[Southern Arcana 1] Crux Read Online Free PDF

and Jacobson Investigations. How can I help you?” Jackson threw away half the stack of mail and tossed some of the remaining correspondence on Alec’s desk. “Will you be finished with the husband by around two this afternoon?”
    Alec scratched at the side of his beard as he stared past Jackson in thought. “Should be. Depends on what Kat gets from him, though. You want us to swing by Mahalia’s when we get done?”
    “That’d work. I can’t quite figure this one out.”
    “Yeah, me either,” Alec commiserated. “Of course, that could be because you haven’t told me a damn thing aside from the fact that Nick hired some hot chick who was staying in a crap motel.”
    Jackson blinked and flushed. How could he have forgotten to share with Alec the most important fact of all?
    “Nick thinks she’s a shapeshifter, but not a wolf. I can’t get a bead on her.”
    “Apparently,” Alec drawled dryly. “She’s scrambled your brains but good, man. I can come by and take a look, and Kat will be able to give you an idea of what shape she’s in emotionally.”
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    Crux
    Jackson focused on his planner. “I’ve got to meet an informant in about fifteen minutes. Give me a call when you’re headed to Mahalia’s.” He grabbed his cell phone and coffee. “Be careful with the husband. They freak out sometimes when they know they’re busted.”
    “Yeah, I’ll take care of Kat.”
    Jackson paused by her desk, held up the tabloid and grinned mischievously. “By the way? Last week, Miller wrote an article about the vampire underground here in the Big Easy.
    So cheer up. He’s not right about everything .” Alec just snorted. “Thank God. If this town had vampires, I might throw myself in the damn Mississippi.” A gentle knock woke Mackenzie, jerking her rather unpleasantly from a dream about Jackson and his strong arms.
    Fear froze her in place for one endless moment while she stared at the door and imagined all of the ways Marcus could have found her. Blood pounded in her ears as panic shot through her, leaving nothing behind it but the desperate need to escape.
    The knock sounded again, louder this time, and she heard a friendly female voice on the other side of the door.
    “Mackenzie? It’s Nick.”
    Feeling foolish, Mackenzie rose from the couch and crossed the living room. When she pulled the door open, she www.samhainpublishing.com 41

    Moira Rogers
    found her boss on the other side, looking so harmless it made her panic seem absurd. She stepped back so Nick could come inside. “Did—did Jackson call you? He told me it would be okay for me to stay here for the night.”
    “Yeah, he called me this morning.” She lifted a heavy-looking paper sack. “I brought some things. Can I come in?”
    “Of course. But you didn’t need to bring me anything.
    Really, Nick, it’s enough that you let me stay here last night.”
    “Oh, it isn’t much.” Nick dropped the sack on the counter and started to unload it. “Just a few staples. Did you sleep well?”
    Mackenzie’s eyes darted guiltily to the couch and back. “I did. It’s a beautiful apartment. But I told Jackson I’d find someplace else to stay tonight, so you really don’t have to—” She watched helplessly as Nick pulled milk out of the bag and set it in the fridge. “I can’t pay you enough to stay here.” Nick wrinkled her nose and straightened her red tank top.
    “Don’t worry about that. The place is just sitting here, empty.” It was the same easy, casual way Jackson had offered help, and it was too good to be true. “Nick, I’m serious.
    You’ve already done so much.”
    The short woman heaved a sigh and pulled a bag of coffee out of the grocery sack. She seemed pensive as she rinsed the carafe from the coffee maker. “Okay, fair enough. How about 42
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    if I don’t pay you? You can work for tips and stay here, keep an eye on the place.”
    Mackenzie finally asked the