Suddenly Sorceress (15 page)

“Really?” Jack’s lips pressed into a tight line. “A Hummer limo?”

“Thank you!” I threw my arms around Jon’s neck and plastered a big sloppy kiss on his stubbly cheek.

Jon shrugged, a perma-smirk etched across his face.

The Blake brothers passed the bags to the driver as I followed Chloe and the enormous dog into the limo.

“Where to?” the driver asked.

Everyone looked at me for an answer. I didn’t have one. I was just as lost as lost could be, powerful magic flowing inside me or not.

“My house,” I said and leaned forward to give him the address before flopping back against the seat.

Nineteen

A
t least a dozen police
cars lined the airport exit ramp. That wasn’t out of the ordinary for the country’s busiest airport, but I just knew they were all there for me. The inexplicable sensation that had washed over me on the tarmac lingered.

“What do we do if the police are at your house?” Chloe asked, shattering my already fragile composure.

“I don’t know.” I stared through the blacked-out windows. “We still need to find a picture of Matt. So the gym?”

“That would be a good start.” Jack squeezed my hand. “We can swing by your house first, and if it’s not safe, we’ll head there.”

I nodded, watching the trees go by.

The ride to my house was longer than I remembered. Or maybe I was just anxious to get there. But as we approached the historic street, the prickling sensation was back.

“Wait,” I said to the driver, “can you drive past the house? Go all the way to the cemetery.”

Jack held my face and stared into my eyes. “What is it?”

“Trust me.”

Several cars were parked outside of my house as we drove by, and I flinched away from the glass. I knew they couldn’t see me, but I wasn’t going to take that chance.

“Oh, shit.” Chloe stared out the window. “What are we going to do?”

It was local police and a few unmarked cars, but yellow tape stretched across my front walk like a barrier. I could only imagine who was in the house.

“We’re going to head to the gym,” I said and turned to the driver to give him the address. I only had one chance of fixing my situation, and that meant I needed to get a picture of Matt.

Matt’s office was located in a high-end gym a few miles away in the town’s modern business district. I asked the driver to pull around to the side to avoid the packed parking lot. A Hummer limo would stand out, even there.

“You can’t go in there,” Jack said.

“I have to.” I stiffened my spine, ready to argue with him. “I need that picture.”

“Everyone knows what you look like. The red hair won’t fool anyone. I’ll go.” He unbuckled and grabbed the door handle, but I pulled his hand back.

“No, wait. We have no idea who or what is waiting.”

“I can go,” Jon suggested.

“That’s really sweet of you to offer, but you tend to draw a crowd.” I thought back to the hotel lobby in Las Vegas and the crowd of people clamoring for his autograph.

Chloe gasped. “Me? You want me to go in there? Everyone knows me.”

“No, you aren’t going, Chloe,” Jack said. “I am.” Before I had a chance to argue, he put a finger to my lips. “I’m the only one who makes sense. No one knows me. I’m not a celebrity. And as far as anyone knows, I have no connection to you or Matt.”

My leg bounced as I gnawed on my battered thumbnail. He had a point, as much as I hated to agree. “Okay. But you have to promise to be careful.”

He smiled and kissed the tip of my nose. “Of course.”

“You need to go to the chiropractic office. Matt has photos of himself hanging in the waiting area—several of them. It doesn’t matter which one you grab. Just don’t get caught.”

“I won’t.” He reached for the door handle, and I yanked him back to smash my lips against his.

“Be careful.”

He nodded and kissed me again then got out of the limo and disappeared around the side of the building.

My pulse jumped the minute I lost sight of him. Every possible scenario imaginable ran through my head. Several minutes ticked by, and Jack had yet to appear.

“He’s been gone too long,” I said.

“It hasn’t been that long, Ivie,” Jon assured me. “He’s probably just being careful. The guy was an Eagle Scout.”

“Oh, my God!” Chloe blurted, stopping my heart for a split second. “What if you did away with every picture of Matt, even the ones here?”

“Don’t even say that.” I shuddered. I’d already thought of that. What if I
had
banished every picture ever taken of Matt? What would I do?

“There he is.” Jon pointed to the lanky figure coming around the side of the building.

“Oh, thank God.” I clutched my chest.

Jack climbed into the Hummer and slammed the door. “Got it. We need to get Ivie out of here fast. There’s a cop talking to a redhead in the lobby outside Matt’s office, and I overheard him mention Vegas and your new hair color. They know you’re back in town with a blond woman and a couple of handsome guys.”

“Handsome guys, huh? You got all that while you were in there?” I asked.

