by TL Reeve
Copyright
The Misfits
Psychic Retrieval Series
Copyright ©2020 TL Reeve and Michele Ryan
Cover Art ©2020 Simply Defined Art/Jay Aheer
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of R2R Publishing.
This book is a work of fiction. Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, locales, or events is wholly coincidental. The names, characters, dialogue, and events in this book are from the author’s imagination and should not to be construed as real.
Manufactured in the USA.
Blurb
Meet the Misfits: A group of highly trained agents working for the Psychic Retrieval Agency, better known as, PRA.
Their job; track down a group of child traffickers. But, there’s a catch. The Paranormal Bounty Hunters aren’t just trafficking children and shifters due to their unique abilities; they’re also selling them to the black market.
Fallon, and her Misfits, must infiltrate the black market and destroy it from the inside, however, before they can implement their plan, one member of their team is kidnapped.
Can this team of misfits put aside their petty difference to save their team member and take down the syndicate organization of PBH or will the US Government dismantle the Psychic Retrieval Agency first?
Note from Us
Dear Readers,
Welcome back to our Window Rock Universe. It’s been a long time coming for The Misfits. Michele and I have been super busy working on everything in our Window Rock world and our Black Ops: Project R.O.O.T series that it’s been chaotic trying to get every book done and out to you.
But, here we are! The Misfits is complete. It is a 67,000 word RH (Reverse Harem) Poly (polyamorous), book. There are bits and pieces in this book that some may remember from the very first BTS anthology, along with some changes.
We will slowly be adding new books to this series over the coming years, but it will be slow going. We have so many books we want to write, that doing one solitary series at a time isn’t conducive to how we work. So, please, be patient with us.
We hope you enjoy Fallon’s story along with her guys. Also, you’ll see some familiar faces as well in this book, so keep an eye out for them.
Until next time... Keep reading!
TL and Michele
Chapter 1
One year ago...
Fú zé or Fallon, as she'd rather go by, hated being the middle of nowhere. Nothing was appealing about Window Rock, Arizona. Nothing. First, the place was out in the middle of the desert. Second, no one wanted her. Not even her aunt. Then there were her brothers, Lu and Lyle, twins and the oldest, and Ji. Lyle was an established agent for the Psychic Retrieval Agency while Lu, well, she didn’t know what he did. It’d been all, cloak and dagger type shit and she wondered, if like her, he’d gone rogue. Lyle, however, at the age of twenty-one, was an agent for Psychic Retrieval Agency and had been saving people who were being hunted because of who they were. Ji, on the other hand, spent more time with his face in his computer learning coding from Keeley Raferty than he did making sure Fallon was okay. Which, she totally wasn’t—hadn’t been since the night her parents died in a “tragic accident.”
If only I hadn’t been so persistent about wanting to the movies with my friends...
Anyway, it was her fault.
It'd been a great movie with some of the hottest actors in Hollywood, and they were representing the shifter world too. Now, she couldn't even look at the movie or any type of movie or streaming series. Sage forced her to meet with Jasmine twice a week to work out her issues, however, if her parents' deaths were her punishment for only thinking about herself, should she work out her issues?
She didn’t think so.
When she came to the conclusion, she didn’t deserve to feel better, she’d started getting into trouble. Most of the time it’d been at the high school, but she’d had a few run-ins with the Sheriff of Apache County—Kalkin Raferty, also one of her brother’s bosses. For an old wolf, (he wasn’t really old considering wolves could live for hundreds of years, especially if they were mated) he intimidated the hell out of her, and he knew it too.
Unfortunately, those run-ins didn’t stop her from doing as she pleased. It’d been why she was at The Golden Dragon Dawn. Awful shop name, but everyone in Window Rock enjoyed the whole east meets west feel of the place and it also carried the product they needed. Well, technically, she didn’t need it Calliope did. Calliope “Calli’ Cockcraft—she snickered every time she said her best friend’s name—happened to be a witch and though she was completely unconventional and a little flighty, they were best friends.
