Wanted: Undead or Alive

Always and Forever

Benji refused to let me join her in the hunt for my captor. "She'd see you coming from a mile away." She was nice about it, but no matter what I said, she didn't budge an inch. Instead, she strongly suggested I let Moose give me a ride home.

I sulked in the car because being angry was better than being a chaotic, stressed-out maniac. About halfway home, I noticed Moose's right hand was badly swollen.

"It's fine," he said. "Just a bruise."

"Thank you for coming to save me."

He made a noise like a discontented elephant. "It's fine."

"No, really. You've had a rough few days, too. I owe you."

"Nah. I'd be a skeleton with vines growing out of my eye sockets by now if it wasn't for you," he said, referring to the time I saved him from a witch that had tied him up in her front porch greenery. "We're not keeping score. This is just how it goes in our work."

This was about as warm and fuzzy as I'd ever heard Moose get, and it triggered my tears all over again.

"Napkins in the glove box," Moose said.

"Thanks." I used a scratchy paper napkin from a fast-food joint to wipe my eyes and blow my nose. It really sucked that there was nothing useful I could do. Maybe if I hadn't used all my wishes, I could wish for a strong drink.

I made a weird noise and Moose glanced over at me.

"I could really use a friend right now."

He looked like I'd just asked him to perform a gynecological exam.

"Relax, Moose. I mean, I was wondering if you could take me to a friend's place. It's not far from where I live."

"You going looking like that?"

I pulled the visor down and looked at my grisly reflection. My nose was the size and color of a plum. Dried blood covered everything that hadn't been washed clean by my tears. My mascara had run under my eyes, giving me racoon vibes. I snapped the visor shut. "It'll be fine. He doesn't shock easily."

Moose grunted.

I interpreted that to mean he was fine with dropping me off anywhere as long as he got to ditch me and go home to his husband. Five minutes later, he pulled to a stop at the curb in front of Earthform Coffee.

"Thank you."

"Told you. No thanks necessary."

I opened the door of the Rubicon and gingerly stepped down onto the sidewalk. Now that the adrenaline was gone, every inch of bruised flesh fought to make itself known.

"Nowicki?"

"Yeah?" I paused with one hand on the door and one on the frame of the car to look at him.

"I told you once, Nick's the best man I've ever known." He stared at his meaty hands, gripped round the steering wheel.

"I remember."

His gaze shifted to me. "That's still true."

My voice abandoned me.

"What he did tonight, that... He doesn't... He's still..." His voice abandoned him.

We stayed like that, breathing in the night air for a long moment. At last, he said, "He's still good. Love just fucks a person up, you know?"

Acid burned in my gut. "Yeah. I know." I closed the car door, and he drove away. When I turned around, Hawwa was standing behind me. The soft fabric of her long orange dress fluttered in the breeze. Her dark eyes were wide and sympathetic. "Is he safe?"