by Shayla Black
“Try it?” Bram asked.
“Useless, which I expected. Try it yourself.”
What the devil were they talking about?
Felicia leaned across the seat and watched as the blond man stood very still and closed his eyes, straining slightly.
Bram expected that to take him someplace? Like “Beam me up, Scotty”? What were Hurstgrove and his friends? Aliens?
The other man opened his eyes. “Totally nonfunctional. Damn. You’d best go. Your signature has damn near become a beacon. Meet us at Ice’s?”
“Hopefully by tomorrow afternoon.” Hurstgrove slid into the driver’s seat, buckled up, and rolled down the window. “I’ll ring you along the way.”
Bram pressed a button and raised the garage door. “I should come with you. Safety in numbers.”
Hurstgrove looked in the rearview mirror, then swore. “Too late. Get the guests out of the chapel, to safety. You’ll have to stay and fight.”
Felicia whipped her head around to look out the driver’s window and saw a mass of black-robed men marching toward the house.
CHAPTER 4
FELICIA GASPED. “WHO is that?”
Duke ignored the question and sent Bram a grim glance.
This rescue was going to hell fast. He had a reluctant hostage, an infuriated groom, and paparazzi following him round the back of his supposedly private estate. Trespassing bastards. He could only hope that Zain skipped a day or two of reading the tabloids. If not, Mathias would know quickly that Duke had spirited Felicia away and guess why.
“Go. Now,” the other wizard ordered. “Whatever it takes to keep her safe …”
Absolutely. Duke would do it, no questions asked.
Rolling up the tinted windows, he backed out of the garage slowly, lights killed. He couldn’t attract attention.
“Duck,” he demanded of Felicia.
She didn’t. Wide-eyed, she stared out the back window at the hooded figures amassing in the gardens. “There are so many of them! Who—”
“Duck!” He grabbed her neck and pulled her head down.
Her cheek hit his thigh, and he felt Felicia panting through his trousers. He got hard. Again. Damn it.
“What the devil are you doing?” She struggled against his hold.
“Hiding you from a madman. Stay the bloody hell down!”
A moment later, Mathias emerged from the middle of the Anarki pack. Duke’s fingers tightened in Felicia’s hair. Horror gripped him as the wind whipped the evil wizard’s long hair away from his deceptively youthful face, revealing a smile of evil glee. It took everything inside Duke not to turn back to protect his family and their guests when Mathias raised his hands to the wall, as if readying to demolish it with a spell.
To Duke’s surprise, no bricks tumbled to the ground.
Holy hell! He glanced down at Felicia, her shoulders hunched beside the gearshift. He’d known magic would be impossible when she was near; that was the nature of an Untouchable. But Mathias was at least two hundred meters away.
Her suppression of magic was that strong? That made her a force to be reckoned with. And a huge target for Mathias.
Even before tonight, Felicia had been someone Duke was willing to protect with his life … and he didn’t want to think too hard about why. Now that he knew she was the Untouchable, he’d move heaven and earth to keep her safe.
He eased down the drive to the dark road. Once he hit the little lane, Duke jammed down on the clutch, threw the gearshift into first, then stomped on the accelerator. Rapidly, he shifted up to second, third, fourth … still feeling Felicia’s breath on his thigh. Checking the rearview mirror, he was relieved to see that no one appeared to notice his departure in the mayhem. He floored it, putting distance between them and Mathias, every muscle in his body tense, his heart thumping in his chest.
As he rounded the first corner, one of the walls of the sixteenth-century chapel crashed down under Mathias’s spell. Duke closed his eyes and held in a curse. Dear God, please let everyone be unharmed, especially once Mathias realized the Doomsday Brethren had spirited the Untouchable away.
As the house slipped from sight, Duke flipped on the headlights and released Felicia, fighting the urge to run his hand through her soft honey hair to ensure she was unharmed. “Sorry if I hurt you. Are you all right?”
