Miss Frost Ices The Imp: A Nocturne Falls Mystery (Jayne Frost Book 2) (22 page)

“I’ll probably just send them to you. I’ll go through them tonight before I go to bed—there’s no way I could sleep right now anyway—but I don’t know enough people to know who lives here and who doesn’t.” I shook my head. “Thanks for coming with me.”

She grinned. “It was fun.”

“Maybe for you. I felt like my heart was going to beat out of my chest. We could have ended up in jail!”

She laughed. “Oh honey, Hank wouldn’t arrest either one of us. I’m his aunt and you’re royalty. He’s much smarter than that.”

“Good thing.” He was clearly a man of the law, first and foremost, but tangling with his aunt was obviously something he preferred to avoid. “I’ll let you know what I find. Have a good night.”

“You too, Princess.”

I grabbed my purse and got out, too weary to remind her to call me Jayne. I stumbled up to my apartment and was fishing for my key when I remembered that barging in could scare the imp away if he was in the box eating the fudge.

I kind of wanted to cry. After the night I’d had, I was not in the mood to slide under another door.

Sadly, I really didn’t have a choice if I wanted to catch that stupid thing. I stood there for a moment, gathering my courage and giving myself a little pep talk, then finally did the deed.

I managed to quietly get into a seated position on the other side, giving myself a chance to recover close to the ground. I sat there for a good seven or eight minutes, eyes closed, just letting everything even out. Finally, I took my flip-flops off, set them by the door, and pushed to my feet.

I tiptoed over to the box.

An edge of the fudge was gone.

I held my breath and peered closer. There were tiny teeth marks and a little green dust in the box, but it was otherwise empty. The imp had been here. But if Corette’s visibility spell was working, he certainly wasn’t here now.

Snowballs.

Maybe he was still in the apartment. If so, I should shut the window first, then have a look around. I padded toward the window and immediately stepped in something squishy.

I closed my eyes.
Please don’t let it be imp poop. Or worse, the imp.

Lip curled, I lifted my foot for inspection. The ball of my foot was sticky with a creamy substance that smelled of nutmeg. Whew. Just my aunt’s fudge. Then I got a tiny bit riled. That little bugger had taken a bite and spit it out!

Wow. He was going to be a tough customer if my aunt’s fudge wasn’t to his liking. I scraped the fudge off my foot with my fingernail, then got the window shut. I washed my hands before searching the apartment for the imp.

I didn’t see it or green dust anywhere. Spider was sleeping in the bathroom sink. I nudged him. “Hey.”

He yawned, then curled up harder, giving me a little meow. “Sleepy.”

“I see that, but I need to ask you a question.”

He smacked his lips. “Hungry.”

“What’s new? Listen, did you see a little green thing flying around the apartment tonight?”

He blinked up at me, suddenly interested. “Bug?”

“No, not a bug exactly. An imp. The thing that you let out of the box when you knocked it over, but now it’s supposed to be visible.” I flapped my hands. Because why not imitate a creature I’d never seen? “It’s green, or at least part of it is, and it flies around. Maybe looking for food. Anything?”

“Toy?”

I sighed. “I’ll get you some dinner.”

On my way to the kitchen, my left boob vibrated. I took my phone out and checked the screen. I had a text from Greyson.

Nightcap? Or are you still out?

I thought about it. I was pretty beat and really needed to go through those snaps I’d taken before bed, but seeing him would be great. And he knew everything that was going on, so maybe he’d have some idea about what bait to try in the box next.

Nope, just got home
, I typed back.
Come on over.
Then I got to work getting Spider some food.

I kid you not, two minutes later Greyson was rapping on my window. I wasn’t even done washing the Mackerel Stew off my hands. I turned the faucet off and grabbed a towel to dry with as I leaned back and glanced toward the window. “It’s open.”

He slid the window up and climbed through, his long legs first, then the rest of him following under like a limbo contestant. “Open or closed?”

“Open a crack. Thanks.” I folded the towel and left it by the sink.

“Still haven’t caught that imp, hmm?”

“Nope.” I walked over to him, suddenly craving the comfort of his arms. “And apparently my aunt’s fudge wasn’t to his liking, so I have to come up with something new for bait.”

He wrapped me in an embrace, his delicious, cinnamon scent making me realize my frozen pizza dinner hadn’t really satisfied my hunger. He kissed me, soft and slow, then broke it off to smile down at me. “I’d think you’re sweet enough on your own to draw him in.”

I slid my arms around his neck. “You’re just what I needed right now, you know that?”

His brows lifted. “Is that so? Well, I do like to pride myself on being where my woman needs me, when my woman needs me.”

And there it was. The perfect segue. “Is that what you consider me? Your woman?”

His gaze narrowed a little. “I do not know the correct answer to that, and yet, I feel as though I should.”

I sighed as I released him. Maybe it was just because I was tired, but I wasn’t exactly sure how to ask the question I needed to. At least, I couldn’t quite form the thought into a sentence that sounded more inquisitive than accusatory.

“Just say it, Jayne. You’re not going to hurt my feelings.” He looked like he was bracing himself for a letdown.

I had no idea what he thought was coming. He didn’t think I was breaking up with him, did he? “I’d just like to know if you’re seeing other women besides me. And there’s no right or wrong answer. I just want to know.”

His gaze stayed tapered. “I was seeing someone else, but that ended a month ago. It’s just you now.”

