"That's the point. " He spent a desperate moment to take Mia's arms, shake her. The car could go at any minute, he knew. And so could the edge where they stood. "Exactly. Hold it. You're the only one strong enough to do it. Step over the rail. "
"I won't lose her!" Mia shouted. "Or you. "
Her legs trembled as she climbed over the rail. Her hands shook as she lifted them. And she saw the fog begin to rise again. Saw the dark shape of the wolf forming from it. Her body stilled. Fury spiked inside her and stabbed away the fear. "You won't have her. " The hand she flung out was rock-steady now. She faced the wolf, bore the weight of the magic she called on her shoulders. "You may have me, that's up to fate. But by all I am, all I have, y
ou won't take her. "
It snarled and started toward her. It could take her life now, she thought, and so be it. Her magic would hold. She risked a glance at Sam and saw, with inner horror, that he was easing a bleeding and unconscious Lulu out of the car. And the car tipped and swayed.
With a last push, she left herself open and defenseless, shoving everything toward the cliffs. And the wolf bunched to leap.
As he charged, energy shot into her, out from her. It struck him like a lightning bolt. With a furious howl, he vanished into the fog.
"Didn't count on my sisters, did you? You bastard. "
The wind sucked away the mist, and she saw both Ripley and Nell spring out of their cars before she turned to run toward Sam.
He had Lulu in his arms. The edge of the ground crumbled under his feet and sent him stumbling forward as a chunk of the ledge rained down to the sea. Mia reached out, grabbed him as the car overbalanced and tumbled over the cliffs. He was struggling back over the rail when the gas tank exploded.
"She's alive," he managed.
"I know. " She kissed Lulu's white cheek, laid a hand on her heart. "We'll take her to the clinic. "
Outside the emergency clinic, where the air was quiet and the breeze balmy, Nell tended the cuts on Mia's feet.
"Got six million pair of shoes," Ripley stated while she paced, restless as a cat. "And you run barefoot over broken glass. "
"Yes. Silly, isn't it?" She hadn't felt the glass slice into her feet when she'd run to the wrecked car. Under Nell's gentle healing, she felt no pain now.
"You can fall apart. " Ripley's tone gentled, and she laid a hand on Mia's shoulder. "You're entitled. "
"I don't need to, but thanks. She's going to be all right. " Mia did close her eyes for a moment, waited until she felt steadier. "I looked at her injuries. She'll be unhappy and very pissed off about her car, but she'll be all right. I never considered, never thought she could be harmed this way. Used this way. "
"Harm her, harm you," Ripley said. "That's what Mac . . . " She trailed off. Winced.
"Mac? What do you mean?" Despite Nell's protest, Mia got to her feet. She caught a glimmer, turned white as a sheet. "Something happened before. The beach. " Furious, she grabbed Ripley's arms. "What happened?"
"Don't blame her. Blame all of us. " Nell rose, ranged herself with Ripley. "She didn't want you to know, and we agreed. "
"Know what?" Sam asked as he walked up with a tray of takeout coffee.
"How dare you keep anything to do with Lulu from me. " She swung around to him, ready to bite.
"He didn't know," Nell interrupted. "We didn't tell him either. "
Ripley told them now, said it all fast. And watched Mia's pale cheeks bloom with ripe temper. "She might've been killed. I left her! I left her and went to the mainland. Do you think I'd have done that if I'd known she was a target? You had no right, no right to exclude me from this. "
"I'm sorry. " Nell lifted her hands, let them fall. "We did what we thought was best. We were wrong. "
"Not so wrong. You're going to have to deal with it, Mia," Sam added when she turned to him. "You nearly lost on the cliff road tonight because you divided your energy. Divided hell. You dumped it out and all but left yourself empty. "
"Do you think I'd give less than my life to protect her, or anyone I loved?"
"No, I don't. " He touched her cheek, and when she jerked away he simply moved in and took her face firmly in his hands. "And neither does she. Isn't she entitled to think of you?"
"I can't talk about this now. I need to be with her. " She stepped away, walked to the door. But stopped when she opened it. "Thank you for what you did," she said to Sam. "I'll never forget it. "
Later, while Mia sat beside Lulu's hospital bed, Ripley and Nell slipped into the room. For a time, there was nothing but silence.
"They want to keep her until tomorrow," Mia said at length. "Because of the concussion. She wasn't happy about it, but she's weak enough that she couldn't put up much of a fight. The arm . . . " She had to take a moment to steady her voice. "It's a clean break. She'll be in a cast a few weeks, but it'll be fine. "
"Mia," Nell began. "We're so sorry. "
"No. " Mia shook her head, kept her eyes on Lulu's bruised face. "I'm calmer now, and I've thought it through. I understand what you did, and why. I don't agree. We're a circle, and we must value and respect that - and each other. But I also know how stubborn and persuasive she is. "
Lulu's eyelids fluttered, and her voice was thin and raspy. "Don't talk about me like I'm not here. "
"Just be quiet," Mia ordered. "I'm not speaking to you. " But she took the hand Lulu held out. "Thank God you'll have to buy a new car. That mini monstrosity is finally dead. "
"I'm gonna find me another one just like it. "
"There couldn't be another one like it. " But if there was, Mia thought, she would find it for her.
"Don't give these girls or their guys a hard time," Lulu mumbled. She opened one of her blackened eyes, closed it again because her vision was blurry. "Did what I told them to do. Respected their elders. "
"I'm not angry with them. Just you. " Mia pressed her lips to the back of Lulu's hand. "Go on home," she said to her sisters. "Tell your husbands I won't be turning them into toads anytime in the near future. "
"We'll come back in the morning. " Nell moved to the bed, laid a kiss on Lulu's forehead. "I love you. "
"Don't get sloppy. Just a few bumps. "
"Too bad. " Her voice a bit thick, Ripley leaned over the bedrail and kissed Lulu's cheek. "Because I love you, too, even though you're really short and ugly. "
With a weak cackle, Lulu freed her good hand from Nell's grasp and waved them off. "Go away. Buncha chattering females. "
When they'd gone, Lulu shifted in her bed.
"Pain?" Mia asked.
"Can't get comfortable. "
"Here. " Rising, Mia trailed her fingers over Lulu's face, down her casted arm. She murmured softly as she stroked, until Lulu sighed.
"Better'n drugs. Feel floaty now. Brings back memories. "
Relieved, Mia sat again. "Go to sleep now, Lu. "
"Will. You go home. No point you sitting here watching me snore. "
"Yes, as soon as you sleep. "
But she sat while Lulu slept, kept watch in the dim light.
And she was there, keeping watch, when Lulu woke in the morning.
"You didn't have to come early. "
"Zack needs to bring the patrol car. " Nell helped Mia set the table and admired the lovely old china.
"This time of year, there's no telling if he'll get called in for something. And I wanted to see Lulu. "
"It took guilt, temper, and threats to get her to agree to spend a couple of days in one of the guest rooms. You'd think I was putting her in prison. "
"She likes her own space," Nell said.