“I’m the one protecting her from being hurt,” I said.
His brow arched in a challenge. “I wasn’t talking about physical wounds, bro.”
I clamped my mouth shut on a response. For now. He wasn’t wrong but I wasn’t about to let him know it. Besides, I hadn’t missed the way he’d said “again.” I wasn’t sure I was ready to hear just how hard things had been for Sam after I’d left.
“In the meantime, can you stop suggesting things like Sushna?” I said. “You make my job a lot harder when you do that.”
“If it helps Sam figure things out then I think Sushna’s worth looking into,” he argued. “Isn’t she an old earth magician? I heard the story—”
“Whatever you heard is wrong,” I hissed.
RJ blinked and then his eyes narrowed. “You know something.” He sat up straighter, adjusting his leg to get leverage. “Have you seen her? Met her? Does she really exist?”
I pinched the bridge of my nose, seriously wishing I hadn’t suggested we stop in here. “Yes.”
“Well?” he prompted.
“She’s dangerous, RJ. She’s not a good resource for Sam. She hurts people.”
RJ blew out a breath. “All right. I mean the stories all make her out to be a badass but I just assumed…” He took one look at my glare and trailed off and then ended with, “I’ll take your word for it.”
“Thanks,” I said, relieved he hadn’t grilled me about how I knew. Not that I would have told him. We’d only end up arguing again.
“So what are you going to do to help her with her magic?” he asked, cocking his head. “I mean, she won’t sit around and do nothing.”
I sighed because he was right and I wished he wasn’t. “I’m going to wait for Edie to make some inquiries about another healer I knew, and we’ll go from there,” I said.
RJ chuckled “And you think that vague shit is going to work on her?”
I gave him a smirk of my own. “I’m willing to put in an effort toward a distraction.”
He shook his head. “Man, you really are making this one personal. Good luck. I hope it works out.”
RJ had no idea.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Sam
I checked my wallet and grimaced. Seventeen dollars was not going to get me nearly far enough. A cab wasn’t an option after all, but I wasn’t giving up. Rather than wait around for Alex to discover my plan, I pushed out the front door of the medical facility and marched outside. I passed his truck, opting not to bring my bag with me. I already knew he’d catch up to me sooner rather than later. I didn’t even know how. I just knew.
Alex Channing had a knack for being in the same place as me when he wanted to be—whether I wanted him there or not.
I bypassed the rest of the parking lot and headed for the main road on foot, taking out my phone and calling Brittany once more.
When she answered, I almost hooted. Exhaustion was making my smile too wide and too crooked. I needed sleep. But there wasn’t time if I wanted this to work.
“Sam-I-Am, I missed you! Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! Oh, wait, should I say Happy Hanukah? Or Kwanzaa? Come to think of it, do you even celebrate anything?”
“Are you back in town?” I asked, ignoring her questions but smiling in spite of everything. The familiarity of her nosiness was a nice feeling.
“Yeah, I got back yesterday.”
“Really? I went by the apartment. You weren’t there.”
“Oh, I stayed with a friend,” she said vaguely and I rolled my eyes. “In totally unrelated news, just so you know, the twin was a bad idea.” She sighed in a way that really made me want to ask for that story. “What’s up with you?”
Unfortunately, I didn’t have time for girl talk. “Can you pick me up?”
“Uh. Yeah. Is everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine.” My mind raced to come up with a lie. “I was spending the day in the city, but my friend got hung up at a meeting and can’t drive me back yet. I’m supposed to be at work.”
Brittany was quiet so long that I yanked the phone from my ear to make sure she hadn’t hung up. “You there?” I asked.
“Sam, don’t take this the wrong way, but … since when do you have friends?”
Damn. Not the best lie.
I bit my lip. “Can you come get me or not?”
“Text me the address. I’ll be there soon.”
She hung up and I picked the cross-street of the small diner up ahead, texting her the location via GPS. When it had sent the virtual map, I ducked inside and chose a table at the back, hoping Alex didn’t beat her to it.
