Carve My Pumpkin (The Night Realm: Halloween Marked #3)

Chapter 12

TWELVE

COLETTE

“Why am I here, Ms. Rothchild?”

I rolled my eyes. “It is your soulmate we’re hunting for, Mr. Vauntero.”

“Last I checked, this was a task assigned to you by me as part of your trial window.”

I turned to face him and narrowed my eyes. “Last I checked, it’s against company policy to abuse your position of power by having your employees handle your personal affairs during business hours.”

He glared at me, his upper lip curling up a tad. The growl he rumbled made the hairs on my arms stand tall. “I am not abusing my power. I merely have no other tasks for you at the moment?—”

“Really? Because I’ve been busy helping Chip and Pickles get their small travel company going? Or how about how I helped them merge their company with Starlight Tours ? I’ve even helped Orson and Liza arrange some travel plans for next month. I helped Willem Bow?—”

“Would you like a trophy for doing your job? Perhaps a cookie instead since you seem so hangry.”

I picked up a pyramid-shaped Rice Krispie snack off the table next to me and shoved it into his mouth. “Actually, yes, I think I would. If the employee figures out how to do their job on their own, there should be some recognition.” I grinned and wiped my hands off on my leggings.

He growled around the treat.

I pressed my fingers to it to keep it in his mouth. “Now, you look here, Mr. Vauntero, I’m happy to help you find your soulmate, but when it requires me to work outside of normal business hours—set by Lexington Prescott himself—then I demand you accompany me. That’s only fair.” I dropped my hand and crossed my arms over my chest. “What say you?”

He grabbed a napkin and spit half of the snack into it, then tossed it in the garbage. “Fine. But why are we just standing here ? It’s the home decor contest?—”

“ Women live in these houses, Mr. Vauntero.” I gestured around us to the open floorplan of Patricia’s home where Mateo was one of three men present. “More importantly, women are surrounding you. We’re here to check more names off my list.”

He narrowed those pretty blue eyes at me. My fingers itched with the need to push his glasses higher up his nose.

I pulled out my tablet to stop myself from touching him. A few quick taps on the screen and I had my spreadsheet open for him to see. “Remember I have a spreadsheet? It’s very organized in here. We’re narrowing down the list.”

“Whose house are we in?”

I sighed. “Patricia. She works at Prescott Tech for Pippin. Not ringing any bells?”

He snarled and crossed his arms over his chest. “Why are we just standing here, Ms. Rothchild?”

“Because Patricia is older than both of us and she’s a highly skilled socializer.” I held my screen out for him to see. “And while we’ve been standing here admiring her dedication to her theme of Ancient Egypt and all its shiny gold, Patricia has been checking the arms of her guests and marking them off on my spreadsheet accordingly.”

He threw his head back and sighed. “ Again, why are we standing here if she’s doing the work?”

“Because it’s the decent thing to do? She’s my friend and she’s helping out of the goodness of her heart.” I shook my head in frustration just as Patricia emerged from around a corner in her full Cleopatra costume. “Hey! I was looking for you.”

“I’m sneaky and fast.” She winked at me and grabbed a glass of champagne off the table. “I’ve checked every woman currently in this house. You should look elsewhere. I’ll keep my eyes on new guests and update the spreadsheet.”

“Thank you?—”

“Please, it’s fun. I love a good guest list.” She winked again, then sashayed away from us in the opposite direction.

“Right. Let’s go.” He gripped my elbow and gently led me toward the front door.

Heat and electricity shot through my body from where he touched me because my body was a traitor. This was a mutiny of the worst kind. Of course I’d be attracted to my boss, and of course he’d have a soulmate. It was like my subconscious wanted to feel pain and torture.

We pushed past all the people trying to get inside her house until we stood in the middle of the street. Mateo ran his hand through his hair and cursed. Those pretty blue eyes glanced left and right and back again. His other hand still gripped my elbow, and it was really starting to melt me from the inside.

I cleared my throat and flapped my arm like a chicken wing. “Excuse me?”

He cursed again and dropped my arm. “You cannot seriously be suggesting we go door-to-door on the entire Island?”

“No—well, that wouldn’t be the worst idea I ever heard. It would be thorough.” I chuckled. “But no. I am not. I’m just killing two birds with one stone. I like seeing the home decor?—”

“So you tricked me?—”

“You would be so lucky to stir that much emotion in me, rake.” I pointed down the street. “Monroe Whitaker’s house is down there. I’ve been working with him, Dawson, Pickles, and Chip all week. I’m going to see it. I don’t really care if you go with me, but it wouldn’t kill you to actually do your part of looking for your girl.”

He opened his mouth to speak when honking blared from behind us. We turned in time to watch a long golf cart fly up and stop right next to us. My jaw dropped. My golden girls were inside. Susan sat behind the wheel with a wild sparkle in her eyes and her hair blown back. Sylvie and Gertie were each stretched out on the second and third row, giggling like little schoolgirls. But my mother was in the passenger seat. That wasn’t a sight I was prepared to see.