“The receptionist likes to talk.” He flashed that cheeky grin of his.

“That’s not
all
the receptionist likes to do,” I snapped.

Jack tipped my chin up to look me in the eyes. “Do I sense a green streak forming in that stunning red hair of yours?”

“Do I have a reason to have a green streak, Houdini?”

“Not a single one.” He kissed my parted lips then pulled away. “But we really need to go.”

The driver put the limo into gear just as I heard sirens in the distance.

“Tell me that isn’t what I think it is,” Jon said.

“Gah!” Chloe screamed. “The police.”

“Shit, I was afraid the receptionist recognized me.” Jack pushed a hand through his hair.

“Ginger,” I said through clenched teeth.
Perfect
.

“How did they know who you were?” Chloe perched on her knees to peer out the back window.

“They had a stack of pictures from the airport,” Jack said.

Stupid clown hair.

Matt growled and battered the inside of the windows with his nails. I could only imagine what he must have thought.

“Matt, shut up,” I yelled.

The wail of the sirens grew louder. The jig, as they say, was up. I thought my heart had come to a standstill.

“Ivie, what are you going to do?” Chloe shook my arm.

My eyes squeezed shut as I concentrated on breathing.
In… Out. In… Out.
With each breath, I tried to shoot sparks from my fingertips like some cartoon witch, but I had nothing. Even if I had a jolt of energy building somewhere down deep, it wouldn’t be enough to take out the approaching black-and-whites.

“Ivie, get out of the car.” Jack opened the door and thrust a folded-up photo and his cell phone at me. “Head for the woods. They can’t hold us on anything. I’ll call you as soon as it’s safe.”

“I can’t leave you.” My attention shifted between the three of them and the dog.

“Go.” He shoved me, and I stumbled out of the limo. “Before the cops get close and it’s too late.”

After one last glance at Jack’s face, I ran as fast as I could for the safety of the tree line. From my spot behind a gnarled oak, I watched the limo pull around the corner. They hadn’t even made it out of the lot before the police surrounded them. My pulse thundered in my ears as an officer rapped against the glass and the limo driver rolled down the window.

Before long, my friends filed out and lay face down on the pavement. A policeman struggled with Matt’s flimsy leash until it broke, and Matt launched himself in my direction. He took long, bounding strides as he closed the distance between us. The police gave chase, and I knew I needed to disappear before Matt led them to my hiding place.

In a state of panic, I ran through the woods with Jack’s cell phone clutched in my hands like a life preserver. I had no idea where I was going or where I would end up. My brain conjured up horrible images of Jack, Chloe, and Jon carted off in handcuffs and locked in cold, dark prison cells with overflowing toilets and real murderers.

I braced myself against a tree, panting as I caught my breath and listening for footsteps or the dog’s deep bellow.

I didn’t realize I’d dialed my mother’s number until I heard her cheery voice. “Hello?”

I’d forgotten how much I missed the sound of it. “Mom?” I blinked back tears.

“Yes?” she asked.

“It’s me, Ivie.”

“Well, of course it’s you, Ivie.” She chuckled. “I only have one daughter.”

“Mom, I need your help. My friends have been arrested.”

“My goodness, dear. What on earth did they do to get arrested?”

“It’s a long story.”

I paced the sticky floor of the ladies’ restroom at a Chevron gas station on the outskirts of town. The smell of vomit and other bodily fluids permeated the small space, and I poked my head out of the door for a lungful of fresh air. It felt as if days had passed since I’d wandered through the woods to the wild side of town to wait for my mother. I peeked at the time on Jack’s phone.

She’s late.

How long could it take to bail three people and one dog out of the city jail?
What if something went wrong?
My stomach clenched. It should have been me.

Headlights blinded me as I strained to see down the road in either direction. Several cars pulled up to the pump, but I didn’t recognize any of them. I kept looking for the Stepford wife with the silver pixie, but Mom never came.

I let the door fall shut and tucked myself into the corner to wait. What else could I do?

A woman staggered through the door and stopped to gawk at me before locking herself in a stall. Apparently, she didn’t notice she looked like an extra on
The
Walking Dead.

Mom couldn’t get there fast enough.

Crinkling plastic and coins falling against tile drew my attention away from the door.

“Ivie!”

My head snapped up and tears welled in my eyes. “You’re here.”

“You look terrible, dear. Red is not a good color on you.” She pulled me into a hug. “Did you get one of those Wonderbras? You’re too petite for such a large bosom. I can barely get my arms around you.”

“Oh, Mom.” I sucked in a deep breath laced with Chanel No. 5 and felt the tension roll out of me. “I’m better now that you’re here. Thank you.”