“Calli?” Fallon tried to locate Calli in the darkness. For them being in the desert, the lighting sucked. She figured the moon should have illuminated the area better. “Where are you?”
“Right here,” Calli murmured behind her. “It worked!” Pride filled her friend’s voice as she crouched beside her.
“What worked?”
“My spell. All shifters have uncanny senses. The mere fact I snuck up on you, and got within inches of you, without you knowing, is incredible. Score one for the witches.” She held her fist out for a knuckle bump, while excitement glittered in her gaze.
Fallon rolled her eyes ignoring her comment about being a shifter, giving her a lackluster bump of the fist. Since the wreck, she’d repressed her shifter abilities too. She supposed it could be another form of punishment, but again, she wasn’t quite right in the head at the moment, so it didn’t matter.
“Stop rolling your eyes at me.”
“Whatever.” Fallon gave a playful shove in the general direction of her friend and heard the soft oomph, of Calli hitting the ground. A grin tugged at her lips. “Guess the spell doesn't work as well as you thought.”
“Lucky shot is all.”
In the two years since she arrived in Window Rock, an orphan in name, though not technically, the girl beside her had become her best friend, confident, a co-conspirator, and now, they were about to become hardcore criminals. Okay, maybe they were only petty thieves-er-whatever. It’d give them street cred though and in a shifter world, sometimes shifter street cred was worth more.
“Can you please not do any more spells on me?” Though she might suppress her tiger, Fallon still felt the uneasy snap of power surrounding her friend made her tiger nervous and put her on edge.
Calli had been born a witch. Her parents were pretty fucking powerful in their own right and had taught Calli how to use her gifts since she was little. However, she was still coming into her abilities. More often than naught, her friend’s spells tended to cause mass chaos—something they didn’t need tonight.
“But I have the perfect incantation to warn us when the Five-O approach.” Pride filled Calli’s voice.
“The Five-O?”
She sighed loudly, giving away their position, and raising Fallon’s hackles. “The police, Fallon.”
“I know what it means. I’ve never heard anyone refer to them as the Five-O. I think you watch way too much TV.”
“I totally wouldn't mind if they should show up if they looked like Nathan Fillion. He's hot.”
“You know he’s old.”
“He's not old. He's matured and he's hot,” Calli muttered.
“Well, don’t get your hopes up. From what I’ve seen of the Five-O around here, none of them are hot. Now can we focus on the task at hand?” The lie rolled off of her tongue with ease. There were more than a few hot deputies in Apache County.
“You’re no fun.” Calli pouted.
&nb
sp; Fallon placed a hand on her friend's shoulder and gave her a shove. Calli tipped over once again, falling onto the ground in a fit of giggles. It felt good to laugh. It made her forget, even for a brief bit of time how much her life sucked. Her only salvation was in finding those responsible for murdering her parents. Because see, the accident wasn't an accident. It was a cold-blooded murder. Of course, all the officers said it wasn't. The more she insisted it wasn't, the farther away her aunt pulled as did her brother. Eventually, she stopped talking about it. One day, she promised herself she'd figure it out until then, it was a heavy burden for a seventeen-year-old girl to take on by herself. The reason she blamed herself had been simple. If she hadn't wanted to go out, her parents wouldn't have had to leave the safety of their home to come get her.
If only I could remember everything that happened... When she told Calli about the accident, she'd wished several times she could see the car or the person or whatever hit them, killing her parents. Shifters were supposed to be pretty impervious, nevertheless, her parents weren't alive so...
After some research, her friend claimed she had found a spell to help Fallon with her memories. All she needed was an herb called Huperzia, which helped stimulate memory and thoughts. The only shop in Window Rock who routinely stocked enough of the herb for the spell had been the one right in front of them.
