Defender (The Witches of Cleopatra Hill Book 11)

by Christine Pope

  “Phone,” he said. “Yours.”

  She sat up in bed and pushed back her tousled hair. “Oh. Guess I’d better check it. I don’t really feel like it, though.”

  Jack kissed her, savored the taste of her mouth as he held her close. She chuckled, a throaty sound that made him want to pin her back down against the sheets.

  The phone stopped ringing. “Oh, great,” she said after she pulled away slightly. “Now I’ve missed it.”

  “Go take a look, see who it was,” he said as he reached down to pick up his discarded clothes. “I’ll rescue the food we left out on the patio.”

  A nod, and she pushed herself out of bed and began to collect her own clothing and put it back on. A minute after that, she was headed down the hallway toward the kitchen.

  He followed almost immediately afterward, less than thrilled with the way he’d let himself just jump right into bed with Kate. Yes, it had been amazing, but he’d meant to check the wards before night fell, and now he’d have to decide whether it was worthwhile to take a flashlight out there and wander around in the darkness, or whether they could let it go for another night. After all, it was nowhere near the dark of the moon. They had time. Maybe.

  Kate’s phone remained silent. Hopefully, whoever had called had left a voicemail. Jack went out onto the patio and gathered up the remnants of their snack, including the half-drunk bottle of wine. Maybe they should make something a little more substantial, finish the rest of it. Absolutely no tingles from his spider sense, which meant the wards hadn’t picked anything up. As he’d thought, they would be fine here. And he wanted them to be fine here for a very long time. Maybe it was crazy, but right then all he could think of was how wonderful it would be to stay here, to somehow make their lives together in this place of open vistas and skies so blue, it almost hurt to look at them.

  “Jack!”

  Her cry was so frightened, so sharp with urgency, that he nearly dropped the bottle he held. He hurried into the kitchen, saw her standing there with her iPhone in one hand and a look of terror on her face.

  “What is it?” he demanded, setting down his burden of bottle and plate on the kitchen counter.

  In response, she held the phone out to him. “Listen.”

  Since the screen was unlocked, all he had to do was hit the little “play” arrow on the phone’s voicemail. From the speaker came a strange voice, thin and oddly sexless. “You thought you could hide? Your parents will suffer the same fate as your husband if you don’t come to their house. Now.”

  The message ended there.

  “We have to go,” Kate said, her eyes wide and frantic.

  “Kate, that’s exactly what this person wants you to do. You can’t take that kind of risk — ”

  “You heard the message! He — she — whatever that was, they said they were going to kill my parents! We have to go now!”

  He knew he couldn’t reason with her. This could be an empty threat, a trap set specifically to draw Kate away from the house in the Tubac, or the warlock could actually be with her parents, holding them hostage until their daughter appeared. Even if that were the case, Jack knew the warlock wouldn’t let them go. He’d kill all of them, and use their blood to power his nefarious schemes.

  “Kate — ”

  “No,” she said. “This is not…not negotiable. We’re going now. Jeff is dead, and your cousin Consuelo, and he’s going to kill my parents if I don’t do as he says. You want to think of a plan? Fine. Think of it as we’re driving.”

  Gone was the woman who’d moaned in his arms only a few hours earlier. This Kate was wild-eyed but determined. Jack had a feeling that if he didn’t agree, she’d try to steal his car keys from him and go on her own. Which of course would be suicide.

  “All right,” he said, holding up his hands. “All right. Call back and say you’re on your way. Then we’ll go.”

  She pulled in a ragged breath. “Okay.”

  As he watched, she pulled up the number on her contacts list and made the call. He could tell she must have gotten the answering machine, because she made no greeting, only said, “I’m leaving now,” and then ended the call.

  “Put your shoes on,” he said quietly, and she glanced down at her feet, startled, as if she hadn’t quite realized that she wasn’t ready to walk right out the door.

  “All right,” she said, and headed back toward the bedroom.

