Shamelessly Spellbound (Spells That Bind Book 2) (20 page)

My eyes narrowed, and I aimed one of my scarier looks at
Trevor for his idiotic suggestion.

“Or, you could stay with me,” Trevor wisely added as he
opened the door.

There were two shade detectives standing on Trevor’s porch,
and they were certainly an odd couple. Shades had no body of their own, so they
either created one, or they possessed a human. Since possessing humans was
illegal, the police created a form to their liking. The first detective had a
slovenly appearance, complete with a rumpled brown suit. He was short with
thinning black hair, beady brown eyes, and a pudgy belly. The other detective
was tall, with light auburn hair resting at his broad shoulders. He had
stunning green eyes, and full lips. His perfect form was encased in black dress
pants and a green dress shirt that matched his eyes.

“Mr. Dupree?” the slovenly detective inquired. When Trevor
nodded, he continued. “I’m Detective Anson and this is Detective Morelli.”

“This is Melina Blackwood,” Trevor introduced me. “She’s
staying with me.”

Detective Morelli’s perfect mouth curled into a sensual
smile as his eyes landed on me. “How fortuitous,” he remarked in a formal tone.
“We had hoped to speak with Ms. Blackwood, as well.”

“Ms. Blackwood,” Detective Anson, greeted with a nod.

“Shall I interview the lady?” Detective Morelli asked in a
silky voice.

“You interview Dupree,” Detective Anson responded.

I looked over, not sure how Trevor would react to a man who
probably had women throwing their panties at him flirting with me. Trevor
seemed amused by the whole thing.

“I’m sure Ms. Blackwood would feel much more
comfortable
if I were the one interviewing her,” Detective Morelli insisted, and I couldn’t
help myself. I laughed at his arrogance. Maybe it was my years of experience
dealing with actors, but I found myself unimpressed with his pretty-boy
attitude. It was nothing like Trevor’s sexy confidence.

“Actually, I’d prefer to be interviewed by Detective Anson,”
I said. “First, can you tell us what happened to Lindsey? She didn’t show up
for work almost two weeks ago, and no one at the network has heard from her
since then.”

“She has a history of that sort of thing,” Trevor added,
before correcting himself. “Had a history.”

“Some time in the last seven days, she was murdered,”
Detective Anson began. “When her family couldn’t reach her by phone for several
days, they went by her house and found her body. Someone had painted on the wall
in the room where she was found.”

“That’s why we think this has to do with you, Mr. Dupree,”
Detective Morelli explained.

“Why is that?” Trevor asked.

“The message on the wall said,
Trevor is mine
.”

“Fuck!” Trevor shouted, and his panicked eyes landed on me.
“Melina’s car was vandalized, and we assumed it was one of my exes trying to
scare her off.”

“Why don’t you come with me, Ms. Blackwood?” Detective Anson
urged. “We’ll try to sort this out, and then we can discuss any protection you
might need.”

“She’s going to come after Melina.” Trevor sounded utterly
terrified.

I squeezed his bicep, offering him a shaky smile. “It’s
going to be okay,” I assured him, hoping I was right.

I figured I must have looked pretty bad when I walked into
the office if Sage’s reaction was any indication. She immediately stood and
walked around her desk to greet me. “Are you okay, Trevor?”

Her concern was touching, and it made me realize that Sage
was more than just a good assistant. I needed to talk to Dylan about doing
something to show her how much we appreciated her, especially after she’d
stepped up and worked extra hours recently. I hadn’t heard a single complaint
from her pack, meaning she was also keeping up with her responsibilities on
that end.

“We really should pay you more,” I remarked.

“Just because I’m worried about you?” she asked, but she
didn’t give me time to answer before her concerned eyes landed on me again.
“Are you okay? Is it problems with the demon you moved in with you? I know it’s
been about two weeks.”

Her implication was clear; about this time in a
relationship, things were usually coming to an end. I was surprised she’d
mentioned Melina since I didn’t recall mentioning her living with me. I figured
I must have brought it up when I’d discussed the change to the office hours a
couple of weeks ago.

“I had a rough night,” I admitted. “Not because of Melina,”
I quickly added. “Well, I guess some of my stress has to do with Melina, but
not like you think.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” she offered, placing a hand
on my forearm.

I wanted to tell her no, but she was my assistant, and she
needed to know a little about what was going on. “One of my exes was murdered,”
I began.

Sage looked down at her hand on my forearm, and I saw her
jaw muscle clench, like she was trying to fight back some emotion. “That’s
terrible, Trevor,” she remarked quietly. “Do they have any idea who the killer
is? Which of your exes was it?”