She must’ve read my aura because her cheeks flushed. “It’s a long story.”

“You’re out, Mom. I’m so proud of you?—”

“Thank you . . . it’s . . . I quite like this contraption.”

Susan leaned forward to meet my stare. “We found this parked on a street, so we stole it.”

Sylvie sat up from the last row. “We’re hunting Merryweather. She hasn’t a chance.”

“Hide and seek is much more fun on this thing.” Gertie giggled from the middle row. “Why the scowl, Mateo?”

He pushed his black rimmed glasses up higher. “That’s my family’s golf cart?—”

“Well, then, your family shouldn’t have left it sitting about.” Sylvie ran her hands over her hair.

“This reminds me of that time we stole a cop car in the seventies. Remember, Sylvie?”

An evil grin spread across Sylvie’s face. “Let’s not incriminate ourselves in front of this Vauntero?—”

“This is Constantine’s golf cart.” Mateo put his hands on his hips. “Do you really think that’s smart? To antagonize him?”

Susan leaned forward again. “What’s he gonna do about it, kiddo?”

I covered my mouth with my hand to try not to laugh because Mateo looked less than amused. Mateo didn’t know that Merryweather was Constantine and that he was our close friend. He was a golden girl. We saw a side of the eldest prince that no one else did. And I would bet money that he left this golf cart parked somewhere just for his girls to steal and play . . . and he was definitely playing hide and seek with them.

But I wasn’t going to blow Constantine’s cover.

Not that Mateo would’ve believed me.

I gasped dramatically and pointed off to my left. “THERE! I just saw Merryweather run!”

They bolted, their maniacal laughter lingering in the wind behind them.

“EAT MY DUST, SPARKLE FART!”

Mateo whipped around faster than I’d ever seen him move. His eyebrows were scrunched low over his eyes. “ Sparkle fart? ”

I bit my lip and nodded, trying not to laugh.

“Yeah, Sparkle Fart.” Olivia landed right between me and Mateo. Her orange hair whipped around her shoulders. Her brown eyes were wide and wild. “I won.”

“ I have so many questions, ” Mateo whispered. He eyed Olivia like she was a science experiment.

Melissa dropped out of the sky from above us, landing next to Olivia, but her hazel eyes were watching the sky. “You already lost Sparkle Fart?—”

“ There it is again ,” Mateo breathed. “Who is Sparkle Fart?”

“I AM!” Natalie jumped out from behind him which made him jump.

We all laughed.

Except Mateo.

Natalie flipped her peach hair over her shoulder. “I’m so cute my farts sparkle. Duh.”

Mateo pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head.

“Any luck, ladies?” I tried to steer them into the correct conversation.

Olivia sighed. “Not yet. But we’re checking every person we see. Don’t worry?—”

“ You’ve got them looking too?” Mateo threw his hands up. “This was your job.”

“And it should only be yours .” I scoffed and gestured between me and my three fae friends. “I know how to delegate, and they’re having fun.”

“We’re very competitive.” Melissa nodded.

Natalie jumped over to me. “So, have you checked the condos by the beach? Lo’s building?”

I shook my head. “Not yet?—”

“BYE!” Natalie disappeared into the dark sky.

“CHEATING, SPARKLE FART!” Olivia screamed and chased after her.

Melissa gave me a thumbs-up, then did a weird dramatic bow to Mateo. “Later!”

They were gone as fast as they’d descended upon us.

“Come on. I wanna check this house on the right.” I pointed with my tablet. “The one with the big wraparound porch and skeletons.”

Mateo grumbled something but I wasn’t listening. Instead, I was focused on the skeletons dressed up in costumes and climbing the sides of the house. As I got closer, I realized they were all dressed as characters from Marvel. I had to give it to them for their dedication to accuracy. I smiled and pushed the front door open. The house was full of people strolling around looking at the epic Avenger skeleton displays in each room. I heard the voices carrying from every direction. A kid pushed by me and then slid to a stop in the middle of the foyer. His eyes were wide and staring at the ceiling. Unable to curb my curiosity, I looked up and my jaw dropped. They’d hung a skeleton in a Spiderman costume from the twenty-foot ceiling like it was a chandelier. They’d managed to get the pose right too. Rather impressive, actually.

“Are we looking for someone specific?” Mateo grumbled right beside me.

“Yes.” I held my tablet up without taking my eyes off the display. “Amber Smith.”

Mateo sighed Impatiently. “And who is Amber Smith? Can I get all the information at once please? The twenty questions game is exhausting.”

I snort-laughed. “Amber Smith is a nurse at the hospital, and according to my research, she was in the ER the night you were. So, there’s a chance?—”

“You think this Amber Smith might be my soulmate?—”

“WHAT DID YOU SAY?” a deep voice bellowed from the dining room on the right.

