His face changed. All of the anger left it and was replaced by tenderness. He caressed her check. “Don’t worry, darling, I’m not angry with you.”
She let out a sigh of relief. “Should we go now?”
“Yes, darling, we don’t want to keep my friend waiting, do we?” He smiled sweetly and Caroline started the car.
Caroline returned to the house a few hours later. Jilly sprang on her the second she walked through the door. “Where have you been? Tanya said you were only there for like ten minutes.”
“I needed to think, Jill. I went for a walk and did some window shopping. I’m a grown woman. I can do what I please,” Caroline said defensively.
“You’re right, I’m sorry. I was just worried. I don’t like you being out there alone. Something awful could have happened.” Jilly’s eyes were full of concern.
“I’m sorry, too; this has just been a rough week for me. With talking to Jack again and all the stuff with Sabine, I really just needed some space to sort things out in my head. Can you understand that?”
“Of course I can. I’m just a worrier; you know that. You should go get washed up for dinner. You have leaves in your hair and dirt on your cheek. Where were you, anyway?”
“Oh, gosh, you’re right. I’ll go take a quick shower.” Caroline called over her shoulder as she ran up the steps toward her room. She nearly collided with William as he was rounding the corner in the hall.
“Oh, sorry, Car, I didn’t see you. I guess I’m a bit preoccupied.”
“That’s okay. I’m just going for a quick shower before dinner. See you in a bit.”
William continued on his way down to the kitchen after Caroline closed her door. He found Jilly at the stove, the makings of dinner on the counter around her. “Hey, need some help?” he asked as he walked in.
“That would be great. I’m not really even sure what I’m making. I just grabbed stuff out of the fridge,” Jilly said in an exasperated tone.
“Let’s see what we’ve got,” William said as he made his way around the counter to survey the ingredients. “Looks like we can make stew. We’ve got all sorts of vegetables, plus beef. What do you think?”
“Yeah, that’s fine. Did you see Caroline on your way down?”
“I pretty much ran into her, why?”
“Something’s not right with her. I’m not sure what, but she’s off.”
“She’s been through a lot in the past week, Jill. Give her some time to decompress,” William said gently.
“I know she’s been through a lot. We all have, Will. I’m right about this. She’s not telling us something.”
William held up his hands in a gesture of peace. “Hey, I’m on your side. I’m just saying cut her some slack.”
“I understand that. I’m a little worried, that’s all.” He pulled her into a hug, inhaling her intoxicating scent.
“Okay, enough of that now. Let’s get started on dinner,” Jilly said as she pushed away from him. Thirty minutes later, dinner was on the table and William went upstairs to round everyone up.
Katya wandered in from out back, cheeks pink from the cold. “That smells so amazing, although I’d eat just about anything right now. I can’t remember the last time I was this hungry.” She walked to the sink to wash her hands.
“We made enough to feed a small army, so you won’t be hungry for long. Will’s just gathering up everyone. Can you do me a favor?”
Katya turned to look at Jilly. “Sure, what’s up?”
“Can you keep an eye on Caroline for me? Something’s going on with her. She’s not telling me something. I’m worried about her. I know she’s been through a lot, but it’s more than that.”
Seeing the concern all over Jilly’s face, Katya nodded. “I’ll do what I can, Jill. I’m sure it’s nothing, though.” Jilly gave her a quick hug and then finished setting the table.
Everyone was seated around the big dining table eating. It was oddly quiet. Everyone was thinking of the best place to start. Finally, William broke the silence. “I think first and foremost, we need to find Patrick. That needs to be our top priority right now. I can’t have him out in the world wreaking whatever fresh brand of hell he has on his mind.”
Nikolai spoke next. “I agree with you; but what can we do once we find him? He’s not exactly going to come quietly. I think we need to talk to Sabine and find out what she knows. Now that you’re back, she may respond better to questioning.” William nodded.
