my mom said. A damn good one with a live jazz band and amazing performers whenever they passed through on their way to Chicago. Now... it’s like the OK Corral.”
Nola snorted. “Let’s not get dramatic, witch.”
Deirdre was still enough on edge I wouldn’t have recommended being so caustic, but that was Nola. I held my breath and gripped the door handle. “I suppose we ought to...”
“The plan,” Deirdre said. She also took a deep breath and started smoothing down her hair. The confident witch demeanor started to fall away and be replaced with a scared, nervous girl. She looked surprisingly like Fran, although I couldn’t have put my finger exactly on why. “Ophelia will repeat that she’s not going anywhere with the sorcerer. She’ll ask for Silas back. She’ll offer to trade me, a witch she met at a shelter here in town, in her place.”
“How do we explain Nola?” I asked. And I didn’t like the idea of offering anyone to Rocko.
“Silas’s mate,” Nola said. “I can threaten him that the pack won’t overlook his transgression, and the fastest way to a lifetime of hurt is to keep the wolf.”
Deirdre nodded, though her new face didn’t look confident. “Good enough for now. No plan survives meeting the enemy, Ophelia; don’t look so nervous. Most of what we do will be a response to Rocko. It’s his show, but he doesn’t know the weapons we’ve got.”
I opened my door and searched the air for the telltale shimmer that heralded Rocko’s arrival. “Including that fae guy your mate called.”
Her mouth twisted in distaste. “I cannot believe Miles did that.”
“I can,” Nola said under her breath. “We do not fight fair when it comes to mates, and I doubt very much he would have let a powerful weapon sit idle while you put yourself in danger. Or while danger gets close to a city where you live.”
I traded looks with the other witch. “So the thought that they’ll sit back and let us handle this...”
The wolf gave me a sideways look. “Not on your life. They’re planning something. Let’s just hope it doesn’t get in the way before we get our stuff taken care of.”
“You’d tell me if you knew the plan, right?” Deirdre asked, and I held my breath.
Nola shrugged. “My loyalty is to my brother. I have no reason to keep your mate’s secrets, or yours. They didn’t discuss a plan around me, although I would be surprised if that fae does not play a role.”
Deirdre groaned and shoved out of the car, almost slamming the door with irritation. “Like we don’t have enough problems with stupid males getting in our way. Fucking bullshit.”
“Someday you’ll have to tell me why you dislike this guy so much,” I said under my breath as we trudged onto the lot filled with dead grass and weeds, chunks of broken concrete, and the occasional bent chunk of rebar. “But for now... I think we’re out of time.”
The air shimmered and split, leaving a dark gaping maw in the world in front of us, and Nola cursed under her breath in surprise. Even Deirdre stiffened, though I’d assumed she’d seen something like it before. It made me wonder what else she might have put a brave face on about, or heard about in books but not in person.
“Let me take the lead,” I muttered, and shoved my hands in my pockets as I prepared to face Rocko. I let my shoulders slump and defeat creep over me, since that’s what he would have expected. He never had a very high opinion of me. That I’d mustered up the courage to call him out on his bullshit must have been a hell of a surprise. Perhaps that’s why he wanted the in-person meeting—so he could see whether I’d grown a pair for real or not.
The dark slice in the air widened and spun, and a hint of smoke wisped into the clear afternoon air. I wanted to roll my eyes at the ridiculous vanity of it all. “Come on, Rocko. I don’t have all day.”
Deirdre looked at me sideways, muttering something about not getting too far out of character, but I shook my head. I knew Rocko wouldn’t resist a taunt. He’d want to put me in my place, to remind me how much better he was. I folded my arms over my chest and waited, though my guts gurgled in fear. He could come out fighting, instead of enjoying the repartee as usual, and then