Wicked Brew by Amanda M. Lee Read Free Book Online Page A

Aunt Tillie said.
    “But … .”
    “I’m sorry I took her without telling anyone,” Aunt Tillie said, her apology taking me by surprise. “I certainly didn’t mean to panic everyone. The girl needs fresh air. It’s a beautiful day.”
    “You have her cultivating pot,” I pointed out.
    “She doesn’t know that,” Aunt Tillie said. “And we’re technically not cultivating. We’re just tending to some plants as they grow.”
    “What did you tell her it was?”
    Aunt Tillie shrugged. “Oregano.”
    “She’s going to be so messed up when she’s a teenager,” I grumbled. “I can’t wait until some idiot tries to sell her a bag of oregano.”

Six
    “So, she was just wandering around unsupervised?” Landon glanced at the assembled faces in turn, not believing us for a second.
    “We’re horrible babysitters,” Aunt Tillie said. “That’s why these three turned out to be such sneaky adults.” She was gesturing at Bay, Clove and me as she spoke, her face guileless.
    I bit my lip to keep from exploding.
    Landon knelt down in front of Annie. “Did something happen?”
    Annie shook her head vehemently.
    “Would you tell me if something did?”
    Annie shook her head again.
    Landon sighed and got back to his feet. “I know something … odd … happened here.”
    “Nothing happened,” Mom said. “Why are you so suspicious?”
    “Because I know you guys,” Landon said. “Winnie called Chief Terry. She was panicked because Annie had gone missing. She said that Marnie and Twila were off to get the girls – which means the three of you.” He focused on Bay. “Where were the three of you?”
    Bay averted her gaze nervously. “We were outside.”
    “Doing what?”
    “What does it matter?” I stepped between Bay and Landon.
    “Because I want to know what you were doing,” Landon said firmly.
    I glanced down at Annie. “Do you want more frosting? I bet my mom would love to give you more frosting.”
    Mom took Annie’s hand. “Of course I would.”
    “Don’t lose her again,” I warned.
    Mom furrowed her brow angrily. “Don’t take that tone with me, young lady.”
    Once they were gone, I swiveled so I could meet Landon’s expectant gaze. “We were doing a spell.”
    “I know,” Landon said. “I’m not stupid. What kind of spell were you doing?”
    “We were doing a locator spell,” Bay said. “We were trying to find Annie’s mother.”
    Landon sighed as he ran his hand through his shoulder-length hair. I’ve never understood why the FBI lets him keep it so long. Landon says it’s in case he needs to go undercover. He hasn’t been undercover since we met him, though. I think he just likes it – mostly because Bay enjoys running her fingers through it. He knows it makes him look hot. “Did you find anything?”
    “Wait, you’re not going to yell?” I was surprised he was being so calm.
    “It doesn’t sound like you were doing anything dangerous,” Landon said. “You were trying to help. I only yell when you do something dangerous.”
    “You like to yell regardless,” I said. “It gets you going.”
    Marcus moved in behind me and put his hand on my neck to still me. “Do you want to piss him off?”
    “I haven’t decided yet,” I admitted, leaning back into him. Spending two nights in a row sharing a bed with a restless child had taught me one thing: I missed him. He made me feel … relaxed.
    Marcus kissed the back of my blue head. “I think it sounds like a good idea.”
    “Did you find anything?” Landon asked.
    “We were interrupted when our mothers lost Annie,” Bay said.
    “And she was just wandering around?” Landon pressed.
    Bay exchanged a worried look with me. We needed to come up with a better lie. Aunt Tillie didn’t give us the chance.
    “She was with me,” she said. “I found her in the kitchen and thought she could use some fresh air.”
    Landon pursed his lips. “And where were you?”
    “I was communing with nature.”
    Landon ran his