“Well, I definitely encourage that. In fact—” He jumped when someone on the other side of the window rapped a fist against the pane. “If that’s the kid, I’m killing her.”
Chuckling, I moved the curtains to peer out. Rather than Sami, I found Zoe peering through the glass. I shoved open the window and stared at her through the screen. “Do you need something?”
“You have a ghost hanging in the trees over there. He’s been watching us.”
I followed her finger and nodded. “Yeah. Tim. He’s a Peeping Tom.”
She frowned. “Wait ... are you saying you have a Peeping Tim, and he’s a ghost?”
I laughed at her confusion. “Doesn’t everyone have a Peeping Tim? Why do you think the curtains are so thick on this place?”
“Curtains don’t stop ghosts.”
“He only looks if there are no curtains. He has rules.”
Zoe glanced in the direction of the ghost. “How well does he know these woods?”
I caught on to what she was getting at immediately. “Pretty well.”
“I think I’m going to have a talk with him.”
“That’s a good idea. I’ll join you in a second.”
“That won’t be necessary.” She offered up a haphazard wave. “Go back to your mating ritual. I’ll handle the ghost. I have a way with them.”
“Do you have the same way with ghosts that you do with other paranormals?”
“Pretty much.”
“Yeah, I’ll come out. You know, just to be on the safe side.”
“Knock yourself out.”
Twenty-Two
Sami eventually stopped acting up, although that was only by degrees, and agreed to have a pouty dinner with us. She perked up when the other members of Spells Angels showed up for an impromptu barbecue, but only because Raisin was present and she had another unhappy youth to unload on.
The two girls moved to the fire pit, where Sami proceeded to use her magic to ignite the logs Gunner and Aric had hauled over from the woods, and then they bent their heads together and whispered.
“Now there is a frightening sight, huh?” Rooster moved to my side to study the girls, grinning. “Do you think they’re plotting to overthrow the government?”
“Just a mage.” I shook my head and focused on my boss. “I’m surprised you guys decided to show up out of the blue like this.”
“Why? We’re sociable.”
“Yeah, but you’ve never come here without a specific purpose.” I studied his face a moment, realization dawning a few seconds later. “You have a specific purpose.”
Rooster bobbed his head. “We do. That purpose is you.”
My lips curved down. “Gunner called you.”
Rooster hesitated and then shook his head. “Why would you assume that?”
“Because she’s not stupid,” Zoe announced, crossing behind Rooster, her eyes rapt on the tree line. She’d been back and forth talking to Tim a good twenty times since she’d discovered I had a randy ghost hanging in the woods. “Gunner wasn’t happy with the turn of events and argued with staying behind. Scout talked him into changing his mind by explaining how Sami needed to be watched. Gunner agreed ... until he thought about it again. That’s when he called you.”
Rooster shot her a dark look. “You think you know everything, don’t you?”
Zoe nodded without hesitation. “Absolutely. I’m a veritable genius. Just ask my husband.”
“Just ask your husband what?” Aric called out from his spot next to the grill. He had a spatula in his hand and a curious look on his face.
“How smart am I?” Zoe queried, not missing a beat.
“You’re a genius, baby,” Aric replied, smiling. “You’re the smartest woman I know.”
Zoe preened and turned back to Rooster. “See?”
“You’re also the prettiest,” Aric added. “You’re the whole package.”
Zoe grinned. “Thank you.”
“I’m just trying to help.” Aric matched her forced smile. “I want you to feel good about yourself even though you’re not going to be able to bully that guy and it’s going to put you in a foul mood.”
“I’m not trying to bully him.”
“Baby, you’ve made a name for yourself as the biggest paranormal bully in Michigan.”
“Um, why stop at Michigan?”
He smirked. “I’m just saying that Rooster is aware of the situation and he’s not going to allow you to push him around. That’s not who he is.”
Zoe’s eyebrows drew together and she glanced between my boss and her husband. Realization dawned eventually, and her expression hardened. “You were in on calling him.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Aric was suddenly the picture of innocence. “Why would you assume that?”
“Because I’ve met you.” Zoe was having none of it. “I thought we agreed you should stay and watch Sami.”
“No, we agreed that Sami should be watched,” he clarified. “Gunner and I had a talk a little bit ago and he brought up some good points.”
“Is one of those points that we made a pact regarding Sami’s well-being?”
I sensed trouble and took a step toward Zoe, faltering immediately. How was I supposed to take a side when I wasn’t sure which way to go?
“We talked about that.” I had to give Aric credit. He didn’t back down despite the icy edge of his wife’s tone. “We also talked about the fact that it’s not just vampires you’ll be dealing with, but shifters, too. We can help with them.”
Zoe made a frustrated sound in the base of her throat. “Are you trying to kill me?”
“Nope. I just want to make sure we get Rafael back. You might need us during your little excursion, so we arranged for Rooster and the others to take Sami to the Cauldron with them after dinner.”
Zoe immediately started shaking her head. “No. You need to stay with her. She has to have one parent at the very least.”
“She’s keeping both her parents,” Aric stated. “I’ve given this a lot of thought, Zoe, and I’m going with you. I know we originally agreed that I was going to look after Sami, but she’ll be well protected with these guys. It’s smarter for me to go with you.”
“I take it what I think doesn’t matter,” Zoe muttered.
“It always matters. Don’t be ridiculous. There’s a
