Page 87 of Bewitching Her Monsters

I don’t want her to realize she’s down to her underwear, but I also don’t need her panicking… But will she panic because she’s only in her underwear?

Forewarning her, I confess, “We found you unconscious. We were worried you had been hurt, so we stripped you down to your underwear to see.”

“Why didn’t you call an ambulance?” she asks.

“Once we explain, after you explain, you will understand why we didn’t.”

“Okay.” She wiggles again.

I set her down on the couch next to me with her sitting up and help loosen the blankets’ stranglehold.

She pulls her arms free.

The guys tense their bodies and watch her closely as if she were about to cast a spell.

I don’t think she has enough in her to stand up on her own, let alone use magic.

Jade cradles her face in her palms and tells us her story. “I think there’s a ghost possessing me. I know, crazy. I’ve had dreams that aren’t exactly dreams. I knew things I shouldn’t have.” She peeks through her fingers to see my reaction. “I knew your name was Arran before you told me because I heard it in my vision.”

“Go on,” I encourage.

“You don’t think I’m crazy?” When I shake my head, she looks at Maxum and Calder to gauge their reactions.

“Not about that.” Maxum cocks a brow. Is he trying to be playful?

“Keep talking,” Calder demands, his arms crossed and his face stern. He’s overcompensating because he doubts his position on the witch’s guilt.

Jade sighs wearily and continues, “So, this ghost might know all of you. He finally told me his name right before I woke up. Do you know someone named Osen?”

“He was the friend we just lost,” I confirm.

“He is?” Jade covers her mouth. “Oh, my god… You mean thisisreal?”

I nod and squeeze her reassuringly. “Continue.”

“Well, I heard a knock at my door. When I looked out the peephole, I blacked out. And then the next thing I remember is Osen, um…talkingto me in what he called a shadowscape.”

“Talking?” Maxum says with skepticism. He suspects the incubus did more than talk.

Jade hears his disbelief. “At the start, it was only talk. He said I wasn’t powerful enough to protect us from Rob. He said he was an…” She pulls the blanket to her chest, feeling shy about her confession. “That he’s an incubus?” She tries to redact everything she’s said, “I know, it’s a weird story, even for me.” The witch looks at all three of us. “So, can you tell me what really happened to me? Why am I here, almost naked, and being interrogated?”

“Flint was watching your house to see if he could catch your stalker ex spying on you,” I tell her. “He watched as you invited Rob inside…”

“I didwhat?!” she shouts.

“That’s what I said,” I agree. “Flint followed Rob and some woman after he left your place. I knocked and knocked, but you didn’t answer. Then Maxum showed up. Since I was worried that you weren’t answering, we broke in. You were on the ground…” I soften the truth and say, “… dying.”

“Uh… what?” Jade goes stone still, then finally, her body trembles.

She’s probably going into shock—if not from the subject, from the trauma her body has just been through. “Don’t fuck with me,” she hisses. “Please.”

“We aren’t.” Maxum crouches down. I believe in an attempt to appear less threatening. But he’s fucking massive, and the effort doesn’t really help. He’s just closer to her now and more imposing. Then again, maybe he wants to get a reaction from her when he asks, “Jade, why would Rob want you dead?”

“Because he must be crazier than I ever imagined?” Her eyes are wild with fear.

I can practically see her mind questioning everything that’s happening.

“Were you working with him to attack other supes?” Maxum asks.

---