Page 10 of Taming the Beasts (Crooked Point #3)

“And I really think she knows your boyfriends. Or something. I don’t know. But I believe what I texted you. The guys could have stolen that coin from Kebe. That explains why she knows so much about it. And why she got close to us. Because she wanted to use us to get it back.”

“Then why wouldn’t my boyfriends tell me that?”

“Probably the same reason you didn’t tell them why you were robbing their bank.”

I sighed. “I hate secrets. I wanted to tell them. But there’s nothing to tell if I don’t have the coin. They had it in their possession, Emma. All I had to do was tell them and we could have figured it all out together. But no, I had to go and steal it from them and get it lost.”

“It’s not lost,” Emma said. “We just need to find Kebe. ”

“How? She fucking disappeared!” I tried the handle on the door to the restaurant again, but of course it was still locked.

“No one can actually disappear…right?” Emma asked.

“Of course not.” But I wasn’t entirely sure of that.

“Well I didn’t think vampires and werecats existed a month ago and here we are.”

“Good point.” I pressed my lips together. Was it possible that Kebe had some kind of secret invisibility power? “Invisibility is more superhero than supernatural. And Kebe is no superhero.”

Emma laughed. “Unless her superpower is trying to steal boyfriends.”

I shook my head. “Screw this. She’s not stealing our boyfriends. And she’s not getting out of town with this coin. Maybe she went to the train station? That’s the quickest way out.”

“Yeah, that’s what I tried when I wanted to leave in a hurry.”

“Exactly.” I turned away from the restaurant and my phone started buzzing. I pulled it out. “It’s Grudge.”

“Answer it.”

I hit the accept call button and put it on speaker. “You’re on speaker phone with me and Emma,” I said.

“Are you both topless?” Grudge asked.

“We’re in the middle of Main Street,” I said.

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

“It kinda does,” Emma said.

“Hey, Emma. I’ve heard a lot about you…”

“Grudge stop hitting on my best friend. Has Kebe reappeared somewhere yet? ”

“Reappeared implies that she actually disappeared,” he said. “Which isn’t possible, right? Or is it? Because a lot of weird stuff has been happening and I don’t know how to explain the camera glitch twice.”

“What do you mean twice?”

“Well she reappeared. Out of thin air. It’s gotta be a glitch but…”

“Where?” I asked.

“She’s back at your house. Just standing in the living room.”

With the guys? Fuck. I grabbed Emma’s elbow and we both started running down Main Street.

“Don’t forget about the session you promised me…”

I hit the end call button as we raced toward my house. But when I threw open the door, the living room was empty. My boyfriends were gone. So was Kebe. But her suitcase was right by the door. And the silver coin was sitting on top of it.

“Oh thank God.” I reached out to grab the coin but Emma swatted my hand away.

“Zoey, I really don’t trust that coin. Kebe tries to skip town with it and then for some reason comes back and leaves it right here for us? What the hell is she up to?”

“We have a lot of research to do, but the coin is better with us than with her.” I picked it up and put it in my pocket. “And where is Kebe?”

My phone started buzzing again.

I answered Grudge’s call.

“She’s sleeping,” he said. “In her room. ”

It was so weird that he was listening and watching my every move. But even weirder that Kebe just came back and went to bet like nothing had happened.

Emma shook her head back and forth. “None of this makes sense. And what research can we even do when there is no trace of that coin online?”

“I’ll talk to King.”

“I think we need to stop trusting someone whose face you’ve never seen.”

“We’ve been over this,” I said. “I don’t show my face online either. It’s just for anonymity.”

“I’m with Emma on this,” Grudge said.

He would be. He was trying to get in all my friends’ pants.

“All that matters right now is that we have the coin back. We can take a deep breath and figure out everything tomorrow. I gotta get back to the guys.”

“I’m not staying here alone with her again,” Emma said and shuddered.

“Grudge, can you watch her for us?” I asked.

“Already on it.”

I rolled my eyes. “Pervert.”

He laughed. “She’s sleeping. It’s very innocent.”

“If you say so.” I turned to the door, but stopped. “Wait.” I pushed Kebe’s suitcase onto the floor and started to unzip it.

“What are you doing?” Emma nervously looked toward the stairs.

“Maybe we can find some answers about what Kebe is hiding.” I opened the suitcase and stared down at the clothes.

More ripped jeans, leather jackets, and rings.

She even had another pair of high heeled leather boots.

She was so stupidly effortlessly cool. It was almost too much. Like she was trying too hard to fit in.

“Wait, what’s that in the top right corner?” Grudge asked.

I pushed some clothes aside and lifted up a bra. Idiot.

“What size is it?” Grudge asked. “I’m guessing a…”

“Stop it,” I said and tossed Kebe’s bra back into the suitcase.

“Weird,” Emma said as she rummaged through one of the side pouches.

“What?”

“There’s no makeup. And Kebe definitely wears makeup. She looks too perfect.”

Yeah, I wasn’t the only one that was insecure about this chick. I thought about Kebe’s thick eyeliner. “Maybe her eyeliner is a tattoo? She has other tattoos.”

“True.”

“And lots of people dye their brows and eyelashes.”

“I can’t believe she doesn’t wear makeup. The world is cruel.”

I laughed.

“She’s so fucking fine,” Grudge said. “It’s a 32DD, right?”

“You are not helping. I’m hanging up.”

“Night, ladies.”

I rolled my eyes as I ended the call. I lifted up a few more clothing items and dropped them back in place. “There’s nothing suspicious in here.”

“Minus her flawless features being purely her.” Emma shook her head. “There’s nothing personal in here at all. ”

I frowned. “Yeah. That’s weird in and of itself, right? Wasn’t she in the middle of a move? Is this all her stuff?”

Emma shrugged. “I think that’s what she said. But nothing adds up with her.” She zipped back up one of the side pouches. “Tomorrow we have to question her about everything.”

My phone buzzed. I pulled it out and laughed.

“What?”

I showed her the text from Grudge: “You should tie her up while you do it.”

“Your friend is ridiculous,” Emma said.

“That he is. But he has a good point.”

“First a heist and now we’re going to tie someone up and torture them?”

“Woah. Who said anything about torturing her?”

“Oh. Did you not? I thought you did.” Emma laughed. “I guess I just really want to slap her for ruining tonight. I should have been celebrating with Callum, not chasing her ass around town.”

Yeah, this was not a good way to spend your engagement night. Or the first day you became official with your boyfriends. “You should go celebrate. I’m going to head home.”

Emma smiled. “This is your home.”

I shook my head. “Not anymore.” I stood up. “We’ll meet up back here in the morning and figure out what our next steps are.”

“Deal.”

I pulled Emma into a hug. “I’m so so happy for you.”

“I’m so happy for you.” She squeezed me tight .

“Now go celebrate with your vampire fiancé.” I slapped her butt.

She laughed and opened the door. “Don’t let that coin out of your sight.”

“I won’t. And don’t tell Callum anything yet. I really want to tell the guys all at once after we sort out what the hell is going on with Kebe.”

Emma nodded. “My lips are sealed.”

She closed the door and I bent down and zipped up Kebe’s suitcase. I put it back where I’d found it. And then I lifted the coin out of my pocket.

I knew Emma and Grudge’s suspicions were valid. Hell, I agreed with every word. The god of the dead should have nothing to do with curing werecats or vampires. And Kebe was suspicious as hell. She was a liar and a thief, just like Grudge said. She was up to something.

But…I felt the power of the coin. I closed my fist around it and felt the warmth spread through my palm. I couldn’t read auras, but this coin felt good. All the research in the world couldn’t sway me from using it tomorrow.