Witches Get Stitches Read online

  Now, I know what you’re thinking. I knew what Win looked like long before he’d jumped into his brother’s body. I’d also met Balthazar in person, and indeed, he and Win were identical. Some might say only a person who truly loves a set of twins, like a mother or a significant other, could tell them apart, and I’d have to agree there’s some truth to that statement.

  But when I’d met Balthazar, I’d felt nothing. Not even a smidge of attraction to him. In fact, I’d loathed him on sight. He’d left me empty. Yet, I found Win insanely attractive. When he wasn’t howling my name and demanding we buy cubed sugar for his tea, that is.

  Taking over Balthazar’s body and adding Win’s personality to it had changed his entire person, all of him, not just his face, but his body language, too. His eyes were softer, less narrowed and darting. His movements were still sluggish at times, but becoming more refined and smoother every day.

  There was an air about Win that Balthazar had never possessed. He brought a rugged elegance, a gentility to his brother’s frame that I didn’t know how to explain.

  And he was improving. I’m not sure I’ve emphasized that enough, all of my disgruntled thoughts aside. He no longer needs help to get to the bathroom to shower, or to change positions in bed, but stairs are still a struggle for him, and sometimes he gets out of breath merely doing those simple tasks.

  Still, he was a far cry from where he’d been when he’d left the hospital, which should tell you something about this man’s grit.

  I looked at all the equipment we’d purchased for his recovery and felt that surge of gratitude again—the one that had allowed Win to turn this bedroom into a suite full of therapeutic devices.

  The parallel bars to strengthen his legs, the small hand weights and a pull-up bar he was determined to use were only the beginning. There was also a wheelchair he despised, the same way he despised my love of Cheez Whiz, but it was useful when Nurse Gloria wanted to take him to sit at the span of bay windows at the top of the staircase.

  All in all, we had to count ourselves lucky. So very lucky.

  Whiskey lumbered into the bedroom then, his paws skittering across the dark hardwood as he made a leap from the floor to the bed, where he pounced on Win and began to lick his face.

  Win’s deep rumble of laughter filled the room, making me smile. “”Who’s a good boy, then?” he asked, and Whiskey burrowed against him, looking up at his master with adoring eyes.

  “Easy, buddy,“ I chided, always worried Whiskey was going to pop a stitch or step on an incision.

  I know Win claims to feel better, but he’s still in pretty rough shape whether he wants to admit it or not. Just ask Nurse Ratched… er, I mean, Nurse Gloria. She’d given me a weekly rundown of Win’s progress, and he still had a ways to go before he could consider much more than bathing himself and watching television.

  But Win held up his hand and ran it over Whiskey’s head. “It’s fine, Dove. Whiskey’s never a problem. There’s nothing I’d rather begin my day with than a cuddle with my favorite hundred-pound beast.”

  I nodded my head and sauntered into the room, scanning every inch for possible signs one of my spells had produced another horror, but all was quiet, or so it appeared.

  “So what can I do you for today, Spy Guy? Has another one of my spells gone haywire and I’m missing it? Need a specific sterling silver spoon from an ancient Egyptian pyramid to stir your tea?”

  “Don’t be ridiculous, Stephania. There is no such thing as an ancient Egyptian spoon.”

  I stuck my tongue out at him and stood at the side of the bed, where he grabbed my hand, making me smile reluctantly. We’d agreed to put our mutual admiration for one another on the backburner until Win was one hundred percent and we could sort out all these long-pent-up feelings we’d harbored for so many years.

  Our focus was to remain strictly on his recuperation, and that was fine by me. It wasn’t like Nurse Gloria left us much choice. She was forever shooing me from Win’s room anyway.

  Still, I allowed my fingers to curl into his, relishing the warmth of his hand as tingles flooded my veins.

  “Then what up, Pushy Pants?”

  He patted the cushy bed beside him, indicating I should sit. “You need a break, Dove. Well and truly.”

  I cocked my head and gave him my best side eye. “From you? Never, I say.”

