in town where you’d like to stay, we can work out when you’ll come up for lessons.”
“Of course. How much do you charge per night?” She frowned. “And would you consider a monthly rate?”
The other woman waved that away. “I’m not going to charge you anything.”
She shook her head. “I can’t stay here for free. I have to pay you something.”
“I don’t need your money. If I did, I would charge you.” Sarah considered her. “I’ll be blunt. We don’t have the luxury of taking years for me to teach you or for you to study in your free time. You would do better to stay here. It will be cheaper than having to pay for room and board. Then you’d only have to work part-time.”
“I don’t need a job right now.” Molly smiled. “If I stay, I can get groceries and cook, and I’ll help with cleaning as well. If you’re going teach me, I can help you in return. It’s only the right thing to do.”
Sarah nodded. “We can always change our minds if it doesn’t work out.” She eyed Molly. “What do you think?”
Molly tapped her fingers on the table, considering. “I think you should know the whole story before you decide to take me on,” she replied. “My real name is not on the ID I’m carrying. My husband tried to kill me, and now he’s dead. The police want me for questioning, and no, I didn’t kill him. That witch I told you about… It’s complicated. I’m pregnant with his baby. He and his coven are hunting down an ancient, dangerous witch who steals other witches’ Power to prolong his life. That may or may not have something to do with how my husband died, and whoever it is may or may not also want me dead. We’re not really sure at this point.”
She paused to give Sarah a chance to react. The older witch said nothing, just regarded her with a calm, nonjudgmental gaze.
“Want to kick me out?”
Sarah said gently, “It makes me want to help you more.”
Her face softened, but then her own words caught up with her. “Wait. Josiah said eventually every witch faces a choice. Either they exit their lives with integrity, or they steal what is forbidden—someone else’s Power. But why isn’t there a third choice?”
Sarah’s gaze narrowed. “What do you mean?”
“The way I see it, we have two urgent issues,” Molly said. “The first one is time. You need to teach me how to prolong your life. You don’t need to steal my Power. I’ve got too much to control right now as it is. As long as we can avoid draining me completely, I’ll gladly help to sustain you.”
“You would do that?” Sarah’s expression opened with wonder. “What a kind heart you have. I’m afraid I’ve advanced too far for your gift to do much more than buy me a bit of time, but I would love to give Sam as much time as I can and to be here as long as I can to teach you.”
“Then we’ll do it.”
“What’s your second urgent issue?”
She gave Sarah a grim smile. “Nobody’s hurting my baby, and I’m not going to wait around for someone to rescue me if I get into a tight spot. So I need to learn how to fight if it comes down to a battle with another witch.”
Chapter Seventeen
In Atlanta, multiple investigations marched on.
Even though Josiah did everything he could to make Molly disappear without a trace, none of the other members of the coven trusted the safe house now that she could potentially expose its location.
So Richard scrubbed it. He eradicated the spells, filled in the tunnel and repaired the hole in the basement, stripped out the security equipment, and methodically wiped the house of prints from top to bottom. When he finished, Josiah would sell it and buy another, and they would undertake the laborious task of setting up a new country safe house within driving distance of the city.
In their forensic accounting, Henry and Steven traced multiple paths to and from the Russian bank, the Seychelles islands, and Sherman & Associates, but a discernible pattern had yet to emerge.
It wasn’t clear if the law firm was laundering money or taking payment for services rendered. Perhaps both? They only knew one thing for sure. The connection between Sherman & Associates and a Russian organization or company was strong and unmistakable.
Anson and Maria continued to painstakingly build files on each person of interest in