Free The Oath by Apryl Baker Page A

whole kill her plot.”
    “ What ?” These people were so much more twisted than I was.
    “You have to understand,” he tried to explain. “Our original Coven, back in Salem, betrayed thirteen members of its own to protect themselves. They stood by and watched our families burn to death at the stake. The curse that was cast was a vengeance curse, designed to make the decedents of the betrayers pay for what their ancestors did. It’s ingrained in everything we’re taught. Except for CJ. She never had anything to do with the Coven. For Kay, it was as natural as breathing to want to fulfill that curse.”
    “Still, Jeff, this girl was her best friend ,” I argued. “That’s supposed to mean something.”
    “It did in the end,” he told me. “When CJ’s mom tried to shoot her, Kay threw herself in front of CJ. She took the bullet.”
    So the girl had three people throw themselves in front of things meant to kill her. She was either incredibly lucky or one very special person. Luck had no part in witchcraft, so the latter was most likely true. She had to be meant for great things.
    “So they’re still pretty tight then?” I asked.
    Again, he looked uncomfortable. “Yes and no. CJ went to see her right after Samhain, but she hasn’t spoken to her since.”
    “And they’re using you as the go between?” I guessed.
    He nodded. “Yeah, it’s getting pretty old. Kay is, well, she’s Kay, and the only person who can put up with her for long is CJ, and I know CJ misses her.”
    “Yeah, but there are some serious issues there, Jeff,” I told him. “I don’t know if I could get past that either, no matter how close we were.”
    “I’ll kill them both if they don’t,” he said. “I can only put up with Kay’s whining for so long.”
    I smiled. He sounded so aggravated. I hated to do it, but I had to find out how to help him, even if I was still a little mad about the truth spell. He was just too nice of a guy to not want to help him.
    “So were you always in love with Red, or did you decide you loved her when Mr. Yummy showed up?”
    He looked thoughtful, which was a good sign. Meant he was giving it some honest thought.
    “I’ve always figured we’d end up together,” he said after a bit. “I’ve liked her for a long time, and the more I got to know her, the more I liked her. I realized I loved her, I guess, when Ethan showed up.”
    “Did she ever like you? Give you any hints you’d end up together?”
    He frowned again, thinking. “We’ve always been good friends, spending a lot of time together since we live right next to each other.”
    “That’s not what I asked, Jeff,” I reminded him softly. “Did she ever give you any hint that she felt like that before Ethan?”
    He shook his head. “No, I guess she didn’t. We didn’t really get close until after he showed up. I was the only person she trusted, and I guess our feelings just kind of grew out of that.”
    “She cares a lot for you, even I can see that,” I told him. “I would even go so far as to say she loves you, but what I want you to think about is, is it the ever after kind of love, or is it survivor’s aftermath? Is it stronger than what she shares with Ethan? Strong enough to break that bond with him?”
    I didn’t think anyone had ever put it to him like that before. He looked a little thunderstruck. Was he gonna go out and realize he didn’t love her? No, because he did, but maybe, just maybe, he might realize that she wasn’t going to love him the way he deserved to be loved.
    “I don’t…” His phone buzzed, cutting him off. He pulled it out and frowned before he answered the phone. “What do you want, Megan?” He listened for a minute and then closed his eyes. “Megan, you can’t just put a dash of this and a pinch of that in a potion. It’s not like cooking. The measurements have to be exact.”
    I smiled at the look of extreme aggravation on his face. Megan was his sister, and she’d been having