Hallow Haven Cozy Mysteries Bundle Books 1-3 by Mara Webb (books to read fiction .txt) 📕

as if something powerful had tried to burst through the metal bars. The thought of him, even the werewolf version of him, slamming himself against the steel over and over made me feel terrible. He woke up as I stepped closer.

“Are you okay?” I asked softly.

“You smell like him,” he replied, clambering up onto his hands and knees. I found the key in the pocket of my shorts, even though my magic had changed my outfit it seemed that I had remember to transfer this with me.

I unlocked the door and he crawled out. Once he was standing again, his naked chest exposed, I found myself unsure of where to look. He looked out of breath, or as if he was trying to stop himself from saying something he would regret.

“I need your help,” I said, hoping to steer the conversation in a different direction.

“Were you hurt? Did he protect you well?” Miller asked. He was less than a foot away from me but took the smallest of steps to close the gap. I felt the buzz of electricity across my palm, like what had happened with Ryder, and I couldn’t look Miller in the eye.

“I’m fine, but I need you to help me find Damon. I can explain on the way… and you should put a shirt on,” I said, giving him a half smile. “I’ll wait outside.” I turned and walked out towards the front door, but Miller reached to grab my hand and pull me back to him.

“I… I could sense that you were in danger and I couldn’t get out of here to help you. I’m just glad that your other guardian was able to do what I couldn’t,” he said.

“It’s okay,” I assured him. Now we stood, faces close, as I once again found myself in a position of being tempted to kiss someone but freezing up instead. I wanted to, boy did I want to, but we had to make sure that we found Damon and solved the big problem looming over all our heads. I slid my hand out of his grasp and walked out of the house to stand in his front yard while he got dressed.

In a few minutes he emerged from the house in uniform, still rubbing some pomade through his hair. I wish I could look so good after such a short window to preen.

“He could be anywhere,” Miller said as we walked back towards the high street.

“I know, but we have to try. Is there any way to call him? Do you have his number? Or an address?” I asked.

“He busks on the sidewalk and takes his payment in the form of lyric ideas, I doubt he can afford a cellphone,” Miller replied. He had a point. Inspiration. It gave me an idea. I walked faster, Miller jogging a few paces to keep up.

“I’ve just thought of something,” I announced. “Max and the band are using some of Jake’s love letters as lyrics for their songs, right? The apartment over The Guitar Yard is full of notepads and journals with all sorts of stuff that Jake wrote down, all these different ideas he had. What if we offer all of these to Damon?”

“That would be the ultimate payday for him, I get it,” Miller nodded. “It still won’t help us track Damon down though. We can only hand it all over if we actually know where Damon is.”

Dang. He was right. The high street was coming into view now, the sun glistening on the morning shoppers. When we got to The Guitar Yard, it seemed that we weren’t alone.

“Damon!” Miller and I yelled in unison.

“We needed to find you!” I grinned. “What are the chances of us bumping into you like this?”

“Pretty high,” Damon chuckled. “You’ve said my name about fifty times in the last ten minutes, I heard it carry on the air and I am too nosy to ignore it. Like I’ve said, I thrive on anonymity. All of a sudden someone is talking about me none stop, I had to check it out.”

“I want to show you something,” I said. “Come this way.”

I walked into The Guitar Yard and Miller followed behind, Damon waited out on the sidewalk.

“Is this a break in? I don’t really get down with petty theft,” Damon winced.

“No,” Miller said. “Sadie has an idea of how you can help us with a murder investigation. Or is it now an investigation into dark witchcraft? I’m not sure anymore, but basically there is a lot of shady business happening and we need to bring it to an end.”

“Is this your sales pitch?” Damon laughed. “That all sounds awful, I am more of a music man than a crime fighter. Hmmm, that’s not a bad idea for a lyric though.” He swung the guitar over his shoulder and began to strum just before I ran over and grabbed the neck of it, muting the sound of the strings.

“Damon, upstairs is the absolute motherlode of notes. If you help us out then you can look through it all, but you need to help us,” I pleaded.

“Sweet! What do you need me to do?” he asked.

“I need you to enter the Battle of the Bands contest,” I said.

“No. No, that’s not for me. I like to stay private. It’s nice of you to think that I had a shot, but it’s not something I’m interested in,” he sighed.

“I know, but I have an idea about how you can perform and still keep yourself private. I need you to trust me,” I said, giving him the saddest puppy-eyed look I could muster.

“I…” he hesitated. “Miller?”

“I’d trust her,” Miller nodded.

“I guess that’s all the endorsement I need,” Damon shrugged. “But if this doesn’t work then I’m going to have to move islands again and it’s such a drag!”

“I’ve got you covered!” I smiled, thrilled that my plan was coming together. I pulled out my cellphone and fired off a few text messages to let the group know that