“I also wanted only witches. Can’t truly trust something that turns into an animal now, can you?” LeFleur said.
Both guys chuckled and nodded.
“Samuel, you keep working with Jolie Fortin. Keith? I want you to figure out a way to get Sidonie and Sinclair Boudreau up to their grandfather’s place. Mrs. Sullivan wants to speak with them.”
“There’s nothing left for me to do with Jolie. She’s already made the potions and the woman is weak and dying. If I keep hanging around, they’ll figure out something’s up,” Samuel said.
“Then get Jolie out of there and bring her to my place. She’s the key to me taking over that farm, once and for all,” LeFleur said.
I almost dropped my bottle of water when Sett snarled. I reached out a hand to squeeze her arm in warning. They were still talking.
“Which Mrs. Sullivan, sir? The gardener’s wife?” Keith asked.
LeFleur laughed at Keith and sighed. “We’re reduced to working with idiots. I swear,” was muttered before he looked back at Keith. “No, you idiot. Mrs. Margot Sullivan. The woman living in James Boudreau’s house as if she were his wife.”
“But isn’t she a witch?” Keith asked. “And he’s a shifter?”
“Eh, she’s too old to breed. A hole’s a hole once they can’t make babies,” LeFleur retorted.
I hissed into the coms, “We can’t take them down tonight. We need to let Keith take us to the manse. It’s the easiest way for us to get in there and finish this.”
Grampa Walsh spoke then. “I agree.”
Sin added, “I’m with Sid on this one.”
“Alright, wait for Keith to leave and scoop him up, then everyone back to the barn,” Grampa Walsh said. “Sett, you and Sid can get Keith. Sin? You and Tasha leave once the meeting is completely done and Keith is clear. Everyone else? Back to base. Oh, and Sett, make sure Tino gets everything from tonight. LeFleur just made our case for us.”
We all commented that we’d received our instructions and I sat back to watch the rest of the feed, my mind whirling. I looked over at Sett and there were unshed tears in her eyes. “Auntie?” I asked.
“Jolie is responsible for nearly killing your mother. For all we know, she has weakened her enough for her to die. The girl that grew up like a little sister to me…”
“Auntie, I have faith in Grandma and Evelyn Rue. The specialist they took Mom to, will figure it all out. In fact, let me text Grandma to let her know what we heard.”
Sett grabbed my hand. “No, I’ll call Mom and tell her what we heard. She’ll keep Jolie away from your Mom and I’ll grab Tasha or someone to go get Jolie. We’ll put her under arrest in one of the cells we’ve got in the barns until the whole mess is figured out. She’ll be comfortable and safe, and away from anyone she could hurt or help.”
I nodded to Sett’s words and sat back to keep an eye on Keith as he did his best to socialize before finally saying goodnight and heading out. Sett stepped out of the van to make her call and climbed back in about the time Keith pulled up on his bicycle. Sett sent the files to Tino and I helped Keith pull the bike into the van, then we headed out. I got the button camera and microphone off of Keith and put them in the padded case, then handed him a bottle of water.
“You did very well in there. Got us a ton of good information,” I said.
Keith gave me a crooked smile. “I suspected which Mrs. Sullivan they were talking about, but I wanted LeFleur to be very clear so we’d have the information for the case. That woman gives me the absolute willies.”
“Margot Sullivan?” Sett asked Keith.
“Yeah. I’ve met her twice before. Every time I feel like she’s peeling not just my clothes off, but my skin. Like she can see inside my head and wants to lick my brain or something.”
“Eww…” I said, along with the appropriate gagging sounds.
“Yeah, that sounds like Margot. And she probably wants to lick something, but I doubt it’s your brain,” Sett replied.
“Oh, gods,” Keith groaned. “Not even funny. She’s like my grandmother’s age, for god sake.”
“And has the body of a twenty-five-year-old. Her magic is incredibly powerful. Oh, also, she probably can see inside your head. I’ll see if I can find a charm that helps shield your thoughts before you take the twins to the manse,” Sett said.
“One for me too, please,” I said. “And Sin. He can shield better than all of us, but he’ll get distracted by her looks for at least a second or two and then it’s all over.”
