A Favor
“Did it knock your period out of whack?” I handed Rayna a cup of tea. It had been months since I last saw her, and we were catching up on things. “The first time, it didn’t. But this last trip, I swear when we got back here, it jumpstarted my uterus.”
“Oh, yeah, girl! It’s so annoying, but if you do it enough, your body adjusts.” Rayna paused. “I only get them once or twice a year now, actually, because of all the world-hopping we do. But when it comes, it’s hell!”
“Great to know.” I took a deep breath and made a mental note to order more pads.
“So, are you nervous?” She sipped her tea. “This is a big day.”
“Yes. I mean, I know Whitney, or at least I knew her back when we were all in college. Even then, we barely spoke. I didn’t want to accidentally reveal everything to her. But Jackie says she’s ready now.”
“Good. This will be good for you both, I’m sure.”
“Yeah, I hope so.”
“Listen, I don’t care how much time I spend in the Bane—I’m not selling you my condo,” Metice fussed as he and Raymond entered the room.
“You have twelve of them! Why do you need so many homes?” Raymond questioned. “Look, they burned mine down, and you have all the best property right now.”
“The way you make enemies, any place you own will go up in flames.” Metice chuckled. “Really, I’m doing you a favor.”
Rayna and I shared a glance and both sipped our tea as we silently agreed to stay out of it.
The doorbell rang, and my stomach dropped when Rayna announced, “They’re here.”
“I’ll get it,” Raymond offered and headed out of the kitchen to the front door.
“It will be fine, trust me. We’ve worked with Whitney and Domino a few times now. She loves that monster hunter stuff.”
“Thanks.”
“Hey!” Jackie stepped into the kitchen, and following her was a woman who looked a lot more like me than I remembered. Whitney.
“Hey.” Whitney looked as nervous as I felt.
“Hi.” I stood.
“Oh God.” Jackie huffed. “Whitney, this is your sister, Jericha. Jericha, this is your sister, Whitney. Now hug it out.”
“You could give them two seconds to process this,” the tall man with gold wired-framed glasses, the one I knew now to be a day-walking vampire, spoke to Jackie.
“And you could mind your business. I keep telling you, Domino, just because she’s cool with you doesn’t mean I am.” She tapped the stake secured at her waist.
“Jackie, please stop threatening to kill my man.” Whitney sucked her teeth.
“Maybe we should give the girls some space.” Raymond suggested, and the three men eagerly headed out to the yard, where we could see them standing awkwardly together.
“So, Whitney. Jericha is going to be working with us now,” Jackie spoke then turned to me. “Sorry Lena couldn’t be here. Huge production thing going on right now. Something about a casting issue.”
“No problem. I’ll catch up with her next time.” I nodded. “I’m sure I’ll see her around the studio.”
“You gave me Maverick?” Whitney asked.
“Oh, yeah,” I started, and she hugged me.
“Thank you,” she said as I hugged her back. “He saved my life.”
“You don’t hate me?” I asked her. “I was afraid you would be upset since I didn’t tell you everything sooner.”
“When Jackie told me everything, I was confused, but after all these magical revelations, I understand.” She took a deep breath. “You wanted to keep me safe. I did the same for my sister. It involved wiping her memory, but she’s safe now.”
“You wiped her memory?” I gawked.
“Hey, it was the best thing we could do for the girl,” Jackie said. “And we’ve monitored her since. She’s mentally sound, and there have been no supernatural shenanigans in her life.”
“I guess that’s good.” I smiled. “But about Maverick…”
“What about him?” Whitney asked.
“I-” I started to tell her the truth about Maverick and his ties to Likosa. I was sure it meant something more, but I didn’t get the chance to.
The pressure in the room grew, and we all looked at each other. Someone was coming. I glanced out the window at the guys who were unaware. It didn’t matter. If it was a threat, we could handle it.
The girls had the same idea, because when I looked at them again, they were all in a fighting stance.
Then, in a pink cloud, one done purely for effect, Likosa appeared.
“Well, now that we’re all together.” She adjusted the headpiece that made her look like royalty. “I have a favor to ask. And as far as I can see, you all owe me. BIG!”