A Fistfull of Charms(73)

“I’m not that weak,” I said indignantly, but Jenks was way ahead of me, and he took the phone, holding it so we could both hear.
“She ate that last cookie, Ivy,” he said, clearly offended. “And I just gave her another dose of the stuff. She’s running on full. I’m not stupid.”
“I knew it!” I said, glancing past Jenks at the drifting people. “You slipped me some!”There was a short silence, and Ivy said softly, “You picked up more Brimstone?”
Jenks met my eyes. “Yeah. And don’t worry. I paid cash. It’s not on the card.”
“Where did you get the money, Jenks?” Ivy asked, the threat clear in her voice.
“It wasn’t that expensive,” he said, but I could tell he thought he’d done something wrong by his suddenly worried look.
“You ass!” Ivy said. “Get her the hell out of there! You bought street-grade, you stupid pixy! She’s higher than a kite!”
Jenks’s mouth worked but nothing was coming out.
“Uh, Ivy?” he squeaked. “We gotta go.”
“Don’t hang up!” Ivy yelled. “Give me to Rachel. Jenks, give the phone to Rachel!”
Jenks went to end the call, and I snatched the phone. I was on street-grade Brimstone? Swell. Just swell. I thought it was hitting me a little hard. I could hear Ivy telling Nick what had happened, catching the word “invincible” and “get herself killed.” Jenks turned to scan the area, his posture tense and guilty looking.
“Hey, Ivy,” I said, my mood having done a quick shift to anger. “The next time you and Jenks want to play doctor, just shove the Brimstone up your ass, okay? Both of you. I’m not your freaking play-doll.”
“I’m on my way,” Ivy said, ignoring me. “Rachel, just…sit somewhere. Can you do that? I’ll get you out.”
I leaned against the brick wall, feeling every little projection dig into me through my shirt. “Take your time,” I said flippantly, ticked and nerved-up all at the same time. The adrenaline was flowing, and Brimstone had my skin tingling. “Jenks and I are going to plan B.”
“Plan B?” Ivy said. “What is plan B?”
Jenks reddened. “Grab the fish and run like hell,” he muttered, and I almost giggled.
“I’m going to walk out of here,” I said, deciding I’d rather be invincible than scared, “and catch the trolley back to the motel. And if anyone stops me, I’m going to kick—their—ass.”
“Rachel,” Ivy said slowly, “it’s the Brimstone. You aren’t thinking. Just sit tight!”
My eyes narrowed. “I can take care of myself,” I said, starting to feel really good. It wasn’t the Brimstone. No, I lived for excitement! I made decisions based on what would screw my life up the most! I was a messed-up, screwed-up stupid witch who had to mix danger with her sex life in order to get turned on, and I was going to live a very short, exciting life. I went to end the call, then hesitated. “Hey, you want me to keep the phone line open?” 
“Yes,” she said softly. “No. Yes.”
I sobered at the worry in her voice. “Okay.”
My blood tingled through me, and I tucked the phone into my waistband, upside down so the mike was exposed and not muffled by my jeans. Ivy would be able to hear everything that happened. I looked at Jenks, seeing his worry and tension. “Well?” I said, pushing myself off the wall. “What do you think?”
“I think Ivy’s going to kill me,” he whispered. “Rachel. I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
I took a breath, exhaling long and slow. It was done. If anything, I ought to thank him; I was up and walking, able to run even if I was going to pay for it later. “Don’t worry about it,” I said, touching his shoulder. “Just stop making my decisions for me, okay?”
My roving eyes fell upon the bench he and I had been sitting on. My mouth went dry and I tried to swallow. Brett was standing by it, his arms crossed and his eyes fixed on me. He was smiling. At me. “Shit,” I breathed. “Jenks, they know it’s us.”
He nodded, his youthful face going serious. “He showed up a few minutes ago. We have six at the exit behind us and four at the bend the other way.”
“And you just let me keep talking to Ivy?” I said, not believing it.
A shrug lifted his shoulders. “They’re Weres. They aren’t going to make a scene.”
Normally I would have agreed with him. Heart pounding, I snuck a look at the six Weres at the exit. They had scads of jewelry and were in bright colors, making them from the street pack. Bringing up my second sight, I felt the last of my bravado wash out of me. Their auras were rimmed in brown again. How had Walter managed to pull them back together like that?
