Free Witch Hearts by Liz Long

to let strangers in.”
    Ruby swallowed hard; she lived in a secure building specifically to avoid things like that happening, but the detective was right. After all, Cooper had practically waltzed in earlier to pick her up. Besides, if the killer was a witch, there were plenty of ways to get around security. Not that she’d tell Phillips that right now.  
    “Now about your apartment,” Detective Phillips continued, “you didn’t happen to leave your door unlocked by accident?”
    Ruby shook her head. “No one had a way in here. I don’t know how he did it.”
    “You’re sure no one had a spare key? An old boyfriend, a friend?”
    “Michael never had…” Realization hit her. She had been so concerned about her protection spell being broken that she forgot about the physicality of the actual locks. She felt the blood drain from her face.
    “Oh…Courtney had a key to my place. Oh shit. He took her key after he killed her. That’s how he got in my apartment.”
    Cooper stood up, alarmed. “That means he can come and go when he wants. We need to get you somewhere else.”
    Detective Phillips raised up a beefy hand. “Hold on, hold on. We can get your landlord to change the locks. That’s not a problem. You can have them arrange that first thing in the morning.”  
    Ruby's door buzzer went off, making them all jump. She went to the receiver and hit the button.
    “Yes?”  
    “It’s Michael. Let me in?”
    Ruby pressed the button to open the building door and stood by her door. Seconds later, a soft knock sounded. She opened it and Michael swept through the doorway, surprising her with a hard embrace. His arms wrapped tightly around her and she kept her hands up, away from his back. Under no circumstances would she return his damn hug.
    “I’m so glad you’re okay,” he whispered in her ear.  
    “What are you doing here? It’s two in the morning.”
    “As soon as I got your voicemail, I headed over. Did you have a ward on your door?” He still hadn’t let go.
    “Of course I did,” she hissed. She pushed against him and broke the hug. “I wanted you to know so the coven could be warned. You didn’t have to come all the way over here.”
    “I wanted to.”
    “Yes, because I’m sure Rebecca was thrilled to learn your destination.”
    Michael shrugged. “She doesn’t know I’m here.”
    Ruby had but a moment to stare at him, boggled, when a cough sounded behind them. Michael whirled to see both Detective Phillips and Cooper; Michael’s demeanor changed when he saw Cooper. His shoulders straightened as he pulled himself to his full height and entered into the living room with the two men.  
    “I didn’t realize you were still here,” he told Cooper.
    “I’m a new tenant now,” Cooper replied grimly. “I was just telling Phillips here I walked her upstairs to find the note on her table.”
    “Speaking of which, how did you know something was wrong before you opened your locked door?” Phillips asked Ruby.
    “Uh…” she shot a glance at Cooper. How did she plan on explaining how the soft glow of the protection spell she put on her place faded at the killer’s magic powers? She could see the look on Phillips’ face already.
    “A feeling, I guess,” she said weakly. “As soon as we opened the door, we noticed Aziza was missing; she likes to greet me when I first come in. Then Cooper found the note.”
    “And was anything taken? Have you noticed anything different about your items, their placement or any fingerprints?”
    “Nothing was taken as far as I can tell. There is a small scratch on my armoire,” Ruby said before she could stop herself. She didn’t want Phillips anywhere near her Wiccan materials.
    “Your armoire?” he repeated, writing it down on his notepad. “What do you keep in there?”
    “Jewelry,” she said automatically. “Nothing special, but there is a bracelet from my grandmother I keep locked up because I’m kind of weird about it.”
    “Mhm,”