[Southern Arcana 2.0] Crossroads Read Online Free PDF Page A

control since it happened. The Conclave thinks I lost my powers because of that stupid myth, but if they find out the truth, they’re going to kill me too.”
    Nick scoffed and shook her head again. When she spoke, her voice was quiet and serious. “They’ll have to snatch you over my dead body, sweetie.”
    The fact that she meant every word made Derek’s heart catch. He fought back that same protective rage that had been choking him over the past weeks and snatched the bottle of water from the floor.
    “Should I call someone? Alec or Jackson? They both owe you.”
    “Jackson’s hurt, and his mother is—” She looked up at him and bit off the rest of her words with a soft curse. “Their cell numbers are on the corkboard in the office. Can you call them and ask them to meet us upstairs?”
    “Yeah. Sure.” He tried to smile to reassure her, but it felt flat. “Anything else?” She scooted her stool closer to Michelle’s. “Have you eaten lately, Micky?” It was apparently the wrong question to ask. Michelle groaned and paled even more. “Aaron keeps forcing food on me every hour.”
    Aaron growled softly. “Because you keep throwing it up.”

    Moira Rogers
    “Because I’m pregnant and terrified .”
    “Which makes it more important to eat, not less.”
    Derek cleared his throat. “You’ve got some tea back there, don’t you, Nick? Kat’s always drinking it when she’s here. I can find some of that.”
    “The decaf stuff. Thanks, Derek.” She glanced at him again. “And some pretzels, I think. From the pantry.”
    “Pretzels and tea. Got it.” He fought the urge to ask if she’d be okay going upstairs on her own. It would be insulting, considering Nick could probably command her shapeshifter strength better than he could. Then there was Aaron, whose bulk dwarfed them all. “I’ll be up in a few minutes.” She murmured something unintelligible, her attention already back on Michelle.
    He faintly heard their fading voices as he strode into the kitchen and squinted at the wall until he found a light switch. He flicked it up and down, but nothing happened, so he gave thanks to his enhanced senses and picked his way across the kitchen to the office on the far side.
    The lights in the office did work. Derek pulled out his cell phone as he studied the corkboard beside Nick’s neat desk, but he didn’t dial any of the numbers he found there. Instead he called Andrew.
    His friend answered on the third ring, sounding tired and grumpy. “If you’re calling me to gloat about how you finally got to nail your dream girl, I’m going to kick your ass tomorrow.” If only. “Not so much. Listen, this could be awkward, but I need you to go back to Kat’s apartment and keep an eye on her.”
    His entreaty was met with silence. Then Andrew cleared his throat. “Not too tough. I haven’t left Kat’s yet. What’s going on?”
    Derek froze, caught between relief and irrational protective anger. “You haven’t left yet?”
    “Derek, I’m not leaving Kat here alone, passed out drunk. I’m on the couch.”
    “Okay, okay. Just…stay there, would you? Nicole’s sister showed up at the bar talking about their Conclave and fucking execution orders. Last time all the shapeshifters got riled up, someone broke into Kat’s place for God knows what reason.”
    “Christ. Yeah, I’ll stay. Are you calling Alec and Jackson?”
    “Alec, first. Not sure if we should drag Jackson into shit when he’s still recovering and his mom is in town. Alec will know, I guess.”
    “Sure.” On the other end of the phone, a microwave beeped and stoneware clattered. “I’m going to have some coffee. Call me back if I need to take Kat over to my place.”
    “Yeah. Thanks, Andrew.”
    “Don’t mention it. Keep me posted.”
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    Crossroads
    He disconnected the call. Instead of consulting the corkboard, he scrolled through the numbers stored in his cell. This time it only rang twice before