“Fine.” She sighed. “But if we haven’t heard from him by lunch, I’m calling the cops. What happened isn’t okay.”

I hugged her. “Thank you. I’m sorry about this.”

She touched my forehead and tutted, not acknowledging my words. “If you won’t see a doctor, then at least let me patch you up.”

She moved around things strewn across the floor as she went to the bathroom, returning with a first-aid kit and a cloth. She set them down, took her phone from her pocket, and snapped a few photos of my face.

“For the police,” she explained.

I nodded, mentally kicking myself because I should have thought of that. She knelt in front of me and, with soft strokes, cleaned the blood from my face. My cheek throbbed when she touched it, and from how hot the skin was, it must have started to swell.

“You’re going to look terrible tomorrow.”

“At least it’s the weekend.” Not that I’d be staying here. The apartment no longer felt safe. A sense of menace lingered. I was getting out at first light. Sage finished with the cloth and spread salve on my skin. Probably one of her home remedies. Last, she used a bandage to close the small cut above my brow.

“We can’t stay here,” I said as she tucked things back into the first-aid kit.

“We shouldn’t leave when we can’t lock the door to keep our things safe,” she countered.

“No one is going to come down this end of the hall unless they’re visiting us,” I reminded her. “And nobody would visit this late at night.”

She nodded reluctantly. “Okay. I’ll say an incantation to ward off intruders and dispel the negative energy, then we can go.”

“Sure.”

If that was what she needed to feel comfortable, I wouldn’t argue. Instead, I packed a few things in an overnight bag while she wandered around the apartment with incense. She left crystals at each of the windows and the door. When she completed her ritual, we took a cab to the nearest hotel and huddled together on the bed.

Neither of us slept.

Chapter Fifteen

Ronan

The morning after my spectacular kiss with Willow, I found myself back in the office, reading my emails, when I noticed movement on one of the security cameras. I liked to keep them running so I could see who was around on the weekend. I watched as the top of a blonde head made its way into Zeke’s office and hovered above his desk. I leaned closer, studying the image intently. Blonde hair, graceful movements…I was almost certain it was Willow. But what was she doing?

I got to my feet and was halfway across the room before I realized I’d moved. I took a calming breath and slowed my pace. If I rushed in, I might not get to see what she was up to. I carried on in a more measured way, wondering what had brought her in to work on a Saturday—and more specifically, into Zeke’s office.