  Since he was completely dressed, he didn’t have to worry about such things. Instead, he went and fetched his gun and shoulder holster from where he’d stowed them in the top shelf of the coat closet, and strapped them on. He still had his doubts as to whether the gun would do much good, but he felt better having it with him.

  A moment later, Kate emerged from the bedroom. Her gaze flickered toward the shoulder holster, but she didn’t say anything, only gave a grim nod and then headed down the stairs that led to the garage.

  Jack followed. He remained silent, because he could tell that she was in no mood for conversation and would probably view any attempts at dialogue as yet another way to dissuade her from this mission. That was where she was wrong; he knew when someone’s mind was made up, and arguing with Kate would have only angered her more.

  They both got in the Jeep, and he backed out of the garage. Good thing the solar lights along the driveway had come on and were doing their best to drive back the darkness, because it was black as pitch out here, the moon still hidden behind the eastern hills. Once they were out on the lane that led to the property, he turned on his high-beams and increased his speed somewhat — but not, he guessed, fast enough for Kate.

  Even breaking the speed limit all the way to Tempe, they wouldn’t make it in less than two hours. A lot could happen in that amount of time. Kate’s face in the reflected glow of the dashboard was grim, lips pressed together. Clearly, she’d done the same mental math, so he wouldn’t bother to point it out to her.

  Should he call Luz? Or would putting the alert out to all the de la Pazes in the area only make the warlock decide they’d broken the terms of their agreement, thus making the Campbells’ lives forfeit? Jack knew they were dealing with someone who possessed unknown powers and resources. The last thing he wanted to do was put any of his clan members’ lives at risk.

  Damn it.

  His hands clamped down on the steering wheel, and he depressed the accelerator a little further. Now they were skating along at a hair under ninety. He knew that, in general, the state cops wouldn’t pull you over for that kind of speeding. Tickets over ninety were a lot more expensive.

  “Kate, reach into the back seat and get out the portable flasher light, then affix it to the roof. That should allow us to go a lot faster without worrying about getting busted.”

  Pale-faced, she nodded, then undid her seatbelt so she could twist around and retrieve the light from the rear seat. A moment later, she was unrolling the passenger-side window, and then placing the light on the roof. As soon as he could see the flashing red illumination reflected on the hood of the Jeep, he floored it, pushing the speedometer past one hundred, up to one hundred and five. He didn’t dare go faster than that; this vehicle was built for sturdiness and off-roading, not high-speed chases.

  Still, at this rate, they’d knock a good half hour off their travel time, maybe more. Carefully, he pried his phone loose from his pocket.

  “Who’re you calling?” Kate asked. She was hanging on to the “Jesus handle” above her, but looked a little more composed now that they’d increased their speed.

  “Luz. I need to let her know what’s going on.”

  “So she can send people to help? You can’t, Jack — the warlock told me to come alone. It’s bad enough that I have you with me.”

  Although he knew what she meant, the words stung a little. Still, he kept his voice calm as he replied, “I’m not asking her to come help. I know that would be taking too much of a risk. I’m just letting her know what’s going on. She knows not to spook this person.”

&nbs
p; With obvious reluctance, Kate said, “All right. Just — just make it really clear that she needs to stay away.”

  “I will.”

  He made the call. Luz didn’t answer immediately, which didn’t surprise him all that much — it was now past eight o’clock, the time when she and her husband David had probably settled down in front of the television to relax and take their mind off all the day’s turmoil.

  But then she picked up. “What is it, Jack?”

  Some days he didn’t know whether to curse or praise caller I.D. “I just wanted to let you know that Kate and I are on the way to Tempe. The warlock is at her parents’ house, threatening them.”

  “I’ll be right over.”

  “No, you can’t do that. I have no doubt that the warlock would sense you coming and react negatively. He’s expecting just Kate.”

  “And yet you’re with her.”

  “Because I sure as hell wasn’t going to let her go alone. But I’m just another warlock. You’re the prima of the de la Paz family. Big difference.”

  A long pause. Luz said, “I don’t like it, Jack.”

