Lady Renegades by Rachel Hawkins Page B

plus what appeared to be a genuine desire to fix this mess with a specificspell. But that didn’t mean that I was giving her total control of this mission, no matter what she might think. We could follow her plan when the time came, but for now, there was a stop
I
wanted to make.
    We passed a big wooden “Welcome to Piedmont” sign, and Blythe settled back in her seat with a huff, crossing her arms over her chest. “We’re going to see the girl who attacked you,” she said, and I nodded.
    â€œThe night she went after me, she was totally set to kill me until she
wasn’t.
I know from experience that Paladin fights don’t work like that. You fight—”
    â€œUntil you’re dead,” Blythe finished. “Yeah, I’m familiar with all that.”
    Ignoring her snotty tone, I turned into the wide parking lot of a strip mall. There was one just like it in every town in Alabama, seemed like, and I could see that was true of Mississippi, too. A nail salon, a Chinese buffet, one of those places where you trade your car title for cash . . .
    The store I was looking for was on the very end of the row, a knockoff card and gift boutique with lots of brightly colored quilted bags prominently displayed in the window.
    According to the research I’d done (by which I mean I used Google for about twenty minutes), this was where Annie Jameson worked. It had been a real find, discovering her job, tucked into a little article about her when she’d been the Piedmont High Star Student Athlete. Rocking a 4.0 GPA and captaining her volleyball team, Annie also worked afternoons at her family’s boutique, according to the paper. I had no idea if she’d be theretoday, of course, but I figured it was easier to try to talk to her at her work than going to her house.
    You should always plan the approach that will bring you the most success. I read that in an ACT prep book, but it seemed applicable here, too.
    â€œSo what are we going to do?” Blythe asked as we got out of the car. “Just walk up there, be like, ‘Hi, my crazy ex-boyfriend gave you superpowers, and I’d like to ask you some questions about that’?”
    The sun was beating down, and I could feel sweat popping out on my forehead, but I shrugged. “More or less, yeah.”
    Shaking her head, Blythe slammed the car door way harder than was necessary. “And you didn’t tell me about this why?”
    â€œOh, I don’t know,” I said, adjusting my purse on my shoulder. “Maybe because you haven’t exactly been forthcoming, yourself?”
    Blythe started to say something to that, but I cut her off with a raised hand. “No. I need you, but you need me, too, or you wouldn’t have come to me in the first place. So we’ll work together, but if you’re going to work your agenda, I’m going to work mine, too.”
    A muscle in Blythe’s jaw twitched, and her lips clamped tight together, but after a moment, she shrugged, sliding her sunglasses down her nose. “Fair enough.”
    That settled, I turned to start walking to the store, Bee right beside me. “What
are
you going to say to her?” she asked, her voice pitched low. “Is she even going to know who you are?”
    â€œI don’t know,” I replied, answering both questions.
    The paper had mentioned her being confused, having onlyvague memories of what had happened, so for all I knew, she was going to stare at us blankly and this entire detour would be pointless.
    I wasn’t sure what bugged me more, the idea of not getting answers from her or the thought of how smug Blythe would be if it didn’t work out.
    And sure enough, from behind me, Blythe piped up, “She’s probably not even here. She was just in the
hospital.
”
    That was true and a good point. I had no reason to assume that Annie would be at the store today, but that Star Student Athlete piece