“Ah, fiddlesticks.” This I didn’t need, not with victory sitting so sweet on my tongue.

  “Nice to see you again, Miss Rowe,” the big gorilla said. “I was wondering if you’d gotten a chance to rethink Mr. Erepto’s offer.”

  I hadn’t even thought about it once. No way was I handing over anything to this guy, or his slimy boss. “Sorry, it’s my night off. I don’t think about business when I’m stepping out with my fella.”

  I hung off Henner’s arm, batting my lashes up at the big ape. Henner looked relaxed, but I could tell he was ready to move from my grip on his arm. I didn’t want to risk him getting hurt—and definitely not because he got dragged into my mess.

  The big guy nodded, all smiley and polite like but as slimy as they came. “And have you had any luck finding the object? It certainly looked like quite the party you left.”

  Nuts. So, they’d been watching for a while, if they’d seen me leaving the auction. Still, we could make it out of this. I wouldn’t let them see my knees shake.

  “No luck yet,” I lied through my teeth. “If I find something, maybe I’ll consider your boss’s generous offer, but maybe I won’t. No point in arguing about it now.”

  I just had to bluff past them, get to the car, and we’d be home free. Cain was tense, watching. His class ring felt like a band of ice around my finger.

  The big guy took a step forward, and his friends moved up behind him. He was still smiling, all pleasant like, as if we were all friends having us a little catch up. “Now, Miss Rowe, why don’t I—”

  He stopped then, going real still like. His eyes went wide and his lips parted. Not like he was going to talk, but more like when a cat smells something with its mouth and lets the air flow over its palate.

  His gaze snapped back to me, pupils narrowing into slits. “You found it. In fact, you have it on you.” Well, darn it. The guy’s eyes narrowed even more. “Give it to me.”

  Holy smokes. I shouldn’t have guessed that Graeae would be able to sense the stupid thing. Suddenly, Henner’s pocket didn’t seem like such a great hiding place.

  “Nothing doing, you big palooka.” I glared at him, my hands curling into fists at my side. “Now scram. I don’t have anything for your boss.”

  The big guy was fast, I’d give him that. Most people with that much muscle, well they’re real slow, they lumber. Frank lumbered. But this guy? Well, unluckily for us, he wasn’t much of a lumberer.

  The big guy’s arm snapped out, making a grab for me, and only Cain’s reflexes managed to jerk me back out of range before he could catch my arm. All three of them thugs hissed, low and threatening like. The sound made the back of my neck prickle in warning.

  The torpedoes kept coming, and I dragged Henner back a few steps before I realized that no matter what, this was going to happen. We’d just have to deal with it.

  The mook growled at me, a low rattling in his chest. “Don’t make this more difficult than it has to be.” He grabbed for me again.

  Cain and I shared my body, which meant he didn’t have one of his own anymore. So, I knew he hadn’t just laid a hand on my shoulder, but that was sure what it felt like. Lickety split, I knew what he wanted. I stepped back inside my own body, deep down, and Cain flowed forward to take control.

  A sweep of my arm knocked the reaching hand away. My feet were braced, shoulder width apart, and when the mook overbalanced a little, not expecting to be brushed off that easily, Cain bounced forward onto the balls of my feet, and nailed the big dope with an uppercut to the jaw that had his head snapping back on his neck.

  My knuckles throbbed, but it was distant, like someone had wedged a few layers of gauze between me and the pain. I might have been able to handle myself a little, but Cain was actually trained for fisticuffs. I could hardly keep up with what was going on, Cain moved me so fast. I only knew he’d landed an old one-two because I felt the muted jolt of it through my body.

  The big guy staggered back a step, and then went down like a fallen tree, right there on the sidewalk.

  Wow, I had no idea I had it in me!

  The other two mooks stood there staring, their jaws hanging open to flap in the breeze. Dummies. In the supernatural world, was it really that unusual to see a dame lay out a guy twice her size? Vampires or demons could have ripped a light post out of the ground and used it to hit him like a home run.