“It was Lindsey,” I explained. “I don’t know if you remember
her or not. I’m not sure if the police have any suspects yet.” For all I knew,
I might be a suspect since we’d dated. The police had asked a lot of questions
about my whereabouts and who was with me, so it appeared I was a suspect. Allie
was right about me being a fool for thinking I could represent myself. I should
have had Dylan with me when I talked to the police. I’d had a confrontation
with Lindsey right before she disappeared. Melina had, too, making me worry she
might be a suspect. They might even think one of us had painted the message on
Lindsey’s wall to make it look like one of my exes was involved.

“I remember Lindsey,” Sage said. “She came in here several
times after you broke up, demanding to see you.”

“Yeah, she was a little unstable,” I added, feeling like an
ass for talking bad about her now. “Anyway, I don’t have too many details, but
we have reason to believe Melina might be in danger, and that’s got me tied up
in knots.”

Sage was quiet for a short time before speaking again. Her
hand on my arm tightened in an almost painful squeeze before she released it.
“Can I make a suggestion?”

“Sure,” I replied.

“I’m assuming you think the witch’s death has something to
do with you. Am I right?”

“Yes,” I admitted.

“Maybe it would be a good idea if you stopped seeing
Melina,” she began. “You don’t exactly have a history of remaining interested
in a witch once you’ve been together for more than a couple of weeks, and
you’re already at that point with her. Don’t you think it would be smart to get
her out of your home before something horrible happens?”

“No,” I replied automatically. “Ending things with Melina is
not an option. I’m going to be working from home, so I can keep her safe.” From
the standpoint of magic alone, Melina was much more powerful than I was, but I figured
it would be best to have two people around, and I could at least say I was
physically stronger than her.

I briefly thought I saw a flash of anger in Sage’s eyes, but
I must have been mistaken, because, just like that, it was gone and all I saw
was concern. “Tell me what you need.”

“Thank you, Sage,” I replied. “I don’t know what we’d do
without you. In case I haven’t said it lately, you are incredible.”

A surprising blush stained her cheeks as she returned to her
seat behind her desk. “I’d better let you get to work.”

“I’m going to meet with Dylan so we can make the
arrangements for me to work from home,” I told her.

“Is the demon alone?” Sage asked, and I almost snapped at
her for referring to Melina as
the
demon
, before realizing she
probably didn’t mean to be rude. I’d noticed that werewolves had a tendency to
point out what other members of the preternatural community were.

“No, she made arrangements to have people come by,” I
assured Sage.

“Hopefully, they’re people who can protect her,” Sage said.

“Her father and Demetrius Talbot are among the people who
will be stopping by, so I’m sure she’ll be fine.”

It had taken them long enough to find the witch’s body.
Zahrel had been angry with me for leaving it in the witch’s house, claiming we
should hide it to protect ourselves, but I was tired of hiding in the shadows.
I wanted Trevor to know what I’d done. I wanted him to worry that he’d be
responsible for his demon whore’s death. I also wanted the demon whore to be
afraid, knowing she was the prey.

I let out a regretful sigh, once again lamenting my bargain
with Zahrel, which prevented me from killing Melina Blackwood. Zahrel didn’t
think I was powerful enough to kill her, but I desperately wanted to try. I’d
dreamt of her tortured screams last night. Being imprisoned with Zahrel would
be a kind of torture, but sadly, I wouldn’t be able to watch. Perhaps, I should
amend my agreement with Zahrel so I could see her suffer before he took her to
his prison.

I smiled, knowing that soon, the demon bitch would have
another problem to deal with. I couldn’t wait for her to find my next victim.
This one, Zahrel had agreed to leave in a more obvious location. It was
difficult waiting an entire week for my next kill.

Snatching the flower off the table where I’d dropped it, I
began to pluck the delicate petals, focusing on what was important—Trevor.

“He loves me.”

“He loves me not.”

This time when I made it to the last petal, I smiled as I
pulled it off the once pretty flower.

“He loves me,” I said with a smile. “You may not realize it
yet, but soon, we’ll be together forever. Soon, you’ll understand the true
depths of my love for you.”

The week since we’d learned of Lindsey’s death had been
busy, but for the most part, it had been uneventful. The police still had no
leads, and Trevor was still worried about me going into work alone. I’d
convinced him that there was no way to get around it most nights. He didn’t
like it at all, so we’d compromised, and Trevor was driving me to and from
work. While he’d prefer to stay with me each night I worked, I’d convinced him
that we shouldn’t leave Mr. Whiskers with a sitter too often. My poor familiar
was already stressed due to the tension in the house. The network had hired
extra security, and no one was supposed to be alone at the studio, including
me.

