaled shakily. “Thank God.”

“Looks like a wild animal attack,” the doctor said. “Something large. Unusual for the downtown core but not unheard of. He’s lucky to be alive.”

“Can we see him?”

“Are you family?”

“Yes,” Eden said. “I’m his niece and this is my husband.”

Darrak raised an eyebrow.

She lied very easily. Almost
too
easily. But she didn’t want to wait.

Lies sometimes got you what you wanted.

In Andy’s room, she slowly approached him in the hospital bed. He was covered in white bandages.

“Hey,” Andy said weakly, raising a hand to her. She took it gently.

“What did I tell you about getting yourself hurt like this?” she said.

“I don’t think you told me anything, did you?”

“No, I didn’t. But that’s only because I didn’t think you would. Otherwise, I would have given you a very stern warning not to.”

He grinned a little but then grimaced. “I’ll have to keep that in mind for next time.”

“There’s not going to be a next time.”

He touched the bandage that covered half his face. “You’re right. I think I’ve learned my lesson about werewolves. They don’t like being spied on, do they? Who knew? The wife’s boyfriend is responsible for this. Smashed my camera and chased me, then beat the shit out of me, as you can see. He turned to his wolf form—which, by the way?
Freaky as hell
—and I thought he was going to tear my throat out. Feels like he did.”

“Did he give you these wounds when he was in wolf form?” Darrak asked.

“Yeah. I guess women are going to have to love me for my personality now instead of my male-model good looks.” Andy attempted to grin but failed.

Eden sat on the edge of Andy’s bed, still holding his hand, and studied Darrak. “What’s wrong?”

His light blue eyes met hers. “He was attacked by a werewolf. You saw it yourself.”

“I know. But I don’t know what we should say on the police report.”

“There’s not going to be a police report. The police won’t know what to do with this,” Darrak said. “It’s just . . .”

“Just what?” Andy asked.

A sensation of dread crawled up Eden’s spine. “What is it?”

“May I?” Darrak indicated Andy’s facial bandage.

“You want to look?” he asked. “Kind of morbid, don’t you think?”

“I just need to check something.”

“Then go ahead.” Andy eyed the door. “But Nurse Ratched will have a fit if she sees you. The women here . . . not charmed by me bleeding all over the place.”

That sounded like a good opening for a snappy comeback from Darrak, but he didn’t crack a smile at Andy’s attempt to lighten the mood. Instead he gently peeled back the corner of the bandage.

His lips thinned. “That’s what I thought.”

“That bad, huh?” Andy said.

Eden had forgotten to breathe again. She’d braced herself to see horrible wounds, but instead, the only thing under the bandage were three faint red scratches. The wounds had almost completely healed.

“Oh, my God.” Her voice was hoarse.

Andy cringed. “Hey, no reason to rub it in. I used to be very vain, you know.”

Eden’s hands trembled as she reached into her purse and pulled out a hand mirror, flipped it open, and held it in front of Andy. It took him a moment before he forced himself to look at the damage, his face tense as if bracing himself for the worst.

He blinked in disbelief. “That’s not half as bad as I thought it would be.”

“It
was
as bad as you thought,” Darrak said. “You’re healing.”

“This fast? How’s that even possible?”

“It’s possible because the wounds came from a werewolf.”

“So what? That means they heal up faster than if it was a regular wolf? Like they’re magic wounds?”

“No, it means your healing ability has now improved since you’ve become infected.”

Andy frowned. “Darrak, I don’t know what you’re talking about. Infected with what?”

“
Lycanthropy
is the proper term,” Darrak said. “Shifters can change whenever they like, with effort and practice. It’s only on the night of the full moon that they lose any ability to maintain human form. Luckily, the next full moon isn’t for a couple of weeks. You’ll have time to do some research. You should meet some other shifters and ask for their assistance, although I’d probably suggest you stay away from the one who infected you, at least temporarily.”

Andy stared at him.

Eden was still in too much shock to say anything for a moment. When she found her voice, she said, “Andy, it’s going to be okay.”

“Are you . . . trying to tell me . . . I’m a—a werewolf now?” he choked out.

Darrak nodded. “I’m afraid so.”

Andy’s cheek twitched. “I’m not even a dog person.”

“It’ll be okay.” Eden touched his arm. She’d already said it, but she didn’t know what else to say. She’d never dealt with something like this before. Andy wasn’t the only one going into shock.

He struggled to sit up. “I’m—I’m a werewolf. A man who can turn into a wolf. With fur. And fangs. And the ability to howl at the moon. Paws and claws. And flea baths. And . . . oh, my God.” He was breathing so quickly now Eden worried he’d hyperventilate.

