Defender (The Witches of Cleopatra Hill Book 11)

by Christine Pope

  His mouth lost that tense look, and he even smiled slightly. “People with my clan. They went out and got rid of your car, made sure any evidence of the crash was removed. It would have raised far too many questions otherwise.”

  “My car is gone?”

  Something about his expression shifted. Now he seemed to look down at her almost with pity. “Yes. I’m sorry. It was totaled. But the important thing is that you’re all right. I had Alba, my clan’s healer, come here and take care of your injuries. You’re going to be fine. You just need to take it easy for a while.”

  Her car, gone. And somehow the de la Paz witches had someone who could patch you up after a car accident, good as new. It was all crazy. She blurted, “But if your people took my car away, how am I supposed to file a claim with the insurance company?”

  “Don’t worry about that,” he told her. “One way or another, we’ll take care of it.”

  Kate really didn’t see how they’d manage such a thing. Then she remembered how Colin once mentioned that all the witch clans had a decent amount of wealth. Some more than others, but no one who was a witch or a warlock ever seemed to want for anything. No one had to worry about being able to afford a house, or to purchase a new car when they needed one. So were the de la Pazes going to buy her a new car when all this was over?

  Then she told herself the car was the least of her worries right then. Someone had tried to kill her. Her fear that she might be the killer’s next victim had apparently been an accurate one. What she should be focusing on now was her great good luck that she was alive at all — thanks to Jack Sandoval, who’d clearly saved her from the wreck and brought her to this place so she could be healed.

  “I’m here because it wouldn’t be safe in the hospital, aren’t I?”

  “Yes,” he said. “It seemed the best solution. Until I can figure out who killed Jeff, who tried to kill you, I don’t dare let you out of my sight. I know it’s going to be inconvenient for you, and I apologize. But inconvenienced is better than dead.”

  All Kate could do was nod and murmur, “It’s not a problem.” There was no way in the world she would admit to being just the teeniest bit excited that apparently she was going to be trapped in Jack Sandoval’s apartment with him. At least, she assumed this must be his apartment. Then she asked, “What am I supposed to tell my parents?”

  “You don’t need to tell them anything. I’ve already spoken with them.”

  “You have?” Kate stared at him, feeling slightly aghast, and then put her hand to her forehead. The skin there felt tender beneath her fingertips, although she couldn’t detect any sign of a cut or bruise or bump. The de la Paz healer must be very good at what she did. “How long was I out?”

  “A couple of hours. It was perfectly normal — your body was just doing its best to catch up with the healing spells Alba cast. During that time, though, the situation with your car was handled, and I called your parents to let them know an attempt had been made on your life, and that you were just fine but were being kept safe in an undisclosed location.”

  “My mother would never go for that,” Kate protested. “She’d demand to know where I was.”

  That remark made Jack smile, albeit ruefully. He reached up with one hand to brush back his heavy dark hair, while Kate did her best not to stare and think about what it would feel like to run her own fingers through that hair. “Well, she was pretty adamant at first, but I eventually wore her down and convinced her it was safer for everyone involved that no one know anything about your current whereabouts. One of the guys from the clean-up crew went by — posing as my partner — and collected your travel bags, so you have a change of clothes and your other personal items. Anything else you need, just let me know, and I’ll go get it for you.”

  “So I’m stuck in here,” she said.

  To her surprise, he lifted an eyebrow at her and grinned. “What, you’re not thrilled to be trapped in an apartment with me?”

  “Not exactly,” Kate replied, although she knew those words were at least partially a lie. No way was she going to tell the truth to Jack Sandoval, though, that being in this close proximity to him for an extended period of time made her pulse speed up far more than it should. “What about work?”

  “I’ll contact them tomorrow morning. All official.” He stopped there and seemed to take a closer look at her, as if seeing all too clearly the worry in her expression. “It’ll be all right. You can’t lose your job over this. I know people in the planning department. I’ll handle it.”

