his fuck-up list, along with his girlfriend, Tomi.
“Davy, you okay?” I answered.
“Allie? Where are you?”
“Ninth floor. Where are you?”
“I’m downtown.”
“What?”
“Took the bus. I’m going home. You pissed me off. But not enough to make you spend all night looking around the hospital for me. Plus, you have the keys to my car and I want them back.”
“Are you crazy? Why did you do that?”
“Forget it,” he muttered.
“No, wait. Listen. Davy?”
“Yeah?”
“There’s someone out on the street who doesn’t like me very much.”
“And?”
Right, like that was news. “And I think he was part of the attack with you and Tomi in the park.”
He took a minute. The sounds of the bus’s engine filled in for his silence.
“Do you need my help?” he asked.
See, he really was a good kid.
“No, I’m calling Stotts. Zayvion is on his way. I’m probably going to go home and let the police take care of this.” Lie. A big fat one. Good thing we were on the phone; otherwise Davy never would have bought it.
“I want you to go home, and stay there until you hear from me. As soon as I have an update from the cops, I’ll let you know. And if you can’t get home, then get to the warehouse and stay there.”
“Oh sure,” he said, “I’ll just go home and sit there staring at the walls until you tell me it’s safe to go out again.”
“Davy, this is dangerous.”
“And?”
“And I don’t want you to get hurt. More. What I want is for you to see a doctor, but since you won’t do that, you should at least go home and lock the doors. This is police business. Be smart. Stay home.”
“Do you think I’ll just do whatever you say?” Oh, that anger could boil the lead off my phone.
“No. I think you’re my friend. I don’t care how angry you are at me. Just do the safe thing for once. I refuse to beg you to listen to me like I begged Pike.”
His breath caught. “That’s low,” he whispered.
“It’s the truth.” And it was. I’d begged Pike not to go find Trager, not to go take him on alone. I’d begged him to let the police take care of it. Begged. And I am not the begging type.
“Fine,” he said. “I’ll go to the warehouse. Lock up. Call me.” It all came out short. A little like someone’s hands were around his throat and he couldn’t get enough air.
Yeah, I knew how he felt. I still really missed Pike too.
“Is Bea okay?” he asked.
Right. That was what we’d come to the hospital for. “She has a concussion, but she’s going home. You were right. She got hit by magic. Can’t remember what happened, and can’t remember casting magic. Jack took her home.” Silence. From both of us.
Finally, “Davy?” What more could I say? “Thanks for listening.”
“Yeah.” He hung up.
I hung up too and realized I wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings. Oh, that was a great way to get myself killed.
I was in another hallway, this one wide and lit by fluorescents that weren’t up to the job. I could smell coffee, so there was either a cafeteria nearby or maybe a coffee station. That was a good sign, right? Where there was coffee in Oregon, there would be people.
The hallway curved to the right and deposited me into a waiting area where six people sat. A little girl, maybe five years old, spun around and around, her pink skirt puffing up, her heavy snow boots scuffing the carpet.
“Becca, do you want to come read with me?” a woman, probably her mother, asked.
Becca just kept spinning.
I didn’t take a seat. Being around people was not a sure way to stop Greyson from attacking me. And if he did show up here, I wanted to be on my feet and ready for him.
I’d been doing a lot of learning since he’d attacked me. I knew more physical self-defense, and I knew a hell of a lot more about magic. I hadn’t had a memory loss for two months. That meant that right now I was pretty much at the top of my game.
A little part of me—okay, a big part of me—hoped he would try to take me down. Just so I could show that bastard what I was made of. Pay him back for what he did to Tomi and Davy. For what he did to my dad.
I paced, and kept an eye on both ends of the hallway. I didn’t pull on