“Does it bother you that I’m still seeing Cooper?”

He shook his head slowly. “I’m not crazy about it. But I knew what I was getting into when we started going out.” He relaxed a bit. “What’s this about exactly?”

I raked my hair out of my face. “Cooper and I had a talk, and it got me thinking. I’m seeing both of you, but you’re both just seeing me. It’s not exactly a balanced situation.”

“We’re grown men, Jayne. Whatever choices we make are ours to make. And while you might think the situation is unfair, we’re willingly a part of it.” He shrugged. “You shouldn’t let that weigh on you.”

“You’re sure?”

“Positive.”

“Huh. You two sure are chill about all this.”

He grinned. “You’re worth it. At least as far as I’m concerned. And if I start to feel differently, I’ll let you know.”

“I appreciate that.”

He shrugged. “Hey, I get you wanting to see if there’s anything left of your college romance. Who wouldn’t be curious about that? But I also know that you and I have something that can only be described as chemistry.”

He wound a strand of my hair around his finger as he nuzzled the side of my neck. “And chemistry trumps history in my book.”

I shivered from the touch of his breath on my skin, momentarily at a loss for words.

He feathered little kisses down to my throat, and my head went a little spinny while the rest of me warmed into a gooey mess. Then my stomach growled, confirming that my blood sugar might have been a bit low.

He laughed. “Need a snack, do you?”

“Dinner was a long time ago. And I’ve had a strenuous evening.”

He tucked a stray strand behind my ear. “What are you in the mood for?”

Irish vampire, but that answer was going to lead us down a very different path. “Something sweet.”

“I know just the thing.” He smirked. “Trust me?”

“Of course.” Then I held up a finger. “Does this require leaving the apartment?”

“Yes, but we won’t be gone too long. Is that okay?”

“It’s perfect. I just want to change into something less cat burglar and more upstanding citizen. Be right back.” I ditched the yoga pants in favor of my jean shorts and was back at his side, flip-flops on and ready to roll. Sure, I still needed to go through those pictures, but my body needed fuel. “So. Where to?”

“You’ll see. Fire escape or elevator?”

“Oh, I get a choice, do I?”

He laughed. “You always have a choice.”

“I’ve had enough excitement for one evening. Let’s take the elevator. But first I need to bait that box.”

“Can I help?”

“Nope. It’ll just take me a second.” I grabbed the bottle cap and rinsed out the hunk of fudge, then filled it with one of the samples Delaney had sent. Molasses. No clue if it would work, but something had to. I glanced at the window, even though I already knew it was open. Everything was set. I tucked my phone into my purse. “All right, let’s go.”

He peeked into the box as we walked to the door. “You think that’ll work?”

I shrugged. “Who knows? It’s only the third thing I’ve tried, but this imp is proving tricky.” I locked the door behind us and put my keys back in my purse.

He took my hand. “You’ll get him.”

“If only it wasn’t taking so long.”

“I know.” He pushed the call button. “What did you do this evening? You said it was strenuous. I admit that’s not how I picture a girls’ night out.”

I laughed sharply at his description. “Yeah, that’s not really the kind of night I had.” The elevator door opened. I stepped on. “I’ll explain on the way down.”

“You have to be more careful.” Greyson’s gaze took on a concerned light as we stepped off the elevator and into the warehouse. “The sheriff absolutely knew what you were doing. It was only because of Birdie that he didn’t arrest you.”

“I’m sure you’re right. But you would have bailed me out, wouldn’t you?”

“Of course.” He squeezed my hand. “But just promise me you’ll be more careful next time.”

“I don’t plan on there being a next time. And I thought I was being careful.”

“With Birdie as your lookout?” He sighed. “I know she means well, but…”

“I didn’t really see any other options.”

He tugged me closer. “You could have called me.”

My brows shot up. “Are you saying you want to be my partner in crime?”

“Can you think of anyone better?”

I couldn’t. I kissed him. Short and sweet. “Next time, you’re first on my list.”

He smiled. “Good.”

He led me down Main to a shop called I Scream. I’d been by it, but had yet to stop in. With my addiction to Delaney’s running rampant, ice cream hadn’t been much of a draw. Sure, I loved ice cream. Frozen treats were kind of a staple in the NP, and because ice cream was so common there (and magically delicious), Delaney’s shop held more appeal to me.

He held the door for me. “Prepare yourself.”

I cut my eyes at him. “For ice cream? Color me skeptical.”

“You’ll see.”

The place was fairly busy, but most people were getting cones to walk with, so a lot of the tables were open. I stared up at the menu board. They had some interesting flavors, I’d give them that. I’d never seen buttered popcorn, bacon brittle, or smoked vanilla anywhere else. And then I noticed they had a whole board of adult flavors that all included alcohol. This place was growing on me.

He nudged me. “They make everything in-house.”

“Even better. Any suggestions for what I should order?”

He stood hip to hip with me, looking up at the board. “How hungry are you?”

“Hungry. And you know how I feel about dessert-category offerings.”

He grinned. “Get the Big Scream. It’s not as large as the Scream Queen, but that one really ought to be shared.”

I glanced at him. “You don’t want to share with me?”

“I don’t want to get in the way of your enjoyment. Also, the Scream Queen is generally recommended for parties of six or more. The Tower of Doom is slightly smaller, but it’s still only four scoops less.”