by Deanna Chase
“That’s the perfect plan.” Ida May already had her door open. “If anyone knows how to fluster men, it’s me. And they won’t dare mess with Miss Kitty. Between those boots and her sass, they’ll be lining up for her attention.”
“That’s right.” Miss Kitty puffed up with the praise.
“I mean, who doesn’t want a cool surrogate mamaw?” Ida May said with a flourish.
“Hey!” Miss Kitty scowled at her.
“What?” Ida May asked.
“Don’t go underestimating me. I still have plenty of game. How do you think I snagged Hot Handyman?”
“Hot Handyman?” Ida May asked, sudden interest in her gaze. “I’m going to need a cocktail for this story, aren’t I?”
Miss Kitty gave her a devilish smile. “More like two.”
“This could go on all night,” Jade said to me. “I think Miss Kitty’s plan is a decent one. None of those men are going to mess with her, and if they do, Ida May is there to knock them upside the head. In the meantime, we can get Bo out of there before anyone notices.”
“You’re right. That could work.” I gripped the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white. I wasn’t worried about Ida May. She could hold her own. But Miss Kitty… I’d never forgive myself if anything happened to her.
My door opened, and before I could react, Miss Kitty reached in and grabbed my arm. “Out! I’m driving now.”
I was jerked out of the driver’s seat and nearly landed on my butt before I steadied myself by grabbing the door. “Okay, okay! You can drive. Just at the first sign of any magic or if anyone even looks at you wrong, get the hell out of there. Got it?”
Miss Kitty saluted me. “Got it, captain.”
Jade and I switched places with Miss Kitty and Ida May. Miss Kitty took command of the wheel and slowly maneuvered down the narrow dirt road. For once, neither one said anything, opting instead to pay close attention to the road and their surroundings.
Miss Kitty stopped the car abruptly. “Get out here.”
I peered over her shoulder and frowned. “Why? It looks like we’re a ways from the house.”
“No we’re not.” She pointed to the left. “See the light?”
I squinted and finally spotted it through the dense vegetation. “I do now. Good catch.”
“The house must be just around the bend,” she added. “Meet me back here in ten minutes.”
“Will do.” With a nod to Jade, we both hopped out of the car, careful not to slam our doors. We stepped back out of the way, covered our mouths, and waited as the car kicked up a cloud of dust.
“Let’s go,” Jade said, breaking into a jog. “I can’t wait to see what kind of trouble those two cause.”
Jade and I kept close the tree line, staying well away from the lights of the vehicle. And when we got to the clearing, I paused.
Miss Kitty had backed the car in so it was facing the dirt road we’d just come in on. Smart. That would make for an easier getaway. And the pair we already walking up to the large cabin.
The place was a wood-sided, two-story cottage that looked as if it’d been slapped together with tree sap and duct tape. The sagging front porch was illuminated by one hanging lightbulb. The screen on the door had been ripped in multiple places, rendering it utterly useless. Tin foil covered the old windows, and the wood siding was rotted in multiple places. The place could be a meth lab for all we knew.
Ida May and Miss Kitty hopped out of the vehicle. They met up for a second, then sauntered up the front steps. Ida May paused at the door, adjusted her, ahem, assets, smoothed her hair, and then with a nod from Miss Kitty, she knocked on the door and yelled, “Jerry! Open up. I need a drink five minutes ago!”
The door swung open as if the big, bald-headed biker standing inside the cabin had been waiting. “There’s no Jerry here,” he ground out and started to close the door.
“Wait!” Ida May said. “Isn’t this Jerry’s Junkyard and Tavern? We saw a sign on the main road.”
“Jerry’s what?” He gave her a look that clearly said he thought she was crazy.
“Tavern. Bar. Place to get trashed and pick up a burly biker guy for the evening.” Ida May made a point of exaggerating her movements as she looked him up and down. Someone like… you, actually. Is any of this ringing a bell?”
