Page 31 of Hotshot Mogul

Callie pointed to the crowd spilling out. “And leave your throng of well-wishers?”

“Please.”

Rufus pointed to a battered pickup truck. “Come on, Hotshot. That’s your nickname, right?”

“I hate that fucking name.”

Callie smirked. Shit. I tried not to swear in front of ladies. “Sorry, Callie,” I said as I climbed into the cramped backseat of Rufus’ pickup. My knees were close to my ears.

She swung around in the seat as Rufus peeled out. “Sorry for what?”

“My crass language. My mom and dad raised me better than that.”

“Apology accepted.”

Damn Beth. I should have made a clean break with her as soon as I saw Anneliese. She must have thought she was helping me by bad-mouthing Anneliese, calling her an outsider.

Callie twisted around again. “Why the glade?”

She made a good point. Anneliese could have gone anywhere. “Just a feeling.”

“Hmmph.”

Callie faced the front as Rufus gunned it. She didn’t like me. Frankly, that was new for me. Most women, all ages, saw my face and body, a lucky mix of Carter and Kendall, and liked what they saw. I usually took full advantage of that.

Anneliese was different. She was fighting her attraction to me. So, I savored each little smile, laugh, touch, and kiss. “You don’t like me, do you Callie?”

She shrugged, not bothering to turn around. “Your hotshot stuff doesn’t impress me, if that’s what you’re getting at. You seem like you care about Anneliese, although she’s not like the women eating out of your hand.”

My phone pinged with a text from Mom. Maria Rosa said she saw you at a tree in great sorrow. Her words, she was emphatic: You can stop it this time! Our words: Be safe, dearest son! Call us soon. I am well.

WTF? I would unpack that later. We were getting close to the glade. Callie pointed to a scooter. “I loaned her that.”

Rufus parked in a roadside park. I scrambled out of the backseat and sprinted toward the oak tree. Callie and Rufus trailed me. Anneliese was there. So was the witch with purple hair.

Anneliese shouted words, not in English. Her tone was firm. The cloying, humid air was still. A pinecone thunked onto the ground.

“Bruce, do you have the horseshoe?” Anneliese kept her gaze on Purple Hair.

“No. I left it at City Hall.”

Callie reached inside her purse. “I have something that’ll work just as well. Here.” She held a small bit of iron in the palm of her hand like a shield and stomped toward Anneliese.

“What is happening?” Rufus asked.

“Trust me,” Callie said. “I would explain, but you won’t believe me.”

“Eeyee!” Purple hair screeched and ducked behind the oak tree. I ran toward her but she was gone. Tiny wings buzzed past my face.

Anneliese sank against the oak and slid to the ground. She sat with her knees pulled up and her back pressed against the tree.

“We’ll give you two a moment,” Callie said, looking only at Anneliese. “Call out if you need us, hon.”

Anneliese looked up at me when they were out of sight. Gut punch. The light was gone from her amethyst eyes, replaced with a sadness that shook my soul. “I’m not what you think I am. But, neither then are you, Mr. Clynes. It doesn’t matter now.”

I sat next to her, desperate to take her sadness away. I squeezed her hand.

Anneliese’s gaze slid over me. I felt it like a caress. “When I was last human, long ago, we walked this glade together.”

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