Witches for Hire (Odd Jobs #1)(59)
“Sorry, but there was no choice,” Dennis said, his eyes holding no trace of yellow, which Clive hadn’t thought possible in a were’s changed state. “Outside interference during our trials would have made us weak to ambitious packs.”
Mark held his hands behind his back like a soldier at attention. “You kept your word that he wouldn’t see it coming.”
“Holy shitballs,” Simone whispered.
“This is why I hate these jobs,” Jeremy said as he unlocked the hatch.
Edarra shrugged and continued climbing. “I’ve seen worse.”
“I sincerely never want to go to either of your worlds,” Jeremy said while shoving himself outside.
CLIVE SLICED his waffles into small triangles. “The best thing about Earth is that everything is always open. The city gates would be closed by now.” He stabbed several fluffy pieces with his fork and shoved them in his mouth.
“I’m surprised you can eat,” Jeremy said, even though he took just as large bites of his chocolate chip waffles.
“Like Edarra, I’ve seen worse.”
Jeremy placed his fork down. “I would have appreciated sleeping in my bed over seeing a head crushed.”
“Truth be told, so would I, but sometimes living is the best reward we can have.”
Jeremy rolled his eyes. “You are as sappy as a Publix holiday commercial.”
Clive wrinkled his brow in thought. “I’m familiar with their bakery goods, but not their commercials.”
Simone sighed. “I’m not happy being on a kidnapping list. I’m thinking about sending my kids to my grandmother’s until this case is solved.”
“How do we proceed from here?” Edarra asked. “This female boss and Perry sound more formidable than Gulley.”
Clive pushed away his cleared plate. “Once they learn the elders have ordered a temporary ban on wolves from other states gaining entry to Georgia, they might do something desperate.”
Simone pointed her fork at Jeremy. “Have you found anything in your dusty books on what that black shit that spread all over Gulley’s body was?”
“That’s right!” Clive slapped the table excitedly. “If the second curse wasn’t a trap on Gulley to stop him from talking, it could be what was done to this woman the vamps are working for. If Desmond cast that curse on her and she lived, of course she would want revenge.”
“It doesn’t explain why she killed Levi or why she’s after the Great Mother,” Jeremy pointed out.
“But if I were an energy vamp cursed by a strange malady and weak, wouldn’t the Great Mother be the perfect meal to gain my strength back?”
“Especially since her people failed to get Desmond even with werewolf help,” Simone added.
Clive frowned. “We have no name or any idea what she looks like. Setting a trap for Perry may draw his leader out, but I think Desmond is the only bait we can lure Perry with.” And if I were a rebellious magician whose reputation meant everything, the first chance I had to kill a nobody energy vamp nipping at my heels, he’d be dead before anyone could ask “Who’s your leader?” Clive motioned for the waitress to bring more coffee. His employees looked content to dig in to their larger plates of food and not worry, so perhaps he should deal with that dragon when he knocked on its cave.
“ARE YOU up for a night on the town?” Jeremy asked Zach, who was yawning on the other end of the phone.
“I was going to close the shop and head home.”
“No, you weren’t. You were going to throw on something that shouts ‘mug me,’ and you’re going to be on your stoop in an hour.”
“Is this a date?” Zach asked hopefully.
The barely twenty-one-year-old knew he wasn’t Jeremy’s type because they were too much alike, so Jeremy rolled his eyes. “More like a hunting trip where we pretend to be drunk, and you run away at the first sign of trouble.” That failure of a witch has another thing coming if she thinks she can abduct me without a fight, Jeremy thought. Relying on the Great Mother to handle Rosaline since giving her the name was a miscalculation on his part.
There was a deep sigh on the other side. “Ah, one of those nights.”
Jeremy smiled. “You’re still good at being squirrely?”
“I can be two blocks away before you finish saying, ‘Holy shit.’”
“I knew you were still my favorite reprobate.”
“You have strange ideas about fun,” Zach said before hanging up.
Jeremy interlaced his fingers on top of his stomach and spun in Simone’s chair as he watched traffic calming down for the night outside the lobby window. I won’t let her live a second time.
THEY FOUND new pubs—or what passed for pubs in America: fro-yo spots, karaoke bars—and the occasional idiot who thought they were dumbass college kids to rob, but not one witch or energy vamp stepping out of line. Jeremy scratched his head. “When did this part of Atlanta become so trendy?”
Zach laughed as he swallowed the last of his sausage roll. “We are the new Las Vegas, remember? The foodies have changed the place too.”
“Damn, I feel old.” Even the sidewalk was devoid of holes, and a few late-night bicyclists passed by them. “Maybe we should head farther south.”