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“What other secrets have you been keeping?” Erin demanded when we hit smoother ground.
“No secrets. Just bad judgment. I’m sorry.”
She huffed, then smacked the steering wheel. “And what the hell is a class-four warlock?”
Now, she was the one changing the subject. And man, oh man. What a detail-oriented mind. A mind I loved, like the rest of her.
So, you finally admit it,my dragon chuckled.You love her.
No, I wasn’t ready to admit it — not out loud anyway — but I was getting there.
“The agency classifies witches and warlocks into five levels,” I explained. “Class-one is the most powerful.”
Her head whipped around. “There are warlocks more powerful than Harlon?”
“Maybe a handful, but I’ve never encountered one. Harlon is at least a two.”
“So why would they call him a four?”
“To make him seem harmless, especially against a marauding dragon.”
She huffed. “You haven’t been marauding.”
At least she gave me credit for that.
I sighed, trying to figure out how I’d ended up in this mess. I’d come to Sedona to clear my mind, not to pick a fight — especially not with Erin.
And, man. What irony. Just when I felt like I’d come back to life, I was facing death by Harlon, Angelina, or the agency hit squad.
I gulped. What happened to me didn’t matter. All that counted was getting Erin out of this mess.
We drove along in silence, each lost in our own thoughts. Then we rattled over a cattle grid, and I looked up. We were nearly at the ranch.
“I guess you’re not throwing me out?” I ventured.
“Not yet,” Erin grunted, making the final turn.
* * *
A short time later, Erin huddled with her sisters on the porch of the main house. Claire was in sight but out of earshot, brushing one of the horses, who swished its tail. Erin hadn’t invited me in, but she hadn’t banished me either, so I stayed in the no-man’s-land of the stairs.
“So, now what?” Pippa asked once Erin had filled them both in.
“I knew he was trouble,” Abby grunted, looking at me. Me!
Erin shook her head. “This isn’t Nash’s fault.”
She said it begrudgingly, like I still had to prove myself to her. And, damn. Maybe I did.
“He didn’t bring Harlon out here,” Erin finished. “Harlon came all on his own.”
I looked at my feet. True, but what about Angelina? Was it mere coincidence to encounter her out here?
Not chance. It’s destiny,my dragon grumbled, and not in a good way.
I couldn’t make any sense of it. Why would destiny make so many separate lives cross here? Who was doomed to fail, and who would prevail?
Abby threw a fierceMomma Bearlook in little Claire’s direction. “Fucking Harlon. I haven’t even met him, and I already hate him.”
