A Witch-ish Guide to Protectors and Pendulums (Lilith and Co. #1)

Chapter 4

Chapter

Four

L eaving Connor in pain last night didn’t sit so well with me. I had a terrible time sleeping. Tossing and turning something fierce. I probably had bags the size of sleeping bags under my eyes. Still, I needed to apologize. He’d caught me off guard by kissing me, but that didn’t give me the right to be violent, especially since I’d liked the kiss. It felt good. It felt right. Like of anybody in the world, somehow, I was supposed to be kissing Connor.

Once I got up, I made the bed then showered. For some reason, I decided to go with a pretty white sundress with bright-pink hibiscus flowers and vibrant, green leaves, which tied at the shoulders instead of relying on straps, and my cute wedge strappy sandals. I messy-braided my hair and applied light makeup. He might not be so mad at me if he saw that I made an effort before showing up to apologize. The last thing I did was clean out the litter box and leave my precious baby some food, then I headed to the secondhand shop to see if Connor was working. If he wasn’t, I’d have to do some major groveling to get his address from whoever worked there today.

I happened to be a freaking fantastic baker, but as I’d gotten dressed before coming up with the idea to bring Connor a peace offering, I opted to stop at Egor’s Bakery. That man had a way with baklava that was so good, it should have been illegal. Of course, I had no way of knowing if Connor actually liked baklava, but if he didn’t before, he would once he tried Egor’s. It was that good. And like always, I left with way more than any one person could eat in a week. The man certainly knew how to upsell.

The secondhand store looked closed. I pulled into the left-hand turn lane and turned into the parking lot. Then, slinging my purse around my shoulders, I picked up the pink box tied closed with red-and-white-striped twine, said a brief prayer that Connor would actually happen to be inside and that he wouldn’t try to kill me, and pulled on the door handle. It opened.

Gorgeous Connor stood behind the register. His face heated when he looked up from his paperwork at the sound of the bell over the door jingling.

“Burning the candle at both ends?” I asked as my icebreaker.

The heat stayed in his eyes, though he sounded bored. “The other job, I have to do. This one, I want to do. It’s my store.”

“And a nice store it is. But if I might suggest some customer service training. You weren’t very nice yesterday.” Okay, I came here to say I’m sorry yet here I was insulting him again. Why did that happen whenever I was in his presence?

He let out a long, slow breath. “What are you doing here, Simone?”

I held up the pink box. “Peace offering?”

He almost cracked a smile. “You’re unsure if it’s a peace offering?”

“No. It is. I’m just unsure if you want it,” I replied, still standing close to the door should I need a hasty escape.

“I want a lot of things.” He looked at me pointedly and yeah, I felt that in my girly parts.

“Will you hurt me if I bring the box to you? It’s baklava .”

Connor sort of snicker-sneered. “I’m not the one with a lethal knee, now, am I?”

Okay. But what did he expect me to do? “You kissed me.”

“Yeah,” he answered. Just “yeah.”

As I walked the box over to him, I asked, “What did you expect me to do?”

“Kiss me back. Exactly what you did—at first. That’s how these things work.”

These… things ? What things?

Once I reached the counter, he pulled me around behind it with him, taking the box to set down next to the register. He lifted me up, setting my bottom on the edge of the counter, pushing my legs apart to step between them.

Shit. This close, he smelled really good. Like really, really good. This musky, manly scent that I wanted to bathe in. My heartbeat started racing again. Why did he affect me like this? My nostrils flared. My lips parted. I licked them, wanting nothing more than to have his mouth on me.

He placed his hand on my thigh, skin-to-skin contact, pushing my dress up as he leaned in. “You can’t keep doing this to me,” he whispered before pressing his lips to mine.

“ Connor ,” I whispered back, but with the feel of him, of his mouth working its magic, I forgot what else I wanted to say.

He only stopped the lip-lock when the bell jingled again. We both turned to see a short woman in a T-shirt and jeans that had been cut off into long shorts that reached her knees. The outfit was a bit of a mess, but she paired it with gray converse so she had some cool in her. She snickered when she saw us, then she glanced away from us, walking over to a display in front. I took that as my cue to hop down from the counter and tried to escape. He held me prisoner with his light touch to my arm and his blazing stare.

