The thought of choosing, giving up her life with Markus and the Enforcers or a life with Jackson choked her. She might as well have the option between being blind or deaf, both robbing her of something important.
Her job with the Enforcers challenged her, stretched her limits. Markus refused to accept mediocrity, demanding her absolute best. And yet, it was safe and predicable. What they expected of her never changed. She’d spent her whole life training for this career.
Sometimes, though, the unknown road was the only choice. If she crashed and burned then so be it. At least she tried.
“Yes. Yes he does. I would trade my life for his if it came down to it.”
An eternity passed as Markus weighed her answer, searching her soul to discover the truth of her words. He sighed, sad, yet determined.
“Well, if that’s how you feel.” She braced herself for his next words, expecting him to demand she turn herself and Jackson in to the Enforcers. After all, she’d been harbouring a fugitive as well as aiding and abetting one.
“I’ll help you.” She blinked at him, unable to speak.
He’d help them? Why would he do that? Was his loyalty to her that strong, even after she basically told him Jackson meant more to her? The surprises kept coming during this conversation with him.
He continued on, “We’ll find the proof, prove his innocence. If you trust him then so do I. Your judgment has proven accurate in the past.”
“We do have some proof. Or at least different leads to follow. We think some werewolves might be involved.” Julia gave him the rundown on Gavin, leaving his name out.
Markus smiled, a wild, feral curving of his lips that didn’t bode well for his prey. She’d seen that look many a times, usually just before he cracked a case wide open and the offending party lay figuratively broken. No matter how tough, Markus became relentless in his pursuit.
He replied, “That’s fantastic. Well, not that this happened, but that you were able to track all this down in such a short time. I think I can work with this. Do you have copies to give me?”
Eagerness shone in his eyes and she half expected him to rub his hands in glee. Obsessive Markus amused her, when he didn’t drive her nuts. He’d forget to eat, randomly disappeared, ignored her calls and generally acted like a sullen teenager.
“Talk to Nathan. He’s got all the files. There’re audio recordings and video footage. Some of it isn’t legal though, not that it’d bother you. But we can’t use it in court. Can you also tell my family and Nathan I’m fine? I’m sure they’re worried about me.”
“They’re not the only one. I can’t believe you’ve been in contact with Nathan and not me.” Genuine hurt crept into his voice.
“Pure chance I talked to him. He bugged a login he knew I’d use. I’ve tried to keep a low profile. I don’t want anyone I care about becoming a target.” She beseeched him. “I just didn’t know who to trust. There’s been some pretty suspicious stuff happening within the Coterie.”
Markus raised an eyebrow, interested enough in this new development to push aside his hurt. “What do you mean, suspicious? Also in the notes?”
“I’ve included everything Jackson has. The stuff about the Coterie, I found while snooping through the database. They’ve been keeping dossiers on human military bases and science buildings. The odd thing is, I’ve tried searching online for some of these sites and found nothing, not a single trace of them existing. They have files about the personnel, schedule rotations, security and clearance levels. I also found evidence the Coterie sanctioned hits against several of these places worldwide. What I found really strange was the lists of missing people: mage, human and werewolf with notations about possible Fae and demons abductions. None of it makes sense as to why they deemed missing people as classified. This should be common knowledge so the Enforcers can search for them.”
The whole situation bothered Julia. Why hide this information? And more so, why destroy military and research facilities?
Add in the fact that only the leaders of the Mage Coterie, Mara and Roan, had access to these files (not all thirteen members of the Coterie) made it more suspect.
As with every government, there were several levels of management.
The top thirteen consisted of two humans, Felix and Paige; two mages, Mara and Roan; two werewolves, Logan and Aaron; two vampires, Augustus and Leonora; four Fae, Titania, Una, Mab and Duessa (two for Light and two for Dark Fay); and one demon, Oonis. They governed over all of Earth and recognized no borders.
