Daniel jumped, but the money rose higher.
Fuck! This brought new meaning to money flying away.
The money lowered to reachable height, but it danced in the air, always avoiding his hands. He ran after it, the officers at his heels.
One officer spoke into his radio. "Burglary in progress. Suspect appears to be a runner. Reinforce backup."
The radio buzzed to life, and a static-filled voice answered, "Copy that."
The cop tackled Daniel to the ground. His chest collided with the hard, wet earth. A pair of handcuffs secured his wrists.
"You have the right to remain silent. Everything you say or do will be used against you in the court of law…"
Fucking great! Could this day get any worse? Actually, he was afraid of that answer.
Chapter Three
Morgan locked the door to the store and walked toward her car, enjoying the bright afternoon sunlight. Why was it that the sun burned brightest and hottest as it set, allowing night to visit? It had rained about an hour earlier, and the fresh scent of earth and nature lingered around her.
She threw her purse onto the passenger seat and climbed behind the wheel. She was already halfway home when her cell phone chimed. With one hand on the steering wheel, she reached toward the purse with her free one and fumbled until her fingers found the ringing device. It vibrated through her fingertips, and she glanced at the caller ID. The number seemed unfamiliar, but she pressed the “accept call” button anyway and put the cell to her ear. "Hello?"
Nothing but silence.
"Hello?"
"Morgan?" The voice was uncertain.
"Yes. Who is this?"
"Daniel. The customer with the curse. Remember, you wrote your phone number on my hand."
How could she forget? The handsome man's image still danced through her head, minus his clothes and with her bedroom in the background. "What can I do for you, Daniel?"
There was silence again, as though he reconsidered his reason for calling.
"Hello?"
"I'm in jail.” A note of hesitation held in his voice. “There was a misunderstanding. They are letting me go, but I have no money for a cab."
"Do you want me to get you?"
An audible sigh of relief sounded into her ear. "Yes, please."
"I'm on my way."
Morgan U-turned in the middle of the street and headed toward the jailhouse.
****
Almost an hour later she pulled into the county jail's parking lot. A part of her hadn’t wanted to drive so far for a complete stranger, but Morgan had learned to trust her gut; and her gut advised her to do it.
Daniel already sat outside on a bench by the visitor entrance. When she pulled up to him, he gave her a weak smile. Worry lines etched his face. Poor guy. His bad luck didn't appear to be taking a break.
He got up off the bench and made it to her car. As soon as the passenger side door was opened, he said, "Thank you so much for coming."
Daniel climbed in, shut the door, and put the safety belt on before Morgan angled her way out of the crowded parking lot. Once she was on the street again, the brightness was starting to dim as the sun hid behind the horizon and twilight nightfall descended around her. The street fell into shade and shadow.
"What happened? Why did you get arrested?"
"I left my house key in my car. When I got home, I realized I didn't have my keys, so I tried to break into my own house through the kitchen window. My neighbors mistook me for a burglar and called the police."
She turned down the main expressway. "Where am I taking you?"
"Home." He gave her the directions.
"I'll swing by my store so you could get your keys out of the car."
He nodded. "Thank you."
"So why didn't you show them your ID and prove that you really do live there?"
"That's the thing. I seem to have lost my ID. They took me to the station, ran a background check on me. Once they were certain that I am who I am, they let me go, but I had no money for a cab."
"Don't you have credit cards?"
"I used to, but they disappeared. And my money flew out of my wallet when I opened it. Damn wind."
She chuckled. "Seems like some rotten luck you have."
"Rotten doesn't even begin to explain it."
Morgan turned into a different street and increased her speed. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Don’t you have any family or friends you could have called?”
“I do, but in this whole bad luck thing, I lost my phone. I don’t know anyone’s numbers memorized.” He looked at his palm. “The only numbers I knew were yours, as it’s on my hand, and my ex-wife’s, as she sometimes calls me to harass me.”
“You were married once?”
He nodded. “A few years ago. We were happy, but I wanted kids and she didn’t. I kept pushing the kid issue, so she rebelled by cheating.”
She sounded like an immature bitch, not that Morgan would voice that out loud. Cheating because you and your partner disagree over an issue was low and trashy in her book. “I’m sorry.”
She stopped at the store, and he got his keys. After that, she followed his directions and angled the car into his driveway.
"Thanks for the ride," he said as he climbed out of the car. He had almost shut the door behind himself when Daniel quickly turned around. "Would you like to come in?"
She would. And it wasn't just his good looks and her hormones. Her gut told her that if she left, he would get into more trouble. In her experience, if a bad luck curse wasn't reversed fast enough, the cursed person eventually died from it. And then, there was that one particular incantation that didn't have a reversal spell. Only rewinding time would undo it. "Sure."
Morgan killed the car and climbed out. Daniel unlocked the door, and it swung open.
He flipped the light switch, and the dark house was illuminated in a bright golden glow. The light reflected off his windows and hardwood floors.
"Don't tell me you live without any furniture."
He was silent a moment. There was something off about his stance, as though he had slipped into shock. "Unbelievable," he finally muttered. "My house has been broken into."