“Of course.” She released me and shook her head. “I just don’t understand how all this happened.”

“Not here.” I glanced around me, forcing a stiff smile for the woman coming out of the only working stall. “Did you get them?”

“Oh, yes, dear.” She smiled and patted my hand. “They’re waiting for you outside.”

“Good, let’s go.”

With another cautious scan of the area, I followed my mother out into the dark parking lot. I spotted the group hovering around her ancient Wagoneer, and my heart picked up a new rhythm. Tucking my arm under hers, I pulled her across the pavement.

Jack darted over, meeting me in the middle, and enveloped me in a tight embrace. Tears pricked at my eyes, and I wiped them away.

“Thank God you’re safe.” Jack kissed the top of my head. “I was so worried.”

I melted into his warmth. “I was afraid we wouldn’t be able to get you out. I didn’t know what to do.”

“You did it. You got us out. And I’d do it all over again to keep you safe.”

I climbed Jack like a beanstalk, crashing my lips against his without a thought of where we were. I didn’t care that we were standing under a streetlight in a public place with God and everyone else watching. I needed his touch.

“
Knock, knock,
Bonnie and Clyde?” Chloe tapped on my shoulder. “Can we get out of here?”

I glanced around. Other than our little group, the street was deserted, but Chloe was right. We shouldn’t take any chances.

“Yeah, babe,” Jon said. “I already reserved a suite nearby.”

I leaned into Jack as we walked to my mother’s station wagon then froze—something was missing. “Where’s Matt?”

“The police say he’s missing,” my mother whispered as she climbed behind the wheel. She had no idea.

I stood my ground outside in the cold, staring at the three of them. “Chloe?”

My best friend chewed on the inside of her cheek then stole a peek at Jack.

“Jack? Where’s Matt?”

Jack opened his mouth then shut it quickly. They were hiding something.

Jon stepped forward. “He’s at the pound.”

Twenty

I
paced the floor of Jon’s
hotel suite, certain I’d worn a trail in the vanilla carpet. The room’s understated elegance made it the nicest hotel room I had ever been in, bar none. But I couldn’t find it in me to care that the sheets had a thread count higher than the national debt. Or that the marble floors in the bathroom were heated. I didn’t have the luxury to enjoy the…
luxury
.

I was officially the only suspect in Matt’s disappearance, but up until a few hours ago, he wasn’t even missing. At some point, they would find me, and I would go to jail—directly to jail, do not pass Go, do not collect two hundred dollars—for his murder. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t dead.

I imagined rotting away in a prison cell while the man who’d broken my heart and destroyed my life ended up with a new name like Marmaduke or Hamlet and spent his days lounging on embroidered pillows and dining on raw sirloin. At least I could hope they’d neuter him. Either way, I was screwed.

“What are we going to do?” I asked no one in particular.

No one replied.

“Jack?”

He flashed me a weak smile from across the room then glanced at my mother and shrugged.

Chicken
. Not that I blamed him. I wanted no part of explaining the situation to my mom. I mean, where would I begin?

Hey Mom, my fiancé dumped me, so I turned him into a skunk, then a rat, then a snake, then a couple of dogs—one at a time. The police think I killed him. He’s locked up in the pound where he’ll probably be put to sleep, and I’ll most likely get the death penalty. Oh, and I’ve been having smoking hot sex with this delicious magician I just met. You know, the
chicken
across the room?

Yeah, that would go over well. I still hadn’t told her I’d lost my virginity. Then again, that experience hadn’t been overly memorable. It happened on prom night in the backseat of a banana-yellow 1976 Cutlass Supreme and lasted less than three minutes, most of that time spent hiking my dress up around my waist. Not at all like the last
time I had sex in a car.

I wouldn’t mind a repeat of that.

“Ivie, sit.” My mother pointed to the cherry armchair beside her. “It’s hardly your fault Matt went missing. Didn’t you say he left you for an aerobics instructor?”

“Yes, but that ho—errr—home-wrecker is saying he’s missing, and she thinks I killed him.”

“That’s crazy. He has to be somewhere.”

“Oh, he’s somewhere all right. He’s in the pound,” Chloe mumbled.

My mother’s eyes got big, and her hand shot up to cover her mouth. “He’s in the
ground
? You
buried
him?”

“She didn’t say he was in the ground
.
” I glared at Chloe. “I didn’t kill him
or
bury him. He’s perfectly fine. He just isn’t himself anymore.” I bit my lip and tried to find the right words. “Matt’s a dog.”

