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talks to, I never gave the others much thought.”
    “And what does this have to do with an injunction?”
    “Growing up,” Kara began, “I was never told much about organized witchcraft. I knew people belonged to local covens, I saw all the witches coming into Grammy D’s shop when I was older, but I never knew they answered to a higher governing board.”
    She shrugged. “I suppose they would have shared that with me after I’d proven I could mix a spell and had been brought into the fold.” Or maybe not. “But apparently, Abbey’s dad was pretty high up, and now her uncle is in charge. He’s summoned me to the council and is taking it upon himself to make sure Abbey is avenged.”
    Tray’s face screwed up in confusion. “You killed Gable. How much more avenged can she be?”
    Kara shook her head. “That’s what I’m saying. After he talks with me, it’ll all be fine. They’ll take back the injunction, and we can start looking for new spells to help Abbey.”
    “If her uncle cares about her, it seems like he should be looking for new spells right now, not wasting time with this crap.”
    “Yeah, I can’t disagree with you on that one.”
    “What does Dora think?”
    “Uh…” Kara’s cheeks heated. “She’s not allowed to talk to me. After telling me about Abbey’s uncle tonight, she hung up on me.”
    “Shit, Kare-bear. This doesn’t sound good. And I can’t imagine Abbey’s gonna be too happy with her uncle when she finds out. I think she’ll rip him a magical new one for calling you in.”
    “No, she can’t find out. Dora thinks it would be too stressful for her, and I agree. Abbey and I sort of…got in an argument tonight about her wounds anyway. She wants the world to go on as if she’s not a walking billboard for Brakken. If I can resolve this without her knowing, that would be best.”
    “She’s not going to like you keeping it from her.”
    Kara shoved the summons in her pocket. “I’ll tell her after I fix it. If I tell her now, she’ll feel guilty for me being guilty…or something like that.”
    The space between his brows furrowed. “Huh?”
    “Nothing.” It made more sense when Abbey said it.
    “So what now?”
    “Now I go home and iron my interview suit. Tomorrow by this time, everything will be back to normal.”

Chapter Three
    They went the long way, careful to avoid the scene of the accident, but Kara still spied the lights of the emergency vehicles in the distance. Jeans tucked under her arm, she shivered, remembering the sight of the bloody shoes and the teasing couple who’d worn them.
    “You don’t have to walk me home, you know,” she said, but she didn’t really mind.
    “You wouldn’t let me drive you. Plus, we still had more to talk about.”
    “If Abbey sees you, Tray, we’ll have much more to talk about. I won’t be able to keep this quiet if she starts grilling me.”
    Kara stepped past the entry of a shop for lease and saw a familiar face buried in a mound of dirty blankets. She sighed, unfolded her jeans and fished a five-dollar bill from the pocket. Ralph was mentally ill, but sober. He wouldn’t use the money for anything but food.
    “Here you go, Ralph.” She handed him the money. “If you come by early on laundry day, I’ll wash those blankets for you, okay?”
    “Thanks, Kara.” He smiled and ducked back under his covers.
    “Anyway,” Tray continued, looking perturbed, “I wouldn’t worry about Abbey. I’ll say I ran into you on the street. I live here now. I have a right to go out in the Gaslamp when I feel like it.”
    Kara bit her tongue and ran her thumb under the waist of the slacks, adjusting Abbey’s tight pants as they walked. “There’s still the problem of Jaxon knowing when I’m lying.”
    “How would he know that?”
    “He’s my warrior. He can sense certain things about how I’m feeling now.”
    His mouth dropped open. “Like read your thoughts?”
    “No. Just catch glimpses of strong emotions.