“Ah, Jenks?” I said, knowing Ivy was listening. “They’re in a round. They aren’t going to just sit there. We have to leave before the rest arrive.”
Jenks looked at me, looked at the Weres, then looked at me again. His gaze went to the roof, and he was probably wishing he could fly. “There’s only one layer of shops,” he said suddenly. “Let’s go.”
Grabbing my arm, he pulled me into the fudge store. Feet stumbling, I followed him in, breathing deeply of the rich scent of chocolate. There was a small line at the counter, but Jenks plowed to the front of it amid a chorus of indignant protest. “Pardon, me. ’Scuse us,” he said, flipping the barrier up between the front and the back.
“Hey!” a large woman called out, her apron tied with the smartness of a uniform. “You can’t come back here!”
“Just passing through!” Jenks called cheerfully. The bags he held rattled, and letting go of my arm for a moment, he dipped a finger into the puddle of fudge cooling on a marble table. “Needs more almond,” he said, tasting it. “And you’re cooking it half a degree too long.”
The woman’s mouth opened in surprise, and he pushed past her and into the kitchen.
“There,” I said, and Jenks’s eyes shot to the back door, outlined by the boxes stacked around it. The security door was open to let the hot air of the kitchen escape through a normal-looking screen door. Beyond that were the employees’ cars in a nasty-looking alley, and beyond that, the main road. In the distance, the straits sparkled, looking as big as a lake.
“Ready?” Jenks asked.
I jerked my splat ball gun out of my bag. “Yup. Let’s go.”
“What the hell are you doing back here?” a masculine voice called.
I turned, and the man’s eyes went wide at my cherry-red gun, then he got nasty. “This is my place of business!” he shouted. “Not a paint ball stadium! Get out! Get out!”“Sorry,” I mumbled, then bolted for the door when he shambled forward, hands reaching. Jenks and I dove through it, skittering into the alley in a surge of adrenaline. The bang of the heavy door slamming shut shot through me.
“Oh look, Jenks,” I said, as we slowed to get our bearings. “A dead-end alley.”
The wind was brisk, blowing up and against the back of the store, and with my blood humming and my steps quick, I started for the street and the cracked sidewalk beside it. It would take the Weres some time to work their way out and around to the back of the store unless they trashed the fudge shop. But I didn’t think they would. Like their supposedly distant wild brethren, Weres weren’t aggressive unless defending their own. But they were in a round, so who knew what they would do.
“Ivy,” I said breathlessly as we jogged to the road, knowing she could hear. “We’re outside between the mall and the—Shit!” I exploded, skittering to a halt when, in a sliding sound of gravel on pavement, a trio of Weres skidded around the corner.
They were wearing khaki pants and matching polo shirts to make them look like they were in uniform. Even worse, one of them dropped a duffel bag, and after unzipping it, started tossing nasty looking weapons to his buddies. I stood there, frozen. Were they nuts? This went way beyond a public show of strength. Hell, even vamps never did this! Not in broad daylight and on the street where any passing human could see, anyway.
Someone cocked their weapon, and Jenks jerked me back. My mouth was still hanging open when we landed against a salt-rusted four-door, the front full of crumpled fast food sacks.
Brett came around the corner, his pace fast and his eyes darting everywhere. Seeing me, he smiled. “We have them, sir,” he said into the phone at his ear, slowing to a stop behind the three Weres with aggressive stances. “Behind the fudge shop. It’s all over but the howling.”
Heart pounding, I looked at the road and the sporadic traffic. The memory of finding Nick tied to the wall swam up from my subconscious. A chill purged everything from me but a fierce determination. I wasn’t strong enough to survive that. I couldn’t let them take me.
“You want me to make a circle and wait for Ivy, or you want to fight our way out, Jenks?” I said, my grip on my splat gun going sweaty.
In a sliding sound of metal, Jenks pulled a dull metal bar from the nearby recycling bin, swinging it a couple of times. The three Weres with guns took a more aggressive stance. “You think we need Ivy?” he asked.
“Just checking,” I answered, then turned to the Weres, my arms shaking. “Right. Like you’re going to shoot us?” I taunted. “If we’re dead, you can’t beat Nick’s location out of us.”