The Lightning Prophecy (The Lightning Witch Trilogy Book 1) (5 page)

WELL THAT WAS…
unexpected. Delaney Hagen was supposed to be just another interview. She was anything but just another anything. I could not get my mind off that female. Her light-brown hair kept catching the light just right and her
body
. And those storm-cloud eyes. She was sexy as hell. When she grabbed my hand and shocked me, my cock had a plan of its own and I had a hard time not jumping on her. Humans and witches were off limits. I would not watch them grow old. Witches may live longer than humans, but weres have them both beat. But, damn she had fire. I had not lived this long to just be undone by some female. I had to get my mind back on the case I was being paid to solve. And being paid quite a bit to solve. Hell, maybe having a witch help would prove useful, and with powers like Delaney’s, the possibilities were simply endless. Possibilities like pinning her to the wall and fucking her until we were both senseless.
Uh, yeah I am not going to do that. Focus, Reid
.

Ten murders all along the east coast, over the last five months on and around the full moon. Clearly someone was trying to change witches to weres. This was one little fact I had neglected to tell Delaney. She had enough surprises for one day. I honestly found it a bit surprising that she did not know about werewolves, but she did seem a bit sheltered. It was common knowledge that only humans can be changed into werewolves.

Why in the hell would someone be killing witches in hopes they would rise were?
There had to be another reason for the killings. My head was reeling.
I wonder what information Mitch is digging up in the DC area
. Mitch, the alpha from Atlanta whom I worked with here and there, was, all in all, a close friend. While I worked better alone, I had a feeling from the start I would need his help.

I am a lone wolf, by choice. But, the Coven waved a serious amount of cash at me, so I decided Mitch was essential to this investigation. At least half of the first murders had been in Atlanta. I had gotten nowhere with leads in the Atlanta area because Mitch had his pack so tight and tied up. Even with Mitch’s help, we had pretty much gotten absolutely nowhere. I had known him for years before this and even with that, I did not trust him 100%. But, then again, I didn’t 100% trust myself. I chalked my distrust up to the fact that he was an alpha and I was a lone wolf by choice.

I was still sitting in my Jeep Wrangler in the parking lot of Delaney’s apartment complex. I started the engine, but before I shifted into drive I pulled out my cell phone and dialed Mitch’s number.

“Saldana,” Mitch’s voice sounded tinny.

“Hey, Mitch, whatchya got?”

“Hey, Reid, not too much here in DC. There was only one murder here and the chick didn't seem to have too many friends. Seems like a dead end. How’s the murder in Savannah going? Any possible leads?”

“Yeah, one. The girl had a close friend and the friend said she gave her a slight description of the guy.” The silence spanned for some time. I thought we had gotten disconnected. “Mitch, you there?”

“Oh yeah, I am just surprised. This guy has been picking people who have no one, so this could prove to be a huge break. What was the description?” Mitch answered hastily.

“Black hair and beautiful eyes,” I replied.

“Not much to go on, but it’s more than we had before. I’m wrapping things up here and will have the files sent your way. I want to meet this witness, see if I can get anything out of her. I need to stop in Atlanta for a few pack things, but I should be there in a few days.”

“Sounds like a plan,” I said, hanging up the phone.

Well, I would see him in a few days, but if he thought he was going to get his hands on Delaney he was dead wrong. There was no reason I should feel so protective over Delaney, but man, I did. And the thought of Mitch talking to her or hell, even touching her, made me want to rip something apart. I put the car in drive, got on the Truman Parkway and headed for my hotel near the river. Maybe the drive and tonight would help clear my head of Delaney Hagen.

MUCH TO MY
chagrin, the night and subsequent morning did little to rid my thoughts of that woman. Right now my mind needed to be on the case. I tried to empty my thoughts of everything but the case, so I did the only thing I could, I opened up the engine of my Wrangler and floored it. Finally, the case. I had to figure out how all ten of these girls were linked and this guy killing them had to have missed something. No one was perfect.

It only took me about ten minutes to get the Savannah Police Department. I could have walked it, as Savannah is a walking city and my hotel wasn't far from the SPD’s location on Habersham. The heat and humidity in Savannah would be killer for a normal human, but for a were, since our core body temp is a few degrees hotter than normal, it was even worse. So, driving was the only way to go.

I pulled into the parking lot and that was when I saw her. She wore a knee-length white skirt with a red silk shirt that was sleeveless. The shirt had buttons up the front and the collar looked more like a blood red scarf around her neck. Her shoulder-length, mousey-brown hair - was that red when the light hit it? - was delicately billowing in the slight draft. She was leaning on a beat-up POS green Toyota.

My first thought was how much I wanted to see that shirt on the floor and that skirt around her ankles. However, my second thought was that I was going to certainly kill her.
Damn this woman!
My shock had to have been plastered across my face as I parked my car next to hers. I honestly didn't know if I was more shocked to see this female standing there or my reaction to her. The wolf was far too close to the surface for my liking. I did not spend years taming and caging this animal inside to have some little witch undo me. I could not afford to let her undo me. I took a deep breath and got out of the car.