  “You don’t have to like it. Just understand. It’s going to be fine. This is our chance to stop this person before he does any more harm.”

  “And you’re ready to do that?”

  “More than ready. I’m done, Luz. This bastard is going down.”

  Luz’s sigh came clearly through the speakers. “Be careful.”

  “I always am.”

  He ended the call then before she could say anything else. In the seat next to him, Kate stirred.

  “I’m surprised she didn’t argue with you more.”

  “I’m not. She knows she’d lose.”

  Despite everything, Kate chuckled slightly. “Are you always this sure of yourself?”

  “Not always,” he replied, and risked a quick glance sideways at her before he returned his attention to the road. At the speeds they were going, he didn’t dare anything more than that. She was still pale, but now she looked more determined than frightened. “For example, I’m definitely not sure of myself when it comes to you.”

  She tilted her head so she could glance over at him. “Me? I would have thought it was pretty obvious how I felt about you.”

  “True, but we haven’t had much of a chance to talk about it.”

  “We will,” she said, then added, her voice firm, “after all this is over. We can talk about what we want to do next. I know we’ll make it work somehow, because I’ve seen how Colin and Jenny make it work. But we’ve got to make sure my parents are safe first.”

  “Of course.” He really couldn’t ask anything more of her than that. They’d just have to find a way to survive the next few hours.

  And then…well, they’d have to see.

  19

  Her parents’ house in Tempe looked innocent enough as they pulled up and parked at the curb. Kate saw that the porch light was on, along with several lights on the ground floor. Nothing remarkable about any of that, which she guessed was the whole point.

  She also didn’t notice any suspicious vehicles anywhere nearby, but what self-respecting evil warlock would leave so obvious a clue? Maybe he’d parked on the next street over. Hell, maybe he’d taken an Uber, or teleported. Who knew? At this point, how he’d gotten there didn’t really matter. How he left was the real issue at hand. If there was any justice in the world, he’d be taken out in a body bag.

  On the way here, she and Jack had discussed their plan of attack. They’d decided that Kate would approach the front door alone, while he went around to the rear of the house so he could reach the back door in the utility room and let himself in that way, using his inborn magic to open the door if it happened to be locked. Warlocks and witches could sense one another’s presence, but only when they got within a few feet of each other, which meant Jack should have the element of surprise on his side.

  “Try to keep him talking,” Jack told her as they used the bulk of the Jeep to shield themselves from any watchful eyes inside the house. She’d climbed across the driver’s seat so she could let herself out on that side; Jack had turned off the emergency light as soon as they got off the freeway in Tempe. “I’ll be there as quickly as I can, but there might be a small lag.”

  “What if he blasts me right away?” Kate asked, wishing her voice didn’t quaver so much.

  “That’s not the purpose of all this,” Jack replied. He rubbed a thumb over her palm, clearly trying to reassure her. “If he wants to use your blood, your energy, there’s a ritual involved. Hitting you with a fireball while you’re standing on the doorstep won’t do him any good.”

  She cracked a wry smile, trying to take some refuge in humor. “Oh, that makes me feel so much better.”

  “You’ll be fine. Trust me. Just go now.”

  Her heart began to pound, but she managed to sound calm enough as she said, “I will. See you in a minute.”

  As she came out from the shelter of the Jeep and began to walk up the path to the front door, she thought she saw a blur of darkness moving somewhere off to her right. Jack, shielded by some spell to conceal his presence? She didn’t dare look in that direction, though, just in case the warlock was watching from inside the house. No, she could only make her feet continue to carry her up to the door. As her hand moved to ring the bell, the door swung inward, although she didn’t see anyone there.

  Great. Not only was this warlock an evil son of a bitch, he was also apparently into cheap theatrics. Since she knew she had to go on, couldn’t turn back now even though her heart was hammering in her chest and her back was slick with cold sweat, she stepped inside. The door slammed shut behind her, and she jumped, then sucked in a breath and called out, “Mom? Dad?”

