Part 47 (1/2)
”You're good as new.”
”Okay.” He sat up, leaned over, kissed me quick. ”Thanks.”
”You can go back now.”
”Back?” he echoed as if I were speaking in tongues.
”To the Marines.”
He snorted. ”Right.”
”You said if you don't do your job, people die.”
”If I leave, you might die. I can't risk that. The only people I care about, Becca, is you.”
”But-”
”You think I don't know what you're doing? You're trying to get me out of harm's way.”
”In Afghanistan?”
”Probably safer.”
Definitely safer. ”You should-” I began.
”Marry you. I know.”
”Wait. What?”
”I'm not leaving you again. Ever. So we should probably get married. Okay?” he asked.
”What about Reggie?”
”He can get his own girl. I think he kind of likes your mom.”
I thought he kind of liked her too, but- ”She's only got eyes for Henry.”
”Poor guy.” Owen sighed. ”Reggie's going to have to go back.”
”Why?”
”He belongs to the Marines. He was trained to sniff bombs. He's really, really good at it, and it's what he loves to do.”
”He'll miss you.”
And Pru. But right now it was probably best if Reggie was gone so that he stopped growling at corners after magazines smacked him on the nose of their own accord. People would start to talk. Which would cause any Venatores Mali that might be lurking about to become suspicious. We needed to keep a low profile.
”I'll miss him too,” Owen said. ”I'll put in a request; when he's retired, he can live with us.”
”Maybe by then this will all be over.”
Owen lay back and pulled me against his chest. ”Once it is over, we can come back to Three Harbors.”
”We don't have to.”
”I don't mind, and I think there's a couple people here who would be great to work with.”
”Doing what?”
”Breeding, raising, and training MWDs.”
”That would be great!”
”Billy knows a lot about dog breeding.”
”Billy the prophet? He does.”
”And that kid who works for you ... Joaquin-”
”He doesn't any more.” Mainly because my clinic was rubble, not to mention we were going on the road. Joaquin had agreed to take Grenade-at least until we got back.
”Then he'll be glad for a job.”
”How long do you think it's going to take us to end this?”
”No idea, but we'll do it. Together. You, me, the others.” His arm tightened around me. ”Roland isn't going to know what hit him.”
I was glad Owen was confident. I was nervous. Two untutored witches, a ghost, and a wolf against an ancient evil witch hunter and countless serial-killing cronies. Even with the FBI, a voodoo priestess, and whatever Edward was- ”The odds suck.”
”Not once we find your third sister.”
”How are we going to do that?”
A knock came at the door.
”Better put on some clothes,” Owen said. ”I called a meeting. First order of business, a plan to find that sister. Second order of business-figuring out what those mean.”
He pointed at the athame with the wolf head carved into the handle, which lay on the kitchen table next to the necklace we'd found around Mistress June's neck. A pentacle similar to the one Raye wore, which according to Raye had been taken from one of the witches June had killed in New Bergin. We had no idea why.
However, when we'd put the athame, the pentacle, and Raye's wand on the same table, the legs had begun to vibrate so hard we'd been afraid the thing might self-combust. Raye had s.n.a.t.c.hed up her wand; the table had stilled, and she had taken the wand with her when she went back to her own room.
The knock came again. I leaped out of bed and grabbed the nearest pair of pants. Owen did the same.
”And here I was afraid you'd miss the Marines, that you'd need more than ... this.”
I tugged a T-s.h.i.+rt over my head, and when my face popped out, Owen stood right in front of me. He drew me close and set his forehead against mine.