She searched her brain for something to say to help make this a little better but came up blank. She wanted to cry. “It doesn’t change anything. You’re still my partner at Triple-A. This doesn’t give you the right to flake out on me.”

He gasped for breath. “It . . . it doesn’t?”

“No. You’re the main investigator. I’m the girl Friday.”

“Like Rosalind Russell.”

“Exactly like that.” She nodded. “And if you flake out, you won’t be able to take on any new cases and . . . and you won’t be able to make the lease payments on your Porsche.”

“I love my Porsche.” He nodded. “I have to keep her.”

“Of course you do.” This was working. She squeezed his hand harder. “Your Porsche loves you, too. So you see? It’s going to be okay. Darrak and I are here for you, no matter what.”

“I’m going to shed,” he said. “Did you see the werewolf that did this to me? He was very hairy. And . . . and he drooled.”

She managed to grin at that. “You’re already really hairy, and I’m sure you drool more than your share. Really, the only difference is your love of cigars. You’ll be a cigar-smoking werewolf.”

He laughed, despite still looking panic-stricken by this life-altering news. “That’s helpful. Thanks.”

“And there are plenty of cases that I need your help on.”

“Oh? Like what?”

“Well,” she chewed her bottom lip and scanned her mind for something to tell him. Something he could latch onto as a reason to get back to normal life as quickly as possible. Darrak stood by with his hands clasped behind his back. “There’s something strange going on at Luxuria. You know, that new singles’ club that opened up recently? A friend of mine was murdered outside there the other night. You must have heard Ben asking me about him yesterday. And six other women have gone missing. My friend Graham was a reporter investigating their disappearances. We’ve been there a couple of times, and I sensed something strange about the place.”

“You sensed it?”

“Yeah, I can do that. Sense things.”

“That’s because you’re sort of psychic.”

“Right.” She didn’t think this was a good time to discuss the potential of her having angel in her background. Or the black-witch thing.

One paranormal species at a time. Today would be Official Werewolf Day.

“Sounds intriguing and definitely worth investigating even though it seems like pro bono work.” He swallowed and touched his rapidly healing face. “I’m so sorry for the loss of your friend. Were you close?”

“No. I hadn’t seen him in years, but it still hurts to lose him.” She grabbed Andy’s arm and squeezed so hard he flinched. She loosened her grip a little. “That’s why I can’t lose you, too, you hear me?”

“I’m still here.”

Darrak went to the door and glanced at the hall outside. “We’ll have to get you checked out. If the doctor checks your wounds again, she’s going to wonder what’s up.”

“I’m a werewolf,” he said.

“You are,” Eden confirmed.

“Well,
shit
.”

That pretty much summed it up.

Together that made the three of them a werewolf, a part-angel witch, and a demon. Sounded like the beginning to a really scary joke.

Ben paced back and forth in his living room. He wanted the phone to ring. He wanted Eden to call and ask him about last night. Hell, it was okay if she
demanded
to know about last night.

He just wanted to know she was okay.

Oliver had told him not to leave the house. It felt as if he’d been out drinking the night before. Apparently that’s what black magic did. It knocked you out and left you with some lasting pain. Oliver had originally been wary of the demon, which is why they’d had Sandy dampen him, but he’d had no idea they had to be wary of Eden as well.

It would be amusing if it didn’t scare the hell out of him.

There was a knock at the door, and he went directly to it, swinging it open, half expecting to see Eden. Instead it was Sandy.

He was strangely pleased to see her instead.

That pleased feeling departed when he noticed the fresh bruise on her cheekbone.

“Can I come in?” she asked.

“Sure.” Ben stood aside, and she swept past him smelling pleasantly of vanilla. He’d met her shortly after being inducted as a member of the Malleus. She’d applied ointment to his brand. He’d called her Florence Nightingale at the time.

“I probably shouldn’t be here, but I wanted to see you,” she said, wringing her hands.

“What happened to you?”

She looked confused for a moment.

“Your face,” he clarified.

Sandy touched her bruise and flinched. “Somebody’s not too happy with my job performance.”

A line of fury ripped through Ben. “Oliver did this?”

“It’s nothing.”

“Damn it, Sandy.” He closed the distance between them and moved the long blonde hair off her face and tucked it behind her ear. Then he gently touched the light purple patch of skin. “He had no right to hit you.”

“I tend to agree, but what’s done is done.”

“What is his damn problem?”

“He thinks I was keeping things from him. Like I should have known Eden was a black witch.”

“Should you have?”

“Yes.” She swallowed. “Actually, I did figure it out before I said anything.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Because . . . because Eden isn’t evil. And the way they deal with black witches, well, it’s not always a good thing.”

“It’s the demon inside her forcing her to do these things.”