Page 139 of How to Flirt with a Witch

“Yeah, it’s useful,” Hazel chimes in.

My cheeks heat up. “Right. People just don’t take me seriously when I say—”

“You’re an empath,” Natalie says. “I believe you. What did you sense in Freddie?”

Fidgeting under her vote of confidence, I run my fingers along the coarse seam on the back of her seat. “It was scattered the couple of timeswe met. Like, one minute he’s a normal guy, friendly even, and the next, I want to back away. All I know is he’s dangerous. When we talked on the phone, he seemed genuinely convinced that something big was about to go down.”

Natalie exhales slowly. “And what would give him the audacity to think he could take on a building full of witches?”

“Exactly.”

“Jesus.” Natalie rubs her neck. “I think you’re right.”

I suck in a breath. As relieved as I am that she believes me, I’d rather not be right about this.

Sweat prickles on my back. I shed my bulky jacket, leaving a green t-shirt that still feels too hot.

Natalie taps the dash display, making a call.Skylar Zachariasappears, and the loud ringing attacks my ears.

“Your sister is in your phone asSkylar Zacharias?” I ask flatly. “What am I in there as?”

She arches an eyebrow, confusion plain. “Uh, Katie Alexander?”

I scoff, thinking of the number of heart emojis and nicknames in my contacts.

Hazel turns in the passenger seat to meet my eye, a knowing smile on her lips.

The ringing stops, and Sky’s voice fills the car. “What’s up?”

“How’s the mission?” Natalie asks.

“A bust so far. No sign of Freddie.”

“Listen, I’m with Katie and her friend. They got hit with a curse.”

“Oh, shit. Are they okay?”

“Yeah, but it was a close call. Sky, we think the Madsens might be trying to distract us so they can break into CSAMM.”

She snorts. “Good luck to them.”

“That’s the thing. Katie thinks they might’ve gotten access to magic.”

A pause. “How?” Sky asks, a sharpness in her tone.

“We don’t know.”

“They’re after bio magic,” I cut in. “I think this is what Freddie meant by a plan in motion. The sighting was a false alarm—a lure to get you to leave CSAMM.”

Sky hisses. “Dammit. Iknewsomething was… We’re on our way back.”

She hangs up.

Hazel slumps lower in her seat. “I have no idea what any of that meant, but consider me confused and terrified.”

Neither Natalie nor I have any reassuring words.

She pulls over at the steam clock, and we scan the area. No signs of the Madsens or anything amiss.