Chapter 2 pulls Dean into Jaz’s world for a change, and it’s a welcome shift in point of view for the series. Coming home to find his wife’s SUV already in the garage, Dean heads up to Errington Security’s armory to find Jaz and her second in command, Jonas Storm, in the middle of an unsettling discovery: two pistols have gone missing, and the sign-in log points to a private passcode only Dean and Jaz are supposed to know.

It’s a tight, well-built mystery beat that does real worldbuilding work, giving readers a fuller look at Errington Security’s operations, from vehicle weapon lockboxes to the kind of magically and conventionally powerful arsenal Jaz’s teams carry on protective details. The false accusation against Dean is resolved quickly and without melodrama, but the underlying problem, an apparent security breach inside a building Jaz calls a fortress, lingers uncomfortably. The timeline even ties back to the werepanther kidnapping referenced from earlier in the series, adding a layer of unease to what should be routine inventory paperwork.

Underneath the mystery is a quieter, warmer thread: this is one of the first real evenings Dean and Jaz have had together since their honeymoon, and the chapter lets that domesticity breathe, from crab cake cravings to an easy, affectionate back-and-forth about who forgot to bring dinner home for whom. It’s a chapter that balances a genuine puzzle with a portrait of a newlywed couple settling into married life between crises, and it ends on the hopeful, slightly ominous note that this breach is probably nothing serious. Longtime readers will know better than to trust that feeling.

📖 Start Dean’s next case — get The Paramedic’s Sorceress on Jamie Davis’s site:

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The Paramedic’s Sorceress — Chapter 2

Dean pulled into the underground garage below the Errington security building and stopped before reaching his parking space. His wife’s black SUV sat parked in her slot next to his. He hadn’t known she was back yet. She usually texted him. Pulling into his assigned spot, Dean checked his phone again to see if he’d missed a message about her return. He had not.

Grabbing his gear and backpack, Dean climbed out of his truck and headed inside the building. The guard greeted him from behind the desk just inside.

“Hey, Jed, when did she get back?”

“A few hours ago, sir. Something came up here and she had to leave her meeting early.”

“Anything serious?”

“I think she should tell you herself, sir. She’s on the second floor in the armory.”

Dean nodded, puzzled by the guard’s response. He had a pretty good rapport with the Errington security team members. It wasn’t just that he was the boss’s husband. He and various employees talked about things going on in the world all the time. It was odd for Jed not to tell him what was happening.

Getting on the elevator, Dean rode to the second floor. He’d only been to the building’s armory on a few occasions, like when they set out to fight off the pending apocalypse the previous year. Errington security teams carried a variety of weapons in their assignments as members of corporate protective details. This was in addition to their other hidden work fighting demons and rogue Unusuals all over the world. It had impressed Dean with the weaponry inside. He’d seen it all when Jaz gave him a tour after the building first opened. In his work as a paramedic, it wasn’t a place he needed to worry about.

Dean spotted Jaz as soon as he exited the elevator. She stood outside the armory’s reinforced steel door. She looked up when he approached but didn’t return his smile. He decided that couldn’t be good.

Dean approached and gave a brief hug to his wife. She returned it but pulled away quickly. He knew she didn’t like public displays of affection in front of her subordinates. Dean glanced into the open armory. “What’s going on, Hon? You didn’t tell me you were back. I was surprised to see your truck downstairs.”

“Dean, there’s been a situation. Some of the guys were doing a regular inventory of supplies today. It’s something they do every month. They found some pistols and ammunition missing from the armory, so they went back and did an audit of everyone who signed in using a passcode to check out weapons and gear.”

“So?” Dean asked. “Someone forgot to check their pistols back in. You guys have weapons stored in the lockboxes inside all the vehicles. They’re probably in there.”

Jonas Storm, Jaz’s second in command, shook his head. “We thought about that. We’ve checked all the vehicle inventories. Nothing is out of place, and there are no extra pistols in any of the lockboxes. We returned here to see who’s been in the armory and came up with a bit of an anomaly, sir.”

When he finished talking, Jonas turned and glanced at Jaz with his eyebrow raised in question.

