Witch Hearts (7 page)

He returned to his bar crowd as Ruby turned to Cooper. “I swear I didn’t mean for that to happen.”

“Oh, Ruby, you sweet, naïve thing. That was no spell; you got him over here with one, but he stayed for you. He was plain interested in you.”

Ruby blushed, shrugging it off. Cooper grinned at her but took the hint to change the topic. He leaned in close to be heard over the crowd’s conversations.
 

“Thanks for making me go to the meeting tonight. It was…enlightening.”

“I hope Michael didn’t say anything you didn’t want to hear.”

“I can handle Michael, don’t you worry about that. On the same page, are you okay with everything tonight? Having to deal with the ex and his girl?” He swigged his beer casually, but Ruby could tell he was watching her reaction.
 

Ruby shrugged. “My worries aren’t about him or Rebecca. I think she’s a stupid, spoiled little girl who’s messing with things she doesn’t understand only because she wants to belong. Lacy has every right to be concerned for the group. Rebecca could cause damage to a spell if it’s not done correctly and it worries me for the rest of them. I don’t want anyone to get hurt from a spell backfiring because she was busy rolling her eyes.”

“Seems like Michael has an inkling of that, too.”

“You think so?”

“You saw how he is with her. He never lets her talk because she comes off as a bitch. She’s basically there to look good and suck his…” he trailed off at Ruby's wince. “Sorry. I only mean that Michael seems different around her than he did with you. You had a voice. He didn’t try to control you. With Rebecca, it’s almost like he’s got someone to mold to his own purposes. She’s so eager to please him she’ll do whatever he needs.”

“I don’t know if she was Wiccan before she met him. She was pretty new to it when she needed all those coffee meetings for study lessons. Lacy said she doesn’t have any special gifts, so it leads me to believe that she got involved out of curiosity and decided she wanted Michael, so she learned more and forced her way into the circle.”

Cooper nodded, taking a tip of his beer. “Concerns me for the others. Bad things happen when someone doesn’t believe or has a short attention span. Or worse yet, throws tantrums when things don’t go her way. You put the circle ahead of yourself and left when Michael did what he did. If he did that to her, I think she’d stay and do some awful things to spite him.”

“Sadly, I agree with you there. I hate it for the group, though.”

“He sure was complimentary to you, though,” Cooper noted with another sip of beer. “He hung onto every word you said.”

“He was only playing nice for the coven’s sake. He wants to prove he can be friends with exes or whatever.”

“Maybe. Or maybe he was trying to show you he could still listen to you. Maybe he even thinks by doing everything he did and said tonight, it might convince you to fall back in love with him if he tries hard enough.”

Ruby almost spit out her beer. “Good lord, Cooper. That’s a little involved, especially for Michael. He doesn’t think that far ahead or on that many levels. He’s too self-obsessed to be that smart.”

Cooper laughed. “Maybe, but you also don’t think like a guy.”

“Whatever. Agree to disagree.”

He nodded and clinked his beer bottle against hers. “No problem.”

Conversation flowed easily between them for the next couple of hours. They discussed everything from music and books to what they’d do if they won the lottery.
 
Neither mentioned Michael, Rebecca, or Courtney for the rest of the evening. Around one, they decided to call it a night.
 

Cooper and Ruby hopped on his bike and drove back to her place. She even managed to peek out from beneath her helmet to see the city whip past her in a blur. When they finally came to a stop, she untangled herself from him - albeit a tad regretful about it - and handed him back the helmet.

“Thanks again for everything tonight. I know it wasn’t the most fun you could have, but I want everyone to be safe,” she said.

“I understand. I’m glad I went, too. I don’t want anyone else in danger. Plus, you’re good company.” He stood up as he said it, hooking the helmets on his bike.

“You don’t have walk me in or anything. I don’t want to keep you any longer than you need.”

He snorted. “You’re not keeping me from anything. I want to do it, but especially because I want to make sure you’re safe.”

Ruby bit her bottom lip. Her nerves fluttered a bit at the thought of a possible goodnight kiss. She could hardly believe how immature she sounded in her head.
 