Fear quickly raced down her spine. Was the thief still in the house?
"I need to check what was taken," Daniel said as he proceeded into his house.
"Wait! Stop!" She tried to hide the panic from her voice.
Daniel stopped and turned to face her.
"What if the thief is still here?" Morgan whispered.
"Then you should go outside and call the cops."
She grabbed his arm, refusing to let him go. "What if he has a gun?"
For a second he looked scared. "Shit. I didn't think of that."
Morgan raised her arms and closed her eyes. She chanted in a low voice, words in Latin spilling out of her mouth as she saw lights dance behind her closed lids. When she opened her eyes, she smiled at him. "House is empty. Whoever broke in is long gone." She glanced at the door outside. "I’ll call the cops while you assess what is missing."
Daniel nodded.
Morgan made the call and walked out of the house. Standing on the curb, she waited. She watched the house as lights flickered on and off in various rooms.
What was taking the cops so long to arrive? Sure, it wasn’t an emergency so they tended to take longer, but patience wasn’t a skill she possessed. She glanced around her but didn't see any movement or hear any sirens. There was a sound behind her, a quiet buzzing that worried her a bit. Morgan turned around and came face to face with a fat bee hovering by her head. A scream ripped through her, and she ran into the house. Morgan rounded the corner toward the stairs and crashed into something warm and solid.
She gazed up at Daniel's worried face as his arms wrapped around her.
"Are you okay?"
Her breath shot out of her throat, and she whispered, "There was a bee."
He laughed. His expressi
on softened as he stroked his hands up and down her back. Daniel's face inched closer to hers.
Morgan's heart beat wildly as butterflies danced in her belly. She closed her eyes and parted her lips, ready to welcome his kiss when heavy footsteps sounded in the background.
"Um-hum." Someone cleared his throat. Morgan groaned and turned around.
Two officers stood in the empty living room. "Are we interrupting anything?" the female officer asked.
Yes. "No."
Officer Simmons, the blonde female cop, pulled out a notepad from her pocket and glanced first at Morgan and then at Daniel. "Now, can one of you tell me what happened while my partner surveys the house?"
Daniel took a step toward the cop. "I came home to find it empty."
"And what time was that?"
He shrugged. "A few seconds before the 911 call was placed."
"Do you have a list of what was taken?"
He nodded. "Everything."
"Everything?"
"They even took my toothbrush."
When the other officer finished inspecting the house, he informed them that the thief had come in through the kitchen window. A few more minutes of filling out a report, and they were once again alone in the empty house.
"That was a waste of time," Daniel said and folded up the piece of pink paper.
"Not completely." Morgan picked up a paper bag from the floor and pulled out the candle she had given him. "The officer found this." She pulled out a lighter from her purse and set the candle on fire.
Daniel gazed at her with curious eyes. "You don't look like a smoker."
"I'm not." She put the candle on the floor. "I carry it around with me to light candles when I need to." Morgan sat on the floor and indicated the spot opposite her. "Take a seat, so I can do some quick magic."
He sat and crossed his legs. "I thought that as long as the candle is burning, you don't have to do anything, that it still does its magic thing."
She nodded. "It does, but it works better with the spell I'm about to do. It doubles the effect of the candle."
Morgan crossed her legs and rested her arms on her knees, with her palms in the air so that positive energy would go through them. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Now mimic my position." She opened one eye and made sure he did as he was told. "Good. Take a deep breath." Morgan closed her eyes again.
He inhaled.
"Release."
Daniel exhaled audibly.
"Now clear your mind and let your most natural positive thoughts surround you. Thoughts that make you happy. It can be anything from rainbows to butterflies to bunnies, whatever."
"It's not rainbows or butterflies or bunnies." His tone hinted at something, and she almost rolled her closed eyes, certain his indication was sexual.
She did the same thing she instructed for him to do. Morgan cleared her mind and allowed peaceful and serene thoughts to encompass her. Images formed in her imagination. Grand rocks, with soft waves of tranquil blue water lapping against them. She sat on an island, surrounded by lush trees with branches reaching toward the sky. Beautiful streams of sunlight filtered through the branches, their rays warming her face.
The warmth escalated through her. It circled over her, its positive energy flying through the air. Soon, that energy would reach Jessie. Soon, the girl would be overtaken by the new energy, filling her with love and serenity. This might cause her to wake and end the curse.
Morgan opened her eyes and watched as the glittering aura lights danced before her. They reached the window and passed through the glass on the way to the girl. Once all the lights were gone, she glanced at Daniel. A big smile crossed his handsome face, but her attention went below it. A rock rose inside his pants, large and long. She gulped, and the need to see it minus his jeans suddenly grew too strong.
No, she shouldn't look. Instead she closed her eyes and tried to conjure up more peaceful images of nature and sunlight. Those images didn't come though. Instead, she saw her silky bedroom sheets.
Her body lay on those sheets, writhing in passion as her legs spread open and in the air. Daniel's head bobbed between her thighs, and his tongue lapped at her warm, natural juices.
