“Gross, you’re bleeding all over me,” the woman says, her hands flying up to cover her eyes.
“You’re the one who made me bleed!”
“I wouldn’t have had to if you had just let me go!”
“Olive, oh my god, are you okay?” Grayson is at my shoulder, his hands hovering close to my face. I nod, then instantly wish I hadn’t as the room swims before me.
“It’s just my nose.” I close my eyes for a moment, muttering the healing spell that will stop the bleeding and keep my nose from turning into a swollen marshmallow. It doesn’t help with the pain as much as I wish it would, but I can grit my teeth through that as long as the bleeding stops.
“I thought…” Grayson stops before finishing that thought. “You’re okay. That’s what matters.”
“I’m okay, too, if anyone cares,” the woman under me complains.
“Sorry. You’re not a super high priority at the moment.” I aim a restraining spell at her wrists, giving me some breathing room. “So what’s in the box?”
Grayson drags it closer so I can see. “It’s just paint. Red paint.”
This has to be a trick. Maybe a bomb disguised to look like a can of red paint? But the can has already been opened once and so it’s not super hard for me to pry the top off, not even while sitting on top of a woman who’s no longer fighting but is now bitching up a storm—about the blood, about how much I weigh, about how I need to let her upright now.
It’s literally just a can of paint.
“What the hell?” I ask, not sure whether I’m asking the woman or myself. “What were you planning on doing with the paint?”
The woman mumbles something.
“What?”
“I was going to throw it on the pig people,” she says. “We wanted to make a splash. So to speak. Can you let me up now?”
“No.” I stare down at the paint can. This woman really is just a vegan protestor. She’s not The Witch. And while she has plans to sabotage the show, she certainly isn’t planning on blowing the place up. It’s just a stunt.
“I really need to go.”
I consider calling the local police—the park is closed to the public after dark, so she’s definitely trespassing—but I don’t want to call too much attention to myself here. If the vegans aren’t the real threat, then it’s still out there.
“You can go in a second. Let me just—” I realize my mistake just as I feel the dampness seeping into my pants leg. “Wait. Did you justpee?”
“Itoldyou I had to go!”
“And so you just peed on me?” Technically, she didn’t peeonme, but the floor has enough of a slant that the liquid made a beeline for me, apparently.
“I’m 43 and I’ve had three kids,” she says, working herself into a sitting position using only her elbows. “My bladder is the size of a walnut, and you tackled me. What did you expect to happen?”
Well, not that.
I look helplessly at Grayson, who looks like maybe this has been the best night of his life.
“Do all your stakeouts end like this?” he asks.
CHAPTER 15
It’s far too early for me to be awake after a late night and a very, very long shower, but don’t let anyone say I’m not dedicated. Wayne is already waiting for me by Petunia’s pen, in which, I see with no small amount of resentment, my pig is snoozing comfortably.
Sure.Hegets to sleep in.
“Come on. I want to get some practice in the actual ring you’ll use tomorrow. Get any distractions out of the way now,” Wayne says.
I glance over at the one and only show ring, the same one we’ve been practicing in for the past few days. “The actual ring?”
