“We’re not here to eat, we’re here on business,” Div said under her breath.
“Uh-huh, right. Sorry.”
They wove their way through the crowd and joined the three guys at the fireplace. They were all drinking champagne.
“Colter!” Mira went up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I am so, so sorry.”
Looking startled, Colter hugged her back while carefully balancing his champagne glass in one hand. “Thanks, Mira. Thank you, that’s really nice of you.”
Div scrutinized Colter. His chiseled face was pale, and his eyes were red, as though he’d been crying… or not sleeping… or both. Otherwise, he was his usual crazy-hot self. Tonight, he was wearing a navy blazer, white button-down, and khakis; the preppy outfit suited him.
“Hey, ladies,” Nick said, waving to the three girls.
Mira turned to Hunter. “Hunter, these are my friends Div and Aysha. Div and Aysha, this is Colter’s brother, Hunter.”
“Nice to meet you,” Hunter said, smiling at Aysha and Div. His smile lingered on Div.
Div knew what that smile meant. She was accustomed to seeing it, and she knew just how to use it.
She swept her hair over her shoulder and moved closer to Hunter. “Great party. It’s so generous of your family to do this for Mira’s dad.”
“Dad and Mr. Jahani go back a long way. So, Div… that’s a cool name, by the way. Do you go to school with Mira?”
Div wrinkled her nose. “Yes, although I can’t wait to graduate and start living my life. What about you?”
“I’m a pre-med at the university.”
“That is amazing,” Div said, putting her hand on his arm.
Hunter’s eyes flicked to her hand and then back up to her face. “Yeah, I’m pretty passionate about medicine.”
“And I’ve decided to major in political science, thanks for asking,” Nick said jokingly. “I’m thinking about law school down the line and then maybe politics, like our future mayor over there.” He nodded in the direction of his dad. “You know, saving the world and all that good stuff.”
“No one cares, Nicky,” Mira teased him.
“No one’s listening to you, Meerkat,” Nick teased back.
“Your family must be super-upset about Penelope,” Aysha said to Colter and Hunter.
Hunter glanced at Colter briefly. “Yeah, of course. It’s terrible. But we were also pretty shocked to find out that she was a…” He hesitated.
“A witch?” Aysha finished for him.
“Yeah. We had no idea.”
Colter’s face flushed beet-red. “I told you before, Hunter. I don’t believe that,” he said emphatically. He gestured with his glass, and champagne spilled out. “She’s a… she was a really sweet girl. A really good person. There’s no way she would have been involved in that kind of criminal activity.”
Criminal activity? Div tried to keep her expression neutral, even as fury boiled inside her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Aysha curling her hands into fists and then forcing them to relax.
“People do keep secrets. Maybe she was too ashamed to tell you?” Mira said to Colter.
“I still don’t believe it.”
“Well, believe it, bro,” Hunter said gently. “I’m sorry she’s gone, though. I know you really cared about her.”
Mira hooked her arm through Colter’s. “You need to let your friends help you move on. We’re here for you.”
“Boys!”
A middle-aged man strolled up to their group. He wore a red, white, and blue tie with his navy suit. Gray peppered his short blond hair. “There’s some folks I want you to meet, from the chamber of commerce; they want us to help organize a charity softball game. Hey there, pretty Mira,” he said, kissing her cheek and squeezing her shoulder. What a lech, Div thought in disgust. “We’ve all missed you around here. You need to come around for dinner sometime. And who are these other beauties? Friends of yours? Welcome, welcome. I’m Jared Jessup, but please call me Jared… Mr. Jessup is my father’s name, you know what I mean?” He chuckled.
Div shook Mr. Jessup’s hand quickly, before he had a chance to kiss her on the cheek or squeeze her shoulder. (Aysha busied herself tying her shoelace.)
“We were just talking about Penelope,” Div told him with a heavy sigh.
Mr. Jessup sighed, too, and shook his head slowly. “Real shame. She seemed like… well, like one of us. Who knew that she was involved in all that satanic mumbo jumbo?”
Aysha’s hands curled into fists again.
“I don’t think—” she began, but Div cut her off.
“Yes, you never know about people. I mean, it’s against the law. Don’t these witches understand that? Sorry, Colter,” Div added quickly. “I liked Penelope, too. But I have really strong opinions about this whole witch thing.”
She waited a beat and carefully watched Colter’s reaction—and Hunter’s and Mr. Jessup’s, too.
“You’re a smart girl, Div. She’s a smart girl,” Mr. Jessup told his sons.
Colter said nothing and downed his champagne. Hunter was staring at Div with renewed interest. Was he assessing her as a potential Antima member? “Where are my manners? Can I get you something to drink, Div? And you, too, Mira and Aysha?”
“Absolutely!” Mira said cheerfully.
“Love it!” Aysha replied through clenched teeth.
“Thanks, Hunter,” Div said silkily. He gave her that smile again… the smile that told her that he would be asking her for her number before the party was over.
This little operation was going very well so far.
Except for the fact that Div was really, really tempted to kill the three Jessup men with her bare hands.
Div wandered down the hallway, along an ornate runner that had colorful depictions of exotic birds and flowers woven into it. From the living room, she could hear Mr. Jahani giving his speech, talking about the economy and jobs and taxes while the crowd cheered and clapped and shouted his name.
She was searching for a restroom. Or pretending to, anyway. She was actually on a small side mission—to collect hair samples from each of the Jessup men. The idea had come to her during the conversation with Mr. Jessup (correction, Jared, although she felt weird calling him that) and his sons. They had different-color hair,
