Halfway Hexed Page 10

  He was halfway out the door, when he turned back. “I’m sorry. The pictures—it was just us fooling around.”

  “No, it wasn’t. Go do what you can to make things right by getting those videos erased. Then come tell me again that you’re sorry, and I’ll forgive you.”

  He nodded and left.

  I rubbed the back of my neck and shook my head, grimacing. So now, on top of everything else, I was an occult porn star.

  Chapter 14

  I climbed out of my Focus with an amethyst-colored crystal pin in my upswept hair and an automatic handgun duct-taped to my calf. I wore a royal purple floor-length taffeta gown with very high heels that had a black lace overlay, which made them look more than a little like lingerie. Except for my underwear and the strip of duct tape, not a thing that I wore belonged to me.

  The black-and-white banner hanging over the doors to City Hall announced the night’s benefit. I fell in step with the Shoreside crowd who made their way inside.

  The lobby sported an eclectic mix of decorations, and guests moved from table to table admiring what people had done to celebrate the occasion. The high school art class’s framed collage of photo clippings of Texas wildlife had dabs of fall colors that the students had painted on. Really pretty. I wondered if any of them would want to consider cake decorating as a weekend job.

  Hanging from rods and spilling over a table was a beautiful quilt from Duvall’s First Sewing Circle. Next there was a table from the Duvall Hunting Club with all kinds of stuffed wildlife. That seemed kind of crazy to me. It was like the hunters were saying, “You protect the animals, so we can kill them later.” But since I’m not a vegetarian, I guess I’ve got no room to judge.

  I spotted Jenna Reitgarten in a black-and-white striped dress. Her hair and head moved as a single unit. When it came to hair spray, someone at the drugstore needed to cut her off.

  I ducked behind the very robust Mrs. Schnitzer so that Jenna might not see me. That put me in a position to see my chocolate sculpture. DeeDAW had had the good sense to use clear fishing line to suspend the bird just like I’d planned. People were circling the sculpture and pointing and smiling. I got a warm feeling in the pit of my stomach. They liked my work.

  I kept watching the people until I locked eyes with Mindy.

  Uh-oh.

  I hurried to the ballroom doors where Smitty was standing guard. Well, technically it wasn’t a ballroom, more of an all-purpose meeting room, but the council had it decorated real fancy for formal events.

  “Hi.”

  “Ticket,” Smitty said flatly, holding out his hand.

  “I don’t have one.”

  “Can’t get in without one.” He pointed to a pair of ladies who had a short line of people in front of them. “It was seventy-five dollars per person if you got them in advance. A hundred bucks at the door.”

  “She’s with me,” Bryn said with a voice that was slightly hoarse.

  I looked over my shoulder and gaped at how good-looking he was. Dressed in a tuxedo, he plain took my breath away. Luckily Hollywood wasn’t there to see or they might’ve tried to drag him off to California.

  “Your voice?” I asked.

  “Sore throat. The change in weather, no doubt.” Bryn’s eyes stayed on Smitty’s face as Bryn handed him the pair of tickets. He all but dared Smitty to challenge him.

  “If you’re sick, you could have stayed home,” Smitty said, then looked at me. "And you should have stayed home.”

  Bryn ignored him and guided me inside. Sue Carfax waved at Bryn, but her bright smile slipped when she recognized me.

  “How did it go? Did the spell work?” I whispered.

  The corner of his mouth curved up in a devilish smile. So it had worked. Hurray for us. We were sneakier than the superspies.

  “But what about you? How are you?”

  “Better now that I’ve seen you in that dress. You look amazing.”

  I smiled. “Thank you. Does it hurt your throat to talk? How are you going to make a speech?”

  Bryn didn’t get a chance to answer because Sue walked up.

  “Bryn, it’s wonderful to see you. When you asked at the last minute for an extra ticket, we wondered whether it was for Tammy Jo here or if it might be for your friend from England. Gwendolyn. She’s so lovely.”

  Yes, so lovely and so magical! She was probably ten times the witch I was.

  “This kind of event isn’t really to Gwen’s taste. She prefers the city, doesn’t really appreciate the incomparable beauty that can be found in small towns.”

