Page 9 of Outlaw Witch

There’s a burst of fresh air and my lungs fill for the first time in what feels like forever. The world then goes topsy-turvy again as I’m flipped back onto my feet. Warm hands steady me and I look up into hazel eyes that are vaguely familiar. I stare at his face and realize that in the panic, I’ve lost control of my magic. He can see my true face.

Dammit.

The entire coven seems to be gathered out in a little courtyard where we’re now standing and I’m conscious of the number of people around me.

“You all right?”

I wobble slightly on my feet and then pull my jacket tighter around me, checking that the artifacts are still in place.

“Fine,” I rasp.

And then I bolt.

3

Roscoe

“What happened to thegirl?” Zeph glowers at me with his arms folded, like he thinks I got distracted and forgot what I was doing halfway through the job.

It happensone timeand they never let you forget it.

And it wasn’tmyfault the damn mark we were distracting happened to be a model that was dressed for a lingerie shoot. Find me a single, hetero male who wouldn’t find it distracting and I’ll... shake his hand or something.

“The girl?” I ask, just to fuck with him.

Zeph makes this little grumbling growly noise, like he’s a grouchy bear that’s woken from a nap. I don’t know why, but there’s something in me that finds it deeply satisfying to wind him up.

Not all the time, since I still like having all my limbs attached. But sometimes it’s a surefire way of brightening up my day.

“The girl,” he growls back, and I pat his shoulder with a chuckle.

“Oh, you mean thewitch?Come on, man, lighten up. She got away. I guess swooping in to save her life wasn’t the way to go.”

“No shit.”

We’ve been having this argument for days now. Ever since I came up with this little plan. I figured, what better way to get someone on side and trusting you than saving them from a tiny fire. I was like a damn white knight in there, even swept her into my arms like she was a damsel.

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