A Darker Past (The Darker Agency #2)(41)

Hell in a hailstorm.

“The witches,” I said, gasping. “That’s why he’s taking out the coven witches.”

…

I shadowed Lukas home, and then, like a good little girl, listened to her dad. And by listen, it was go home—as instructed—then shadow back to the hospital to be with Mom as soon as I knew he wasn’t looking.

It was almost midnight when I got back to her room, and everything was dark, the only light coming from the soft glow of a machine beeping in the corner. I took two steps in and lost it.

Seeing the strongest person I knew lying helpless and still in a bed surrounded by tweaking machines and so much white turned my stomach. I felt the exact moment the tears spilled over, silently, and from there, it was like an unstoppable waterfall. Messy, ugly sobs and oceans of snot.

Nothing like this had ever happened before. A mindblower, considering the trouble we got ourselves into on your average week, but there it was. This was the first time damage had been done that we’d needed to outsource to fix. Just thinking about the possibility that this could have ended worse made me cry even harder.

“Oh no,” Mom said softly. She shifted up a little in the bed. Of course. Leave it to her to know I was here. She patted the blanket. “Come here, baby girl.”

I obeyed, crossing the room with my eyes down, and climbed onto the bed, snuggling up next to her. She smelled wrong. Like bleach and medicine as opposed to lilacs and coffee. She wrapped an arm around me and kissed the top of my head. This was the definition of lame. She was hurt, and yet I was the one who needed comforting.

“I assume your father told you to go home.”

“I’m not leaving,” I said, gripping a fistful of the thin hospital blanket. If I’d thought about it, I would have brought her blue one with me from home. Soft and warm. Not scratchy and stale smelling like this one.

“I won’t make you,” she whispered. “Besides, I feel safer with you here, watching over me.”

I knew what she said was true. She did feel safer with me here—but not for the reason she gave. She felt safer because, like always, she was able to watch over me. But this was different. She was the one Gressil had tried to kill. And now that he knew his attempt had failed, how soon before he tried again?





Chapter Seventeen


The next morning, I shadowed home in time to drive back to the hospital with Dad, to pick Mom up. When I asked him why he didn’t just shadow her home, he said she deserved a little normal, so that’s what he was giving her.

We wove through the crowded hallway and rounded the corner. She was dressed and waiting, sitting on the edge of her bed when we arrived.

She put her arm around my shoulders and winked at the nurse who was taking her blood pressure. “I’d love to say I’m sorry to leave, but…”

The nurse handed her a pile of papers to sign. “You should be,” she said with a sad smile. “The doctor thinks this is a mistake. You should really stay another night for observation. You’re a very lucky woman, Mrs. Darker.”

Mom nodded. “Noted. However, I think I’ll take it easy from the comfort of my own home.”

With a final nod, she disappeared into the hall, and a moment later, came back with a wheelchair.

“Damn right,” Dad said. “You’ll be relaxing for the next few days.” When Mom was finished signing, he helped her up and into the chair. The nurse pushed the chair into motion. They stepped out into the hall, and I followed. One quick stop at the nurses’ station to drop off the paperwork, and we were on our way.

“Lukas is watching the phones at the agency, and any major calls that come in will be put off until next week,” I said. “The rest we’ve got covered.”

Mom started to argue as we got to the entrance. I knew that look, but Dad gently clamped a hand down over her mouth as the wheelchair came to a stop just outside the main entrance. “Don’t make me tie you up, Klaire.”

A blush rose in the nurse’s cheeks as she helped Mom up. With a smile and a wave, she quickly disappeared back inside the building.

Mom flashed Dad a wicked grin, and I covered my ears. “Ugh. You guys scared the nurse off. Lalalalala. Not listening.”

A light smack at the back of my shoulder and a roll of her eyes. “Mind out of the gutter. Now.”

It was snowing again, but it didn’t seem to be sticking. The cars in the lot were just barely covered, and the blacktop was wet. People bustled back and forth, slipping in the slush and hurrying in from the cold.

“Hey.” I threw up my hand as Dad opened the passenger’s side doors. We’d parked right outside, in the pick-up area. “You two were the ones talking bondage. I’m way too young for that kind of thing.”

Mom sighed and gingerly eased herself into the car. “Where are we with the demon?”

I swallowed. While we didn’t want to impose any unnecessary stress, she had a right to know the score. “That whole thing is…complicated.”

She twisted in her seat and pinned me with the Mom stare. “Define complicated. What did you do?”

I feigned insult. “Why do you always assume I’ve done something?”

Her eyebrows rose.

“Okay, never mind. But, no, I didn’t do anything. We do have a serious problem, though.”