Growling, Jake looked between us, a confused expression stretching his handsome features. His square jaw clenched. “Well, are you going to explain what the fuck you mean then?”
Nurturing the cup in his hand, Dave refused to look at me. Kate came around the bed and took Jake’s hand, squeezing to calm his nervous energy.
“Oh, for goodness sake,” I snapped. “There’s no need to pussyfoot around me. I’m fine. Jake, the last thing I remember is chasing Peter Mason down a street. He fired at me. He-”
“Got away!” Dave interrupted, his voice rushed as he passed Kate her coffee.
Why was he avoiding eye contact? His usually casual demeanour was stiff. My desk friend never let anything get to him. Well, unless he was having one of his broody times. That wasn’t now though, something was up.
“Great, you’ve got transient global amnesia - short term memory loss. Well, have these guys caught you up?” Jake’s practical ways always suited me. As a wolf shifter, he was in tune with Mother Nature. He knew exactly when the moon would be full, when the flowers would blossom, and what to do in a crisis.
“We’ve only just...” Kate shrugged when Jake raised his eyebrows.
Leaning against the bed, Jake looked down at me. “Okay, boss, quick catch up. Peter got away that time, but you got him later. We then got a call about a murder. A woman was shot in bed. Blood every-fucking-where. Nasty.”
“Alright,” Kate said, frowning at her coffee cup.
“She’s an agent, she can take it.” Jake drummed his fingers on his arm where he had them crossed over his chest. “It happened again, several times. The blood had the same pattern of the Essex witch coat of arms. We think the serial killer is connected to the PFF. You remember who they are, don’t you?”
Nodding, I absorbed everything he said. How could I not remember that we had been chasing a serial killer? Wait, Peter had got away from me? That was a first. No one got away from me. I must’ve been off my game.
“Of course I remember Paranormals For Freedom.” My scowl was aimed at no one in particular.
Holding up my arms, I wrapped them around my head as it pounded. Too much info. Way too much info. Maybe if I pretended I was tired, they would leave me alone. I could then get back to my book. I was right in the middle of an epic fantasy. It would help me to forget... ha, that was pretty ironic.
“Let’s give Gemma some time to breathe. Jake, please will you go and tell Jemima that Gemma is awake?” Dave waved the wolf shifter away, almost dismissing him.
If the energy of the atmosphere was visible, I’d see ice everywhere. The two men stared each other down. Kate came to the rescue in the end. Grabbing Jake’s arm, she escorted him out of the infirmary.
“Why don’t you go with them?” I said, my eyes drooping as exhaustion overtook. “How did you get magic back into me if I was almost drained after fighting the serial killer?”
Tugging a chair closer to the side of the bed, Dave ran a hand over his hair. It was tied in a man-bun. Yep, it bloody well suited him, which was really annoying. I wasn’t sure why, but it was.
“There’s a few things Jake left out.” He paused as he scratched the stubble on his jaw. “Well, that’s not technically true. You have a secret that the others don’t know about.”
His cryptic words were starting to grate on me. Clenching my teeth, I turned onto my side, still unable to get the energy to push myself up properly. “Just tell me outright. You know I don’t do subtle.”
A smile quirked the corner of his lips. “When Peter Mason fired, the bullet lodged in your chest. It’s still there.”
My hand instantly lifted to where he looked, his gaze pointedly at the spot just beside my heart. I placed my hand under my T-shirt. Aw, they’d put me in my Disney nightclothes. How embarrassing. I was a grown woman. Wearing Tinkerbell PJs wasn’t something I wanted my team to catch me wearing. And yet. “Who the bloody hell put me in these?”
Clicking his fingers, Dave waved them in front of my face. “Concentrate, Princess.”
Scowling, I shuddered when my fingers came into contact with the scar tissue. A hole had been stitched crudely, its raised texture slightly tender to the touch.
“I can’t believe I survived that, it’s so near my heart.”
Dave’s cough made me grab his hand that rested near my arm. “What are you not telling me?”
Forcing the words out, Dave stuttered. “Y-you’re dead. Well, sort of.”
“What?!” I exclaimed, my body flying up from the bed.
My arms and legs failed me as I tried to clamber off the mattress. In slow motion, I fell forward. Dave’s arms wrapped around me, tugging me up and back onto the bed.
“Calm down,” he whispered in my ear. “The others don’t know.”
Taking a deep breath, I righted myself as I pulled the covers back over me. My legs had been bare, which wasn’t something Dave needed to see. Those pale things reflected the sun if they were ever out. Which wasn’t often.
“I’m dead?” My head hit the pillow as the little tiny bit of energy I’d had filtered out of me.
Cocking his head to the side as he laid his hand on my forehead, Dave smiled gently. “Well, you’re not dead, are you? Not dead dead. You were killed, but the ley line is keeping you alive. So, you are dead, but-”
“Okay,” I interrupted as I knocked his hand off my head. “I get it. Who knows?”
“Just me.”
Groaning, I attempted to turn away from him, but he kept his hand on my arm. “Don’t try and run from this. I supported you, you know. Even moved into the house opposite to protect you. The serial killer sent you a personal message. A coat of arms drawn in your blood.”
“I told you?” I covered my