“Del-”

“Wait, before you say anything. You need to understand something. Sierra was all I had. I mean, she was everything. I can’t just sit and wait for the things that go bump in the night to come find me. I need, Reid, NEED to do this. I won’t talk, I’ll do what you say, but I will not be left behind.”

Had she really cut me off? This female was indeed undoing me. If she were a wolf I would certainly put her in her place. But, she was right. This girl was all she had. Her eyes were filled with pain, hurt, and regret. If it were me, ugh, I mentally groaned. Sometimes I wanted to throttle my inner sensical voice.

I cleared my throat and spoke, “Delaney, yes you can come, but please, please don’t say anything unless I ask it of you. We shouldn't be here long. I am just picking up the files and getting any notes and thoughts they have. They are humans and you know how humans feel about witches.”

A genially bright and grateful smile lit up her face. And in that moment I knew I wanted to be the one who could cause such a beautiful reaction. I think I was being undone whether I liked it or not. I had to remind myself that, no matter what happened with Delaney, I could not let the wolf gain the upper hand. I was more than the animal I kept chained up inside of me. It took me years to figure that out and countless losses along the way.

The building was all brick with a green awning. From outside, the building seemed to be less than state of the art, but hey, who was I to judge? As a private investigator I had made a name for myself, but not a fat wallet.  I tended to not work well with others, so the money I made was all on me. All of this tended to isolate me, and as a lone wolf, that was how I prefer it.

When I walked in the door, a gust of wind surrounded me and pushed the scents of the area around. There was the scent of heated pavement, trees, Spanish moss, stale office, and then there was Delaney’s scent. She smelled of ozone and gardenias. Her scent alone stirred things in me that should be left dormant in this situation.
Reid, the case
.

The lobby was fairly minimalistic, with a few chairs and closed doors. There was a receptionist’s window with a female officer glancing my way. I gave her my best
I should be trusted
smile and said, “Hello, my name is Reid Jamison. I have an appointment with Lieutenant Shaun Harris.”

The African-American woman looked at something on the computer and said with a broad smile, “I’ll let him know you and um, your partner, are here, honey.”

We went to sit down in two of the chairs facing all of the doors, putting our backs to the wall with the door we walked in.

Delaney leaned over and whispered in my ear, causing a brief wash of heat to head southbound. “Why didn't you tell her you were from the Coven?”

“Delaney, sometimes I forget just how young you are. You have lived among humans and away from the Coven your whole life. Humans have a prejudice against witches. They would just as soon ship you all somewhere else and not have to deal with you. This is the main reason my people haven’t come out as of yet. At least you can live a halfway normal life. We wouldn't have that ability. We would be lucky to live as second-class citizens.” She sat staring at me, looking as if what I said had not occurred to her.

“I am well aware of the prejudice from both the humans and the Coven. I have run from all of them my whole life. My parents died when I was little and my great aunt raised me and we had to live outside the Coven for fear they would use me. Had we gone to the Coven, we would have to register and live on a reservation and struggle for every bit of life we would want to live. My whole life has been a half-life.”

Before I could form more than a coherent thought, the door nearest the reception window opened and out walked an overweight, forty-something white man with only what could be considered sparse brown hair on top of his shiny head. If the comb-over was in style, this guy would be the Brad Pitt of the look. The balding man wore khaki pants with a white button-down shirt. Clearly, whatever he had for breakfast included grape jelly, as evidenced by the large stain on his bulbous belly. This man had to be no taller than 5’7.

“Why, hello there. I am Lieutenant Harris. I assume you were sent to pick up the files and talk about the Pierce murder case?” he said with a deep southern drawl. I happened to glance at Delaney as she stiffened at the mention of her friend’s name.

“Hello and yes.”

“Good. Good. You and your partner can come with me.” At the word
partner
he paused to run his eyes over Delaney, lingering on certain parts of her body that I would love to bash him over the head for noticing. I had to stifle a growl.

“Okay,” was all I could manage as a reply.

We walked down a narrow hallway into a fairly large open room crammed full of tiny cubicles. It reminded me of one of those mazes they put mice in.

“Ah, here is my humble abode,” he said, stopping at one of the cubicles. The desk was littered with empty coffee cups that read J. Christopher’s, and other like restaurants. There were empty condiment packages strewn about the files and if Jimmy Hoffa's body was found to be in this man’s workspace I would not be surprised a bit.

“Please have a seat,” the man said while gesturing to two dilapidated office chairs. I sat and glanced up to Delaney, who was still standing.

“I’ll stand if it’s all the same to you,” Delaney said, clearly put off by the state of Harris's work space.

“Sure, honey, you're welcome to stand there all day long if you like.” Harris gave Delaney another once-over. That was it, I was going to have to kill this guy. I was going to have to stuff his body under that desk with old Jimmy. Delaney didn’t seem to be bothered by his remarks.