Four
“Let’s talk it out,” Sully said when the minute had passed, reluctantly pulling away. “What are we going to do?”
Ofelia had taken the time in his arms to organize her thoughts.
She was glad she hadn’t lied to him. She would have regretted it right away if she’d followed through.
He’d taken that option away from her, and she was forever grateful.
Not only that, but he was also on her side.
He was going to actively hide Angelique with her.
She’d made the best choice in the world when she’d paired herself with this man. Nobody could convince her otherwise.
“Well, I’m going to ward the room.” Ofelia didn’t want to move away from Sully’s warmth, but it was time to get everybody on board with her plan. “We’re going to get a bed set up for her —”
“An inflatable bed,” Angelique corrected dourly.
Sully sent her an encouraging smile even though his insides were twisted with worry. “It’s only for a few days, right?”
“That’s a good question.” Angelique flicked her gaze to Ofelia. “How long is the incubation period?”
“I’m not entirely sure,” Ofelia admitted. “I think you need to be here for a week, just to be on the safe side.”
Angelique didn’t put up a fight. She just nodded.
“All of the instances of transformation I’ve heard about have happened within three days,” Ofelia rushed to explain. “I’m just not sure if that’s a hard and fast rule.” Her eyes moved to the angry mark on Angelique’s arm. “It could have something to do with the severity of the wound.”
“So, it would take longer for me because this isn’t all that serious,” Angelique guessed as she waved her arm around.
“Actually, I was thinking that wound looks pretty bad,” Ofelia countered. “I’ve seen basic scratches, just little things, turn people into banshees.”
“Have you seen anybody turned from a banshee back to their original form?” Ben asked hopefully. He looked wrecked, and Ofelia’s heart went out to him.
“Have I seen it happen with my own eyes? No.” Ofelia shook her head. “I’ve heard stories, though, so we’re going with them.”
“And who told these stories?” Sully asked. He had to force himself to refrain from petting her. He knew she was hurting, and so very worried. She wouldn’t like it if he coddled her in front of the others, however. She would want to look strong.
“Various people.” Ofelia held out her hands and shrugged. “The paranormals in the Quarter like to tell stories. I’ve heard three or four about cured banshees.”
“Do you believe all of them?”
She wanted to curse him for getting to the heart of matters that way. “No, but I believe some of them. That’s the important thing.”
Sully bit back a response that he knew would irritate her and focused on what they needed to accomplish right away. “So, you’re warding the room. That means she can’t leave, correct?”
Ofelia nodded. “I’m also warding the floor. Only certain people — our people — will be allowed on it. The construction workers will bypass it every time. They can go to either floor above or below, but this floor is off limits to them.”
“Okay.” Sully nodded. “That’s a good start. What about food?”
“There are some staples there.” Ofelia pointed toward the grocery bag Bernie had brought with him. “I figured we could get her takeout for the other meals. It’s going to be easier than cooking.”
“Who is going to watch her?”
Bernie raised his hand. “Ofelia and I have already worked out the details on that. I live in the building. It’s easy for me to check on her multiple times a day.”
“I’m paying him,” Ofelia added.
“No, you’re not,” Bernie fired back.
“Don’t argue with me on that.” Ofelia extended a single warning finger. “I’m in no mood to play that game.”
“Well, neither am I.”
Sully sent Bernie a quelling look before turning his attention back to Ofelia. “My guess is that you’re going to start, first thing in the morning, looking for a cure.”
“Not just a cure,” Ofelia replied. “I’m going to be looking for a reason. Those banshees didn’t attack our party on a whim. They were there for a specific purpose.”
“I can’t ever remember seeing that many banshees working together,” Sully admitted.
“Me either.” Ofelia shook her head. “They could have done more damage than they did. It seems like the second you ripped out the throat of the one that was coming after me, they were done. They took off.”
“It’s possible she was their leader,” he said. “They might not have expected her to fall.”
“Maybe,” Ofelia agreed. “It could be something else entirely. We’re going to have to figure it out as we go.”
“So, Bernie is going to be taking care of her,” Sully started.
“And me,” Ben interjected. “I’m going to be taking care of her, too.”
Ofelia didn’t argue. It made sense. “If you want to set up a spot for yourself in the room next door, we can get another air mattress,” she suggested. “I will actually feel better if you’re close. Between Bernie and you, she’ll be safe.”