“Looks like we have the wrong establishment,” Miss Kitty said, tugging on Ida May’s arm. “Sorry, young man. We didn’t mean to bother anyone. We’ll just be going.”
“Oh hell.” Ida May pouted. “You sure there’s no party going on in there?” she asked the biker. “With that sign back there and all these motorcycles, we thought for sure we’d come to the right place. You have no idea how much the rumble of a custom motor really gets my engine going.”
Another biker appeared next to the bald-headed one. He had long, dark, unkempt hair and some sort of tattoo covering his neck and half his left cheek. “Ladies!” He held his hands out wide. “Welcome. Don’t mind Fisk. He sometimes forgets his manners. Come on in. Of course you found the party. What can I get you to drink? Beer or whiskey? Or both?”
“Both,” Ida May and Miss Kitty said at the same time.
“Of course they want both,” I muttered as the two disappeared inside. “Can you imagine those two intoxicated?”
“Actually, yes,” Jade whispered in an amused tone. “But hopefully we won’t be here long enough to witness that tonight. Come on.”
The pair of us ran across the dusty property hunched over. There wasn’t a lot to have to try to hide from. The tin foil on the windows meant that while we couldn’t see in, they also couldn’t see out. But that didn’t mean there weren’t cameras set up around the property. In fact, there probably were. We were in luck though, because the moon was hidden and except for the ambient light from the porch, most of the property was bathed in shadows.
We skirted around to the back and immediately flattened ourselves against the cabin when we spotted three bikers standing around a garbage-can fire. Thankfully there was a radio playing somewhere and the sound from our movement must’ve been muffled because none of them turned to look in our direction.
“Now what?” I whispered to Jade.
She glanced at the back door and then over to the bikers. Biting her lower lip, she wrinkled her nose. “We need a distraction.”
“Short of yelling fire, I don’t know what that would be.” My palms started to sweat, and I reached for my dagger just to calm myself.
“I’ve got an idea, but I want you to make your way to the back door first.”
I hesitated. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to separate.”
“I’ll be right behind you.” Magic was already glowing in her palms.
“All right. But be careful.”
“Aren’t I always?” She smiled innocently.
“Right. Just like I am.” With a roll of my eyes, I darted over to the back of the cabin and gingerly made my way up the stairs, praying they weren’t so rotted that I fell straight through. On the top step, the porch groaned and I froze.
“Hey, Bobo, is that you? Bring us more beers,” one of the bikers called.
I held my breath and ducked behind a wooden picnic table. A moment later, I heard the rumble of thunder followed by a bolt of lightning that hit one of the nearby trees. A loud crack preceded the even louder thump of one of the limbs crashing to the ground.
“Jesus! Where the hell did that come from,” one of the bikers yelled as the three of them cowered and glanced around for any more falling debris.
“It wasn’t supposed to storm until tomorrow,” another said.
“It isn’t storming, you jackass,” the third one added as he stared up into the inky sky.
“What do you think thunder and lightning is? Nature’s music?”
The three of them continued to bicker while Jade crept up onto the porch. “Hopefully that keeps them distracted for a few minutes.” She glanced down at my knife. “You might want to put that away. It’s glo
wing.”
“It is?” Holy hell, she was right. Blue light danced over the blade, and I realized I’d inadvertently called on my own magic. My defenses had snapped into place, preparing me for battle. Well, better ready than caught with my pants down so to speak. “Sorry.” I shoved it back into the sheath at my belt but kept my hand on the hilt, just in case.
“Ready?” she asked.
I nodded. “Ready.”
She reached for the door handle, paused, and said, “There’s an energy block on the place. I can’t tell how many people are in there.”
“We’re just going to have to trust that Ida May and Miss Kitty are keeping everyone entertained.” If anyone could, it was them.
“All right.” Jade took a deep breath and opened the back door. No light spilled out of what appeared to be a mudroom.
We crept past beat-up old riding boots and musty, dirty towels piled up in the corner. Light shone under a dilapidated door. I pressed my ear to it and heard high-pitched and lower-register deep rumblings coming from somewhere within the house. “Looks like now is a good time.”
