Page 138 of How to Flirt with a Witch

Not daring to let myself feel relief, I shake Hazel’s shoulders and tap her cheek. “Wake up! Please!”

She doesn’t move.

I bend and give her mouth-to-mouth again—and this time, the air goes down her throat. Her chest inflates, and when I sit back, it deflates again.

I watch her, my eyes burning, holding her cold face between my hands. “Come on!”

Don’t be too late. Please.

Abruptly, she sucks in a rattling breath, her eyes flying open. She coughs, thrashing on the concrete. “Coyotes—Baha Men—”

“Hazel!” I choke out. I throw my arms over her, burying my face in her neck. “This was all my fault. Have I told you I love you?”

Natalie slides her arms under Hazel, picking her up. “We have to go. Get in the car.”

I let go and scramble to my feet, tears flooding out as she carries Hazel to her vehicle. The people who gathered around shout protests—an ambulance is on the way, after all—but there’s no time to explain, even if we could.

Weak in Natalie’s arms, Hazel rubs her face with trembling hands, coughing and breathing fast. “C-can I go home now?”

“Yes. You can and you should.” I open the passenger door of Natalie’s car and meet her eye, making a silent request to leave Hazel out of this mess.

Natalie nods, easing her into the seat. “Katie and I have to deal with this, but I’m going to give you my keys, and I want you to drive back to Katie’s place.”

Her voice is calm for Hazel’s sake, but I can hear the tension underneath.

Hazel blinks. “Oh. No, I can help—”

“Don’teven.” A purple butterfly flaps past my nose, and I bat it away irritably before getting into the back seat. “You’re going back to my place, and you’re going to put Ethel in her kennel and prepare to flee if you have to.”

Hazel splutters. “Excuse me?”

“Drive, Natalie,” I bark as she gets into the driver’s seat.

She punches the accelerator, and we leave the confused crowd behind, whipping into traffic so fast that several cars honk.

My hands are shaking. Beads of sweat roll down my temples, and my heart is beating so hard I can feel it against my ribs.

“You both okay?” Natalie asks. Her dark eyes find mine in the rearview mirror. Her nostrils flare, a muscle working in her jaw.

I hesitate, then nod. Hazel is alive, and that’s what matters.

My eyes burn as I try not to think about how that could’ve ended. But beneath the terror, something white-hot sizzles through me. My breaths heave in and out. I glare out the window at the passing cityscape, my nails biting into my palms. The urge to hit something is overwhelming—to inflict pain right back.

I might not have magic or a pack of coyotes, but I’ve got something better: the stubbornness of an Alexander and a complete lack of self-preservation. The Madsens nearly murdered my best friend, and for that, I’m going to get revenge on every one of them.

Chapter 33

Unwanted Guests

As Natalie speeds toCSAMM, I perch forward in the back seat, poking my head up between her and Hazel.

“Do you think I’m right?” I ask, catching my breath. “That the Madsens are going to try to infiltrate CSAMM?”

Natalie’s jaw works. “It’s a theory we should take seriously. Did Freddie say anything else to make you think this?”

I sift through memories of our conversations. Nothing specific comes to mind, but this is about more than the words he said. “Look, I know it might sound weird, but sometimes, I can read people in a way that’s hard to explain.”

“You know I don’t think it’s weird,” Natalie says.