When a lanky waiter appeared beside my table, I ordered a coffee and fries and sat down to wait.
Thirty-five minutes later, my phone buzzed with a message from Brittany letting me know she was outside. Faster than I’d expected. I tossed most of my cash onto the table and crept toward the door, scanning the traffic just in case. By now, Alex had to know I was gone. And he had to be furious.
Brittany’s car idled at the curb and I climbed in, meeting her worried gaze with a forced smile. “Thanks,” I told her, grabbing for the seat belt in a hurry.
But even after I shut my door, the car didn’t move.
“Nu-uh. It is not that easy,” Brittany said, both brows raised expectantly. Her blond hair was piled high in a messy bun and she wore leggings and the furry boots I was always tripping over when I came in the front door. “You want to ride, you pay.”
“Pay?” I stared at her in disbelief and then reached for my wallet. “Fine. I have three dollars. It’s all yours.”
She shook her blond hair, a few stray strands of it moving back and forth across her shoulders where it had fallen loose from her bun. “Not money, silly. Information. Spill everything and especially the part about a mysterious friend who leaves you stranded in the city.” She gave me a pointed look and only after I nodded did she pull away from the curb.
“All right,” I said, antsy to have her get moving. “I came here with Alex.”
She shot me a look that was equal parts intrigued and condemning. “And he left you here?” she demanded, hitting the brake again to gawk at me.
“He just got tied up with something,” I said waving a hand. “And I had to get back to work. I have a shift at the store.” Truth mixed with more lies. I was on a roll. “Now, drive,” I added, waving toward the street.
Brittany glared but did as I asked, pulling into traffic and merging a little abruptly into the crawling traffic. At the light, she took a left and headed for the interstate on-ramp.
“I thought you were visiting your aunt in Guam these past few weeks,” Brittany said, eyes on the traffic she was weaving through. I had to give it to her, Brittany was a damned good driver.
“I did,” I told her, staring out the window distractedly. I wasn’t even sure Mirabelle would have any information on Sushna at Oracle. But I couldn’t risk going to her house with a target on my back. “I got back a couple of days ago. Or yesterday. I don’t even know what day it is.” I leaned back against the seat and shut my eyes. “Jet lag is a bitch,” I said, glad I’d gotten that coffee earlier.
Brittany shot me an accusing glare. “Yeah I noticed you said you only stopped by the house. You didn’t come home last night either,” she said.
Dammit. I sucked at lying. “I stayed at Kiwi’s,” I said. But she didn’t ease up and I sighed, shoulders drooping. “With Alex.”
Her eyes went wide and she veered right then over-corrected sharply as she stared at me. “Britt, watch the road,” I said.
“You and this Alex just can’t seem to quit each other…” She shook her head. “I have to meet him,” she said.
I laughed. “What are you my mother now?” At her wounded expression, guilt pricked at me. “Sorry.”
“I’m worried about you, Sam,” she said, eyes on the road. Her voice went quiet and more serious than I’d ever heard her. “You’ve always been secretive. It’s your way. But you
never lied. At least not to me. And now, that’s all you do. What’s going on with you?”
“What makes you think I’m lying?” I asked.
She didn’t look at me but her mouth tightened as her pink lips pressed together and somehow I knew I’d said the wrong thing. “Your boss called me an hour ago looking for you. So I know you don’t have to work today. And if you were looking for privacy with this Alex guy for the reasons you seem to want me to believe, you wouldn’t have run away from him today and called me for a ride. Something else is going on. And you’re holding out on me which means whatever it is can’t be good.” She shot me a look and repeated, “I’m worried.”
I opened my mouth and then, when I couldn’t think of a thing to say, closed it again. Brittany had me. And I was a horrible friend.
“I’m really sorry,” I said finally, turning in my seat to face her as she made the turn on to the road that led into Half Moon. “I kept things from you because I didn’t want you to worry about me but you know what? Secrets are the exact reason for everything going wrong right now. I don’t want to perpetuate that.”
“Okay, so then don’t,” she said, shrugging one shoulder as if it were the easiest choice in the world.