“You going to let me into those panties of yours?” he asked, whispering into my ear before dragging his lips down to bite the lobe.

“Whoa! Slow your roll, there, Clifford.” I softly slapped his nose. “Bad dog.”

“Woman, seriously—enough with the dog jokes. I’m a hound. I told you that.”

“Crying all the time,” I muttered.

“ Simone .”

“What? You haven’t even asked me out on a date yet and think I’m just letting you into my panties.”

Again, he sighed. Connor did that a lot around me. “Our kind doesn’t date,” he said.

“Maybe your kind doesn’t, but my kind does.”

“Sweetheart.” He tugged on the bottom of my braid gently. “You are my kind.”

“Uh… no, I’m not. Last I checked, I get a magic power-up on the full moon. I don’t go all Scooby-Doo.”

“No—that’s not—” he started to answer until he noticed the woman walking up to the register with a bunch of baby clothes. She dropped them in a heap.

“I’ll let you get back to it.” Then, because it felt wrong not to, I bent in to peck his lips. “Seriously, try the baklava. Egor makes the best.”

Connor shot me a confused sort of look. “Yeah,” he said. “He does. Where are you going now?”

I thumbed through a box of old costume jewelry, picking up a brooch that caught my eye. A gem so dark red, it almost appeared black. A gold snake slithered around it. “This is beautiful,” I said, holding it up to show him.

“Keep it. Now, where are you going?”

“I’m off to find Jeffery’s killer,” I answered offhandedly.

He roared, “ What? ” so loudly that when I spun around, I actually knocked the box I was looking in on the ground, spilling the contents all over the floor.

“For darkness’s sake. You’re a disaster area and you’re not going after your ex’s killer.” He stormed from around the counter stomping over to where I’d bent down to pick up the things that spilled onto the floor.

“His name was Jeffery and I am .” I took out my anger on the poor tchotchkes, slamming them back into the box. What gave him the right to order me around? I was an independent woman. I was going to marry Jeffery. Someone took that future from us. I saw it as my duty to figure out why. My last gift to him and his family.

“Honey,” the woman with the baby clothes said. “Your boyfriend is right. You shouldn’t be going after a killer. That’s dangerous.”

Boyfriend? She thought Connor was my boyfriend?

Of course, she did. What else would she think when she walked in on us mid-lip lock? I snickered to myself thinking of my answer. “No, ma’am, he’s not my boyfriend. He kidnapped me yesterday and I made out with him before kneeing him in the boys and running away.”

What was more, why wasn’t Connor correcting her?

“Connor, I have to. The family needs closure.”

“Leave it to the police,” he replied to me. “Let me ring you up,” he said to her as he started scanning tags and placing the baby clothes into a plastic store bag. “That’ll be ten dollars and eighty-two cents.”

The woman fished in her purse and pulled out a wallet where she tapped her credit card against the card reader to complete the transaction. Connor handed her the bag.

“Have a great rest of your day,” he said to her, then turned back to me expecting her to leave, as if waiting for me to argue. He acted like he’d known me forever and just knew that was how I’d react. That frustrated me to no end. Still, I decided not to give in to the aggression he so readily brought out in me, deciding to answer calmly rather than knee him in the boys for a second time in less than twenty-four hours.

“It’s a cold case,” I said tightly. “They’ve given up. And truthfully, I don’t trust them. There’s this detective who leaves a bad taste in my mouth.”

“He shouldn’t be leaving any taste in your mouth,” Connor grumbled.

“Oh—would you stop? It’s a saying. You’re the only man I’ve kissed since Jeffery died two years ago.”

He smiled then, looking incredibly cocky. “Don’t do anything until I get off work.”

I huffed. “Why?”

“Because I have a vested interest in you staying alive.”

He gave way too many mixed signals for my sanity. First, he cut me down, and now he acted as if he actually liked me. What? And as for me? I actually liked that he seemed to like me now. I returned the sentiment, even though he drove me nuts most of the time we’d been in each other’s company.

“What’s going on here, Connor?”

“If you don’t feel it, I’m not telling you.”

“The truth is, I don’t know what I’m feeling. Last night I felt—it’s embarrassing the thought that went through my head. I won’t bore you with the details. That’s why I stopped you. I had to. But this morning, no magic—I… I still feel something. It’s just not that clear.”