  “Get gone,” Cain growled through my mouth.

  The two guys looked at their fallen leader, and then at each other. I could practically read their faces like a billboard. They were going to make a play, anyway. I saw the determination settle over them. They’d misread me as just another dame with a stiff uppercut. Well, that was gonna be their mistake, because Cain knew what he was doing.

  Cain clenched my jaw until my teeth squeaked.

  That was when Henner’s car squealed up beside us, two tires jumping onto the curb. I hadn’t even realized Henner had taken off! But when I turned to look at the car, the doors popped open without anyone touching it, and I got a clear look inside to see that no one was driving.

  Right—Henner was still standing right next to me.

  So either his car was the next version of Stephen King’s, Christine, or Henner had managed to technomancy it into driving its own self! My word, but my beau was just the smartest man I’d ever laid eyes on!

  Sweat dotted Henner’s forehead, and his face was tight with strain when he nudged us toward the car. “Shall we?”

  Cain and I didn’t need any more prompting. No siree Bob! We all dove inside the car, and it pulled away from the curb before Henner had gotten his hands on the wheel.

  We left the goons behind us, scrambling for their car with their unconscious boss, but we were around a corner and gone before they even got him up on his feet.

  I threw myself back into my chair with a laugh, feeling a little shaky, but giddy at the same time. Cain eased back, tired from controlling my body, and I turned the ring around on my finger as I thanked him for saving our bacon.

  “That was swell with the car,” I told Henner breathlessly. “I didn’t know you could do that.”

  Henner gave me a crooked grin and wiped his sleeve over his forehead, clearing away the dampness there. “Well, neither did I, so I guess we’re even.”

  “Thank you. For coming with me tonight. For helping us.” I took a breath that shook a little on the way in. “It means a lot to me.”

  Henner’s smile grew, the corners of his eyes creasing. “I was happy to.” Then he cocked his head to the side. “Now that I think about it, this is the most exciting date I’ve ever been on!”

  “Well, darn it, me too!” I said with a laugh as Cain grunted something in the back of my mind. I just ignored it.

  “Though, I’m worried that after this,” Henner continued. “I’m really going to have to step up from my ‘dinner and a movie’ plans.”

  “Are you kidding?” I laughed sagging back into the soft leather upholstery, my head turned to face him. “After all the hubbub, dinner and a show sounds like the cat’s meow.”

  He reached out and squeezed my hand without taking his eyes off the road. “It’s a date, then.”

  Ugh. Cain said, effectively plugging his fingers in his ears and closing his eyes. Can you at least take the ring off? I don’t really want to be here for this.

  I rolled my eyes, but slipped the heavy class ring off my finger and into my pocket.

  The miles rolled by outside the windows, illuminated by the soft circles of the headlights, and I thought to myself how everything had turned out pretty darn swell.

  On the way back to Haven Hollow, I called Sophia Erepto to let her know I had the idol, and I told her what had gone down with her uncle’s people.

  “I’ll take care of it,” she said brusquely, cutting me off mid sentence. “Just bring the idol to me.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” I said to the dial tone, ‘cause she’d already hung up.

  Henner gave me a worried look. “Do you want me to go with you?”

  His concern chased away some of the ice talking to Sophia had left me with. “No thanks, doll. I’ll handle this part. But maybe I could take you out tomorrow night. Show my appreciation.”

  Henner’s face eased into a smile. “Sounds like a date.”

  We were both smiling when he dropped me off at Cain’s house, and I hurried to clean up and change into something a little more business like. My hair had gotten pretty mussed too, what with the scuffle. One of my knuckles had split, which I hadn’t even noticed until about ten minutes ago. I slipped Cain’s ring back on and was out the door.

  ***

  Erepto Manor was a whole lot spookier when it was dark out, and not full of people. I was dragging when I got myself out of the car and made my way up the drive. It was a bit of a drive from town, and I was tired enough that I was glad I’d have Cain with me to keep me awake on the drive back.

