The woman stared up at me. “You look just like your father, and you have his righteous anger.”
“Are you kidding me? Unlike William, Doc is one of the calmest, slow-to-anger men I know. Don’t act like you know him. You don’t.”
She held up a shaking hand. “You’re right.” She tracked Chavvah, who had gotten up from her chair and headed out to join her husband. Jo Jo had taken a position behind me. “Why is he here?”
“Because a psychic told him he had to come,” I said seriously. “We had no idea the path would lead to you. Hell, until a minute ago, you were a ghost.”
She scratched her neck. “I saw you, but not him.” The him was Billy Bob. Seeing her son had thrown her almost as much as it had thrown him. “How could I be so wrong?”
“Unlike you, he showed up for me. He wanted to protect his child,” I seethed. Gods be damned, I wanted to punch her in the face. How did a mother fake her own death and leave her son behind with William Smith? I took a deep, calming breath and tried to sound civil. I failed. “How could you save yourself and not him? What kind of selfish monster are you?”
Her dark amber eyes narrowed to slits as she peered up at me. They were also filled with tears. “I made the only choice I could at the time.”
“Your tears are wasted on me.” I struck the table with my palm as rage bubbled in my gut until I saw red. I bent down and got in her face. I fought down irrational, homicidal impulses. Then, like the calm before a tornado, I said, “I didn’t think it was possible, but you’re even more of a monster than William.”
“Etta?” Jo Jo cautioned. “I think you need to take a breath.”
I whipped my head around to glare at him. “Stay out of this.”
He pointed toward Bette. “I wish I could, but….”
I turned back to the woman. Knives and forks were floating up from the table, swirling around her head. A sensation of static electricity ran over my hands and forearms. When I wiggled my fingers, the silverware danced. “What the hell is happening?”
He shook his head. “Whatever’s going on, I think the moment calls for a healthy pause.”
Bette’s husband, Henry, walked out of the kitchen.
“Be a love and make four Hungry Like the Wolves meals,” she told him. “Make them to go.”
The man didn’t even blink at the flying silverware as he turned on his heel and went back to the kitchen.
“We’re not here to fight,” Jo Jo raised his hands up, trying to calm the situation. “We just want to talk. William is after Etta, and the only way forward is with you.”
I glared at Bette. “Screw this.” I shook my hands and made a hard downward motion. The forks and butter knives scattered over the table and the floor. “I don’t need her help.”
“Wait,” Bette implored. “As much as I see your father in you, I also see myself. Give yourself some time to calm down. If you want to survive your birthday, come see me tonight. I’ll tell you who and what you really are.” She rubbed her hands together, then stretched them apart far enough for me to see a soft golden glow. It reminded me of the way my skin had glowed when I had hovered above my body. “William is coming for you, and he means to harness your essence for his own.”
I glared at her and then crossed my arms over my chest. “How did you know when my birthday is?”
Her lips curled into a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Because it’s my birthday, too.”
CHAPTERNINE
Jo Jo – just call me sassy pants.
As mad as Etta was at Bette, I was grateful she hadn’t made us leave empty-handed. We got back to the cabin with the four sacks of burgers and fries ahead of Chav and Doc. I set the haul on the table and grimaced at the broken chair.
I could still feel Etta’s power. She’d somehow made the silverware fly around Bette’s head. The intensity of her anger and the way her magic had reacted scared me. Not because I thought Etta would hurt me. I worried she’d hurt herself.
I could tell it had frightened her as well. I wrapped my arms around her from behind and set my chin on top of her head. “Rough day.”
“Rough life,” she amended. “How in the world does one family get so screwed up?”
“Only one way to find out.” And that way involved giving Bette a listen. The woman obviously knew what was happening to Etta.
I pulled the chair out for her, and she sat down. Next, I grabbed some plates from the cabinet next to the sink and set the table.
“Look,” I told Etta, taking the seat next to her. “I’ll back whatever move you want to make.” I handed her a paper towel. “I’m with you. Thick or thin. Come what may. Through rain, sleet, and snow.”
