***

  I awoke to find myself lying on the couch, still in Roy’s arms. I couldn’t tell what time it was, but it was still dark outside and Roy was snoring lightly. The fire had long since died and the bottle of wine was empty. Feeling a chill, I reached down to the blanket he’d placed on the couch since he’d planned on sleeping here alone, and pulled it over both of us.

  Roy shifted, and his snoring stopped. “You want to go sleep in my bed?” he asked.

  “No, I want to sleep right here if that’s okay,” I whispered back.

  He didn’t respond, other than to wrap his arms firmly around me as I lowered my head back to his chest. After another minute or so, he started gently snoring again.

  And it was then that I remembered something—something I’d decided during the night, before I’d drifted off to sleep.

  I’d made up my mind.

  I’d made up my mind to let it all go.

  All of it.

  Everything.

  Taliyah could handle the murders just like she was supposed to, Angelo could go back home, either to his house or to our parents in New York and I’d focus on making Hallowed Homes so strong that nothing could tear it down.

  Not my brother, not my murdered client, nothing.

  Chapter Twenty

  A week passed, and things were finally beginning to look up.

  I’d managed to make a sizable sale of a lake house to three sister mermaids, which was a huge relief. Plus, I had other exotic clients lining up to look at some of our properties that were perfect for their specific needs. The plot at Haven Cemetery was still for sale and so far, I hadn’t had one lead, but I tried not to let it get me down.

  I couldn’t help but feel like my newly found good luck was teetering on the edge of a cliff, though, because it was just a matter of time before news of the murders spread to neighboring areas. As far as Haven Hollow was concerned, it now seemed like everyone and their mother was aware of what had happened to Darragh and Cranough. Not surprisingly, all Hallowed Homes recent sales were to outsiders. But, yes, it was just a matter of time before the news spread of a murderer in Haven Hollow who was, as of yet, still roaming free.

  All I could do was keep doing what I did best—selling homes. My dedication to the business was already beginning to pay off—my employees had absolutely celebrated my decision to let Angelo go, and they’d been even more thrilled when I distributed his clients and leads between them.

  As to Angelo, he’d moved out of my house as promised and I hadn’t seen him since the altercation with Ramona a week or so ago.

  Ramona appeared to be in much better spirits with Angelo gone—really, it was like she was a totally different person. Tonight, she had an appointment she seemed ecstatic about. She’d been flitting through the office all day in an unusually good mood as she prepared to show what was once a golf course to a family of gnomes who were interested in turning it into a gated community. She’d already given the gnomes a tour of the property a few times and tonight was supposed to be the night they signed on the dotted line.

  As to the murders, Taliyah was doing her best, but without anyone to do a proper autopsy on Cranough, she was stuck spinning her wheels. Apparently Taliyah had been trying to reach Fox Aspen, but he hadn’t answered, nor returned any of her calls. When Poppy got involved, he didn’t answer her calls either. It could have been that he was ignoring us, or he might have been incredibly busy being Prince Reynard. Either way, he wasn’t helping the situation.

  And that was part of the reason why I decided to get involved again. I had to try again to get Burian to help us. If Burian could confirm the cause of Cranough’s death, that would at least give us more information than we currently had, and maybe it would make the difference between an unsolved case and a soon-to-be solved one.

  Leaving the office with renewed determination, I decided not to rely on just myself. Instead, I figured a sasquatch might just be intimidating enough to make Burian talk. So, I made my way to the Half-Moon to ask Roy to accompany me. Once I explained my mission, he was fairly easily swayed.

  Within the hour, we were on our way to Cherry Woods.

  “I don’t know why you think he’ll help this time when he wouldn’t before,” Roy said, looking at me as I drove down the deserted road that led to Burian’s building.

  “I figured there’s nothing quite as intimidating as a sasquatch,” I answered with a smile.

  “Not sure I’m more intimidating than a demoness,” he responded. I just gave him a little smile because I didn’t like the title. I didn’t think of myself as a demoness, even though that was exactly what I was. Regardless, I just thought of myself as Fifi, the girl with too many man problems.

  “When was the last time you transformed fully?” Roy asked, as he looked over at me.

  “Transformed?” I repeated, but I knew what he was talking about. It was just a subject I hadn’t thought about in a long time—mostly because I didn’t want to.

  “Sure. Into your demoness form.”

  I swallowed hard. “It’s been a while… at least five years, not since…”

  “Ah,” he answered, clearly not needing me to finish the statement—he knew I hadn’t had sex in five years. He gave me an understanding smile, and I just blushed.

  “Do you miss being in your full power?”

  “Not really,” I answered, before I realized saying as much wasn’t the full truth. “I mean, I miss feeling completely energized and full of life. Instead, I always have this sort of haze in my mind and I usually feel like I’m operating at half capacity, you know.” I cleared my throat, finding this whole subject uncomfortable. “Of course, it gets a little better after I’ve fed.”

  He nodded. “But when you feed now, you aren’t really feeding fully.”

  “Right.”

