“Rainey had to go in first thing this morning. She and Walker got called out to a crime scene on the other side of town.”
“Supernatural?”
“Not sure.”
The aroma of freshly brewed coffee fills the bar, and I inhale deeply. No matter how many years I live, I don’t know that I will ever tire of the scent of freshly brewed coffee. At least, it hasn’t happened just yet.
“So what’s this meeting about? An intervention for Steven and his taste for humans?”
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. Five years, douchebags, five fucking years.”
Elijah chuckles.
“Winnie was followed this morning,” Brad tells him.
My oldest friend looks from my manager, then back to me. “By who?”
“A vampire,” I reply.” She’s not sure who, and he made no move to attack, though he scared the hell out of her.”
Elijah glances at my team. “I’m assuming you four are here because you’re going to find the fucker?”
“We are.”
“Good. Did she get a good description?”
“Unfortunately not, just a basic description. Tall, dark hair, red eyes.”
“So he’s a newly turned dead man.”
“Doesn’t really narrow it down, but we’ll find the asshole,” Brad says.
“Why would a vampire be following her?” Elijah asks me as I set a mug of black coffee in front of him. “She’s human.”
“Human working for a witch who just so happens to be sleeping with a vampire,” Steven offers. “Could be that someone is looking to send a message, or perhaps they just want to keep an eye on what’s happening at Casa De La Bronywyn.”
“Maybe.” Elijah narrows his eyes at his coffee. “It seems far too coincidental, though. Especially given recent events.”
“My thoughts exactly,” I reply.
“Well, no need to worry.” Steven gets up from his seat. “We’ll find him. Just keep Winnie safe, and we’ll make sure she stays that way.”
“Thanks.”
The rest of my team gets up and heads for the tunnel door. Brad stops just before leaving and turns back to me. “Glad to have you back, boss. Billings wasn’t the same while you were out running amuck.” He winks and heads out, shutting the panel behind him and the others.
“I missed you, too.” Elijah grins. “In case that wasn’t obvious. We can hug if you want. You can braid my hair.”
Chuckling, I retrieve the three dirty glasses and wash them quickly in the sink. “You wouldn’t know what to do without me.”
“Truth.” Elijah falls silent as I finish cleaning up, grab my own cup of coffee, and move around the counter to slide onto the stool beside him. “Remember sitting here and telling me that saving the hunters was going to get me killed?”
I laugh. “That was lifetimes ago, wasn’t it?”
“For you, it literally was.” He winks, referencing my brief stint with death.
“And here we are, both of us breaking The Accords. How very poetic.”
“That law is complete and utter shit.”