We all laughed, then I leaned over towards Sett. “Mom safe?”
Sett nodded. “Grandma left the phone on speaker, called Jolie into the room, and cast a spell on her right there. Then they used the binding cuffs on her and cuffed her to a pipe until I can go get her tomorrow. She won’t be able to use any magic with those cuffs on, so she’s not going anywhere. It took me a bit to calm your grandmother down, though. She wanted to come home and pluck every hair from Sebastian LeFleur’s body with burning tweezers.”
Keith shuddered and I gave him a look. “You don’t fuck with our family. Not and walk away whole.”
Keith whispered, “Sooo glad I’m on your side. So glad.”
Sin
It was two nights after the League meeting and Sid and I were headed with Keith to the manse. All three of us were wearing button cameras and mics as well as spelled charms from Sett that would help shield our thoughts. To add to the plan, Sid and I were pretending to be drugged and out of it. The story we were pitching was that Keith met up with us to hang out, drugged our drinks and got us out to his car before we fully passed out. It wasn’t the most elegant of plans, but it was so simple, it could work.
Keith announced himself at the gate and then drove up to the house. The front door was open when he pulled up and two big guys in suits came out. They must’ve been shifters because one lifted Sid and the other lifted me as if we weighed no more than a big bag of dog food.
Keith followed behind.
We were gently laid on two couches in the back parlor, then the two men left the room.
Keith whispered, “Just us, but I hear her heels.”
Sid groaned and shifted on the couch. She would be the first one to awaken, and I’d listen, then I’d stir.
Keith spoke as soon as Margot came to the doorway. “Mrs. Sullivan, I have brought them as ordered.”
“Good job, boyo.”
Margot Sullivan had an Irish accent.
“Do you want me to stay in case the drugs don’t keep them docile enough for you?” Keith asked.
“No, I can handle anything these two dish up. You go ahead into the kitchen. Cook has prepared some food. I’ll send for you when I’m ready,” Margot said.
“Yes, ma’am,” Keith replied, and I could hear his steps as he left the room.
Sid groaned again and spoke. “Where am I? Grandfather’s house? What’s going on?”
“Shh, lassie. Everything’s fine. I’m Margot, let me help you sit up, aye?”
The way I was lying, an arm thrown over my face, I could watch them and unless they were looking directly at me, they’d think I was still out. I saw Margot, her silver-blond hair in an elegant up-do, wearing a pale blue silk dress that fell to just past her knees. Good thing I was consciously regulating my breathing, or I would’ve sucked in a breath at the sight of her. Perfection.
Sid groaned and leaned forward, elbows on her knees, head bowed into her hands. “Water, please? My head is pounding. What happened?”
“You and your brother seemed to have had a little too much to drink. Your grandfather wanted to have you come by for lunch, to meet me. Keith dropped you by. Don’t you remember?”
Sid shook her head. “I don’t remember.”
Margot handed her a bottle of water and I was relieved to see Sid crack the seal herself before she drank.
I saw Sid wiggle her fingers, so I groaned and shifted on the couch.
“Sin,” Sid gasped and stumbled over to my side. She pressed the bottl
e of water to my lips, and I sipped and groaned.
“Sid, where are we?”
“Boudreau Manor,” she said.
“What?” I sat up and looked around. Margot smiled at me and I swear my heart skipped a beat. She wasn’t even my type, but I couldn’t stop staring.
Sid slopped some of the water on my face and it was enough to break whatever charm spell had been wrapped around me. I reached for the bottle and Sid let me take it. I drained it and leaned back, not letting my gaze linger on Margot so as not to be caught again. Sid grabbed another bottle, cracked it open and sat beside me.
“Sin, this is Margot Sullivan. Somehow, we forgot that we were supposed to meet her this afternoon for lunch here at our grandfather’s house. We drank too much and Keith brought us by. That was awful nice of him, wasn’t it?” Sid said.
“Yeah, really nice. Too bad we didn’t have a chance to dress appropriately,” I said. Both Sid and I were wearing jeans, short hiking boots, and sweatshirts.
