Mull over the concept…
The words windmilled through my mind, and I found myself picturing how I might fit it in, what concepts I could develop, and what an amazing artisan I would prove myself to be. Maybe I could work on it after hours. Maybe with the time Cooper had helped me save, I could fit in one little brazier. Maybe—
Realization struck me, and I went cold all over. I barely reached for my water bottle in time to hide my shock.
Because suddenly, it all made sense. Walt’s dazed expression. The shimmer around Liselle’s shoulders. The soothing voice in my mind.Surely there’s a way to squeeze it in…
Liselle Vanderbilt — er, Steinmeier — wasn’t just persuasive. She was a witch. A mind-bender. Not a very good one, now that I was onto her, but still. How dare she?
The old me would have blurted that out point-blank. But the new me had learned to think before I acted, so that was what I did.
If I called her bluff, she would realize I wasn’t entirely human, which might prove disadvantageous to me. I had no idea how or why, but life had taught me to keep my cards close to my vest…or my leather work apron.
But I sure as hell wasn’t going to let her skip the line like a Lightning Lane guest at Disneyland — a policy that had really, really irked me the one time I’d taken Claire there after months of scrimping and saving.
“Sure. Go ahead and send some sketches,” I finally replied. “I’ll mull over the concept.”
I would mull all the way into next month, but she didn’t need to know that.
“Let me get back to you about it soon,” I finished.
The dent between her eyebrows deepened, and the itch in my mind intensified. Still, she faked a bright smile.
“Wonderful. I’ll give you my card…”
A card, huh? If I needed to share my details, I scribbled them on one of those free notepads handed out by real estate agents and drug stores. This lady had her own card — embossed and everything.
I glanced at the flowery logo, then tried a little mind-bending of my own.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me…” I said, turning back to my project.
You can go now,I pushed the thought toward her mind.No need to waste time here.
I nearly cheered when she took a step toward the door. But then she caught sight of my forge and chirped, “Oh, how interesting! What are you working on?”
Up to that point, a few alarms had buzzed in the back of my mind. Now, they deafened me.
Someone had stolen the original ax. Someone could be just as interested in the new ones I was forging.
Someone like her?
I couldn’t imagine why, but it seemed prudent not to share any details.
My thoughts drifted to Cooper, and my frown deepened.
Definitely prudent, because those axes could protect members of a fire crew…especially one who’d been growing on me.
Luckily, the axes we’d crafted were hidden by a pile of scrap metal. The parts in view around my anvil — the ones that held the ax head to the wooden handle — could have been anything.
“Uh…” Shit. What to tell her?
My mind came up blank, though an unconscious something ticked away in one back corner, and my fingers jerked.
Bang!An earsplitting clatter came from across the workshop.
“Pendejo!” Pablo cursed at the scrap metal he’d knocked off a shelf, then looked around in chagrin. “Sorry.”
I glanced down at my hands, then hastily curled in the fingers that had been pointing in his direction. That little accident couldn’t have come at a better time…but what if it wasn’t an accident?