  In spite of the hour, the door opened before I’d even had a chance to knock, or ring the bell pull, or whatever you did to get inside a fancy house. An older woman in a stark black dress nodded to me and informed me that ‘Madame Erepto’ was taking a late supper out in the garden.

  I got lost twice, but finally managed to get out to the courtyard, where I found Sophia seated at a white wrought-iron table, sipping a glass of wine.

  The area was gorgeous, I had to hand it to her. Green and quiet, and all lit by soft lights that twinkled in the dark like fireflies. It was the only part of the house that seemed to have any personality.

  It was a sculpture garden, full of marble statues, like someone had robbed a wing of a museum. Dozens of pale bodies peeking out from between carefully arranged flowers and stones. Some of them had been in place long enough to even have moss creeping up their stark white legs. Ivy crowned one statue, having crawled up the crisp folds of her pleated chemise.

  My shoes scuffed on the white pebbles of the pathway, and Sophia turned her head just enough to acknowledge my presence.

  “Do you have the idol?”

  The way she said the words gave me the heebie jeebies, the hair on the back of my neck standing on end. It wasn’t really a question.

  I fumbled the golden statue out of my purse, and the second Sophia Erepto’s eyes locked onto it, they started to glow faintly in the dark. Pale green, like fox fire.

  I placed it into her hands and took a couple steps back, subtly I hoped, but really, I just wanted to be out of arm’s reach and didn’t care if I was being rude or not. Even Cain was lying low, not wanting to draw her attention.

  I was worrying for nothing. Once the gold touched her hands, I might as well have faded away entirely for how much attention Sophia paid me. Dark red lips curled up into a pleased smile. Her fingers smoothed over every curve, tracing the delicate lines of the statue woman’s face and every turn of the snakes wound around her. I looked away, feeling a little uncomfortable.

  “And my grandmother?”

  After so long being ignored, the question startled me. “Ah, the summoning has been ended. She’s moved on.”

  Sophia nodded, satisfied. “You’ve done what I asked of you. I’ve already settled up with Blaise Howard.” She nodded to the chair beside her. “Would you care to join me for supper?”

  I took one look at the plate of food, cheeses and cured meats and some grapes that would normally have had me tucking in before the invitation was fully out of her mouth, but my stomach shriveled up like a raisin in the sun. I couldn’t imagine sitting here with her, trying to make painful small talk while I nibbled.

  “Thank you for the offer, but it’s been a long night. I should be going.” I was exhausted. As it was, I was going to need ghostly intervention to make sure I didn’t end up snoring into my steering wheel.

  Luckily for me, Sophia didn’t seem to take it personally. Just nodded, and went back to staring at the idol like someone seeing their baby’s face for the first time.

  I turned to beat feet out of there, but paused. My conscience got into a fight with my need to vamoose, and won by a hair.

  “Ms. Erepto? I just…” I sighed, feeling her gaze on me like a weight. “Manos doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy to just give up easy.”

  “He’s not.”

  I nodded. “Just... Be careful. Please.”

  Sophia smiled, really smiled for the first time I’d met her, and I was so surprised, you could have knocked me over with a feather.

  “Don’t worry, Ms. Rowe.” Her lips curled, pleased as a cat with a canary feather sticking out of the corner of her mouth. “My uncle and his lackeys won’t be a problem any longer.”

  She turned her head to look out over the gardens again.

  A bit balled up by her assurance, I followed her gaze to a statue right at the front of the garden. It looked new, almost blindingly white. The craftsmanship was amazing, every line of his face, every crease in his suit done in perfect detail. I just didn’t understand why she would want a statue of Manos, especially one where his face was all twisted up in fury.

  It actually took me a couple more seconds to figure it out.

  Listen, I’m no dumb Dora, but living in Haven Hollow, you learn real quick that while some legends are true, most are twisted, or even just flat out wrong. So, I really was puzzled for a good, long second before I remembered that the Erepto family were Graeae, and that there was a very good chance that if even one legend about them was true, then that statue probably was Manos.