“Well, I should say so. Leaving you for another woman? Sleeping around the way he did? To think I’ve had him to dinner at my home. I even gave him one of your father’s watches. I may have to ask for that back.”

“No, ugh, you don’t understand. He’s actually a dog. A Great Dane. He was…” I stopped myself from running through the list of animals. “It really doesn’t matter; he’s a Great Dane now. I don’t know exactly how
this happened, but it seems as if I might be a… a witch.” I winced, waiting for my mother’s reaction.

But she didn’t react. Not the way I expected anyway. Her lack of reaction was a little anticlimactic, but at the same time, I felt something brewing under the surface. Just when I’d thought she’d gone into shock, Mom blinked several times.

“Mom? Are you okay?” I snapped my fingers. “Are you having a heart attack?”

She shook her head and opened her mouth only to close it again. She stood up as if she was leaving the room but turned around and sat down again. “He’s actually a dog? You mean eating kibble, barking at strangers, and lifting his leg on trees?” Her voice was hollow, strange. It scared me. It was too much for her sixty-year-old heart to bear.

I swallowed hard. “He squats actually. But even as a man he sat down to pee.”

In my peripheral vision, I caught Jack’s expression as he fought back a smile.

Mom nodded toward Jack. “And how do you know this young man?”

“Jack? He’s a magician, but he doesn’t do real magic. His brother is a famous magician.” I motioned to Jon, lying across the bed and flipping through a room service menu.

He lifted his head and gave my mom a poster-worthy grin.

“He’s on TV. You’ve probably seen him.”

When my mother didn’t seem to recognize him, Jon frowned and went back to his menu.

“We thought he could help us, but it turns out he’s just a better magician. He still doesn’t do actual magic. He’s with Chloe. It’s a long story.” I stumbled over the words, twisting the bottom of my shirt in my hands. My throat constricted when my mother opened her mouth and closed it again. “Are you okay, Mom? I know this is a lot to take in. I wouldn’t have told you at all if it wasn’t for the predicament I’m in right now.”

“I was afraid something like this would happen. You were always such a curious child,” she mumbled, playing with the clasp on her bag. “I told your father, God rest his soul, to do something about it, but he wouldn’t listen.” She looked up at me, beaming. “You were the light of his life. He wouldn’t have any of it. I do wish he was here right now.”

“Mom, when you say curious
,
what exactly do you mean? Are we talking ‘filled with curiosity’ or Wednesday Addams? And what do you mean you told my father—”

“Well, I guess that’s that.” My mother waved me off as she stood and smoothed the wrinkles in her light blue pantsuit. Her transformation from PTA to CEO was astonishing. She sucked in a deep breath and cleared her throat. “You’re going to need the spell book.”

“You’ll need a gram or two of the nectar of the aconitum plant.” Mom looked into my confused face and smiled. “Wolfsbane, dear. It wouldn’t hurt to toss in a dash of thornapple just to be doubly sure. It’s not really in season, but I’m sure we can make do.” She stared off into space and tapped her lips. “It’s imperative you add something of Matt’s like a lock of hair, maybe a bit of blood. Both would be ideal. You’d be surprised how much is left on a razor or a hairbrush. Men always seem to cut themselves while shaving.” She chuckled. “Even stray toenail clippings would do.”

I put my hand over my mouth to hold back the gas station burrito I’d eaten for dinner.

“Don’t make that face. If they came from him, they’ll help. Collect everything as quickly as possible, but you won’t be able to do the spell until the day after tomorrow. You can only work this sort of magic during a dark moon.” Mom spoke as if she was rattling off a grocery list.

Someone had pressed the pause button on my life. No one in the room as much as exhaled. We stood there, mouths hanging open like fish on display in a market.

“Don’t just stand there. Let’s go.” Mom clapped, and the room came to life again.

I stared at my mother with fresh eyes. “You’re a-a-a witch?” How did I know so little about the woman who’d given birth to me?

“Oh no, dear, not me. And neither are you.” She laughed with a dismissive wave. “Heavens, that’s funny. Thank goodness your father never heard you say that.”

She was clearly in denial. Had we not just established something wicked this way comes? “Then how do you know all of this stuff? Plants and spells, and did you say something about a book?”

“Well, dear, I was married to a sorcerer for almost thirty years. I was bound to pick up a few things.”

“But you just said I’m not—”

“I said you aren’t a witch
.
Witch
is such an ugly word. You’re a sorceress. You come from a long line of sorcerers on your father’s side. My side comes from Denmark.”

I’m a sorceress? From a long line of sorcerers?
“I think I’m going to be sick.” Or faint. Maybe both.

