Page 3 of Spring L.A.W.
“I mean,” Daniel said, after sipping his mocha, “wedidjust salute a uniformed Army officer in front of a line of witch-romance fans.”
“I didn’t salute,” Rayna said, pointing a finger. “Yousaluted. You could have stood there like reasonable ex-soldiers who weretrying to live their post-military life without getting hexed by an enchanted tampon.”
Daniel raised his hands. “I’m sorry, did youseehim? That guy could still break a grown man in half with his frown.”
“I saw him.” Rayna swirled her mug. “And I also saw how you both stiffened like you’d been caught with contraband in basic training.”
“He was our C.O. for three years in active. Hard ass, but good. Honest. Not the kind of guy who lets something weird slide.”
“Yeah,” Daniel added. “If he knows we’re involved in anything supernatural, he won’t stop until he’s got answers. And probably a PowerPoint of his own.”
Rayna closed her eyes briefly. The buzz of the place, the clink of mugs, and the low music all felt like a thin layer of normal stretched over something about to explode.
“He said he wanted to talk,” she murmured.
Michael looked up. “Talk, or interrogate?”
“Not sure yet.” She sighed. “But I told him I’d wait thirty minutes.”
“Cool,” Daniel said, checking his watch. “So, we have, what, twenty minutes to figure out how to explain that we’re part of an underground witch league that saves the world, but relocates every quarter and leaves us to babysit the weapons?”
“Let’s not panic,” Rayna said, which, coming from her, meantplease panic, but do it quietly.
Michael leaned back. “There’s one option.”
“No,” Rayna said immediately. “I’m not wiping his memory.”
“Why not? You’ve done it before. He’s just a guy.”
“No,” she said again. “He’s not just a guy. He’sMajor A Goddamn Payne. If we do it wrong, he’ll smell it. If we do it right, he’llknowwe did something. He’s too sharp.”
“So, what… We tell him the truth?”
Rayna didn’t answer.
Daniel drummed his fingers against his cup. “What if we just deflect? Buy time. Say we run a private security firm. Get vague. Pull a little misdirection.”
Michael smirked. “You mean lie?”
“I mean, tell the kind of truth that doesn’t start with ‘I’m witch-adjacent with a PMDD security protocol that includes removing all dangerous objects from the premises four times a year.’”
Rayna took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Okay. We play it cool. No lies, but no big reveals either. I’ll handle it.”
“You sure?” Michael asked.
“Sweetheart,” Rayna said, smiling without warmth. “I sold three million copies ofHexual Healingusing nothing but charm and cleavage. I think I can handle a suspicious major.”
Daniel raised his cup. “To charm and cleavage.”
They all drank.
And then, the energy shifted.
Rayna didn’t have to turn to know he was approaching. Shefeltit.
“Showtime,” she whispered.
The door jingled.