Below them, it broke up depending on the race. Mages had their levels sectioned off according to region. A prime minister had a region such as the one who took care of Canada. Under the prime minister, there were ministers who took care of each province. Each main region had a different amount of ministers depending on the division of the area.
Canada had thirteen ministers for each province and territory. The United States had fifty ministers for each state. They found following human boundaries made it easier. Enforcers were then assigned to and protected the prime ministers and ministers along with policing the main population. The Coterie leaders had their own private squad of Elite Enforcers.
Of course, the werewolves had a different setup. The alpha had a region or territory as they liked to call them, but not divided the same way as the humans or mages. Five Top Alphas controlled Canada and six in the United States. Under them were lesser alphas who had almost as much authority as the Top Alpha and each ran a different city and pack.
Sylvia’s pack leader was Derek and one of the Top Alphas with all of Ontario as his region. The only ones above Derek were Logan and Aaron, the Werewolf Coterie, although he had four equal in power to him. It also was no coincidence the werewolves mainly had male Alphas. The strongest and most aggressive lead a pack, able to hold them together when their animal instincts threatened to overwhelm them. Africa, however, had the lone female Top Alpha.
Markus interrupted her mental musings. “I need to see this information immediately. I’ll talk to Nathan and have it sent to me. Send him a text, tell him I’m authorized.”
He glanced down to the human lying at their feet and she followed his gaze. She resisted the urge to kick him, dismissing it as petty impulse. But damn, how she wanted to.
“What are you gonna to do with him? I wanna be there when he’s interrogated.” She told him, feeling a little vindictive.
“Our methods can be…unpleasant at times. You’re not ready to see that.”
Again with the shielding of her tender sensibilities; the grittier side of their job too harsh for her. She stopped being a child the day the Enforcers executed Irene. Markus refused to acknowledge it.
“I beg to differ. It wasn’t you he threatened to beat and rape. A large, vicious part of me would love to see him properly interrogated. Men like him are scum and I feel no sympathy for him.” She bared her teeth, relishing the idea of his pain.
A raised eyebrow from Markus stopped her short. It was insubordination to demand anything from her superior and refusing his orders; both of which he wouldn’t tolerate.
As much as she hated to admit it, Markus was her superior and his word law. Ignoring chain of command wasn’t an option, not if she wanted to continue as an Enforcer.
“I’m sorry. You’re right. Make sure it hurts.”
He grinned and the cold light in his eyes awakened her reptilian brain, the one that ran on basic instinct. It vividly reminded her of his unknown depths, hidden pieces of his personality. Was it a mistake to trust him? She’d seen firsthand his ruthlessness, his ability to bend the rules when they got in his way. The deep rage was new to her, though. He’d always had complete control, no matter the situation.
However, he’d never done anything to intentionally hurt her, minus some misunderstandings. Silently sighing, she realized it was pointless to regret a possible outcome. If he betrayed her, she would deal with the fallout if it occurred.
“Do you need help getting him out of here?
” She asked, not expecting him to say yes. His magic was, of course, much stronger than hers. Also, as he said, the wards on the building were too weak to cause him any issues.
Sure enough, he shook his head then held his arms out for another hug. She stepped into his embrace, wishing, for a brief moment, it was a few months ago. A less complicated time when her worries consisted of avoiding scrutiny and solving a case.
However, she didn’t want to wish away her time with Jackson; a child’s fantasy, turning back time.
Moving apart, she walked to the door and waited while Markus casted invisibility. First on the human and then himself, both faded from sight, hidden from all except her. The shimmering forms moved towards the door. She unlocked it, holding it open. Once they exited, she followed, closing the door behind her.
Well, finding a room to hide in didn’t alleviate my stress, she thought ruefully.
Chapter Twenty-One
JACKSON FIDGETED ON the bed. He checked his phone. Yep, turned on and able to get text messages. Gone for hours and he hadn’t heard anything from her. He realized he was worrying for nothing. Julia was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. She didn’t need a man to rescue her, but damn it was hard to switch off the protective instincts.
