Chapter Sixteen
“ M om? What’s happening?”
I felt Hollis grab my hand, I heard her call me again, I felt the sheer panic of fear rise and fall inside me before it once more settled, and utter calm took its place.
Somehow, I managed to say, “ Leave,” through clenched teeth. “Now.”
But Hollis being Hollis, the quintessential teenager, she made a face at me. “God, Mom, what’s wrong with you? I just came to get some stuff for Charmaine. I know you said you would, but you’ll pick all the wrong things.”
If I lived, I was going to ground her for the rest of her immortality. That much I could manage to wrap my head around. All I could think of was what Eve had done to Zinnia when caught off guard, and the hell I’d let her do that to my baby girl. No matter how dang annoying.
Still, words were almost impossible. Summoning every last bit of strength I had, I focused on getting her out of here. “Get out!” I hissed.
But did she listen?
“Why are you being so mean?” she squealed in that whine that cuts right through my last nerve.
Eve appeared out of nowhere again, catching Hollis off guard. “Mrs. Ellis? Hi,” she cooed, as though she hadn’t just accused me of being mean. “How are you?”
“Hollis?” she cooed back, opening her arms. “Oh, honey, I’m okay. How are you? How is Charmaine?”
And Hollis walked right into them. Oh, when I got my hands on this child!
But then Eve said, “Marty,” in her singsong voice, lulling me back into a state of complacence. “Sit tight and watch me charm your daughter.”
Sweat began to pour from my forehead as I tried to fight Eve’s voice, to keep her from Hollis. But I could only manage one word. “No.”
Hollis bumped my arm. “Mom, stop being so rude!”
The heat in my gut began to rise, my anger ratcheting up a notch as I once more managed to break through the veil of passive acquiescence. “Stop. Don’t.”
Eve draped an arm around Hollis, that damn talisman dangling in the lights of the kitchen, taunting me.
Don’t ask how. Maybe I’m more immune to suggestion than others, or maybe it was the sight of my daughter, cuddling up to the devil herself, but I lifted a hand with a snarl and ripped her arm away from Hollis.
It had to be my will combined with the terror that Hollis could end up hurt that gave me the strength to snatch her arm, but when I did, I twisted it until she screamed.
Hollis grabbed for my hand, trying to tear it from Eve’s arm. “Mom! Stop! You’re hurting Mrs. Ellis!”
I think I snapped then. I’d often told Hollis she’d never want to see me truly angry, and the way she backed away from me, it appears I was right.
“Mom!” she howled, her pretty face a mask of angry confusion. “What are you doing?”
“Marty?” I heard Nina call. “What the fuck is going on?”
“Get her out! Get away. Get far away!” I snarled, droll beginning to drip from my mouth.
And then there was Wanda, calling to my daughter, removing her from harm’s way. “Hollis, come here this instant! Do not give me any guff!”
With Hollis out of my line of vision, while I clung to Eve’s arm and seconds before I shifted, I screamed, “Get out, Nina! Get out!”
I didn’t know how susceptible Nina might be to Eve’s charms, but I couldn’t take a chance.
But you all know Nina, right? I had about as much chance of her listening to my order as I did winning a date with Jason Momoa.
She flew into the room in a cloud of ebony hair and long legs. “The fuck I will! What the hell is going on?”
“Nina!” that lyrical voice sang out. “Your friend is hurting me! Please make her stop!”
Almost immediately, Nina stood up straight and looked at me.
Now listen, I wasn’t up to werewolf vs. vampire today, and I knew that look on her face. I’d seen it a hundred times before when we went to battle.
She wanted blood— my blood .
As I fully shifted, landing on my haunches, I reared back, ready for Nina to lunge for me. She knocked everything from the counters in her rush to do Eve’s bidding. The toaster fell to the floor and skidded into the corner, knives flew, a stray coffee cup crashed and splattered into a million pieces.
The moment she got her hands on me was the moment absolute chaos erupted.
There was a sudden roar, keening through the kitchen like a freight train, hurting my ears and making Nina fall backward.
Then a flash of fur, ebony in color, matted and falling off in tufts, crashed through the kitchen window, heading straight for Eve.
I heard her scream, “No!” seconds before it landed on her and went for her throat, howling and snarling.
To describe the scene would almost be too graphic, but suffice it to say, it was messy—and it stopped both Nina and I in our tracks.
But it wasn’t over just yet. Gretchen tore out of the vault foyer, knife in hand, held high in the air as she cried, “I’ll kill you!”
But to no avail. She, too, met the same ugly demise as Eve.
My shock quickly changed from horror to complete surprise.
Ron.
It was Ron. Sweet, cuddly, gentle Ron had just taken out Eve and Gretchen in almost one fell swoop.
Nina was the first to shake off Eve’s charms, looking around as though she’d been slugged in the head. “What was that?” Then she saw Ron, his shift dwindling until he was naked on the floor. “And what is that ?”
My shift had eased, too, leaving me as naked as Ron. Wanda rushed in, the clack of her heels sounding in my ears as she grabbed a few kitchen towels and threw them at me before picking up my shredded clothes.
She raced to Ron, the concern in her voice clear as she pulled off her jacket and handed it to him. “Ron, are you all right? Where have you been?”
I think I knew where he’d been. Lurking in the shadows, waiting for the right time to take out the woman who’d ruined his life.
“I’d hug you, Ron, for saving our lives, but, well…” I looked down at the kitchen towels.
He laughed, like the old Ron. “Not necessary. But thank you. Thank all of you.”
So there we were, some of us naked, some of us in shock, but all of us alive.
Nina hauled me up, handing me her hoodie. As I wrapped myself in it, she pulled me into one of her Nina hugs. Hard and brief. “I don’t know what the fuck happened to me. You know I’d never hurt your girly ass, right?”
I pinched her cheek. “I know, and rest assured, it wasn’t your fault. I’ll explain everything on the way back to your place. But I really need to get the heck out of here. Can we do that?”
As we prepared to depart, I heard Hollis in the living room, her steps growing closer. I stopped her before she got to the kitchen and saw the carnage.
Hands on hips, I asked, “Young lady, what are you doing here?”
Her beautiful eyes filled with unshed tears. “Charmaine needed her social studies book. I came to grab it.”
Letting out a breath, I barked, “You could have been hurt! I don’t know what I would have done if you were hurt.” My throat grew tight, and I fought like the dickens not to cry.
But the very thought…
Hollis threw herself into my arms, burying her face in my shoulder with a sob. “I’m sorry, Mom! I’m sorry I didn’t listen.”
I held her tight, relishing this rare moment. “We’ll talk about it later. Your mother almost got herself killed. I need a nap.”
Hollis laughed. “I really am sorry, Mom. I love you.”
I tilted her chin up, planting a kiss on the tip of her upturned nose. “I love you, too. Now, do you suppose Charmaine has anything that might fit me? Because I think I need to borrow a little something.”
She laughed. Then I laughed, because seriously, nothing of Charmaine’s would fit over my big toe.
But the good news was, she was laughing, and we were laughing together .
And we were still alive to be able to do it.
Life was good. So good.