The Shifter Romances The Writer (Nocturne Falls Book 6) (28 page)

Hank looked at Alex again. “Any chance someone might have seen you two kissing?”

Alex crossed his arms. “Yes.”

Roxy wrapped her arms around her torso. “Are you telling me I have a whacked-out secret admirer stalking me?”

Hank scratched his head. “Appears that way, ma’am. Any idea who it might be?”

“Not a clue.” Roxy sighed. “This is just what I need.”

Delaney’s mouth came open. “This is unacceptable. You’ve got to give her some protection. A patrol car in front of the house. A deputy on watch. Something.”

Hank raised his hand. “I’m sure Deputy Cruz can help out in that department, but Ms. St. James, I’m also going to advise that you stay put in your house for the next few days. We can set up a stakeout that way, hopefully catch this stalker while keeping you safe at the same time.”

“I can’t stay put. I have a signing at the Bell, Book & Candle on Saturday.”

“That’s the same day as the Panic Parade. The town will be utter chaos.” Hank shook his head. “You’ll have to cancel that.”

Roxy straightened. “Not happening.”

“Ma’am, I don’t think you understand the seriousness of what we’re—”

She stepped into his personal space and stared up at him. “I hate personal appearances. I get nervous. My hands sweat. Sometimes I feel like throwing up. Once I actually did. But you know what? Agnes Miller has pre-sold over two hundred books. That means a minimum of two hundred of my fans are coming to her store on Saturday expecting to meet me and have me sign a book for them. There is no way I’m canceling on them or her. No way. Because the only thing I hate worse than personal appearances is disappointing my fans, of which Agnes is one. So this Saturday? It is absolutely, positively, unequivocally happening.”

Alex bit back a grin. It was a rare individual who stood up to Sheriff Merrow that way, not in small part because he was a werewolf. Which, granted, Roxy might not know. Either way she was a brave soul with a real knack for putting her words to good use.

Hank sighed. “You’re not going to give in on this, are you?”

“If I was the kind of person who gives in, I’d never have gotten published. And I’d still be married to the biggest mistake of my life.”

Delaney snorted.

Hank looked at Alex. “Consider yourself on personal protection duty until further notice.”

“You got it, except—”

“Alex.” Carmen waved from his driveway. “How many people for dinner tonight?”

“Except my mother’s still here.” Alex shook his head slowly. “I shouldn’t leave my mom in the house by herself tonight. She’s going home tomorrow, but until then, this is going to be tricky.”

Delaney put her arm around Roxy’s shoulders. “How about Hugh and I be her personal protection this evening, then Alex takes over tomorrow?” She nudged Roxy’s hip with her own. “Can’t get much safer than in a house with two vampires.”

Alex bristled with the need to protect Roxy himself, but Delaney was right. This way was easier. He nodded reluctantly. “Agreed. Then tomorrow, she’s all mine.”

And hopefully, for a long time to come after that.

Roxy looked around at Delaney’s house with new eyes. The house was just as gorgeous and just as beautifully decorated as it had been on her last visit, but everything seemed different now. “It’s so weird being here.”

Delaney’s brows pulled together. “Roxy, you’ve been here before. Several times.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t know vampires lived here then.”

Delaney laughed. “And that makes a difference?”

“Totally.”

“Hello, Miss Roxy.” Stanhill popped out of the kitchen. “I understand you’re spending the night. I’ll be happy to take your bag up to the guest room.”

“Hi, Stanhill. Thanks.” She handed her overnight bag to him, but kept her laptop bag slung over her shoulder. “Hey, are you a vampire too?”

He stiffened and looked at Delaney.

She waved it off. “Roxy knows. It was time. Past time.”

“I see.” He relaxed. “No, miss. I’m a rook. It’s sort of in between a vampire and a human.”

“Cool.” Roxy nodded at Delaney. “I want to know more about that. I could totally put one of those in a book.”

Stanhill’s gaze took on a calculating gleam. “So long as the rook in question is roguishly handsome, you’ve got my blessing.”

Roxy and Delaney laughed, causing Stanhill to grin. “I have a reputation to maintain, you know.”

“I’m sure,” Roxy said. As Stanhill carted off her bag, she looked around. “Where’s Hugh?”

“Right here.” He strode out from the living room, a ready smile on his face. “Hello, my darling.” He leaned in and kissed Delaney, giving Roxy a pang of longing.

She’d never been greeted like that in her marriage, not even once. She made herself smile as Hugh wrapped his arm around Delaney’s waist and greeted Roxy.

“Nice to see you again, Roxy. I’m sorry to hear about the troubles you’ve been having, but I’m glad we can provide you with a safe place to stay while Deputy Cruz is occupied with his mother.”

“Thanks.” Roxy shrugged. “It was just a little complicated with her in town.” Roxy totally understood that Alex needed to be with his mom—if the stalker had seen them kiss, there was no telling what the guy might do—and yet, she missed him. Which was nuts because there was no reason for her to miss him since she’d just seen him. But she did.

Stanhill came back downstairs. “Dinner’s not until seven. Should I fix hors d’oeuvres? Some cheese and crackers, perhaps?”

“I’m fine,” Roxy said. She and Delaney had eventually gotten to eat lunch at her house before they’d come here.