“Who were those people in the robes? Were they the villains trying to—”
“Yes.” He didn’t want to elaborate now. And he didn’t want to talk about Felicia being hurt or killed. The other female corpses he’d seen after Mathias’s torture were too horrific to contemplate.
Panic raced across her face. “What about the wedding party and the house?”
“Bram, Marrok, and Ice will protect everyone.”
“Three people aren’t enough to fight that army. We must call the authorities. Go back! Mason and your mother and—”
“The police can’t help them.” Duke pressed his lips together regretfully, shifting again as the car jetted through the inky night. “We can’t go back.”
“They need our help!”
“I’ll make certain they get it, but you must be safe at all costs.”
“I won’t leave Mason there to die!”
“He’ll be fine.” Duke gritted his teeth at the sound of his brother’s name on her lips, spoken with such devotion. “It’s not him they want. It’s you.”
Privately, he worried about his family and guests, but he saw no need to admit that to Felicia and worry her more.
Grabbing the phone from his pocket, he thumbed through the menus, then found the number he sought.
Tynan answered on the first ring, “You all right, Duke?”
“Close call, but I’m fine.”
“Did you find—”
“Indeed. My brother’s bride is with me.”
“Shit! She came with you voluntarily on her wedding day?”
“Not … exactly. Listen, Tynan. Mathias and the Anarki have descended on my house. Bram, Ice, and Marrok need backup.”
“Got it. Ronan is handy. Caden, can you go with us? Right, then. He’s in as well.”
“Lucan?”
“He’s … not having a good night.”
Duke winced. “Angry, despondent, or insane?”
“Depends on which moment you ask.”
Damn it! ?“So, not battle ready?”
“Not even close,” Tynan said.
“Keep him there. I don’t need him regressing instead of saving the wedding guests. You and the others get to my house posthaste.”
“Will do.”
“Please, find my mother and my brother. Make certain …”
God, if something happened to them because he hadn’t revealed the fact he was a wizard and hadn’t properly protected the place, the guilt would crush him. He’d always been afraid that putting magical protections around his house would announce the fact that a wizard lived there and be an engraved invitation to Mathias. Now, Duke regretted the decision more than anything.
“We’ll keep them safe.”
“One more thing,” Duke interjected. “Is Sabelle available?”
“Somewhere around. I’ll put her on.”
A moment later, Duke heard a sunny, feminine voice. “Hello. All well?”
“That remains to be seen. Anytime Mathias crashes a party, it’s not good.”
“Can I help?” Concern laced her voice.
Duke downshifted for the next turn in the winding road, cursing the long, deserted lane they must travel before reaching the motorway. “I’d like you to research a bloodline for me. Her name is Felicia Safford.”
“What?” his passenger screeched. “You have no right—”
He held up a palm, cutting her off. “Who are her ancestors?”
“In other words, make certain she is the Untouchable? Got it,” Sabelle said in his other ear. “I’ll need details. Birth date, birthplace, parents’ names …”
Moving his mobile from his mouth, Duke sa
id to Felicia, “I’ll explain everything shortly. But—”
She wrinkled her nose, then narrowed her eyes at him. “Rubbish! You aren’t planning to explain anything.”
How had she known that? Explaining the situation would only drag her deeper into danger, and Duke wasn’t in favor of that. “We’ve no time to argue now, damn it! What’s your birth date?”
“My—” She huffed in frustration. “Mason and your mother may be dying, and you’re driving in the opposite direction, asking inane questions?”
“Your. Birth. Date. Now.”
She shook her head, her expression mulish. “You will explain or I won’t say a word.”
Duke hesitated. No one magical made a habit of revealing themselves to a human. But how did he explain that the more he dragged her into this war, the more difficult it would be for her to resume her life? For a woman Mason had described as sweet and caring, Felicia had a surprising stubborn streak.
“I’m asking for a very good cause that could save more lives, I swear. I can’t spare the time to explain now.” Even if he could, the truth was too dangerous.