  He smirked, entwining his fingers with mine. His grip was still a bit weak, but growing stronger by the day. “Methinks you’re telling tales out of school. You need to get out of the house and away from all this recuperation nonsense. Go enjoy a bit of down time. Mayhap some vintage clothes shopping?”

  I squinted at him. “And leave you alone here with the fruits of my spell-casting labors? What if another glacier appears? Or worse, something from the Mesozoic era? Who’ll stop the madness if not me? We can’t have Nurse Ratched running into Bigfoot, can we?”

  His dark brows knitted together. “Did you really summon Bigfoot?”

  I shrugged my shoulders. “I summoned a lot of things in the name of desperation, buddy. As a for instance, a dinosaur. Do you really think Bigfoot is such a leap into the realm of impossibility?”

  He threw his head back and laughed, the strong column of his throat sleek and tanned. Whatever Balthazar did when he wasn’t ripping people off had kept his skin in great shape.

  “Aren’t you the funny one this gloomy morn? If you’re worried about Nurse Gloria, she’s taken the day off due to a family emergency. Of course, she offered to send over a replacement—”

  “But no one makes you walk over hot coals in subzero temperatures quite like Nurse Ratched, so you dismissed the idea entirely, right?”

  He winked a luscious blue eye. “Correct. Besides, I could use a day off from her stern frown and the way she scrunches up her nose in utter displeasure when I muck up my repetitions. It’s positively hideous.”

  Now I laughed and patted his arm. “But I can’t leave you here alone, Win. What if something happens? What if you need me? You don’t even have a phone to call me.”

  “Arkady will tell you, won’t you, mate?” he asked the room.

  “I will babysit Zero, malutka. I am much better babysitter than I was husband. That’s a promise,” he joked.

  Another anomaly of Win’s return to earth that has no explanation is Arkady’s ability to now attach to both of us together and apart. Many a night, I’d hear Win chatting with Arkady, yet I could only hear Win talking. Still, I was grateful they could continue to have their man-time.

  Bel buzzed upward, landing on my shoulder. “He’s right, you know. You need to take a day. I’ll look after Winterbutt, too. We’ll have a fine time, won’t we, buddy?”

  Win chucked Bel under the chin. “I’ve no doubt. Listen, Dove, you’ve been through the wringer these past weeks. It’s as stressful for the people around someone in poor health as it is for the person in poor health. You need this. Now, I know you’d love nothing more than to hang around here another dreary day whilst I terrorize you with my demands, but I heard there was a new vintage store opening in Seattle—one I’m positive you’d love to scour for a bargain you don’t really need because you’re bloody rich—”

  “You mean you’re rich.”

  Now that Win was here, where he could see everything he’d accumulated through my purchases by proxy, I found myself increasingly uncomfortable. Knowing all that money I had in various accounts at offshore banks and investments and stocks and bonds galore that were in my name could now be used by him, I wanted to give it all back.

  But he wouldn’t hear of it. I mean, he’d absolutely vetoed any talk of it. Not that I’d spent much anyway. I was used to living frugally. Win’s lavish generosity was something I’d humored but never indulged in much myself. Thus, I paid the bills and bought food with it, but I never purchased anything with a big price tag. That was Win’s job—and he had no problem working overtime.

  “That wasn’t part of the contract, Stephania.”

&n
bsp; I wrinkled my nose and smoothed a hand over my leggings. “Did we have a contract? No. We had an agreement, Win—one we made when you were unable to use any of your piles of cash, and now that you’re here, I feel like a freeloader, knowing I’m living off your spy money and investments.”

  “We may not have had a contract, but we had a will, with your name on it. Besides, how is it any different now than it was when I was on Plane Limbo? Simply because I’m here in physical form and can use a debit card? The agreement was, you help find Madam Zoltar’s killer, and all this was yours. You did your part, Dove—in spades. You earned that money. Period. What’s mine is yours, and it always will be.”

  Sighing, I gave his arm a gentle nudge and shook my head. There was no winning with him on this.

  “Good thing, because what’s mine isn’t much.”

  “Bah! I won’t hear this today, Dove. I refuse. Our financial stability is ours—not only mine.”

