Page 14 of Taming the Beasts

I quickly typed out another text: “I asked Kebe to let me hold on to the coin and she refused and went to bed. I’m starting to think that she just befriended us to get the coin.”

My phone buzzed with Zoey’s response: “Then why didn’t she use it?”

I don’t know.A chill ran down my spine and I grabbed a blanket and pulled it over my lap. Callum’s cold touch used to always make me shiver. But I’d gotten more used to the cold. I suddenly couldn’t stop shivering though. I swear the temperature had dropped a few degrees since we’d come home. I pulled the blanket up to my chin.

“I’ll be home soon and we can figure it out,” Zoey texted.

Good.I couldn’t shake the chill in my bones and the bad feeling growing in the pit of my stomach.

I pulled out my phone and tried to search for information about the coin. Kebe had said she’d seen an article or something about it being stolen from a museum. It’s part of why I’d gone ahead with the plan tonight. Because she’d been so sure that the coin would be locked in one of the vaults.

But I couldn’t find anything in my searches. I typed it into Google every way I could think. Nothing about a silver coin with an Anubis head. Nothing about a cure for vampirism. Which wasn’t surprising, really. If a simple Google search was all it took to cure vampirism, Callum wouldn’t be one anymore.

The coin not showing up in any news articles though? And there weren’t just no articles about it being stolen. There weren’t any articles about it period. Nothingabout when it was unearthed. Nothing about it existing at all.

Another chill ran down my spine.

Seriously, why was it so cold in here? I grabbed another blanket and propped the pillows up behind me. Kebe was right about one thing, heists were exhausting. I’d been so scared of being caught the whole time. Even though I knew that it was unlikely we’d be arrested. Since Zoey’s boyfriends owned the bank and Zoey was friends with Officer Davis.

I tried another search and still came up with nothing.

So Kebe must have known about the coin some other way. I thought about the mind control pocket watch that had caused a rift between Callum and the guys. They’d stolen it from him. I wondered if there was any mention of that watch anywhere.

I searched for the pocket watch on Google. Nothing came up for that either.

Maybe this was some kind of similar situation.Oh my God.What if the coin belonged to Kebe originally and the guys had stolen it?

I tried to think of how they’d all reacted to each other in the bank. Kebe had been flirtatious, but she was always flirtatious. But the guys? I closed my eyes and pictured Huxley’s face. He’d lowered his eyebrows as he stared at her.

I sat forward on the couch. Ace had done the same thing. They stared at her like they didn’t like her. And how would they know they didn’t like her if they’d only just met?

Shit.I texted Zoey again. “I think your boyfriends know Kebe.”

My phone buzzed with her response. “Do you think she hooked up with Huxley once and he just doesn’t remember her or something? Because I did not like the way she was eyeing him.”

“Do you think it’s possible that it’s just her coin? And they stole it from her? Kind of like how they stole that watch from Callum?”

“Huxley did say he didn’t trust her. You seriously think they know each other?”

I shivered again. “Maybe. Is your thermostat broken or something?”

“No?”

“Please just come home, Zoey.” I snuggled deeper into the blankets. “Everything feels off.”

“I’ll be back in 20 minutes.”

Okay, I could wait 20 minutes. I grabbed the bottle of champagne and took a sip. Maybe that would help warm me up.

I clicked on Callum’s name on my phone, but I didn’t call him. If Kebe walked down those stairs though, I’d hit the call button. Because Callum was the only one fast enough to get here in time to help me.

I looked down at the beautiful ring on my finger and took another swig of champagne. I never should have left Callum tonight. If I’d just stayed in his arms, everything would be fine. But I’d wanted to help him. This cure meant everything to him, so it meant everything to me.

For a second I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I pictured Callum on his knees asking me to be his forever. His golden eyes staring up at me hopefully.

Forever could finally be the same for both of us. Without me having to turn into a vampire. I just needed that coin back. Kebe wasn’t going to get in the way of my happily ever after.

Chapter 5