  He was quiet for a few seconds and I couldn’t help but wonder at the thoughts going through his head. “So if you actually had sex, you’d feel better than you have in the last five years?”

  “Probably.”

  “So…”

  I cleared my throat and shook my head. “It’s not that simple.”

  “Not as simple as just having sex?”

  I shook my head again, wishing we weren’t ten minutes from Burian’s because I really didn’t want to continue having this conversation. “No.”

  “Why?”

  “Because… um, because if I had sex with someone now, after being… basically abstinent for the last five years, I could do that person serious bodily harm, or even kill him.”

  “If he were human.”

  “Right. But, also potentially… if he were some other species too.”

  He shrugged. “You couldn’t kill or hurt me.”

  I started blushing even more and stared at the road straight ahead, even as I could feel his eyes on me. Why would he say such a thing when we both were completely aware that we only wanted to be friends? “Um, I probably couldn’t hurt you.”

  “Hmm.”

  Hmm, was right.

  “What if…” he started, but I interrupted because I didn’t want to know what he was going to ask next. This conversation was already causing me to break out into a cold sweat.

  “We really don’t have to talk about this, Roy, especially when my focus needs to be on Burian and whether or not he’s going to help us.”

  Roy nodded. “He’ll help us.”

  “How can you be so sure?”

  “I’m a sasquatch, remember?” I laughed as he turned to face me again. “Going back to this sex thing.” I groaned, and he chuckled. “Fifi, I know you don’t want to discuss this, but I think it’s important.”

  I breathed in deeply and then sighed. “I don’t know why you think it’s important because none of it matters anyway.”

  “It does matter,” he argued. “It absolutely matters.”

  “Why?”

  “Because… well,” it was his turn to clear his throat and appear slightly uncomfortable. “What if… what if I offered my body to you sexually?”

  I was quiet for a few seconds as a feeling of offensive indignation welled up within me at his choice of words. Offered his body to me sexually? He made it sound like he was offering up his corpse for the sake of science.

  “Um,” I started, not really sure how to respond, but I didn’t think anger was a good outlet. I knew Roy and he hadn’t tried to offend me—in his mind, he thought he was just helping.

  “I don’t like the fact that you haven’t fed in so long that it’s affecting your energy levels,” he continued. “And I also don’t like it that you’re trying to suppress your own identity.”

  Yes, I could have gotten irritated with him because he was putting his nose into my business—somewhere it definitely didn’t belong, but this was just Roy being overprotective Roy. It’s just how he was and how he’d always been. “I don’t… really think of myself as a succubus.”

  “But you are a succubus and trying to pretend you’re anything but isn’t doing you any favors.”

  “I seem to be getting along okay.”

  “Fifi, you passed out at the last council meeting, you look weaker every time I see you, not to mention that whenever I touch you, your instinct is to immediately absorb my energy… your body is starving, whether you want to admit it or not.”

  “Um,” I started, but couldn’t think of anything more to say.

  “If you and I had sex,” he continued, as I withered a little more on the inside. Could this conversation be any more clinical and unemotional? I didn’t think it could. “I’d be able to withstand whatever came over you. You wouldn’t be able to injure or kill me.”

  “I get that, but I just…”

  “And I understand you’d need to feed repeatedly, so it wouldn’t be a one-time thing. I’d be fine with that too.” Then he nodded as if to prove his point. He didn’t say anything more, but just sat there, awaiting my response.

  And my response was one of surprise—I was surprised he didn’t know me well enough to know that such an agreement would never fly with me. Not when I was as romantic as I was.

  “What if you got into a relationship?” I asked, keeping my eyes on the road as I tried to talk myself out of being annoyed with him. He was just trying to help in his insensitive, Roy sort of way. He didn’t mean anything by it. He was, as usual, just trying to help.

  “Well, then that would put a stop to things but, at this point, I’m not interested in dating anytime soon.” He took a breath. “And, of course, if you got into a relationship, I’d understand that things would need to stop on your end, as well.”

  My cheeks felt like they were on fire with embarrassment and humiliation. This conversation was just so… so clinical, so scientific, so completely unemotional. “Well, I appreciate the offer, Roy,” I started. “But, I… I’m actually… ahem, I’m saving myself.”

  “Saving yourself?” he sounded both surprised and confused.

  I nodded. “I don’t… want to have sex again until I’m in love, or failing that, I want to at least be in a serious relationship. I just… after the last time I had sex, and the guy dumped me the next day, I promised myself I’d do things differently. I promised myself I’d protect… my heart.”

  Roy’s jaw was suddenly tight, and I was worried he was annoyed I was turning him down, that is, until he spoke. “I’m sorry that happened to you—that someone was callous enough to do that to you.” He looked over at me. “You didn’t deserve to be treated like that.”

  I nodded. “I know.”

  “It’s that stupid man who’s missing out, Fifi, not you.”

  I gave him a quick smile to let him know I wasn’t troubled by what had happened. “It’s okay. I learned from it and I know what I want now.”

  “Well, I commend you for the path you’re taking—even if it might not be in the best interests of your succubus. I do think it’s in the best interests of Fifi, though.”

