Love Nip (5 page)

“I’m sure I’ll be ok
ay, don’t worry. Did you tell Robert about this?” he asked. I was instantly hurt. He didn’t want to talk to me, he wanted to know if I had ratted him out. I thought about leaving him to find out for himself, but decided I had caused this I couldn’t do more damage to him.

“I didn’t
,” I said and turned around to walk off.

“Emily, please be careful. These witches aren’t you
r friends,” he warned. I looked up to his face; he looked awful, like he had aged five years overnight.

“Ezra, I know I did this to you and I want to help
, but you have to let me,” I explained, the guilt tormenting me.

“I’ve already told you, just stay out of it
,” he growled. I couldn’t understand why he was so mad that I wanted to help him. It pained me to see him suffer. He was being so nasty.

“I hate to bring this up now, but where exactly do we stand? I mean in a relationship sense
,” I questioned. I wasn’t going to be treated like this and being near him was becoming harder than it should. He gave me a sad look and walked off. I stood there for a second, trying to control my emotions. I couldn’t let anyone see me cry, especially Axle. He would want to know what was going on. Everything was piling up on me. I started to think that taking the case was a bad idea. I was hoping to get some answers from the coven on what went wrong. Somehow I had to figure this out.

I found Axle’s car and hopped in. He owned a red
Mustang. All of the guys owned fancy sports cars and I had my good ole Nissan Rouge. At least I got the best gas mileage.

“Everything
all right in Ezraland?” Axle asked, smiling. I didn’t return the smile.

“Axle, I can’t tell you what is going on right now
, but can you please promise me something?” I asked with sincerity in my voice.

“Yeah
, babe. Anything for you,” he answered, paying close attention.

“Please just leave Ezra alone for a while. Trust me, don’t provoke him
,” I requested.

“Is there anything I should be worri
ed about?” he asked, pulling out of the parking lot. I took the address and plugged it into his GPS while I thought about how to respond.

“I’m not really sure,
and I can’t say,” I told him fighting back tears. My heart was broken; I only wanted Ezra to be happy. I didn’t care if he never wanted to see me again, as long as he got better. In fact, I wouldn’t blame him; I was a walking nightmare. All we ever did was fight, and now I had seriously hurt him.

“Ok
ay, I’ll back off,” he promised. I smiled at him.

Once we got to the address provided we parked on the street. It was a brick house in a neighborhood similar to my mother
’s. The house was small and older than most on the block. Axle turned the car off and grabbed the file.

“This is the coven leader
. Her name is Ashley, but she goes by Ash because it’s more mysterious or whatever. Just let me do the talking,” he said as he closed the file and we got out of the car. We walked to the front door. Before we could knock a middle-aged woman answered the door. She looked like she was dressed for Halloween in a gypsy costume. She had about fifty bangles on each arm and big hoop earrings.

“I knew you would be coming
,” she greeted us, acting mystifying.

“That would be because I called earlier to let you know we were coming
,” Axle replied. I had to bite my tongue to refrain from laughing.

“Yes
. Well, that too. Please join me.” She swept her arm out to welcome us inside.

The inside of her house was cozy.
Candles were scattered around the room, with eight larger candles on her coffee table that had all melted down. We sat down together on the tiny dark couch. It squeaked as we sat. I had a spring poking me in the butt, but I couldn’t be rude and stand so I sucked it up.

“Ashley
, like I said on the phone we are working on the case of your missing friends,” Axle explained. 

“
I see things. That is why I am the leader,” she stated, ignoring his introduction.

“
All right, so tell me what you saw on the night the girls, Maggie and Charlotte, went missing,” Axle said poking fun. Ashley didn’t catch his humor, thankfully. We didn’t need our main source of information offended. I nudged him in the side.

“Would you guys like some sweet tea? I’ll go get some
,” she announced, strolling out of the room.

“This woman is batty
,” Axle whispered into my ear. My libido was killing me, and his comment sent shivers down my spine. It wasn’t meant in a sexual way, but for some reason my body reacted violently. I tried hard to focus on the task at hand.

“Do you think she
is not answering our questions or just your questions?” I asked him, shaking the feeling off. I felt as though Ashley had a thing against men, or maybe just big sexy ones like Axle. He thought for a second.

“Well
, let’s test your theory. We’re taking the training wheels off, you’re up,” he said. I felt foolish that I didn’t go over the file. I knew nothing about the case. Ashley returned juggling a platter in her hands. She placed three glasses of tea on the coffee table.

“Ash
, what spell caused such a ruckus the night the girls went missing?” I asked.

She fiddled with her glass and I could tell she was uncomfortable.
She finally sighed. “We were trying to resurrect one of our members from the dead.”

“You can do that?!” I exclaimed. Axle shot me a look that told me to stay professional. I cleared my throat
, adjusting my weight nervously.

“We were trying it for the first time. Liam was Charlotte
’s boyfriend. He was killed a month ago in a car accident. Maggie stated she didn’t feel right doing the spell and it split the group. Some people were for the resurrection and some were with Maggie. Charlotte and I didn’t have enough people on our side to do the spell so I ended the meeting. I stayed behind to close up the shop when I heard yelling outside in the parking lot. I ran out to find Maggie and Charlotte fighting on the ground. I broke the two up and told them both to go home,” she explained as a tear rolled down her cheek. This had to be hard on her two of her friends were missing or possibly dead.

“We’ll find them
, Ash, don’t worry,” I tried to comfort her.