Felicia sat back in her seat, stared suspiciously, then, of all things, she sniffed. “June twenty-eight, nineteen eighty-five.”
“Where were you born?”
“Newham General Hospital, London.”
“Parents’ names?”
She bit her lip. “I’m adopted. My birth parents’ names are sealed.”
He froze. “Your adoptive parents are listed on the birth certificate?”
“Yes. Margaret and Rowland Safford.”
Nodding, Duke put the phone back to his ear. “Did you hear that?”
“I’m on it now,” Sabelle promised.
“Thank you. Have Bram call me when the fight is over.”
After Sabelle agreed and they rang off, Duke pocketed his phone, very aware of Felicia beside him, clenching her fists. Her jaw tightened, and he could almost see her thoughts turning in her head.
“Why does this madman want me? I heard what you told Mason, but I know there’s more.”
Duke hesitated. How could he say more without exposing magickind and endangering her further? “You’re … special.”
“Oh, please.” She rolled her eyes.
“Different,” he clarified. “Hopefully, Sabelle’s research will uncover the answers we need.”
Her brow wrinkled. She had intelligence, this one. She’d figured out quickly that she was genuinely in danger. She had a knack for knowing when he was less than honest. Duke feared what she’d figure out next.
“You think my birth parents were important in some way?”
Not in the manner she meant, but … “Until we have the facts, I can’t say. But my mission was—is—to keep you safe, no matter what. I know leaving Mason behind to face danger was difficult. But it was necessary. Until we can find some way to throw Mathias off—”
“That’s his name, the leader of all those hooded creatures? And his group is the anarchy people.”
Duke winced. She’d been listening to his call. He hadn’t meant to let any of that slip. But it was late, his nerves were unwinding. Felicia distracted him until he could scarcely think. He must be more careful in the future.
“It’s not important.”
She wrinkled her nose at him. “That’s a lie! Because of this man, my life is in shambles—”
“I’m doing everything I can to stop him. Until then, you must stay close to me. Bram and the others will help.”
“So we won’t be … alone?”
Duke whipped his gaze to Felicia. Anxiety filled her expression.
So, she didn’t want to be alone with him. Duke knew why. He’d become very adept at reading the subtlest signs of a woman’s interest, and Felicia blared them against her will. He’d bet his last penny she was aware of him as a man.
Duke’s gut tightened. Being with Felicia was like getting closer to a shimmering ocean, beautiful, inviting, almost irresistible. But getting entangled with her would be like falling into a drowning pool. As much as his magical senses may decree otherwise, she belonged to Mason, loved him. Felicia would be a part of this war only briefly, and in a limited fashion. If he didn’t want to lose his family or keep her in danger, he had to shove his instincts aside.
“Once we reach safety, we won’t be alone,” he assured.
“Good.” She sighed. “Th-that’s good.”
He gripped the wheel tightly and stared at the shadowed road. “Felicia, I know you’re Mason’s. I respect that.”
Or he was trying to.
“Thank you,” she said stiffly. “Who will be with us? The friends you brought to the wedding? This Tynan and Lucan, who’s evidently not quite sane?”
Damn she had been listening intently. “Likely.”
“Who is Sabelle?”
Did he detect a note of jealousy? The possibility jolted him with an unexpected thrill. He should strive to alienate Felicia romantically. But he couldn’t bring himself to do it.
“Ice’s … wife.” And he’d already said far too much. The less she knew the safer she’d be. “Get some sleep. We have a long journey.”
An hour later, Duke’s phone rang. Bram. He answered almost instantly, hoping not to wake Felicia.
“Talk to me.”
“I’m glad that fucking nightmare is over. Your mother and Mason are safe. Ronan and Marrok escorted the guests into your library, away from windows overlooking the gardens or chapel so the humans wouldn’t see all the magical activity and lose their minds. It was a good plan.”
Despite the positive news, Bram’s tone told Duke everything had gone to hell. “But?”
