Page 64 of Witch Please

Maya shook her head. “It’s just…I’ve been thinking about what he said.”

“You can’t let him get to you. That’s just how he is. It sucks, but—”

“No, some of what he says is right,” she cut in unexpectedly.

That was the last thing he expected to hear. Titus sat back, angling his body into the corner of the couch to face her. “What?”

Doris nudged against his leg, evidently sensing his distress. Absently he put out a hand and rubbed her head when she settled close protectively. He was glad she didn’t leap up onto his lap like she sometimes did. But honestly, Doris did a better job of reading the room than many people did, and she could probably sense his tension.

“We’re mad at Dad, and we’re not giving Susan a chance. If we blow her off while she’s pregnant, she may not let us have a relationship with baby Aubrey. And Titus, that kid’s part of our family.” Maya squared her shoulders. “I think…we have to close the shop for a few and go to Arizona for the baby shower.”

Chapter 19

“Shit,” Danica said, staring at her cousin with wide eyes.

A chill crawled slowly over her skin, sinking in with the deepest foreboding. She rubbed her palms over her forearms, trying to will the feeling away. But it was no use. The dread was real and profound as she analyzed the implications of what Clem had said about seeing Gavin Rhys with Titus at O’Reilly’s the night before.

“I think—”

“The hunter is trying a new tactic?” she guessed.

Clem nodded. “It’s the only thing that makes sense. First he wrecks Titus’s shop, and then he’s buying him a beer? He must have figured that the aggro approach didn’t work, so he’s decided to make nice and observe him up close, see who he spends time with. It’s a smart way to track us down.”

Danica shivered. Before, the idea of a hunter had been bothersome in the abstract, but now it added another layer of fear to an already-tense situation.I have enough to worry about with Gram getting involved.Part of her brain was already imagining what it would be like, being dragged off by a hunter. Since they couldn’t do public trials anymore, their justice would be swift and terrible, conducted in private, with her body never to be found.

“I’m so sorry. This is all my fault.”

It wouldn’t have surprised her if Clem had saidI told you soyet again, but her cousin hugged her instead. “Hey, I’m the one who said we should use the grimoire. That first spell went wildly wrong, so I’m at fault too. And really, it doesn’t matter who did what anymore. We should focus on mitigation.”

She’s being nice.

While that was technically true, any spells that misfired on their home ground couldn’t have drawn the attention of a witch hunter because of the protective wards in place. Still, Danica let that go because Clem was trying to absolve her. And it would be ungrateful and pedantic to insist on taking all the blame when her cousin was being magnanimous. She smiled slightly.

“Okay, fair point. I’m worried about you, though. How do you know—”

“Don’t worry about me. I’ve got this. I’m keeping Rhys distracted. You concentrate on keeping your magic under control and handle Gram if you can.”

She winced. “Easier said than done. I’ll avoid Titus until I can figure out what to say.”

And how to say it.

Since they’d never officially gotten together, it couldn’t be a straightforward breakup. If she knew Titus, however, he wouldn’t be content until he understood why she didn’t want to see him anymore. And that would be damned hard to explain since she did want to see him—quite desperately, in fact. Making matters worse, she sucked at lying, and he always seemed to read her effortlessly.

I wonder if the“it’s not you, it’s me”speech would work.

Just then, her phone buzzed.Sorry to drop this on you out of the blue. Talked to Maya & she thinks we should go to the baby shower. Long story short, we’re on the red-eye tonight cos my dad’s cheap. The bakery will be closed for a few days. (Hope we don’t lose all our customers.) Miss me a little?

Clem had been scanning her face as she read. “What now? More bad news?”

“More like…the universe cut me a break.” Rather than explain, she shifted her phone so her cousin could read the message.

“That gives us some breathing room,” Clem said with an approving smile. “And it’s easier for me to distract the hunter if he’s not trying to run surveillance on Titus.”

With a groan, Danica let her head fall back against the sofa. “I don’t love that you’re doing this. How are you socalm? One wrong move and—”

“You know I’m all about precision and planning. He’s dancing to my tune every step of the way. Trust me, I’m enjoying this.” From her grim smile, that might even be true. “And speaking of which, I’m supposed to meet him tonight. Don’t wait up.”

Before Danica could object, Clem made a beeline out the door. This worried her on multiple levels. If anyone got caught, it could lead to others in the coven being snatched as well. With effort, she pushed down the panic and replied to Titus with a series of emojis. She couldn’t leave him on read; that would be cruel and unusual. But she had no words either, hence—heart, octopus, airplane, cactus.

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