stay with me. He’d order all my meals from restaurants and he’d administer my medication, which the San Francisco clinic would provide. The Marsh Clinic would give me a bed and nothing more. If my recuperation hit a speed bump, an outside doctor would be flown in.
Adam switched the phone to his other ear. “Elena’s letting you stay up how late? Does Paige know this, ’cause, as a friend, I should tell her.” He shot me a grin. “Uh-huh, well, I don’t know…Bribery works, though.” He paused. “Oh, no. No way. This calls for a T-shirt, at least. And none of those cheap three-for-ten-dollars tourist shirts, either.”
I’d made my morning call to Elena early today. At eleven we’d be in the air, and I didn’t want to worry her by not phoning. On Saturday morning, Lucas had been an hour late phoning because I’d been in surgery, and Elena had been ready to pack her bags and fly out to find us.
I finished brushing my hair and surveyed the results in the mirror on my hospital bed table. After two days in a hospital bed, it wasn’t good. A hair clip was my only hope. And maybe a hat.
We were leaving within the hour. Lucas was in a conference with my doctor, getting last-minute nursing instructions and medication.
On the phone, Adam continued to tease Savannah and, although I couldn’t hear her end of the conversation, I knew she was lapping it up. From the moment Savannah met Adam, he’d been the subject of a serious girlhood crush. I thought it would wear off after a few months, as adolescent crushes usually do, but a year later Savannah showed no signs of wavering in her affections, which were displayed through endless teasing and insults. Adam handled the situation admirably, acting as if he had no idea that she saw him as anything more than a pesky substitute big brother. Lucas and I did the same, never saying or doing anything that would embarrass her. She’d outgrow it soon enough. In the meantime, well, there were worse guys she could have a crush on.
“Uh-oh,” Adam said. “I hear Paige coming back. Last chance. T-shirt or I tattle. No?” He turned from the phone. “Hey, Paige—!” He paused. “Medium? Not likely. I’m a large.” Pause. “Ouch. Nasty. Hanging up now.” Another pause. “Yeah, okay. Say hi to Elena and Clay for me. And get to bed early.”
He hung up my cell phone, then thumped onto the edge of the bed, making my hand bounce and brush mascara on my forehead. I glared at him, grabbed a tissue, and erased the damage.
“Better than I was a few weeks ago, you mean, right? I know. I just needed a kick in the pants, and this case did it.”
“Not just that,” he said. “I mean, in general, you’re doing good. You had a rough couple months settling in, but now, and this summer when you guys stopped by, I thought, she’s happy. Really happy.”
“I’ve still got a few things to figure out, but yes, I’m pretty darn happy.”
“Good.”
As I zipped up my makeup bag, Adam slid off the bed, walked to the window, and looked out. I watched him for a moment.
“Still mad about Miami?” I said.
He turned. “Nah. Sure, I’d love to help and, yeah, I’m a bit pissed at being left behind, but Lucas is right. His dad already made a point of introducing himself to me and dropping hints about post-college ‘employment opportunities.’ I’m probably better off avoiding the Cabals until I get my shit together. Which reminds me…you were saying last month that we need to do something about Arthur.”
“Definitely. We need a necromancer on the council, and it does no good to anyone to have one who’s never around. That whole fiasco with Tyrone Winsloe? Arthur didn’t even return our calls until it was over. I’ve been hinting that he should find a replacement, but he ignores me.”
“Guy’s a miso—what do they call it? Doesn’t like women? Not gay, I mean, but…”
“Misogynist.”
“Yeah, that’s it.” Adam perched on my bed. “So I was thinking, maybe I should talk to him instead. What do you want me to do?”
Advice flew to my lips, but I bit it back. “What do you think?”
“Maybe if he’s ignoring us, we should ignore him. Just get a replacement and let him find out about it whenever he bothers showing up at a meeting. How’s that?”