Hannah’s heart was pounding so hard she thought she might pass out. “I’ll never give you this land.”
“You will if you want to protect your precious Cooper,” Ray countered, grinning when he saw the panic flit through Hannah’s eyes. “Oh, you’re finally putting it together, aren’t you? Yes, we’re all here ... and your boyfriend is in the most trouble of all. If I’m not mistaken, Lorna should have him right where she wants him at this exact moment. Do you want to come with us and see?”
Sheer panic licked through Hannah’s stomach as she tried to maintain control of her emotions. All this time, throughout this entire conversation, Cooper had been in trouble. She didn’t have to look at the spot where he’d been standing with Jacob several minutes before to reassure herself. He was gone. Heck, they were both gone. She’d seen them separate and then lost track of Cooper. He was in one of the buildings ... and apparently he wasn’t alone.
“I’ll never give you this land.” Hannah was firm. “You can threaten us all you want, but I’m not an idiot. The second I give you what you want, you’ll kill us anyway. There’s no upside for me.”
“There’s one,” Ray countered. “If you give us what we want, we’ll promise to end you quickly.”
“That goes for Cooper, too,” Nikki interjected. “We won’t let Lorna do ... well, what she likes to do. We’ll put you both out of your misery fast. That’s the best offer we can make to you.”
“I see.” Hannah licked her lips, nervous energy taking over. “I have a counter proposal.”
“Oh, yeah?” Nikki’s amusement was palpable. “And what’s that?”
“Well, see, I’m going to need a little something more.”
Nikki was practically salivating as she leaned forward. “And what’s that?”
“This!” Hannah slapped her hands on either side of Nikki’s head and poured the magic she’d been drawing into the girl’s brain. Nikki’s eyes went wide, bulging out of her head, and she almost immediately seized.
Hannah didn’t wait around to gauge the outcome of her handiwork. She turned on her heel, even as Ray was viciously swearing under his breath and she felt (more than saw) Nikki’s body poof out of existence, and bolted between the buildings.
“Running isn’t going to do you any good, Hannah,” he called after her. “I’m definitely going to make it hurt when I find you.”
Hannah pushed the notion out of her head. All she knew was that she needed to find Cooper. Once they were together, they could come up with a plan.
Together, they could do anything.
17
Seventeen
Cooper slipped into the seamstress store to take a look at the research Danielle and Jackie had amassed. There was a back room to the storefront, which was where they kept most of their witchy belongings, and Cooper was fairly certain that the women wouldn’t show themselves for at least another hour. That meant he could peruse their findings without them looking over his shoulder.
Unfortunately, information he found on the back table left him more confused than informed. According to the passages they’d highlighted, Hannah was right … at least in theory. If you could fight off one of the furies, you made them weaker ... although it was a rare few who could manage that. Almost all of the individuals mentioned in the books had magical backgrounds. That was good news for Hannah, but bad news for him.
He cracked his neck as he stretched, agitation building through his powerful shoulders. Hannah’s insistence that he had somehow fought Frank didn’t sit well with him. If he’d fought, then he wouldn’t have attacked his friend the way he did. On the flip side, he recognized she might be on to something when pointing out that he easily could’ve killed Tyler. The question became, if he was so out of control, why didn’t he go that route?
He didn’t have an answer. The whole thing was starting to give him indigestion and he didn’t want to think about it. He had no choice, though. Deadly furies were barreling down on them and it was only a matter of time before they mounted a full-blown assault. Cooper couldn’t shake the notion that the attack was imminent ... and probably much sooner than any of them were comfortable with.
“Excuse me. Do you have a moment?”
The voice behind him was ultra-feminine, and Cooper didn’t recognize it. Despite that, it also felt familiar, and when he swiveled his mouth dropped open at the sight of Lorna. “What are you doing here?” he blurted out stupidly.
Lorna looked amused by the question. “I’m here to see you.”
“Me?” Suddenly, Cooper felt inexplicably dumb. “Um, I’m sorry if I didn’t message you about the position, but we decided to go another way. I apologize for making you come all the way out here for an interview but ... that’s the way it is.”
Lorna’s smile was cocky as she trailed her fingers over one of the handmade dresses in the window. She seemed entranced by the workmanship, to the point where her attention was focused almost solely on the frock.
“I emailed you, right?” Cooper racked his brain. It would be just like him to forget to handle the hard part of the bartender decision. Of course, he’d been somewhat distracted since that afternoon.
“You did email me,” Lorna confirmed, her fingers tracing the intricate bodice. “This is exquisite work. It almost looks authentic.”
“It is authentic,” Cooper replied. “I mean ... as much as it can be. The women who work here have learned to sew using only the items that were available in a specific time period. They’ve gotten really good. Technically, some of the fabrics are more modern, but the work itself is historically accurate.”
“I can see that.” Lorna beamed at him. “I would like to meet the woman who made this dress.”
The demand caught Cooper off guard. “Oh, well, she’s not here right now. I expect her within the hour,
