Jack arrived a moment later.
“Put out the fire, arrest Elvira, and get her to the jail,” Andy told him. “I’ll take care of Ali.”
Jack immediately nodded and went to the vampire, who was now statue-still, while Andy came towards me.
“Are you alright? Did she hurt you?”
I held up my hand which was swollen and red with at least one layer of skin peeling off. “I’m really glad we’re an earth coven,” I replied. “Willow will have something to treat this. But apart from that, I think I’m fine. Just some scratches and bruises.”
“I have a broom. I can have you at the hospital in three minutes.”
He grabbed the broom and swung his legs over it, and I did the same, grabbing onto his muscular torso as we flew through the air towards the hospital. I pressed my face against his back, leaning into his body for comfort as I hoped the Healers had a lot of burn potion on standby.
Chapter 26
“I thought you stood me up,” Andy said with a small smile when the Assistant Healer finally left. My hand was covered in an anti-burn potion, and a wonderful cooling sensation coursed through my veins. The rest of the scratches all over my face, arms, and legs were also healing up nicely thanks to another potion Willow had insisted on making herself.
Of course, with half my face covered in a bright orange potion, I was fairly certain I looked like a semi-deranged circus clown, but Andy didn’t seem to mind.
“I wouldn’t do that to you,” I said as pain flashed behind his eyes. “I really did mean to meet you, obviously.”
“I know that now,” he replied. “When you weren’t there, I tried to call you, but there was no answer, and I thought you were screening my calls. So I decided to work the case myself, and I went back to the warehouse. Your wand was there, snapped in half, and that was when I knew you hadn’t stood me up and that something was wrong.”
“How did you find me?”
“I called Jack. He still knows the password you use for everything, so we tracked your phone. Elvira still had it on her, I guess.”
“I guess I can’t be mad that he’s still getting into my stuff.”
“You’ve hated him for what, a year now? I think it’s time you change your password.”
“Who has the time for that sort of thing? Besides, I forget the passwords when I change them, which I think defeats the purpose. I’ll tell Jack to stay out of my stuff.”
Andy laughed. “Fair enough.”
I looked at him carefully. “It really hurt you when I stood you up, didn’t it?” I asked, and Andy paused for a minute before nodding slowly.
“Yes. Yeah, it did.”
“It reminded you of your family? Why did you leave Australia?”
“Boy, you get right to the point, don’t you?” Andy said with a smile.
“You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to. But I’d like to know.”
“And I’d like to tell you,” he replied. “But it’s really quite difficult. I’m not used to talking about my emotions. And I’m certainly not comfortable talking about my family. But they are not good people. Growing up, they were quite distant. They weren’t abusive, not physically. But they were mentally abusive. Both my parents were. Always gaslighting me, that sort of thing.”
“So when I didn’t show up and you thought I’d stood you up, you were upset.”
“I was,” Andy admitted. “It brought back all the trauma I’d grown up with. I had told myself that I couldn’t trust anyone, and when we had a date and I thought you had stood me up and weren’t answering my calls, I was mad. I went to the warehouse to bury myself in work so I didn’t have to think about how it felt being stood up once again by someone I cared about and convinced myself that if I solved this case then it would mean work was more meaningful than relationships.”
“And then you found the wand and called Jack.”
“Yeah.”
“Well, thanks for realizing I was in trouble and coming after me,” I replied. “For what it’s worth, I might have a lot of personality flaws, but they usually have to do with being too honest and not deceitful. But did I hear you say you care about me?”
A light flush crawled up Andy’s face, and I grinned. “You do!”
“Well,” he muttered, “I guess you’re alright.”
“I’m a lot better than alright, thank you very much. Why haven’t you said anything?”
“It’s obvious you’re not interested in a relationship. You’re still hurt from what Sean did to you, and I don’t blame you for it. So I wasn’t going to try and make your life harder by telling you I was interested in you when you’re obviously not interested in me.”
I stared at him. “I had no idea.”
“That was kind of the point,” Andy replied with a smile.
“So you’re not joking? You actually do want to go out with me?”
“Sure, when you’re ready for it. I also don’t want to go out with someone who hasn’t gotten over the betrayal of her ex and who’s convinced it’s going to happen again. Trust me, I’ve had enough heartache in my life. I know what it’s like to have the people you love break your heart over and over again. If I’m getting into a relationship, I want it to be serious.”
“Me too,” I replied. “I’ve known that deep, true love that comes from a serious relationship, and that’s all I’m interested in for the future. I’m not sure I’m there yet, though.”
“That’s cool,” Andy said. “But when you get there, let me know.”
I smiled at him right as Jack walked into the room.
“What’s happened?” I asked. “Did she give you anything?”
Jack nodded. “She spilled it all. I took her to the jail and unfroze her, and she started talking right away. She killed both Rudoldir and Lupo.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I figured it out right before she attacked me.”
“How did you know?”
“The brass
