Page 13 of All My Witches
“Bay!”
I jerked at the sound of my name, swiveling to find Thistle, Clove, Marcus and Sam stalking toward us. They were overdressed – just like us – and they didn’t lookhappy.
“Speaking of ugly.” Landon made a clucking sound with his tongue. “Look at Clove’s shirt. It looks as if half of it was designed by one person and the other half by someoneelse.”
“She has multiple personalities in this world,” I reminded him. “Aunt Tillie probably wants to remind us ofit.”
“Oh, well, I can’t wait to meet her other personalities,” Landon muttered. “I’m sure they’ll be all sorts ofcrazy.”
“I’m sure you’re exactlyright.”
Thistle’s face was red with fury – and her hair was a dull dirty blond, bordering on boring brown, that I hadn’t seen since she was fourteen. “Do you know what that evil witch hasdone?”
I nodded. “I saw the recap forAll My Witcheswhen we were still in our room. Landon was considering hiding in there, but we figured it was better to face the music rather than try to wait itout.”
“That’s what we decided, too,” Clove said. “We thought it might take forever to get out of here if we did nothing. Of course, when I suggested it, Sam thought it was one of my other personalities talking. He’s a lawyer and a brain surgeon, so he decided he should be in charge thistime.”
I pursed my lips to keep from laughing at Sam’s hangdog expression. It was fairly obvious that he and Clove had gone at each other about theirbackstories.
“Hey, we might need a brain surgeon before the day is out,” Landon said. “I have an incredible urge to beat my head against the wall rather than sit back and figure out what this world has to offer. I figure it might be lesspainful.”
“Oh, now, don’t be a baby,” Thistle chided. “You’re an undercover police officer in love with your mark. Your story isn’tterrible.”
“Speaking of marks … .” Marcus tilted his chin toward the end of the hallway where a tall man boasting deep dimples that I remembered from the clip reel stared in ourdirection.
“Who is that?” Clove asked. “He looksfamiliar.”
“Maybe one of your other personalities is involved with him,” Samsuggested.
“No, he’s the one married to Bay’s character.” Landon’s voice was positively dripping with disdain. “Look at that guy. He’s like a stereotypical mobster. He’s got slicked-back hair andeverything.”
“He’s a lot hotter than most mobsters I’ve seen in movies and television,” Clove argued. “In fact … .” She didn’t get a chance to finish because the man, Michael Ferrigno, was on us and apparently interested in claiming the woman he believed to be hiswife.
“There you are!” Michael grabbed both sides of my face and planted a long, hot and lingering kiss on my mouth. If I wasn’t so surprised by the move I might’ve taken a moment to enjoy it – he was quite talented in that department and didn’t suffer from wandering tongue syndrome – even though I was dedicated to Landon beyond allelse.
“Hey!” Landon shoved his hand between Michael and me and tugged me backward. “Watch your hands,man!”
For his part, Michael seemed amused more than anything else. “She’s my wife, Jericho, which you very well know. That means she’s my property. My hands belong on myproperty.”
“Yeah, I wouldn’t say that again if you don’t want three feet slamming into your groin,” Landon said pointedly. “As for the rest … just don’t do it. I don’t think your wife feels all that well, and she’s probably not in the mood for your vigorous brand of kissing. Isn’t that right,Bay?”
“Who is Bay?” Michael asked,confused.
“Echo,” Thistle automatically corrected. “He meant Echo. He gets confused easily. I think it’s from all the blows he’s taken to the head. He’s one of your henchmen,right?”
Landon made an exaggerated face. “I don’t think he uses the word ‘henchman.’”
Michael shook his head. “No, I do. That’s what it said on your application right before yourinterview.”
“Really?” Landon cocked a dubious eyebrow. “I filled out an application to serve as one of your …henchmen?”
“How else would you get the job?” Michael turned his quizzical expression to me. “How are you, my darling? You look quite fetching today, although I can’t say I wasn’t a bit surprised when I woke up alone. Where did you spend yournight?”
“Oh,well… .”
“She was with me,” Clove answered automatically. “We were hangingout.”
“At the strip club?” Michael made a face. “I’ve warned you about hanging out at the strip club, darling. You’ll get a badreputation.”