It wouldn’t be so bad if he had something to occupy his time. The TV had nothing but mind-numbing shows and there weren’t any books to read. He tried surfing the net; his mind kept wandering, imagining all the worst case scenarios.
The soft scratch of a key entering the lock had his body on alert. Reaching out to the wards, he identified the other person with ease.
Calm. Project calm and relaxation.
His back against the wall, one leg bent and the other one splayed on the bed. A swift finger comb through his hair, trying to control the unruly locks, although he doubted it helped.
He didn’t want Julia thinking he’d spent most of his time worrying, which he had. Dangerous situations were the norm due to their job, a fact he accepted. Not worrying though meant he didn’t care at all. And he did care. Very few made a home in his heart and he cherished each one of them.
A small sigh of relief escaped him when he saw her unharmed and in one piece. Then all ability to breathe left him. She was over-the-top gorgeous. He already thought she was good-looking, but in that dress, with that hair, and was that the top of a stocking he saw when she moved? His brain short-circuited. All blood flow now swiftly moved south.
“Wow. You look...” He wasn’t even aware he spoke out loud until she gave him a shy smile and a blush crept up her neck and onto her cheeks. How was it possible the blush made her even sexier? He wasn’t sure he’d survive the night.
His lack of response made her bolder as she sashayed toward him, causing the dress to rustle around her legs, giving him peeks of her stocking clad thighs. He couldn’t tear his eyes away, obsessed with seeing a hint of skin.
“You like?” She asked archly, stopping just out of arm's reach. She did a slow twirl and his heart about stopped when the front of the skirt flared. He caught a glimpse of her garter belt and top of her thigh high stockings. Oh yes, she’ll be keeping those on after the dress comes off. He reluctantly dragged his eyes from her lovely legs and let them wander the rest of the way up, wondering how long until he could get her naked.
“So, how was your night?” He asked offhanded. His worries now paled in comparison to having her here. Mustering up the energy to care was difficult when all he wanted to do was pleasure Julia.
“How about we talk about my night later... much, much later. I have other plans in mind.” The wicked grin she gave him caused his heart to pound in anticipation. Oh, he liked this side of her, the seductive siren toying with a willing victim.
“I’m yours to command. Do with me what you will.” He stood up and discreetly adjusted; his pants tight and uncomfortable. How soon until he could get rid of them? First, though, he wanted to peel the dress off her.
He narrowed the gap between them and wrapped his arms around her, drew her in tight. A tiny nip on her neck as he enjoyed the light salty taste. Licking her better, he swirled his tongue on her skin. A deep moan from her encouraged him to kiss his way up her neck. He nibbled on her earlobe before stealing a kiss from her lips. Deft fingers worked the zipper on the back of her dress while he had her distracted and he smiled against her lips as the dress dropped to the floor. The smooth expanse of her back felt like silk against his hands and he moved down to cup her ass.
“Wait.” He said as he pulled back. “Let me look at you. I want to keep this picture in my mind forever.”
He’d never forget this moment. So damn sexy, standing in front of him in her strapless black bra and matching thong, stockings and garter belt. A hint of lethal with her knife strapped to her thigh.
The image burned into his mind, one he’d take to his death-bed.
WAKING UP NEXT to Julia, could anything bring Jackson more pleasure? Having her in his bed, in his life brought everything into focus for him like finally discovering the hidden image in a stereogram. He’d concentrated on his career for so long he’d wholly overlooked what was missing.
She laid on her side with one knee drawn up and her mouth slightly open, a light snore indicated she continued sleeping. How adorable. He hated to wake her. Instead, he let her sleep for a bit long as he made breakfast for them both. Nothing fancy, eggs, bacon and toast.