It’s your best friend’s brother. This is Cooper we’re talking about
, a voice in her head screamed at her.
 

Another voice spoke up.
Yeah. It’s Cooper.
And your thoughts about him have never been exactly brotherly.
 

Shaking both voices away, she swiped her key fob by the entrance door and Cooper held it open for her. They took the stairs up to the second floor and walked around the corner to her apartment. Ruby stopped as soon as she saw her door.

“Something’s wrong,” she said.

“What? How can you tell?” He looked up and down the hallway.
 

“There was a barrier when I left. Remember I checked, put my hand on the door when we left? My spell was in place.”

“There was a soft glow on the door,” he said absentmindedly, as though remembering. His eyes narrowed and Ruby could see his veins throb in his neck as his jaw tightened.
 

“Only witches would be able to see it, but it’s not there.” Ruby took a few steps forward, placing her hand on the door, which was now simply cool and wooden. She retrieved her key and turned the lock, but Cooper stopped her.

“I’ll go in first.”

He swung the door wide open; he held his hands up in case of a fight or a spell, but silence greeted them. Cooper did a quick sweep of the apartment while Ruby waited in the entryway. He returned with Aziza in one arm and a letter in his hand.

“This was on your coffee table,” he said grimly. “Aziza was hiding behind the couch. She hissed until she realized it was me.”

Ruby took the note from him. As she opened it, Cooper stood beside her to read over her shoulder.

“Not all witches are equal. Some are born with extraordinary gifts; anyone can practice, but few are truly powerful. You are one of the lucky ones, Ruby. I apologize about your friend Courtney. She was powerful, but nowhere near your capabilities. I’m afraid that in order for my powers to thrive, yours must come to an end. I’ll be seeing you very soon. -X”

Neither of them spoke for over a full minute. Ruby reread the letter a dozen times, her stomach twisting more with each read. Cooper seethed with anger, his lips set in a snarl. Finally, Ruby broke the awful silence.
 

“He was here. He knows where I
live
?” She gripped the letter, crumpling it in her hands as she stared at it in horror. The lights flickered once before cutting off. Ruby took a breath and tried to calm down. It took another thirty seconds before the lights buzzed and came back to life.
 

“How the hell did he get past your security wards?” Cooper set Aziza down; she rubbed against Ruby before padding off to the kitchen.

“I have no idea.” Ruby's mind spun as she took off to her bedroom. She barely heard Cooper shut the front door as she raced to the armoire that contained her most precious Wiccan materials. She stared at the small double doors; it was still locked, but there it was, the tiniest scratch by the lock. Courtney's murderer had not only gotten around her protection spell, but had been in her apartment, touched her things.
 

She struggled to get the key from her necklace. Her hands shook as she opened it and she quickly assessed that everything was still in its proper place. He hadn’t gotten through the locks or the very personal protection spell she had on her Book of Shadows, at least. A short sigh of relief escaped her. Cooper watched her from the doorway.

“Everything there?” he asked.

Ruby nodded, her adrenaline and panic beginning to wear off. Now she felt dizzy, nauseous at the idea that a stranger had broken into her safe space. She brushed past Cooper to do a walkthrough of her entire apartment.

“He didn’t take anything. He only came in here to leave me a note?” Ruby asked Cooper as she sunk into her couch.
 

He handed her a glass of water and sat close to her. “He came in here to prove a point. He wanted to show you that he could break your protection spell, to make you think he could get to you.”

“Can’t he?” Ruby replied dully. She stared at the water glass, wrapping her hands around its cool surface.
 

“No, he can’t. He won’t. I’m going to stay with you until this blows over.”

Ruby almost dropped her glass. She set it on the table and met Cooper's face with surprise. “Say what now?”

“I think it would be best for everyone if I stayed with you, to make sure you’re not alone in case this asshole tries anything again. I’ll stay in your guest room, of course,” he added hastily.

She opened and closed her mouth to respond, but nothing came out. Aziza slunk in and jumped on the couch between them, nuzzled her head against Ruby's arm.
 

