Page 94 of Spring L.A.W.
“Yes, you would. How do I know that? Because I have five sisters.” Rick put his hand over the phone. “Go wash your cat, will you?”
Joell crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat. He clearly didn’t know her. No one gave her orders, except Bas. Now she’d sit right here, and Crowe wouldn’t get cleaned up anytime soon. Well, forget that. He’d have to take matters into his own paws.
He leaped out of her bag onto the table and overturned her water glass, positioning himself to take the brunt of the spray. “Meeeeooooow!”Crap!He’d forgotten about the ice cubes. That hurt, and now he was freezing cold too.
Joell jumped out of her seat, and even with warp speed, she caught a few drops. Crowe was glad she moved fast enough to avoid getting soaked.
The waitress rushed over with a disgusting, dirty dishrag and caught the spill after most of it had dripped onto the floor. “Why don’t you two move to a different table? I’ll have to get a mop.”
Joell grabbed Crowe by the scruff of the neck and plopped him onto a wooden chair at an adjacent table for four. “Stay,” she ordered,as if I were a dog!A stupid, mangy canine!
Rick said, “Call you back,” and slipped his cell phone back into his pocket.
Joell approached Crowe with the dirty dishcloth. He wasn’t usually a soap and warm water buff, but there had to be something better than this. He’d rather wait until they returnedto the mansion, so he jumped off the chair and hid under the table.
Rick stood with hands on his hips, his eyes smoldering but not with lust. “I thought you said your cat was special. He just seems like a major pain in the ass to me. Why don’t we go back to the convention? Maybe you can find someone to cat-sit while we figure out our next move.”
“Quit knocking my cat, and who did you have in mind to look after him?”
“Don’t you have someone stationed in the models’ room?”
“Yeah, Crystal is monitoring it. Now that we know the prescription was picked up at the pharmacy, there’s no reason for one of the perps to return to his room. She’s probably enjoying a drink with Stan or mingling with the few models that are left.”
“Look, I’m out of excuses. I just want that cat out of the way, and if that means taking one of the other wonder-babes with me, so be it. I haven’t seen you use anything in the way of magic anyway.”
Aw, shit. Why’d he have to say that?
“Who knew motorcycles could fly?I’ve heard of flying brooms and bicycles, but not a flying Harley,” Rick babbled, probably trying to sound calm under the circumstances. He wasn’t.
Joell was in the driver’s seat, and her LV bag hung over Rick’s shoulder. I could feel him tremble right through the leather.
“I thought you had to lock up your powers as well as your weapons during this time of the… Well, you know.”
She must have heard him, although she didn’t answer.
“When we get back, I’ll call the K-9 unit. They can come to the hotel, give the dogs a sniff of the models’ clothes and?—”
“No way,” Joell shouted over the wind. “Stan doesn’t want cops poking around the hotel. I’ll take their clothing and meet the cops at the other place. Crowe can do the sniffing.”
“The only thing your cat can smell right now is himself. Besides, this is too important to trust a damn cat. I’m sending the dogs in, and that’s that.”
“You really don’t understand what a witch’s familiar is, do you?”
“Look, you may be familiar with your cat, but I don’t know him from a hole in the wall. I know the K-9 dogs, and I trust them to do this.”
“Well, I trust Crowe.”
“You know, I’m tempted to drop this cat of yours into the Hudson River when we cross the bridge.”
If they had been on the ground, she might have slammed on the brakes and given him a taste of her martial arts skills. Since they were airborne, He’d have to pray she didn’t mean it.
“You’d better not, or you’ll follow him. Guess which one of you I’d swoop in and save?”
That’s why Crowe could put up with the craziness for about a week per season. No matter what, she loved him more than any other living creature. He hoped this guy would figure that out soon.
At last, they arrived at the hotel as a sudden, unexpected fog rolled in off the river. When they dismounted, Rick swung the designer bag over to Joell. Crowe had never been so relieved to be back in her arms in all of his lives.
They marched up the stairs. Joell was steamed.