  “So does that mean the Aston Martin is mine because it’s yours?” I teased. I was never getting my hands on that car. It was Win’s precious, and I still didn’t even know where it was housed.

  “Not so long as I take a breath,” he said with a smile. “Now, where was I?”

  “Me leaving you here alone to stew in your sickbed sauce while I buy things with your money.”

  He ran a finger down my nose and grinned his devastatingly handsome grin. “Yes. So while you’re off hunting down things you can afford to buy new with our money, maybe you could also grab a bit of lunch, enjoy a cup of that swamp water you call coffee, and in general, breathe.”

  My eyes must have lit up because Win nodded. “You see, Dove. You do need a break. You’ve been fraught with concern for nigh on weeks, and all because of me. I must insist you rest. In fact, if I knew you’d allow it, I’d ship you to a day spa and an overnight at the Four Seasons in Seattle. I suspect I’ll have to settle for a single day of shopping and a quick bite somewhere before you rush back to hover over me.”

  “And you’d be right,” I replied with a strained smile.

  Though, to be honest, I really could use a day to myself. A day to give some thought to this new landscape with Win without any interference from our picture-perfect house and all the beautiful things that adorned it. It would also give me a chance to quietly explore how our relationship would pan out going forward.

  I’d never given serious thought to it because I never seriously thought he’d be here in this realm with me. All of my hopes and wishes had been attached to romantic notions that never once included ironing socks or cutting his toast in triangles.

  They’d been filled with starry-eyed dreams of me in a floaty straw hat with a wide brim and a soft ribbon around the crown, blowing in a summer breeze as we sat on a blanket and shared a picnic of wine and some snooty cheese he’d chosen that I couldn’t pronounce.

  And I’d allowed those fanciful notions to roam wild and free in my mind because, again, who knew Win would ever actually inhabit a body with any success?

  There was also the explanation I’d have to pass around to the people of Eb Falls. Someone was bound to see him sometime soon.

  How was I going to explain the sudden appearance of a handsome ex-spy living in my house, and who was he going to be? What was his backstory?

  Sighing, I shook my spinning head. There was so much to consider. All things I hadn’t contemplated before faced with this reality.

  Win watched me with eyes that burned holes in my head, and thankfully, he completely misinterpreted my thoughts.

  “Is that a spark of interest I see in those beautiful eyes?” he teased, tucking a tendril of my hair behind my ear.

  “Maybe, but you have to promise to keep in touch with me, Crispin Alistair Winterbottom. I’m going to leave my phone with you, and I’ll buy a new one while I’m out then text you the number, but I’ll only do it if you promise not to attempt a venture down the stairs, or even any farther than the bathroom. Understood?”

  He saluted me in all his British snark. “Aye-aye, Captain. I promise. There’s nothing to worry about. I’m going to lie about here on my prison bed like the Queen of Sheba and rest, as ordered.”

  I gnawed the inside of my lip. It was so tempting, and I could make it to Seattle and back in time for a late dinner if I didn’t dawdle, and still have plenty of time for swamp drinks and shopping.

  Resigned, I gave in to temptation. “Okay. But I’m going to make you a sandwich—cut into triangles, naturally—and make sure you have plenty of water before I go. Do not—I repeat—do not do anything stupid, Win. I mean it. I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to you. It was hell on earth getting you here, please don’t jeopardize that.”

  “Spy’s honor,” he said with a grin.

  Then I shook my finger at him. “Also, I absolutely will not face the wrath of that woman alone if you end up hurt. Hear me?”

  He chuckled, low and husky. “Heard. Now,” he waved his hands, “off with you. Go gather your purse and whatever it is you need to buy old things other people have previously worn and go. Have a lovely day, Dove.”

  I leaned in and pecked him on his scratchy cheek, inhaling his light cologne purchased from probably the most expensive store I’d ever online-shopped at, but one he’d insisted was the only place that carried his signature scent.

  As I rose, I dropped a hand to Whiskey’s head and scruffed it up. “You watch out for him, buddy. He moves, you pounce. Got it?”

  Whiskey harrumphed at me before he settled deeper onto Win’s thigh.

