I wanted to ask about these mysterious photos, but he just kept talking. And I let him, because he was so blindingly handsome, with ruddy hair tinged with gray near the temples and a perfect square jaw. A little too clean-cut and friendly for my preferences, but on him it was somehow appealing. Maybe it was the white doctor coat.

“I’ve been telling Lon we should all have dinner but our schedules haven’t synched. Maybe we can plan something after the holidays, when things cool down. Before you head out to France.”

He knows about France? I felt like I’d entered some weird alternate reality in which Lon had a normal relationship with a close friend he confided in. Sadly, this almost made me jealous, because I selfishly thought I was his only confidant. Every time I believed I had Lon all mapped out, along came a new road that led to some strange place I didn’t know existed. The secret Oreo stash I’d recently uncovered was one thing, but this? Fairly unnerving.

“Dinner sounds good,” I said. “But can we back up a moment? Because I think you should understand that I might’ve caused Yvonne’s concussion. I don’t know how much you know about what I am—”

“In regards to the mage thing, or the bartender thing?”

“Uh, the mage thing.”

“I know a little,” he said with a sly smile. He crossed his arms and nodded toward Lon. “He’s extremely protective of you. I suppose that’s no surprise.”

Lon grunted. I cleared my throat. God, we were so dysfunctional. “Well, anyway. I sort of used magick on her. That’s what caused the seizure. And probably the concussion.”

“I see. And on the bright side, should I assume that’s why her halo’s back to normal?”

Was Mick Hellfire? I tried to remember. I didn’t think he was, but surely he knew the story behind Lon’s dual-colored halo; if so, he also knew about Yvonne’s. “Yes,” I said simply.

“Don’t worry yourself,” Mick assured me. “I handled it. She’ll be fine. And your secret’s safe with me. Impressive, by the way.”

I didn’t know what to say to that.

He slapped Lon on the shoulder with affection and a startling familiarity. “Go home to Jupe. Nothing you can do here. If Rose and Adella want to spend the night in her room, they’re welcome. But I gotta get back now. Duty calls.”

“Thanks,” Lon said.

“Don’t worry. I’m charging you double for making me save her. Joyce would have a cow if she knew Yvonne was anywhere near the hospital. It’s a miracle I never got caught in her web. I’d like to maintain my clean record.”

He hadn’t slept with Yvonne? I liked him more and more.

“If only I’d been so lucky,” Lon mumbled. “Go on, then. Heal the dead with your smile, or whatever the hell it is you do around here.”

Mick leaned toward me conspiratorially. “I don’t know what you see in this guy, but I’m damn grateful. Please don’t leave him. I’ll pay you.”

I laughed anxiously as he gave Lon a thumbs-up and walked away.

“What do you want to do?” I asked Lon.

“Get the hell out of here. I can’t handle hospitals. Let me go tell Rose.”

Of course he was overwhelmed with everyone’s miserable emotions. Why didn’t I realize that? I was so stuck in my own worries that I didn’t realize what kind of toll a place like this could have on his knack.

He reappeared a few minutes later and rushed me out the door, telling me that the Giovannis were staying with Yvonne tonight. Once we got a few yards away from the building, he visibly relaxed. I stopped him in the shadows between two parked cars. “What did you see earlier? What did I look like?”

His eyes searched mine. “You were . . . your skin was . . .” He paused, clicking his jaw to one side. “Your eyes were silver. Your halo was almost too bright to look at. It hurt my eyes. And I saw the tail.”

Ugh.

“I’ve never seen a tail like that on anything I’ve ever summoned,” I said in a small voice.

He didn’t comment. Didn’t have to. It was weird, and we both knew it. My mind leapt past the physical issues, to the reason we were here.

“Look, I’d lost control when you drove up and found us,” I said. “But I did what I thought was best at the time. Rose was right—you would’ve ended up in jail if I left it for you to handle. You didn’t see him, Lon. He was stumbling drunk, sick as a dog.” Angry tears pricked the backs of my eyelids. “She encouraged him to drink. Then she left him in the restaurant alone, when she should’ve been spending time with him. But the point is . . . the point is—”

He grabbed my face. Gold flecks from his halo glittered above his head. “You think I’m angry that you stepped up to defend Jupe? That you stopped me from hurting her or going to jail trying? Because, that would’ve been a real option. And sure, I’m upset about the situation. It was a stupid, ballsy thing for you to do.”

“I know, but—”

“But, I’m damn glad you did it. And I’m mostly upset because you’re going through something big, and I feel powerless to help you. All I can do is sit around in my library, combing through old books looking for a clue to whatever the hell is happening to you, and I’m coming up empty.”

“I—”

“And in the middle of all this, you have to deal with my baggage. I’m ashamed of it. And it worries me. Because I know you could be seeing some nice human with no crazy ex-wife, no hyper kid. Someone who won’t be a senior citizen when you’re still in your prime.”