“This is crazy, you can’t stay with me.” Ruby could hear the half-heartedness in her voice. She scratched Aziza behind the ears to avoid looking at him; she was sure he’d read the fear all over her face.
 

“You said yourself I shouldn’t stay at Courtney's. We can tackle her stuff together at a later time and I can be sure you’re safe.”

“I don’t need a bodyguard, Cooper. I can take care of myself.”

“I’m not saying you can’t, but I would feel better knowing that you aren’t alone here. He got into your apartment, Ruby. Who’s to say he won’t come back when you’re sleeping or set a spell for something awful?”

Ruby considered the options. On the one hand, it would be very strange to have Cooper there, especially considering her thoughts about him. She did not, however, want a serial killer attacking her in the middle of the night and liked her heart exactly where it was in her chest. She shuddered thinking about it. Her silence made Cooper press more.

“Ruby, please. I can’t lose you, too. Let me help.” His green eyes bore into hers with such intensity she didn’t want to say no.
 

She sighed and slowly nodded. “All right, I guess it’s not the worst idea. I don’t exactly want to risk it, either.”

Cooper sat back in relief. Perhaps he’d been expecting more of a fight. He ran a hand through his hair, rubbed the stubble on his jaw, and looked around once more.

“We should call the police,” she said.
 

“I hate to do it, but I gotta agree. I can call the detective in charge of Courtney's investigation.” Cooper whipped out his cell phone and a business card.

“Why do you hate to call them in?”

“I can’t imagine the idea of witches and magic will go over well with them. That letter is pretty clear about his thoughts on you. They might chalk it up to pure crazy and not take it as seriously as they should.”
 

“Ah, I see. Well…I also think we should inform Michael.” Ruby braced herself for Cooper's reaction, which was expected.
 

“Are you kidding me?” He stopped dialing numbers to stare at her. “Michael has nothing to do with this.”

“Maybe not him specifically, but it definitely deals with the coven. What if you’re here and the killer can’t get to me, so he goes after one of them?”

“He said in his note he wants power. You’re more powerful than any of them and they know it, so he probably does, too.”

“Michael could be in danger; he’s the High Priest of a coven for a reason.”

“And he’s always been threatened by you.” Cooper's voice was so flat Ruby could’ve skipped rocks on it.
 

“That’s not true. Michael can freaking transport.”

“You know as well as I do that plenty of witches can do that with enough practice and spellwork. You and Courtney have done it lots of times. You’re making excuses. Why do you think Lacy wants to practice with you?”

“Because she wants to get away from Rebecca,” Ruby feebly argued.

“Partly, but she could go anywhere. She wants to practice with you because she knows how powerful you are, how focused you can be. You won’t let anything happen to those people. Michael, no matter how powerful he is, will always look out for Michael, and everyone knows that whether they admit it or not.”

Ruby looked down at her water glass again and said nothing. She didn’t want to sound arrogant, but she knew she was powerful; she always had been, even as a teenager, when being a witch could be most difficult. Michael had never been able to control the weather as she had or affect electricity. Any witch could write and do spells, but it took certain power to do more. He was a wonderful High Priest, but it was because he was charming, had personality and a reassuring demeanor.
 

“You should be High Priestess of that coven,” Cooper continued.
 

Ruby held up a hand to stop him. “But I’m not, so we need to inform the rightful leader of what’s happening. I do not want anyone else in danger because I didn’t want to talk to my ex-boyfriend. That’s childish. Besides, he knew about Courtney because he knows someone in the force. Someone there believes in our power. Maybe he can help.”

Cooper sighed but nodded his head. “All right, call him while I call the detective. I suppose we can expect both of them to show up within the hour.”

Michael didn’t answer his phone when Ruby called, so she left him a voicemail. As Cooper predicted, the detective showed up at her building half an hour later. Ruby buzzed him inside and opened the door on the first knock.
 

“Ruby Jackson? I’m Detective Phillips. May I come in and speak with you about tonight’s events?”

Ruby nodded and stepped aside to let the detective in. Short and stocky, Phillips had a thick dark mustache peppered with gray; his deep-set dark eyes looked sharply around the room as he entered. He nodded at Cooper in greeting.