by Lauren Dane
“Let’s head home anyway. We can talk to Gibson and Jack about this newest development.” And he could let his guard down a little at home surrounded by those he trusted implicitly.
“Stop. Stop the car!”
Max jerked the car to a halt with a squeal of tires barely in time to stop his foolhardy wife from falling out the door she attempted to fling open, even as the car still moved.
“What the fuck.” He slammed the locks on. “Damn it, Kendra, you’re going to get killed.”
“Turn! Turn here. Now, now!”
The cars that had been following screeched to make the turn he did. His phone began to ring and he thrust it at Kendra. “You have to tell them whatever you’re doing.”
“Just follow us. I feel him. At the end of the thread I connected to him.” She disconnected and if he hadn’t been trying not to kill them both, he’d have laughed at the expression he knew had to be on Gibson’s face.
Her head fell back against the seat and he began to slow. Her hand reached out, grabbing his wrist and digging in. “He’s out there. Don’t stop until I say. Keep heading…get on…get on 93, north, yes, north. Go, Max!”
He barely made the onramp, but he sped north on her orders. His cell rang again and this time, he flipped on the stereo to answer it that way. “De La Vega.”
“Mind telling me where we’re going?” Galen’s voice sounded. Kendra had her eyes closed, lines of concentration on her face so he didn’t want to disturb that.
“She’s taking us to her father I think. Call Rosemary and let her know what’s going on. Get Gibson on it too. You may as well stay on the line and listen so you know where we’re going.”
Renee spoke in the background, making the calls and Max smiled for a moment. The sisters worked together.
“Off!” She sat bolt upright, pointing at an off-ramp.
He bit off an annoyed comment and took the ramp, keeping it slow, listening to her and letting her lead.
They hit dead-ends a few times, and he’d have to stop and let her listen to whatever inner map she had until they could find a way around it.
It was incredible that the two cars following had kept with them the whole time. Gibson would never let him hear the end of this.
She opened her door, having used her magick to override the locks he’d thrown back near his parents’ house. At first she just stood there, listening, cocking her head. And then she was off like a shot, down a long block.
Cursing a blue streak, he managed to get the jag parked, grab the keys and follow, only barely resisting his urge to yell her name.
Up ahead of him, she ran, graceful and full of fury. Her legs were long as she ate up the pavement but his were longer, he’d catch up to her soon enough. Gibson was craftier as he reached Kendra first, obviously having taken a shortcut through a nearby alley.
Her rage pulsated not only through their bond, but in the air all around her. Her sorrow and confusion too. She tried to maintain a hard-assed stance, but he knew this had to hurt her. How could it not? His cat clawed his insides, trying to get to her to fix whatever was wrong.
Kendra saw them, standing not too far away. She wondered at Max’s ability to not scream her name as she’d taken off, but thank goodness he’d kept quiet so she could get the drop on them.
She’d spooled up her power as she ran, letting her cat keep focus on her quarry as she got her magick ready to go. When she skidded to a halt, she sent out a blast of energy strong enough to knock her father on his ass.
Susan turned, seeing her and sneering. She sent a blast Kendra’s way, but now an entire jamboree of jaguars lived in her, there was water nearby, trees, grass, apartment buildings and houses. So much energy, she drew a small wisp of it, pulled it into herself and rebounded that blast back at Susan.
Because the magic Susan had tossed was so vile and toxic, it stuck to the other woman like shit. Apt.
But she wasn’t totally out. Susan hit her again twice more and her father aided that bitch, amping her power up.
Dimly in the back of her mind she felt Max through their bond. Max barreling down the block getting closer and closer.
It burned, blacking her vision out for a long moment before she grabbed more of the energy around her and brought it into herself. She allowed herself to tap into her cats, just a small bit and blasted back at them both so hard, Susan ended up with her husband, on her ass, on the ground.
The pounding of Max’s approach vibrated through her shoes, up her legs. The wash of his energy, of his fury boiled over, shoving everything from his way. He was a badass freight train of pissed-off protective alpha male.
“Hey, guess what? I got married. That sound is my husband coming.”
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” her father asked, his voice thready and freaked. He understood who she was. There was no way around it. She knew how much she looked like her mother and Renee.
That he could be so nasty, even after what he’d done, made her crazy. It felt as if her cat actually paced inside her body. “What, no tearful reunion? I might have to go to therapy now.”
He tried to move, but found himself stuck to the spot. She felt him try to draw on her and shocked him, slamming him out so violently he stepped back, holding the hand he’d been working the spell with. She’d pay for that later. A nosebleed had started, but the nice thing about this shifter business was that it stopped nearly immediately.
She stood back as the blur moved to the side, grabbing her father by the scruff of his neck and slamming him against the side of a nearby car setting off the alarm.
“I got that,” Renee said quietly as they arrived, using her energy to short the alarm out.
Kendra realized how exposed and in the open they were. But Max was barely holding on to his human skin as his protective instincts raged within him. She’d need Gibson’s help to get the situation under control.
“Let’s get this away from the noise,” Gibson said carefully to Max, staying in Max’s line of sight, urging calm. His hands were loose and at his sides, his gaze averted from Max’s eyes, accepting the other man’s dominance.