  “My goodness, your voice.”

  “Yes, let’s see if I can smooth it out. Is the bar open?”

  She pursed her lips, but pointed with a nod.

  Bryn led me away. "Whiskey. Double,” he told the bartender. "What would you like, Tamara?”

  “Me? Nothing. Well, maybe juice. Half pineapple-half orange.”

  Bryn slipped a twenty-dollar bill into the tip glass and took his drink. He swallowed slowly, grimacing.

  “Come here,” I said, pulling him by the arm to where a curtain hung down. We stepped behind it, and I plucked his tie open.

  “How am I going to get that straight again without a mirror?” he said mildly.

  I unbuttoned the top button and cursed like a sailor at the sight of his neck. The bruising was two fingers’ width and a violent blue-violet. It circled as far as my eyes could see, and brought my blood to a furious boil.

  “I’m going to sock each one of them in the nose. I’m going to make them sorry. You see if I don’t.” When I looked up, he was smiling. “You’re not going to tell me not to?” I asked.

  “No.”

  “Good.”

  “Wouldn’t do any good. You don’t listen to me when you’re angry.” He finished the drink and ran his thumb over my cheek.

  “Would it make your throat feel better to kiss me?”

  “Undoubtedly.”

  “I meant could you do a spell to split the pain in half and give me part of it?” I whispered. He’d done a spell once to take away part of my pain from an arrow wound. Now seemed the perfect time to pay him back. Before Bryn got a chance to cast a spell or to answer, Jenna and Lucy Reitgarten yanked the curtain back, making me yelp in surprise.

  “Here you are,” Jenna said, grabbing my arm in a tight grip. “We need your help adjusting the lights on the chocolate sculpture.”

  Bryn’s arm came around my waist, lightning fast. “Ladies, so nice to see you.”

  Jenna and Lucy tugged on my arms, but Bryn’s grip tightened.

  “Miss Trask’s not working tonight, and we need some privacy to finish our conversation,” he said.

  “Bryn, honey, you need to get your tie back in order,” Jenna said. “People are sitting down for dinner. Plus those folks you invited are at your table all by themselves.”

  Folks he’d invited?

  I craned my neck and frowned. John Barrett and Mrs. Thornton were sitting at the front table, shaking hands with the mayor and his wife as they sat down.

  “Oh boy,” I said.

  “We’ll be right out,” Bryn said, tugging the curtain so that they had to step behind it.

  “Tammy Jo, we’re going to catch you later on,” Jenna said.

  I frowned at her choice of words. “Barrett and the Winterhawk here? What do we do?” I whispered fiercely.

  “Nothing for the moment,” Bryn said, fixing his collar. “Unless you’d like to commence with the nose-socking.”

  I laughed. “I would like to. You have no idea how much.”

  “I’d probably find it really entertaining, but it’s not in our best interest. Let’s try to get through the night quietly. No scenes. I want them to see how unflappable we are.”

  “How unflappable you are. I’m very flappable actually.”

  My smile faded as we approached the table. I frowned and sat between Bryn and the mayor. We managed small talk, until the speeches started.

  Bryn was really cha
rming when he talked about the environment. He explained how he’d had solar panels installed on part of his house and shared the story of when he’d decided to invest in windmill energy production. He had half the people ready to sign up for new solar roofs and the other half for electric cars. Everything was going really well, until the men with assault rifles showed up.

  Chapter 15

  My back was to the doors, so I didn’t see them come in. The gunfire sounded a little like hail as the four gunmen in brown hoods and brown camouflage fired into the ceiling, shattering several lights and raining glass down on the tables.

  People dove from their seats to get cover.

  “Tammy Jo Trask!” one of them yelled.

  My heart cramped. They’d come for me? Destroying the event? Why?

  Heads turned to look at me, and I blushed.

  “She’s there,” Jenna said, pointing.

  You rotten—

  Bryn jerked me out of my seat and flung the table over, sending all the dishes crashing to the floor. He shoved me behind the table and then walked to meet the two men who were advancing.