“They are not dead, I would have seen it
.” For a second I was scared she had read my mind. I had to keep telling myself she was not a vampire, that it was impossible. She was just giving us more information about the girls.

“Would you mind
if we came to your next meeting, meet the people and ask a few questions?” I asked her. I had a sliver of excitement; I was possibly going to meet other witches.

“Of course. It’s on Friday night
at eight. I’ll write down directions,” she replied.

“We will also need a list of names, anyone that has ever come to a meeting
,” Axle chimed in, but she only nodded. We both stood and turned to leave.

“You’re
a witch,” Ashley observed. I didn’t know how she knew that, maybe she ‘saw’ it.

“Kind of, I’m still trying to learn
,” I explained. She shook her head.

“No, you are very strong. Stronger than any witch I’ve ever met before. Your aura is blinding
,” she stated with big eyes. She looked like a kid in a candy shop. To be honest I was a little scared. Not the first time another person wanted my power.

“Oh, well sorry about that
,” I apologized. I didn’t know what else to say. I couldn’t explain it to her and it was a long story.

“Thank you for your time
,” Axle said and shoved me toward the door. I smiled my goodbye. We walked back to the car in silence. Axle started the car and pulled out of the neighborhood.

“I think she did it
,” I stated. He gave me a surprise glance.

“Really, why would you think that?”
he asked curiously.

“Fighting between members is bad for business. She doesn’t need the drama so she got rid of them both
,” I explained my theory. He thought for a minute.

“Did you try the tea?”
he asked in response.

“No
,” I answered.

“Good, it tasted like dog piss
.”

“You would know
,” I joked. He laughed and patted my leg. The feeling was coming back, from one touch. I could see myself jumping his bones in the car if I didn’t pull myself together.

“How about some lunch
? I’m starving,” he asked as he pulled into a Krispy’s Chicken parking lot. The guy knew me so well. Krispy’s was my favorite place to eat. We parked and went inside. It wasn’t too busy, mainly college kids on their laptops. We ordered, of course he refused my money and paid. We found a table in the corner and sat down.

“So what’s up with you?”
he asked, studying my face.

“What are you talking about?” I
replied, confused.

“You know what I’m talking about. My super power isn’t just l
ooking this good. Like the gypsy back there, I can see things, too.” I swallowed hard, hoping he was exaggerating.

“You guys would make such a great couple
,” I joked. Thankfully, Axle’s name was called letting us know our food was ready. He came back with a tray full of chicken and French fries. We grabbed our food and started eating.

“Emily, I wish you would tell me what’s going on,
” he said between bites. I swallowed what I had been chewing.

“I have so much going on in my life right now I honestly don’t know which part of it you’re asking about
,” I admitted as I dipped my chicken finger into the sauce and took a bite.

“Ok
ay, so let me in. Tell me everything, I want to be a part of your of your life.” I took a sip of my drink and swallowed hard. His comment made my heart skip a few beats.

“You wouldn’t if you knew what was good for you
,” I admitted. My life was so crazy I didn’t need to add another poor soul to it. I had already destroyed an important part of our team, Axle and Gavin were all that was left. I still didn’t know the extent of Ezra’s damage. Not to mention what I had done to my best friend.

“I do know what is good for me
… it’s you. Now come on, tell me,” he continued to beg.

I rolled my eyes.
“I just want to finally do something with my powers. I am supposed to be powerful right now, and I’m not. I also feel like I can’t trust anyone. I’ve been burned so many times, it’s just not normal,” I tried to explain. It felt good to get my feelings out. I let out a big sigh of relief.

Axle stayed silent for a moment studying my face,
“you know you gave me nothing there,”

I laughed.
After we finished eating, we headed back to the office. Axle had picked up some extra food for Gavin and Robert before we left. I thought it was a sweet gesture.

“You know, you try to act tough but you’re not fooling me
,” I told him as we pulled out of the parking lot.

“Oh, I’m tough
,” he said.

“You’re like a puppy, cute and cuddly
,” I teased. He shot me a glare.

“Did
you seriously just call me a puppy?”

“So when do I get to see you as a wolf?” I asked
, excited. That would be so awesome to see a guy turn into a dog. I was wondering if he blew up or if he tore off his skin.

“Never
,” he told me, biting his lip. It was such a sexy gesture.

“What? Why not?” I demanded.

“Emily, that’s not fun for me. I’m not normal like you,” he answered. I could tell this was a difficult subject for him.

“Normal? I am far from normal, trust me
.”

“You see, I know you’re hiding something. Tell me what’s going on between you and Ezra
,” he insisted. I shook my head no.

“A girl’s got to have secrets
, Axle. It’s in the witch’s hand guide, never reveal too much,” I joked. He smiled, giving up. Good thing too, because I was still contemplating if I should tell someone. I figured if I told anyone it wouldn’t be Axle, it would be Robert.

When w
e got back to the office Axle put the food on Gavin’s desk. Ezra was still working on his computer, looking worse than before. It looked as if he was clammy. A bit of sweat was on his brow, I didn’t even know vampires could sweat. He started coughing and scratching his neck. I became nervous.

“Ezra, are you coughing? I didn’t think vampires could get sick
,” Axle stated, sounding worried. Ezra stood up and got in Axle’s face.

“It’s none of your business, so stay out of it
,” he yelled and pushed Axle, who barely budged.

“Ezra, stop
,” I fussed.