Page 25 of The Most Wanted Witch

I cleared my throat and then shot him a glare.

Mertie let out a small laugh, drawing my attention back to her. “This is just brilliant. Disco girl lights up the alley and now she’s worried about saying too much?”

“What are you talking about? I didn’t light up the alley.”

“Oh, this is just perfect. She doesn’t even know.”

I glanced around, hoping someone would explain.

“You were glowing a bit in the alley.” Bibbi gave me a half shrug.

Now they told me? I’d thought it was my hair that had freaked everyone out.

“We still love you, kid,” Musso said.

“It’s all right to be a little different,” Zab said.

Don’t look at Hawk. Not him.

I looked anyway.

He was smiling. “You knew I thought it was a bad idea.”

That was why I shouldn’t have looked.

Mertie started stomping around the place. “I’m not sure you people realize it, but we’re a hair away from an invasion if they’re both showing up. What is wrong with you people? Are you trying to wreck a good thing? We don’t want that kind here. Neither of them. One thinks they’re too good for everyone, and the other thinks we’re not good enough for anybody. Either way, they’re trouble.”

“So you know them both?” I asked, moving closer in case she tried to make a run for it. Most of the people I tried to question did. Hawk had already let it all out of the bag anyway. I might as well get the pertinent questions answered.

She stopped her pacing. “Of course I know them. What kind of demon loser do you think I am? One of the grubs who only did the dirty work? I might’ve quit, but I had some pull in my day.”

“Any idea why they’re both here?” Hawk asked.

“Yeah, because you guys really screwed this place up, obviously.” She started shaking her head again, taking long drags from her cigarette. “I don’t care what they say. I’ll go to that hellhole Rest before I take orders from any of them again.” She pointed at all of us, creating a stream of smoke as she did. “You people better fix this. I’m not paying for your sins.”

Mertie’s hands flew up. “No, no more questions. I don’t want any part of whatever craziness you have going on. You guys made this mess, and you guys need to clean it up.”

She nearly ran to the door before she stopped short. “And don’t newsflash me again. I won’t come.” She slammed the door shut and took off.

Why they’rebothhere.That was what Hawk had said. Didn’t we already know why one of them was here? Or did we?

11

There was a stack of slips sitting on my desk but a lean list of clients willing to do the work. Considering the traffic coming in and out of here lately, I wouldn’t come either. I dropped the slips back on my desk and walked past Musso, Bibbi, and Zab, who were playing a card game at Zab’s desk.

“Tippi, you sure you don’t want to play?” Zab asked.

“No, thanks. I’m good.” There was no way I’d be able to learn anything new with the way my thoughts were scattered these days. The only thing that might get me through the day was lots of tea and cocoa.

I was making tea in the back when the sounds from the other room faded, signaling that someone had muted the room.

Hawk walked over and leaned on the counter beside me. “I know what you did.”

Hawk didn’t bluff. If he said he knew, he knew. Only problem I was having was which thing did he know? I was accumulating quite a pile of secrets lately. It was hardly a good idea to dump out my entire treasure chest of information at his feet. Odds were he was talking about immigration, but just in case…

“I didn’t have a choice.” I shrugged, hoping that the conversation to follow might lead me to a few breadcrumbs of what knowledge he possessed.

“You didn’t?”

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