“Take a deep breath, dear.”

I fell into the chair Mom had vacated and fanned myself with both hands.

Jack kneeled beside me and smoothed my hair out of my face. “Are you okay?”

“No…” I shook my head then bent down to rest it against my knees. “Definitely not okay. I need a glass of water. With ice. Go ahead and pour some whiskey in it. In fact, forget about the water and just pour the whiskey.”

No one moved.

“I’m serious! Raid the mini-bar.”

“Oh, no, you don’t.” My mother bumped Jack out of the way. “You need your wits about you. We need to get straight to work. You said Jack here is a magician? We could use a good magician.”

“I’m not a good magician.” Jack laughed then cleared his throat. “I just do some fairly simple illusions.”

“Hmmm… But you like my daughter. That’s not an illusion, is it?” Mom narrowed her eyes and tapped her lips.

“Mom!” I buried my face in my hands, smothering a groan. “Please, don’t go there.”

“A mother knows these things. I don’t need a Magic Eight Ball to see this young man fancies you.” She patted Jack’s shoulder, and I felt myself flush all the way to my hairline. I had a sudden urge to head to the gallows—or whatever the execution du jour happened to be these days—in Salem.

Jack slid his hand under my chin and lifted my head, forcing me to face him. “I do fancy your daughter.” He spoke to my mother, but he looked at me. I expected him to laugh—or run—but he just gazed at me with nervous expectation, as if waiting for me to say something.

“Jack, you don’t have to—”

He pressed a finger to my lips. “I have been under your spell, Miss Ivie McKie, very literally, since the first moment I saw you.” He touched his forehead to mine and lowered his voice to a whisper. “I will do whatever I can to help you change Matt back. After that, it’s up to you.”

“Thank you.” It was all I could say without opening up the floodgates.

Mom clicked her tongue. “Can you court each other later? We have things to do.”

“Okay… You’d better start at the beginning. I’m done freaking out now.”

“Um, aren’t you forgetting something?” Chloe raised her eyebrows and waited. When no one said anything, she snorted. “Matt? Kind of hard to change him back if he isn’t here.”

My mouth dropped open. How could I have forgotten? Who knew what would happen to him if we left him in county lockup.

“It’s late.” Jack squeezed my hand. “There’s nothing we can do tonight. We’ll go in the morning.”

“Jack’s right,” Jon piped up, crawling to the edge of the bed to grab Chloe around her waist. “There’s nothing we can do tonight, so come to bed.” He dragged a squealing Chloe into the blankets.

“That would be my cue.” My mother excused herself into the adjoining bedroom.

I couldn’t argue with that. I wouldn’t mind crawling into bed, but I was positive I wouldn’t be able to sleep. My mind churned with new information. The desire to see my father’s spell book bordered on desperate. I needed to flip through the pages to be close to him, but much like poor Matt, the book was under lock and key for the night. We had to wait until morning to retrieve it from my mother’s house. In the meantime, we had to collect all of the other elements required for the spell.

“Jack, can I speak with you for a minute?” I asked, motioning toward the bathroom.

“Sure.” He tugged on his shirt collar with one hand and rubbed the back of his neck with the other.

After closing the door behind us, I turned on the water.

“I don’t think we should have sex,” he blurted.

“I wasn’t going to suggest we have sex.” For the first time in days, playing “hide the peenstalk” was the last thing on my mind. “Why would you think I wanted to have sex?”

Jack ran both hands through his hair. “Well, uh, we’ve been having a lot of sex in random bathrooms lately.”

“Oh.” I bit back a grin. “I guess we have. But that’s not what I wanted. I dragged you in here because I don’t want anyone else to know what I’m about to do.”

Jack crossed his arms and leaned against the sink. “I’m afraid to ask.”

I busied myself by picking up a towel and refolding it. “I need to go to my house.”

“No.” He pushed away from the sink and shook his head. “Absolutely not. You can’t go there now. The police have it sealed as a crime scene. Things are already bad enough.”

“You heard my mother. I need to get Matt’s razor and his hairbrush or anything else I can find. With things as bad as they are, I need to change Matt back as soon as possible.”

“No. Jon and I can go in the morning. You need to stay here. Out of sight.”

My eyes locked with his, and I clasped his hands. “What if they remove his stuff? I can’t take that chance. Besides, it’ll be easier to sneak in at night. I can’t let another day go by, Jack. I just can’t.” I gave him a shaky smile. “So are you coming with me, or am I going alone?”

With a crooked grin, he shook his head. “Stubborn witch.”

Sorceress.