“This is my shop. What happened to Melissa? Was this a robbery gone bad? What happened?”
The officer looked at me. “Oh, shit,” he muttered. “Please stay here. I’ll get the detective.”
What had happened to the shop? This shouldn’t have been happening. Nothing should have happened to her. She was an innocent in all of this. I stood against the wall and waited while they took her body and put it in a body bag and then wheeled her out the back.
“You’re the owner of this place?”
The detective stood next to me. It took me a moment, but he seemed familiar. “Yeah. Can you tell me what happened?”
He stuck out his hand. “I’m Detective Crace.”
Once I took his hand, I felt a connection with him. He seemed familiar. A mixture of the Guardian and someone from the coven. I wasn’t sure which one it was. “Have we met before?”
“You’re Melina. I wasn’t able to go to the party the other night. I’m your cousin. We can talk about this later. It appears there was a robbery attempt and your clerk was in the way. There was a scuffle. Then he killed her. It happened sometime this morning. I’m sorry to tell you about it.”
“Thanks. She was my friend.”
“Can you tell me where you were this morning?” Detective Crace asked.
“I was at home. I woke up and then came here.”
“Do you know of anyone that would try to harm you or that would to do any damage to your property?”
I ran my hand through my hair. “Not that I’m aware of. I’ve always been pretty well-liked in the community, and we live quietly at home.”
“And who is it that you live with?” I heard the interest in his voice. He took notes while I spoke. Questions tumbled through my mind that I wanted to ask him about being a Guardian. However, I held my tongue.
“My, ahhh…boyfriend. Landon Wallace.”
“The artist?”
“You know him?”
He nodded. “Yeah. I have several pieces of his. He’s having an art show tonight. You going to be there?”
“Yeah. Is there anything else that you need? I really need to get inside and check on my stock. The flowers. See what was stolen.”
“You can’t go in right now. Not until our investigation is over.” He glanced around and then leaned in closer. “Look, I can give you a heads-up on when you can get back inside in case you need to check on anything. Maybe look over the scene with a fresh set of eyes and see if we missed anything.”
“Isn’t that against the rules?”
“Not for family.” He squeezed my arm. “Here’s my card in case you need to get in touch with me. It’s nice to finally meet you, Melina.”
“You too.” I glanced at the broken storefront and felt the echo of Melissa’s spirit. A cold brush against my aura told me she was still there. I took the detective’s card and was surprised to find that he was from the same clan that I was. I wiped my tears away and wasn’t exactly sure what my next move was going to be. I had plans tonight, but seeing the destruction made me wonder if there was something else behind the motive for the attack.
The cops escorted me behind the crime scene tape. I stood with the other onlookers and watched the paramedics. They loaded the body into the ambulance and shut the doors. My jaw hardened to think about how her life had been ripped away. I closed my eyes and tried to quell my rage. There was something I could do to avenge her. I could use magic to find her killer and then make sure he paid for taking her life. The magic rippled inside of me. My inner Guardian agreed with me. The power was stifling. The burn raced along my nerves. The energy crackled around my fingers.
“That might not be such a good idea.”
I turned and met Tannin’s intense gaze. His eyes peered deep into my soul. He might try to stare me down, but I wouldn’t bend to the angel’s will. He was dashing in the long black coat and charcoal suit.
“What isn’t a good idea? Trying to find out who killed my friend? Or getting revenge? What isn’t right about that?”
“You can’t play God.”
“And who says? You don’t control me. You don’t tell me what I can’t do.”
He pulled me closer and whispered into my ear. “You’re wrong about that. Now that you know you’re a Guardian, then you have more responsibility than most. You must uphold humanity. Wouldn’t your goddess condemn killing? Didn’t you ask her to grant you the permission to attack your own coven when Eric and the others came looking to bring you back with them? Didn’t you kill an innocent woman who created the amulet that your brother wore? What would your goddess think of you killing aimlessly, especially since you are now closer to her than being a simple witch?”
I gritted my teeth. “How do you know all that? What makes it right now that I’m a Guardian? I’m supposed to not open the doors to Hell and watch that nothing else tries to or that nothing escapes. The different faces of the goddess would understand what I’m trying to do. Besides, you aren’t my father. If I wasn’t supposed to be killing people, you should’ve found me when I was younger and stopped me then, right?”
“Melina, can we go somewhere to talk? This isn’t the best time to be discussing these subjects in front of so many people when you are so emotional. People here will not understand the implications of what you’re talking about if they take it the wrong way. Will you come with me?”
The intensity in his eyes made me squash my power. “Fine. Where do you want to go?”
“Will you trust me?”
I threw my hands up. “You shouldn’t ask me that right now.”
“I understand. I need to know that you’ll not try to run from my embrace if I hold you close. As a Guardian, I am your superior.”
He wrapped his arms around me. The world expanded. The energy around me prickled my skin. I couldn’t see or hear anything. The earth moved in a rush of wind around me. Soon the gusts ceased and the world stopped flashing past. It took a moment for my legs to stop shaking. When I could, I opened my eyes and looked around. We were in a small house in the living room. It was filled with warm colors, no television set, but a couch and walls covered with bookcases overflowing with volumes. The smell of old paper permeated the space. The exposed beams above showed that this was an old house.