Connor looked over to the woman, who still stood by the counter watching us intently. “Store’s closed for lunch.”

The woman startled, but she slung her bag over her shoulder and walked out. He walked from around the register to follow her, locking the door behind her. He stomped back over to me, bent down to grab hold of my hand, pulling me behind him through the rest of the store to a door at the back. Most of the back room consisted of a large receiving center, but off to the left, he dragged me toward a hallway.

One door on the left in the hall. Three on the right. He stopped us in front of the door on the left, opening it and dragging me through.

An apartment. He brought me to an apartment. “You live here?” I asked stupidly because clearly, he did.

“I own the building, so it made the most sense. Now, you’re going to tell me about what you were feeling.”

“Connor —heel ,” I ordered him. The smile he flashed me turned positively wicked. The next thing I knew, he had me up over his shoulder marching us toward another location. We entered what turned out to be his bedroom, and then I went flying, landing on a huge bed. He followed me down—using his arms to brace himself, looming above me.

“Now… tell me what you were feeling.”

“Connor,” I protested. “You seriously don’t want to hear that. No man wants to hear that from a woman he just met.”

“Spill,” he grumbled.

“Fine.” I flitted my hands in the air to mimic my “ fine. ” “Last night, as you were kissing me, it felt like we’d known each other forever. It felt like… like… This is humiliating.”

He dropped his mouth to mine. The corded muscles rippled underneath the skin of his strong arms. “What did it feel like?” he growled low, like a sexy, sultry whisper.

Defeated, I gave in. “Like we were meant to be together.”

“Finally,” he said. “Was that so difficult?”

“Excruciating,” I replied. “When our lips aren’t attached, we’re biting each other’s heads off.”

“You can put your mouth on my?—”

“Okay, Rin-Tin-Tin, I get the idea.”

“Rin-Tin-Tin? Really?”

“What?” I asked innocently. “Besides, that was yesterday. Today, with no magic?—”

“You sure you don’t have magic?”

“Nope. It leaves me once the moon wanes. It has to be full.”

“Then what’s that?” He pointed to the magic reaching out to him from my fingers—it wasn’t as bright and strong as yesterday, but the fact that it even existed at all was huge.

“How is this happening?” I whispered.

“Because we’re connected. I didn’t know it was you—but I’ve been waiting for you.” Oh, lordy, he had on his bedroom eyes. The nerves in my belly fluttered like I’d never been kissed before, let alone been intimate with a man.

Jeffery and I had an active sex life, and he hadn’t been my first. Yet it took everything in me to not giggle like a schoolgirl. I looked around frantically to avoid making eye contact with Connor. He was too much. Too intense. Took up too much of the air in the room.

“Simone,” he growled my name—a good growl, the best growl. I ignored him. “Look at me,” he demanded.

Strategically keeping my eyes averted, I shook my head.

“Look at me, Simone.”

I shook my head again. That was when I noticed a picture of a pretty woman sitting on his bedside table. She had all the dark features of Connor but looked to be in her early twenties.

“Who’s that?” I asked before thinking better of it. The mood in the room turned icy.

“My sister,” he said. “That’s Madigan.”

“You’re tense now. Did something happen to her?” The moment was ruined anyway. What could it hurt to find out more about him, about his life?

“She disappeared. Two years ago. She came to me one day, told me she’d stumbled on something huge.”

“What was it?” I asked.

“Don’t know. She didn’t want to elaborate. She called me the next day. She was scared. Begged me to meet her. I told her not to move, that I’d be there as soon as possible. She was gone when I got to her location. I never saw her again.”

I gasped.

He nodded once then pressed his forehead to mine. “Thing is, she’s a hound just like me. Not much in the world scares us.”

On its own accord, my hand moved up his body, gliding over his silken skin in order to rest two fingers on his face below his eye. With my thumb, I gently stroked his afternoon stubble.

Connor closed his eyes, breathing in a sharp breath through his nose, sinking into my touch.

“She was petrified,” he whispered after a few long seconds.

“Have you been searching for her?”

He shook his head yes .

“I’ll help you find her.”

That got his attention. His whole body stiffened above me. His nostrils flared. His eyes stared down at me, angry and intense. “No,” he bit out.

Confused, I waited for him to continue. If you gave people enough silence, they felt compelled to fill it.