Flipping the switch to turn off the automatic timer for the coffee maker, he inhaled the rich aroma as he poured himself a cup. He found himself humming while he cooked, something uncommon for him (especially before he had a coffee!) and it dawned on him he’d never felt so content, so peaceful before. As if he’d lived in a fog before Julia.
Sure he’d been happy, he enjoyed his job and had some great friends, but now, there was new beauty to everything. Hell, even making breakfast was a joy simply because he was making it for her. Smart enough to recognize this as the “honeymoon” stage of their relationship, he hoped it never faded.
Julia rustled in bed and realized this was the first time he’d woken before her. Most mornings she was up, coffee in hand for him, and eager to face the day.
“Wake up, sleepyhead. Breakfast is cooking.” He grinned at the unintelligent mumbling coming from her direction. Guess she wasn’t such a chipper morning person after all. She just put on a good front. Chuckling, he listened to her stumble to the bathroom then focused his attention back on breakfast, not wanting to overcook the eggs.
A few minutes later Julia wrapped her arms around his waist and snuggled into his back. Her lips pressed against his shoulder blade. Closing his eyes, he savoured the moment.
His previous girlfriend disliked casual touching, thought it lead to sex. He tried to explain it made him feel connected to her, but in her mind he was a horny teenager unable to control himself.
Turning to steal a kiss, he jumped in pain as a small splatter of bacon grease hit his exposed back.
“Ouch! Out, woman. You’re a distraction” He turned back to the stove, adjusting the strips.
A firm swat on his ass followed by a giggle had him shaking his head. Twisting to retaliate, he found Julia already disappeared from the kitchen.
“Next time, don’t blame the innocent bystander.” Her voice drifted to him followed by a suspicious sound, like laughter covered by a pillow.
Breakfast now cooked, he loaded up two plates and brought them to the small table. Julia waited for him, a sweet smile curving her lips, one meant solely for him. In a tank top and panties, she curled a finger at him, indicating she wanted him closer. Leaning down, a plate in each hand, he received a heart pounding kiss, one that called forth thoughts of sin and decadence, dark nights and champagne.
Damn, what a way to greet the morning.
With great reluctance, he straightened, separating their lips. The food went on the table and he drew her into the center of the room. While he’d rather spend time exercising in a more intimate manner, ignoring the morning
routine wasn’t possible. The werewolves already proved why he shouldn’t rely on magic to save his ass.
Of course, he kept sneaking glances whenever Julia bent over or raised her arms.
To watch her form, make sure she stretched properly. He told himself, not believing the lie for a second. He loved the way her body moved, so graceful and in control, like a ballet with an audience of one.
Once done, they ate breakfast in silence. Jackson avoided working out with a full stomach, a surefire way of cramping. Reheating it with magic was a favourite trick of Victor’s but Jackson didn’t like the vaguely altered tasted.
Cold food no longer bothered him, conditioned to it after so many years of stakeouts. Skipping them altogether also occurred on several occasions; another argument starter with the previous girlfriend. Someone who understood his bad habits and crazy work routine was refreshing, a peaceful interlude.
Placing her hand on his knee, Julia gave him a recap of last night’s events.
And all feelings of tranquility and contentment evaporated, like moisture in a desert, as he struggled to control his anger. He wanted to beat that human senseless for threatening and attempting to abduct her. Markus couldn’t make the interrogation painful enough to satisfy Jackson.
As she continued, unaware of his less than pleasant ideas, she told him why her partner casted Devouring Plague. Or, at least, why he pretended to so.
Markus hadn’t tried to kill him.
This shifted the whole picture, rearranged the pieces in a way he didn’t understand.
One thing he knew for certain, Markus had an agenda, one involving Jackson and that scared him. He’d be an idiot if he assumed for a second the senior Enforcer just wanted to help him.
At least he was willing to dig deeper. Maybe he would find something they couldn’t, his contacts throughout the magical community vast and enviable. As a higher rank in the Enforcers, he was privy to more information than Jackson or Julia. Even Victor had access to so much before he hit the ceiling.
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