Chapter 27
Genevieve lowered herself to the porch step and folded her hands between her knees.
The freshly dug bed of wildflowers was a riot of color. A large clump of fuchsia-hued bee balm was swarmed by several butterflies and bees. Black-eyed Susans bobbed in the breeze, their golden petals dappled light against the dark pink of tall, leggy cone flowers. The taller plants stood at the back while daisies and pink and blue verbena added more pastel shades before them. Tiny clumps of violets and white and blue anemones bowed close to the ground, their understated beauty nestled against the multi-hued greenery of the larger plants.
How long had it taken Finn to find the flowers and transplant them to this bed? His reasons for doing so were plain. He had no money, no material things to give her. If anything went wrong during the spell tonight…
If only they could spend the day together talking, holding each other.
How had she come to care about him so much in such a short time? Because, even though he was a creature, even without money or possessions, he had a dignity and quiet resolve about him she found incredibly attractive. And she was touched by his determination to protect her from ridicule for caring for him.
Because he was a beast in other people’s eyes, a more intimate relationship would never be acceptable. He understood and accepted that.
How was it possible that the second man she’d fallen in love with was just as out of reach as Andy was now. The worry that something terrible might happen to Finn ate at her. But her fears hadn’t kept her from wanting him, from caring about him.
She went over and sat beside the statue. “I love my flowers. They’re beautiful. I love that you found them and planted them with your own hands. You have a future in horticulture or landscaping design.”
She leaned against the statue. I’m afraid, Finn. I don’t want to lose you. “I hope you’re not worried. I believe everything will work out, because I know Juliet and Miranda will do their very best. And their best is astonishing.” Was there anything else she could do? More than love him?
At the sound of a car turning into her drive, she looked up. She gripped the statue’s arm to help her rise and watched while two white and blue police car stopped in her driveway.
What had happened? Adrenaline set her heart racing, and a tremor shook her. Surely no one in the shifter community had reported what happened last night.
The passenger door of the car opened, and a young woman climbed out.
“Mai.” She darted forward, Mai met her halfway, and they hugged.
Just touching Mai, Genevieve sensed a change, and she leaned back to look into her face. “I heard about what happened at the hospital. I tried to call, but they wouldn’t tell me anything.” The bruises on Mai’s face where she’d been beaten stood out against her smooth skin, almost like the fingers that had caused them were still in place. “You’re sure you’re okay?”
“Yes, they are taking me to a safe house.” She glanced at the policewoman standing at the car door.
Two male officers walked up from the other car, their hands on their guns.
“Come inside.” Genevieve invited. “All of you.”
“We’ll stand guard out here, ma’am,” the broader and older of the two male officers said. He nodded at the younger officer, jerking his thumb over his shoulder, indicating he should go around back.
Genevieve led the way into the house and into her studio.
Mai went immediately to the statue and stood before it. “Do you think I’ll get it back?”
The hope in the figure’s stance, the bravery with which she faced life was what Genevieve saw in Mai the first time they met. It was the quality that motivated her to encourage Mai to pose for her.
“I know you will. You came here alone, you worked and studied. You’re not going to let one asshole undermine what you’ve accomplished. Sylvia and I and all your other friends are going to be here to support you.”
Mai straightened her shoulders. Her throat worked as she swallowed. She turned away and moved to sit on the couch beside her. “Those poor nurses. One has a broken jaw, and the other a skull fracture. And the police officer, the young one, Mark, he’s alive, but they don’t know if he’ll survive. He nearly choked to death on his own blood. The only reason he is alive now is because one of the injured nurses came to and turned him on his side.
“There were two other nurses in the unit. They went from room to room checking the patients and getting them into the bathrooms to lock themselves in until help came.” Mai shuddered and wiped a hand over her face.
“If Sylvia hadn’t been with me, I don’t think I could have dealt with it. She was like, ‘Come on, Mai, we’re getting the hell out of here.’ She’s the one who pulled me out of the room and down the stairs. We hid on the second floor while the nurses there called the police and security.”
“You were both unbelievably brave.” Genevieve placed a hand on her arm.
“Not me. I was petrified, but Sylvia saved me.” Her voice shook. “He wanted to kill me, Genevieve. Why would he want to do that? I don’t know what he looks like. I can’t tell the police anything, because he kept me drugged or blindfolded.”
She hesitated to push Mai too much. “You may be able to give them more help than you think.”
“How?”
“I know you’re still traumatized by what happened, but…though you couldn’t see him, you could smell him, feel his presence. You heard his voice. During the initial attack, you felt his strength. You’re more powerful than you know, Mai.”
The girl’s brows crimped in a frown. “I don’t feel very strong, Gen. But I don’t want him to do this to anyone else.”
Dear God. “Don’t put that kind of pressure on yourself, Mai.” It would only make it harder for her to heal if she carried around guilt that wasn’t hers to bear. “You aren’t responsible for anything he did. He’s the guilty one, and he will be held accountable when they catch him.” She infused as much confidence into her tone as she could.
