could hear it in her voice. It wasn’t hard to recognize.”
“Okay,” he huffed. “So if you really think she’s gonna come after ya’ here, then we need ta’ move ya’ no matter what Firehair says.”
“That would just prolong the inevitable. Like I said, I think that tactic will be a last resort on her part,” I told him with a shake of my head. “She’ll try something else first.”
“What?”
“I don’t know any more what it might be than the rest of you, Ben. Maybe we’ll find out when she calls again.”
“Still wouldn’t hurt ta’ get you two someplace safe.”
“I know this is going to sound crazy, but right now I think this is probably the safest place we can be.”
“Why? She knows where you are, and if you really believe she’ll come after ya’ here, how is it safe?”
“It just is.”
He reached up and smoothed back his hair then shot me a concerned look. “Okay. So, my turn ta’ play shrink. What is it you ain’t sayin’?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean it’s been damn near four hours since Devereaux called, and you’ve been off in your own damn world ever since. Somethin’s botherin’ ya’ big time.”
“No offense, Ben, but are you familiar with the expression, ‘Duh?’ There’s an insane woman out there who wants to kill my wife. Of course something’s bothering me.”
“Yeah, duh, that’s funny. I mean there’s somethin’ else runnin’ around in your head, White Man. Otherwise you wouldn’t suddenly be so opposed ta’ bein’ moved. Was it somethin’ she said?”
“You heard the recording when Constance called in.”
“Yeah, I did. So, what gives? Are you thinkin’ she was right about the ghost bitch and Firehair bein’ hooked up again?”
“I don’t know if she was right or not,” I said with a shake of my head. “But it definitely worries me.”
“Well, Felicity ain’t actin’ like a psychobitch or anything. She’s definitely got a bit of wingnut factor goin’ on, but I think Helen’s got a handle on that.”
“True. But, the fact that Annalise doesn’t seem to recall what was done with that bit of spellwork at Lewis’s apartment is especially unnerving. It means Miranda is directly responsible for the magick instead of her.”
“And, so explain it to me… I take it that’s a bad thing?”
“It may well be. I’m not sure. I’ve never gone toe-to-toe with a spirit where the actual working of magick is concerned.”
“So stayin’ here has somethin’ ta’ do with that?”
“I can ward against magick anywhere I go… But, the fact remains that I’ve done a lot of work in recent weeks on this house to protect it against any sort of magickal invasion,” I explained. “As long as Felicity stays here, I think I have her protected from Miranda. At least, I hope I do.”
“Think that’s why your Twilight Zone ain’t workin’ so good in here?”
“Maybe. Probably. But, you know that’s really hit and miss as it is.”
“But, did ya’ just say you could do the hocus-pocus someplace else instead?”
“I can,” I admitted. “But, look at it this way-walls constructed over a few hours versus those that have been fortified over a period of weeks. Which would you rather take cover behind when the shit starts to fly?”
“Yeah, okay. I get it. So, it’s a Witch thing.”
“Yeah, it’s a Witch thing.”
“Jeez…” he mumbled. “Whatever happened ta’ just plain old bad guys with guns and knives?”
I knew he wasn’t really looking for an answer, but I gave him one anyway. “Easy. You met me.”
He didn’t reply, not that I really expected him to. With a lull falling in our conversation, I reached up and massaged my forehead. The chronic throb had worked its way from the back of my skull all the way to the front, setting up shop throughout my entire head. I’d been tempted to tap into the aspirin a time or two already but had decided to save them for when things really got bad. At the moment, I was weighing that decision very carefully, trying to convince myself that I hadn’t yet reached that point. I was probably being overly cautious, but old habits die hard, and I now had a healthy fear of that one in particular.
Dropping my hand down, I opened my eyes then reached for my cup of coffee. I picked it up and took a quick swig, only to discover that what little of it that was left had gone cold. I looked over to my friend and noticed his cup was completely empty.
“I’m going to get a fresh cup,” I said, lifting my mug into view. “You want one?”
“Sure,” he replied, pushing his seat back from the table.
At about the moment we were both rising from our chairs, the front door opened, and Constance came into the house.
“Cold out there?” Ben asked after she had pressed the door shut and stepped farther into the room.
“What do you think?” she replied with a return volley of sarcasm while shrugging off her coat and draping it over the back of the sofa.
“I’ll swap with ya’,” my friend offered. “Where’d ya’ leave off?”
Constance shook her head. “Don’t worry about it right now. The main houses have been covered. Reynolds and Cobb are still working the side street. Parker and the locals are up the block.”
“Nothing so far, I take it?” I asked.
“No,” she replied. “We didn’t expect much though.”
“We were just talkin’ about that,” Ben said.
“We’ll have to make another round when people start arriving home from work,” she detailed then looked directly at me. “Maybe our luck will change then. Either way, the bureau has arranged for you and Felicity to stay at a safe house. We can probably move you there within the next couple of hours.”
“Uh-huh,” Ben grunted, answering for me. “Welcome to the party. We were just talkin’ about that too.”
“What about it?”
“Rowan says they ain’t leavin’.”
“First Felicity, now you?” Constance appealed, shooting me a hard glance. “Rowan, I hate to break it to you, but you don’t have any choice in the matter. We’re moving you.”
“It’s a Witch thing, Constance,” my friend told her.
“What? A Witch th…” she shot us both a confused look and cocked her head. “I don’t suppose you’d care to explain?”
“Flyin’ shit and big walls,” Ben retorted before I could say a word. “You’d hafta ask the White Man.”
“Rowan?” she asked.
“Long story short, you have to protect us from Annalise, I understand that. But, I have to protect Felicity from Miranda, who may well be an even greater threat in the grand scheme of things. This is the best place for me to do that.”
She shook her head again. “I sympathize, Rowan, I really do. I don’t necessarily understand it, but I sympathize. Unfortunately, it’s out of my hands. My SAC already made the decision. You two are being moved to a safe house, like it or not. Even if it involves officially placing you in federal custody, which we will do if need be.”
“Can ya’ like take some of your Witch stuff with ya’?” Ben asked. “‘Cause it looks ta’ me like you’re goin’.”
“I guess I’ll have to, won’t I?” I spat.
“I’m sorry, Rowan,” Constance said quietly.
“It’s not your fault,” I told her. “You’re just doing your job. I’ll go tell Feli…”
I didn’t get to finish the sentence because I was interrupted by an anguished call emanating from the basement, which came in the form of my wife’s tear-filled voice screaming my name. If that wasn’t enough to stop my heart, the two words that followed were a guaranteed flat line.
All three of us were moving as a plaintive “she’s here” echoed up the stairwell.