“I’m sure your grandfather will just be happy to see you,” Margot said.
“You clearly don’t know our grandfather very well,” Sid replied.
A throaty chuckle spilled into the room, full of honeyed promises and sultry dreams. I couldn’t stop the shiver as Margot spoke. “Oh, I know your grandfather very well.”
Sid let out a rude snort, “That’s what she said.”
I couldn’t stop the laughter at that point and pushed to my feet. “Well, where is the old bastard?”
“Oh, I’m sure he’ll be joining us soon enough,” Margot said. I felt a tickle of warning then, and it took me a second to figure out that it was coming from my bracelet. I glanced at Sid and her fingers were wrapped around her pendant. The faintest of nods from my sister told me that she’d been warned of impending danger as well.
I started toward the doorway. “Let me guess, he’s in his office? I’ll just pop down there and say hi.”
“I think not,” Margot said. My bracelet flared with heat and if I hadn’t lifted my hand to grip my sleeve, I would’ve walked face-first into the barrier. As it was, my knuckles grazed it and I skidded to a stop. I lifted my fingers to brush the air in front of me and met a solid, invisible wall.
Behind me, I heard Sid. “Oh, no you don’t,” and then a thud. “No one messes with my brother, but me.”
The barrier dissolved and I turned to see Sid pulling binding cuffs off her belt and slapping them on an unconscious Margot’s wrists.
“What did you hit her with?” I asked.
Sid reached out for a little statuette on the table next to her. “This, but I made sure I wasn’t going to kill her with it.”
“Good job. Let’s hide her behind that couch so if anyone comes in, the room looks empty. I’ve got some cable ties we can put on her ankles.”
We got Margot settled behind the couch, even using one of the wide fabric curtain ties as a gag. I gripped Sid’s shoulders and spoke to the button camera. “I’m going to see if I can find James, and I want Sid to go find Keith and make sure he’s okay. Our protection warned us of danger, and mine is still a little warm, so all is not clear yet. Something is definitely going on here.”
Sid nodded at me. “My pendant is still warm, too. I’ll head towards the kitchen along the back. You check the office and if he’s not there, check the front half and we’ll meet in the kitchen. Stay safe.”
“You, too,” I told her, and we left the room and split up in the hallway.
I kept a spell in the back of my mind in case I needed it as I made my way through the house. Things looked quite a bit different from the last time we were here. A lot of the heavier furniture had been replaced with more delicate pieces. Two of the rooms I passed had been painted and given new drapes. The antique Persian rug that had decorated the hall outside James’ office was gone and a flowered circle carpet lay there instead. I was about to cross it when the bracelet flared again, and I pulled my foot back. “Something’s up with this carpet. I’m going to edge around it to try and get into the office,” I whispered so the crew listening to our button mics could hear me.
I slid my back along the wall and reached for the doorknob. A twist, a push and the door was open, but I was going to have to jump to get past the rug and into the room. I took a few steps back, ran towards the doorway and jumped. My hands grabbed for the door frame and I spun myself around so I ended up with my back against the inside wall as my feet hit the floor. At first glance, the room was empty.
“Well shit, all that and he’s not here.” A few steps into the room and I heard a low growl. The bracelet hadn’t stopped being warm, so I knew I was still in trouble. Slowly I turned toward the growl and saw my grandfather in wolf form. “Hey, Grandpa. Want to shift back so we can talk?”
He growled again, ears back, with his lip curling to show his teeth. His eyes looked strange. Usually, when a shifter is in animal form, you can still see the human intelligence and clarity in their eyes. If I hadn’t seen my grandfather shifted before, I would not have assumed this was a shifter. His eyes looked wrong. I said as much, my voice kept soft, and hoped like hell the mic picked it up.
“James Boudreau, I need you to shift back,” I said. This time, I put some commanding tone into my voice.