She gulped, gasped, and opened her eyes.
His lustful gaze met hers. Lust that matched her own and her heart pulsed fast inside her chest. Her center grew damp, and she longed for his touch.
"I think your thoughts were similar to mine."
She didn't reply to Daniel's statement. Instead, Morgan tried to stand. Her knees grew weak as she rose to her feet.
Daniel stood, too. "You can't deny you were thinking about it, too."
"I wasn't denying anything."
He crossed to her and wrapped his arms around her back. Warmth filtered through her, and Morgan felt herself blush. When he spoke, his breath tickled her skin. "I was thinking about how good it would be to lay you down in my bed."
"You don't have a bed. It was stolen."
His chuckling made her wetter. There was something so sexy about his voice. "The floor, then." Daniel pulled her closer to himself until she rubbed against him. His hard cock pressed into her navel, and she tilted her head upward to meet his gaze. His lips brushed hers. The kiss started tender and slow. She opened her mouth to invite him inside.
She lay on the floor, his body pressing into hers. His hands touched her sides, slipping under her shirt. His lips left hers and instead kissed her neck. He found her breasts, rubbing his palms over her nipples. Only the thin lace of her bra separated her flesh from his.
Morgan moaned. The need inside her multiplied, and she wanted to touch him, feel him, taste him. She flipped him over until she was on top and he on the bottom. She raked her fingertips over his chest and abs, feeling the hard muscle beneath the black t-shirt. But feeling and seeing were two different things, and she wanted to see. Taking the hem of his shirt, she raised it until his smooth and taut skin lay open for her to feast on. She ran her tongue over the ridges of his six-pack.
Daniel inhaled sharply, and she smiled as she kissed him right below the belly button. Morgan glanced at the trail of hair leading to somewhere below his pants. She undid the button, her hands on the zipper.
"Is this supposed to happen?"
She tried to glance at his face, but who was she kidding? The hardness in his pants was more appealing. "You mean the hard-on. It means you're excited. It's totally natural."
Morgan met his eye, and he shook his head. His gaze moved somewhere beside and beyond her. "No, I mean is the candle supposed to fly?"
"Shit!" Morgan pushed away from Daniel. She watched, bewildered, as black and dark blue winds danced around the room. The candle was high off the floor.
"I'm guessing something is wrong."
"Very wrong."
The flame didn't go out despite the sudden winds in the room. It rose, high and strong and fierce. Then the wind died quickly. The candle dropped to the floor. Flames danced over the hardwood planks. The fire happened too quickly to be natural. Some sort of magical force was behind it.
"Come on, we have to go!" She urged him by pulling his arm until he stood and ran behind her. Once they were outside, her fingers fumbled with the buttons on her phone as she dialed 911. Daniel stood beside her. His face was white, whiter than the nice tan he had all day. "What…" He stuttered. "What just happened?"
"The spell didn't work. Peace and forgiveness didn't get to her. Something repelled them, and her anger came at us, manifesting itself as the wind. This spell is stronger than I first thought. Something or someone is controlling it."
Chapter Four
"What are we going to do now?" Daniel asked as the fire trucks drove off. This was just fucking great! His home burned to the ground, and like a cheap idiot, he had let his homeowner’s insurance lapse so the fire or theft wouldn't be covered.
He glanced at Morgan who stood beside him looking at the charred remains of what was left. "I doubt you could stay here tonight."
"My point exactly."
Morgan crossed to her car and opened the driver door. "So where am I taking you?"
He climbed into the car and shrugged. "I don't know. I would say some motel, but I don't have any money on me." Daniel rubbed his face as though trying to rub away his bad luck. "Maybe you could drop me off at my brother’s place?”
“With your escalating bad luck, your brother might be in danger if you stay with him.”
“I still need to figure out a way to contact Jessie's parents. I was thinking about using some lie on them. Maybe tell them that I lent Jessie a book that another student wants and that’s the only copy in the whole school."
"That can work. I'm assuming you don't have their phone number?"
He shook his head. "All that is at the school."
"What about online access? Can you access their phone number and address through the school's website or something?"
"No. When they suspended me this morning they also suspended my user name and password, so I can't get into the system. That's standard procedure in this school district. We'll have to go to the school."
She inserted the key into the ignition and turned as the car came to life. "So that's where we'll go."
"It's almost nine, so the school will be locked. You do realize we'll have to break in?"
Morgan sighed. "It's been a long time since I've broken into anything, much less a school." She winked at him and drove toward his job.
****
When they arrived, Morgan parked the car on a residential side street instead of the school's parking lot. There was only one car by the small high school.
"Janitor's car," Daniel said.
She nodded as they inched toward the building. "Where would be the best place to start looking for that info?"
They reached the south brick wall of the building. Daniel stopped beside a row of windows and turned to her. “Principal’s office. That's where he keeps all the actual hard files of every student's record. Since we can't access it through the internet, hard copy is the only way to go."
"Where is the principal’s office?"
He pointed to the window beside him. "It's going to be locked though. And if I break in, the janitor might hear it."
His Guardian Witch Page 2