Max seemed to relax a tiny bit as Jack spoke up from just to the side where he’d been waiting with Renee. “We’re out here in the street where anyone can see.”
“Over here.” Rosemary approached with Mary, they stood at the entrance to a nearby park.
“You made it fast,” Max murmured to them as they hustled Andrew and Susan over, cats and wolves fanning out to set a perimeter.
“Mary sat up at dinner and told me to get in the car. We were driving to your place when we got the call. Renee talked us here.” Rosemary shrugged before turning her gaze back to where Susan and her father were. “You are to move carefully to that park and sit on the bench you’re told to. If you don’t, I’ll drain you until you can’t move on your own.”
Kendra had never seen her aunt so vicious, but it was clear she meant it and they both seemed to understand she was serious, even if Susan had a look on her face so obnoxious, Kendra wanted to slap it off.
“Yes, let’s!” She leaned in close as they walked, keeping an eye on them. Max growled, putting himself back between them again.
Mary did something and the sounds around them dampened. That was so cool, Kendra planned to ask her about it later. “This will give us some privacy for a time.”
For now she had other concerns. She motioned to Max, who had his arm around her waist, his lips pulled back in a snarl as he looked toward Susan and her dad. “Now here’s the thing. He’s a protective alpha jaguar shifter. They don’t come in other flavors. And he’s really mad. At you. Which, well, I guess that means it sucks to be you.”
Mary flanked the bench on one side, Rosemary on the other. “We’ve got it handled for now.”
They needed to move this along or get inside. The nearest safe place was fifteen miles behind them, though, so it was time to improvise.
“Now back to me for a moment, I’m a witch too.
Surprise! But you knew that, didn’t you, you naughty boy. So you should also know that if you try to use any magic on anyone here I’ll suck you dry and not feel a thing. If not me, Mary will, or even Aunt Rosemary. I’m sure she’s got a lot of anger with you over that murder thing. You know the thing, where you and your bitch killed our mother. Oh that was quite out of bounds. So you need to understand this.” She focused on Susan, who was far more powerful than her father. “You’re some piece of work, aren’t you? I should throw you to these very unhappy boys to deal with.”
It was Galen who growled that time, and satisfaction bloomed through her belly at the way Susan flinched.
“So to wrap up, these people are my family. I will kill you to save them. And I can. I’ve learned a bunch of nifty new spellcraft. It would be self-defense. So keep your shit together, don’t cause a scene and you might just end up walking away alive at the end.”
“Would it be easier to take care of this piece of shit if I make him bleed?” Max’s voice would have scared the hell out of her if she hadn’t known him.
“Thank you, baby, but I think we’re okay for now.” If blood were spilled, it could be a lot harder to keep Max and the other shifters calm.
Max leaned down, getting right in her father’s face. “You have harmed my woman and my sister. You seek to harm them still. Why should you be allowed to live?”
“That’s a good question,” Jack added.
“Not that I’m opposed to killing him or anything. But how about we get some answers first? Like say what they’re doing here? Where his compatriots are? Who these contacts that have been routinely attacking our women are? Those little details.” Gibson slowly, making sure Max saw it and didn’t react negatively, put himself in between the two men, taking over.
Max reluctantly moved back, shifting to stand in between Kendra and her father.
“I need to see him,” she murmured, sliding her hand up and down his arm. She’d never seen him so close to the edge. That such a controlled man would be on the verge of shifting because of a perceived threat to his mate. No one had ever reacted to protect her the way he did.
“He wants to hurt you.”
She nodded. “He does. But he can’t right here.”
He brushed his lips against hers. “I’m not going to let him hurt you again.”
She nodded again. “I know. Thank you, Max.”
He seemed to be satisfied with that. Sort of. “If he tries anything, Gibson, anything at all, break his fuckin’ neck. Not enough to kill, just you know, paralyze him. He can still talk with a broken spine.”
Kendra took Renee’s hand and they cautiously moved closer, far more concerned about the enraged and protective males than with their father.
She bent, taking her shoes off, immediately getting a boost to her energy. The cold woke her up, sharpened her focus. “That’s better. So you know, they’re not joking about the broken-neck thing. So let’s just quit any ideas of trying to get away without giving us answers. If we can do this right, you might live. Maybe.”
Renee waved at Andrew. “Hi there, Dad. I wish I could say it was nice to see you. But since you murdered Mom and have been cooperating with people who tried to kill me, I have to say I’m feeling far less fond of you these days.”
He tried to come off as upset and rude, but his fear stank. It didn’t stop him from using yet another chance to lash out at his youngest daughter. “Renee, what are you doing with these people? I thought you knew better than to consort with thugs and idiots. Look at them! Not even human. Shifters. For God’s sake, they’re lesser beings and you give your body to them. And that trash who says she’s your sister, how do you know that for sure?”
Kendra snorted. “Thank goodness I got my intelligence from Mom’s side of the family. I think the question is, what do you think you’re doing?”
“I don’t have to tell you anything. You’re no one to me.”
Gibson punched him in the face.