  "What’s this about?” he asked.

  “She’s responsible for everything that’s been going on. We’ve seen the video that proves it, and we’re taking her.”

  Oh no!

  Four of them, and me with just a handgun. I didn’t like my chances of escaping, but I couldn’t let other people get hurt while trying to keep the gunmen from getting me. I stood.

  “Get out of my way,” one of the men said, pointing his gun at the middle of Bryn’s chest.

  “Nobody needs to get hurt,” I said. “There’s been some misunderstanding, but I’m willing to come talk to you.”

  Still seated calmly in her seat, Mrs. Thornton asked in a low voice, “Are you armed, my dear?”

  “Yes,” I whispered through my teeth, which were clenched into a big fake smile.

  “Then proceed with your plan.”

  What plan? I walked forward, and two of them converged on me, grabbing my arms.

  “I’m okay,” I said to Bryn, whose eyes had gone blue-black. I could see his fingers twitching, anxious to hit them with a spell.

  “They wouldn’t hurt me in front of so many witnesses. We’re just going to talk,” I said.

  Bryn remained still, but I could feel his power rolling over my back, energy that pricked my skin in its dark intent.

  When the gunmen got me to the doors that opened to the lobby, I looked over my shoulder. The other two gunmen faced the people in the room as they backed out.

  Bryn rushed toward one of them. He looked like he was just going to grab the gun, but I saw the gunman’s arm jerk up from the force of Bryn’s power striking it. Then a speaker exploded into blue and white flames.

  I made like dead weight, and my arms jerked from the hands of the ones holding me. One of them was startled, but the other swung the nose of his gun toward me. I rolled away, hearing the eardrum-popping sound of bullets hitting tile.

  It took two yanks to get my gun free of the duct tape. My heart slammed against my ribs, and I only had a second to decide what to do.

  I shot the firing gunman in the leg and he fell back, his gun discharging overhead. I snapped my arm around to point my gun at the second guy’s head. His eyes narrowed.

  “Don’t!” I snapped.

  He didn’t listen. I shot him in both arms before he could get his gun up all the way. As my second bullet hit, he pulled the trigger reflexively. I felt a rush of air and a sharp sting in my leg.

  Jumping to my feet, I grabbed his gun away from him, then I swiveled and saw the guy I’d shot in the leg crawling to his gun. I rushed forward, my long skirt making me slip on the tile. I landed right on the first wounded guy. He grabbed my throat, so I clocked him in the temple with the butt of my gun. His eyes rolled up, then his head flopped back.

  I sat just long enough to fling my heels off, then was up again. There would be at least one more guy besides the four I’d seen because Smitty wasn’t accounted for. Smitty was either a casualty or he was on their side.

  I crossed behind the big stairwell, which kept me out of sight. I circled toward the front, staying behind the kids’ art table, so I wouldn’t be seen.

  Smitty wasn’t on their side. He was sweating and trying not to show how scared he was. The gunman had one arm across Smitty’s throat, and a gun pointed awkwardly at his body.

  I sized it up. He had Smitty pretty well positioned as a human shield. Only the guy’s head was cocked to the side and available as a target.

  My stomach churned. If I shot the guy there, it would kill him. Sweat popped out on my forehead and between my shoulder blades, saliva pooling in my mouth. I swallowed, trying not to gag. I didn’t want to kill a person in cold blood. But, no matter how much of a jerk Smitty had been lately, I wasn’t going to let him get killed either.

  I raised my gun, but heard a pop and they crumpled to the ground. Smitty jerked free, got his gun out and shot the guy twice in the chest even though the guy hadn’t moved since someone had shot him in the head.

  Smitty yanked his radio up and barked into it. “Shots fired at City Hall. Deputy needs assistance.”

  I spotted Bryn and the Winterhawk moving across the lobby. They were both armed, and I wondered which of them had killed the guy. They split up and did a sweep. She came to my side of the lobby.

  “Well done,” she said in her clipped accent. She moved past me, eyes roving, taking everything in.

