“Finally Miss Jeans and Flip Flops comes to see the light,” Chloe said.
Jade shrugged. “I’m just a plain Jane at heart.”
“Well, there’s nothing plain about that,” Graham said, gesturing at her gown. “And it’s not just the dress. You’re even holding yourself differently.”
Jade felt herself blushing and looked away. She’d been getting prickles of attraction from Graham all night, and although she knew they were all for Chloe, his feelings had been tainting her mind. She had determined to keep her attitude light and breezy, and Chloe’s presence might have helped if she hadn’t been a little stress ball tonight, giving Jade one more mental complication.
“She’s got potential, anyway,” Chloe said. “We’ll have to get your hair done up and perk up your makeup a bit, but those are finishing touches.”
“Jade’s right, though,” Graham said. “I even like our casual outfits.”
“Well, good. Because you look fabulous in those pants,” Chloe said. “I knew you’d be a perfect model.”
Graham exuded a wisp of embarrassment and scratched at his curls.
“It was his idea,” Jade reminded Chloe.
“Oh, I know,” Chloe said. “But I wouldn’t have approved unless he had potential.”
Jade met Graham’s gaze, and together they spontaneously broke into laughter.
“What?” Chloe said, a frown creasing her brows.
Her expression made them laugh even harder. Jade clutched her middle, and Graham wiped away tears. His reaction made hers more intense, and Jade fell onto the sofa, gasping for air.
Chloe crossed her arms. “What is so dang funny?”
Jade shook her head. “You’re just so…Chloe. Only you can dish out a line like that and make us love you even more for it.”
“Okay.” Chloe tapped her foot as if waiting for them to pull it back together. “Well, you need to get up, Jade, because you’re going to wrinkle your dress, and I’ll be damned if I have to press the thing again.”
“Sorry,” Jade mumbled through a smile.
It was after midnight, so they decided to wrap things up.
“See you at work tomorrow,” Graham told Jade as he left.
“It’s my day off, actually,” she said.
“Oh, right.”
“Hope you can get enough sleep,” Jade said. Graham threw her a wave as he headed for his car.
Jade shut the door and turned to Chloe. “Ready to call it a night?”
“Yeah. I’m exhausted, but I didn’t get finished,” Chloe said.
“At least you’re staying here tonight,” Jade said. “You won’t have to worry about packing up all your equipment.” Jade glanced around her living room, surveying their mess for the first time that evening.
Pieces of the outfits hung on hangers, some on the blinds, others on doorknobs or the edge of a dining chair. Chloe’s sewing machine took up the surface of a folding table in the middle of the room, and next to it her sewing caddy looked like it had vomited its contents. Scissors, spools of thread, and other sewing notions were scattered around. Piles of fabric scraps lay across every surface in the room. In just one evening, Chloe had successfully made Jade’s apartment look like her own.
Jade smiled to herself, happy that she could do this for her friend. The fact that she could hang out with Chloe and Graham all day with only mild emotional discomfort was a huge milestone. And she hadn’t encountered any emotional blowups of her own, so that was a success, too. It had been one of the few days since the breakup that she hadn’t had time to think about Logan.
But as she got ready for bed, her mind trailed back to her conversation with Graham that afternoon. She couldn’t stop thinking about the possibilities. If Violet had somehow influenced him…
Then what? Was it Jade’s business to get involved? It wasn’t like they could get back together. She was still a danger to him. She sighed as she settled into bed, her mind spinning. It had been hard enough to put their relationship behind her, and the last thing she wanted was to run into Logan again. But what if he were in danger? Should she get involved if Violet were playing him like a pawn? Jade thought of the man that had captured her and the others a few months back—not Ethan, but the one called Nicodemus. He could make people do whatever he told them—just by looking in their eyes. What if Violet had some ability like that?
Maybe Jade should ask Logan about it. Maybe if they had an actual conversation she could figure out what was going on in his head and what Violet’s role in it was.
~
Violet needed to get more pills, and though it was something she could risk doing alone, she took Logan. After the incident that morning, he needed a reminder of who was in control. She was hoping she could get what she needed with only a swift transition. And, while the fact that he’d be out of her control for a brief moment was risky, it was also a way to make him pay. He needed to learn that he was hers—now and for good.
She’d purchased several sets of handcuffs from a magic store earlier for a more recreational purpose. But, as a precaution, she used one set to fasten his ankles to the base of the passenger seat of her car. He passively watched her ratchet them tight and took her “just for funsies” explanation without balking. Her threads of enchantment caressed his head the whole time. She promised him even more fun later after they’d finished the quick errand.
He stroked her arm as she drove under the canopy of the pharmacy’s drive-through lane. She’d chosen a different store chain to be safe. She wouldn’t need an account here anyway, thanks to her ability. Violet rolled down her window, knowing if she made the transition quick enough, this would work.
When the pharmacist opened the small window and greeted her, Violet gave the middle-aged woman a false name and reached to hand over her credit card. When their hands touched, she pulled the card back. The familiar halo appeared over the woman’s head. Then Violet wrenched her glowing threads from Logan and tossed them at the pharmacist. When the woman’s expression relaxed into the pliable amiability Violet recognized, she demanded a year’s supply of the painkillers. It was as much as she dared without immediately raising suspicion. The woman gave a nod and disappeared to fetch the pills. The tiny window closed.
