might just sell it to them.
After catching his breath, he pushed upright and limped out. As he passed through the squad room, Molly sat at a desk while Frank leaned over her. Their attention was focused on the computer screen in front of them.
As Josiah’s gaze lingered on the pair, she sat back, and Frank let out a low whistle. “I thought my inbox was bad, but yours takes the prize. People cared about what happened to you.”
“I guess they did,” she said. Her voice had gone husky with emotion. “There’s the zip file.”
“I’ll take it from here,” Frank told her. Once she moved out of the way, he palmed the mouse. A moment later, his eyes narrowed, and he straightened. “Okay lady. Like the DA said, looks like you’ve got a credible threat.”
Josiah didn’t wait to hear more. He stopped by the scheduling desk to see if he could catch a ride from a squad car. The desk sergeant assured him they could take him back to his apartment, and he limped outside to meet the patrolmen.
Half an hour later, when he unlocked his front door and walked inside, he found his coven waiting for him. All of them.
He gave their tense, unhappy faces a thoughtful look as he limped over to the nearest leather armchair and eased into it with a grunt. Everything in his body hurt.
“What?” he said.
“What are you doing, running around all over the place?” Maria strode over to glare at him point-blank. “You nearly died. The specialist said to take it easy!”
He closed his eyes. Gods, what he wouldn’t give for the chance to simply rest until he woke up naturally. “I know.”
“You can’t keep pushing yourself like this. Maybe the crash didn’t kill you, but a heart attack could.” She squeezed his hand.
“I need a new phone. Then I’ll go to bed, I promise.”
“I’ll get you one,” Steven offered.
Josiah nodded his thanks. “What else? You didn’t gather here because I ignored doctor’s orders.”
Anson said grimly, “I’ve been sensing magic sparks. Several discernible ones have appeared throughout the afternoon and evening.”
He raised his eyebrows and looked at Maria. “People?”
She nodded. “I think so. They haven’t appeared all at once, and they haven’t converged, but I think there’s a gathering of some kind going on. I mean… other than us, of course. We’ve gathered too.”
His breathing suspended as he absorbed the news. “Are they friendly or unfriendly?”
“That’s unclear.”
“Do they connect to our mission?” Richard asked.
At that, she didn’t hesitate. “Very much so.”
“Doesn’t sound very friendly to me,” Henry muttered.
“We need to take turns keeping watch,” Josiah said. “See what kind of activity occurs and if we can get a lock on their locations.”
Anson said, “Agreed.”
“I regret I can’t help with that at the moment,” Josiah told them. Sick exhaustion dragged at him, and he raged against it.
“Nothing’s more important than you recovering your energy ASAP,” Henry said. “We need you for whatever comes next.”
“Agreed,” Richard said.
He didn’t have any other choice. The sooner he recovered, the sooner he could reunite with Molly to face whatever came next. Damn the subterfuge and the lying. He was done.
But there was one last thing he needed to attend to before he could fall into bed.
“There’s something else you should know,” Josiah said. “Molly’s returned to Atlanta. She heard about what had happened to me, and she was worried I might have died. So far the only people who know she’s back are the detectives working the case surrounding her husband and, of course, me. I went to the station to see what was going on. They were questioning her this evening.”
He paused to look around, gauging their reactions to the news. Richard glowered. Anson and Maria looked noncommittal. Henry wore a more skeptical expression. As always, Steven looked friendly. It was his go-to face. That and his heavy-framed glasses camouflaged his dangerous, lightning-fast brain.
Then Maria sighed and rubbed her eyes. “I would have flown back too if I were her.”
“We need to keep watch on her too,” Josiah told them.
“To do what, exactly?” Richard asked. “It’s not our job to babysit her.”
“Hold on now,” Henry interjected. “We have the arrival of unknown magic users, Josiah’s been attacked, and now Molly’s here. It’s all got to be connected. I think we should take turns keeping watch in her vicinity. And Josiah shouldn’t be left alone either, not until he’s back on his feet.”
“I agree on both counts,” Anson said. “Josiah and Molly are our two known hot spots. If