I sighed. “Do you believe in magic, Britt?”
She cocked her head. “Uh. Like the Cinderella and Fairy Godmother kind? Or the last pair of boots on sale when I walk into the store kind?”
I smiled. “Both?”
She shrugged again. “Sure. Why?”
I hesitated, but in the end, I’d meant what I said. I was sick of secrets. And after how angry I’d been with Tara and Wes for messing with my memories, the last thing I wanted to be was a hypocrite in how I treated my own friends. “Okay, so… you know I work at Oracle, right?” I began, unsure how much to drop on her at once.
She shrugged again, this time her nose wrinkling like she didn’t see the big deal. “Sure.”
“Do you know what we do there?” I asked.
“Your boss lady does like Tarot readings and stuff for tourists.”
“Right. Well… what if I told you her ability to see things—past, present, and future—was real?”
She shot me a sharp look. “Okayyy. I mean, that’s possible. I’ve seen Supernatural.”
I tried not to roll my eyes. “And what if I told you I also had certain … gifts?”
“What kind of gifts?” she asked.
“Umm, well, it’s sort of like energy work,” I finished lamely. I tried to read her, to see if she actually believed what I was saying or not. If she began looking at me like I had too many screws loose, this conversation would end.
Brittany pulled up in front of Oracle and parked, eyeing me closely. “You know, I think you’ll find I’m pretty open-minded. But if you don’t get to the point soon, I might just keel over right here form lack of boredom.”
“Well, you’re in the right company,” I muttered.
“What are you talking about?”
“Nothing, I— Okay, the truth is that I need a break. And the park is the one place in town I feel like I can just relax.”
“The park?” Brittany eyed me, clearly not quite buying it. And I hated that I still wasn’t being completely honest, but telling her the truth now would only slow me down. And I only had so long before Alex caught up to me. “What does the park have to do with your supernatural gifts?” she asked.
“Nothing, I just—listen, I know I owe you an explanation but I’m still trying to work through it all myself. It’s confusing and overwhelming and I think… I just need some time to sit with it,” I said finally.
“Fine. Yeah, I get that. But I don’t want to leave you here all alone,” she said, still unconvinced.
“I won’t be alone. Remember my friend Harold I told you about?” I asked. Brittany looked mystified. I tried again. “Remember those leg warmers you borrowed and never gave back?”
“Oh, yeah,” she said, nodding as recognition lit up her expression. She smiled. “Those things were sweet. Those were Harold’s?”
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, those were Harold’s. I’m going to hang with him for a bit to get some space.”
“Space. Okay. Fine.” Her expression hardened and she pinned me with a look that was surprising discerning for Brittany. “But if it was more than that, you’d tell me right?”
I paused with my fingers clutching the door handle. “How about this,” I said, turning back to her with a promising smile. “I’ll tell you everything when I get home. Deal?”
She hesitated and then sighed. “Yeah, it’s a deal,” she grumbled.
I gave her a smile that I hoped conveyed my apology and a promise to sit down with her later. “Thanks for the ride, Britt.” I climbed out, the cold air hitting me as I stepped from the warm car to the chilly sidewalk.
“Yeah, yeah. Just go. Oh, and Sam?” she called. I ducked to look back at her through the open car door. “You still owe me a box of wine.”
I grinned and slammed the door, watching as she drove off, her exhaust billowing in her wake.
The park was mostly empty. I had to think long and hard to even recall that today was a Tuesday. At least I wouldn’t have to fight through weekend crowds or compete with all the women that came around to buy Harold’s hemp seed muffins and marijuana-infused bubble gum.
I hadn’t been back to the park much since my memory had been restored. Before I’d left for Guam, the attacks had made it harder and harder to get out here. Even now, I looked around warily for any sign of furry monsters, but the largest one I spotted was a poodle over in the dog park. Still, I stayed as alert as the jet lag would let me be. I was very aware that I didn’t have a protector like RJ around or even a weapon to defend myself should a werewolf attack me.
I quickened my pace, hoping to get in and get out without trouble.