“What about Hannah?” Jilly asked. “What’s being done about those shadow things?” Hannah’s head snapped up at the mention of her name. She had that wild look in her eyes, like a deer crossing the street.
“It’s being handled. A friend of ours is coming in tomorrow night,” Katya replied. Jilly nodded and went back to eating, listening to what everyone else was saying.
Caroline kept quiet during dinner; taking in everything, an odd expression on her face. It was almost anger but not quite. She masked it well. It was decided that in the morning, the men would go and question Sabine while Jilly and Caroline went into the salon for a few hours. Hannah said she wanted to stay inside and no one could blame her. The wards on the house were strong enough to keep the wraiths out. Katya decided to stay in as well to do some research and to keep Hannah company. After everyone had filed out of the kitchen, Jilly remained to clean up from dinner.
Hannah hung back as well. “Do you think you can cut my hair for me? It’s been like over a year since I’ve had it cut,” she said shyly.
Jilly’s face split into a beaming smile. “Of course, I’d be more than happy to do that for you. I can do it tonight if you want.” Hannah nodded enthusiastically. “Why don’t you go up and take a shower so it will be all wet evenly for me. We’ll do it in my bathroom. I’ll meet you there in twenty minutes.” Hannah was up the stairs in a flash and Jilly smiled to herself as she finished cleaning.
Hannah knocked on Jilly’s door twenty minutes later; her eyes were shining with excitement. Jilly had all of her stuff laid out on the counter and was all ready for Hannah when she came in. “Okay, so what do you want to do?” she asked when Hannah sat down.
“I don’t know, it’s been so long since I’ve done anything fun,” Hannah said with a timid smile. “You can do whatever you think will look good. I’m just ready to look totally different.”
Jilly thought for a moment, walking in a circle around Hannah. “So you want to lose most of your length then?” she asked, fingering Hannah’s waist length tresses.
“Yeah, I think I’d like it long enough for a ponytail, but still short. Does that make sense?”
“It does. Do you want me to tell you what I have in mind or just surprise you?”
“Surprise me,” Hannah replied with a brilliant smile.
Jilly positioned Hannah so she faced away from the mirror. Once she got her all draped and sectioned out, she began the cut. She worked her way from back to front, getting the length perfect before moving on to the layers framing her face and throughout the hair. After texturizing and checking the cut, she stepped back and looked at the finished product. Hannah’s hair was cut to just past her shoulders and she had tons of choppy layers all throughout and framing her face. Jilly turned Hannah’s chair around to face the mirror and Hannah’s jaw dropped.
“Oh, my gosh! Is that really me? I look so different.”
“Do you like it?” Jilly asked nervously.
“I totally love it!” Hannah flew out of her chair into Jilly’s arms. “Thank you for helping me start over,” she said quietly into Jilly’s ear.
Jilly could feel Hannah’s tears against her cheek. “I know it’s been hard, but I hope it won’t have to be, anymore. Once we figure out the Patrick situation, it’s smooth sailing all the way.” She kissed Hannah’s cheek and hugged her tightly. “No more tears, now. Let’s go show you off.” She grabbed Hannah’s hand and they went out to find the others.
Everyone was in the living room when Hannah and Jilly came
down the stairs.
William looked up and did a double take. “Hannah? Oh, my gosh! You look great.” The others all looked up from what they were doing when they heard William.
Caroline came over and told Hannah to spin around so she could see the back. “Baby doll, you look amazing,” she said with a smile.
Katya and Nik agreed. “You really look adorable,” Katya said, and Nik nodded.
Jilly joined William over on the couch and motioned for Hannah to come sit with them. Once everyone was all settled, they turned on the TV and watched a Bones marathon on Fox for the rest of the night. Jilly thought how nice it was to feel normal and to do normal things. She was happy that Hannah was fitting in so nicely, too; it was like she’d always been there.
A few hours later, the group dispersed to separate rooms, all except Jilly and William. They stayed downstairs for a bit, talking.
“What’s your plan for tomorrow?” Jilly asked him.
