He nodded. “Same. And I’m ready to be out of here.”
“Yeah, I’m not a big fan of hospitals.”
“Who is?”
“Right?” Jenna sighed. “I just sent my sister home. I figure there’s no point in her waiting on me when I have no idea when I’ll be able to leave.”
“Hopefully, it won’t be much longer.”
She stared at the railing on the side of his bed, looking very much like she had something else to say. “I’m sorry you got dragged into all of that at the house.”
Apologies couldn’t be easy for her. That she felt compelled to give him one meant something. “Hey, we were both doing our jobs. And injury comes with the territory.”
“It does.” She smiled again, but it wasn’t as bright or as wide as the one she’d walked in with. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
“You too.” He pushed himself a little more upright in the bed, a fleeting image of something dark and shadowy speeding through his head. It was too quick for him to grasp, but it left him with a question for her. “You have any idea who might have done this?”
“No. Not a clue. I need to talk to Hank. See if they were able to recover any prints off the box or—”
“Did I hear my name?” Hank strode into the room and closed the door behind him. “Glad you’re both here. How are you doing?”
Titus answered first. “Well enough to be home.”
“Same,” Jenna said. “Except I’d prefer to be back at work.”
“About that,” Hank said. “I have some news.”
“Good or bad?” Titus asked.
“Yes,” Hank answered.
“Whatever it is, it’s better than no news at all.” Jenna’s brows lifted. “What did you come to tell us, Sheriff?”
Hank took a breath and pulled out his phone. He tapped the screen a few times, bringing up what looked like a long text message. “Alice Bishop completed a partial analysis of the powder sample we gave her. There was definitely witchcraft involved, but not any kind she’s familiar with.”
“And pentothal,” Jenna added. “That was involved too.”
“Truth serum?” Titus looked at her with surprise.
So did Hank. “Who told you that?”
“Dr. Navarro,” Jenna said. “I guess he hasn’t had a chance to share that with you. He thinks it’s what knocked us out. And it could cause us some short-term memory loss. Anyway, what else did she find?”
Hank glanced at his phone again. “There were a few elements Alice has yet to identify. The pentothal is probably one of those, since it’s of human origin, and she’s focused on the organic components. But what she has found so far includes rue, gold, ground rose petals, and mugwort, to name a few. Seems it was a whole cocktail of ingredients, none of which means much to me, but the bottom line from her is the bomb had a lot going on. More than one spell. As best she can tell, it was a love potion and a binding spell.”
“A love potion?” Jenna blinked but didn’t make eye contact with Titus. “That’s random. Except…I’m sure Pandora Williams is the listing agent on that house. I’d like to talk to her, see if she has any ex-boyfriends that might be up to a stunt like that.”
“Because of the love spell?” Hank asked.
“And the binding spell. That’s a pretty stalkerish combination.”
Hank nodded. “That it is.”
Titus didn’t feel especially in love with Jenna, but he also couldn’t remember why he’d ever thought she was annoying. He frowned. “You think Pandora’s in trouble?”
“Could be.” Jenna looked at Hank. “Maybe we should get someone over to her office. Verify she’s all right and hasn’t had any unwanted visitors lately.”
Hank put his phone away and reached for his radio. “I’ll get someone on it, then fill Birdie in.”
While Hank made his call, Titus pondered the information about the love spell a little more. Was that why he suddenly thought Jenna was so beautiful? She was beautiful. All valkyries were, but he felt like he was noticing her beauty in a way he never had before. Hmm. Was this line of thinking proof that the spell was affecting him?
Hank finished talking to Birdie and looked at his brother and Jenna again. “All right. Deputy May is on her way over there to talk to Pandora.”
Jenna chewed on the inside of her cheek. “You said you had good news and bad news. What’s the good news?”
Hank thought a moment. “That Alice has started to figure it out.”
“Oh.” Jenna looked like she’d had hopes for something else. “And the bad is the love spell and the binding spell.”
“Right,” Hank said.
Titus realized they’d glossed over the second one. “What’s the part about the binding spell? Can you explain that?”
Hank glanced at his brother, his gaze lighting up with the most curious gleam. “That’s where it gets interesting.”
“Like it wasn’t already?” Titus frowned. “I don’t like where this is going. Tell us what you know.”
Jenna nodded. “Please.”
Hank took his phone out again. “Whoever set up this little magic bomb apparently intended for the target to not only fall in love with them but be bound to them. Like you said, a very stalkerish combo.”
Jenna held out her hands. “We’re not bound to anyone.”
The corner of Hank’s mouth twitched like he was trying not to smile. “But you are. You two are not only under the influence of a love potion, but it seems you’re now bound to each other.”
Jenna sat down hard on the utilitarian love seat near the window. “Bound. To Titus. By magic?”
“Wait a second,” Titus said. “Is that even a thing? I mean, how do you know it’s working? There’s no magical force keeping us together.” Thankfully, because being bound to Jenna would be a nightmare. Planning the race with her was already testing the limits of his good nature. He couldn’t imagine having to be around her all the time.
Except that he could. In fact, he was. And the things he imagined were raising his temperature in ways that were only going to
