Karma's Shift (Magical Midlife in Mystic Hollow Book 2)

property slowly, but this time I went a little faster. Some instinctual part of me wanted Emma to know that I would be there, any time she needed me, any time she called. Whether it was the bear in me or not, I felt like the most important thing for her to know is that she could count on me. If she didn’t believe that, if we didn’t build whatever this thing between us was on a foundation of trust, I had a feeling it would crumble.
And this old heart of mine couldn’t lose another woman I loved. It’d be too much. And as much as bears were said to be solitary creatures, I knew that would be the thing to finally crush me. Just the idea of her giving that beautiful smile to another man made me grip the steering wheel so tightly that it made a little groan of protest.
“Daniel?”
“I’m here,” I called over the roar of the old truck’s motor.
“I’ve got to go, just come as fast as you can, okay?”
“Yeah--”
“Well, not too fast. Drive safely.”
My phone beeped when she hung up, so I didn’t have a chance to try to question her further. I glanced down at my phone, seeing the red phone icon on the screen seeming to mock me, before I looked back at the trail. There weren’t any other cars to be worried about out here, just animals and trees, and the animals were smart enough to stay out of my way. I pressed my foot on the gas pedal a little harder, pushing the truck to the top speed I was willing to go as I wove through the trees.
Damn it. Now I was worried.
I beat tracks getting there, and as I approached the house Emma lived in with her brother, police lights caught my eye. Oh, no. Is this what she called a pickle? I was kind of hoping she had something that was too heavy to pick up. Or something broken that needed fixing. A police presence suggested this was more than just a pickle.
But as long as she was safe, we could figure everything else out.
I pulled the truck up into the yard, so I wasn’t blocking anyone in, then rushed out to find Emma. Passing a couple of detectives, I didn’t know all that well, I went inside and found Emma sitting on the couch, talking to another detective. He nodded at me and stepped outside, knowing that unusual cases were sort of my thing. Along with talking to anyone in this town and getting information, I was often able to find out things from our people that the human officers hadn’t even thought to ask about.
Sitting beside her, I took her hand, though my instinct was to put my arm around her. “What happened? Are you okay?”
“I’m okay,” she said, but she didn’t sound okay. There was a tremble to her voice that I didn’t like, one that spoke of fear. The last thing I wanted was for Emma to be fearful in Mystic Hollow.
That instinct to draw her into my arms and hold her tighter washed over me again until I was almost drowning in it, but instead, I just held her hand gently. I had held the hand of many victims. Many people who had come into the station had been scared over the years. I’d meant the gesture to be reassuring. But her hand just felt so small and so perfect in mine that for a second, I was distracted by it. And I never got distracted on the job
“It was awful. I got home and found a body. An honest to God body!” She shuddered.
Uh oh. A body? Murder wasn’t exactly something that happened often in a small town. Yeah, there was a lot of bloodshed between the supernaturals, but that was usually taken care of quietly. Bodies weren’t just tossed on people’s front porches.
This didn’t make any sense.
“Any idea who it is? Were there any strange signs?”
Emma’s gaze met mine, and she shook her head, but I could tell there was something she wanted to say to me. I sent up a silent prayer that she hadn’t gotten herself into more trouble. There was a lot I could help her with. Hell, I’d do anything for her. But this was something else. She was a magnet for strange and troublesome events and that was saying something for Mystic Hollow.
The sheriff walked in and gave me a look I was all too familiar with. It meant something had happened to change the case.
I lifted a brow. “What is it?”
“We identified the body. It’s Roger. Beth’s ex.”
Oh, crap. I was really hoping the dead person had no connection to Emma. Having a body at her house would look bad. But without that, the investigation into her would end quickly and cleanly. Nothing about having one of her friend’s exes murdered at her house would keep this thing simple.
“Beth’s ex?” Emma’s voice sounded small and scared.
I gave her hand a squeeze, wishing I could do more, but knowing it wasn’t a good idea with the sheriff watching. The last thing I wanted was to be pushed out of this case and not be able to help Emma, because the police thought I was too close to the possible suspect.
The sheriff turned his gaze toward Emma, who looked stunned into shock. “And it’s my understanding that you were yelling at him just a few days ago?”
Oh, man. Having it be her friend’s ex was bad. Having it be an ex with whom Emma had been seen fighting? My stomach twisted. If she’d had a fight with the man, she’d be at the top of the suspect list.
At last, she turned to me with big, wide eyes.
She looked terrified. What had she gotten herself into?

4
Emma
Sucking in a deep breath, I blew on the coffee again, eager for it to cool a little so I could gulp it down. It was the afternoon, but