They’d both tried to be on the level and buy the herb, but they’d been denied. Herbs as powerful as Huperzia came with a warning of death and grave consequences if used inappropriately. Since they were still minors, they weren’t allowed to purchase it.
So, they came up with plan B.
Steal it.
They dressed according to the parts. All black, nothing shiny. Although, Calli's hair stuck out like a sore thumb. Her braided long, bright red hair lay against her back counteracting the black, skintight catsuit she wore. In contrast to her friend, Fallon wore a pair of skinny black jeans, the knees worn to threads, a pair of all-black Chucks and a black Foo Fighters t-shirt. Her long black hair was tied back in a haphazard bun fastened into place with black chopsticks.
“So, what’s the game plan?”
Fallon cringed. The girl didn't have a clue what the meaning of stealth was, or how speaking loudly could cause unwarranted attention. “You've got lookout, while I jimmy the lock.” She grabbed the lock pick set she bought off E-Bay out of her black backpack.
“Do you even know how to use those?” Calli gestured, her form shimmering in and out, to the tools in her hand.
“Yes.”
Calli cocked her to head to the side. “Other than watching a couple of YouTube videos and practicing on your bedroom door?”
“Then the answer would be no.” She picked the tools she thought might work and glanced at her friend. “I already scoped out the back door. It’s a simple lock. Should be easy peasy.”
“Til the Five-O roll up and arrest us for B&E.”
She hung her head, chuckling. “Seriously, you need to ease up on the TV. Fyi, no one talks like that. B&E? Where did you learn about that?”
“TV. I’m a loose cannon, Fallon. You should know this.” Calli puffed her chest out.
Gotta love a girl who admits to her crazy. It was one of the reasons they had become friends so quickly. She cupped Calli's cheeks with both hands, forcing their eyes to meet. “Be silent. Wait.” They both knew Calli couldn't be silent to save her life. However, right now, she couldn't utter a peep. “Do your loud whistle if you see or hear something. Promise me, you'll run like the crazy person you are if the Five-O appear.”
Calli smiled.
“Promise me, Calli. Otherwise, I’m going to call this off and we’re both going home,” she demanded.
Calli huffed, her warm breath brushed across her face. “I promise. How do you know where I am, anyway?”
Fallon released her hold and nodded. “You were never really gone. Plus, it's fading.” She stood and silently padded across the distance to the back door. Fallon kept checking the area to make sure no one saw them or spotted Calli. The last thing they needed was to get caught.
She knelt in front of the door and set to work. It was nothing like she’d seen in those stupid videos. And, of course, nothing like her bedroom door. She bit her bottom lip growing frustrated when it didn’t automatically give. She pressed her lips together, to keep the string of expletives from escaping her. She pulled the instruments from the lock, twisted their position and tried again. When the lock finally gave, she let out a breath and closed her eyes. About time, geez.
Twisting the knob with one hand, she gave Calli the thumbs up with the other, before she stepped into the shop. The first thing she noticed when she stepped inside, incense was burning, but it didn't cover the cloying smell of fresh and dried herbs. The second thing she noticed, no alarm. Fallon shoved the tools into her pocket and retrieved the little flashlight from the pocket on her backpack.
Fallon wrinkled her nose and sneezed several times. It would take her days to clear her senses, but it'd be worth it if the powder helped recover her memories of that night. She flicked on her light and glanced around. Several boxes were on the shelves along with clay pots, pestles and a myriad of other things.
She crossed to the silky red curtain and peeked into the main floor of the shop. The Huperzia was kept behind the counter, second shelf, third jar. The quicker she could grab it and get out, the better off they'd be. Glass shelves mingled with wooden ones, each having their healing and magical properties adorning them. The smell of incense grew stronger the closer she came to the counter. Fallon glanced up and gasped. A medium-sized Chinese lion gargoyle had been perched on the top of a shelving unit. In his or her mouth was the stick of incense and a small dish lay below it. As she took a step toward the counter, she swore the lion followed her movement.
