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I blew out a frustrated breath, then grabbed my phone and called the auto club for help. Twenty minutes, they informed me.
I glanced at my watch and made another call, this time to Aiden. “I am going to be late back.”
“Haven’t you found the boys yet?”
“Yes, but the SUV now has a flat tire, and I have to wait for the RACV to turn up.”
“You don’t know how to change a tire?”
“Of course I do.” My tone was indignant. “I just can’t move the damn wheel nuts.”
“Ah. Do you want me to come up there and keep you company?”
“As tempting as that offer is, it’ll probably take you as long to get here as the RACV.”
“True enough. Shall I wait outside the café or will you drive straight back to my place?”
“The latter makes more sense. But I expect a hot chocolate to be waiting for me when I get there.”
“I’ll throw in some marshmallows, just to sweeten the deal, if you like.”
“I’m aquiver with excitement.”
He laughed. “See you soon.”
I shoved my phone into my pocket then leaned against the SUV and crossed my arms. Mrs. Rankin’s SUV was no longer visible, but even if it had been she would probably have been too busy discussing the day’s events with her darling Charlie to even notice I no longer followed her.
I shook my head and hoped that, when I finally did have kids, I had the good sense to set a few more boundaries and rules.
Of course, a daughter born to a witch and a werewolf was likely to be strong-willed in the extreme… I smiled. Talk about wishful thinking.
I pushed away from the SUV and began to pace, suddenly unable to stand still. Or, if I was being at all honest with myself, unwilling to think about a future that didn’t involve Aiden.
Fifteen minutes later, headlights appeared, pinning me briefly in brightness before the driver dropped the high beam. I covered my eyes and saw the yellow paintwork and the lights on top of the cabin. The RACV.
“Hey,” the driver said as he jumped out of the vehicle. “Got yourself into a bit of a pickle, I hear?”
“The wheel nuts are too damn tight.”
“Yeah, that’s a common problem with new cars. We’ll have it fixed in no time.”
He retrieved a heavy-duty hydraulic jack and a battery-powered wheel nut wrench from the back of his van and in very little time had my tire changed.
He hefted the flat into the back of my SUV. “I have to say, I don’t think this was an accident.”
My pulse rate briefly stuttered, and then leaped into a higher gear. “What makes you think that?”
“This.” He pointed to what looked like a burn mark. “Someone’s deliberately weakened the wall of the tire so that it would blow out under stress. If you’ve been driving along any of the rough old tracks that run off this one—”
“And I was.”
“Then that explains it. We’d best check the rest, just in case.”
He immediately did so. I ran my fingers across the damaged bit of the tire and felt the faint caress of energy. No human hand had done this. A chill rose, and I quickly scanned the area. The sooner I got out of here, the better.
Thankfully, the rest of the tires showed no sign of damage, though that might not mean anything given the source of the attack was supernatural in origin. Once I’d signed his paperwork, the repairer jumped back into his van, turned around, and drove away.
I did a quick check just to ensure there was no more magic to be found, then quickly jumped into the SUV and followed him down the road. But as it curved around to the right and took the van from my sight, the SUV shuddered a second time, and then the vibration and flapping sound started again.
