Stupid phone. What now?
The phone rang again.
Damn evil phone!
I picked it up and held it to my ear. "What?"
"Is that any way to answer the telephone?"
I frowned. "Who is this?"
"You still don't recognize me?"
My eyes narrowed. "Stacy. Good to hear from you. How's it going?"
"You won't even give me the courtesy of sounding surprised that I managed to find out where you are and get the phone number? You think this shit is easy?"
"Save it. I'm not in the mood."
She tsked her tongue. "You can catch more flies with honey than vinegar. Let's get right to it. I want for us to meet. And I insist that you don't bring your boyfriend or your large hulking bodyguard along or I may get very angry with you."
Not that Butch probably would come twenty feet near me at the moment.
I let out a long breath and rubbed my temples with one hand. "Look, Stacy, I've been thinking a lot about high school. And what you've done to me is horrible, but I'm starting to understand it."
"You're ready to apologize to me? An actual, sincere apology this time?"
"Yeah. Definitely. I'm s—"
"No," she cut me off. "Not over the phone. I want you to apologize to my face."
My jaw tightened. "Is that really necessary?"
"Why, are you afraid of me?"
You should be the one who's afraid, I thought darkly, and I knew right then that I wasn't afraid of this messed-up bitch in the slightest. Annoyed and pissed off, yeah. But not afraid.
"Of course I'm afraid," I said instead. "I'd be stupid if I wasn't. You've obviously got a lot of power at your fingertips. I'll never watch reruns of Bewitched with the lights off again."
"I promise not to use my magic against you tonight," she said.
"And I'd believe you because?"
"Because you have no other choice, do you? Tell me, is your boyfriend still alive?"
"Yes," I hissed. "Of course he is."
"Hmm, I would have thought that the two of you would have torn each other's throats out by now. Your restraint, or his, is quite admirable. Especially given his past."
"What the hell do you know about him?"
She laughed softly. "Only that he is a man of many secrets. I'd love to tell you one of his best-kept secrets, Sarah. After your humble apology, and perhaps some groveling."
Before I opened my mouth to tell her to go to hell, she continued. "The park across from your little vampire bar. Ten minutes."
She hung up.
I didn't like that she knew where I was. She seemed to know a lot of my business and it made me extremely uncomfortable.
Ten minutes. Okay. I stood up and clutched the side of the desk. I actually wasn't scared, which was a new sensation for me. I think Veronique's phone call had infused me with some seething unpleasantness that was giving me the equivalent of what used to be liquid courage. No liquor. Wouldn't work on me anymore. Seething unpleasantness was now my drink of choice.
I felt no fear. My paranoia had decided to take the night off. Maybe it was the curse making me feel overconfident, but I was ready to kick some skinny-witch butt.
I'd go meet her. I'd apologize. She'd break the curse. Everybody would be happy and dance and sing. It made sense. After all, she wasn't a serial killer, she was a witch with a grudge. She had something I wanted and I had something she wanted. Magic words on both sides—an apology and a few Latin phrases tossed out and all of this nastiness would be over. I might even stay up to watch the sun rise as part of my curse-free celebration along with all the dancing and singing.
I couldn't go out the main doors because Thierry would be there and he'd have a ton of questions. I knew he wouldn't want me to go and meet her, but this was my window of opportunity. Besides, anyone who messed with me tonight was in for a rude awakening.
I'd just thrown a three-hundred-pound bodyguard across the room. A bleached-blond, big-
boobed witch would be no problem.
I swung the door to Thierry's office open.
I heard an "Ow" and I smelled smoke.
Behind the door was George, rubbing his nose with one hand and holding a cigarette in the other.
I eyed the burning tobacco. "I thought you quit."
He shrugged. "It's been a stressful day."
"What are you doing here?"
"Keeping an eye on you, even though I haven't seen the Red Devil since yesterday. I'm guarding the door."
"Thierry will kick your ass if he sees you smoking in here."
He dropped the cigarette and ground it into the hardwood floor. "Gone."
"So am I." I walked past him headed for the back door. My coat was out front, but since the weather didn't bother me much anymore I didn't really need it. This wasn't going to take long.
He grabbed my shoulder. "Hold on there, you vicious little vixen. Where do you think you're going?" His eyes widened when I told him. "And you're just leaving? Just like that?
Without even telling Thierry?" His gaze flicked to my neck and then down at my half-torn blouse and my black bra underneath. "Look at you, all Rocky Horror Picture Ho."
"I'm getting this curse broken, and this is how I have to do it. You can come if you want.