Lucas draws his fangs. “Where do I start?”
“Oh my god.” Kristy leans in, looking at the orange cat. “Are you sure it’s really him?”
I nod, twisting a strand of hair around my finger. “Unfortunately, it’s my asshole brother.”
Kristy slowly shakes her head and reaches out, holding her hand over Scott to read his energy. He hisses and swats at her. I pick up a spray bottle full of water and Scott-cat calms back down. We’re at my house now, waiting for Evander to come with a variety of spell books to try and undo this.
“I still think you should keep him like that.” Lucas motions to Scott, who’s sitting in his box on the island counter. “Neutering helps with that aggression.”
“He does have an appointment,” I say with a shrug. “And having one real cat is good cover. It’s not like I invite a lot of people over, but they might wonder why I have no litter boxes.” I step back from the counter. “And I thought of a good cover story too. Scott realized he was such an asshole he couldn’t live with himself anymore and ran away to a third world country to help the poor.”
“No one would believe that.” Kristy looks away. “He’s way too selfish.” Scott-cat growls, and Kristy shrugs. “Well, you are. And I agree with Lucas on this. He’d make a good house cat once he’s had some training. He’s pretty at least.”
“I should have made him ugly,” I grumble and let out a heavy sigh. Lucas wraps his arm around me, and Kristy goes to the fridge to get something to drink.
“How are things going with that house?” she asks, pouring herself a glass of apple juice.
“I think good,” I say with shrug, looking at Lucas. He’s the one handling the paperwork, and he doesn’t know that I saw his drafted title paperwork where the house will be in both our names. “Right?”
“Right. We can finalize the paperwork with the bank tomorrow, if you’re able.”
“I work tomorrow.”
“I’ll find someone to take your shift,” Kristy says and looks back at Scott. “In case things, uh, don’t go as smoothly as we thought.”
“I’ve already been in touch with a contractor who specializes in restoring old homes. He’s able to come up and look at the house as soon as the paperwork is done.”
“Really?” I say with a smile.
“Really. He’ll start with the structural damage, and then from there you can take over working with the interior designer.”
“I’ve always wanted to do that,” I practically squeal.
“That sounds so fun.” Kristy smiles. “I can’t wait to see it all fixed up. That house was gorgeous once, and I know it will be again.”
“I need to start Pinterest-ing hard.”
“Pinterest?” Lucas questions.
“You don’t know what Pinterest is?” I shake my head, pretending to be super shocked. “I’ll show you.”
“Hold that thought.” Lucas jerks his head around. “Someone just pulled into your driveway. I assumed your friend was coming through the door.”
“He is.”
Lucas gets to the front door first. I stand next to him, watching a black SUV come to a stop. One of the back doors opens first, and a blonde woman gets out.
“I think that’s Ella, Scott’s girlfriend,” I say.
“And that man?” Lucas asks when the driver’s door opens.
My blood runs cold and suddenly I have to remind myself how to breathe. “That’s…that’s my father.”
Chapter 14
Lucas turns his head to mine, eyes wide. “The man who sold you like livestock and left you to be tortured? Let him come in.”
“The ‘no murder’ plan needs to stand.”
“Death will be welcome after I’m done with him.” Lucas’s fangs come down, and he reaches for the door.
“Wait,” I say and grab Lucas’s wrist. He stops, moving away from the door and turning toward me. “He won’t be able to get through the warding. It protects the house against the unwanted, and he’s definitely unwanted.”
“Will it burn him like it burned the vampires?” Lucas asks hopefully.
“No, I set it up so it won’t harm humans, you know, in case little miss annoying Girl Scout and her mother comes skipping down the sidewalk.”
“That’s probably for the best.”
“Right?” My heart hammers faster and faster, and my stomach churns. Kristy puts her hand on my shoulder.
“You okay?”
I suck in a breath and nod. “Getting there.”
“I’ll make him leave,” Lucas says and goes out the door before I have a chance to stop him.
“And I’ll lock your brother in the closet.” Kristy hurries away, going into the kitchen. The front door is open, and I’m standing right here. All I have to do is pick up one foot and put it in front of the other and then…and then…
I blink and suddenly I’m back, back to the day my father dropped me off at the lab. I can still feel his fingers digging into my arm as he dragged me into an exam room. I was crying so hard I almost threw up. The last thing my father said to me before he thrust me to the ground was, “If you puke on my shoes, you’re cleaning it up.”
“Mr. Martin.” Lucas’s deep voice echoes around the house. My vision is hazy, but I watch him walk down the sidewalk, stopping just a foot before the circle of protection. You can’t see it, but Lucas can feel it, and I’m sure he remembers from last time just where my circles have been cast. “I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting you.”
Lucas’s tall frame blocks my father from view. Now that Kristy has Scott-cat locked away, Binx, Freya, and Pandora come running from the kitchen. Binx winds around my feet, and Freya and Pandora each walk in stride with me, giving me the confidence I need to leave the house.
It’s funny, really. If there was a demon standing in my driveway, I’d run out there, magical guns blazing. I’d fight tooth and nail, not letting the thought of losing the fight even cross my mind. I’d throw energy balls, slice and dice with my enchanted dagger, and let my familiars loose.
But I can’t do that to my father. The damage he’s done is internal, and even if he were dead and gone, I’d still have the nightmares.
“You don’t scare me, fanger.” Though I can’t see him, I know my father’s voice. It sends a chill through me, and Binx meows reassuringly.
“Really?” Lucas quips. “Your heart is racing, and I can smell your fear just as strongly as those onion rings you had in the car on the way here.”
I lift my foot again, taking another step. And then another. Each one gets a little easier. Lucas doesn’t take his eyes off my father, but reaches back, holding out his hand for me. I take it
, feeling the knot in my chest loosen a bit the second his skin touches mine.
My eyes are on the ground, and I know I have to look up. I know I have to see him. Taking a breath, I lift my head. My father has aged a lot since the last time I’ve seen him, but he still looks the same as I remember. Dark suit. Plain tie. A little American flag pin on his jacket. He’s gained a bit of weight over the years, but his eyes are still cold. Empty of love and full of hate.
I grip Lucas’s hand tighter. Binx sits in front of me, growling, and Freya and Pandora circle around me. My father’s eyes flit to my black cat, trying to hide his reaction, which is similar to Abby’s reaction when she realized Binx is still very much alive and well. He came to me when I was ten, and he wasn’t a kitten then. He should be at least sixteen, totally possible for a cat, but it’s obvious looking at him that he’s no senior feline.
Ella’s still standing by the car, face pale and eyes wide. She’s looking from me to Lucas to my familiars. She probably thinks they used to be people too, which suddenly gives me the idea to change all my enemies into cats and build an army.
“Callie.” Hearing my father say my name sends a shiver of disgust through me. The anger I felt earlier comes rushing back, and if Lucas wasn’t holding my hand, there’s a good chance my cat-army would have grown by one.
“What are you doing here?” My voice comes out steadier than I expected. It’s hard enough to think about him, to speak his name, without feeling crippling anxiety.
“I wanted to talk to you.” His eyes narrow, and Ella shuffles a little closer, keeping her back against the car.
“About what?”
“Scott.” My father takes a tentative step forward, getting close enough to the circle cast on the house to start to feel it. For humans, it brings up an intense feeling of turning and running away. My father likes to act like he’s all big and tough, but that’s exactly what he’s doing—acting. I’m a little surprised not to see a security team with him, but then again, he can’t risk a single soul knowing that I’m a witch. Ella is here because she already saw me doing magic.
“What about him?”