How to Rattle an Undead Couple - Hailey Edwards Page 0,22
was next week—”
“You’re in Savannah.”
“Um.”
“You were at the Grande Dame’s house with Boaz.”
“Well…”
“Either tell me what you know, or I will hunt you down and Nerf you in the face until you confess.”
“I can’t get into it over the phone.”
“Despite the evidence to the contrary, you know where I live.”
With no small amount of satisfaction, I hung up on him.
“Pregnancy looks good on you,” Lethe said from the doorway. “It’s made you so vicious.”
“I have two modes lately.” I flung my cell onto the desktop. “Hungry and angry.”
“More like hangry or weepy, but I’m not here to pick a fight with you.” She held up her hands. “I come in peace.”
“I hate having no control over my emotions.” I kicked the desk for emphasis. “I’m ready to go back to normal.”
“You’ll miss pregnancy when it’s over.” She sat on the edge of the desk. “Believe me.”
A rattle and clank came from the kitchen, drawing my stomach’s attention, and I glanced toward the door as Linus entered with a plate holding a piece of cake as big as my spread hand and a glass of pinkish milk that contained the extra Vitamin L required to keep baby and me at maximum healthiness.
“What did Neely have to say?” He set out my treat and passed me a fork. “Anything interesting?”
“No leads.” I shoveled in a mouthful. “Cruz is searching for clues in your mom’s finances.”
The loosening of his shoulders told me he had read between the lines. Given the calls they had been tasked with making, no news was good news on that front.
Recovering his composure, he refocused on the problem. “Any luck contacting Boaz or Corbin?”
“Boaz didn’t answer, but Corbin did.” I swallowed before choking. “He’s supposed to be on his way over to explain things.”
“Hmm.”
Fork hovering over its next victim, I asked, “What does that mean?”
“I’m not sure yet.” He appeared thoughtful. “Lethe, would the gwyllgi who patrol the property know Corbin’s scent well enough to dismiss him as a threat if they encountered it?”
“The enforcers assigned to Woolworth House have been familiarized with the scents of everyone permitted on the property.” She swung her legs. “Corbin is family, so they wouldn’t have thought twice about smelling him.”
Expression tight, he asked, “Can you check with them?”
“Sure.” She hopped to her feet. “Give me a few minutes, and I’ll track them down.”
Once she left and Linus and I were alone, I waited for him to enlighten me.
“Corbin wouldn’t come to Savannah and not stop by Woolworth House.”
“It’s possible he got in yesterday and hasn’t had time,” I allowed. “It’s unlikely, but possible.”
This was his home. It was always his first stop. He knew how much Oscar worried, and I did too.
Lethe popped her head back into the room. “He’s on the porch. Do you still want me to check?”
That was a quick trip. Ridiculously fast. He had to have already been here, or close, when I called him.
“Yes,” Linus decided. “I want to know if he’s been here without telling us.”
He knew the gwyllgi and their patrol routes and methods. He could sneak onto and off Woolworth land without much effort. He had plenty of practice from using the Nerf gun range with Oscar, Hood, and anyone else up for a game. The question is why he would bother. He had as much right to be here as anyone.
A tiny voice whispered that his stealth would explain how the box got in unnoticed, but I strangled it before the thought grew in volume.
The combination of Linus’s tone and my expression resulted in Lethe deciding to hang around a bit longer.
Woolly flickered her lights, giving us a heads-up, and I listened for the door to open and then close.
“Hey,” he greeted her. “How’s it going?”
The house moaned around us, answering him in her way.
“Glad to hear it.” He chuckled softly. “Where’s Oscar?”
The lights cut out, casting him into darkness to illustrate Oscar was still in a snit from missing the party.
“Okay.” A heavy thread of concern wove through his voice. “Where is everyone else?”
The door to the office swung on its hinges, and the knob rattled to attract his attention.
Seconds later, he strolled in, pulling up short when he noticed the crowd. “Hi, guys.”
A shiver traipsed up my spine, a reminder he was a vampire, as if I would forget, but we mostly ignored the sensation around him. After a few hours of exposure, the warning tingle stayed gone for days at a time before cropping up again.
“I missed my nap,” I