Putting the Ice in Nice by Diana Pharaoh Francis

Author:Diana Pharaoh Francis [Francis, Diana Pharaoh]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: urban fantasy, romance, witch, adventure, kick-butt women, ghosts, police procedural, murder, mayhem, magic, alpha males wolves, snark, gargoyles, search and rescue
ISBN: 9781944756048
Publisher: Lucky Foot Press with BVC
Published: 2023-07-12T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

I woke up in the morning with a nose full of fluffy tail hair. Ajax lay sprawled, tail flopped across my mouth. I pushed it away and scrubbed my hands over my face to get rid of the tickle-itches his fur had left behind.

My head felt like sludge and my nose was stuffy. A dust bunny had died in my mouth. I’d slept fitfully, trying my best to not thinking of how I’d blown things up with Damon. Why couldn’t I have kept my mouth shut? Why couldn’t I just be patient for once?

I groaned and pushed myself out of bed. I found my phone and checked it. No missed calls.

My lungs collapsed and my stomach lurched. Bile burned up my throat and spilled onto my tongue. I swallowed it down. I typed a text. My finger hovered over the Send button. I deleted it. A text wasn’t going to fix this, if it could be fixed. I needed to talk to the girls. They’d have some good ideas—right after they kicked my ass. Stacey would beat me with her IV pole.

I got dressed and headed downstairs. I stopped to let Ajax out. Or rather Linus put him out. I thanked him and headed toward the kitchen. I heard voices and walked in on Ballard, Jeffers, and Mikey having breakfast. Make yourself at home, why don’t you?

Deirdre walked out carrying a pot of coffee.

“Don’t you ever sleep? Or go home?”

She gave me an admonishing look. “Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Sit and have some coffee before you stab someone.”

“Are there knives on the table?”

“Butter knives. Do I need to remove them?”

“That would be rude to our uninvited guests,” I said, casting a scathing look at the three invaders. “Anyway, there are lots of other implements of destruction.”

“I’d tell you to be nice, but I’m well aware that cannot happen before coffee. Do try not to kill them, won’t you?” Deirdre gave me one of her unreadable smiles, and retreated to the kitchen, undoubtedly to fix Ajax’s breakfast.

I sat and poured coffee, doctoring it with cream and sugar, and ignored my unwelcome visitors. I grabbed the plate of bacon and dumped half of it on my plate, along with some eggs, potatoes, and fruit. I had a feeling I wasn’t going to get a lunch.

Jeffers cleared his throat. “Uh, we wanted to check in with you about the case,” he said.

“You could have called. Why is Sergeant Jizzwizard here?” I pointed my fork at Mikey who winced and gave me an impatient look.

“He knows more about…magic…than we do,” Ballard said, obviously forcing the word out, her voice dropping low on the word.

“Next time dump him off a tall bridge before you get here, will you?”

“We’ll take your request under advisement,” she said dryly. “Have you learned anything since yesterday?”

“My mother and uncle managed to narrow down the kidnapper’s location. It’s across the river on the southeast side. They’re sure the spells were cast from there but couldn’t pinpoint an actual location.

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