“I know.” He gripped the steering wheel tighter, and his left knee bounced a rat-a-tat.
“But?”
“We should start hearing back from the scouts soon. I want to stay close in case we need to move on the missing souls.” He wanted to stay close to her.
Relationships were weird. Part of her felt she should have been bothered by his need to hover right now. The other part said this was how their relationship worked. He showed her he loved her with actions. If he busted someone’s face, it was more an act of devotion than one of protection. Would he admit he needed her close for him?
“You hear from Josh this morning?” He was also great about diverting attention away from the awkward moments.
“He messaged. Zara’s making progress and Aunt Lily is driving her crazy.”
“Any other Nate sightings?”
“Not that he mentioned, but I told him to call if he saw anything.”
They parked around the back of the shop. The interior was quiet. Miguel texted to tell them he’d tapped in to watch Lexi in the basement, and promised they’d given her food and water. Beck was seated behind the Soul Charmer’s desk, feet kicked up.
“I’m guessing the boss isn’t back?” Derek knocked Beck’s feet off the oak desk. His shoes clopped against the floor.
Beck didn’t miss a beat. “Callie’s our temporary Soul Charmer, though, right?”
Ugh. “Don’t ever call me that again.”
“Soul Charmer 2.0? Soul Charmette? Soul Sister?”
“Beck if you don’t stop, I’m going to let Derek punch you.” Not that he actually needed her permission.
Beck snickered. “You two are an uptight power couple. Is that a thing?”
Derek snaked his arm around Callie’s waist and tugged her close. “Jealous?”
Callie elbowed him away. “We’re the kind of couple that can break your bones and steal your soul, and one hundred percent do not need your commentary.”
“You really are no fun.”
Callie shrugged him off and went to review the contents of the cabinets. All the souls that should be on the shelf as of yesterday were still there. It’s not that she’d expected any of the Charmer’s crew to pilfer them, but she needed to know the souls she’d saved from the well were safe. This mother hen deal had to wear off eventually, right?
“Your guys hear anything?” Derek asked Beck.
“Yeah, the two warehouses nearest the center of town were busts. One of my guys broke in and it was empty. Property rolls still show it belonging to the late Ford, and it looks like no one has moved to make changes.”
“And the other?” Derek began to pace in front of the desk. He had very few tells when they were at the Charmer’s, but it was like his feet had to move when his brain was turning over something big.
Beck scrolled the screen on his phone for a moment. “The other place was in use by Ford’s dad. They did not break in there.”
“So that leaves the one south of town?”
“Right. I’ve got one of my guys and one of yours sitting on it. They’re supposed to ping me if they see anyone coming or going.” Beck sat his phone on the desk. Task complete.
Derek wasn’t done though. He paused in front of the desk. “How long have they been watching it?”
Beck straightened his spine. “Since seven this morning.”
“Not bad.” It was high praise from Derek.
Beck nodded slowly and the two fell back into relative quiet.
The silence bit at Callie. Her mom seemed to be okay for now, but they still had problems. Like the soul dealer held hostage in the basement. “How’s Lexi doing?”
The way Beck and Derek looked at one another made Callie’s stomach drop.
“She’s fine,” Beck said, too quickly.
“What aren’t you telling me?” Callie looked to Derek, then Beck, and then back to Derek. Someone was going to tell her what had gone wrong.
“She is fine,” Derek said. “She’s been in and out, though. Usually the people downstairs don’t sleep. We got the other info out of her, but there might be more.”
“Boss usually has us take them off site.” Shame slathered Beck’s face.
“He’s not here,” Callie snapped. “Keep her comfortable.”
Derek’s lips thinned.
“Comfortable, but secure,” she amended. “Once we’ve dealt with the Anonymous Souls group, we’ll find a safe way to let her go.”
Derek didn’t argue, but Beck said, “You sure that’s a good idea? The Charmer wouldn’t sign off on that.”
“Thought you said I was Soul Charmer 2.0.”
He was quiet for a long minute. Callie prepared for the possibility this was going to get awkward. Finally, Beck said, “I knew you liked that one.”
The sharp ting of the front bell rang throughout the office. Callie peeked at the time on her phone. “Who needs a bonus soul this early in the day?”
“Sometimes it’s part of running errands, Callie.” Beck laughed at his own joke. No one else did.
She looked to Derek. “Come up there with me?”
If this were the business guy back early or another person who wanted to throw their weight around, then she’d rather Derek’s presence quell any potential trouble. No need to go supernatural Kung-Fu fighter again.
A man and a woman waited for them. Both in navy blue uniforms and badges reading Gem City Police Department. Lovely. Just lovely. At least they weren’t the same police officers who had visited last time. That had to be a good thing, right?
“Sir, ma’am, we are here to speak with the proprietor of this establishment,” the woman said. Her badge read Sinclair.
“He isn’t available at this time. If you’d like me to take your card, though, I can pass it along.” Did she sound overeager? Too helpful? Could you be too helpful to the cops? What was the right balance between civic duty and up-in-your-shit to please the people?
“We’re here to see the Charmer,” the male officer said. The familiarity in his voice was unmistakable. He’d met the Soul Charmer before. Callie kept her distance from him. Now most certainly was not the time to kick-start her magic.
Derek loomed behind her like