At work, we were trying to film the remainder of the season,
and we needed to write Lindsey’s character out. We’d also decided that we
should have a special episode dedicated to our two actresses who’d been
murdered. Had everything gone as planned, we would only have one more week of
filming left for this season. Instead, we were left with at least two weeks,
possibly three.

“Where the hell is Malik?” Claude demanded, pulling me from
my thoughts.

I’d been wondering the same thing for the last hour as the
crew set up to film tonight’s scenes. While Malik had many issues—more issues
than I’d ever imagined one vampire could possess—he was the most reliable
member of our cast, and he was almost always here when we were setting up. To
the best of my knowledge, he’d never been late for a shoot, and he was the only
actor who never complained about last minute rehearsals.

“Something must be wrong,” I muttered to myself. “Has anyone
seen Charlie?” I figured if anyone would know where Malik was, it would be
Charlie.

“I’ll radio him,” a crew member volunteered.

A few minutes later, Charlie walked into the room, looking
tired and sad.

“Are you okay, Charlie?” I asked.

“Sure,” he replied with a forced smile. “What did you need?”

“You wouldn’t happen to know where Malik is, would you?” I
asked.

Charlie took a deep breath and let it out while running his
fingers through his hair. “He didn’t come home last night. We argued, and I
left, figuring we’d talk when he wasn’t so upset. You know how it is when Mal’s
in a mood.” It was impossible to miss the fondness in his voice.

“Where did you see him last?” I asked, even more worried now
that I knew Malik hadn’t gone home last night.

“In his dressing room,” Charlie replied. “I was repairing
the lighting on one of the sets when he came by to visit me. After our argument,
I told him I was heading home, and I’d see him when he was ready to talk.”

I nodded. “I’ll see if he left any clue as to where he could
be. He’s not even answering his phone.”

“I’m worried about him,” Charlie admitted. “This isn’t like
Mal. No matter how pissed he is at me, he’d never blow off filming.”

I agreed but said nothing as I headed toward Malik’s
dressing room.

I knocked first. I’d made the mistake of walking into a
vampire’s dressing room, assuming it was empty, once before, and I preferred to
avoid making that mistake again. Vampires were arrogant and tended to believe
everyone lusted after them. With their slender adolescent bodies, they didn’t
do much for me, and I’d prefer to avoid seeing another one naked.

“Malik!” I called out, but got no reply. When I opened the
door, a sense of dread washed over me, and I suddenly knew why Malik hadn’t
come into work that day. There, in the middle of the floor, was a pile of
ashes. Lying beside that pile was a wooden stake with the words
you’re next
bitch
, painted on it.

With shaky hands, I pulled my phone from my pocket. I should
call the police. That was definitely the first call I should make after finding
out that another actor had been murdered. Instead, I called Trevor, because I
needed him with me, and I was too upset to fight that need.

“Hey, honey,” he answered, sounding a little less stressed
than he had earlier. “Do you miss me already?”

“Another actor’s been killed,” I said quietly.

“Where are you?” he asked.

“At the studio,” I replied.

“I know, honey. Where at the studio? Are you alone?” he
pushed.

I nodded before remembering he couldn’t see me. “I’m alone.
I just found him.”

“Okay, honey,” he began in a calm, soothing tone. “I need
you to go where there are people, and have someone call the police. I’ll be
there in an hour.”

I could already hear him moving at a slow jog, and I knew he
was heading toward his car.

“Can you do that for me, honey?” he coaxed when I didn’t
respond.

“Yeah, I can do that,” I assured him. “I’ll let you go.”

“No,” he said quickly. “Stay on the phone with me until
you’re not alone. Then I’ll let you go so I can find someone to stay with Mr.
Whiskers.”

“Okay,” I agreed, walking toward the set where they were
waiting to start filming. “I’m near where they should be filming.”

“Good,” he began. “I’ll be there soon, honey.”

When Trevor ended the call, I looked over to find Charlie
watching me from across the room, his face ashen. I guess my expression was
telling. I struggled to pull myself together.

“Did you find him?” Claude shouted from the set.

“We need to call the police,” I said in a hollow voice. The
guttural cry that came from the back of Charlie’s throat cut through the air,
and he dropped to his knees. Cat was at his side first, wrapping her arms
around Charlie as he sobbed.