  If people were getting turned to stone, I was extra glad I’d managed to get the idol back and that I’d made Sophia happy. Because the last thing Darla Rowe needed was to be immortalized in stone for the rest of her years.

  Let’s get out of here, Cain muttered, tense.

  I couldn’t agree more.

  “Well, that’s good,” I babbled, getting a wiggle on. “Thank you for coming to Spook Society, and have a nice night, ma’am!”

  I didn’t run back to my car, but it was close. I mean, I’d wanted to be immortalized on the silver screen, not in marble. It made me worry about Dimitri and what had happened to him. But not enough to stick around and ask. Hopefully, he’d managed to make his escape.

  I’d just gotten the doors locked and managed to get my heart rate back to a rhythm that was more waltz than jitterbug when my phone rang.

  And there went my pulse again, because the caller ID told me it was Blaise Howard calling. It was late, after midnight by this point, and bosses didn’t call that late with good news.

  I thought about letting it go to voicemail and just dealing with him in the morning when I’d had some sleep, but that might just make him madder, and while he couldn’t double fire me, I still didn’t want a man like Blaise Howard mad at me.

  “Mister Howard,” I answered, trying to sound chipper and not shaky. “What can I do for you, sir?”

  “I just got a call from Sophia Erepto.” His voice rumbled across the phone line and right into my sternum. “She says that you went above and beyond what she’d hoped for from Spook Society.”

  I’d been braced for it, my eyes squeezed shut, so the comment took a few seconds to actually make it through my brain. I cracked one eye open. “She did?”

  “She did.” He didn’t sound pleased, he sounded begrudging. And that begrudging sound only got thicker when he finished up with, “Keep up the good work, Miss Rowe.”

  Then he hung up.

  As for me? Well, I just sat there, listening to the dial tone for too long, feeling numb with surprise.

  I still had my job. I still had Cain. I’d gotten praise, however faint, from Blaise Howard.

  If I grinned any harder, it was going to touch my ears.

  Then a text came through from Henner.

  I hope you got home safely. I’m looking forward to our movie date.

  I drove the loop of the Erepto’s driveway, practically glowing, and headed back towards Haven Hollow.

  Cain groaned theatrically. If you’re going to bring him to the house for movie night, can we please at least watch something that isn’t a romance? I couldn’t bloody well stand it.

  I was in too good a mood to listen to his bellyaching, so I cranked up the radio and let the driving beat of jazz follow us all the way back to town.

  The End

  ~~~~~

  Return to Haven Hollow in:

  Summer Solstice

  Haven Hollow Book #31

  Available now:

  Amazon Kindle * Amazon UK

  ~~~~~

  If you enjoyed Haven Hollow Boxed Set: Books 21-30, please help spread the word by leaving a review! Thank you!

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  Be sure to visit the Haven Hollow website so you never miss a new release:

  www.havenhollow.net

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  Don’t miss the release of the first book in the all new MISTY HOLLOW series!

  Mermaid Mayhem

  Misty Hollow #1

  by J.R. Rain and H.P. Mallory

  is available at:

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  ~~~~~

  Return to the Table of Contents

  Also available:

  Shotguns and Shifters

  Trailer Park Vampire #1

  by J.R. Rain

  and H.P. Mallory

  (read on for a sample)

  Chapter One

  Waitressing had been hard enough before the fog rolled in.

  The Damnation Diner was the only decent restaurant this side of the Ozarks, and now, instead of Budweiser, we served blood. And blood didn’t keep nearly as well as booze.

  I walked along the sterile aisles, shuffling in my worn, leather heels from table to table. Gathering up some orders, I chatted with the locals about the specials, all the things a normal waitress does. The only difference was that breakfast in the Damnation Diner was usually served right about midnight and the people I was serving, to put it bluntly, weren’t people at all.

  ‘The Fog’, as we came to call it, was a deep red mist that had settled over our little town of Windy Ridge. It had spread everywhere within a hundred-mile radius, and when it came, none of us knew what to make of it, much less what to do about it.