Mai lapsed into silence for a beat, her quiet voice almost a whisper when she did speak. “They think he may have done this before. He was too good at it. Too practiced.”
Mai covered her eyes again. “He was wearing a dark jacket. He was white, and the hair on his wrists was dark.” Her speech was halting, jerky. “His watch was silver, with a gold stripe on the band, and a blue face with a gold frame around it. It glinted in the streetlight. Why would a rapist have an expensive gold watch?”
The policewoman stepped forward, her body language tense.
Genevieve lifted a hand, encouraging her to remain silent. “Have you given this information to the detective in charge of the case?”
Mai dropped her hands. “I just remembered. I was so frightened I couldn’t think. There was an old blue truck parked on the street. A yellow beetle. And my car. He had to be hiding in the truck.” She looked up at the policewoman. “Where’s my car?”
“It’s parked at your apartment, Ms. Chen.”
“I want Sylvia to come with me. What if he goes to my apartment and hurts her like he did me? What if he takes her to get to me?”
“We’ll talk to Detective Robinson about it once we get to the station,” the policewoman said.
Mai’s eyes were liquid with worry. “Will you come to the station with me, Gen?”
Genevieve ached for her. “Yes, of course. If that’s what you want.”
“I want you there, and I want Sylvia with me. I can’t be alone. Not yet. She can’t be at the apartment alone. He has my backpack, my books. He knows where I live.”
With the waves of panic coming off Mai bombarding her, Genevieve couldn’t sit still. “I’ll get my purse.” She stood. “I’ll go by your apartment and get Sylvia. You’ll need clothes, so you can use my phone to call her and tell her to pack your bag and hers.”
Mai grasped her hand. “Thank you, Gen.”
* * *
Finn recognized the lass, Mai, when she got out of the car. The police officers paced restlessly around the house, keeping watch. Finn fought against the magic’s hold to no avail.
The female police officer and Mai hurried out of the house and drove away. The other two officers followed in the second vehicle. After they left, the garage door rose, and Genevieve backed the car out, but pulled forward again so she could shout out the car window, “Finn, I’m going to Mai’s apartment to pick up Sylvia and take her to the police station. I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”
His first instinct was to forbid her. What if the rapist was watching the apartment? What if he followed her back here? He couldn’t protect her during daylight. As she drove away, a growl he couldn’t voice roiled in his chest.
Fear for her rampaged through him like a brush fire. He struggled to rise from his crouched position, shoving with all his might against the stone his limbs had become. He fought until his head ached and every muscle was on fire, but he couldn’t budge his stone prison. If anything happened to her…
He wouldn’t be able to bear it.
* * *
Simon drove his truck into the parking lot and parked. The only place he could think to watch for Mai was her apartment.
Even if they moved her out of Superstition, she’d have to return home for clothing and personal belongings. If she showed up, he’d follow her, and if there was an opportunity to get to her, he’d take it.
If not, he already had his money and identification ready to leave the state. He’d be taking Genevieve with him.
He slumped in his seat and watched the front entrance. When a familiar car pulled into the parking lot, he slumped lower. Genevieve pulled up to the front door and jumped out to open her trunk. A girl he’d never seen before emerged and put two bags in the trunk, then walked around and got into the car. Genevieve got back in the driver’s seat and pulled away.
Simon started his truck and pulled out, waiting for them to roll out into traffic before following, keeping a couple of cars between Genevieve’s vehicle and his. Once they pulled out onto Main Street, he knew where they were going.
He parked diagonally across from the police station, cut the engine, and kept an eye on the building using his rearview and side mirrors.
* * *
Genevieve took a seat across from Sylvia and Mai in the small interview room. The girls’ suitcases were stacked in the corner. Detective Chase Robinson’s light brown, blond-streaked curls looked like he’d raked his fingers through it most of the day, and the hint of dark brown scruff made his pale skin appear a shade whiter than it actually was. He pulled his tinted glasses down the bridge of his nose, looked over them at Genevieve, and crooked his finger at her.
She followed him out in the hall.
He yanked his glasses off, revealing his eerily whitish-blue eyes. “What the hell have you gotten my girlfriend into?”
For a moment she went blank. There was no way Juliet would tell Chase about the ritual for Finn until it was over. He’d be reading her the riot act about putting herself in jeopardy. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“She’s been studying her ass off. And I happen to like her ass just the way it is.”
Genevieve smiled. “I happen to prefer it just as it is too.”
His grin revealed lines that crinkled attractively at the corners of his eyes. “If I wasn’t sure you mean that in an entirely artistic way, I’d be tempted to talk her out of sitting for you again.”
Genevieve laughed. “I’d pay good money to see you try.”
That earned her a grimace from Chase. Juliet was as hardheaded as he was.
“She’s been giving me a few stock tips and a few suggestions about investments. So far, she’s been right on the money. Forgive the pun.”
