“Okay, let’s do,” Mykal said.
It had gotten darker, dusk slipping into the deepening shadows of night. I followed alongside the gurney.
“Keys, Delaney.” Jame pressed his hand on my shoulder.
I dug in my pocket and tossed him my keys then crawled up into the back of the ambulance with her. I didn’t care if he drove my Jeep, or locked it for the night. I wasn’t leaving Jean.
“The witch…” Jean mumbled.
“Can wait.” I held her hand all the way to the hospital.
Chapter 6
The witch did not wait. We’d gotten Jean to the emergency room, and I’d been in the way enough, and yes, probably being scowly and pushy enough they’d finally stuck me in a corner out of the way where I could keep Jean in my line of vision.
A few minutes ticked by and then they were moving Jean to get X-rays.
“I’m going with her.”
“You can’t, Chief,” a nurse, Peggy, said. “We’ll be right down there in a room so small we have to synchronize our breathing to all fit in it at the same time.”
“I’m going.”
“’Sokay, Laney,” Jean said. “Be right back. I’m goo.”
She probably meant she was good, but goo might fit too.
She still was way too pale and in pain and it made me want to hit something. But she was being brave and rational, and the best thing I could do for her was to be brave and rational back.
“I’ll be right here.” I smiled. “Right here.”
They wheeled her down the hall and I clenched my fists.
“Drink this.” A cup was pressed into my clenched hand. I wrapped my fingers around it and looked into Jules’ smart black eyes.
Jules was a woman who took up space in the world and filled it with her color, her laughter, her body, her voice, her joy. She was old enough to be my grandmother, but still looked young enough to be my sister. Her hair was an unexceptional brown, long, and currently being used as a backdrop for the silk and ribbon flowers braided into it.
Her face was round with a very sharp chin, and I’d never seen her without lipstick. Today’s was lavender, and matched the lavender color she’d brushed through her eyebrows.
Her dress was layers of orange and yellows so bright, you could cook a frozen pizza with it.
“It’s tea. You need it. Drink.”
I lifted the cup and sniffed. Fragrant and probably her own mix, I caught vanilla, nutmeg and citrus. I sipped.
It was good. Warm.
It was also spiked.
I cleared my throat. “Rum? You know we’re in a hospital, right?”
“Pah. There’s less than a capful in there. Just enough to add heat to it. Along with the honey, it’s medicinal. She’s going to be just fine, Delaney, just fine.”
“Her arm is broken. Her ankle. She might have a concussion. The car didn’t even slow down. They sped up as they hit her. If Jame hadn’t yelled, if she hadn’t jumped….”
Jules produced a flask and unscrewed the top. “Need a little more heat?”
“No.” I swung the cup out of her reach. “And put that away. There are police around here. You know we have open container laws.”
