“I love you too, you moron,” I said, smiling at Eli through my tears. “I can’t believe you turned yourself into a werewolf just to be with me.”
“Well, I was gonna buy flowers, but then I thought . . . ,” he joked, and pulled me close. I threw my arms around him. “What do you say?” he said, returning the hug. “Can we do this for real?” I could hear the smile in his voice. “I mean, we can keep it quiet, if you want,” he added. “If you’re worried that—”
I pulled back just far enough to put my mouth over his. “No,” I said after I kissed him. “No hiding. No pretending.” I kissed him again. “Take me home.”
Chapter 50
Eli and I spent the whole next day in bed at his Santa Monica apartment. We talked a lot, and watched a couple of movies, and Eli insisted on elevating my knee and putting ice on it at intervals. He’d been a paramedic in another life, and old habits really do die hard.
We ordered pizza for supper, and then I told Eli I needed to go back to Molly’s for a few things. He offered to come with me, but I wanted to go by myself so I could clear the air with Molly. I needed her to know we could still be friends even though I was looking for another place to live.
The sun had been down for an hour when I hobbled down the outdoor stairs at his apartment and made my way toward my van.
Hayne was leaning against the driver’s side door. “Scarlett,” he said, grinning.
“Teddy,” I retorted. “You could have just come and knocked, you know.”
Ignoring this, he stepped back and opened the car door. “He wants to see you.”
“Now?” I complained. But I didn’t really have a good reason to blow off my boss, aside from a slightly less than professional but I don’t wanna.
Hayne nodded, unaffected by my whine. “Fine,” I sighed.
Half an hour later, I stalked into Dashiell’s office. Well, as much as one can stalk with a cane. I saw Dashiell behind his desk, staring at my approach with a completely unreadable expression. My steps faltered, however, when I entered the doorway and saw Will sitting in front of Dashiell’s desk—with the bargest.
“Shadow,” I said in surprise, feeling all of them in my radius. The bargest trotted over and pushed her nose into my hand, wagging her strange club tail. I petted her head, which I could do without needing to bend. I looked up at Will, puzzled. “What are you doing here? I thought you were going to put her down?”
“I was,” Will grinned. “But we came to a different arrangement instead.”
I hobbled over to the second visitor’s chair in front of Dashiell’s desk and sat down. “What arrangement?”
“We got off the phone just a little bit ago with someone who calls himself the head of the Luparii,” Dashiell announced. Tiny smile. “He was suddenly interested in taking my calls, after his niece was arrested for an American murder.”
“And?”
“And we made a deal,” Will informed me. “Petra Corbett’s going to plead guilty to murder and serve her time. And the Luparii won’t return to Los Angeles, ever.”
I looked from one to the other. “That seems like a really good deal,” I said slowly.
Will shrugged. “I think he was more angry at Petra for letting a null and a human get the better of her than anything else.” I could see him trying to keep a straight face, but he looked positively delighted.
“What’s the catch?” I asked warily. There had to be a catch.
“We never take the bargest out of LA County, and we don’t allow any witches to examine the spell that built her,” Dashiell said evenly.
I thought that over. “That’s why you can’t kill her,” I summed up. “Even if you found a way to do it. You have to keep her as leverage in case they renege.”
“Exactly,” Will said, smiling broadly like I was a star pupil. “And we know you love dogs, and you haven’t been able to have one because you’re around so much magic.” He spread his arms, indicating the bargest. “It’s a perfect fit.”
I stared at him. I admit—my heart leapt at the thought of taking Shadow. She would be a lot of work, both because of her size and because we had no idea how socialized she was, really. But I loved her already.
On the other hand, I wasn’t a child anymore, and I wasn’t stupid. “Of course, it doesn’t hurt that it keeps your werewolves in line too. If I have her, and I work for you, that makes her a tool in your toolbox, doesn’t it? What better way to restore faith in you as a leader than a scary new weapon?”
Will’s face hardened. “No,” he allowed. “It doesn’t hurt. But let’s not forget how my pack became unstable in the first place.”
I winced. Touché.
“So what do you say, Scarlett?” Dashiell asked pleasantly. “Is that arrangement acceptable?”
They looked at me, both a little smug, waiting for my response.
I patted Shadow one more time and sat up in my chair. “Guys, you’ve seen The Wizard of Oz, right?”
Looking confused, Will nodded, and Dashiell said a short, “Yes.”
I had a moment of stark curiosity where I wanted to ask him if he’d been to the original theatrical run, but I managed to stay on topic. “At the end of the movie, Dorothy realizes that she had what she wanted all along—but she had to learn that for herself. And see, I always thought that was total bullshit. Why wouldn’t Glinda just tell her that the shoes would take her home the minute they appeared on her feet? Why go through all of that, just to realize the value of what you had?” I looked Dashiell and Will in the eyes. “But I’m coming around on that.”
Dashiell sat there motionless—vampires have all the time in the world, literally—but Will leaned forward. “What are you saying, Scarlett?” he asked impatiently.
“I’m saying that I have value,” I said flatly. “And I know it now.”