A Little Wicked (The Bewitching Hour Book #4)(51)

“How do we make sure Abigail doesn’t keep the body?” asked Angela, the only one of them who remained calm at the moment.

“We have no idea what’s going to happen,” said Dante bitterly. “We just have to hope.”

“We’re playing it by ear,” said Sam, ignoring Dante’s bites. “Let’s go.”

Sam reached for Claire, but Dante stood with her in his arms before she could even offer to help.

She bit the inside of her cheek and worked on opening doors for him as they went down to the street where Angela’s Charger was waiting. Dante got into the back with Claire, and Sam got into the front so she could direct Angela.

While they were driving, Sam tried Claudia’s phone once more, but, like the other hundred times she called, there was no answer. “Derek....” She said his name out loud as she closed her eyes and pictured him in her mind.

She imagined he was the one driving the car. She would reach over and set her hand on his thigh and he’d take a hand off the wheel to intertwine his fingers with hers. His hand would be warm and strong and pulsing with life. She opened her eyes, confronted with her cold reality.

Damn it. This was going to work. This had to work. She’d never seen anything as powerful as this darkness. It even had Claudia running scared. If anyone could bring Derek back, it would be Abigail.

The sun was rising higher between the buildings, the ticking clock on the potion she’d given Claire. It only took a few minutes for them to get to the building Abigail had taken over.

“Stop right in front of the entrance.” Sam leaned forward, not sure what to expect once they got there.

It was illegal to park in front, but Angela didn’t mention that as she did as Sam said. “What now?” Angela brought the car to a stop.

“Stay here.” Sam got out of the car.

There were two witches out front, but Sam didn’t say anything to them. She just stood outside of the car and waited for someone to come to her. She didn’t want to leave Claire alone. She didn’t want to lose sight of her vulnerable friend.

But she didn’t need to leave. A few minutes later, the two witches moved to open the double doors and Abigail came out.

Sam clenched her hands into fists and tried to keep herself from calling her fire. She didn’t want Abigail to be on guard. She needed her, at least for the moment.

“Did you bring me what I wanted?” She stopped about six feet away from Sam.

There were no pedestrians on the sidewalk. Even though this part of Manhattan was bustling this time of the morning, there must have been some sort of magic that kept the civilians away.

It was another reminder of how powerful Abigail and her minions were now. Sam stayed right where she was and, her jaw tight, she met Abigail’s eyes. “You’re going to bring Derek back?”

“Would your mother lie to you?”

She ignored the barb. “That’s not an answer.”

“I want to get Derek away from Claudia more than you realize,” said Abigail. “I’m on your side.”

Sam managed to hide her shock. Dante had mentioned that the darkness had plans for Derek, but hearing Abigail say it out loud gave Sam pause. Derek was human. She’d met his perfectly normal mother and perfectly normal father. There was nothing remotely supernatural about him.

So what could Abigail possibly want with him? Didn’t matter. All of that would be tomorrow’s problem. Today, there was only one thing on her mind. “How do I get him back?”

“You bring him to me and I’ll call him back.”

She bit back a curse. “I don’t know where he is! Claudia is keeping him from me.”

Abigail frowned. “Then we’re too late.” She looked up and the sun shone on her face. “It’s time to end this.” She closed her eyes and bent her head down, making a low-pitched, almost humming sound. Sam looked around them, trying to figure out what the hell she was doing, but there didn’t seem to be any change in the atmosphere.

But it was becoming apparent that Abigail wasn’t going to do a damn thing for her. She took a step back, and a second later, the doors to the building opened and a stream of people—witches, because everyone Sam recognized came from a magical background—poured onto the street and one by one got into nearby cars. They couldn’t be their own cars, because they were jamming however many people would fit into each car. Abigail was sending her army out for something....

She turned and ran back to the car. “Go!” she said. “Follow them.” She pointed to the cars taking off. When she turned back, Abigail still stood there, chanting; black ooze came from her eyes and ears. There was a lot of dark magic going into whatever was happening, and that terrified Sam.

“What happened?”

“I... I don’t know. She said we were too late. But she didn’t even ask to see Claire. I don’t get it.”

“Or she found something more important than Claire,” said Dante. “If she’s sending an army out, that means she’s scared. If Claire’s with us, what scared her?”

“It has to be Claudia,” said Sam. “If we follow them, they’ll lead us there, but it will be hard to help from behind.”

“Ummm.” Angela took a fast turn to keep on the tail of the sedan they were following. “I might know where they are.”