“Wait. Wait. Jean!” She trotted closer to Jean. “Surely, I can stay indoors when no one’s around. I won’t need much more than a king-size bed, full bathroom, spa, sauna, and three servants. What? Fine.Neigh, neigh, I will also require room service, neigh.”
Jean stuck her head in the door. “Hey, Hoges. Can I have a minute?”
She waved me off with one hand without even looking over at me.
With her choppy laugh and Hogan’s ridiculous giggle filling the air, I knew they were going to do just fine with our little problem demon.
I got behind the wheel and started the Jeep.
“This is so much better now that we’re alone.”
The voice was behind me. Right behind me. So close I should be able to feel the puff of each syllable on the back of my neck.
My breath hitched. I was frozen, staring straight ahead, hands clenched around the steering wheel, the world fogged at the edges, unnaturally still.
“It was difficult with her so close to you. I’ve been looking for her for a long time. Did you know that?” The voice sounded different, almost hungry or fond, though neither of those were quite right.
Longing was closer. Lonely.
I didn’t know how to process that.
“I suppose you couldn’t know. I’d had one glimpse, so brief all those months ago, and I knew. I knew how I could finally get to her, reach her. After all these years.”
My pulse hammered, sweat pricked at my hairline. How could I be sweating when I was so cold, frigid, arctic?
“Did you know I was looking for her?”
Words had power. My words had power. If I asked who he was talking about, if I guessed it was Jean he’d been trying to find, he’d have something.
Ownership. Leverage.
Power over me, or over my sister.
“Such muscular silence.” A strange thread of laughter stitched through his words. “Well, that will change soon. The last piece. Find it. Then the spell will be complete. Enjoy yourself until then.” He leaned forward, close, closer, until I felt the shivery brush of lips against my skin. “I do mean that, Delaney Reed. Because soon, you will be begging for your freedom.”
A horn blared out on the street as someone waited a second too long before gassing it through the green light.
I blinked and blinked, trying to remember what I’d been doing. Sweat trickled down my temple, prickled across the top of my lip, my breathing was hard, like I’d just been running. Like I’d just been crying.
Hadn’t I just left Jean laughing with Hogan? Hadn’t I just gotten into the Jeep? I turned and inspected the interior of the car. Nothing. No one to startle me. Just that horn.
The Jeep was still in park, the dragon pig sleeping on its back in the passenger seat, stubby legs stuck straight up. I peeled my fingers off the steering wheel, my knuckles aching and stiff.
I pushed back out into the open air and sucked down big lungfuls of fresh, salty air buttered and sweetened by the bakery.
Jean and Hogan were leading Xtelle around the other side of the shop where I’m sure they were going to stuff her into one of their vehicles.
I’d just lost a second or two. That was all.
“You’re working too hard, Delaney,” I muttered to myself. “Jean said a day off would be good. She’s right. Tonight is all about sitting at home and having a nice dinner with Ryder.”
I leaned against the Jeep, pulled out my phone and hit the icon. The call dumped into Ryder’s voice mail.
“Hey,” I said after the recording. “How about you and I take the evening off? Jean said she’ll pull my shift. I’ll order in or make something. I mean, cook. Cook dinner. Or we can get take out. Either’s good. Um… Call. Let me know.”
I thought about saying more. Telling him I missed him, asking if he was all right, or if he was hiding something.
But I’d rather ask those things when I could see his face.