“I see. In that case, I feel a little better. She’s going to talk to the owner of the bar about making her night manager.”
“Good, she deserves to be. She’s savvy enough to be running the place already, even though she hasn’t finished her degree yet.”
“Yeah, she is. The good thing is, if she’s night manager, we’d actually get to see each other more.”
“Which I know she wants, too.”
“Thanks for encouraging her. And thanks for pulling that memory out of my witness.”
“I didn’t pull anything. I just told her how strong she is—which she actually is—and reminded her she had more tools to identify him than she thought, like smell and sound and touch. Broad suggestions. She remembered the details.”
“The thing is, the man who left The Dish ahead of her was Simon Martin.”
Shock traveled from the top of Genevieve’s head to the bottom of her feet. It couldn’t be Simon. He didn’t even know Mai.
“He was wearing a dark jacket, and had on a gold watch. He left a ten-dollar tip for the waitress, and she noticed the expensive watch. What do you think about that?”
“He always dresses well. Was he anywhere close to Mai so that she would notice how he was dressed and transfer the memory onto the man who attacked her?”
“He sat in a booth toward the front of the restaurant. She was in a booth midway back, studying. She didn’t seem to notice him. And he never approached her or spoke to anyone but the woman who waited on him.”
She needed to be objective when she thought about this, but those moments in her office kept coming back. He’d scared the hell out of her.
“Chase…” She swallowed. “Are you running a background check on him?”
“It’s already started.”
She bit her lip. “He’s been my business manager for three years.”
“Yeah.” He waited for her to continue. “Just say it, Gen.”
She swallowed, and clasped and unclasped her hands. “He’s been pushing me for a romantic relationship. The other night at the house, he got a little strange.”
“What do you mean strange?”
“He saw a picture I’d drawn of a man and got very angry and possessive. He actually called me a liar. He apologized later, but when I let him know I wasn’t interested in pursuing a romantic relationship with him… He just became very…empty, almost robotic, but there was a tension about him, and between us. For several minutes it…it was like…. There was something in the room, and I wanted to run, but was too afraid to move. I kept expecting him to explode.”
“But he didn’t.”
“No, but the way he acted was creepy. Like he’d flipped a switch on his emotions. Just turned them off. Nobody is that controlled, Chase.”
His gaze stayed on her, but she could tell his thoughts were elsewhere. “I’ll be going around to interview him again as soon as Carter and Brian leave with Mai and Sylvia.”
He lowered his voice. “The guy meant to kill Mai, and damn near took three people out to do it. Including one of our own. The guys will be at their sharpest.”
“How’s the officer?”
“He’s in critical condition. The doctors say he must have had an angel perched on his shoulder to have survived a knife to the throat.”
Dear God.
“If you’d sit with them a few more minutes, I’d appreciate it.”
“Sure.”
“The guys should be here shortly. They’re getting their last-minute instructions from the chief.”
“Okay.” She reached for the doorknob, but turned to look over her shoulder. “I appreciate you letting Sylvia stay with her.”
“I think it’s a good idea. Sylvia got her out of the hospital room and saved her life. She kept her head, acted quickly. She’ll be one more line of defense.”
Genevieve nodded. “And moral support. Mai needs that right now.”
She pushed the door open and walked back to her seat. The two women’s expressions were identical—anxious and expectant. “There will be two police officers accompanying you, and staying to guard you. They’ll be here in a few minutes.”
The three of them were too tense to talk, Genevieve, because she had just acknowledged there might be something seriously wrong with her business manager, and Sylvia and Mai because they were extremely anxious about what came next.
A soft tap sounded on the door before it opened. Two large men came, in taking up most of the remaining space in the room.
Chase’s partner, Carter Pfister, had a reassuring bulk to his build. Wide-shouldered and muscular, he looked like he could take on an army alone and come out on top. “Ms. Chen, Ms. Thorne. My name is Detective Pfister.” His tone had an easy, matter-of-fact calm that seemed to immediately sooth Mai and Sylvia. “Detective Underwood and I will be accompanying you to the house. If you’re ready to go.”
The two women stood. Brian Underwood grabbed their bags and handed them off to a policeman outside the door.
“Thank you for staying with us, Gen.” Mai said.
Her features started to crumple and Genevieve rushed to hug her. “You’re going to be fine. This will be over soon.”
Mai nodded.
Genevieve hugged Sylvia. “I know you’ll look after her.” Sylvia offered her fist for a bump, and Genevieve laughed and returned the bump.
She left the room to watch them go down the hall toward the back of the office while she wrestled with her own emotions.
Could Simon really be the man who attacked Mai? How would he have found her? How could he know who she was? Had she ever used her name when speaking to him? She didn’t think so.
The fascinated look on his face while he gazed at the sculpture flashed back to haunt her. The noise of telephones ringing, the murmur of voices, and the constant movement behind her fell away as her fear intensified. Was she to blame for Mai’s attack?