  “Thank you,” I answered, and meant it.

  “You’re a good woman,” he continued, the pitch of his voice softening and he refused to take his eyes away from me. “And I’m sure you’ll make a man very happy someday and that man will make you equally happy.”

  I nodded. “That’s my hope, anyway.”

  We both were quiet for another minute or so, before he broke the silence by asking, “What were you and Poppy talking about back at the diner? Before that whole thing with Ramona and Angelo happened?”

  I took a deep breath and exhaled before relaying the conversation to him, including Poppy’s surprise regarding Marty being in love with her and then her insistence that it wasn’t true.

  “She’s delirious if she thinks he’s not in love with her,” Roy muttered, shaking his head.

  I nodded. “It’s pretty obvious to me too, but maybe she’s just not comfortable with the idea.”

  Roy shook his head. “She seemed pretty comfortable with it that night.”

  I quickly looked over at him. “Is that why you left early?”

  He inhaled deeply and the truth was there in his expression, weighing down his eyes. “Yeah, sometimes it just gets… hard to be around her and to remember what we had and how we don’t have it anymore. Sometimes I just… I’m not sure how to even act around her, you know?”

  I nodded, even though I wasn’t really sure how that would feel. Usually when one of my relationships ended, I never saw the guy again. And that was probably just as well—I couldn’t imagine having to see an ex around town all the time, especially if another person were trying to move in on that ex.

  “She sounded like she was pretty much over me, didn’t she?” he asked, his gaze riveted to something outside the window.

  I wasn’t sure what to say on that point. I could lie and say no, but then Roy would just hold onto hope that wasn’t really there. But, if I told him the truth, that truth would no doubt hurt him. Yet, maybe the truth would also help him get over Poppy faster? Regardless, honesty was always the best policy.

  “Um, I think… I think she’s dealt with the relationship and she’s been able to… put it behind her, yes.”

  He nodded. “I can tell.”

  “I’m sorry…” I started, not really sure what more to say.

  “No,” he insisted. “I actually… I actually feel better knowing that, I think. No…” He took a deep breath then nodded. “Yeah… I feel better.” He looked over at me then and gave me a quick smile. “It’s good to know what I already suspected.”

  “What you already suspected?”

  He nodded again. “Poppy and I have no future together. I’d really kind of already realized it, even if I hadn’t fully accepted it, but it’s always good to know for sure.”

  “I can understand that. Maybe it makes it easier to move on?”

  “Maybe.”

  I felt like he needed a little pep talk—something to help him get out of whatever sadness he might have been feeling about Poppy and their failed relationship. “You will find the right woman for you too, Roy,” I offered, giving him a quick smile before returning my eyes to the road. “And when you do, she won’t let go of you for anything.”

  “That sounds nice.”

  “When it happens for you, it won’t happen to someone more deserving.” I turned to face him as we pulled up in front of Burian’s building. Once I put the 4Runner in park, I reached over and touched his hand before he opened the door. He looked at me in surprise.

  “Since I’ve come to Haven Hollow, you are one of very few men who treated me like I was actually more than just my face and body.”

  “You are so much more than just your beauty, Fifi.”

  I smiled at him, but wanted to get the rest of my thoughts out because… I felt like he needed to understand just what a great man he was. And that even if things with Poppy hadn’t worked out, that didn’t reflect poorly on him. “All my life, because of what I am, men have pawed at me, and pretty much made me feel like an object,” I continued, my voice cracking a little as I fought back emotions I wasn’t aware were lying beneath the surface. “When I was working for you, it was the closest to normal I’ve ever felt. You didn’t treat me like every other man has. You didn’t let other men treat me badly either.”

  “Because I care about you.”

  I nodded, because I knew he cared about me. He always had. “You listened to me, too. You were always there to lend an ear and give a kind word when I needed one. I can’t remember you ever judging me or trying to tell me what I should think or feel or do or say. You were just there for me to talk to, and I appreciated that. I still do.”

  “And I’m always here for you, Feef. I always will be.”

  “Thank you.”

  I released his hand and watched as he undid his seatbelt and then opening the passenger door, stepped onto the curb. I followed suit and as I turned to face the building, at first, I was a bit concerned to find that the boards across the window had been reattached. How were we going to get in now? I’d planned on climbing through like Bea had last time and then opening the back door from the inside for Roy, who was far too large to fit through the narrow opening created by the missing boards, but now neither of us could get in.

  “Crap. We’re going to have to pull those boards off,” I said.

  “I don’t think so,” Roy replied, heading toward the front doors on the opposite end to where Burian had broken in. When we approached them, I noticed they looked like they were older than the two of us put together. I tried to get a glimpse around Roy to see what he had in mind, but that was a tall order.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Much to my surprise, Roy merely grabbed the iron door handles, and pulling against the ancient things, he simply broke the double doors off their hinges. Yes, bringing Roy had been a good idea.

  Luckily, the front doors were located on the exact opposite end to where Bea and I had first come across Burian, so I could only hope the noise hadn’t traveled all the way to the other end of the building.