  No answer. Well, the lights were on in the living room, so she’d go there. Heart hammering in her chest, she turned right so she could head past the dining room and on toward her destination.

  Only to stop on the threshold, hand going to her throat. Sitting there, bound to two side chairs, were her parents. Her mother’s eyes met hers, pleading, despairing, tears staining her cheeks. The source of her despair became clear enough as Kate focused on her father, saw the way he sagged there, lifeless, blood pouring down his pale yellow polo shirt from the slit in his throat.

  A cry of despair choking in her throat, Kate surged forward — only to feel a hand like steel clamp down on her bicep, preventing her from moving any farther. She looked over her shoulder to see who had detained her, and her mouth dropped open.

  This had to be the warlock. Those dark eyes, baleful, somehow glaring with an evil reddish light, could belong to no one else. But…the warlock was no warlock at all, but a witch. Tall, almost as tall as Jack, but slender, and beautiful in a harsh way, like the basalt cliffs on the Rio Grande gorge above Taos, New Mexico.

  “Hello, Kate,” said the witch. Her voice was thin and sharp, but unlike the way it had sounded on the phone, definitely female. “I’m glad you were able to follow instructions.”

  “Who — ?” Kate broke off there. Did it really matter who this evil woman was? What mattered was stalling her until Jack could get in here. The words sounding far too shaky, she asked, “Why are you doing this?”

  “Revenge, of course. Revenge on my father’s behalf, and revenge for my brother and what you all did to him.”

  From the chair across the room, Kate’s mother watched this exchange with terrified eyes. Voice taut with fear and pain, she cried out, “We never did anything to anyone!”

  “Oh, forgive me,” the witch said. “Not you directly, but the family of the witch your son married. Guilt by association.”

  “Witch?” Lynda’s frightened hazel eyes fixed on her daughter. “Is she saying that Jenny is a witch?”

  “Mom, I — ”

  “You can explain everything to her later, Kate. Or perhaps not. I need the energy from both of you to complete the ritual, to return to my brother the power that was stolen from him.”

>   At those words, a horrible realization began to dawn within her. There were three men whose powers had been taken by Angela and Connor Wilcox, and yet Kate doubted this woman was here to avenge either of the Aguirre brothers. “You’re — you’re Matías Escobar’s sister?”

  “Half-sister, actually. His bitch of a mother stole him away from my Papa, came running here to America, hoping to hide from him and shelter amongst those weaklings, those Santiagos. But soon Matías will come into his own again, and will be able to take up his duties as his father’s heir, helping to run the Santiago clan.”

  Oh, God. It all made sense now. The man Caitlin had seen in that vision was Matías Escobar’s father, come here to seek his revenge, first on the Santiagos who had cast out his son, and then on the McAllisters for taking his powers away.

  And now as she focused on her surroundings — careful to avoid looking at her father’s pale, staring face, because she knew otherwise she’d break down in hysterics — Kate saw how a series of symbols had begun to be painted on the walls of the living room, symbols that dripped red with blood. Not as many as she’d seen in Jeff’s apartment, because, as the Escobar witch had just confessed, she was only partly done with the ritual. She’d need to kill Lynda, and then Kate, to summon the power she required.

  “Kate, down!”

  The words carried across the space, heavy with command. Jack barreled into the room, hands extended in front of him. He obviously intended to cast a spell and didn’t want her caught in the crossfire.

  Wrenching her arm from the Escobar witch’s grasp, Kate dropped to her knees. A burst of crackling energy jetted out from Jack’s fingers, catching the witch off guard. She stumbled backward, but instead of falling, she propped herself up against the wall and began to laugh. From behind her, Kate heard her mother let out a screech of fear and surprise.

  “Oh, you’ll have to do better than that,” said the witch, apparently ignoring her audience.

  “I intend to.”

  Not knowing what else she should do, Kate began to crawl across the floor, heading to the chair where her mother was tied up. If she could only get her free, then Lynda could run out the back door, go to fetch help.