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More human somehow.
Maybe it was because as a policeman, he was accustomed to seeing things in black and white—right or wrong. And what Melony wanted to do was wrong. Clearly, he saw that.
But despite these convictions, would he act against the boss cat’s wishes? Had he already? I knew I was assuming a lot, but a part of me just knew Parker was one of the good guys. Maybe the best guy.
“I was so worried,” I murmured, tightening my hold. I wanted him to be that hero, but even more than that I just wanted him to be safe and here with me. That crush I’d tried to prevent from taking hold had definitely wrapped its vise grip around my heart. Stupid feelings.
“Where were you?” Fluffikins demanded, stalking over to us. “Why the delay?”
Parker let me go. For a moment, he hung his head as if too tired to answer. But then he picked himself back up and said, “Melony came to see me.”
Melony.
22
I put a hand on Parker’s shoulder.
He flinched before glancing away. The smile that followed came a couple seconds too late to be natural.
Ugh. I was really worried about him now. Had something terrible already happened? Was he merely putting on a strong front for me and the others?
“What do you mean she came to see you?” I pressed, willing—begging—him to tell me the truth. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
He pressed his lips in a straight line, then pulled out the chair in front of him and took a seat. “I’m here. Aren’t I?”
“What happened?” I asked, refusing to leave his side even though it seemed I’d been dismissed.
“Enough, Tawny. Take your seat,” Fluffikins commanded as he paced back to the head of the table, then plopped onto his rear. “Now. Give us the full report, Barnes.”
I kept my eyes glued on Parker as I trudged back to my seat beside Greta.
Everyone waited with bated breath.
Parker folded his hands in front of him and sighed. “She caught up with me while I was on my way into the station. There were too many normies around, so I led her to an empty lot on the outskirts of town. I expected her to jump straight into an assault once we were both out of our cars, but instead she wanted to talk. Said the Town Witch job was hers, that it was bad enough her great aunt Lila had stolen it right out from under her grandfather, that she wasn’t going to let the wrong person have the job for even a second longer.”
“But you’re here now, and you say you’re okay,” I said, dumbfounded. “So, what happened?”
“Tawny, silence!” Fluffikins bellowed and followed it up with a low, threatening growl. “I realize you have a lot of questions, but you are not the one who’s in charge here.”
Parker frowned. “She told me to surrender, but I refused. That was when she attacked. I tried not to hurt her, but she came at me so fast, I couldn’t avoid…” His voice cracked, and he stopped speaking.
“We promised Lila she would remain unharmed,” Greta interjected, popping to her feet so fast, her chair fell back behind her.
Parker ran his hands through his hair and let out a choked sob. “I know. I’m so sorry. It’s the magic. With Lila’s plus my own, it’s too much. I couldn’t control it.”
“This is very worrying, indeed,” Fluffikins said with a flick of his sleek black tail.
“I would have gotten here sooner, but I didn’t want to lead Melony right to our HQ. That is, if she even managed to survive,” Parker offered meekly. “I didn’t know what else to do. I’m sorry if I’ve complicated matters for the board.”
“So what happens now?” I asked when no one else moved to speak. “The threat is gone, right? So everything goes back to normal?”
“But at what cost?” Greta bit out, wrapping her arms around herself as she swayed on her feet. “You’ve defied Lila’s last wish. Melony was the only remaining heir to the Haberdash legacy. Other than her grandfather, of course.”
What was going on here? None of these explanations were making things any clearer, so I asked a question even though Fluffikins had ordered me to stay silent. “So Melony would have become the Town Witch eventually, anyway? If that’s the case, why would she kill her aunt? Just to make it happen a little sooner?”
“She wasn’t ready,” Greta said, reaching down to rub my shoulder but I ripped it away. “Melony still has a lot of growing up to do first, and Lila had already become so ill. She wouldn’t have been able to fight off an attack if it had come.”
“But Parker has the powers now. Whether or not Melony is okay, the Haberdash legacy is dead.”