  He sounded so certain that she didn’t dare argue with him. And really, when it came right down to it, her life was far more important than any job, even if the job in question was something she’d worked toward for years. She had to trust Jack that he’d smooth everything out.

  “Okay,” she said. “I understand why you’re doing this. But what are you going to do? I mean, how are you going to track down this killer if you’re stuck here babysitting me?”

  “I’ll figure it out,” he replied. “I can have people from my clan stay here and watch you if necessary.”

  Being handed from witch to witch like a problem child that no one wanted to claim didn’t sound like a lot of fun. Besides…. “I thought you said you were the person in your clan who was best at defensive magic, though. What can these others do to protect me?”

  “They can do something. All witches know basic protection spells, and those spells will be stronger during the daylight hours. I won’t leave you alone at night.”

  Kate wanted to protest that her car had been hexed during the daytime…but had it really? After all, it had been sitting in the impound lot overnight. The killer probably would have had an easy enough time breaking into the lot and casting his nefarious spells without anyone around to see what he was doing. True, the impound yard must have had video surveillance, but she guessed that a sufficiently motivated warlock would be able to get around that minor bit of technology. A creepy-crawly sensation moved down her spine as she wondered just what else this warlock was capable of.

  “All right. But what about your own work? Aren’t they going to wonder what happened to me?”

  Jack frowned briefly, but then he shrugged. “I’m the lead investigator on the case. I’ve already cleared you. We don’t have any reason to call you back — or rather, I’ll make sure there isn’t a reason. And I’ll annotate your file to show that you’re currently staying with your parents, so if anyone thinks it strange that you’re not at your apartment, there’s a perfect explanation why.”

  It did sound as if he’d thought of pretty much everything. Except…. “What about my friend Samantha? With most of my other friends, we just get together once a month as our schedules allow, so if I go MIA for a little bit, no one’s going to notice. But I can guarantee you that Sam will definitely notice if I slip off the radar.”

  “Let her think you’re at your parents’ house, that they’re keeping you busy. You have your phone, so nothing much should change about the way you communicate.”

  That might work for a while. Sam knew all too well that Kate’s mother wished she could spend more time with her daughter, so at first it might not seem all that suspicious if Lynda monopolized her time. The key words being “at first.” Sooner or later, though, Kate knew her best friend would want to get together, and wouldn’t take any specious excuses as to why that wasn’t a possibility.

  “All right,” she said. “That’ll buy me some time. Not an indefinite amount of it, though.”

  “We don’t need an indefinite amount,” Jack replied, eyes narrowed. “Just enough to catch this bastard. Anyway,” he went on, his tone shifting, “are you hungry? Alba said you could eat soup, but nothing heavier.”

  Up until the moment he’d asked, Kate would have said food was the last thing on her mind. But she realized then that she was actually ravenously hungry. Maybe it was a side effect of the forced healing her body had been put through, or merely that it was now afternoon — or even later,
since she really didn’t know what time it was — and she hadn’t eaten anything since eight o’clock that morning, but either way, she knew she needed to get something in her stomach.

  “I think I could eat,” she said cautiously.

  “I don’t have much in the house,” Jack said, his tone almost apologetic. “I mostly live on takeout. Does egg drop soup sound good? There’s a good Chinese place close by that delivers.”

  Actually, that sounded heavenly to her, if she was going to be deprived of anything more substantial than soup. “Yes, that would be perfect.”

  “Good.” Jack got up from the chair where he’d been sitting and pulled his cell phone from his pants pocket. Kate did her best not to gawk at how good he looked even in ordinary khakis, but it was a lot more difficult than she thought it would be. Maybe that blow to her head had disrupted some of the logic centers in her brain. Now more than ever she should be casual and cool around him, no matter how good-looking he might be. Her almost-ex-husband was dead, and someone had just tried to kill her, and yet she was sitting here and trying to not-quite ogle Jack Sandoval while he was doing something as prosaic as ordering Chinese takeout.