Sounds of struggle turned Violet’s attention back to Logan.
His eyes flickered with anger, and he spoke through clenched teeth. “You have to stop this. You can’t keep controlling me.” He unlocked his door and reached for the handle. But Violet was quicker. She reengaged the locks. Logan toggled the lock again, and again she locked it. They played this game of war for a minute before Logan released a growl. His fingers clenched tight around the sidepiece of the door. It cracked in his grip, and the entire panel broke off.
Violet gawked. But he had no handle to open the door with, and that pleased her. “Well, that didn’t help you much, did it?” she said.
“Dammit, Violet! Let me out!” Logan tried to kick his feet and, with a delay, seemed to remember she’d cuffed his ankles. His jaw clamped, and a vein in his forehead pulsed. “How are you doing this?”
“Does it matter?” she asked. “You can’t stop me.”
“Don’t bet on it.” He growled at her again. His arms reached across the console for her. She ducked back, pulling the seat recline lever just in time to swoop out of his grasp.
The lady returned to the window with the medication and waited for Violet to take it. Still under Violet’s enchantment, she didn’t question the odd behavior of Violet or her passenger.
“Do I need to make her call the police on you?” Violet asked. “Your destructive behavior doesn’t make you look very good right now.” She nodded at the broken panel.
Logan stared at her.
“She’ll do anything I ask,” Violet said, bringing her chair back upright. “They all will. She just wants to make me happy—and the cops will be the same way.” This was a bluff, but there was no way Logan could know her ability was limited to one person at a time.
Violet swiped the bag of medicine from the woman.
“I’m being held against my will!” Logan leaned over Violet to catch the woman’s eyes. “Call the police! Tell someone—please!”
The woman frowned, then checked Violet for what to do.
Violet gave her a reassuring smile. “He’s fine, I promise. He’s just a little excitable. You can go back to work—and I’d love it if you took a nice, long break first thing.”
The woman smiled brightly. “Okay.” She disappeared inside, and the window closed behind her.
“No!” Logan shouted.
Violet drove forward, debating how long she should wait before releasing her enchantment over the woman. At least out of the parking lot, in case the pharmacist called security. Still, she likely wouldn’t do that until after her break was over.
Violet had barely pulled beyond the canopy when Logan went ballistic. With a guttural groan, he wrenched his feet forward. She heard a screeching sound, then the clatter of metal. He’d broken the cuffs. She cursed.
She tried to hold the car steady as she turned out onto the street, but Logan was determined. He used the momentum of the turn to throw his elbow into the window. It broke with a shattering crash. Glass particles sprayed against the outside of the car and sprinkled his lap.
A quick glance showed Violet that the glass had ripped the sleeve of his shirt. Blood soaked the fabric and dripped on the car’s leather upholstery. Logan released the seatbelt and scrambled out of his seat, launching his upper body out the window.
He was about to escape, and any nearby cars would see. Violet had no way to hide the car or disguise herself.
She pulled off the road and slammed on her brakes. In a flash, she sucked the strands back, releasing the pharmacist and tossing them over Logan like a net. With his torso half out of the car and his arms scrabbling for purchase, he froze.
“Come back in here,” Violet said calmly. “You’re overreacting just a little.”
There was only a moment of hesitation.
He pulled back inside, giving her a sheepish shrug.
“Look what you did.” She gestured at his shirt, where the jagged glass had ripped a section across his abdomen. Blood trickled from several cuts on his belly, and the sun caught a glint where a piece of glass had lodged itself into his flesh.
He glanced down, then winced.
“Looks painful,” she said without sympathy. “Can you pull it out?”
He plucked it between two nails, taking care of the sharp edges. He grimaced as it came loose then tossed it onto the floor of the car.
“Okay. Now let’s get you back home.”
The ride back was calm enough, but Violet realized something. Logan’s strength might be handy now and then, but it was far too dangerous for her to allow.
“After we get you cleaned up, I think it’s time for a haircut. And if anyone at work asks why you decided to change it, you can just tell them that your girlfriend prefers it short.”
A smile settled on her lips. She’d captured the wolf. Now she just needed to declaw him.
When Jade woke up the next morning, Logan and his alleged relationship with Violet was still on her mind. She showered and made a hearty breakfast of oatmeal, eggs, and fruit while Chloe got up and took her time in the bathroom. When Chloe exited the shower in a waft of plumeria, Jade was stabbing her eggs with a fork. “You have a lot more to do with the outfits?” she asked.
“Yeah.” Chloe entered the kitchen. “Did you make extra?”
Jade gestured to the stove.
Chloe went to help herself. “This is why you’re amazing,” she said.
Jade smiled. “Is there anything I can help you with today? Any way I can help speed things up?”
Chloe sighed. “I wish, but no. It’s just finishing touches—details stuff.”