  I took the few steps across the floor to the door and turned to shoot one more stern reminder at him, but he looked so sweet with Whiskey at his side and Bel on his shoulder, I refrained.

  Instead, I smiled at them and waved over my shoulder with a modicum of confidence things would be okay. Of course they would.

  “Have a great day, guys. See you tonight for dinner.”

  Chapter 2

  Ahhh.

  The silence of the interior of my car was a thing of pure beauty. A soft echo of peace I didn’t even disturb with a Backstreet Boys song.

  Instead, I shot out of town, tooling about the back roads until I hit the highway, grateful that, while it was overcast and cold, it wasn’t snowing or even raining. It was just a typical glum day in the Pacific Northwest.

  As I sped along the highway, I inhaled long and slow, letting my rib cage and chest expand and deflate.

  I think I needed this tranquility more than even I’d guessed. I’d spent almost all of my time with Win and the guys before he’d jumped into his host body. Sure, I took days to myself before Win hit planet Earth, but the boys were never very far if I needed them. They could see me even if I couldn’t see them. It was different if you knew they were always hovering over you, like, literally.

  Not that I minded. No. Not at all. It was mostly a comfort.

  Yet, for the first time in a long time, I felt well and truly alone, and I didn’t hate it. I’d never been one to define myself by my intimate relationships, but I guess I hadn’t realized how consumed I was with all things afterlife until I didn’t have to be.

  For the moment, I would take this time to regroup.

  And then I remembered I’d forgotten to stop at the store and grab another phone so I could keep in contact with Win.

  Ugh.

  Gripping the steering wheel, I looked up at the cloudy sky out of habit. “Arkady? I’m just checking in. I forgot to stop at the store and grab another phone. Is Win still all right?”

  “He’s napping, malutka, and is good thing. Rest will heal his battered body.”

  I let out a sigh of relief. “I’ll stop at a store as soon as I hit Seattle. Promise.”

  “Malutka?”

  “Former Russian Spy?”

  Arkady chuckled. “You must not worry pretty head so much. I promise to take care of Zero and watch out for his well-being. You must relax and enjoy day. Otherwise, what good is day off, Fruit Loop?”


  “Tell me something, Arkady. Did you relax on your days off, even when you knew in other parts of the world somewhere, there was peril?”

  “Not the same, my pretty June Bug of Love,” he reminded with a guff laugh. “World ending is bad. Very bad. The world will not end if Zero wakes up with crick in neck.”

  Now I giggled. “I’m being paranoid, yes?”

  “You are being paranoid. Yes. I promise you, my sweet daffodil, I will watch over Zero as though he is my own flesh and blood.”

  I winced. “Didn’t you once tell me you killed your cousin in Kyrgyzstan?”

  “Bah, was second cousin and he was traitor to motherland. Not same thing.”

  I bit my tongue. A family member was a family member where I came from, but I wasn’t a spy who had to make rash on-the-spot decisions in order to keep the world safe from catastrophe, now was I?

  “I’m trying to relax, but I feel as though the moment I turn my back, either another one of my spells will go awry and create bedlam, or Win will do something stupid and push his body too far and hurt himself and cause a setback. I don’t want him to spend more time rehabbing than necessary. You do see how cooped up he feels, don’t you?”

  “Arkady Bagrov understand these fears. But Zero was once very accomplished spy. Even he knows limitations, malutka. His body is his temple. He will want to rebuild temple stronger and better than ever before.”

  That made me pause. Poor Arkady. All this talk of Win, and I hadn’t really had a chance to ask him how he felt about this sudden shift in our dynamic. I wondered how he felt about his buddy being gone.

  “Arkady? Can I ask you a question?”

  “Always.”

  “Do you miss having Win up there with you? I mean, in all the hubbub of him getting here, I never really asked if you were lonely without him, and I’m sorry I didn’t take your feelings into account sooner.”

  I heard him inhale and release a breath, and I hoped he wasn’t just putting on a brave front for us to hide his own pain. It would be just like Arkady to set his feelings aside in favor of our happiness, but I wanted most for him to feel free enough to share his innermost thoughts with me.