cleaned up,” Iris said. “Cal called in some people who took care of it the next day. I know I had a strong reaction.”
“There were very specific threats made to the vandal’s person and property, should you ever find them,” Gigi observed placidly.
“I used the word ‘strong!’” Iris reminded her. “I know it’s kind of silly, considering the damage was fairly minimal, but I just feel so violated. They messed with my flower beds! Do you know how long it took Mom to cultivate those rose hybrids?”
“Years,” Gigi agreed. “But you still have some intact specimens. And Cal can’t worship the very ground you walk on if that ground is under a jail.”
“Damn your wisdom beyond your years,” Iris muttered.
Behind the bickering sisters, I could see the men who had rushed to Alex talking quietly with him. The tall blond stepped toward the building and started randomly touching objects, which seemed like a poor strategy in terms of investigation. Jane excused herself to go take pictures of the damages. Alex lifted his head and nodded to me, waving me over. Gigi and Iris looped their arms through mine and walked me over.
Alex put an arm around my shoulders. “Tylene McClaine, these are two of my oldest friends, Nik Dragomirov and Cal Calix. Iris and Gigi are their mates.”
“‘Oldest friends’ takes on a whole new meaning around this crowd,” I said.
“It’s true,” the dark-haired man, Cal, told me. He jerked his head toward Alex. “But think of all the dirt we can give you on this one.”
“So you’re the girl that’s turned Alex’s head,” Nik said, shaking my hand. His voice was faintly accented. “My Gigi says you went to school together.”
“We’ve talked about inappropriate possessive pronouns, but he is awfully set in his ways. Claims it’s a language barrier,” Gigi said, smirking.
He kissed her neck. “I speak the language of love, my dearest.”
“You’ve spoken English for several hundred years,” she noted.
Dick and Jane joined us in our little standing group, both looking tired.
“I think we’ve documented everything,” Jane said.
“Maybe I should head home?” I asked Jane. “This seems like vampire business.”
“You’re involved in this vampire business,” she told me. “And it affects you directly. You should stay.”
The circle closed around me and I felt more at home in this pack, than I had in my own since before I could howl.
6
“Social media is dangerous, whether you’re live or undead. Set your privacy filters carefully.”
—A Gentleman in Any Era: An Ancient Vampire’s Guide to Modern Relationships
* * *
Even though I’d been told that Jane’s friend group found themselves in peril every six months or so, I wasn’t prepared for the “Law and Order murder board.” They just wheeled it out into the shop like it was normal to have an enormous wheeled whiteboard used specifically for friendship group-based investigations.
“Is this really necessary, for a few acts of vandalism?” Alex said. “They didn’t even do that much damage to my building.”
“That’s how it always starts,” Jane said, piling whiteboard markers on the maple bar. “Some small weird thing that spirals into something much larger and weirder and the next thing you know—murders, fires, poisonings, emergency vampire turnings, and I end up with more foster vampirelings. And as much as I love Jamie, Ben, Meagan and Georgie and all the love and color they have brought to our home—I can only handle so many children.”
“Georgie counts as two,” Gabriel added.
“Half-Moon Hollow seemed to have such a low crime rate when I looked at the Chamber of Commerce website,” Alex muttered.
“Don’t!” Andrea shouted as Jane’s face went thunderous. “Don’t get Jane started on the Chamber of Commerce. The sun will be up in a few hours. We don’t have the time.”
Jane pouted and crossed her arms. “Fine.”
“We’ve learned it’s easier if we get these issues out in the open,” Gabriel told us as Dick rolled the large white board into the café area of the bookshop. Andrea set a cup of herbal tea in front of me—something involving lavender. Apparently, I seemed too caffeinated at the moment. “If we try to handle the situation on our own, it inevitably gets much worse and someone gets hurt. Some of us had to learn this lesson several times over.”
He shot an arch look at Jane, who shrugged. “I never said I was easy to live with.”
Alex, for his part, simply watched in awe and the group bustled around the shop, each seeming to know their assigned role. Iris and Andrea made drinks. Dick set up the