  I stood shakily and winced at the pain in my calf. I looked behind me at my bloody footprints and bit my lip. Smitty dragged the groaning guy I’d shot in the arms to the guy I’d shot in the leg and cuffed them together. He yanked off their hoods, and I studied their faces. They didn’t look familiar. Who were they? From another town? If so, who had blabbed to them about what had been going on in Duvall? They said they had proof I was at fault for the town’s recent trouble. I thought of the video that Craig Cuskin had let people copy. Had someone e-mailed the one of me doing backyard spells?

  Smitty went into the dining room and got the other guns, then came to the lobby and piled them on the center table next to my sculpture, which had been hit by stray bullets and was broken into pieces. Why that should’ve made me more upset, I can’t explain, but it did. I unhooked the red velvet rope so I could sit on the bottom stair. As I lifted the hem of my dress, I heard a noise. I grabbed my gun and swung it around, barely stopping myself before I shot that idiot Sue Carfax and her idiot friend Mindy.

  “For the love of Hershey, don’t sneak up on people right after they’ve been in a shoot-out,” I snapped. My hand shook as I set my gun next to me again.

  “This’ll cool you off,” Mindy said, her eyes narrow and malicious.

  I didn’t see the bucket until the last second. They each had two hands on it as they flung the contents. A torrent of water splashed me.

  “That’s holy water,” Mindy said triumphantly as rivulets of water ran down my face and Aunt Melanie’s expensive dress.

  “Is it indeed?”

  I jerked my head to find Mrs. Thornton standing on the opposite side of the stairs from Sue and Mindy. Her icy green eyes looked them over.

  “There’s a lot more going on here than a foreigner could understand,” Sue said softly.

  “Sometimes outsiders see a great deal.”

  Maybe it was her tone. Maybe it was her eyes. Maybe it was the sleek little gun in her well-manicured hand, but something about Mrs. Thornton made Sue and Mindy slink back into the shadows. I didn’t blame them a bit. She was impressive and scary.

  She put her gun back into her silver handbag just before Sheriff Hobbs and two deputies rushed in with guns drawn. One of them stopped at the table piled with assault rifles, but the other went past us into the dining room.

  “How badly are you wounded?” Mrs. Thornton asked as Bryn hurried up from behind her. He dropped to a knee in front of me.

  "Where are you shot?” he demanded.r />
  I extended my left foot. He caught my ankle, setting it on his knee.

  I raised the hem. As bullet wounds go, it wasn’t too bad. As scrapes go, it was a whopper. The skin was gone, the flesh open with clotted blood along it and fresh blood trickling down.

  Bryn felt along the bone. “Does that feel like it’s broken?”

  “Not broken,” I said, pushing back wet strands of hair. I examined my skirt and found the hole, poking my fingertip through the fabric. “Do you know how many outfits I’ve ruined the past two weeks? Another week of this, I’ll be walking around naked.” I spotted the glint in Bryn’s eyes and could almost hear him thinking: the silver lining.

  “Don’t you dare flirt. I’m wounded here.”

  “I was only going to say that I’ll buy you a new dress.”

  “Sure you were.”

  Smitty came out of the dining room. I pulled my leg back and set it on the step as he walked up to me.

  “We’re going to need statements from everyone, but seein’ as you’re wounded, an ambulance is coming. I’ll ride with you to the clinic and take your statement there.”

  “Okay.”

  He paused for a moment. “They were gonna have to kill me. No other way,” Smitty said.

  I stared at him, knowing he was right.

  “Saw you ’round that corner. Had the bastard’s head in your sights. Saw your eyes, too. You would’ve taken the shot.”

  I nodded.

  “Zach’ll be proud of you when he hears.”

  Luckily the paramedics’ arrival saved me from having to talk about Zach with Smitty in front of Bryn.

  “I’m okay, fellas,” I said, standing up with a little limp.

  “Hang on,” the guys said, grabbing my arms. They lifted me and set me on the stretcher.

  Bryn came around the far side of it. “I’ll make a statement, then I’ll pick you up at the clinic.”

  “I’ll drive her,” Smitty said, squaring his shoulders. “Either here or back to Zach’s place. Wherever she wants to go.”