With You In Spirit (The Bassinville Witches Series) by Miranda Stork

glasses. “I said no, honey. Now stop asking me.” She spun around on her chair, and began tapping away busily on her computer keyboard, ignoring the woman stood before her.
    Sighing in exasperation, Catherine shrugged, and began to walk over to the jail cells further back in the station. Susan stopped what she was doing, and jumped up, gasping in horror. “No, Catherine, I said you- Catherine!” As Catherine was ignoring her, she began to run towards her, teetering in her heels.
    Catherine looked back and held up her hand, raising her eyebrows to show she wasn’t planning anything untoward. Stopping Susan in her tracks, she pointed over towards the cells. “Look, I’m just going to be one minute, I swear. Joe and Ellis will never even know.”
    Susan wrung her hands in anxiety , glancing over towards the clock, and then the front door of the station. She gave another quick glance at Catherine’s intent face, and then nodded, sighing. “Alright. But just one minute, D’ya understand ?” Smiling appreciatively , Catherine nodded, and made her way over to the cells, peering into them.
    As she came to the last one, she saw Caden, hunched over on one of the benches, his head in his hands. He appeared to be muttering to himself. Catherine gripped the bars on his cell, and pressed her face against the cool metal. “Hello.” She said, in a quiet voice.
    Caden’s head slowly lifted, and his stormy eyes met hers, filling with love and relief. He began to run over to her, but then stopped, pausing in the middle of the grey concrete room. A look of doubt fell over his chiselled features.
    Her mouth forming an ‘ O ’, Catherine shook her head. “What’s wrong? Come here.”
    Swallowing nervously, Caden took a glance to the outside of the cells, looking for any sign of the police officers. He turned back to her, running a hand over his mouth. “Do you believe I did all those things, Catherine?”
    “No!” Her lips curved into a brilliant grin, and she reached her hand out for him. “I saw what happened last night-you saved me, and you had all that time to hurt me and didn’t. No, I don’t believe it for a second. I feel it, in ‘here’.” As she said ‘ here ’ , she pointed to her chest with her free hand. Caden moved forwards, taking her hand and kissing it tenderly, until he came to her lovely face, and pressed his lips through the bars, tasting her.
    Catherine pulled back then, and looked at him, beaming. “I found out who it was though-well, sort of. My mother told me that my father was part of this organisation called The Gathering. Whoever is after my mother and I killed my father because he was looking for this orb.”
    To her surprise, Caden nodded, and hung his head, leaning his hands on the bars. “I know how this will sound, Catherine, but I know all this. You see, I’m–“
    “What the hell is going on here! ” The bellowing voice of Joe rang out, reverberating around the station, as a door slammed. Susan leapt up from her desk, and began stammering something about how she was sorry, and hadn’t meant to leave Catherine with him, but Joe marched on past, his face turning red.
    Catherine spun around, her mouth forming soundless words. Joe marched right up to her, and stopped. He looked from her to the vampire watching him intently from behind the bars, and his beard bristled. “I don’t know what you think you’re doing, young lady, but you know damn well you don’t just barge into my station and start talking to prisoners. Especially ones that threatened to kill you!”
    “But I told you he didn’t do it! I don’t know how to prove it to you, Joe, but you’ve got to try and believe me!” Catherine pleaded, her mouth setting in a determined line.
    Joe’s eyes narrowed. Not the right thing to say to him. “Now I’m warning you, Catherine. Don’t make me put you in one of these cells as well.”
    Laughing at the absurdity of what was happening; Catherine rolled her eyes at him,