Suddenly Spellbound

by Erica Lucke Dean

  “Last night?” Jack dropped my hand and stepped back. It was as if the three of us were working out a new dance—an angry tango, by the looks of it. “What happened last night?”

  I glanced at Liam and wanted to slap the smirk from his lips. “Nothing happened.”

  “Then what the hell is he talking about? And don’t fucking lie to me. Did you…?” Jack reached up and grabbed a fistful of his own hair, his voice ratcheting up an octave as he paced the lawn. “Did you sleep with him last night?” The way he said sleep told me that wasn’t his first choice of words.

  “No! God, no, of course not. You can ask Chloe. I was here all night long. Alone!” I glared at Liam, but he’d locked his icy-blue eyes on me as though he could see straight into my soul. His lips curved up at the corners in a knowing smile, and the bottom fell out of my stomach. “Oh, my God.” I threw up my hands and paced in a small circle. “It was a dream!”

  “You dreamed about having sex with him?” Jack shouted, and I wasn’t sure what made me more anxious, the anger in his voice or his horrified expression.

  “It wasn’t my fault! It’s the spell!” I shrieked back then turned to Liam. “How did you even know about that?”

  Liam shrugged, his smug smile cracking his face in two.

  Jack stormed over to his silver SUV and climbed in, slamming the door behind him, only to get out again a few seconds later. The wild look in his eyes as he approached Liam made my stomach bottom out.

  He jammed a finger into Liam’s chest. “Who the hell are you? Where did you come from? Why did you have to come here?”

  “Who I am and where I come from is none of your concern. Why I’m here is the only thing that matters.”

  “Then enlighten me.” Jack threw up his arms. “Why are you here?”

  “I thought that was obvious.” Liam’s eyes zeroed in on mine, holding me hostage in their icy-blue depths. “I’m here for Ivie.”

  Jack’s teeth clenched so hard I was sure they’d shatter. “Ivie doesn’t want you.”

  Liam chuckled. “I think it’s pretty obvious she does if she’s having dreams like the one last night.”

  I flinched at his accusation.

  Jack’s hand tightened into a fist an instant before he threw his arm forward and punched Liam square in the jaw. Liam’s dark head snapped back, but before Jack could get another punch in, Liam disappeared, reappearing behind him. How does he do that?

  “Jack!” I tried to warn him before Liam sucker-punched him in the kidney, dropping Jack to his knees. Red-hot fury tinged the air, and heat blew my hair back as if I’d stoked a raging fire within me. I felt the magic resting like a hard ball in the pit of my stomach, just waiting for me to wield it. I’d never felt so in control of my own powers before. “Stop! Both of you.”

  Liam must have felt it too. He held perfectly still, his hands squeezed into tight fists at his sides. With the faintest of nods, he flexed his fingers and pointed at Jack, jutting out his chin like a petulant child. “He started it.”

  I almost laughed at him before reminding myself that same nonchild had repeatedly used magic to get into my head and would likely do it again anytime it suited him. The air whooshed out of my lungs like a tire running over the mother of all spikes. Exhaustion had finally caught up to me. “Go home, Liam.”

  His face registered shock. “You want me to leave?”

  “Yes, please.”

  “Fine. Since it’s late and you look ready to drop, I’ll go. But I’m not giving up on you, Ivie.” Liam glanced at my lips, and I knew he wanted to kiss me, but I wasn’t about to give in this time. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  I wanted to say, “Please don’t,” but instead, I nodded and avoided eye contact until he was safely ensconced in his rented sports car and driving away.

  Jack slid his eyes in my direction and sucked in a breath. Pain twisted his features, and I doubted it had anything to do with the hit he’d taken. “How upset would you be if I killed that guy?”

  My mouth opened and closed like a fish on the deck of a boat. We both knew Jack didn’t stand a chance against Liam’s advanced sorcery skills. “Please don’t kill him. I-I can’t afford bail.”