“I’m good too, Stanhill,” Delaney said.

“And I’m headed out,” Hugh added.

Roxy hoped he wasn’t leaving on her account. The last thing she wanted to be was an intrusion. “I don’t want to interrupt anyone’s routine. I’m happy just to sit in a corner somewhere and work for a few hours, if that’s okay.”

“Take the library,” Hugh said. “Seems an appropriate place to write a book.”

Roxy nodded. “Sounds good to me.”

He smiled. “I’ll see you both for dinner, then. I’m off to Sebastian’s for a meeting.” He kissed Delaney again, then left.

“C’mon,” she said. “I’ll show you the library. You sure you don’t want a glass of wine or something? After the day you’ve had, you’ve earned it.”

Roxy walked with her. “Alcohol and writing don’t mix for me, but I’ll definitely have some at dinner.”

Delaney pushed open a set of double doors ahead of them, and Roxy sighed. “Oh, this is gorgeous.” She inhaled. “I love the way libraries smell.”

“If you like this one, you’ll have to see Sebastian’s someday. That’s the brother Hugh went to see. His library is easily twice this size. You’d love it. Two stories and filled with rare books and antique weapons.”

“Really? Yeah, I’d definitely like to see that. In fact, it sounds like potential research with all those weapons.”

“You’d like his girlfriend too. Tessa. She’s a valkyrie. And a librarian.”

Roxy squinted. “You mean as in the Norse mythology valkyrie?”

Delaney nodded. “Yep. Her sister, Deputy Blythe—I don’t know if you’ve met her yet—but she’s a valkyrie too. Everyone I know in the sheriff’s department is a supernatural.”

“Really? What’s the sheriff?”

“Werewolf.”

“Wow.” Roxy bit her lip. “I don’t know if I would have stood up to him the way I did if I’d known that.”

Delaney smiled. “He’s got that whole gruff, non-smiling thing going on, but he’s really a big teddy bear. You should see the way his aunt talks to him. Birdie. Now there’s a character.”

“I met Birdie. Wait. If she’s the sheriff’s aunt, is she…”

“A werewolf too? Yep.”

Birdie was a werewolf. That might take some getting used to. Roxy settled on one of the oversized couches and balanced her laptop bag on her knees. “I need to write, but there’s so much I don’t know and so many questions I’d like to ask. I have a feeling our talk over lunch only scratched the surface.”

Delaney nodded. “There are scads of fascinating people that live here and so many interesting things to learn about this town, I feel like I find out something new every day myself.”

The writing could wait another hour. Roxy patted the couch next to her. “Tell me all about it.”

Delaney took a seat. “What do you want to know?”

Roxy opened her mouth, then closed it again, thinking.

“You can ask me anything,” Delaney added.

“I guess what I most want to know isn’t really about the town. It’s more personal. Is that okay?”

“Absolutely.”

“In that case, how did you decide to become a vampire? What was it like? Were you scared?”

Delaney sat back, her hand on her belly, and stared into the room for a moment before answering. “I was…in love.”

Roxy could relate to the sentiment if not the exact feeling.

She looked at Roxy. “That colored everything, you know? I knew it was a serious decision and my life would be very different, but I also knew it would mean having forever with Hugh. It didn’t take me long to make up my mind. It just felt like there was no question about whether or not I should do it. It was simply the next step in our relationship.”

Roxy wound the laptop bag’s strap around her hand. “Do you think…that maybe I could become a vampire?”

Delaney’s mouth dropped open. “What? Why would you ask me that? I mean, I get wanting to be a vampire. It’s incredibly cool, and given what you write, I can see the added appeal, but I thought you were interested in Alex.”

“I am. That’s why I asked. I thought it would put us on more equal footing.”

Delaney reached out and squeezed Roxy’s arm. “I don’t think he cares one bit that you’re human.”

“Maybe not so much that he’d say anything, but the imbalance remains. He’s a shifter. I’m human. I can never really be a part of his world the way a supernatural woman could.”

Roxy let out a small sigh before she continued. “I feel a bit like an outsider looking in. This town is amazing. And the people who live here? It’s just beyond exciting. But I also feel a bit like I’ve just been told I’ve won the lottery, except I can’t spend any of the money. Just look at it. And watch other people spend it.”

“Oh, Roxy. That must be so hard. But wouldn’t you rather be a shifter like Alex?”

Roxy turned toward her, eyes rounding slightly. “Are you saying that’s a possibility?”

Delaney shrugged. “I have no idea. But I know someone who might.”

Alex stood in the sheriff’s department conference room, staring down at the table and the bagged evidence collected from Roxy’s house. Not a single useable fingerprint on any of it. “Whoever’s doing this is smart enough to wear gloves and wipe everything down.”

Hank nodded. “Which makes me think our perp has a record.”

Jenna Blythe stopped clacking the keyboard of her department laptop long enough to look up. “Your girlfriend is pretty active on social media.”

“She’s a public figure. And a popular one.” Just how popular Alex was starting to understand. “What’s your point?”

Jenna turned the laptop around. Roxy’s Facebook page was on the screen. “My point is that she posted Saturday’s signing as an event. The whole world knows exactly when and where to find her tomorrow.”