That was exponentially worse than posters.
“Tell him not to waste his vinyl,” I clipped out, then exhaled and schooled my tone. “Change is coming.”
“I’ll rein in the resistance,” Isiforos bargained, “but only if you tip me off so Dad can get his craft on.”
“Deal.” I scanned the debris. “Where’s Marty?”
“In his SUV eating lunch.” Isiforos anchored his hands on his hips. “I’ve taken control of the scene.”
That would explain why my EMT never returned, and why no one else had ventured into the building.
“Can you fold down the seats in our SUV? We need to stow Clay in there until Asa and I can repair him.”
“Consider it done.” He rocked back on his heels. “You want the casualties tally?”
“Not really.” I pinched my lips together. “But I owe it to the victims to hear it.”
“Five total.” He counted them off on his fingers. “One chef, three assistants, and the waiter.”
“The casualties would have been much worse,” Asa said, “if we hadn’t had the place to ourselves.”
“If we hadn’t had the place to ourselves,” I countered, “we wouldn’t have made such a tempting target.”
Isiforos waved to Marita, who was heading our way. “Keys?”
Shifting my weight to one side made my hips ache, but I palmed the keys and tossed them to him.
“I have bad news.” Marita plunked down next to me. “Derry is coming.”
Of all the things she could have said, I hadn’t anticipated her ranking that as the worst-case scenario.
“You did get blown up,” I reasoned. “I can see why he would be concerned.”
“He’s not concerned, he’s excited.” She kicked a chunk of rubble. “He put on his adventure pants.”
The quick check out of the corner of her eye was gauging how to comfort me. Humor was her preferred method, but not everyone appreciated a laugh while corpses were being carried out under sheets on stretchers behind them. Me? I took the good wherever I could find it.
“Wait until he goes to sleep and cut them off at the knee.” I chose a moment of levity over the gravity of the situation. “That’ll show him who’s boss. No one will respect adventure jorts.”
Jean shorts. Jorts. The fashion lingo I learned from Clay had proven oddly useful yet again.
“I was thinking of hot gluing fireworks poppers to the soles of his shoes.”
“Those tiny wads of paper that explode when you throw them at the ground?”
“Yep.” Her gaze went dreamy. “I can hear the screams now.”
“That sounds…” I struggled for words of encouragement, “…exactly like something you would do.”
“You’re a true friend.” She bumped shoulders with me. “Always encouraging me to live my best life.”
A commotion at the former entrance caught my attention as Black Hats began securing the area.
“We’re done here.” I grunted as I shoved to my feet. “Isiforos should have the SUV prepped for Clay.”
Asa, who had gone quiet, accepted the hand up I offered him, smearing warmth across my palm.
“You’re bleeding.” I gripped his other wrist and tore his arm away from his midsection. “How bad?”
“The EMT cleaned the wound and bandaged me,” he said, which was not an answer. “I’m fine.”
With agents within earshot, that was as much as I was likely to get from him.
“Okay.” I pinched my lips together over another rebuke. “Let’s get you in the SUV.”
This close to the compound, we had our pick of healers who could patch him up again, but did I trust them with him when he had already been weakened before this?
“All right.” He held his arms down by his sides to prove his okayness. “Marita?”
“Right behind you.” She kept pace with him. “I have a doctor en route, one Meg recommended.”
For a moment, I could only close my eyes as relief washed over me that she was two steps ahead of me.
“Meg? That’s who you were calling?” I glanced back at her. “That was fast work.”
To contact the other side, the pack employed a local white witch coven. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn the witches were on call 24/7 to handle demand for Meg’s services…and access to her contacts.
“I told her where I was going and what I was doing before I left, so she knew to expect trouble.”
“Remind me to wire her later.” I nodded to Isiforos as he swept past us. “I’ll need to borrow a laptop.”
“You get the friends and family discount, remember?”
Not fooled by her innocent expression, I asked, “The discount is one hundred percent, isn’t it?”
Regardless, I would forward the funds to Meg, which she would disperse to help support her pack.
Just because Mom and Meg were friends, and Marita and I were friends, didn’t mean I deserved endless freebies and bottomless favors. As often as I got into trouble, I would bankrupt the pack that way.
As expected, Isiforos had left the rear doors and the trunk on the SUV open in preparation for loading Clay. I was glad for it too, since that meant the front passenger door was unlocked, and I settled Asa without a hitch.
“I’ll ride in the back with Clay,” Marita volunteered. “Unless you want to get started on the repairs?”
As much as I wanted him awake and aware again, the process required privacy to ensure his protection.
“The risk of damaging him is too great,” Asa answered for me. “A steady hand is required for the shem.”
Another good point. The shem only worked if it was exact. The magic animating Clay was old and finicky.
“He’s right.” I rested my hand on Asa’s abdomen, force-feeding him healing magic. “It’s a delicate process.”
About the time I finished with Asa, I heard Isiforos barking orders to the other agents.
The SUV dipped and groaned when they hefted Clay in, but that was nothing new.
“The director wants to talk to you.”
A growl poured over my lips as I recognized the self-important voice behind me as belonging to Marty. “No thanks.”
“You might think you’re special, but even you answer to the boss.”
Tuning him out, I made sure Clay was secure and Marita comfortable before I got behind the wheel.
“Hey.” Marty panted after me. “I’m talking to you.”
“And I’m not talking to him.”
If the director wanted to act like a spoiled brat, I would treat him like one.
The promised doctor met us at a doc-in-the-box-style clinic off the highway. Ours was the only car in the lot, and déjà vu swept over me in a paranoid rush I couldn’t afford to indulge. The quiet reminded me of the restaurant, how that meeting should have been secure too, but it hadn’t been.
Shaking off my unease, I helped Asa out and locked Clay in while Marita watched our backs.
On my scalp, Colby flexed her feet, yanking on my hair, but she kept quiet to maintain her cover.
I didn’t ask the nurse who greeted us at the door how much it cost to rent the clinic. I hadn’t known such a thing was possible. And I didn’t care. I would pay any bill that came due. Even if I had to take out a loan from Clay.