The Werewolf Dates The Deputy - Kristen Painter Page 0,76
clothes. The weight of what was to come lay heavy on him. Tonight would decide everything.
Jenna had told him in the car that she’d been in touch with Alice about Sola being the source of the magic and that Alice had worked on the spell all day, only to discover breaking it would be impossible without Sola’s blood. At least for him, anyway.
Jenna had quoted Alice. “Blood balances blood.”
He looked at his hand where he’d scratched it on the nail in the attic. Of course there was no trace of the mark now, but the memory remained. Was he destined to be bound to Jenna for the rest of his life?
If that was his lot in life, he was at peace with it. Was she?
He stepped into the shower and let the water rain down over him, the heat washing away the remnants of the hospital. Whatever happened tonight—whatever happened between him and Jenna—he was ready.
By the time he got out, shaved, got dressed, and went back to the living room, Bridget had arrived with the food. Fast service was just one of the benefits of having a sister who owned a restaurant. They sat down at his dining room table, Titus at one end with Jenna to his right, Hank at the other with Birdie and Bridget flanking him.
Titus inhaled. “Everything smells so good. I should have ordered more.”
Bridget used her elbow to point to a bag on the kitchen counter. “I got peach cobblers for everyone too. I figure if we’re going to war tonight, we should go well fed.”
“I like that plan.” Titus picked up his burger. They all dug in and ate in silence for a while. Bridget had gotten a few extra things, too, like more onion rings, potato skins, and stuffed mushrooms. They plowed through the spread like they’d never seen food before.
When they were mostly done, he finally asked the question he’d been wanting to. “So what is the plan?”
Jenna was just finishing her burger. “In a nutshell, I’ve set up a meeting with Sola back at the circle, where I hope I’ll be able to convince her to reopen the trap for the wraith. I need him to show up. Of course, I’ll be doing all this while pretending that I know nothing about Ingvar being possessed by Sola. And while that’s going on, Bridget and Birdie are going to find wherever Sola’s been staying and see if they can work things from that end.”
“Work things? What does that mean?”
Jenna swallowed the bite she’d been chewing. “The way Alice explained it to me, Sola’s spirit might be possessing Ingvar’s physical form, but Sola still has a physical form, too, and that body has to be somewhere.”
Birdie used a fry to punctuate her words. “Bridget and I are going to find that body and take it into custody. At the same time, we’re going to try to neutralize whatever magic she’s using to control Ingvar.”
Titus frowned. “Where are you going to look? There have to be hundreds of places she could be staying. And how are you going to neutralize the magic?”
“Well,” Birdie said, “I used my computer superpowers to narrow down the possibilities of where she might be staying, and Deputy Cruz and I eliminated a few of them this afternoon, which means we’ve only two final places to check. Bridget and I will track her down, don’t you worry. As for the neutralizing, Alice gave us something for that.”
“And the part about you taking someone into custody?” Titus looked at his brother. “Don’t tell me.”
Hank sighed. “Yes, I deputized Birdie. But I am also sending Deputy Lafitte with them.”
Titus wiped his hands on a paper napkin from Howler’s. “Remy’s a good guy. And you can’t go wrong with a vampire as backup.” But he wasn’t sure he liked how that left the odds. “That means it’s just me, Hank, and Jenna in the woods?”
“Not exactly,” Jenna said with a smile. “I called in some backup of my own.”
The doorbell rang with the most perfect timing ever. Titus started to get up, but Jenna stopped him. “I got it.”
She answered the door, opening it wide. “You guys all know Tessa, my sister, and Pandora Williams, witch extraordinaire and rock star Realtor.”
Tessa and Pandora waved to the gang.
The gang waved back.
Titus nodded. Both women were dressed in black, hair up in ponytails and looking very much like they were ready to throw down. “That’s some good backup right there.”