Dean looked back-and-forth between Jonas and his wife. What were they getting at? “What’s going on? I get the feeling there’s something you’re not telling me.”

“Dean, it’s just that when we checked into who signed in to retrieve the weapons, we came across someone who used the private family code that only you and I share.”

“Oh,” Dean said with a smile. “So, you’re the one who lost the pistols.”

“Of course not. I don’t lose pistols. They’re too important and shouldn’t be left lying around. However, that leaves you.”

“Me?” Dean raised his hands to his chest, palm outward. “Wait a minute. You know how I feel about guns. I haven’t even been in this room since our big fight last year. You logged us in then. I honestly don’t even remember what the code is.”

Jonas sighed. “I figured as much. Sorry to suspect you about this, Dean. But we had to check.” He glanced at Jaz. “You know what this means, don’t you, ma’am?”

“It means we have a security breach. I want a complete sweep done of the interior of the armory, especially the locked bins where those two pistols sat. Every weapon requires a separate code to release it from the lock box. I want to know how they got past that. See if we can get a DNA swab or something to identify the person involved. And review the interior camera recordings. Let’s figure out exactly when they went missing.”

“It has to of been sometime within the last two months. That’s when the code was entered.” Jonas held up a tablet and scrolled through some information before continuing. “It says here that was entered into the system about a week before the vampire and the werepanthers kidnapped you.”

Jaz shook her head. “I know that’s a long time and many people have been in there since, but let’s do the swabs and check for DNA residue anyway. We pay that lab a lot of money to be available at a moment’s notice. Let’s put them to work for a change.”

Jonas nodded, tapping at his tablet as he walked away. Dean waited until Jonas had entered the elevator before turning back to his wife.

“Hon, I swear I have nothing to do with this.”

She reached out with her arm and pulled him close, her hand snaking around his waist. “I know that. We’ll sort this out. Now give me a kiss. It’s been a long day.”

Dean leaned down towards her, enjoying the quiet moment with his wife. They’d had very few of those since their brief honeymoon a few months ago. It would be nice if this problem kept her around home for a change.

Following that line of thought, Dean asked, “I don’t suppose you’re able to stick around for a few days? Is that conference canceled or do you have to go back tomorrow?”

“I’m staying close until we get to the bottom of this. We need to find out where the security breach happened. That code should’ve been known only to you and me. I entered it into the system myself, and it’s not like someone could’ve hacked in there to get it. That system isn’t connected to the outside world. In order to hack it, someone would have had to come into the building.”

“Well, that makes it easy,” Dean said. “The camera footage will reveal everything.”

“But it’ll take time. What if the breach happens again? It’s just strange. There are so many other kinds of weapons in there someone could’ve grabbed. Some of them are quite powerful, both magically and conventionally. But all they took were a pair of Glocks just like the ones I use.”

Dean smiled. “I don’t suppose you have an evil twin you haven’t told me about, do you?”

Jazz gave him a playful punch in the shoulder. “In your dreams, husband of mine. Come on. Let’s go upstairs and get something to eat.”

“I had something at the station, but I’d be happy to sit down with you while you eat your dinner.”

“Oh, what did Freddy make tonight?”

“Crab cakes.”

“Ugh, my favorite. Why didn’t you bring me any?”

“I didn’t expect you home in time for dinner. Let me call the station and see if he has any extras. If you want, I can go get one for you.”

“No, don’t do that. Knowing Freddy, he’ll go to all the trouble of making a fresh batch, and I don’t want to make him do that. Just remember next time to bring me home one, even if I’m not in town. It can live in the freezer until I get back.”

“That’s a deal. Come on. Let’s go upstairs.”

The two of them headed to the elevator to ride up to the top floor. Having Jaz home early was a pleasant surprise that Dean intended to take advantage of. It would be nice to settle in together for the evening. He could put something on the TV for the two of them to watch and just have an ordinary night at home. This whole breach was probably nothing serious. The building was a fortress, and Dean suspected the whole thing was a mistake.

📖 Loved Chapter 2? Keep going — get The Paramedic’s Sorceress on Jamie Davis’s site:

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