Page 14 of The Accidental Witch

“We get it. It’s all very confusing,” Wanda reassured. “No offense taken.”

Robbie sighed. “Anyway, that’s your plan? To dig up your grandmother’s grave.”

“Yes. And her grave’s the only place I can think of to start figuring this out,” Greer said calmly. “The point being, if she’s not there, we can contact the elders of the coven and warn them she’s incredulously, somehow, somewhere, still alive.”

He was far too calm for the roiling sea of emotions settling in the pit of her stomach. “But you said you saw her buried there.”

Greer nodded, his face somber. “I did. I watched them perform the ceremonial ritual that would keep her buried forever. I watched it with my own eyes. But there isn’t another way for her magic to still be an entity in the universe if she’s dead. But it’s her magic. I’m telling you, I can smell it.”

“Yet, it exists, Greer,” Wanda said. “I don’t want to insinuate, but maybe someone else in your coven knew about the magic and wanted it for themselves?”

He chewed on his lip. “Maybe, but then why didn’t they ever come and get it?”

Marty popped her lips. “So why don’t you just give the coven a ring-a-ling and askthemto dig her up? Tell them what’s going on here and ask for their help. Wouldn’t that be safer?”

Greer’s lips thinned as he rubbed his hands over his thighs. “They’re never going to agree to it. It’s considered sacrilege.”

“Or maaaybe, they won’t want to admit there’s a chance they fucked up?” Nina asked.

Robbie held up a finger. “Wait, so not only are we digging up a grave, but we’re committing a crime in the eyes of your…your people? Are you insane? Don’t I have enough trouble already without making more waves? What if they find out? Won’t you get in trouble? Will they eliminate you, too?”

“It’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission.”

“I fucking like this dude,” Nina crowed, giving Tottington a nudge. “What about you, BFF? You feelin’ him?”

T squirmed in his seat, his discomfort evident as he cleared his throat. Defaulting to his impeccable manners, he nodded. “Yes, Miss.”

Nina jumped up from her chair and held her hand out to Tottington, who visibly cringed, but she grabbed it anyway, hauling him upward. “Good deal. Then let’s get the fucking shovels and hit the cemetery.”

“Wait,” Wanda ordered. “Before we do anything else, I’ve put a call into January to see if she can offer any help. She’s a witch—a white witch, and she was once Nina’s psychiatrist.”

Nina gripped Tottington’s hand and grinned. “Can you believe I needed therapy, Tater Tot?”

Tottington’s face went a whiter shade of pale, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he gulped. “Yes, Miss—I…I mean, no, Miss. Absolutely not.”

Marty rose and headed for a coatrack, pulling a chic zebra-striped trench coat from the hook and slipping it on. “In the meantime, let’s go get Robbie’s cats so we can bring them back here and know they’re safe. That sound good, Robbie?”

“Why do they have to come here? Can’t we just wait for this lady to call at my place?”

“We could, but can we all fit in your place for the long haul?” Wanda asked.

Robbie looked at all of them. “The long haul?”

Marty hooked an arm through hers with a reassuring pat. “Yes. The long haul. These things don’t solve themselves overnight. It’s better you stay here with us where we can look out for you—because, as you can see, there’s plenty of room here for everyone. So let’s go get your cats and your jammies, maybe a hairbrush, too, and then we’ll go dig up granny.”

She hated the idea of bringing these people to her ramshackle apartment, with its peeling paint and sagging windows…but what choice did she have? If a crazy granny wasafter her, she needed protection, right? Who better than these women, with their super-strength and amazing speed, to provide it?

Robbie began to feel as if she was just along for the ride. As though some invisible tide was pulling her out to sea and she had no choice but to ride it, the current too strong to fight.

Everyone grabbed coats and headed out a dungeon-ish doorway that led to the drive, Nina dragging Tottington along as she chatted with him and he nodded numbly.

Greer came up beside her and took her left hand to help her into their enormous SUV. Whether it was because she was tired or overstimulated or scared witless, she couldn’t be sure, but when he whispered, “It’s all going to be okay. I just ask that you try and trust me, Robbie—as scary as that sounds,” she felt a zing of electricity sizzle up her spine.

Phew. He was sexy. Too sexy when she was so vulnerable.

Robbie snatched her hand away, tucking it in her lap and scrunching down in her seat, trying to slow her heartbeat and quell the heat in her cheeks.

Her emotions were at DEFCON, leaving her hypersensitive and raw.

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