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I was already on edge with everything Harley had told me about Emily. Not only did we have Luis skulking around town, making life miserable, but we had a witch to deal with as well. A witch whose intentions weren’t entirely clear, but were more than likely nefarious. It was enough to drive me crazy.
Trying to get my mind off Luis, I asked, “What have you guys dug up on this Emily Heath chick?”
Miles and Blayne shrugged almost in unison. Miles said, “It’s like she doesn’t exist. We couldn’t find anything on her. Could be a totally fake name, but she’s a witch. With her magic, she could stay fully dark to the web. If she doesn’t have any need for credit cards or I.D. or anything else we could track, then there’s no reason to think she isn’t living on the fringes. Biding her time.”
“Biding her time until what? What is her end game?” I asked.
“I don’t know. Is she torturing and killing shifters to get some kind of information? Is there some spell she’s trying to complete that needs shifters? Is she just a fucking bigot and hates us? Your
guess is as good as mine. Basically, we have no idea.” Dejected, Miles flopped into his chair.
The unknown was scary. The dragon didn’t like it; neither did I. It meant we needed to up the security for Harley and the girls. There were two direct threats now. One was known, understandable, trackable, easily dealt with once caught. The other was unknown, confusing, untraceable, and of unknown strength. Luis and a witch. It seemed life was getting much more difficult with every minute that passed. We needed to find Emily, whatever it took.
“We gotta call the cops, right? At least about Luis. I doubt they’ll believe a rogue witch is on the loose,” Blayne said.
We all exchanged a look. The cops in Lilly Valley were not huge fans of us, and we all knew it. Part of the problem was that we didn’t have a lot of respect for them. We were more thorough in our investigations. Even their best detectives weren’t as good as Miles, and their forensics teams couldn’t hold a candle to Steff and Blayne. It caused tension. So much so that we rarely even took jobs anywhere within the tri-county area. Instead, we focused on bigger clients in larger cities. Blayne was probably right, though. If nothing else, they needed to know Luis was in town and stalking Harley, especially since the order of protection was still active.
Steff sighed and stood. “Okay, I’ll head over to the station. Out of all of us, I’m the least grumpy and most friendly. They won’t give me too much hell. I’ll need those little gifts out of the trashcan, Tate. Tell them about that restraining order and whatnot. I’ll give them everything we have about him. I may even mention we’ve spotted him with a woman. Give them Emily’s description. Cops won’t be able to do much against a witch, but it could flush her out if they’re looking for her.”
“Good call,” I said. “I need to make a statement to Ortiz. He needs to know that Harley and that baby are mine. It’s childish, but I want to do something to hit back. Any ideas?”
Blayne raised his eyebrows. “In-vitro DNA tests are a thing now. I mean, they’ve been a thing for a long time, but they’re super safe now. You could do that with Harley. It would go on her medical paperwork, too. If this Ortiz guy has a team monitoring her, then he’d see that pop up. It would be a slap in the face.”
I winced. “That might offend Harley. Like I don’t believe the baby is mine or something.”
“It’s all in how you present it,” Miles said. “You’re wanting to have it on file or whatever. Present it like it’s the best thing to solidify your fatherhood. I’m sure you’ll think of a way to keep her from getting pissed.”
“Easier said than done, but I guess you’re right. Once he sees the kid isn’t his, he may give up and go home.”
“Okay, that’s all we can do about Luis for now,” Blayne said. “The witch needs to be the main thing we focus on. She’s killed shifters, allegedly, and I think she’s the bigger threat at the moment. How do we catch her? We have to do that to get the answers to our questions.”
Miles sighed. “Harley. That’s the connection we have to exploit.”
“The hell? You want to use her as bait?” I rarely got in arguments or fights with the guys, but I really wanted to slug Miles for suggesting it.
“What else do we have that can bridge the gap between us and Emily? Answer me that, and I’ll pull it off the table.”
Glaring at him, my mind flipped through any possible scenario, then I finally said, “That Siobhan lady? Your friend, can’t she…” I waved my hands vaguely, “…track her magic or something?”
Miles shook his head. “She already said she couldn’t. The spell is over the whole town, and it’s a strong conjuring. If she’s in town, all that magic from the spell will hide her. No go.”
No other thoughts came to me. Blayne and Steffen were no help; they both looked like they agreed with Miles. Grinding my teeth together, I nodded in reluctance.
“The jewelry she gave Harley all had protective spells placed on them. Maybe she really is trying to protect her. She may be watching her to make sure she’s safe,” I said. “We can figure out a plan. But under no circumstances is she to be placed in harm’s way. I’d rather be extra careful and not catch her than get sloppy and have something happen to Harley. Understood?”
The guys nodded. We spent the next ten minutes coming up with a plausible story as well as a plan. Blayne created a few documents to help sell the lie. It wasn’t great, and I hated the idea of lying to Harley. The only other option was to tell her the truth. That I was a magical shape-shifting half-man half-dragon. My other friends could turn into wolves, bears, and panthers. Oh, also your new friend is a witch, like a real-life witch with magic powers, and she might be trying to murder me and my shape-shifting friends. Sound good, sweetie?
That shit wouldn’t fly. Best-case scenario, she’d get mad we were telling stupid stories. Worst-case scenario, she’d run screaming from the building and buy silver bullets.
We had Kennedy get Harley from my office and bring her to the conference room. She looked confused and a little irritated. I’d left her there longer than I thought I would. Things would already be difficult enough without her being pissed at me. I sat with her and put an arm around her shoulders.
Miles sat at the table in front of us. We’d decided he would lead the discussion and explain the plan. Better him than me. I wasn’t sure I could pull off lying to Harley the way he’d have to.
“Emily Heath?” Miles said. “This is the woman Tate said you’ve been looking for?”
Harley looked unsure. “Um, yeah.”
Miles nodded, looking like he’d heard exactly what he wanted to hear. “Tate had us look into her. Turns out she’s a known scam artist. Do you know what a grifter is?”
Harley shook her head. “I think I’ve heard it before but… wait, what are you saying?”
“This Emily is a wanted criminal. She’s traveled all over the U.S. and Canada, pulling off these small-time swindles. Pretending to be someone she isn’t. She inserts her way into people’s lives, scams them out of money, and then disappears before she’s caught. She usually preys on the elderly and single older men. Jumping from town to town, staying one step ahead of the law.”
Harley leaned away from me and looked into my eyes. “Is he serious? There’s no way.”
By some amazing strength of will, I didn’t look away. Instead, I looked her dead in the eyes and said, “It’s true. We’ve seen the proof.”
Miles went on as Harley looked around the room like she had found herself in the middle of a circus. “Her latest victim was a lady in the nursing home you visited. She used a false name and pretended to be her long-lost grand-daughter. Got the lady to sign over her power of attorney. The bank account has already been cleaned out.”