Witch's Diary: A Paranormal Urban Fantasy Tale (Lost Library Book 4) by Kate Baray Page A

killed at any minute? And extra sucky that he likes to manipulate her into doing shit that was dangerous? And, um, sorry to have given him serious leverage over the person you love best in the world? No, Kenna wasn’t having that conversation with John.
    They twiddled their thumbs, stared at the wall, and just as Jack was about to crack a joke about her witchy powers and fried phones—Kenna could just tell by the smirk and the way he was eyeing the phone’s remains—Lizzy came back inside.
    She dabbed at the corners of her red eyes.
    “What the hell did he say?” John looked ready to kick some Harrington ass.
    “What?” Lizzie looked at her fingers. “No. I sat down on Kenna’s nasty old lounge chair and was attacked by dust.”
    Kenna sighed. “I keep telling you, you have to sit in the wood chairs. They’re much more comfortable than they look—and I actually use those.”
    Lizzie brushed at her rear, then tried to look over her shoulder at her back.
    John gently pulled her closer to him and away from the kitchen table. “Why don’t you tell us what he wanted? Stalling won’t improve the news.” And he briskly brushed off the dirt from the backs of her calves, butt, and shoulder blades.
    “All right. I made a trade. He had something pop up that needs urgent attention. Pilar strong-armed him into giving me a break by threatening to abandon the project if he called me in. But since I called him…” Lizzie let them draw their own conclusions. Not hard, since they all knew Harrington.
    Even Jack had some connection with the man. Not only did Harrington have Jack’s unlisted cell number, Jack hadn’t asked a single question about Harrington. Highly suspect, given Jack’s extreme inquisitiveness.
    “So what’s the trade?” Kenna asked quietly. “And do I need to figure out long-distance targeting with my new fire skills?”
    Lizzie gave her a halfhearted smile. “It’s fine, except—I’ll be tied up on his project and won’t be able to help you guys very much. But I didn’t see any other solution. Harrington’s working on a fix—a delaying strategy of some kind. But he says it will take some time.” Lizzie squeezed her eyes shut. “And I have to head out to Prague as soon as possible. Today, preferably.”
    John growled.
    Lizzie winced. “I know. You can’t leave for another week.” Avoiding his gaze, she said, “You’ll just have to join me there in a week if I can’t finish up before then.”
    Holy shit. The dynamic duo was splitting up. Kenna couldn’t believe it. They hadn’t been apart, not like this, since they’d gotten together.
    “I love you guys.” Kenna felt weepy with emotion. All sorts of emotions.
    Surprisingly, it was John who responded. “We know.”
    “So how long does Harrington think he’s going to need?” The clock was ticking, and Kenna wasn’t about to forget that.
    “A few days at least. He has an idea, but he needs to contact some resources outside IPPC to implement it.” Lizzie chewed on her lip, a sure sign that something about that had her worried.
    “A few days? I’m going with you,” Kenna announced.
    Lizzie didn’t seem surprised. She glanced at John, who had moved to the corner of the kitchen, where he leaned against the wall, arms crossed.
    “I can’t do anything here,” Kenna said.
    Lizzie gnawed on her lip some more. “I’m not arguing with you, Kenna. Harrington’s having his people work on a flight for us.”
    “Oh.” That had been too easy. Kenna asked, “Who’s ‘us’?”
    “You, me, Jack, and Max.” Lizzie did her best to list of the names clinically, unemotionally. But Lizzie was a flincher. And she definitely twitched when she got to Max’s name.
    Kenna closed her eyes and shook her head. “How can you still have such a terrible poker face?”
    “I don’t know what you mean,” Lizzie replied.
    “Uh-huh. But in case it might make you feel better, I’m fine with Max going. Max and I are good.” Kenna turned to