Page 7 of Frostbite, Lovebite

Eventually, despite his turbulent mind, he fell asleep.

*~*~*

He'd barely reached the kitchen for breakfast when there was a loud, ominous knock at the door. Stones dropped into his stomach as he realized his time was up.

Traci frowned. "Match, babe, why do you look like you're going to pass out?"

"Because I lost my temper last night and broke into the flower shop."

"What!" the others said, Penelope dropping the egg she'd been about to crack on the floor.

Benny gave him a look. "Getthatstory ready to tell. Didn't know you had it in you." He went to answer the door as the knocking came again, and Match dropped heavily into he nearest chair, stomach churning at the smell of the food he'd been starving for just a moment ago.

Ronan's hands fell on his shoulders, rubbing soothingly. "Thought Traci was the only one who flirted with getting arrested."

"Haha," Traci said, but it was half-hearted, worried attention on Match.

A few minutes later, Benny reappeared, followed by a couple of cops, Cody and Scott, who frequently worked with the Guard, especially as a go-between with Mayor Wright. "Apparently Wright wants to see all of us right now, no excuses. I'll go get dressed."

They all dispersed to do that, but met in Benny's room when they were ready. "Match, what in the hell is going on?"

Tersely, unable to look at any of them, the humiliation and anger still raw despite a good night's sleep, he explained had happened with Maddy, Eric, and the others.

"What the fuck," Ronan muttered. "I see Maddy all the time at our book club every other Sunday. You're her second favorite thing to talk about. I half thought you'd wind up dating her long before I could stop being a chickenshit and ask you out."

Match looked at him like he'd lost his mind, because he clearly had. Dating Maddy would be like dating his cousin or something.

"Eric is even weirder, you guys have coffee all the damn time," Benny said. "I'd have fucking broken in too. I go to that dinerall the time."

"Literally," Traci said. "They have our orders memorized, we go at least three times a week. Iworkat that coffee shop while I'm waiting for the kids to get out of school. I'm gonna have a whole lot of shit to say that they won't like."

Benny nodded. "Yeah, gonna pay all of them a visit later and get answers. For now, though, we need to deal with whatever Wright wants with us. Let's get going, and be ready for anything. I get the feeling things are going to get a whole lot worse before this is over."

Match followed the others out of the room, only moderately comforted by Ronan's brief hug.

With the snow that had worsened significantly in the night, it took the better part of an hour to make the short drive. When they finally arrived, Match was already exhausted again, and he hadn't been the one driving. Poor Benny looked ready for a drink, and it was barely seven in the morning.

They should already be getting to work, damn it. Three jack frosts? Lecturing and arresting him could wait.

Except when they were shown into the usual meeting room, complete with Keurig, paper cups, cheap shrink-wrapped danishes and muffins, it wasn't just Wright waiting for them. There was also a witch. Not one he recognized, which was a bad sign, because he knew all the witches in the state. Not well, but he knew their names and faces and specialties. "Who are you?"

"Your replacement," Wright said coldly.

Match was too stunned to speak, but the others had volume enough for ten, and it took at least that many minutes before anyone calmed down.

"My replacement?" he finally asked. "I haven't done anything that warrants replacing."

Wright regarded him coldly, but there was a lowkey smugness to his demeanor that raked across Match's nerves. "Three jack frosts, and you didn't notice until too late? You took three times as long as you should have to get all the wards up. I've been told that many places aren't comfortable having you in their places of business, and that you're unreasonable tenant flagrantly breaking rules."

"Is this the fucking Twilight Zone?" Ronan asked.

"Fine," Benny said abruptly. "You want to fire Match and hire a new witch? Have it your way."

Match would be hurt at being so callously discarded, but he knew that carefully calm, idle tone.

"What's your name?" he asked the woman.

"Luna."

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