A Little Wicked (The Bewitching Hour Book #4)(20)

“After Derek shot her in the head and that did nothing, he sprayed her with pepper spray. It didn’t faze her for long, but it was enough for us to get away.”

Claudia tilted her head and for a second Sam thought she saw approval. “That was smart.”

Sam tended to agree, but she was too confused by Claudia’s reaction. “Yeah, it makes total sense that she can survive lead through her brain, but the second her eyes get burned she acts like the Wicked Witch of the West in a downpour,” she said sarcastically.

Claudia pursed her lips. “Never underestimate a good surprise, Samantha.”

Sam wondered how much history went into that simple sentence. How much had Claudia seen in her long life? What secrets was she hiding right now that could help them get her mother back? But when Sam remembered how Claudia had dealt with Heather when there was the possibility of her allowing the darkness in, Sam had a sinking feeling she’d never see her mother again. The crushing realization had her reeling, but she made sure it didn’t show on her face. Even though Claudia was her grandmother, she couldn’t count on her for comfort or a shoulder to cry on. Sam looked at the ground and managed, “Claire wanted to ask you something.”

Thankfully, everyone’s attention turned to Claire, and Sam could rub at her eyes and recover from her lapse.

“Ummm,” said Claire awkwardly. She didn’t have the benefit of being related to Claudia, and she wasn’t as used to dealing with the intimidating woman. Sam managed to look up and give her a comforting smile, encouraging her to continue. “I’ve been seeing Jackson.”

Claudia raised a brow and didn’t say anything.

“The first time I saw him was when I was distracted at work. I don’t even know if I was sleeping, but the dream was so real. It was like he was actually there. And then when I was fully awake, I suddenly thought my boyfriend was Jackson, and I almost punched him in the face. Then Angela was attacked by something in her apartment. She never saw his face, but since her and Jackson don’t have the best history, it would make sense that he would want to strangle her with an extension cord. So I think Jackson is haunting me.”

Claudia was silent for a moment as though contemplating what Claire had said. Then she confidently declared, “You’re wrong.”

Claire blinked a few times. Even Sam was surprised by the utter shutdown, and Sam knew there was no such thing as ghosts.

“I’m not imagining this,” insisted Claire.

“Maybe not,” said Claudia. “But there’s no such thing as ghosts. What do you think would cause a soul to remain trapped in a non-corporeal form on this plane?”

Claire frowned, obviously not expecting the question to be turned on her. “I don’t know. Unfinished business?”

“Unfinished business, revenge, violent deaths.... What percentage of witches do you think die peaceful deaths?”

Claire just nodded as the realization dawned on her.

“If there were such things as ghosts,” continued Claudia, “the world would be overrun. If it were possible to bring the dead back easily, no witch would ever stay down for long. This is unfortunate, but it is logical. Death needs to remain final. Otherwise the consequences could be dire.”

Sam decided to play devil’s advocate for a moment. “Do the normal rules of the game matter when dark magic is involved?”

Claudia turned to Sam. “Of course there are rules. Just different rules. But I have a question for both of you. If something attacked this other detective, why isn’t she dead?”

Sam was quiet because she knew Claudia wasn’t expecting an actual answer.

“If some powerful witch ghost was after Detective Parker, why couldn’t they kill her?”

“They were interrupted,” offered Sam.

“It only takes a split second to kill, Samantha. The darkness knows this more than anyone. If Detective Parker really was attacked, they weren’t trying to kill her. They were trying to scare her. And that might be the most important thing to take away from this.”





Derek set the foam cup down on Parker’s desk. “Here you go.”

Parker smiled up at him and immediately took a few deep gulps of the coffee, not making any sign that it was too hot for her.

“I’m guessing you didn’t get a lot of sleep last night?” He could only imagine that sleep wouldn’t come easy after she’d lived through the literal stuff of nightmares.

She shrugged. “I must’ve dozed off at some point.”

He knew exactly what she meant. The nights where on some level he knew he’d slept but it felt as though his body hadn’t gotten a wink of rest. He didn’t envy her. “Was Dante’s place okay? I know it’s a nice area, but I’ve never been there so I had to hope it isn’t a hoarder site or anything.”

She let out a genuine laugh. “It was nice. A lot nicer than my place, that’s for sure. Did you know he lives with two girls? His girlfriend doesn’t seem to care though.”

“From what I got, Dante has a way with the ladies.” He knew exactly what the living situation was because he’d done a full background check on the guy after Claire had gotten involved with him.

Claire was a strange friend. She and Sam were friends, but because she was so much younger than him and thanks to the circumstances he’d met her in, he couldn’t help the protective streak that he had toward her.