Page 59 of Booked for Murder

“Several cases of chicken noodle soup.”

“Useful but harsh.”

“The card suggested the recipient had to be utterly sick of the terrible gifts from our Christmas parties and wished for a quick recovery.”

Bradley grinned. “That’s actually kind of funny.”

“I’m pretty sure the bastards planned it so I’d get that bag. I now hate chicken soup as a result.”

“Really?”

“I think I need at least another year before I have any again. Or I’m really about to die from some plague.”

“Ren? Do you want to handle disposing of this? I’m getting the creeps just having it in the apartment. Where’s your closet, Janette?”

My damn foot would be the death of me one way or another. If I gave him directions to the bag, he might not locate some of my more embarrassing possessions, including the assortment of lingerie I’d purchased over the years solely to pretend I could be a sensual woman if I put in a little effort and wore enough lace. “Bedroom. Top shelf to the left-hand side.”

The instant he stepped into my bedroom, I remembered the present I’d gotten for myself when I’d gotten the news I might be able to walk again without a boot. The red leather knee-high hooker boots with four inch stiletto heels would be the first shoe I wore after I fully healed, and I fully intended to enjoy every minute of it.

I even had the perfect little dress in a matching red to wear with them hanging in my closet.

Bradley returned to the living room armed with the bag. “I can’t help but notice you have a really nice pair of boots in your closet.”

Yep, he’d noticed them. “They’re my present to myself for when I can escape the boot and my foot has healed.”

Bradley regarded me through narrowed eyes, holding the gift bag out to Ren. “That seems like a rather nice goal, and I approve that you already purchased your gift to yourself. Good motivation, right?”

“Exactly. They should fit when my foot is finished healing.” I wouldn’t share my various doubts over that with him. “Please be careful with that, Ren. I just don’t know how it’ll react if you get contaminated with it, and I don’t know if I can pull it out of your bloodstream faster than it can replicate.”

“I’ll be careful,” the bodyguard promised, packing the cooler into the gift bag, which barely fit it. “I’ll bring back some coffee while I’m at it. We’ve determined part of the reason you were drinking sludge is due to the type of coffee you were buying. I’ll make sure you have something palatable here.”

“Well, I guess it’s nice to know it wasn’t just the coffee maker.”

“It was not helping your situation at all,” Bradley muttered.

Ren left, and I regarded my former employer with a puzzled frown. “You almost never let me just wander off like that.”

“I have my reasons for that.”

“Could you elaborate? He doesn’t do you any good if he’s not with you.”

“You’re with me, and you’ve made it perfectly clear there’s nothing wrong with your abilities. Your magic might even be stronger than before. That sort of separation from blood is difficult, and you were doing it for an hour. I’ve been told that’s a pretty good indicator you haven’t been completely idle with your magic. You should still take the medication for a week, as it won’t hurt you and may stimulate any parts of your ability that have been unused. With your rating, at most you might gain a small increase to your percentage, so it’s not dangerous for you to use.”

“It’s only dangerous for those with low abilities. A miracle drug that’s not. Can you hand me that bottle, please? I had a thought. I’ll also need a glass and a needle. The needles are in the end table sewing kit.”

Bradley brought me everything I’d asked for, and I pricked my finger, took a sample of my blood, and put it in the glass. Every medication had a different sensation when in the blood, and it took me a few moments to isolate the different compounds.

Painkillers almost always felt like soothing, numbing ice to my senses.

The third drug came across hot, almost slick, and a little greasy.

“What is the drug that you gave me for that, Bradley?”

“The one to help jumpstart your talent? It’s a form of beta blocker. I don’t know much more beyond that.”

“It feels hot, a little slick, and somewhat greasy, too. It’s not replicating, but it has the same general feeling.”

“It does?”