Get a grip. You’re being paranoid.
Yeah, inanimate objects didn't move on their own. It was an ornamental decoration. East meets west kind of stuff. She snorted giving the creature a passing glance on the way to the counter. She stepped past the partition and went straight for the shelf where the herb was located. She pulled the jar down then went in search of a bag or box or something to put the essence into. Per ounce, the product cost twenty dollars, and though she was trying to be a hardcore criminal, she also couldn't live with herself if she didn't leave the money for it. Once she located a small plastic tube to put it into, she took two spoonsful. She sealed the small tube then closed the container and returned it to the shelf. After she placed a twenty-dollar bill on the counter next to the cash register, she started for the backdoor. The small, amount of herb she’d collected held all her hopes within the fine granules.
As she passed the shelves where the lion sat, she noticed it was gone. She frowned. Don’t do this to yourself. She knew she hadn't been seeing things. The smell of sandalwood incense still clung to the shop air. The intricately painted red, yellow, and the white lion had been there. She'd seen the green eyes. Fallon shook her head before rubbing the back of her neck. It'd been a long, stressful night. The guilt of having to steal a stupid herb to find her parents killers and allow her to seek forgiveness weighed her down.
She locked the door behind her and stepped out into the warm evening air and sighed. A bolt of relief shot through her, momentarily allowing her to drop her guard. At least she could breathe now.
“Freeze, don’t move.” She knew that voice. “On your knees!” Kalkin Raferty stood across from her. The snarl curling his lip exposed the shiny curved canine of his wolf. Of all the people who could have come after him, it had to Kalkin. The cranky, grumpy sheriff didn't like her from the get-go, but she hadn't taken it personally, it didn't appear he liked anyone, besides his family.
Then, it dawned on her, where did Calli go? Had they gotten her too or had she run to safety.
“Do it now.” Kalkin stepped toward her, his gun pulled.
Fallon dropped to her knees. Grime bit into her skin but she ignored it. She hoped Calli
got away. She didn't want her friend to get into trouble. Calli had an amazing life in front of her. Fallon, on the other hand, well she was TBD—To Be Determined. Her tiger, the same one she'd pushed away, surged within her. The beast demanded she shift and attempt to flee, yet the punishment would be worse. Maybe when Kalkin realized Fallon had paid for the herb, he wouldn’t be so hard on her.
The big guy rushed her, kicking her bag to the side and pushing her down to her stomach. Kalkin slapped a pair of cuffs on her wrists before he patted her down. He removed the lock picking kit from her back pocket along with her flashlight. The lavender herb lay beside her in her backpack. In those few seconds, while Kalkin continued to check her over, she realized her hopes were dashed. Now she'd never figure out what happened that night or who killed her parents.
Two distinct sets of footsteps grew near. “Guess what I caught?”
Shit. Of all the deputies who could be with Kalkin, it had to be Jase. Grumpy and grumpier. Ugh.
“Look who I caught meandering around the shop,” Jase said.
“Ah, Miss Cockcraft, how fortuitous,” Kalkin said.
“Where one goes, so does the other,” Jase taunted.
“Did you honestly believe you’d get away with this, Fú zé?” Kalkin stood her up. “I thought you were smarter than this. All of the businesses have alarms. Some of them have alarms designed by Keeley.”
Yeah, she hadn't thought about it at a time. Keeley created systems shifters couldn't hear or sense out. There was silence and then there was Keeley silent. They were also set on a hair-trigger. From the moment Fallon stepped over the threshold she'd been caught and now she was done for.
“Don’t include Calli,” Fallon whispered. “I’ll cop to all of it.”
Kalkin stared down at her before sliding his gaze to his brother. “All of it?”
“Yes.” She nodded. “It was my idea.”
“Take her home, Jase. Make sure her parents know where she was.” Kalkin tugged Fallon toward his Enforcer. “I’ll meet you at the station.”