and some files from his office. I guessed he didn’t feel leaving them in the building was a good idea, given the smashed windows.
“Well, you saved me the step of calling authorities, so thank you,” he said. “We don’t know that it’s your family.”
“We don’t know that it’s not my family,” I replied. He paused and stared at me. “Yes, I heard the double negative, too!”
Alex stopped what he was doing, crossed the parking lot and kissed me hard. My knees went a little wobbly and I clutched at his tie. His hands slipped around my waist and pulled me tight against him.
“Take a breath,” he told me. I obeyed. “And another.”
“That’s playing dirty,” I murmured against his lips.
“Not as dirty as I could.” He waggled his brows. I gasped and he chuckled. “See? Now, you’re breathing normally.”
“So wrong,” I sighed, shaking my head. “I don’t know which is weirder, ‘persistently genteel’ you or ‘occasional subtle pervert’ you.”
“I think we both have our merits,” he informed me. “Now, does your family know anything about me, specifically?”
I paused. “No.
“Do they know Iris at all?” he asked as I shook my head.
“Maybe they saw her photo in the newspaper the other day, with Jolene involved in her big group hug on the front page. My mama pointed it out to me, maybe she showed it to them, too,” I said, pinching my nose. “Or maybe I’m just panicking. And I’m making it about me, which is wrong, given the situation. I’m sorry.”
“Stop saying you’re sorry. This is very clearly not your fault.” He rubbed my arms again. “It’s nothing I can’t fix. I’m unhurt. You’re unhurt, so everything’s fine.”
I grumbled as he hugged me close to him. A few minutes later, several vehicles arrived, and the parking lot was full of vampires. Jane and Dick jumped out of a black SUV and I threw myself at Jane.
“Oh, thank goodness.” I wrapped my arms around Jane and squeezed her tight. Behind her, two figures rushed toward Alex—men I didn’t recognize. One was dark and lithe where the other was broad and blond. However, both of them looked extremely irritated at the situation at hand.
“Not that I mind the public display of affection, but are you all right?” she asked.
“I’m fine, just unnerved by the whole thing,” I told her. “I still think it could be my family, but Alex thinks they don’t have a reason to hurt him or Iris. I tried to explain the crazy factor, but he’s not convinced.”
“It’s something to consider and we’ll keep an eye out,” Jane promised me. “But from what we saw at Iris’s house, well, not to be rude, but they didn’t leave a lot of evidence behind. No prints, no hair, not even strong smells. And unless your relatives spend a lot of time watching ID Discovery, I don’t think they’re capable of that level of forensic countermeasure.”
I nodded. “No, that’s fair. So where does that leave us?”
“It leaves me and Dick taking reports and handling this just like we would any other vandalism case. And you, take a deep breath and stop assuming the worst. That’s my job.”
“Just the idea that I could cause Alex this kind of trouble,” I said, shaking my head.
“Even if it was your family, you wouldn’t be causing anybody any trouble. It would be your family,” she said. “Don’t take that weight on yourself.”
“Fine.” I rolled my eyes and waved to all the extra vampires in the parking lot. “So, if you’re going to handle this like any other vandalism case, why did you need reinforcements?”
Jane waved over two dark-haired vampire ladies who looked a lot alike with their high foreheads and delicate jawlines. The younger of them looked familiar in that “we went to school together but weren’t friends” kind of way. I remembered her name was sort of fancy and French, and that she seemed nice. But she definitely ran with a more popular crowd than I did.
“This is Iris Scanlon-Calix and her sister, Gigi.”
Gigi. That was her name, Gigi. Like most important information, it arrived in my brain just a few seconds too late.
“Oh, it was your house that was vandalized,” I said. “I’m so sorry.”
I took a cue from Alex’s book and didn’t reach for Iris or Gigi’s hands. What if they didn’t feel as friendly toward werewolves as Jane and Dick did? Gigi seemed to sense my reluctance and grabbed my hand, pumping up and down.