The Shifter Romances The Writer
“Lafitte? Are there pirates in this town too?”
Alex smirked. “No. He’s a Cajun. Remy’s his first name. New hire a few months back. Good man. But he’s strictly a night-shift guy.”
Her mind was happy to contemplate a new subject. What did Alex mean by that? Was the new guy a vampire? Because that was the only supernatural thing she could think of that would make someone strictly night shift. Not that the Ellinghams had to deal with that, thanks to some old family magic that Delaney had mentioned was a big secret. “Is there anything else I can help with?”
Alex shook his head. “Just let Deputy Lafitte in when he gets here and then he and I will take care of the rest.” He re-adjusted his grip on the stalker, but his gaze stayed on Roxy. “You sure you’re okay?”
She nodded. “Yes. A little weirded out by him touching me, but really glad this is over.”
“Me too. You positive you don’t recognize this guy?”
She studied the man in Alex’s control. He was young, scruffy and pale. But no one she knew. “No.”
Alex leaned toward him. “What’s your name?”
The man stared at Roxy, creeping her out even more. “You’re ruining everything for us.”
She grimaced. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Yes, you do,” he said.
She glanced at Alex. “I swear I don’t.”
“I know.” Alex pulled the guy to his feet. “Your prints are probably on file since you were so careful to keep them off everything you left. Or maybe you were stupid enough to carry ID. Or leave it in your car. Or wherever you’re staying. You might as well help yourself. It’s not going to stay a secret for much longer.”
The guy’s eyes narrowed. “Jacob Cranberry.” He glared at Roxy. “Don’t pretend you don’t know me. That insults everything we have.”
“Everything we have? You are so delusional, I don’t know where to start.” Then Roxy thought back as she stared at him. “Wait. Are you related to Marissa Cranberry?”
“See?” the guy said. “You do remember me.”
Alex lifted his head to look at her. “Who’s Marissa Cranberry?”
“Marissa was my first assistant. She was great. Very thorough, totally on top of stuff. But then she up and quit with no real explanation after just a couple of months. The only thing she’d tell me was that her life had gotten complicated and she was pulling back. I let it go. What else could I do?”
She stared at Jacob. “You’re her brother.”
“You and I could have been happy together,” Jacob said. “I know everything about you. I told Marissa not to quit. She didn’t listen to me either.”
“Looks like you’re not as persuasive to women as you think you are.” Alex tipped his head like he was listening. “Lafitte’s here.”
“I’ll go let him in.” She hadn’t heard anything, but then, she hadn’t heard Jacob creeping up on her. So much for her supernatural bloodlines.
“Thanks.”
She left them and went to the front door. A patrol car was pulling into the driveway. She stood there until the deputy got out and walked up to the porch.
He nodded. “Ma’am. You must be Roxy St. James.” His voice carried the soft lilt of Louisiana.
“I am. And you must be Remy Lafitte.”
“One and the same and at your service. Where’s the perpetrator?”
Deputy Lafitte had two things in abundance: Southern charm and good looks. “Alex has him cuffed in the backyard. I’ll show you.”
“Much obliged.” He came up the porch steps.
She didn’t move entirely out of his way.
“Ma’am?”
“Alex said you were strictly a night-shift guy. Is that in all aspects of your life?”
He studied her a moment as if trying to guess what she was after. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Does that make you what I think it does?”
He smiled, showing off fangs. “I’m guessing it does.”
“How about that? I’m getting pretty good at this.” She gave herself points for guessing vampire. “Follow me.”
After it was all said and done and Jacob Cranberry was being loaded into Deputy Lafitte’s patrol car to be hauled off to one of the holding cells at the sheriff’s department (with the help of Sheriff Merrow, who had also shown up), a wave of exhaustion hit Roxy. She slumped against Alex as they stood together on his front porch, happy to have him at her side.
He kissed the top of her head. “I have to go back to the station with Lafitte and take care of this.”
“I know.”
“I called Pandora to come over and stay with you.”
She glanced up at him. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“Well, I figured I ought to let Delaney sleep, seeing as how she’s pregnant and all.”
“Speaking of Delaney, Remy just told me he’s a vampire too. And you weren’t kidding. He sounds one hundred percent Cajun.”
“Yep. He’s on furlough from New Orleans.”
She looked up. “What does that mean?”
“It’s hard for vampires sometimes. At a certain point, people notice they don’t age, so every so often, they have to move on for a while. He’ll be here until he can go home again.”
“You mean until everyone who knew him is gone? That’s sad.”