  She tore her gaze away and pushed against the cushion where she lay, maneuvering herself to an upright position. The room spun briefly, but she made herself breathe deeply until the bout of dizziness passed. Once she felt a little steadier, she slowly moved her feet so they were flat against the floor.

  Jack, who had just ended his call, eyed her with sudden alarm. “Are you sure you should be doing that?”

  “I’m okay,” she said. “I’m going to have to sit up to eat. Besides,” she added, her cheeks flushing, “I kind of need to use the bathroom. Where is it?”

  “Down the hall. It’s the only door on the right.”

  “Thanks.”

  Not quite looking at him, she got up from the couch and went in the direction he’d indicated. Her legs felt a little shaky under her, but as she walked, they slowly felt steadier. She could tell she’d suffered a shock to the system, and yet her body itself seemed to be okay. In fact, walking around helped dispel some of the weakness she’d felt while lying on the couch.

  This must be a two-bedroom, two-bath apartment, bigger than her own. Directly opposite the door to the guest bath was another doorway, one that appeared to open on the second bedroom, although the brief glimpse she caught told her that Jack must use it as an office, since it had a desk and some bookcases inside, and not a bed in sight.

  The guest bathroom was very clean, and looked as if it had never been used. Kate took care of business and then dried her hands on one of the dark gray towels hanging from the rack. In here were more of the black and white art prints — Ansel Adams, looked like — and not much else in the way of decor. Very much a bachelor pad, except for the extreme neatness. She remembered all too well how much of a mess her brother Colin’s apartment could become when he’d been working too hard and not paying attention to his surroundings. Clearly, Jack Sandoval didn’t share that problem.

  Speaking of messes, though — her poor shirt was a disaster, blood spattered all over the front. Maybe a good soaking in cold water could get some of that stain out, but she didn’t know if the blouse would ever be the same. She needed to change, get out of these clothes. Well, Jack had said one of his “people” had brought over her things from her parents’ house, so she’d get into something clean before the takeout arrived.

  The cut that had bled all over her blouse was now apparently a thing of the past. If she squinted hard enough, she could see a faint red mark up near her hairline, but that was the only evidence remaining of the wound. Alba must have wiped off all the blood from her face, because her skin was clean, although the makeup she’d applied so carefully earlier that morning was now long gone. Not that it mattered. She might have a problem with trying to ignore Jack Sandoval’s obvious good looks, but clearly the attraction wasn’t reciprocated. He was all business around her. And that was a good thing, right? Her world was crazy enough right now without dragging some kind of illicit romance into it.

  Kate emerged from the bathroom and walked carefully back to the dining area, where Jack had pulled out one of the chairs and was frowning down at his phone.

  “Everything okay?” she inquired.

  “Oh, sure,” he replied, and set it down on the table. The top was gray granite, the base black metal, to go with all the other black accents in the apartment. “I was just trying to make sure that no one had reported the accident. It looks like the FedEx guy called something in, but by the time a beat cop was sent around to investigate, my people had gotten everything cleared away.”

  “Efficient,” Kate remarked, trying to sound casual. The loss of her car really shouldn’t be bothering her so much. Or maybe it was simply that she’d rather fixate on the one material loss than on what had happened to Jeff, what had almost happened to her. “Um, you said you had my things brought over? I’d really like to change out of these clothes. The blood, you know?”

  “Oh, right.” Jack got up from the table and went to the little entry area, opened a door there that led into a coat closet. From the floor of the closet he retrieved her weekender bag and toiletries case. “Here you go.”