  Jack threw his head back and laughed, but as soon as the sound died down, his teeth came together with a snap, and the muscle in his jaw flexed. He pulled himself to his feet and turned to me, pleading with his eyes. “Come home with me, Ivie. Please.”

  “Jack…” I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again. I wanted to. I really did. But if Daddy Whatnot’s suspicions were true…

  He didn’t wait for me to find the words before nodding. “You can’t.”

  “I can’t.”

  He reached a hand toward me but curled his fingers into his palm at the last second and dropped it to his side. “Will you tell me why?”

  “As soon as I have everything figured out, yes.” Though even I didn’t have a clue how long that would take.

  With another nod, he pressed his lips to my temple as if he could somehow fuse us together that way. I felt rather than heard his words. “Take care of yourself, Ivie.”

  The hollow expression in his eyes gutted me, and hot tears rolled down my cheeks before I could stop them. “Jack, wait.”

  “You know where to find me.” He didn’t turn around once as he stalked to his car and backed onto the quiet street. Then he was gone.

  Chapter 14

  After adjusting my pillow for the umpteenth time, I rolled over to stare toward the window. The first few rays of morning light filtered through the cracks in the blinds, and I grabbed my phone from the nightstand to check the time.

  Only six fifty-two and already three new texts from Jack.

  Excitement faded into dread as my finger hovered over the first message. Was I ready to read what he had to say? I’d already spent most of the night tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep for more than a few minutes at a time. My overworked brain wouldn’t shut off. Images of Liam and Jack fighting over me plagued my subconscious. If push came to sorcery, Liam would destroy Jack. And I couldn’t allow that to happen.

  I needed to fix things before talking to Jack. And by fix things, I meant confronting my dad. I shoved my phone under the pillow and buried my face in the lofty goose down with a groan. The absolute last thing I wanted was to see my father, but deep down in the pit of my stomach, I knew the voodoo priest was right. Dad was at the center of the binding spell, and I had no choice but to confront him if I ever wanted to be free of Liam’s hold.

  I rolled out of bed and made my way to the bathroom to shower and get dressed, mentally preparing myself for what I had to do next.

  What if Dad refused to remove the spell? Would he force me into some kind of magical showdown to get what I wanted? And after everything was said and done, would Jack even want me?

  My phone pinged with another incoming text from Jack.

  He still wants me.

  Once I’d tamed the wild mess of red hair sprouting out of my head and dressed in something befitting a mediocre sorceress—a pair of black Rag and Bone skinny jeans paired with a black-and-gray silk tank—I set out to find Chloe’s keys, hoping she wouldn’t hate me for stealing her car.

  “If you’re looking for condoms, I keep them in the kitchen. In the flour canister.”

  I picked up my head to gape at Chloe. She’d staggered out of her room wearing nothing but a loose-fitting Viva Las Vegas T-shirt with her usually-coiffed blond hair swirled around her head in a wild nest. “The flour canister?”

  “Well, I used to keep them in my Hello Kitty lunch box, but my mother found them, and that was just…” She sounded as if she were caught somewhere between choking and laughing. “And really, like my mom would ever bake?”

  I gave her a quick once-over then went ba
ck to pawing through her Gucci bag. “So you’re up early.”

  “I heard noises.” She yawned behind her hand. “I’m glad it’s just you looking for… breath mints?”

  “Who else would it be? And no, my breath is fine.”

  “I don’t keep money in my purse. And lately, it could have been just about anyone. I was almost certain I’d have to kick a sexy sorcerer in the balls with my bare feet.” She shuddered. “Definitely not something I wanna do before breakfast.”

  “Well, you’re in luck.” I fished out her keys with a triumphant smile. “No sorcerers here this morning. Your foot is safe.”

  She nodded and made her way to the kitchen. She opened the fridge, and the top half of her body disappeared inside. “So why are you stealing my car?”

  “I’m going to kick a sorcerer in the balls for breakfast.”