“I don’t want to think about tomorrow, Jill. Let’s just enjoy tonight and this moment.” His voice was husky as he spoke. He pulled her close and pressed her lips to his. Jilly let him deepen the kiss. She let herself float on the intoxicating feelings he stirred from within her. He pulled her on his lap, running his hands up her back. In the back of his mind, there was a small voice telling him to slow down. He ignored it. He pulled her closer, wanting to feel every inch of her against him. She sighed into his lips and let her hand rove over his skin under his shirt. A few minutes later, they heard the sound of someone clearing her throat and found Caroline standing at the foot of the stairs. Jilly turned bright red and hid her face in William’s chest.
“Sorry to interrupt. I didn’t think anyone was down here. If you want privacy, you really should go upstairs,” she said with tiniest bit of reproach in her voice.
“Sorry, Car,” Jilly said sheepishly. She got up quickly and straightened out her clothes. Caroline winked at her on her way to the kitchen. As soon as the swinging door swished closed behind her, Jilly and William burst into laughter.
“We probably should,” he said suggestively.
Jilly winked. “Race you upstairs.” He nodded and they both took off up the stairs. Jilly opened the door and William had her in his arms before they had even crossed the threshold. He made a sound almost like a growl and threw her on the bed. Jilly looked up at him as he took his shirt off, once again feeling like the luckiest girl alive. She quickly tore her own shirt off, wanting to feel his skin against her own and pulled him down on top of her. Within minutes, any remaining clothing was strewn around the bed. A while later, they lay back against the pillows smiling idiotically.
“I keep thinking it can’t get any better, but it always surprises me,” William said, a look of pure contentment on his face.
Jilly opened her eyes and found herself in a dark forest filled with fog. She stood still, looking around her for any clues to where she was. She heard voices in the distance and saw the flickering light of a fire. She made her way silently through the night towards the voices. She stopped about ten yards from where the people stood and got down on the ground so she could inch closer without being seen. She finally reached a point where she could see but not be seen; and stopped, hiding behind a large bush. The leaves scratched at her skin. It was two men talking. One of them was Patrick and the other was a tall blonde man she had never seen before.
“When will we have the girl?” the man asked.
“I’m working on it, Drew. It’s trickier than it should be. My first priority is finding Sabine, right now. We can worry about the girl after that. I need you to work on that. It’s your assignment while you’re in Boston.” Drew nodded and melted into the darkness behind him.
“You may as well come out, Jillian. I know you’re there,” Patrick said dryly. Jilly got up slowly and brushed off her pants as she made her way over to Patrick. “You’re awfully brave to be out here alone in the night.”
Jilly shrugged. “I guess, or crazy. Either way I’m here.”
Patrick laughed. “You know, I think we could be friends if you weren’t with my saint of a brother.”
“Do you want to tell me who that guy was?” Jilly asked
“Not really,” Patrick shot back.
“Ok, how about the girl?”
“What girl do you mean, Jillian? I know many girls.”
“Don’t be cute, Patrick. It doesn’t suit you. What girl were you talking about?”
He sneered at her. “Now why would I tell you that, Jillian? That would ruin all of my fun. I need to run, and you really should wake up.” He shoved her and Jilly felt herself being sucked backwards. She opened her eyes and she was back in bed. After letting the shock of the experience wear off, she rolled over toward William.
He stirred in his sleep, and his eyes fluttered open. “Jill?” he said sleepily. “What’s wrong?” He sat up and turned on the bedside light.
“I had a dream,” she said and sat up in bed. “I guess it wasn’t really a dream since I was there and I talked to Patrick. I don’t know what to call it; but I had it, whatever it was. There was a guy named Drew there, also. They were talking about finding Sabine and getting a girl. He wouldn’t tell me who the girl was, but I can assume they meant Hannah.”
William was quiet, absorbing what Jilly was saying. “I know Drew. He’s just the sort my brother would consort with, kind of an unsavory character. I’m thinking we should move Sabine, but I’ll need to talk to Nik. Are you okay after talking with him?”