  “Thanks.” She took the bags from him and returned to the bathroom, then stripped out of her soiled clothes and into a fresh pair of jeans and a sky-blue V-neck T-shirt. That seemed a better choice than the nice embroidered blouse she’d also packed, since she wasn’t going anywhere tonight. Luckily, her flats seemed to have survived the crash without any visible damage, so she slid back into those once she was finished getting dressed. It would probably be too obvious if she reapplied her makeup, but she did pause to fish some gloss out of her toiletries case and quickly swipe it over her lips. That way, she wasn’t completely bare-faced but didn’t look as if she was trying too hard.

  When she was done, she really didn’t know what she should do with her bags. Leave them in the bathroom? Bring them out so they could go back in the closet? Jack hadn’t mentioned where she would be sleeping. Clearly, the second bedroom was out of the question, since it didn’t even have a bed.

  She decided to set the bags on the floor just outside the bathroom. Over dinner, she’d try to bring up the sleeping arrangements.

  Jack had been busy while she was changing — he’d set out two glasses of water, and plates and bowls and cutlery, and folded paper towels in half to serve as napkins. “Sorry,” he said, turning as she approached. “Like I said, I don’t eat here much. I don’t have any real napkins.”

  “It’s okay,” Kate replied. “I do the same thing.” Of course, in her case it was more because she didn’t see the point in spending extra money on paper napkins when paper towels worked just as well. It wasn’t like she would ever have her parents over for dinner in her cramped apartment. The dining nook there was just big enough for a bistro set with a small table and two chairs, and definitely not suitable for company.

  A relieved grin, one that had a little more impact on her than she would have liked. “Well, that’s good to hear.” Right then there came a knock at the door, and he stiffened, even though of course it had to be the delivery person with their takeout. “Can you wait back in the office while I handle this? I don’t want anyone to see you here.”

  It was on the tip of her tongue to ask, “Embarrassed?”, but she knew embarrassment had nothing to do with his wanting to conceal her presence. There was probably only a one-percent chance that the delivery person was anything other than what he claimed to be, but they couldn’t afford to take chances right now.

  She nodded and hurried off down the short hallway, then stepped into the office. Like the rest of the apartment, it was spotless, but here she noticed the first signs of a little clutter — books stacked on one of the end tables, some papers left out on the glass-topped desk. It looked to her like he’d been in the middle of paying bills, and hadn’t stopped to put everything away.

  And she would
not look. None of her business what his electric bill was, or where he had a credit card. Or whatever all those statements were about.

  Voices came down the hallway toward her, a brief exchange that ended with the door closing. Then Jack called out, “Coast is clear.”

  Kate left the office and returned to the main room, where he was pulling cartons out of a plastic bag and setting them in the middle of the table. The warm aroma drifted to her nose, and she breathed it in. That smelled so good.

  “I know Alba said you shouldn’t have solid food,” Jack commented as Kate pulled out the chair nearest her and sat down. “But I got an order of egg rolls anyway. One or two shouldn’t do too much damage.”

  “I promise I won’t tell. And I’m starving, so egg rolls sound perfect.”

  He smiled and set two of them on her plate, then poured half of the carton of egg drop soup into the bowl next to the plate. As she waited, he did the same for himself. She noticed that no other takeout containers were forthcoming, though, and frowned slightly.

  “Didn’t you get anything else for yourself?”

  “I didn’t think it would be fair to make you watch me gobble moo shu pork while you were consigned to soup, so I didn’t order anything more. It’s fine — I got a huge burrito on my way out of Tucson.”

  That revelation made her feel a little better, although she didn’t like the idea of Jack depriving himself just because she wasn’t ready to eat an entire meal of solid food. But she didn’t know him well enough to argue about it, so she merely shrugged and picked up one of the egg rolls. After she’d taken a bite, she asked, “So where do I get to crash?”

  “I need to change the sheets, but I figured you’d stay in the bedroom. The couch has a pull-out bed, so I’ll sleep in here.”

  Oh, no, she didn’t like the sound of that. The last thing she wanted was to drive him out of his room. “You really don’t need to do that. I’m fine with sleeping on the sofa bed.”