"You got the cookies, then?" she said.
We all stared at her.
"I heard you talking about cookies ..." Her gaze moved down the hall. "No, they're still here. Just a moment."
She came back carrying a box that made my stomach clench. Taste of Heaven cookies.
"Your friend dropped these off earlier," the nurse said as Adam took the box.
"Friend?"
"A young woman. She came in to see Savannah. She knocked over the bed tray and Linda gave her quite the tongue-lashing, I'm afraid. She left these and took off."
"When did this happen?" Adam demanded.
"When you went for dinner last night," I murmured. "I thought I dreamed it." I turned to the nurse. "What did she look like?"
"Mousy little thing." She colored. "I shouldn't say that. She was very sweet."
"Did she leave a name?"
"No. She was about your age. Long dark blond hair. Turned-up nose."
I thanked the nurse. When she left, I turned to Adam. "The new girl at the commune."
He frowned. "I thought Leah ..."
"Killed Tiffany? She said she didn't--and she wouldn't bother to lie. Seems we have a witch-hunter after all. So can we leave now? Before she comes back and kills me in my sleep?"
He grabbed my shoes and jacket from the closet.
forty
Getting discharged from the clinic wasn't easy, so we took the express route ... out the nearest exit door. Jaime covered for us. I gave her my house key and said we'd meet her there tonight. An hour later, we were pulling up to the commune gates.
I let Adam help me out. When he tried putting my arm around his waist, I pushed him away.
"I'm fine," I said.
"No, you're barely walking." He put his arm around me for support. "Enough with the heroics, okay? You've earned enough brownie points to last you a lifetime."
My cheeks heated. I tried stepping away again, but he only tightened his grip.
"Either I help you or we go back to the hospital and get you a cane. Better yet, a walker." He grinned at me. "Now that, I'd pay to see."
I lifted my fingers, tips sparking.
He laughed. "You don't scare me, Savannah Levine. You might have your spell power back, but you're liable to keel over before you can cast."
A figure appeared on the porch. Megan, bringing out a basket of laundry. She shaded her eyes and looked our way. A hand raised in halfhearted greeting, then she came out to meet us.
I had to remind myself I'd been gone only a day. Not long enough for people to notice I'd left, I hoped. The fewer questions I had to answer, the better.
"We're looking for the new girl, Amy," I said.
"That makes two of us," Megan said.