  My mom’s Wagoneer wasn’t in the driveway when I pulled in, but a familiar shiny black Suburban with dark-tinted windows occupied her spot. I slid Chloe’s sleek rental into the spot beside the hulking Chevy and climbed out. Chloe’s keys sat heavy in my hand as I practically vibrated with the urge scrape them over the pretty paint job.

  “I trust you weren’t plotting the destruction of government property, Miss McKie.” Agent Smith-err-Hunter’s smooth baritone caught me off guard, and the keys slipped out of my hand, hitting the pavement with a clank.

  I scooped them from the driveway and spun to face him in all his inhuman glory. “What are you doing here?”

  Hunter flashed a frosty smile. “My job.”

  I smashed my hands against my hips. “You mean harassing citizens? Good to know my tax dollars are well spent.”

  “Your tax dollars? Didn’t I hear you were unemployed?”

  Hunter’s strawberry-blond partner, Agent Corrigan, stepped forward. “Yes, fired for destruction of private property, wasn’t it? Your track record is quite impressive for such a tiny little thing.”

  Tiny little thing?

  A burst of adrenaline spiked, and I shoved back the magic rising in me.

  “As I recall, Bonnie Parker was a tiny little thing too.” Agent Hunter stepped forward and pinched a lock of my hair between his fingers. “Though, based on the photos I’ve seen, she wasn’t as pretty as you.”

  I shook my head until my hair fell from his fingers then backed up. “You never answered my question. Why are you here?”

  “We haven’t completed our investigation, though we’ve uncovered some intriguing new information.”

  I was dying to ask, but Hunter’s smirk told me he was baiting me, so I kept my lips zipped. “That’s nice for you. If you’ll excuse me, I need to see my father.” I sidestepped the men in black and made it halfway to the front door when Hunter’s vibrating monotone froze me in place.

  “If you’re looking for Mr. McDougall, he isn’t here.”

  I whipped around to face him, confusion lacing my voice. “Mr. McDougall?”

  “Liam?” Corrigan bit back a grin. He was definitely the more animated of the two.

  “W-why would I be looking for Liam?” And why didn’t I remember his last name was McDougall?

  The two agents volleyed looks between them, but Hunter kept his expression flat as he inched his way toward me. The man must have been an amazing poker player. “I couldn’t help noticing the two of you have a tendency to gravitate toward one another.”

  “You couldn’t help noticing?” I moved within striking distance, squeezing my hands into tight fists at my sides as heat licked at my palms and electricity raced to my fingertips. “We’ve met once. Liam happened to be here. That’s hardly a pattern.”

  “I’m referring to his presence at the school the day you were fired, not to mention your joint trip to the bridal salon and your heated debate last evening in front of Mrs. Blake’s house, in addition to the times we’ve already discussed.” Point to Hunter.

  My face went up in flames at the same time an icy chill zipped down my spine. “You were spying on me?”

  “Not spying,” Corrigan said with a straight face. “Investigating.”

  “Why are you investigating me?” My voice climbed an octave, and I fought to get my emotions under control. The last thing I needed was to turn the two of them into lab rats. Then again…

  “Because I find you fascinating. First, you’re accused of killing a fiancé who miraculously reappears just as the authorities are about to arrest you. Then you turn up like a terrorist in the middle of a series of unfortunate explosions you claim to have no connection to. You’re a chameleon…” Hunter drew me in, flicking at my hair again as he circled me like a spider in a web. “A siren with two markedly different men hanging on your every move. You take day trips to visit voodoo priests in the mountains. Disaster after disaster follows in your wake, and yet here you are, miraculously unscathed.” His teeth came together with a crack as his unflappable mask split down the middle, allowing his pent-up resentment to show through. “I know you’re hiding something, Miss McKie. And I’m going to get to the bottom of it if it kills me.”

  I flinched away from him, backing slowly toward the door. “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m not a terrorist! I’m a kindergarten teacher—was a kindergarten teacher.” I tripped over a crack in the sidewalk, and when I looked up, Hunter’s smirk was back.

  “You can run, Ivie. But you can’t hide. I’ll be watching you.”

