Page 52 of How to Flirt with a Witch

I guess I can buy that wherever there is something harmful or powerful or both, there are people plotting how to use it for their own agendas.

I return to find that Natalie’s gathered the photos from my shelf and placed them on top of the stack of textbooks.

“We can leave those,” I say, scanning the overflowing luggage and shopping bags. How on earth did I manage to move everything to Vancouver on one flight?

“No, you should take them,” she says firmly. No room for argument. “Anything else we need?”

My throat tightens as I look around the room. I’m leaving a lot behind, but I can survive without it. I think. It might just be covered in a layer of dust by the time I return… If it’seversafe to return. How long will I have to stay in hiding?

Jitters rise inside me. “No. Let’s go.”

Natalie grabs the heaviest items, including my textbooks, grunting under the weight of it all.Chivalrous as ever.

I wonder if she’d normally use magic to make this kind of thing easier.

Her admission has me wondering a lot of things.

I grab Ethel. With a quick kiss to the top of her head, I stuff her into her kennel, where she meows.

We fumble out the door and onto the back porch, moving my whole life to Natalie’s car in one trip. The cold night air nips at my face and neck, sending shivers down my spine.

“Did you see the way Freddie looked at you? Like you were a prize to be won? That’s how they see curses—power to be exploited, no matter the cost.” Natalie looks cautiously around the empty street. There suddenly aren’t enough street lamps, and too many shadows lurk on all sides.

“What if you just let them have one?” I say, pressing closer to her. “Let the curse finish them off.”

The side of Natalie’s face tightens into a deep scowl. She waves a foot under her car’s bumper, and the trunk opens. She puts her armful inside and lifts my overstuffed luggage with a grunt. “It’s not that simple. There are dangers beyond anything you’ve seen… Beyond what the Madsens understand. I can’t explain right now.” She glances over her shoulder, tense.

Maybe a small part of me gets it. Twice, curses have lured me in like promises, making me want to adopt Lucy and buy the doll. Are the Madsens victims of this allure, unaware of how dangerous it would be to keep a curse on them?

I strap Ethel’s kennel into the back seat with a seatbelt. Too much information is swirling around in my brain, and at the same time, not enough. I don’t know what to think about all this—the dangers she’s not telling me about, the fact there are witches living in secrecy, and the world of magic I’ve only just glimpsed.

Again, part of me just wants to abandon my belongings and run—away from Natalie, away from the Madsens, away from all the curses and dangerous magic I don’t understand. I could go all the way back home to Toronto, where I don’t have to worry about any of this.

But if the Madsens have been after curses for years and Freddie knows I can sense them… then something tells me it won’t be so easy to walk away. I’ve waded into quicksand, and there’s no getting out.

An engine roars, and headlights shine into my eyes. An SUV peels around the corner, going way too fast to be a neighbor returning home for the night.

A stone drops into my stomach.

“Get in!” Natalie shouts.

Spots burst in my vision. I jump into the passenger seat and slam the door.The SUV doesn’t brake, heading straight for us.

Holy shit, he’s going to rear-end Natalie’s car.

“Go!” I yell.

Natalie slams a foot down on the accelerator, tires squealing. A puddle hisses as we splash through it, the SUV revs behind us, and a deepthumprings out as it clips the bumper. Gripping the seat, I don’t even get a last glimpse of the house before we round the corner.

“I knew it,” Natalie says through her teeth, clutching the wheel. Her anger is white-hot, radiating into my bones. “They know where you live. Dammit, we’re lucky they didn’t get to you sooner.”

I shudder, imagining Freddie biding his time, waiting for the right opportunity to talk to me—to corner me. Did he follow us back from the thrift store that night? Watch Natalie walk me to my door with the slow cooker?

Natalie turns sharply, opening a gap between us and the headlights swaying in the side mirror. God, she’s going through so much to save me.

“How dangerous are the Madsens, exactly?” I ask, not sure I want the answer. Freddie’s desperate shouts echo in my mind, making me shudder.Get ’em! Get ’em!

The muscles in Natalie’s face tighten. Street lights flash across her face as she blows through a red light. Honks and squealing tires rise all around us, directed both at Natalie and the car in pursuit. “Let’s just say they’re willing to sacrifice for the cause.”