I put a hand on the top of her head. “Cease, Margo.” I gave Lucien a long look. “I suggest if you don’t want to understand the extent of my control with the dead, you behave once I allow youinside.”
Lucien swallowed hard. I shooed Margoinside.
“Lucien Nightingale, you are invited into my home. Should you harm anyone or anything,” I added with a pointed look at Margo’s retreating back, “the hospitality laws of Midnight Cove will no longer apply. Do you agree to those terms?” It was the same phrase said to anyone or any stranger who showed up to your door. Although it wasn’t used as often anymore because a lot of people here knew eachother.
Lucien straightened. “I accept,” hesaid.
I held open the back door. “Enterthen.”
Lucien brushed past me, the crisp scent of his cologne tickling mynose.
“Coffee?” I asked. “Although you have to leave my mug here thistime.”
“Please,” hesaid.
I got two mugs down and motioned for him to sit. “This had better be good,” I toldhim.
Lucien chuckled. “I’m pretty sure I’m fired,” he said as he rubbed his face with bothhands.
“You probably deserved it.” I handed him over a mug. I added a splash of cream to it because he looked like the kind of guy who liked his coffee a littlelighter.
“Thanks.” Margo lay at his feet, though she was alert to all of his movements. He looked at her and let out a soft chuckle. “She’sferocious.”
“She is.” I didn’t realize she was until today, but I liked it. “Start talking. First tell me why you were creeping around mybackyard.”
Lucien scratched his cheek. “When this land came for sale, my bosses were slobbering at the bit to buy it, but the entity selling it wouldn’t even entertain their offers.” He chuckled at the memory. “Imagine how livid they were when they found out who actually bought it. They couldn’t figure it out. How a single woman had managed to outbid themall.”
I hadn’t outbid anyone. I made an offer. Within twenty-four hours, it was accepted and it took about a month to finalize. I kept quiet and let him talk. I didn’t know Lucien well enough to trust him with any informationyet.
“I was tasked to watch your property. If anything odd or strange happened or if anyone who didn’t live here came off the land and we didn’t see them arrive, I was required to reportit.”
“Did you seeanything?”
He shook his head. “Never. The most excitement around here came a couple of days ago as I’m sure youremember.”
“You saw.” My hands clenched around mymug.
Lucien’s presence filled my kitchen. Where Hank had a quiet, soothing energy, Lucien brought with him an electric energy. He sucked the oxygen out of the room. There was something about him that both attracted and repelled me and I wanted to make sure I chose my words around himcarefully.
“I did. I’ve been watching for awhile.” At my look, he cringed. “I’m sorry. I know it sounds bad, but it was part of my job.” His mouth turned down on one side. “There was something odd about that day. As vamps, we can feel the ebb and flow of death. We’re in tune with the veil between the living and the dead. Something happened with the veil that day, though I don’t know if you had something to do withit.”
I swallowed hard. “What do youmean?”
Lucien shook his head. “It’s hard to explain. The veil is just...there. It’s steady. The only ripples we feel in the veil come around Halloween when it’s weaker. And when you do your work, though that is only a small whisper. But that day, there was a reverberation that all of usfelt.”
My hand reached up to touch my mouth.Crap.
“Helen?”
I blinked. “Keep going. You were trespassingbecause…?”
“This is going to sound ridiculous. My bosses think there’s something on your property that links to the Deadication Dating Agency. They’ve been wanting rights to that building for years, but Portia has refused to entertain any meetings. They feel like if they had this land, they would have access toher.”
“That sounds crazy,” I said. Itwouldsound nuts to someone who wasn’t me, but Lucien didn’t know what I had here and, if he was to be believed, neither did hisbosses.
“I’m just the guy that has to take theorders.”
“Ever thought about getting a new job?” Iasked.