“Where are we?” I asked.
“This is my home. Can I get you something? Some peppermint tea, perhaps, or something else?”
“Tea would be fine.”
Tannin bowed his head and opened a pair of French doors. Behind them was a wide kitchen that was fully furnished. I hadn’t expected an angel to have the need to cook and eat. Watching him move fluently through the kitchen, I couldn’t take my eyes off of him. It brought back the longing from the other night. The emotion choked me up. Everything inside of me wanted to lash out. I desired to take out my revenge and take matters into my own hands. I shook my head and forced myself to think of something else. My gaze traveled to his hands as they locked onto the tea kettle. They were lengthy and tapered. The way he caressed the handle made me long to have his hands caressing my cheek. I pictured him running those fingers over my breasts. Holding me close to him, or touching my cheek to soothe me if I was having a bad day. My inner Guardian sighed at the image. We were both in agreement that we wanted him. Being in his presence was something we craved.
“Did you hear what I asked you, Melina?”
I blinked when I realized that he had stepped away from the teapot and was now standing across from me. “Sorry. What did you say?”
His expression hardened. “You weren’t thinking about going out against what I said and plotting your revenge?” His eyes bore into mine. The dark angel he could be who kept everyone in line flashed in my mind. His aura expanded to fill the space between us until it rubbed against mine. The gentle pressure of it made my toes curl. Tannin held his power in check.
“No. I wasn’t thinking about that at all,” I replied.
“Care to share?”
“I thought you were going to lecture me about why I shouldn’t take revenge and why the goddess wouldn’t want me to do it.”
“Maybe I don’t need to lecture you at all. Did our little chat push some good sense into you after all?”
“I just want to find out who did it and if they were from my family. Is that good enough information for you?”
Tannin examined me. Distrust peppered his eyes. The crease in his forehead had deepened. “It would be, but you’re not telling me the whole truth. What are you hiding from me?”
“Aren’t I allowed to have any free thoughts of my own? I didn’t realize that being my Guardian angel gave you the right to know everything on my mind.” I looked away and stared at the living room floor. Everywhere I looked it reminded me of him. The house had his imprint on it. Bringing me here was all about making sure I didn’t let loose my magic. It had nothing to do with how he cared for me. My emotions churned inside from all the craziness that had occurred in the past couple of days. Tannin only added another layer. My heart was healing with Landon. If I was rejected by Tannin again, I wasn’t sure that I could handle it. If I told him the truth, then he would push me aside. His walls would go up. Knowing he was the one for me, seeing him all the time, but not being able to touch him, or not being around him at all. It was a double-edged sword. If I walked the blade, then my feet would be cut to shreds. The tears I would shed would be those of blood.
“You’re allowed to keep your thoughts. Whatever is on your mind is clouding your aura. It makes it hard to predict what you will do. Once you get your wings under control, you can hide what you are thinking. I realize that you’re healing the chasm between you and the werewolf. Won’t you tell me what’s bothering you besides losing your friend? It’s more than that. I won’t judge you, no matter what it is. I might be your boss, but I won’t stop you from feeling. You can trust me. Your grandmother trusts me more than the rest of the clan. They don’t know what to make of me. I’ve always been there. They expect that I always will be. Please, Melina.”
I heard the plea in his voice. I wasn’t sure if he was opening himself up because he wanted to draw me out or if he was planning this all along to play my heartstrings. I couldn’t figure out how far back he had been around. Obviously there was a lot of knowledge that resided in him, and he would know how to manipulate a human if he truly wanted.
“If I tell you, will you give me an honest answer?”
He nodded. “I will reply truthfully. I’m your guide in all of this. I’m here to protect you and steer you through the oncoming trials and groom you to take your grandmother’s place.”
This time it was me who was surprised. I hadn’t thought I was going to be replacing her. Now wasn’t the time to think about taking over for the woman, the culture, and family that I had just been introduced to. I had to convince him I was completely in love with him. I was Tannin’s mate. If he didn’t believe that, then I wasn’t going to be able to be around him because it would hurt my heart too much. I didn’t know if I could deal with that being ripped out again. The tea kettle whistled from the water boiling. He poured the tea and then brought it back to me before I began to talk to him.
My hands hugged the cup, feeling the warmth in the mug. I gripped it hard because my fingers were trembling. The sweet tangy smell of peppermint filled the room as we sat at his kitchen table. It was immaculate, without even a speck of dust on it. I stared into the green water and swirled the honey into the cup from the container that he brought me. I closed my eyes and listened to my inner Guardian. She was all for me confronting him, but she wasn’t sure he would listen. I had to try. All he had to do was believe me. That was the hard part.
I slid my hand across the table, stopping halfway, hoping he would touch my fingers. Tannin stared at my hand and, after a moment, slid his fingers across mine. I twined my fingers through his long ones and waited to see a reaction on his face. His eyes remained cold and his expression impassive. Seconds ticked by and the silence between us stretched into an eternity. I sucked in a breath and studied his neatly trimmed fingernails. I trailed my fingers over his and got up the courage to speak to him.