“I’ll go. You keep watch.” She already had her hand on the knob when I stopped her.
“But you don’t even know what he looks like.”
“You think there’s more than one seventeen-year-old hanging out in the kitchen?”
“Good point.”
She gave me a reassuring smile and then opened the door and walked in like she had every right to be there. I stayed pressed up against the rough wall, waiting.
“Bo?” I heard Jade ask, her tone light and reassuring.
“Who are you?” he asked, suspicious.
“Pyper’s friend. I was there when we brought you to the circle earlier. You ready to get out of here?”
“Where is she? And what exactly do those two think they’re doing out there? They’re acting like idiots and are going to get themselves hurt if the guys find out they’re part of this.”
“Pyper’s keeping watch. And those two are distracting everyone. Don’t worry about them. They can take care of themselves.”
Damn, I hoped that was true. I was worried. Ida May could probably talk herself out of anything, and even if she didn’t, what were they going to do to her that was worse than death? But what about Miss Kitty?
“The longer we stand around in this kitchen, the more likely someone’s going to notice,” Jade said.
“Are you the witch?”
“Yes.”
There was a long pause, then he said, “All right. Let’s go.”
Footsteps shuffled across what must have been old wood floors. And a moment later, Bo appeared in the mudroom. I smiled at him and wrapped my hand around his arm, squeezing in reassurance.
“Let’s hurry,” Jade said as she followed him. I turned and reached for the back door.
“I don’t think so,” a gruff voice said.
Jade sucked in a sharp breath.
I spun back around and froze.
A big, burly man with short gray hair and a salt-and-pepper beard stood to the side of her, his 9mm Glock pointed right at her head.
21
“Who are your friends, Bo?” The man’s conversational tone sent a chill up my spine.
Bo stiffened beside me, then slipped his arm over my shoulder, tucking me into his side. “Just some chicks I met the other day. They came to party like the other two did. Got a problem with that?”
“No, no problem.” But he didn’t lower the gun, and he was eyeing me with suspicion. “If they’re here to party, where are you headed?”
“Outside. Jesus, Dutch, what’s with the third degree?” Bo dropped his arm and stepped forward, putting his body between Dutch’s and mine.
Jade stood still, her eyes darting from Bo to Dutch. Magic didn’t spark in her palms. What was that about? She should’ve been able to knock him out without even really trying.
“Emerson ordered me to keep an eye on you until he got here. And that is what I’m going to do.” Dutch jerked his head toward the interior of the house. “Now get your ass back in the living room or I’m about to turn these two bitches into a life lesson for you.”
“Did you just call us bitches?” I blurted out and darted around Bo. With hands on my hips, I stared up at him, waiting for his response. And though I couldn’t care less what he called us, I needed to get closer to him if I wanted to help Jade. She was one powerful witch, and the only reason she’d be standing there letting someone put a gun to her head was if for some reason her powers were neutralized. Lucky for her, mine weren’t.
“I’ll call you any damned thing I want to. Now get your ass inside or you’re going to watch your witch friend die right before your eyes.” He reached out and grabbed my arm, yanking me forward… and giving me the perfect opening.
Power surged up from the depths of my soul. My hand wrapped around the hilt of my dagger, and as I fell into him, I didn’t hesitate. With one swing, I buried the knife in his left shoulder.
The big biker went down in a heap, and the gun skittered across the torn-up linoleum.
“Are you okay?” I asked Jade.
Her face had gone white, and she was shaking.
“What’s wrong?”
She knelt down and picked up a tiny dart. Holding her hand out, she said, “That bastard pricked me with this. I think it’s meant to knock someone out, but because I’m a witch, it only succeeded in momentarily neutralizing my powers.” Blowing out a breath, she held her hand up, demonstrating a faint spark of magic. “It’s already returning though. An herbal pill will have me back to my old self in no time. We have to get out of here. Now.”
“What a total creep,” I said, terrified of what went down in this house on a regular basis.
