The Misadventures of Anna Cabbot

Coffee Confessions

"Here, babe."

Anna took the steaming cup of coffee Jamie handed her and wrapped her palms around its radiated warmth.

Dark gray clouds had rolled in from across the lake during the early morning hours bringing rumbles of thunder if no actual rain yet. Stevie had let Jamie roll his motorcycle into her tiny garage in case the skies did decide to open up.

"Did you have any?" Anna asked, wedged in the corner of her couch in her heaviest sweater and a pair of leggings.

"I've had two already." Jamie stretched out on the other end of the couch; Anna uncurled enough to rest her calves over his shins. "If I have another one right now I think I'll start vibrating."

She snorted softly, and tipped her head to the side. "Who's taking care of Baxter?"

"Hudson drove Lenny over around five this morning to put some food in his dish and take him for a walk." He gestured toward the kitchen. "Lenny's the little guy who delivered your flowers last night because I couldn't get away from the desk long enough to even get in a full bathroom break."

"Did you eat? There's leftovers in the fridge." Anna sipped her coffee.

"I'm good. Jim's SteakOut at two in the morning is glorious." He shrugged. "I thought maybe we could do lunch today?"

"Sure. Stevie and I usually do an early dinner on Sunday."

Jamie rested his hands in his lap. "If she's alright with me tagging along..."

"I'm sure sure she won't mind, but we'll ask her." Anna rested her mug on her thighs. "I know we joke about you being in the Magical Mafia, but what it is that you do?"

"It's nothing highly illegal," he said. "I'm not sure it's not — it might be a tiny bit illegal, but Benny still has to take the bar." He stopped abruptly and took a deep breath. "I wasn't lying when I said we keep tabs on the magical Community in the city. We make sure nobody is taken advantage of, that non-magical people aren't being used or abused by those who have magic. We look into crimes and problems the police can't because magic sometimes makes things complicated. We intercept shipments of magically-modified drugs or strong potions so they don't end up where they shouldn't." He scrubbed a hand over his jaw and added quietly, "There's a lot of damage a strong lust potion can wreak. It's on par with a roofie in the right amount."

Anna shuddered.

"We work with local law enforcement when we can. We work with legal teams. We're not really listed anywhere, but anyone who might need us is aware of us." Jamie smiled thinly. "The reason I can't explicitly offer you help with what's going on with Nigel is because Erin's company is technically a competitor of ours."

"Oh. Well. That makes some more sense now."

"We'd rather help than hurt. If someone needs to disappear then we either entice them to move on on their own — usually with large sums of money — or we relocate them. Usually at night and somewhere far, far away from Buffalo. Typically by boat."

She rubbed the side of her nose and did her best to absorb all he'd told her. "I...didn't expect this. I don't know what I expected it, but it wasn't this."

"You were thinking rum running, badly cut suits, and cheesy New York accents weren't you?" He grinned. "That's what everybody expects."

"Thank you, Hollywood."

Jamie outright laughed. "They get it so wrong sometimes, don't they?"

And sometimes they got it frighteningly right.

Anna reached behind her and set her mug on the end table. Jamie, his body language loose and open, watched her. She moved slowly until she was seated sidways on his thighs. He looped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer.

"I was so scared yesterday," she admitted softly. "It's one thing to know what Death can do but it's another thing entirely to watch them do it. What...what scares me the most is the idea that I could do the same thing." She swallowed heavily, the back of her throat burning with unshed tears. "I didn't ask for this. I didn't ask for a goddamn heart problem or, or this necromancy. I didn't ask for any of it."

"And yet here it is," Jamie murmured, his hand on her thigh.

Her laugh was more air than sound. "There's a saying in our family that God won't give you any more than you can handle."

"My grandmother says that."

"Your grandmother is a wise woman."

"And the woman in front of me is smart and powerful and hopeful." Jamie tipped his head to look at her face.

Anna's smile was decidedly wobbly. "Flattery will get you nowhere."

"It's not flattery if it's true. I'll always be truthful with you."

"I appreciate that," she whispered, ghosting a kiss across his cheek.

Thunder rumbled in the distance, and the first raindrops spattered against the windows.

"Looks like you're stuck for a little bit." She rested her forehead against his.

"Oh damn," he drawled. "However shall I cope?"

"Noidea." She nodded along as he hummed the same song from yesterday, the rainproviding a bass line rhythm all its own.