We both flinched and jumped back just as a massive dude as tall as the door frame marched towards us. He wore a blue flannel shirt, but the sleeves had been ripped off so his massive biceps were in full view, and his brown mullet swayed as he stomped forward.

“ WHAT DID YOU SAY? ” he shouted again. “What’d you say about my girlfriend?”

“Whoa, whoa. Hold on.” Mateo held his hands out in front of him, then stepped in front of me, blocking this guy from my path. “We just need to talk to her?—”

“You come into my house and wanna talk to my girl?” He grabbed Mateo by the lapels of his blazer and shook him, glaring down his nose. This guy had to be four inches taller than him. “Haven’t you had enough of the females on this Island?—”

“My guy, you’ve got the wrong idea.” Mateo’s voice was calm and soft, like he wasn’t worried at all. Then again, he was a vampire prince, so he definitely was stronger than this guy. He just wasn’t using that strength. “Why don’t you think about what you’re doing right now?—”

“ Don’t tell me what to do in my own house ?—”

“PAUL! STOP! What are you doing? Put Prince Mateo DOWN!”

I leaned around Mateo and tried to get Paul’s attention, but his eyes were shining like a wolf’s caught in headlights. “Paul, I don’t think you want to violently attack the prince and get yourself?—”

“Don’t tell me what I want to do!” he snarled, not taking his glowing eyes off of Mateo. His arms were trembling, and dark-gray fur was sprouting from his pores. “You hooking up with my girl?”

“Genuinely, no,” Mateo said without hesitation or anger. He remained perfectly calm. “This is a misunderstanding, Paul. You’ve gotten yourself worked up. It’s okay. I get it. But put me down and back off before you get yourself in trouble?—”

“PAUL, YOU JACKASS!” a young woman in a red dress screamed from the base of the stairs. “WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?”

“Paul, please let me explain?—”

“NO,” Paul growled, and his whole body shook violently, his muscles pulsing.

“PAUL, YOU’RE ATTACKING A VAUNTERO! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?”

Mateo cleared his throat. “Colette, please back up.”

I flinched. Did he just call me Colette? Not Ms. Rothchild? My pulse quickened.

“Colette, please back up,” Mateo said through clenched teeth. “Now.”

I leapt backwards. My eyes were wide. Butterflies danced in my stomach. My skin tingled and warmed like he’d touched me. I licked my lips and backed up even farther.

“Paul, if I wanted to overpower you, I would have already,” Mateo said slowly. “We do not need to escalate this. I’m not angry with you?—”

“ I’m angry with you, ” Paul growled, but his words were hard to decipher because his wolf fangs were growing out. “ Not in my house ?—”

“It’s MY house, jackass! ” the woman in the red dress shouted.

Paul lifted Mateo up higher.

“Freeze,” a deep, familiar male voice said from the other side of Paul.

Paul gasped. His eyes widened. His whole body locked in place instantly.

Holden Dunn, alpha of the wolf pack, stepped into the foyer looking the same as he always did with his jeans, red flannel, and beat-up work boots. He walked over to stand beside Paul but kind of in between them. “Set Mateo back on his feet on the floor. Now.”

Paul’s eyes were wide. His arms shook wildly as he slowly sat Mateo back on his feet.

Holden crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Paul. “Now fix his jacket.”

Beads of sweat dripped down the temples of Paul’s head. He slowly and carefully adjusted Mateo’s blazer.

“Shift,” Holden growled.

I glanced over to Amber in that short time, and when I looked back, Paul had shifted into a big gray wolf and was now cowering at Holden’s feet.

Holden shook his head. “Go out back and wait for me. Now.”

Paul leapt off the ground and bolted through the house until he was entirely out of sight.

Holden just sighed and scrubbed his face with his hands. “Man, I hate pulling alpha on the pack members.”

Amber scrambled over to us and grimaced. “I’m so sorry about him?—”

“Stop.” Holden held one palm out and she stopped instantly. “Go find Paul and stay with him. When I look up, none of my pack better be lingering here to watch.”

I grimaced. “Sorry, Holden. I was not prepared for that?—”

“Not your fault.” He waved me off, then turned to Mateo. “Can we talk about the punishment for his crimes tomorrow?”

“Thanks.” Mateo clapped him on the shoulder and nodded. He turned those sapphire eyes on me. “Let’s go.”

I nodded and spun on my toes, then practically sprinted out the front door.

“Ms. Rothchild. Stop.”

I slid to a stop in the dirt and wanted to scream and cry that he’d reverted back to calling me Ms. Rothchild .

And then he grabbed my tablet from my hands and growled as he gestured down the street. “Go. You have the night off. Stop working. I’ll do my own hunting tonight.”

And then he was gone.