“The Anarki halfheartedly fought us. Very odd. We cut through them in minutes. I think Mathias brought them merely to distract us. As soon as he could perform magic, he realized the Untouchable had gone. I chased him through the house as he teleported from room to room until he found the guests.”
Duke’s heart beat in his chest. Mathias with a roomful of humans. He wouldn’t bother to show them his magic, just kill them. The possibility sickened him. “And?”
“The good news is, Mathias didn’t show his parlor tricks to the humans or use them for target practice. The bad news? Mathias realized quickly that the bride was gone, and guests gave him her name. He knows Felicia is most likely the Untouchable.”
The words were like an earthquake in his chest. Everything inside Duke shifted. Any hope that she could easily return to her life imploded, turning to rubble. He’d known that letting go of his potential mate would be hell, but he’d been prepared to do it for Mason’s sake … and Felicia’s. But now that Mathias knew her identity, the game had changed irrevocably.
“Damn it,” he cursed in a low voice. “What now? We cannot just wait a few days, then return her to her world with a simple guard. She’d be in constant danger, along with every child she watches at her nursery school and—”
“I know.” Bram sighed heavily. “Take her to Ice’s. We’ll discuss the future there.”
“What’s there to discuss?” Duke’s mind raced. “She can’t simply be a human again until we find some way to neutralize the threat to her safety.”
Bram paused. “Does that really break your heart, the thought of her in our world, so near you?”
Even now, Duke was doing his best to tamp down his inappropriate thrill at that realization. “She doesn’t belong with us. With me. She’s not safe.”
“She’s no longer safe anywhere.”
Duke smashed his palm on the steering wheel, then winced as Felicia stirred. “I don’t want her in danger.”
“You may not have realized this, given your life of privilege, but you don’t always get what you want.”
“Fuck you,” he growled.
“That make you feel better?” Bram challenged.
Dragging in a breath, Duke tried to rein in his temper. Bram was merely the messenger in this situation, and as much as he wanted to tell the wizard off
again, it would do little good. Felicia had been inexorably dragged into their world, and he had no idea what to do next.
“I want to talk to that prick who ran off with my bride,” Mason shouted in the background. “Right now! He will return Felicia to me or so help me God … Give me that!”
After a loud fumbling, Mason hissed into the phone, “Simon?”
“Or you’ll what?” Duke returned. “Beat me for keeping Felicia out of danger?”
“She’s my bride. I should be the one to keep her safe, you horse’s ass! But you snatched her from me. Now the tabloids are atwitter about the fact you abducted Felicia from our wedding. She’s the subject of the worst innuendos. They captured some very clear pictures of the two of you. I saw how you were looking at her.”
Mason paused, clearly hoping Duke would bow, scrape, or otherwise apologize. He didn’t say a word.
“Bring Felicia back,” Mason demanded. “I’ll protect her. I don’t trust you. You’ve already banged every attractive woman from London to Edinburgh. You even seduced my French tutor, despite my crush on her. Nothing I feel matters one whit to you, and I know you’d think nothing of using this danger to lure Felicia to your bed.”
The French tutor? Yes, his thirtieth birthday. His transition from man to wizard. Duke barely recalled touching the woman. But that weekend, he could have shagged an entire sorority and been unaware of it.
“I’m sorry.”
“Too little, too late. You shagged Nicolette and the others for hours and returned them exhausted and dehydrated. I won’t let you do the same to Felicia. Or worse.”
Duke grimaced. He’d never meant to hurt Mason, but after that fateful weekend, their once close relationship had given way to animosity. Until now, he’d never known why.
Mason went on, “Given the way these people demolished the chapel, I can’t deny there’s danger. If it’s directed at Felicia, I know very important people in the government who can keep her safe. You’re not trained—”
“The man who attacked you earlier is looking for her now. Your government friends can’t help Felicia at all. I can. I won’t release her until she’ll be safe.”
“That’s absurd. I have connections to highly trained individuals at MI6 and—”