Amaretto Flame by Sammie Spencer

thing.” Glancing
at Jackson and the girls, I smiled and said, “Good night.” Then I
turned toward the door and left.
    I was relieved to be outside, and then to be
in the car on the road. Because I was so tired, I allowed myself to
ignore everything. I didn’t analyze what had happened in the bar. I
didn’t think about my own embarrassment, what was happening in
Eagleton, or even the creep I had kicked. I dragged myself out of
the car when I got to the house, went in and locked the door, and
then pulled myself up the stairs and into the bed, where I passed
out almost immediately.
    There was absolutely nothing; no dreams, no
hazy memories, nothing. It was already well into the morning when
the sound of my phone woke me. It was the most annoying sound I’d
ever heard, and without opening my eyes, I located it in the little
apron that was still tied around my waist. Flipping it open, I
stuck it to my ear.
    “Yes?” I said, groggily, having no idea to
whom I was speaking.
Everett’s voice was full of tension when he spoke. “Olivia,
something has happened. Max was attacked last night.”
     

Chapter 7
     
    “What?” I shot up in bed, the grogginess gone
although I had to squint in the sunshine that was streaming into
the room. My heart was racing as I tried to untangle my legs from
the sheets.
    “He’s fine. Everything is okay, but we think
it was the same kind of attacks that happened to the Moss Point
coven members.” Everett spoke quickly and quietly, as if he had
limited time to talk.
    He’s fine. Before I could process anything
else, I repeated Everett’s words silently a few times. “What
happened? I don’t understand,” I said. Surely no one had penetrated
Eagleton’s grounds. The illusion Ivanna kept there wouldn’t even
permit regular people to find the entrance, much less get into the
main house.
    Even as Everett was explaining the situation,
I was kicking off the uniform and grabbing jeans from the
armoire.
    “He’d gone out to get art supplies and
someone attacked him in the parking lot. There were two of them.
They got in a few good hits but they backed off almost as soon as
Max started fighting back. It was dark, and they were wearing black
shirts with hoods. Max doesn’t know who they were. He drove around
all night making sure no one was tailing him.” Everett exhaled
loudly, and then added, “I just felt wrong not telling you what
happened.”
    “I’m on my way,” I said. Shoving my feet into
a pair of sneakers instead of the flip flops, I headed straight for
the stairs.
    “No!” Everett said, his voice firm. “You
can’t come here.”
    I didn’t stop in my tracks, but I definitely
slowed. “What? What do you mean I can’t come there, Everett? You’re
in danger, and I--”
    “I mean you can’t,” he interrupted. “Ivanna
forbade it. Sylvia got scared and started begging her to let you
come home but she said no. In fact, she was adamant that we didn’t
even tell you about it but I had to. I know you’re at a safe house,
but there’s a possibility that you could be in danger too. No one
knows where these people are getting their information at; how they
know where to attack.”
    “She forbade it?” I stopped now at the foot
of the stairs.
    “She doesn’t even want us calling you,
Livvy,” Everett said, his voice even lower. I couldn’t believe it.
I had never questioned Ivanna’s ability to govern the coven before.
She had always done her best to ensure our safety, but now…she was
punishing the whole coven because she was holding a grudge against
me. Wasn’t this a hundred times worse than what I’d done?
    “Yeah, well we’ll see about all that,” I
said, flipping the phone shut. Righteous anger flowed through my
veins as I locked the front door and jogged down the steps and the
cobblestone walk. It scared me that I doubted Ivanna, but at the
same time, she was responsible for the safety of my brothers and
sisters, and she was making the wrong choice. Let