Thrice United
Page 22
Smiling, Holly nodded and Nate looked at Rhett, who grinned and rolled his eyes.
When the three of them entered the drawing room everyone else looked up in surprise. Her father looked frustrated, pissed off and worried.
She turned and saw her grandfather sitting behind the desk in the corner. Ah, the vision she had. But he didn’t know she was a seer and already had dismissed her being a witch. Being underestimated had always been a powerful tool and she used it now and gathered up the spell to rebound his magic. She’d wait to use it in defense but one way or another she was going to stop him and find out the truth.
“Hello, Grandfather,” she said, drawing into her power and using the voice threaded with fear and awe, and she saw his pupils widen and gave him a smile that showed her incisors.
“I am not your grandfather, girl.” Sitting there behind that big desk, he looked less threatening than she’d imagined.
She laughed and sat across from him in one of the chairs and Nate stood to one side and Rhett on the other.
“Oh two of them, that’s right. Well, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” he said with a leer that made her skin crawl.
“That’s enough! You won’t speak to my daughter that way!” Simon yelled but Holly shook her head.
“It’s bravado. Now that you’ve called me a slut, why don’t you go on with the rest of the story? You cursed my mother and had her escorted out of town, alone, practically penniless and without anyone in the world to turn to. Then you paid Daniel Pilotte off and he left town. Why? What threat could my mother have been to you?”
“Girl, she was nothing to him. Nothing to anyone.”
Holly turned and faced the voice and the woman it belonged to as she came into the room.
Nate moved so that he stood between them and Rhett protected her from Senior.
“Mother? What are you doing here?” Josh asked.
The petite, dark-haired woman looked at him and took in the rest of the room and sighed. “I’m here to clean up messes, as usual. Men, so goddamned ineffectual!” She dropped into the chair next to Holly. “I can see you have those same swamp genes, girl.”
Holly raised an eyebrow. “And you are?”
“Your better, don’t you forget it. I am Violet Decatur. My father is Alexander Morgan.”
Holly waited to hear something impressive but it didn’t come.
Violet sighed. “Dumb as a post, just like your mother and father. Thank goodness my sons take after my father.”
Holly looked to her father. “This is who you married? What, were you smoking crack?”
Simon gave a pained laugh. “It was arranged by my father. I was twenty, what did I know?”
“Yes, Simon, what did you know? Nothing. Your father had your entire life mapped out and you blew it by knocking up some slut from the swamp! My father knew what had to be done and he made sure he applied the right leverage to get it done. Of course, he was livid when he found out that Senior here allowed the bitch to get away alive and carrying your bastard but Senior assured us that the girl would go to her family and we’d be rid of the problem. Only she never did.”
Holly sat there, nails digging into the wooden arms of that chair so hard that they pressed through the wood.
“One thing men don’t understand is loyalty. Your mother may have been stupid and unworthy of the Decatur name, but she was loyal, I’ll give that to her.”
“You bitch!” Simon cried out. “Your father was behind this? Why? For god’s sake, why?”
“Simon, does it have to be spelled out for you? I can’t believe you have a degree from Yale!”
But Holly interrupted Violet. “Dad, your father and her father did a bit of empire building. I don’t know who is he but apparently he had something old Grandpa needed and they made a deal with you and Violet as the bargain. When you dallied with my mother, the deal was in danger.” She turned back to Senior. “But I have to hand it to you, a death curse on an innocent, a big bit of overkill, wasn’t it? I mean, I’m sure you could have dealt with it without breaking the laws that bind you to your power.”
Senior hit the desk with his fist. “Damn it! I didn’t want anything to do with any of this! I thought your mother was beneath my son but I certainly didn’t want to ruin her so cruelly. But I had my own curse to fight off. She ruined my entire plan for the future and I had to do it!” He looked at Violet, who started to stand but Holly stood up and shoved her back down and was sitting before the other woman knew what hit her.