Predictably, he filled it.

“Did you not hear me? My sister went missing. Think I’m risking you? Your life is tied to mine. For whatever reason, the universe wants us to be together.”

For whatever reason?

How romantic.

I shut down, turning my head away to not have to look at him. “Get off me,” I said.

“What?”

“I said, get off me .” I pushed at him, my hand making contact with his rock-hard chest. It lit me up on the inside, exactly what I didn’t want to happen.

Why would the universe want us together? We didn’t even like each other. I mean, I was starting to like him, but then he had to go and open his mouth. If the universe wanted us together, they should’ve made him mute. Mute would’ve worked. Or maybe made him a French speaker. I didn’t understand French. Therefore, he’d have been able to say all the rude things in the world and I’d never have known.

Thoughts shifted behind his eyes. The frustration. He looked about a second and a half away from throttling me or kissing me.

Neither worked for me.

With his lack of concentration, I managed to roll out from under him.

“What are you doing?” he barked.

“None of your concern.” I ran my fingers through my hair, just knowing that I needed to fix my braid, and I straightened my dress. “You probably need to get back to the shop,” I said, and then I ran, heading through the store and out to my jeep.

Okay, so it wasn’t my proudest moment, and yes, I’d made a fool of myself, but honestly, something inside me withered, turning brown and ugly when he’d said “for whatever reason.”

He didn’t actually like me. He was simply drawn to me by some stupid cosmic misunderstanding. Once I reached my driveway, I hit the garage door opener and then proceeded to drive into my clean garage. I shut off the engine while the door closed.

I loved my little abode, decorated in midcentury modern. All blond woods, and instead of the traditional pink, I, of course, used lilac and the traditional teal from the time period, along with chrome accents. It made me happy. But it also felt lonely. It didn’t used to feel lonely, but Jeffery used to come around all the time. Now, as I glanced around the empty space, I thought that maybe I needed to get another pet. One that liked my attention. Possibly a dog—no. Not a dog. A gerbil? Fish?

Something. My one requirement was that it actually had to like me. My precious kitty took care of me, but he kept himself aloof most of the time. What I craved was unconditional affection without having to bother with people, as it was clear the universe had cursed me when it came to interpersonal relationships with humans or human/death-hound hybrids, as it were.

I walked to the bathroom to fix my braid and then it hit me. I had to ask Jeffery’s mom again if she knew of any enemies Jeffrey might have had. Maybe now with the shock having worn off, she could think of someone that escaped her memory before. He never talked to me about work. He’d always said I was his safe space, where he didn’t have to think about all the crap in the world. So, could he have told his parents about someone that he chose not to tell me about? Had she ever heard of Beetle?

She answered on the second ring. “Simone,” she started. “Is everything okay?”

“No, actually. It’s not.”

“Is there something I can do?”

My opening. “Yes,” I said. “Here’s the thing. I picked up the box of personal effects like you asked and I plugged his phone in to charge, connecting it to my Wi-Fi.”

Even her breathing sounded sad. I shook it off. That was exactly why I needed her to answer my questions.

“The last several calls were from a person named Beetle. Did he ever mention a Beetle?”

“No,” she said quickly. “Never.”

“Did the police ever ask you about a person named Beetle?”

“No. We never got any kind of updates from Detectives Morgan or Shift, you know that.” — Uh, no I sure as hell didn’t — “They said they couldn’t find any leads. What kind of name is Beetle, anyway?”

Detective Shift. I never met a Detective Shift. Suddenly a horrible thought hit. The detective. The one who gave off all those bad vibes. What was his name? And here, I didn’t think the situation could get any worse. Jeffery had been killed. But somehow it kept spiraling down, down, down.

I sighed. “I don’t know. That’s what I’m trying to find out. What about B. el-Zebu?”

“No.”

“Janet, please. I need you to think. Did he have any enemies?”

“Everyone loved him. If Jeffery had enemies, they certainly weren’t known to me.”

“Right.” I sighed a second time because it was that or cry. “Thanks for your time.”

Before I got the chance to disconnect, she called, “Simone?”

“Yeah?”

“Please don’t do something stupid like call that number.”

Call the number? Why hadn’t I thought of that? I stayed silent until she whispered, “Be careful,” before hanging up because we both knew in that moment, I was about to do something stupid.