“Okay.” Jade finished the last of her breakfast and went to clean up her plate. “Maybe I’ll go run a few errands. That way I’m not in your hair, and you can work in peace.”
Chloe shrugged. “Whatever you want is fine.” She sank into a chair and set her plate on the table. “Could you maybe bring back some lunch?”
“Thinking about lunch already?”
“A girl’s gotta prepare,” Chloe said.
“I’ll call you when I’m on my way back, and we can decide what to get.”
Jade left a few minutes later. She picked up a few things from the store and returned a stack of books to the library. She still had a little time to kill before lunchtime, so she decided to go talk to Logan.
After parking her car, she crossed the campus of Colorado College with her gut squeezed tight. On the deserted lawn, her feelings warred within her: the part that ached to see him and the part that knew this confrontation would be painful no matter what happened.
At the history building, she sucked in a deep breath and did her best to put a lid on all her roiling emotions. She had no way to know if they might escape, but what she’d found so far seemed to dictate that the stronger an emotion was, the greater chance of her influencing others.
Since most summer classes had ended yesterday, the school had the air of desolation, with empty halls and darkened classrooms. She passed no one on her way to the staff corridor, and when she stepped into the faculty wing, the reception desk was empty too.
Apparently, the rest of the staff was gone. Every door was dark except a faint light illuminating the crack under Logan’s. Likely he was finishing up whatever tasks he had to do before shutting down for the next month.
She rapped on the door softly, her hand trembling a little, and wiped her palm on her jeans.
“Come in.”
Her breath hitched at hearing his voice. A burst of feeling rose, but she tried to shove it down.
She opened the door.
Logan’s side was to her as he sat at the desk, bent over something. It took her a moment to realize why he looked different.
“You cut your hair.”
Logan’s head came up, and he swiveled to look at her. His dark hair was cropped shorter than she’d ever seen it, and it barely covered his forehead. Something in her ached at missing his tousled waves.
“Violet likes it short,” he said. The statement was matter-of-fact, said without emotion. Jade’s inner torment slithered around inside her belly.
“So you two really are together.”
He nodded and leaned back in his chair. A faint smile touched his lips.
“Okay.” Jade swallowed. “How’s that going?”
“It’s amazing,” he said, and a new sensation filled Jade—his pride surged inside her, a euphoric pleasure she didn’t want to call happiness…though it was rich and heady and impossible to ignore.
“You’re all right, then?” she asked. “I mean, you’re not in trouble or anything?” He must be able to come and go as he pleased if he was still working. Maybe the brainwashing was all in their heads.
“Not in trouble.” The words were dull, but they didn’t sound like he was talking in code or anything. His eyes had strayed back to the desk as if something there was more interesting.
“So, you’re happy then?”
“Violet makes me happy,” he said. His fingertips traced lines on some piece of paper in front of him.
“Um, sure.” She bit her lip. “Logan?”
He met her gaze again.
“Be careful, okay?”
“Careful?”
What was with all the one-word answers? It wasn’t like him. “I just…I’m worried Violet might be dangerous.”
“Violet’s amazing. She’s the most beautiful woman in the world. She’s everything I could ever want.”
Jade blinked. That stung. “I’m sure she’s great.” She swallowed. “But still…you’ll look out for yourself, right?” She waited for him to answer or start raving about Violet again, but he turned his attention back to his work.
&nb
sp; A flicker of annoyance pricked Jade. “What are you so busy with? I came here to make sure you were all right, and you barely give me the time of day. What’s with you?”
When he still didn’t answer, she stepped around to see what had all his attention. “You’re just that busy with grading finals?”
Leaning over his shoulder, she saw a stack of eight-by-ten photos. “That’s not work,” she said. “What are those?” She snatched one from beneath the stack. It was a head shot of Violet sending the camera a sultry grin. Her long auburn hair trailed behind as if caught in the wind. It struck Jade in the gut.
Logan’s finger still toyed with the top photo. It was another picture of Violet, and her broad smile seemed to leer at Jade.
“You came to work to stare at pictures of her? What’s going on, Logan?”
“I’m supposed to be here,” he said. “She wanted me to come in—to make things seem normal.”
“‘Make things seem normal?’ What does that mean?”
“And she says we appreciate each other more when we spend time apart.”
Jade put a hand on her hip. “You’re letting her tell you what to do? And you’re ignoring your work? What’s wrong with you?”
But he looked as though the picture beneath his fingers had transported him to a fantasy world.
~
After leaving Logan, Jade hurried into Mountains of Books. She strode past browsing customers and to the counter where Graham stood completing a transaction. “I’m not imagining it,” she said. “There’s something wrong with him. He’s acting completely off.”
Graham placed several books in a paper bag and handed the woman a receipt. She thanked him and left. Then he turned to Jade. “Who?”
“Logan,” Jade said. “I went to talk to him, to feel out what was going on, and he was sitting at his desk ignoring his work and staring at pictures of her!”
“Of Violet?”
“Yes.” Jade realized she was pacing in front of the counter, but she needed some outlet for her growing anxiety. “This isn’t like him at all.”
Enchanter: The Flawed Series Book Four Page 20
