“I’ll do the tasing,” Mary Beth offered.
“Oh, now why should you get all the fun?” Butts said, taking the Taser from her hands.
Mary Beth clearly didn’t want him to do it. An odd look passed between her and Butts. Luca couldn’t help but feel the tension between them. Mary Beth was glaring daggers at Butts, who just smirked at her expression. Luca wondered… If he’d noticed it, did anyone else? Should he bring it up with her later? He didn’t want to overstep. He’d play it by ear. In the meantime, he braced himself for the tasing.
They’d set up a scenario where Luca played the role of someone resisting arrest. Luca was apprehensive, wondering if his phoenix abilities would keep him upright. Mary Beth and Butts played the roles of the arresting officers. Luca stood with his back to them. Mary Beth approached on one side and pulled Luca’s arm behind his back to cuff him. Luca pulled out of her grip and turned around. Mary Beth took a step back, and Butts fired the Taser into his side. Luca felt the jolt shock his entire body, and the next thing he knew, his knees were locked, and he toppled over like a tree.
“Move back. Give him some air.”
Luca heard Mary Beth’s panicked voice from a distance. He groaned and wondered if his phoenix abilities had saved him at all. It sure felt like he’d experienced the full effect.
Mary Beth was hovering over him on one side, her eyes filled with concern, and on the other side, Sergeant Butts was staring at him with what could only be raw hatred. Luca blinked to clear his vision, and Butts’s expression was now one of humor. He has the right name. He’s a pain in everyone’s butts.
“He’s just fine, Gulliver.” Butts gave her a smirk. “Don’t worry. I didn’t hurt your pet trainee—permanently.”
Mary Beth motioned for two of the students to help her lift Luca up onto his feet, then walk him slowly to a chair.
“You okay?” Mary Beth asked, her hand resting on his shoulder.
“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” He turned to the group of wide-eyed students and flashed them a grin and a thumbs-up sign. They broke into spontaneous applause.
Sharing a joke with the class, he said, “All in a ‘tase’ work, folks.”
Good-natured laughter followed as Luca rose and left the room with Mary Beth. He glanced over his shoulder on his way out, and his eyes met Butts’, who stood there with his arms crossed, looking like he’d just swallowed a glass of vinegar.
* * *
“Welcome. I’ve been expecting you.”
Dawn looked around to see where the voice was coming from, but she didn’t see anyone.
Then she felt a tug on her jacket and turned around. She saw a stunning woman who looked like she’d been in a movie at one time, but she couldn’t place her—and she was sitting in a wheelchair.
“Most people don’t know where to look,” the regal lady said.
“Are you Minerva?”
“I am indeed.”
“How did you know I was coming?” Dawn realized what a silly question that was.
Minerva smiled at her. She wore a robin’s-egg-blue-colored shift dress that would have made Jackie O proud.
“Let’s get down to business, shall we?” the older woman said with an accent Dawn was unsure of. Everything about this woman—or goddess—was unexpected.
Minerva turned and briskly rolled her way to the back of the store, with Dawn following.
As soon as they arrived at a door, which Minerva locked behind them, she rose from the wheelchair and walked. Her shiny black pumps made a tapping noise on the hardwood floor. Glancing over her shoulder, she said, “Are you coming?”
Dawn hurried after her. “You don’t need the wheelchair?”
“No. It’s just to see what my wounded veterans have to go through.”
“Oh.” She had no idea what she meant by her veterans, but she figured if she needed to know, it would be explained later.
When Minerva threw back a curtain, Dawn gasped at what she saw. She shouldn’t have been surprised though. Minerva was connected to Karma Cleaners, so it was no wonder that the back of her store resembled a serene woodland forest. Tall leafy green trees, lush grasses, myriad multicolored flowers. Dawn even heard birds chirping. Minerva led her down a cobblestoned path to a quaint cottage. Opening the door, she gestured for Dawn to follow.
Dawn gaped at how pretty the cottage was, from the floral-patterned wallpaper to the cobalt-blue glass vases filled with an abundance of colorful blooms.
