MAKING MAGICKAL ALLIANCES: A Paranormal Women’s Fiction Novel by Leigh Raventhorne (best color ereader .txt) 📗

assistant snapped to attention. “Would you wrap the necklace up and have it ready for pickup at the reception desk as soon as possible?”

She tilted her head curiously. “Of course. Will any special packaging be required?”

I couldn’t resist grinning. “Just make sure it’s easy for something with small clawed feet to carry, please. ”

She raised her brows and I’d swear she almost smiled as she must have realized my plan. “I’ll get right on it, ma’am.”

Jeremy waited just outside the front of the building, pacing and muttering to himself. Pedestrians glanced at him nervously and gave him a wide berth as they walked by. He practically pounced on us as soon as Rand opened the door for me.

“Come, come.” He hurried to the truck and opened the passenger door. “Hurries.”

We did. As soon as we were inside, he thrust his phone at me. “What’s this?”

“You sees.” The screen was paused, the picture dark. He touched it and suddenly I was looking at a surprisingly high definition view of the front of Margo’s shop from somewhere across the street. For several seconds, nothing happened. A few cars passed by. People strolled past, stopping to window shop here and there. I gave Jeremy a side glance. What was I supposed to be seeing here? He pointed back at the screen, saying nothing, his face an unreadable mask.

Holding the phone at an angle so that Rand could see it from the back seat, I returned my attention to the phone. From the vantage point this was recorded from, several storefronts were visible. I watched as a man appeared at the edge of the camera’s range, looking around nervously. His gaze passed right over whomever was recording this, his face coming into such crisp, clear view that I nearly dropped Jeremy’s phone.

“Is that who I think it is?” Rand asked, his voice incredulous.

He knew as well as I did that it was, so I didn’t bother with an answer. Jeremy obviously knew who he was, too. The man stopped to take one last look around before quickly ducking into Margo’s store. I squinted at the small phone screen, trying to see past the glare off the windows, but I couldn’t make out anything inside. The recording went on for several more minutes with only more cars and idle window shoppers. Finally, Jeremy reached over and touched the screen to pause it again.

I was shaking with anger. How could this be? Only earlier today I was told this should be impossible—or close to it anyway. This person should be far outside my territory, but here he was, walking into Margo’s shop. That could not be coincidence.

“Who’s recording this?” I asked, handing Jeremy his phone. “And when was it recorded?”

The crow shifter shrugged. “Jeremy figgered good idea to watches dat womans. So Jeremy gots peoples dat do. Dis happen jus’ when you inside der.” He nodded to the law firm’s front door.

My head was spinning with questions. Should we head back to the shop? What did this mean? Was this man somehow involved with the disappearance of the water fae children? With a sinking feeling deep in my gut, I knew he had to be. There was no way he would just show up out of the blue to meet up with Margo. Then another disturbing thought occurred to me. How had he gotten his memories back? If he was back, he would have had to have somehow recovered them, wouldn’t he? Danai said it would take a strong witch to undo what I’d done, and from all accounts, Margo wasn’t a very strong witch.

“So am I the only one wondering if he’s the only stooge back?” Rand’s low voice was almost a growl.

“Jeremy’s peoples din see de o’ter two, but dat don’ mean anyt’ing.”

I sent a quick group text to the others with the who, when, and where details. They all knew about the three thieves who had been posing as housekeepers when I first met my aunt, as well as what had happened when I’d wiped their memories and sent them far outside of my territory with instructions never to return.

“Can you send that video—and the link to wherever it’s coming from—to our phones, Jeremy?” Rand asked.

“When Jeremy gets back to his place. No can do dat ‘ere.”

“Should we go back to Margo’s?” I wasn’t sure who I was asking, Rand, Jeremy, or myself.

“If Jeremy has eyes on him, I don’t think we need to go back just yet. Can you have someone tail him, Jeremy?”

Jeremy was already sending a text to his ‘peoples.’ “Done. Dat idjit no hide from Jeremy now.”

Idjit. It fit. I think I liked that better than stooge. I didn’t question Jeremy anymore about his ‘peoples.’ I knew he was well connected enough to know most of what went on in the area. That this had gotten past him probably angered him to no end.

My phone vibrated and I read the message that had just come through. “Let’s get back to Tess. Sam’s going to catch a ride with the guys as soon as she wraps things up here.”

We were all quiet on the way back to the resort.

Chapter 8

Cappy and the Sea Witch

“So, it looks like there’s been a lot of kid’s stuff ordered over the last several months. Toys, mostly. And there’s one local delivery service out of the city that delivered all of it. I’ve got a printout with pictures and descriptions of some of the toys. Maybe it will make it easier to match some of the stuff up.”

Tess had several copies of the lists organized and ready to go by the time we arrived. She’d already been to see Gretchen and Wade, as well. Her voice was a little . . . puzzled when she spoke of the visit and how