Bo grimaced, reached down, and picked up the gun. Then he stared down at the lifeless body of Dutch. “Did you kill him?”
I shook my head. “No. He’s just incapacitated for the moment.”
“Here.” Jade stood over him, her hands out, and with what appeared to be great effort, she wove thin ropes of magic around his wrists and ankles. “He isn’t going anywhere for now. Grab your knife and let’s go.”
I did as she said, sent Miss Kitty a quick text to get out of there, and then the three of us hurried out the back door.
“Hey, Bo! Is that you?” one of the fire pit guys asked.
“Yeah. Why?” Bo answered.
“What are you doing?” I hissed.
“Making sure they stay where they are,” he muttered.
“Bring me another six pack, will ya?”
“Sure,” he called back but didn’t stop following Jade. “It’ll be just a few. I’m running an errand for Dutch.”
“Hurry, will ya? I’m almost dry.”
Jesus. Did they make Bo do everything? What was he, the male version of Cinderella?
“I’m on it,” Bo called back. Then he leaned toward me. “We’d better be out of here before they get antsy.”
“Oh, we will be.” As soon as we rounded the house, the three of us took off down the dirt road. Within moments we heard the front door open and loud voices carry out of the house.
“Sorry, boys! The old man is on a rampage,” I heard Miss Kitty say. “If I’m not home in twenty, he’s threatening to cut up my lingerie. I can’t have that. You know how much I spend at Victoria’s Secret every month? It’s a small fortune. Not to mention the lace G-strings and crotchless panties. I mean, that stuff doesn’t just grow on trees.”
“Crotchless?” One of the guys roared with laughter. “You go, grandma.”
“You’re a sweetie,” she said.
“And you’re raunchy. I mean, why wear any at all if it’s crotchless?” Ida May asked. “If access is what you’re after, you can’t beat commando.”
“I like her,” one of the guys said.
“And I want to do her!” another called. That comment was met with catcalls and wolf whistles.
“Well, aren’t you a charmer?” Ida Ma
y said on a high laugh. “Maybe next time.”
“Like tomorrow?” he asked hopefully.
But no one answered, and the next thing I knew, the CRV was rolling down the lane toward us. Miss Kitty pulled to a stop, rolled down her window, and said, “Need a lift?”
I grinned at her and Ida May. “Well played, ladies.”
“Looks like we got what we came for,” Ida May said, peering at Bo. “Get in so I can shower when we get back to the inn. I’ve never felt so dirty in my life.”
I raised my eyebrows in disbelief. “Seriously?”
“Seriously. Just because I worked in Storyville doesn’t mean I didn’t have standards. There was one in there who was picking his scabs and eating them. Another kept scratching his balls… inside his pants. Can you imagine what he was harboring in there?” She shuddered. “Disgusting.”
My skin started to crawl. “Gross.”
“You’re telling me.” She wrapped her arms around herself and shook her head as if to erase the memories.
I waited as Jade and Bo climbed in the backseat. And just when I lifted my foot to follow, a loud shot rang through the night, shattering the back window.
I dove in, yelling, “Go! Go! Go!”
The car fishtailed down the dirt road as more bullets peppered the back and whizzed by us. Miss Kitty stepped on the gas and never slowed down once, not even to turn onto the main road.
“Holy hell,” I said, my heart hammering so hard I thought it’d burst right out of my chest.
“Is everyone all right back there?” Miss Kitty called over her shoulder.
“I think so,” Jade said.
“Bo?” Miss Kitty asked.
“Yeah,” he said, lifting his head from his ducked position.
“I’m fine,” I added. “Ida May? How about you?”
“I’m not hit, but…” She turned around, giving us a good look at her head and torso. Her flesh was disappearing rapidly, making her look diseased as she turned back into her ghostly form.
“Oh, Ida May.” I reached out to grab her hand, but as soon as I did, her flesh turned to sand and disappeared into the ether.
“Whoa. That’s… creepy,” Bo said.