Page 30 of 3 Shifters to Break a Curse

“We’re just really good friends,” she added and held out her hand toward me. Clearly, she was ignoring her brother’s comment, and I couldn’t help but wonder why. “Come on. Let’s get you cleaned up and feeling more refreshed.”

I gathered up my things and then took her hand. Once she helped me up from the couch, she grabbed a couple of the bags and helped me carry them into the bathroom. By the time I made it halfway through the hall, a familiar tugging sensation pulled on my shoulders. My intuition hit. Danger flared through my system. Something was up, and whatever was behind it reeked of Jared.

I sucked in a breath and pulled back from Cadence’s hand. She let go of me and then turned around and faced me. “Everything okay?”

I stared at a blank spot on the wall, waiting for the sensation to pass. When it didn’t, I squeezed my eyes closed and did my best to push the warnings back until I had time to focus on them.

“Toni?” Cadence asked.

I settled my gaze on her. “Yes?”

“Are you okay?” she asked. Her voice was full of concern. “You have a very worried expression on your face.”

“Oh,” I said through a sigh. “I’m fine. Just had a dizzy spell, is all.”

She nodded and continued into the bathroom. She didn’t seem to buy my excuse, but it didn’t matter. I followed her into the bathroom and wondered what was going to happen next. Though I didn’t much care for lying about the hit, I didn’t have much to go from in terms of explanation. And I wasn’t sure how much I could share with her. Far as I was concerned, she didn’t know the men were shifters and she had no clue about witches. Until I knew more about everything, I decided everyone was better off with me keeping the information to myself.

Cadence turned and faced me with a soft smile. “Do you want to talk about anything that happened?”

I shook my head.

“If you wanted to, you wouldn’t have to worry about me sharing the stuff with my brother or his roommates. Girl to girl only.”

“I appreciate that, but I would rather not relieve that again. I’ve gone over it all as much as I could already handle. But thank you for the offer. I appreciate it,” I said.

She nodded. “No problem.”

I sat my bags down and took a seat on the toilet lid. Cadence added the rest of my bags to the pile on the floor then set the plastic shopping bag in the sink and began digging through its contents.

“I can’t do much about the cuts or bruises, I’m afraid,” Cadence said and then pulled something out of the bag. “But this bubble bath stuff works wonders.”

She held up a tall, green bottle with an antique-looking label over the front. The words “aches and pains” was listed in a flourish font, adding to the style of the soap. Sounded amazing to me.

“Thank you,” I said. “Sounds perfect.”

“I’ll start the bath and pour some of this into the running water and then I’ll be out of your hair…” She stopped speaking and stared at the top of my head for a couple of seconds. “Speaking of, do you want me to help you pull it back? I don’t recommend getting this stuff in your hair.”

“Oh, no. Thank you though,” I said. “I’m okay doing that myself.”

I was becoming a little overwhelmed with how attentive and willing to help she was. Not that I didn’t appreciate her efforts. But the simple fact the sense of danger was increasing its grip on my shoulders, filling them with tension, and I desperately needed her to leave the area before she got caught in the crossfire.

A few short minutes later, she had the bath started and poured a suitable amount of the solution into the rushing water that filled the tub. She then turned around and faced me with a sigh.

“That should do you. I’ll go ahead and leave so you can relax,” she said. “Unless you can think of anything else you need me to do for you?”

I shook my head and said, “No, thank you. You’ve done enough already. More than I could repay you for.”

“Don’t mention it. It was my pleasure to help another lady out. Besides, no payback is needed,” she said. Before she closed the door behind her, she turned and added, “I work at the gas mart in Gypsum. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to stop by. I’m always there.”

I nodded. “I will.”

“Enjoy!” she said and closed the door.

I took off my clothes and inspected the shrinking bruises that covered my body. Sex with Ezra did a lot to help speed along the process. Even the cut in my plump, bottom lip was nothing compared to what it was before. It would take a couple more days before my body would be healed completely thanks to the extent of the damage, and only a couple more hours before the bruises were gone altogether.

And that suited me perfectly fine. The quicker I healed, the faster I could get away from Jared and save the men from irreparable damage. I was sure the bath was only going to help speed up the process.

I sighed and settled my attention on the tub. Steam rose up from the foamy bubbles that filled the tub like sparkling clouds. I smiled to myself. I couldn’t remember when the last time I had a bubble bath was. This was a special treat for me.

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