“Thank you, Gibson. I feel much better now.” Kendra turned back to her father. “Now, shall we do this again? Why don’t we start with why you killed our mother?”
“You can’t win. We’re stronger.”
Mary snorted. “Please. Andrew, you have no real concept of your power and how little you have.” She touched him and Susan sprang to try and keep them separate. Rosemary grabbed a hank of Susan’s hair and yanked her back into place.
“Don’t move again, bitch.”
Kendra sighed. “You’re so silly. You’re not here by choice, are you? Your nose isn’t bleeding because you were so strong you could hold a shifter back when he wanted to punch you. I don’t have a dick to measure against yours so let’s just not play this game.”
He sent a bolt of energy toward her, knocking her sideways. Max made a choking sort of roar that freaked her father out so much, making him so pale, Kendra wondered if he’d pass out. If this didn’t move forward soon, Max would shift and eat him or just flay him alive. Or whatever.
“Oh, now that was ill-advised.” She dusted her hands off while Gibson increased the pressure of his grip on Andrew’s throat. “Dumb of both of us. I shouldn’t have let my guard down and you shouldn’t have thought you’d be successful. The only reason you’re not dinner for my husband right now is me. You got that?”
“Use my energy, Kendra. I know you’re holding back and I’m gonna kick your ass if you don’t do what you need to take care of this,” Max spoke quietly in her ear. She wanted to speak with him in private, but she didn’t want to take her attention away from Susan. The hit had tasted like her magic, not his. Her muddy, disgusting magic fueled most likely by the bloody nose they’d caused. She squeezed Max’s hand.
“Gibson, can you stand back a moment?” Mary asked.
Mary did something, Kendra thought she altered the molecules around her father’s body, starving him of oxygen for just a short burst. Kendra was already skirting the line by using magick to hold him in place, though she told herself it was self-defense. Mary had a different view of her magick and how she could use it. The cost would be between her and the universe, and it was one she willingly and knowingly took on. Kendra was not so vain that she’d tell the other woman what to do in this situation.
He looked to her, his eyes wide as he wheezed until she let go, watching him choke for air.
“You only have yourself to blame. Just be glad he didn’t break your neck instead.” Kendra shrugged.
“Bebe, I may have to start bringing you along when I go out on jobs.” Gibson grinned back at her, his grip on her father’s throat again.
And with that three more mages entered the park. Kendra knew this because she felt the swell of their intent, the beginnings of something dark and unwholesome.
“Get down!” She screamed as she, Mary, Rosemary and Renee stood in a line, keeping Susan and their father behind them. “Don’t you let these assholes get away.” She motioned back at her father and Susan.
That’s when Jack popped Susan one first, and then while Andrew was still shocked, Max growled and punched her father.
“They’re out and you better watch your pretty ass,” Jack called as Max materialized behind her. Wolves and cats fanned out, flanking the three mages who’d entered the park.
“Don’t get too close. Max, if you get yourself hurt I’m going to hurt you even more.”
He snorted in her ear, standing right behind her, his arm around her waist. “And if you don’t draw energy from me, I’ll hurt you.”
Tough guy. If they lived through this, she might go for some old-fashioned punishment. Heh.
“You are not welcome here,” Rosemary called out, and they hit her so hard she lost her footing, falling back.
Slices into her skin.
The coppery tang of blood in the air, in her nose.
Max pushed around her and ran toward the man who’d made her bleed. One moment he wore his human skin, the next he was his cat, black and sleek with razor sharp teeth and claws that gleamed i
n the yellowy light of the street lamps.
He hit one of them, taking them down with a scream, a garbled scream and crunch.
She lost focus for a moment and that cost her dearly as she took a hit from one of the remaining mages.
It hurt. So much she could barely hold on to her magick, but she did and she yanked it back from the mage trying to steal it from her. Instead she took his, drawing it from him with a snap that took him to his knees.
Renee, damn, her sister kicked butt as she sent energy to Kendra, healing energy that began to soothe immediately.
“Draw on him. You know it’s what you have to do, Kendra. Take his weapon against you or he will win!” Rosemary screamed as she fought. Sigils sparked in the air between the two groups as magick met stolen magic.
But the stolen magic felt different than her own magick. It didn’t belong to the mage throwing it her way. She’d need to think on that later. If she survived.
But right then she grabbed it and pulled, pulled hard as she drew the magic from the mage nearest to them. It filled her, dark and roiling, but it powered the spell she was working, made her stronger even as her system registered it as an intrusion.
Things were a blur as she worried for Max and her cats, worried for her sister, Mary and Rosemary, worried for the wolves.
In the midst of her worry, she still had a job to do so she did it. She let her magick take over, let that part that intuited her use of power take over. Lights flashed, lights no one outside the park could see.
Her energy waned, but she knew the mages were worse off because she’d drained one. He’d fallen to his knees, disappearing under the weight of a shiny black wolf. Akio she’d have guessed.
One still stood.
She stumbled forward, feeling Max through the bond but not seeing him. Renee had moved to Rosemary’s side, and Mary stood alone in the middle of the grass, locked in a magical battle with the last mage.