“What? Oh yeah, I’m fine. He wasn’t menacing or anything. He’s more sarcastic than anything.”
“I’m happy that you have this gift of yours; but it scares me to death at the same time, Jill,” William said as he pulled Jilly close to him. “I hate the idea of you being out there alone, possibly in danger.”
“I know what you mean, it freaks me out a bit too. Hopefully I’ll learn to control it, soon. I’m going to go down and have a mug of hot chocolate. That always calms me down. I’ll be back up in a few.” She planted a kiss on his cheek and went down to the kitchen.
The lights were still on in the kitchen when Jilly went down. She noticed that the back door was unlocked and walked over to lock it. When she got to the door, she saw Caroline outside. She was at the bottom of the steps dressed in her pajamas with a coat over them. She was talking to someone, but Jilly couldn’t see the other person. She watched her sister and the mystery person for five minutes before Caroline turned and started walking up the steps. Jilly hurried over to the stove and started the water in the kettle for the hot chocolate.
Caroline looked surprised when she found Jilly in the kitchen. “What are you doing up?” she asked.
“I had a weird dream. I’m going to have some hot chocolate and go back to bed. Do you want some, too?”
“No, thanks; I’m going to head up.”
“Hey, Car, wait. What were you doing outside at this hour?”
Caroline’s face flushed red. “I just needed some air, that’s all. See you in the morning.”
Jilly waved and put on a smile, but inside she was anything but smiling. She decided against the hot chocolate and turned the kettle off. She was back in her room in a flash. “So, Caroline was outside when I got down to the kitchen.”
“What? At this hour?” William asked sitting up against the headboard.
“Yeah, I know. She was talking to someone, but it was too dark to see who. When I asked her why she was outside, she got all flushed and looked kind of weird. She said she just needed some air. What’s going on with her?”
William’s expression changed when he heard what Jilly had to say. “What? What does that mean?” she asked in a worried voice, her eyebrows furrowing.
“I need to get Nik. I’ll be back in a second.” Before she could reply, he had left the room. Jilly got up from where she was sitting and began pacing the room while she waited. A few minutes later, William returned with Nikolai and Katya. Jilly gave a sigh of relief when they
all filed in.
“Please be silent a moment.” Katya said and closed her eyes, whispering a spell under her breath. The whole room flashed a greenish blue color, and Katya smiled. “Okay, we can begin now that I’m sure the room is secure.”
“This has grown more serious than we thought, Will,” Nik said.
Jilly’s eyes widened. “You knew about this?” she asked accusingly.
“I had a feeling it would happen, yes. I think Patrick has Caroline in his thrall. I had hoped that Kat would be able to keep him out, but he’s too strong. I suspect that she was with him earlier and may have even been talking to him just now,” Nikolai said.
Tears streamed down Jilly’s cheeks. “What can we do for her?”
“For now, we watch her,” Kat said as she walked over and put an arm around Jilly.
“That’s it? We just watch her? We aren’t going to try and break whatever hold he has over her?”
“It’s too dangerous right now; we don’t know how deep into her mind he is. Besides, we may be able to use this to our benefit,” Nik said.
Jilly shot him a murderous look. “We aren’t going to let her out of the house anymore.”
“Jill, Nik’s right. This may be our best way of finding him,” William said softly.
“We can’t just let her go to him,” Jilly sobbed. “What if something happens to her?”
“We won’t let her go out alone, Jill. Someone will always be following her,” Nik said.
“No,” Jilly shook her head and turned to Kat for help.
“I agree with them, Jilly. There’s no other option right now. We’ll ensure her safety. I promise you, she’ll be fine.” Kat waved her hand and the room flashed once more, returning to its normal state.
Jilly nodded numbly. “Ok, if it’s what we have to do.” Nik and Kat nodded and left to go back to their own room, leaving Jilly and William alone.
Chasing the Witch (Boston Witches) Page 12
