Bewitched (Betwixt & Between #2) - Darynda Jones Page 0,57
who could see one of my spells had tried to kill us, so her question was legit if not poorly timed.
He laughed softly then coughed, the act causing pain instantly. He bit down and threw back his head.
I twirled a finger out of nosy britches line of sight. Just a little spell to ease the pain a bit. His blood pressure had to be either dangerously high or dangerously low. It could go either way.
He relaxed and tried to go to sleep on us.
To keep him awake, Annette launched into started telling him a monologue of stories of her childhood—no idea why—when a police cruiser pulled up, followed by fire and rescue and an ambulance.
“You ordered the whole cavalry,” I said to her.
“Yes, I did.”
It took them a while to tourniquet his leg, get the motor back on the chain, and lift it off him.
Roane helped with that, making sure the cold metal didn’t break again. His muscles bulged in places I didn’t know they could bulge, like this one muscle behind his biceps that looked really handy if he should ever need to support a woman’s weight while . . . helping her change a lightbulb . . . and it took a lot not to drool.
“He wouldn’t have lived much longer,” an EMT told me after they got Leo loaded. “I can’t believe you found him.”
“That’s her specialty,” the chief said, walking up and shaking his head. “Didn’t I just drop you off?”
“You did,” I said. “But there was a glowing message and then Percy wouldn’t let me out so I had to sneak down to the cave and follow the water out then he almost caught me when I tried to get in the bug but Roane and Annette showed up and I’m pretty sure I dented Roane’s truck.” I looked at him. “My bad.”
The chief just shook his head. “How about you go get some rest and try to stay home for a few hours. Let me catch up with my paperwork.”
“You got it, Chief. Can we ride with Leo to the hospital?” It felt wonderful. Doing good. Saving a life. I felt much like the EMTs must have and only a little guilty that I didn’t listen to the glowy thing sooner.
“Yeah,” Annette said. “Make sure he’s okay.”
“We’ve got room for one,” the EMT closest to us said.
Annette deflated. “You go then. Do your non-existent magic on him if you need to.”
I did a tiny sample of my non-existent magic, twirling my fingers behind my back, and the EMT said, “You know what? We can fit you both. Hop in.”
She clapped her gloved hands, her curly hair bouncing with joy, and climbed inside. With some help. Her legs were not what one would call lengthy.
I looked at Roane. “We’ll, um, meet you back at the house?”
He leveled a knowing smirk on me, which was so much more than the average smirk, because it was filled with, well, knowing. Appreciation. A little come-hither to soften the edges. And a shimmering dose of desire that shot straight to my nethers. He nodded and watched as I, too, tried to climb into the ambulance. So much harder than it looked on TV.
“What are you?” As we drove to the hospital, Leo looked over his oxygen mask, and asked, “What are you?”
I leaned forward and whispered, “The real question is, what are you?”
Eleven
Some days even the devil sits back
and admires my work.
-Meme
It was almost eight in the morning when we got home. Hopefully, Roane was sleeping, but I knew Ruthie would be up. I marched straight down the basement stairs and knocked on her door to tell on Percy.
Annette followed, only to tell on me instead.
Ruthie was dressed in her usual angelic gauze dress, this one a soft gold with midnight blue edging.
We sat at the high table in her arts and crafts room. It was only then I realized there were a couple of doors in the room, and I wondered if one was a bedroom. Surely, she slept. Unless she really was a zombie.
For a moment, I thought I heard a soft whimper come from one of the rooms, but Ruthie didn’t seem to notice. Instead, she made tea and insisted on the low down.
And the lowdown she would get. “First, he wouldn’t let me do a spell to unlock the bar on the basement window.”
“Which I wouldn’t know about,” Annette said, “because someone went without her sidekick. And I thought you lost your powers.”