Page 34 of The Witch's Pet

Hannah’s grip tightens, and she tries to pull me back. “Sorry to bother you. We’ll be on our way.”

I shoot her a glare that says,We absolutely will not.

Her returning glare says,Let’s talk about this.

She had better have a plan.

Reluctantly, I release Maya and let her back away.

When the door slams shut behind her, I spin to face Hannah. She’s taken a step back, putting space between us. We’re alone in the shadows with only the distant hum of people and the putrid smell of the alley.

“She’s lying,” I snarl.

“Of course she is.” Hannah’s voice comes out shaky. She wipes sweat from her hairline with a trembling hand. “She knows exactly where the coven is. But that doesn’t mean we have to torture her.”

“Doesn’t it?”

Hannah waves her hands in exasperation. “You can’t throw people around with magic!”

“Why not? It’s efficient.”

“It’s assault!”

I chuckle. “What a quaint modern sensibility. In my time, we called it justice.”

“In your time, you called a lot of horrific things justice.”

I straighten my cloak, ignoring this. “We’ll have to wait for the establishment to close and follow Maya home. We’ll restrain her while we turn her house upside down. She must have something in her possession that can lead us to them.”

Maya Kwan thinks she can hide from her heritage, but she can’t change that she is descended from one of the greatest witches ever to live.

Whether she likes it or not, she’s about to help me find my way home. Even if Hannah won’t approve of my methods when the time comes.

“Julia?”

My heart does something strange at the sound of my name on Hannah’s lips.

I lift my chin and turn back to her.

She crosses her arms, a fiery look in her eyes. “If we want to get to her house, I have a better idea.”

10

Hannah

“It’scalledadriver’slicense,” I explain as we huddle around the corner from The Crimson Moon. “It’ll have her address on it. We just need to get her bag.”

It’s a quicker solution than waiting for hours until the club closes and following her home, and a safer one. I’m not sure how I feel about tying her up and ransacking her house.

Guilt twists my stomach as I lay out my plan. What I’m suggesting isn’t exactly legal, but then again, anything Julia comes up with will be much worse. Anyway, we won’t bestealingMaya’s wallet, just borrowing it. Once we’ve searched her place, we’ll leave it on her kitchen table.

Julia looks at me in a way that could either be disgust or admiration. “So how do we get her bag?”

“One of us needs to occupy her and the bartender while the other searches.” The cold air bites my cheeks, and my breath mists in the streetlights. I shuffle my feet to stay warm, jealous of Julia’s long cloak. “It’ll be in a staff room. Or maybe behind the bar.”

Julia’s eyes narrow with determination, and she flexes her fingers. “I’ll distract them while you locate it.”

I hesitate. Of course she wants that role. She probably thrives on the attention, the chaos, the chance to use her charm like a weapon. But a magical distraction is not the best way to be subtle about what we’re doing. Besides, I can think of better uses for her magic. “No, if her bag is in a locker, we’ll need you to break the lock. And if it’s behind the bar, it’ll be easier if you summon it instead of me trying to slip back there. Can you do that? Summon someone’s bag?”