Josiah leaned back against the table, ostensibly to wait as the others left, but mostly because he wasn’t sure his legs would hold him up any longer. His body ached all over, especially in his hip and neck where he had taken the most damage.

Molly wasn’t fooled. She gave him a grim look as she followed Frank. Rubio was the last to leave and wheeled her luggage out.

When Josiah was alone, he rubbed the back of his neck and let his shoulders sag. He’d broken into a light sweat from the effort to stay upright.

But his night wasn’t over yet. He had to convince his coven that watching over Molly was the right thing to do.

He could hear their arguments already, and they were all valid points. Right now they were stretched too thin. They had other urgent matters to attend to, like following leads from the crash site as quickly as possible before they went cold. And protecting Molly wasn’t in their mission.

But keeping watch for any suspicious activity that might happen around her… that might just sell it to them.

After catching his breath, he pushed upright and limped out. As he passed through the squad room, Molly sat at a desk while Frank leaned over her. Their attention was focused on the computer screen in front of them.

As Josiah’s gaze lingered on the pair, she sat back, and Frank let out a low whistle. “I thought my inbox was bad, but yours takes the prize. People cared about what happened to you.”

“I guess they did,” she said. Her voice had gone husky with emotion. “There’s the zip file.”

“I’ll take it from here,” Frank told her. Once she moved out of the way, he palmed the mouse. A moment later, his eyes narrowed, and he straightened. “Okay lady. Like the DA said, looks like you’ve got a credible threat.”

Josiah didn’t wait to hear more. He stopped by the scheduling desk to see if he could catch a ride from a squad car. The desk sergeant assured him they could take him back to his apartment, and he limped outside to meet the patrolmen.

Half an hour later, when he unlocked his front door and walked inside, he found his coven waiting for him. All of them.

He gave their tense, unhappy faces a thoughtful look as he limped over to the nearest leather armchair and eased into it with a grunt. Everything in his body hurt.

“What?” he said.

“What are you doing, running around all over the place?” Maria strode over to glare at him point-blank. “You nearly died. The specialist said to take it easy!”

He closed his eyes. Gods, what he wouldn’t give for the chance to simply rest until he woke up naturally. “I know.”