“And what if she starts turning?” Sully challenged. He hated the way Ofelia cringed, but he could hardly call it a night without asking the obvious question. “What then?”
“Then I’ll find the cure,” Ofelia replied simply. She didn’t back away when Sully held her gaze. “I have options. This is my town. I will be able to find a way to cure her.”
It wasn’t that Sully didn’t believe her. It was more that he was worried she was convincing herself that she could do anything because the thought of losing Angelique was too much to bear. Rather than call her on this, especially in front of Angelique, he just nodded.
“Let’s get Ben and Angelique set up for the night and test your wards,” he said instead. “We will figure everything out from there, okay?”
Ofelia smiled. “I’m glad you’re on my team.”
“I will always be on your team,” he promised.
“Is that why you planned a surprise engagement party with our friends tonight and didn’t tell me?”
His smile turned instantly rueful. “Who told you about that? I had to cancel it once the night went off the rails. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. It’s the thought that counts.”
“I’m going to get you your party,” he promised. “One way or another, you’re going to get what you deserve.”
“That could be taken in a dirty way.”
He smirked. “That’s how I meant it.”
“Just checking.”
OFELIA ASSUMED HER MIND WOULD be too full of possibilities to allow her to relax. She was ultimately wrong because the second her head hit the pillow, before Sully even joined her in bed, she was dead to the world.
When she woke the next morning, Sully’s arms were around her, and his eyes were open and on her face.
“Hey.” She instinctively reached up to wipe away potential drool. “Good morning.”
He smirked as he stroked her hair away from her face. She was beautiful. That was the first thing he’d registered when they met. After that, he’d become just as infatuated with her mind. Even now, he marveled at her beauty at the oddest of times.
“Hey.” He gave her a kiss because he couldn’t help himself. It was soft and sweet. “How are you?”
She shrugged. “I’ve been better.”
“We don’t know Angelique is going to turn into a banshee, right?”
“We don’t know it,” Ofelia confirmed. “We won’t have an idea right away. At least I don’t think we will, unless her infection spreads fast because the wound was so deep.”
“What would make you think she would make a likely target?”
Ofelia had to consider it. “She’s a siren. Banshees are drawn to magical women to make their own.”
“What else?”
“She’s saucy. She has attitude. Some of that attitude is based on rage.”
Sully sighed. He understood what she wasn’t saying and nodded. “Okay, well, let’s hope that she’s not really angry, just annoyed.”
Ofelia had no idea if that would make a difference, but she nodded all the same. “I’m going to want to check on her first thing.”
“Of course.” He’d expected that. “We have breakfast with your father this morning.”
“Oh, geez.” Just picturing how that was going to go had Ofelia grimacing. “He’s going to have questions. I didn’t even see much of him at the party last night.”
“He was hanging around with some friends in the corner and seemed to be having a good time. He wasn’t on the list of those injured.”
Ofelia rocketed to a sitting position. She hadn’t even thought about that. “Who was injured?”
Sully arched one curious eyebrow. “I don’t think anybody you would care about. Well, other than Angelique.”
“I still need to see the list.” Ofelia was insistent. “If one of them was the main target, it might help us track down the banshees.”
“Because you think they can help you with a cure?”
Here, Ofelia hesitated. “It’s unlikely,” she said. “It’s not out of the realm of possibility. I have to try, though.”
“Of course you do.”
“I also need to track down the banshees and destroy them,” she added as if it were the most normal thing in the world to say. “They’re a threat to the community. We can’t just leave them out there.”
“If you can cure Angelique, which you’re determined you can, can’t you do the same for them?”
Ofelia fell quiet for several seconds, her thoughts serious enough that she had to mull over them three times before answering.
“Some banshees — not all, but some — choose to turn into angry spirits,” she replied.
“The choice isn’t foisted on them. They make the decision.
They want to be angry at the world, so they embrace a life where all they have to fall back on is anger. ”
“I see.” He wasn’t sure he did, but he nodded for her to continue anyway.
“Those people can’t be helped, Zach,” she said in a low voice. “They were gone the moment they embraced the lifestyle.”
“Okay. You’re basically saying they’re lost causes.”
“Probably. I won’t know until I understand the why of the attack.”
“Well, the only people scratched — and one swears it was a chair and not an angry woman who did it to her — were two shifters from my mother’s side of the family and two of your mother’s tea buddies. None of them have long enemies lists. You can go through their backgrounds over breakfast.”