Witches for Hire (Odd Jobs #1)(26)

Clive gritted his teeth. “No, but I did stop a possible werewolf war.”

“What else have you done?” Mia pressed.

Their stubbornness was too much to take, so Clive stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. “What point are you two trying to make?”

“We seek out the most dangerous jobs we can find, and another knight on our team wouldn’t hurt,” Mia said as she drew up beside Clive.

Raj nodded as he finished off the remaining ball of ice cream. “And an Amazon.”

Clive looked at the night sky and shook his head. “I’m fine with running my own business, and I’m going to enjoy cutting into your profits just for being asses.”

Raj lay his hand on Clive’s shoulder. “I know we’re being pushy, but these paltry jobs aren’t like you. You always liked throwing yourself into the thick of things.”

And into a bed I shouldn’t have. “That didn’t work out so well for me,” Clive said out loud. “I know I’m not creating a ruckus like you two did when you first arrived, but I need slow right now. Besides, I’m not completely resting on my heels.”

“How far have you gotten checking out Levi’s death?” Mia asked.

“Not as far as I’d like.”

“If you hear anything else, we aren’t opposed if you share it,” Raj said.

Clive smiled. “You used to be subtler than that. What third party has an interest?” This felt like old times in their old world, when all three of them served different leaders.

Mia held up her finger and tsked him. “I suspect you’ll find out soon, but it’s not our place to tell you. Would you consider sharing if we told you that Levi used to keep notebooks about his work progress?”

“How does that help me?”

“You have two employees who knew his habits. You’re in a better position to question them than we are.” Raj cleared his throat. “If a third party was interested in that.”

“I’ll remember you two if you don’t poach Edarra,” Clive promised.

“Fair enough,” Mia said. “You did come out here, after all.”

Clive shuddered. “Against my better judgment.” Simone was too tight-lipped, and Jeremy did have a penchant for lying. How could he question them without alarming them? “How did you approach your employees’ problems when you first started?”

Mia coughed. “There was a lot of trial and error.”

“In a fair world, it would have been caught on camera phone,” Raj said.

“Everything turned out all right in the end?” Clive asked.

“By the skin of our teeth, and there might have been a few fistfights along the way.”

“But no swords?”

Raj scratched the back of his neck. “Maybe a club or two.”

“Luckily it never got bad enough that blood was drawn.” Mia shrugged. “Follow your instincts, and you’ll do well.”





Chapter 9


FUCK. MAGIC radiated painfully across Jeremy’s temple and into his face, where his nostrils felt swollen. It was like a live wire under his skin. The pain could disappear with one phone call. It had been four months since the last time he gave in, and if he kept telling himself no, he could make it through one more night. He cradled his hands to his chest in bed and tried not to look at the phone. It pissed him off how mistakes from almost eight years ago still strangled his life. “I can do this,” Jeremy whispered and wished his voice didn’t tremble. He pushed in the number for work.

It rang and Simone answered. “Why aren’t you in yet?”

“Feeling under the weather.”

“Ah, that time of the year. What lie are you going to use this time?”

Jeremy heard the creak of her chair leaning back. “I ran over a dog, and I’m inconsolable.”

“I forgot how depressing you can be during your little fugues. Anything else?”

“No.” Jeremy ended the call and stretched out on his back. If he found a quick lay, he would be fine. He scrubbed his hands down his face. Why can’t it be as easy for me as it is for him?




NUMEROUS BOTTLES lay on his bed after hours of desperately mixing potions for some relief, and Jeremy could finally stand. The taste in his mouth was horribly bitter, but another concoction with a touch of mint would fix that. Now that he was up, he didn’t want to go in to work and have Simone staring at him with a witch’s curiosity, trying to diagnose what ailed him. He placed a ragged pair of shoes on the floor near his feet and a clean pair next to them. The first pair represented Jeremy doing something really stupid, and the second pair was the smart choice that wouldn’t put him back on a murderer’s radar. Jeremy reached for the new shoes but stopped a fraction of an inch from them as a shy smile that was now a blur flowed into his memories like a stray cat following him home. He grabbed the older pair. “I’m a buffoon.” Soon a long, worn coat and pants joined his ensemble. Dressed for anonymity and the gray chilly weather, Jeremy walked out of his flat to do a very stupid thing.




IT DIDN’T take long to retrace his steps and find his way to the Kitty Purr. When Jeremy went inside, he was greeted by the cashier performing a quick drumbeat on the glass counter as if customers wanted musical accompaniment while they shopped.