Page 20 of Magic and Medicine

I’d said a lot but couldn’t tell him the real reason. I didn’t want this fascination to become something more. I wasn’t ready for that, not with Leszek. Whatever drew us together made things too complicated.

‘It was not a question. Please pack yourself and your cat or parrot or stamp collection. Take whatever you feel is important, but pack yourself and return to the car. I will wait here.’

Here we go. Leszek’s appeal nosedived every time he bossed me around. He was calm again as he raised my hand, kissing my fingertips like this could soothe my anger, but I needed to leave the car before I choked him. I rushed inside my apartment, slamming the door behind me, listening for a moment to check if he’d followed me up, looking at Scarface, whose unblinking stare silently judged me as I turned the lock.

‘What? I can’t go with him. I’m my own woman with friends, a job and sanity, the last still mainly intact. I can’t live with a man who makes me feel like a horny teenager. You know it will end up exploding in my face. He isn’t the sort of man I can sample, then toss him out of the door with his cab fare as a thank you.’ I swore I heard the cat snort as I picked him up, but it was probably just wind.

Half an hour later, Leszek’s car was still in the parking lot. I was standing at the window wondering how long it would take till he lost the last of his patience and left, so the knock on the door took me by surprise. I hadn’t seen him exit his car, but the unmistakable scent of the forest told me who was on the other side.

‘Sara, are you ready? Do you need any help?’ his deep baritone sent shivers down my spine. I walked over, stood behind the door, looked at the handle, and braced myself to answer.

‘I’m not going anywhere. Please leave.’

His fist hammered the door with such strength that I worried the composite miracle of modern carpentry wouldn’t withstand the force. I stumbled backwards, my heart pounding in my chest. Is he going to break in and take me by force? I wondered, trying to calm my fears. Silence descended the moment I moved, and I couldn’t help but hold my breath in anticipation.

‘Sara, don’t be stubborn. I only want to protect you. When I told you your actions planted a target on your back, I left out a few details. The siren you encountered is involved in something dangerous, something that’s already left some of our brethren dead, and after tonight, the same people who wounded the wolf pup will be after you. All I want is to make sure you are safe. I won’t touch you. I won’t even come close unless you ask, but I must ensure you are safe.’ Leszek’s voice was quiet, yet the tension within its soft tones drew me closer till I lay my forehead against the solid barrier.

‘I will be safe. Please, please go home. I have to work tomorrow.’

‘Sara…’

‘No, moving in with you would strip away my freedom. Arrange a date or call me if you need my services, but I won’t move to your house tonight.’ I cursed myself for saying tonight as if he could persuade me any other day, but my answer seemed to satisfy him.

‘Fine, have it your way for tonight. I will see you tomorrow, but please think about it. Despite the circumstances, I really enjoyed this evening. If you fear I would impose myself upon you, invite a friend to keep me honest, but on my honour, I would never force you.’

I placed a hand on the door, stroking it, remembering the feel of Leszek’s chest. My breathing deepened when I sensed his presence, forcing me to step away and shake my head before I submitted to my cravings.

‘All right. I will think about it, but please leave now. I need to rest, and so do you.’ My words were almost a sob, and moments later, Leszek’s departing footsteps toldmeIwasalone.

Chapter thirteen

I moved to the couch and sat down, feeling numb after Leszek’s departure. Even cushioned by the soft fabric, I couldn’t relax a single tense muscle or ease the turmoil in my mind. My plan had backfired so badly that I failed to wrap my head around the enormity of my fuck up. So I grabbed Scarface, placed him on my lap, and gently stroked his soft, luxurious fur while I thought about it.

One day, I’m going about my own business, patching up the residents of Gdansk; the next, I’m pulling a dagger from a vampire’s chest. Then, after catching my breath, with unimaginable stupidity and bravado, I became a mobster’s girlfriend. I knew Leszek was some sort of local boss. What else did I know about him? Although I hadn’t heard of Leszek and his kind until recently, Nadolny acted as if they were old comrades and respected him, which begged the question. If he knew, who else did? I thought I was the odd one, the outcast who saw shadow monsters on every corner, mentally unstable, but with Adam and Leszek’s appearance, it now became evident magic was real, and I was part of a whole new world. One filled with dangerous creatures and the humans that knew of them, which, according to Leszek, instantly put me in danger. That and the fact I was now associated with him.

I snorted at this thought. Associated with him? If you called climbing the man like a tree could be considered associating, then I was definitely that. Maybe I should consider shares in liquorice in order to lower my libido around that damn man.

I had learned something new tonight, though, a new perspective even. Despite both men’s ruthless involvement in criminality, I suspected Leszek and Nadolny contributed to making Tricity’s crime rate lower than the surrounding areas. Their willingness to talk and cooperate, after the usual male posturing, was surprising. Not that I condoned crime, but I wasn’t some naïve youngster and knew how bad the violence would be if no one controlled the streets, as was clear with the recent spate of stabbings.

Were the attacks a result of whatever had caused the two gangsters to meet? Some new player disrupting the established order, or perhaps internal disruption from an ambitious underling? I liked my city and enjoyed the freedom to walk unmolested on its streets, but there was no telling what would happen if the situation escalated. The crime here was… orderly, and I knew who I had to thank for this.

A hollow laugh shook my body, and I buried my face in cat fur.

‘Now I’m defending the criminal underworld, but it is my city, my home. What should I do, fluffball? Help them? Call the police?’ I asked, scratching the cat’s chin.

‘What am I even saying? There’s not a shred of evidence they’ve done anything wrong. Can you imagine me going to the police and telling them what I’ve seen these last few days? Even Kamil would laugh me out of the station, and he’s known me for years.’

As I stared into Scarface’s inscrutable gaze, there was a flash of something at the corner of my eye, and as I turned, a face appeared from the shadows outside my window, looking directly at me before fading away once more. Fuck, I need to get my imagination under control. I closed my eyes, letting the cat’s purring calm my racing thoughts, but as I relaxed, my mind connected with something: an awareness, hungry and annoyed that the stroking had stopped, the realisation that my imagination wasn’t creating this phenomenon left me gaping.

I sat there, mouth open, as my cat nonchalantly jumped off my lap and walked over to the cupboard that held his food.

‘Scarface… how?’ I asked, utterly baffled by this latest development, seriously worried that I’d lost what little sense I had left and could now talk to my feline companion. Not that I hadn’t been talking to him before, but never with the expectation he’d answer. Finally closing my mouth, I pinched the bridge of my nose, massaging the frown I knew would be there, hoping to make everything disappear.

‘Finally, I thought I’d have to bond with a witch if you didn’t figure out your magic. Feed me, woman. You can brood over your gentleman caller later. Why you’d chase after the Leshy without feeding me first, I don’t know. Seers! Almost as bad as witches, always forgetting what’s important when something pretty distracts them. Come on; this bowl won’t fill itself.’

I walked to the kitchen, looked at my cat, and seriously considered getting an MRI. I filled both bowls without once looking away from Scarface.

‘Who? What are you?’ I asked when he snapped at the food, devouring it with gusto.

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