Walking the familiar path, I inhaled the familiar scent of the English lavender that grew along the ring around the fountain and realized I’d been telling the truth when I told Brittany this place felt safe. Even before, when I’d been scared of my own shadow, I’d felt good here. And now that things like dogs and dudes didn’t scare me—well, unless they were legit trying to kill me—it felt even better.
I watched the dog park with particular interest, enjoying that my body didn’t try to shrink back from the sight of animals in broad daylight anymore.
Up ahead, the path wound around and I caught sight of the familiar bench and an even more familiar squeaky cart parked nearby. I picked up the pace and then slowed again when I caught sight of the line of people waiting beside Harold’s cart.
Dammit, what kind of operation was this guy running? Drugs Unlimited for the hipster elderly?
I made my way around the line and ducked in between a woman with a purse poodle currently chewing on the strap of the bag holding it and a stooped man with a felt vest and matching hat.
“Sam!” Harold stopped rifling through the cooler when he saw me, smiling broadly.
“Hey, Harold,” I said, my mood suddenly lighter than it had been in a month. “Want some help?”
“I knew that call for reinforcements wouldn’t go unanswered,” he said, tapping his nose and then glancing upward as if I was a literal answer to prayer.
“What can I do?” I asked, chuckling.
“Excuse me, I would like one bottle of the Russian Kombucha please,” said the lady with the purse dog.
“And for your little guy?” I asked, pointing to the animal.
She sniffed, clearly offended. “Her name is Muffy, and the tea is for her.”
“Well, then.” I took the bottle Harold passed me from the cooler and handed it to the woman. “Here you are. One Russian Kombucha.” She traded me the glass container for a twenty and walked away without waiting for change. Some top-shelf tea, apparently.
I handed the money to Harold. “Do I want to know what a Russian Kombucha is?” I asked while I went to work locating the next order—a bag of medical grade trail mix.
Harold wiggled his eyebrows. “Secret ingredient,” he whispered. “Mushrooms.”
I stopped and stared at him. “Wait. As in ’shrooms?” He shrugged and went back to filling orders. “It’s ceremonial,” he said.
I continued to gape at him as he picked his way through the cooler. “She’s giving it to her dog.”
“Dogs can be wise too. Like the wolf.”
“What do you know about wolves?” I asked, instantly tense. Did Harold know something? He knew enough about the supernatural world to come up with hard to find items but werewolves? Had I underestimated him all this time?
“I know they are large like monsters and yet they can be held in the palm of one’s hand.” He winked and I tossed the bag of trail mix back into the bin. “Okay, that’s enough winky faces and verbal vague-booking. Come on.”
I tugged on Harold’s arm but he tugged back. “Wait, what about my customers?”
“Yeah, what about my trail mix?” the guy at the front of the line said.
“He’s going on break. Be back in ten,” I yelled and apparently my tone left no room for argument. Although, a few of the older women grumbled and one actually flipped me the bird.
I grabbed Harold’s arm and dragged him past our bench into the grove of shade trees behind it. I sat, pulling Harold’s elbow so that he sank down in front of me. He looked more curious than irritated. Harold was a perpetual smiler. Today, I hoped he could smile while also giving me some serious answers.
“What is it, Sam? You are troubled,” he said and I snorted.
“Trouble is definitely the right word. Harold, I know I’ve never asked you a lot about how you get the items Mirabelle asks for but… I’m looking for someone. A magical someone,” I added. “I need help finding her and I don’t have a lot of time to do it. Is that something you could do?”
Harold looked up at the leaves overhanging where we sat. “If she’s a magical someone, then yes, I could do that.” He looked back at me with a sparkle in his gaze. “I am a finder, Sam. It’s what I do because it’s my gift. I appreciate that you’ve never asked me. In fact, you’ve never demanded anything of me. Just friendship. And for that, I am grateful, but I would do anything in my power that you needed. Who is it you need to find?”
Inheritance: (A New Adult Paranormal Romance) (Heart Lines Series Book 2) Page 17