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CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

And if the Fangheads Kill Them?

I stopped at the herb shop and parked in the shadow of a ated, heart-shaped, and, this time of year, the entire small tree was covered with odd flowers, dark fuchsia, sharp-pointed petals, with dark blue centers Molly had told me its scientific name, but all I re, liround, heavy, bent by rain I brushed a straggling branch and it sprang back like a kids’ weapon, nature’s squirt gun, scattering water all over ri"

Before I went inside, I walked around the café and shop, sniffing A wet breeze danced in the dark, lashing rown shrubs while theand roots and vines tried to trip me Around back, a s Rising on the breeze, I s, but the wolves had been here recently I had been too distracted to notice when I cas were everywhere I had smelled theeting witches fore, it wouldn’t have been too hard to discover who I cared about

I went inside, to stand on thean and Aan at the cash register ringing up a final sale, Aed rins When the customer left, Aood to see you, Jane"

Regan offered me a bakery treat and the last cup of a flavored tea I pulled offup the clean floor, and sat at a table while the girls worked around e and term papers and Amelia’s new boyfriend I ate and drank and nodded When I was finished with the er than a softball and Oh My Gosh delicious--I told the to rebuild their pack and trying to h you’re huht be able to survive the wolf bite"

The girls, who had gathered closer as I spoke, looked at one another and got this look I never had a sister, but I knehat silent, instantaneous, nonverbal coirls swiveled and disappeared behind the front counter They popped up with guns Big honking guns I started laughing

Aan was holding two very different seuns are loaded, of course; this one"--she held up the H&K--"with silver nine mils for vamps, but I hear it works well on weres too This one"--she held up the S&W--"is loaded with hollow points for humans and robbers"

My broent up Hollow point rounds explode just after iin its expanding path They are for killing, not stopping And not so I ever expected an Everhart to own

Auy who hand-loads your silvershot and this baby holds four of the silver fléchette rounds That’s all we could afford"

Regan said "But we got plenty of regular amood ole boys"

"We been robbed once," Regan said, her eyes narrow "Never again"

Still laughing softly, I finished off the tea, debating whether to tell the humans about the predicaainst it for now, and stood, pulling on uys" They turned the lock when I left the shop, and it fell with a clunky, defiant finality Molly’s sisters were an interesting bunch Dangerous as heck But interesting I was in the SUV, trying once again to get dry, when my cell beeped I smiled when I saw Rick’s new number in it "Hey there," I said

"You knohere Henrii Thibodaux’s Bayou Queen is?"

"Yeah I ate there once"