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Oleander hefted him to his feet, half lifting him with a fireman’s hold before she got him balanced on the sidewalk.
I lifted his right arm and scooted under it, holding him when he teetered. I grabbed the back belt loop of his jeans, but Oleander took the brunt of his weight as he slumped over her shoulders.
We started down the sidewalk, the crunch of glass punctuating each step we took.
Please work, please work, please work.
I had to remind myself to breathe as we hobbled down the sidewalk, heading toward the end of the block.
Both of the elves were so much taller than me that Jaqleon was half crumpled, stretched between us as he was, but Oleander tucked her arm under mine, remaining in contact with me.
In theory this should work, but I don’t know if I need skin-to-skin contact or what.
I stared straight ahead as we limped past an ambulance.
An EMT trotted past, carrying a caddy filled with bandages. She didn’t even glance at us.
I peered up at Oleander; her skin was ghost white underneath the flashes of blue and red from the police lights. But we had just one last store to pass before we could take a side street.
“The area is secure, bring the task force in.”
Hooo, I know that voice. That is not a voice I want to hear right now!
I tried to simultaneously angle my body and head toward the buildings and crabwalk sideways while looking at the main street out of the corner of my eyes.
Pat stood in the middle of the street, talking on his cellphone.
Chapter Thirteen
Chloe
Imade a noise in the back of my throat, then jolted forward.
Jaqleon groaned, but Oleander matched my pace—she’d been holding back, anyway—and we zipped around the corner, making the turn off to an intersecting street just as Pat turned around.
My heart beat rapidly in my chest, but he didn’t call out after me, so he must not have seen me.
“Everything okay?” Oleander asked between clenched teeth.
“I saw my brother,” I said.
Oleander paused just long enough to fix her grip on Jaqleon so she held him more securely while we edged past an empty police cruiser that had a tire up on the curb. “Is that dangerous, or…?”
“Seeing him is very dangerous,” I said. “Because my magic doesn’t affect him. He could have seen me.”
“And that would be a bad thing?”
“Yes.” I grunted when more of Jaqleon’s weight tilted onto me before Oleander cleared the police car. He was a lot heavier than I’d realized, and my already high respect for Oleander jumped.
Cars were parked haphazardly in the middle of the road—stuck by the road block—but the sidewalks weren’t too full. The few people in the area were also walking away, heading out of the disorder.
“Why?” Oleander asked.
“Sorry, what?”
“Why would it be bad if your brother saw you?” Oleander’s brow was furrowed, but with confusion, not effort.
I fixed my hold on Jaqleon’s belt loop. “Because I’m helping you two, and my brother doesn’t know…” I glanced meaningfully at her ears, covered by her hat.