  I turned around and ran the rest of the way to my parents’ front door, closing and locking it behind me. I watched through the peephole until Smith and Wesson backed out of the driveway and disappeared around the corner.

  “What on earth are you doing?”

  “Gah!” A scream ripped out of my throat, and I spun around, ready to lash out at… my mother.

  “Ivie? Are you okay, dear?”

  “Don’t scare me like that! Don’t you know what I can do? I’m a horrible witch with absolutely no self-control!” My heart pounded like a scared rabbit’s, and I slammed my back against the door, sliding down until I sat cross-legged on the floor. “I didn’t think you were home. Your car isn’t in the driveway.”

  “It’s parked in the garage. I finally convinced your father to clear out those old boxes of his. Almost everything ended up at Goodwill. Even the things that fit him were out of style. Can you believe he still had that dusty-blue, disco-era jumpsuit? It had bell bottoms and zipped from the crotch to the scooped neck. If memory serves, he wore platform shoes and a hideous brown-and-cream paisley shirt with it.”

  “No! Not Dad.”

  “Yes! He actually wanted to keep that. The one bright spot after being a domestic pet for so long was his lack of weight gain over the years. He could still fit into most of his old clothes. But I wouldn’t even consider allowing him to donate that one. I was too afraid he’d go back and buy it all over again.”

  “What’d you do with it?”

  She bit the insides of her cheeks to keep a straight face. “Burned it in the back yard.”

  Laughing helped ease my pulse back toward normal. Then I remembered why I’d gotten upset to begin with. “What were the Men in Black doing here?”

  Her casual facade cracked. “You mean Agents Hunter and Corrigan?”

  I nodded.

  Mom couldn’t look me in the eye, which meant whatever had gone down before I showed up wasn’t good. “They were here to see your father.”

  “Insurance fraud?” The words turned to dust in my mouth. I don’t know why I thought the whole thing would go away after I’d mind-tricked the agents at our last meeting. My luck didn’t work like that.

  “Among other things. Oh, Ivie. I have no idea what your father’s gotten himself into. He asked me to leave the room while they were here, but of course, I listened at the door. I didn’t hear everything they were s
aying, but I heard enough. And whatever no-good he’s up to, he’s managed to drag you into it. You and that apprentice of his.”

  Color me shocked. Not. I was beginning to realize that, like my dad, Liam always seemed to wind up at the center of everything.

  “That’s why I’m here, actually. I need to talk to Dad about Liam.”

  If Mom knew what I was referring to, she didn’t let on. She flashed an easy smile. “Okay, dear. He’s in the basement. Would you like me to go get him for you?”

  I gave her a hug. “No. I’ll go down. I need to talk to him in private anyway.”

  “That’s a good idea.” She pressed her lips together and stepped away. “I’ll be in the kitchen, whipping something up for lunch.”

  I stole a glance at the clock. Ten fifteen. “Isn’t it a bit early for lunch?”

  She waved my comment away like dust motes in the air. “Lunchtime comes early in the McKie household. You should know that.”

  With one last furtive peek at my mother, I headed down the dark basement stairs.

  I found my dad tinkering in the spell room. Before discovering the room had been hidden by a concealment spell my entire life, I’d been terrified of the dark corners and thick cobwebs. Now I saw it for what it really was, a sunny room filled with jars of potions and nectars.

  Dad stood at the window, watering the neat row of potted herbs lined up along the sill. Beside him, the counter was filled with snippets of dried plants, and a yellowed sheet of parchment lay open. I stepped closer, trying to read the words scrawled across it.

  “It’s not polite to sneak up on people, you know.” Dad’s back stiffened as he paused in his task, but he didn’t turn around.

  I cleared my throat. “Sorry. I, uh, didn’t want to disturb you.”

  “Yes, you did. You came down here with the express purpose of disturbing me.” He placed the watering can in the sink and wiped his hand on a towel before turning and giving me a warm smile. “Otherwise, you would have stayed upstairs with your mother.”