He snapped and snarled, stiff-legged in his approach. I stood my ground until he lunged. I snapped a fist out and hit the side of his muzzle, knocking him to the side. He stumbled and it gave me enough time to turn and race towards the French doors to the back patio. I slammed into the door hard enough to snap the top lock off but the bottom lock held. As I stepped back to kick the door, the weight of the wolf hit me, and drove me to my knees. Teeth sank into my shoulder and I screamed, rolling to the side so I could punch at the muzzle beside my face. He wouldn’t let go, just ground his jaw and I screamed again. The pain was scrambling my brain but I wasn’t going to go down like this. I choked out a spell and slapped my palm against the wolf’s head. He yelped and released me, shaking his head as the spell made him feel like bees were buzzing inside and outside his skull. I stumbled to my feet and hit the window, the blood loss making me dizzy. The door to the patio beside me crashed open and Grampa Walsh grabbed me and pulled me out while Dad ran past him inside. I heard another snarl, a gunshot – then silence. I gave Grampa a weak smile as blackness wrapped around me and I was out.
Sid
I checked the rooms as I made my way to the kitchen. I noticed a lot of changes in the décor – changes Margot must’ve made in her time here. When I got to the kitchen, only Keith was there. He sat at the table by the side windows, a cup of coffee in front of him and a plate with some small pastries arranged on it. Nothing looked like it had been touched and he kept watching the two doorways and the windows.
When I came in, he got to his feet and smiled. “Glad to see you’re up and about.”
“Yeah, where’s the cook?”
“She left to do the shopping. Are we done here?”
“Soon as Sin finds James, we’re done. Have you spoken to anyone?”
“No, I didn’t want to compromise anything,” he said.
“Good idea. Okay, let’s go back and keep an eye on Margot. I don’t trust her, even if she is cuffed.”
We hurried back to the room and I checked on Margot. She was awake and furious, which made me feel relieved for a couple of reasons. One, I hadn’t killed her and two, she was not happy. Her not being happy had just become one of my life goals.
“Aww, Margot. Having a rough day?” I asked.
She yelled into the gag and I chuckled. “Looks like it. You just stay right there, and someone will be by to take care of you soon enough.”
I looked up at Keith. “Did you see where the bodyguards went?”
“Yeah, they were outside until a couple of ours got them cuffed and into the van.”
“Good. I was expecting them to come barging in and make things interesting.” Keith dragged a chair over to sit where he could watch Margot and the doorway. I had
just picked up another bottle of water when I heard the gunshot. The bottle hit the floor and I was racing to the doorway, Keith behind me. I yelled back “Stay with her,” and ran towards the office. My pendant flared hot when I stepped one foot on the circular rug, so I leaped backward and landed on my butt on the floor. I grabbed a delicate wooden chair and used it to flip the rug up and over onto itself. A small marble made its way into my hand and I peered around the doorway. The patio doors were cracked and open, blood was all over one door and the floor, but it was my father that caught my attention. He stood over the body of his father where it lay curled in the middle of the floor.
“Dad?” I said and he turned, gun raised for a moment before he saw it was me, then he lowered it and slid it into his holster.
“I had to,” he said. “He was killing Sin.”
“Sin?”
“He’ll be okay. He’s outside with the Commander.”
I walked around the body on the floor and hugged my Dad. He turned and hugged me tightly, burying his face in my hair.
“Dad, I love you.”
“I love you, too, Siddie. Are you okay? Hurt at all?” He stepped back, hands still on my upper arms as he looked me over.
“I’m fine, Dad. Margot is still in the parlor with Keith. She’s got dampener cuffs, cable ties, and a gag on. I still don’t trust her, though. Can we get her secured?”
“Yeah. Let’s get her out of here and then I need to call this in.”
* * *
It had been a busy few days, but things were finally settling down. The SPD had handled the scene at the manor and James Sinclair Boudreau had been buried in the family crypt two days later with no ceremony. No one wanted to celebrate the life of a man who had done so many bad things to his own family. The will was simple and clear. It all went to Dad but for a couple of small monetary behests. Twenty thousand to Brian, a hundred thousand to each of the house staff, and one million to the Academy’s scholarship fund. Brian heard about James’ death and took off for California before we’d even had the body interred. We doubted we’d ever hear from Brian again, now that the money had dried up with James’ death.
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