A Little Wicked (The Bewitching Hour Book #4)(28)

“You two were brought here by me and I can send you back,” she warned. “Now find her and bring her back to me in two pieces. Do you understand?”

The dogs had seemed distressed at first, but at her voice, they each sat down and stared back at her. Abruptly she let the dogs go and at that same second, the flames died. Derek’s eyes didn’t adjust fast enough to the dark, and it was as if someone threw a hood over his head.

All of a sudden, something slammed into his chest and he flew back before he landed hard on the ground behind him. It was only when he heard the thundering steps behind him that he realized one of the dogs had knocked him over. But if the dogs got out, that meant....

“Derek!” Sam’s hands ran over his forehead and then chest and he savored the feel.

“I’m okay,” he said, proving he was lying when he sat up and groaned.

“I’m okay too, if anyone cares,” said Parker.

He looked over to see Parker was also on her ass, a few feet away from them. She must’ve been knocked over by a dog too.

“Abigail....” he said.

“She’s gone. I saw you get knocked over and the next second, she wasn’t there. But we have a bigger problem.”

Of course they did. “What?”

“I think I know what she told the hellhounds to do. That was the same spot Heather was going to kill Claire. She used my magic and I’m one of Claire’s best friends.”

“They’re going to kill Claire.”

“No,” said Sam firmly. “Because we’re not going to let that happen.”

Parker wasn’t quite as sure. “So which of you has the number for the mystical animal control?”





Claire didn’t want to answer her phone. She was snuggled in her bed with Dante—fully clothed, of course—and had avoided hallucinating Jackson for about half a day, which was a record at this point. And if she opened her eyes to answer that stupid phone, this could all crash down around her.

“Are you going to get that?” Dante’s breath tickled her ear and caused her to squirm against him. Even through the thick fabric of his jeans, she could feel the bulge of his erection and she had to bite her lip to stop herself from turning in his arms.

She wanted to kiss him more than anything, but she was so worried about Jackson making another uninvited appearance. She let Dante think she was just tired and annoyed about earlier. Even though he obviously wanted more, he didn’t pressure her at all. Well, except for the fact that he was so damn pretty. But she could hardly blame him for that.

The phone rang again and Claire let out a sigh of defeat. “Fine,” she muttered as she leaned forward to grab the phone. It was Sam. “What?” she asked in a grumpier tone than she was going for.

“Get out!” screamed Sam so loud that Claire dropped the phone so it bounced off the mattress and fell onto the floor.

She and Dante both shot up and Claire had to scramble to bring the phone back to her ear. “What?”

“Abigail is sending some hellhounds after you. You need to run. Get out of there right now. Get moving.” Someone said something in the background, but Claire couldn’t understand it. “Angela thinks she knows somewhere for you to go. I’m going to message you the address, but get out of your apartment, okay?”

“Yeah. Leaving now.”

Claire hung up and turned to see Dante putting on his boots. “We’re leaving?” he asked.

“What do you know about hellhounds?”

He paused and looked at her. “What? Why?”

“Sam said Abigail is sending hellhounds after me.”

“Fuck.” He slammed his foot in the boot and jumped up without tying it. “Come on.”

“But I’m in my pajamas,” she said as he ushered her out of her bedroom. Claire just managed to snatch her tennis shoes as they left the apartment and scrambled down the stairs. Her feet were still bare as they reached the street and to where Dante had illegally parked his sports car in front of the building. Of course he would park wherever he wanted, she thought with a roll of her eyes as she got into the front seat.

“Angela sent us an address,” she said as Dante peeled away from the curb.

“There’s nowhere to hide,” he muttered as he swerved between cars.

“Should we just stay moving? They’re hounds, right? So they hunt by smell?”

“They smell magic. There’s no river you can cross that will hide you. And no magic I know of that is strong enough to stop them. Abigail shot the equivalent of a magical bazooka at you.” He cursed harder under his breath and his fingers drummed against the steering wheel.

It was so strange to see Dante scared. He was always so sure of himself and what he was doing. Well, his magic was so strong, she supposed he didn’t have much to be afraid of. But if these hellhounds had him literally running....

“Abigail is afraid of me,” said Claire, suddenly sure of at least that one thing.

“Huh?” Dante dodged another perfectly law-abiding citizen.

“If Abigail is throwing this kind of stuff at me, she’s afraid. Because I killed Jackson, that means I can kill her too, doesn’t it? This is a good thing.”

“Claire, I can’t—”

Her phone chirped again. “It’s a bank vault. Sam thinks we can hide out in there while she and Derek take care of the hounds.”