Witches for Hire (Odd Jobs #1)(49)
“Bastard,” Jeremy muttered and fell asleep after being drained of so much magic.
Chapter 14
JEREMY OPENED his eyes to Desmond walking toward him with a towel around his waist. A hand cracked against his thigh.
“Hurry and shower.”
He rolled to his side, dangling over the edge of the chaise before sighing and sitting up. “No rest for the liars.”
“Your terms,” Desmond said as he threw Jeremy’s clothes at his chest. “I have an illusion on you and your car. As far as anyone is concerned, you’ve been screwing around the city and stopped for a lunch break. There’s food waiting on your dash, so you’ll smell like it too.”
“This is all carefully thought out, like you already planned on fucking me.”
“When do I not think about fucking you?”
“Never mind.” Jeremy sat up. “Do you have sage and chamomile in the bathroom?”
“Everything’s already set up for a cleansing spell. If that werewolf of Simone’s drops by your office, he won’t get a whiff of me on you.”
Jeremy sighed. This wouldn’t have happened if I wasn’t working for that stupid knight. He stood and stretched. “You and your hair better make an appearance tomorrow.”
Desmond gathered Jeremy in his arms and kissed him. “Like I said, when you’re sweet, you’ll get anything you want.”
“Stop putting more scent on me.”
Desmond licked Jeremy’s ear and let him go. “As you wish, love.”
“Um, where’s the bathroom?”
Desmond pointed to a wall behind a table and lamp. The table slid forward without jarring its decoration, and a door appeared. “This room has multiple entrances, so I use it for delicate meetings.”
“Most of the pictures I see in the magazines of your little trysts are of your bedroom.”
“What’s your interest in it?”
“Sorry for wasting your time,” Jeremy said as he hurriedly walked to the door, so he wouldn’t make a greater fool of himself.
“Second room on the right.”
Jeremy nodded and opened the door to an impressive hallway sporting marble all down the walls. Why can’t I keep my mouth shut? he thought as he closed the door behind him.
FLOODLIGHTS FILLED the parking lot with enough light to guide a normal human down the empty winding road for a ways. Edarra walked with Gulley’s body in a medical bag over her shoulder to her open trunk. She dumped him inside and covered him with a blanket.
“You are a shitty negotiator, Jeremy,” Simone said as she watched him sit in the passenger seat.
“As if we have anything valuable enough to entice Desmond to the Great Mother’s base.” Jeremy closed his door and adjusted Edarra’s radio to late-night club music.
“Yeah, and now its security is our job.”
The pulsing noise vibrated Edarra’s eardrums painfully. Why must humans listen to such loud noise? “Whatever happens, happens.” She straightened her coat lined with thin metal plates. There was little chance that she needed armor, but Clive was adamant about splurging, no matter how strong she was.
“Call if there’s trouble,” Clive said. With a staff at his side, Edarra thought he was as impressive as the lady knight. As polite and thoughtful as he was, Edarra couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like battling him. In her old world, it was a rite of passage to face wizards or witches to test an Amazon’s strength against magic. It was another thing she might never experience because of her decision to leave. Edarra shook her shoulders and closed the trunk. This is not the time for that. Edarra nodded at Simone. “Anything happens, you guys keep going.”
“If attackers do come, and any of them look like they’re gonna get away, make sure you steal us some blood and flesh,” Simone called out from her window.
Edarra waved good-bye. Mages are a strange lot. She glanced at the back, where seats blocked her view of the body. Let’s get this show on the road. Edarra started the car and drove off at a slow speed while the second car went in a different direction with a dummy in their trunk. On the road, she constantly checked her rearview mirror, but nothing suspicious appeared. Maybe it will be a quiet night, and these preparations were for nothing. Jeremy must have noticed the grimace on her face because he switched the radio to palatable Christmas songs, which seemed to be playing earlier in November than she remembered from last year. Sarah McLachlan cooing “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” relaxed her knuckles. It was one of her favorites because of the sorrowful voice contradicting the lyrics’ well-wishing sentiment. She had first heard it roaming down a sidewalk while looking into the brightly decorated windows of closed shops on Christmas Day after passing her Orientation tests. Since some in her group had family to greet them when they left mandatory isolation, getting the test results right before the holiday was a chance for them to spend it with loved ones. To Edarra, the empty streets only exacerbated her loneliness. Something swung into her peripheral vision high up in the trees behind her. “Clive?”
“Any trouble?” The knight’s voice stole away the lovely song as his name invoked the magical connection to his Bluetooth.
“Looks like it. Do you mind not doubling back yet? I have some aggression I want to release.”