Page 90 of Bad Medicine

“No, Kait,” she said firmly.“I’m not a little girl, and I know what I’m doing.”

“You can’t—”

“I’m a grown-ass woman,” shesaid, smiling. “And I can do whatever the fuck I want. Do you know where I gotthat?”

“Internet?”

“You.You,Kait. I wantSam. I never stopped wanting him. I wanted him even when I dreamed of him…” Andeven though she’d meant to be fearless and prideful and firm as she stood herground, she faltered, and she could not finish that sentence.

So I, bitch that I was,finished it for her. “Even when you dreamed of him stabbing women to death,” Isaid.

Tears filled her eyes and shelooked away from me.

“Lucy,” I said. “I love you. Ican’t bear the thought of him turning on you someday. You even dyed your hair becauseyou were afraid it might trigger him and he would kill you.”

“I dyed my hair because Ididn’t want there to be the slightest chance that I might remind him of his monstrousmother.”

“Your fear,” Sam said, when Iremained silent, “is not that I might hurt her. It’s that I might take her awayfrom you.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Lucystated.

And for a little while, lost inour thoughts, none of us said a word.

“Come,” Sam urged, finally.“Come see what I have done for you.”

“Kait?” Zach asked.

I blew out a breath. “Let’s gosee. If she’s not dead yet, she’s going to need help.”

I was walking strangely, like Iwas on a ship in a storm and the waves were tossing it every which way. Theburst of magic had thrown me off kilter, but other than my dimmed vision and myscrewed-up equilibrium, I felt better both physically and mentally than I hadin months.

I really wanted to be leftalone to think about what had happened, what it meant, and what I would need todo now. Training and practice, absolutely. And maybe it was odd, but I was alittle relieved when I remembered that the wolf elder was going to take meunder his paw.

He was an asshole, true, but inthe end, he’d help me figure shit out.

So yes, I wanted to be alone towallow in the hugeness of what had just happened. I also wanted to find mymother and talk to her about everything that had happened, and I wanted to eat.My appetite had roared to life, and I could have cried at the familiarity ofit. I was hungry.Starving. I would be okay.

Changed, yet again, but okay.

I held Lucy’s hand as Sam—whomshe seemed to trust implicitly—led the small group of us down the wide stairsand into the basement. I’d never been crazy about the basement in my mother’shouse. It was dark and mean and had naked beams and brick walls and an uglyconcrete floor.

Finishing the basement would beone of the first things I did when I officially took ownership of the house.

But I forgot all about thestate of the old basement when I saw who was standing against the far wall,frozen, her mouth slightly open, her staring eyes caught on something only shecould see.

“Son of a bitch,” I murmured. Ilooked at Sam.

He was watching me, a smallsmile playing around his mouth, his stare proud. “This,” he said, “is my giftto you.” He held out his hand, and Lucy went to him without hesitation. “And Iwould set myself on fire before I would hurt Lucy.”

I walked to the frozenprisoner, my stomach tight, my heart pounding, and strangely enough, I felt thebeginning swirls of magic deep inside. I might need it to end the woman Sam hadcaptured. Her wand was held in her unmoving raised hand.

“I took her alive,” Sam said,his voice low and dark, “so you could have the pleasure of killing her.”

I shook my head. “She’s notmine to kill.” I held out my hand but didn’t take my stare from the prisoner.“Somebody give me a cell phone.”

Zach slapped my cell into mypalm. “I called him for you.”

I lifted the phone to my ear.“Jared?”