“I’m kind of freaked out,” I admit.
“We’ll get to the bottom of it. If this guy worked and resided at that address, we’ll be able to find his last name and then figure out where his grave is, dig up his bones and bring them back here to burn.”
“Whoa, why are we bringing his bones home? Why can’t we just torch the whole grave?”
“It takes a hell of a lot of heat to burn bone. A fire of that magnitude will attract a lot of unwanted attention if we just light things up in the middle of the graveyard.”
“Oh. Good thing we have a burn pile.” I open the fridge, getting out the butter and milk.
“And a super hot witch who can summon magic fire.”
“The better to burn you with my dear,” I say and then roll my eyes at myself. “That sounded better in my head.”
Ethan chuckles. “I’ll take your word for it.”
“See you soon?”
“Yeah. I’ll be home in about ten minutes now.”
“Good. Love you.”
“Love you, too.” I end the call and finish prepping lunch, cutting up a bunch of veggies to dip into hummus. The house is quiet again, and I can feel myself teeter on the edge of panic again. But then the steps on the rear staircase creak, and I look up with a mouthful of cheese and see Nik and a much older man come down the stairs.
“Hi,” I say, holding my hand over my mouth. The man looks a little startled to see me and I wonder if his first thought was he just got caught by Nik’s girlfriend.
“This is my roommate who’s a sister to me,” Nik says and now I know I was picking up anoh shitvibe from his lover.
“It’s nice to meet you,” the man says.
“You too. Do you want anything to eat?” I motion to the food on the table.
“No, but thank you.”
Nik gives me a wink. “I need to get Alejandro back to work. Want me to pick up something more substantial on my way home?”
“What’s wrong with this?” I ask and Nik laughs.
“I’ll be back in thirty.”
“Okay,” I say and sit back at the table. Ethan comes home only minutes after Nik leaves. His handsome face is such a welcome sight. The entire world could be on fire but when I’m with Ethan, I know we’ll find a way to put out the flames—together.
He takes off his shoes and comes right over to me, wrapping his arms around my waist. I’m sitting at a barstool at the island counter and spin around, hooking my hands on his shoulders.
“I’m not gonna lie,” I start, turning my head so my cheek rests on his chest. “I was a little worried when you didn’t answer the phone. I thought Stuart got you.”
“It’s really hard for me to take a dangerous killer seriously with the name Stuart.”
I let out a snort of laughter, so thankful for this man.
“And don’t worry.” He pushes my hair back and kisses my forehead. “I’m not his typical victim. Though I am sleeping with a witch.”
“I’ve contaminated you.”
“Yeah, you have.” His lips go to my neck and my eyes flutter shut.
“Just to be safe,” I start as he kisses me. “I should contaminate you again.”
* * *