“Thank you.” Senior nodded to Holly and continued. “Alexander Morgan is a very rich man and I had some debts. He and I worked some magic together and I got in over my head. The marriage cleared the debt but then he got your mother pregnant.” He shook his head in disgust. “Condoms, son, a thousand times, condoms! When Morgan found out he was livid. He wanted me to kill the girl but I didn’t want to risk the cost of killing an innocent so I crafted a curse that would allow her to live if she stayed smart, and she did.
“But then she died and when she did, the curse was broken. I traced it back to you in Seattle and Morgan got concerned that she’d told you on her deathbed or that you’d gotten a letter after she died. He wanted you dead. I sent the burglars in Seattle, who bungled it. They were supposed to search the apartment and question you, not assault you. And then you joined with vampires and came here and I had no choice because Alexander takes every opportunity to remind me—painfully—of the obligation I have through my own curse. Yes that’s right, I’m cursed too, although I’ve just signed my own damned death warrant by telling you all this but I have had it hanging over my head for a quarter of a century and I’m sick of it.”
Two tall men walked into a room holding a book and a big wooden box. Senior stood up and tried to deflect their spell and it rebounded toward Holly, who had to use her own magic to deflect it toward the ceiling. Her vision wasn’t about her grandfather trying to kill her, not then anyway, it was about this.
She allowed Rhett to pull her out of the way as the Keepers took her grandfather into custody. Violet was moving toward the door when Holly moved to intercept her.
“Oh no, you’re not going anywhere. You were a part of this. My mother suffered most of her life and you were a knowing party!”
“The Keepers have no authority over me. What are you going to do, call the human cops and tell them about this? What are they going to do?” Violet taunted.
“Alexander Morgan has just been taken into our custody and will be charged with using dark magics against a wizard and conspiracy to curse an innocent. You will be part of that investigation, Ms. Decatur. Come with us,” one of the Keepers said and suddenly they were all gone from the room.
Simon rushed to Holly and hugged her tight. “I’m so sorry, what a terrible father I’ve been. I haven’t protected you a moment since I created you. How you must hate me for what you and your mother suffered.”
“Dad, it wasn’t your fault. You were a victim too.” She looked up into his face. “You’re here now and that’s what counts. Now is what counts. I have quite a long life ahead of me and I want to have as many people in it whom I love as I possibly can and that includes you and my brothers if you’ll still want me after I caused your mother’s arrest,” she said around her father’s body to her brothers, who all came to her and joined the embrace.
Nate looked down at her and then over at Rhett. Holly turned and slid her arm around both their waists. “Thank you both for letting me be here for this. I know you were scared for me. I needed it. It’s done now.”
“I love you.” Nate shrugged. “What else could I have done but see to it that you were happy?”
“Honey, we have all the time in the world now. Our whole future stretches out in front of us. I think some celebrating is called for.”
His lips slid into that sexy smile and she knew just what he meant and her body throbbed for them, for their touch.
“Let’s get going then. I have a lot to celebrate.”
About the Author
Lauren Dane been writing stories since she was able to use a pencil, and before that she used to tell them to people. Of course, she still talks nonstop, but now she’s decided to try and make a go of being a writer. And so here she is. She still loves to write, and through wonderful fate and good fortune, she’s able to share what she writes with others now. It’s a wonderful life!
The basics: Lauren is a mom, a partner, a best friend and a daughter. Living in the rainy but beautiful Pacific Northwest, she spends her late evenings writing like a fiend when she finally wrestles all of her kids to bed.
Lauren welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email address on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.
Also by Lauren Dane
Cascadia Wolves 1: Enforcer
Cascadia Wolves 2: Tri Mates
Reluctant
Sudden Desire
Witches Knot 1: Triad
Witches Knot 2: A Touch of Fae
Witches Knot 3: Vengeance Due
Discover for yourself why readers can’t get enough of the multiple award-winning publisher Ellora’s Cave. Whether you prefer e-books or paperbacks, be sure to visit EC on the web at www.ellorascave.com for an erotic reading experience that will leave you breathless.
www.ellorascave.com