Must Be Magic (Spellbound Book 4)

by Sydney Somers

  Maybe Bryce’s parents were still somewhere on the resort grounds? Given how tired they’d looked only yesterday, she couldn’t imagine them partying.

  She knocked again, heard movement from inside.

  So he was ignoring her? Seeing as she’d had more than her share of dealing with Lancaster men bent on ignoring her, she only knocked louder.

  “Mr. Lancaster? Thomas?” Might as well get the formalities out of the way. She was pretty sure Finn didn’t call him Mr. Lancaster.

  This time the curtain moved, and she gave up on knocking. There was no way he couldn’t hear her.

  “I think there are some things we need to clear up and I’m not leaving until you hear me out.” There. She’d made herself as clear as she could.

  The door opened, and she took the invitation, stepping into the bungalow that was a mirror image of the one she’d been in only days ago.

  It felt more like a lifetime ago now.

  Thomas sat in the chair farthest from the door, his face cast in shadows.

  Without taking her eyes off him, she closed the door, prepared to talk fast. There was less opportunity for him to intimidate her if she did all the talking first.

  “Look, I know I’m not your favorite person—” she began.

  That was as far as she got. “You shouldn’t be here, Darby.”

  Sighing, she took a step deeper into the room. “Can we talk, just for a few minutes?”

  “Another time,” he growled.

  Refusing to be put off by his attitude, she took another step, already eyeballing the chair opposite him, and nearly tripped on something.

  She recovered quickly, glancing down to see what had almost embarrassed her more than she already was.

  A shoe?

  Frowning, she followed it to the leg partially blocked by the bed. Her pulse picked up speed, thundering in her ears by the time she recognized the person lying unconscious on the floor.

  “Alex?”

  She dropped to her knees, shooting Thomas an accusing look. “What the hell did you do to him?”

  Blood trickled from a cut on Alex’s face, and she felt relief slide through her at the sight of his chest moving with shallow, but steady breaths.

  “You should have left, Darby.”

  She stilled at the familiar voice coming from directly behind her, then slowly turned around.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  The gun was the first thing she noticed. A revolver, an older-style one that looked like something out of an Alfred Hitchcock movie. But it wasn’t nearly as surprising as facing the person pointing it at her.

  Libby.

  Shock kept her from reacting for a long moment, and she waved her hand at the weapon. “Exuro.”

  Whatever impact her magic might have had, it was quickly countered by Libby’s.

  “You’re still hurt, young one. Sit.” Her aunt motioned for her to take a seat on the bed.

  Deciding it was best to go along with the command until she knew what the hell was going on, she did as she was told. She chanced a quick glance at Thomas, noticing for the first time the darkening shape near his temple.

  Libby had been busy tonight.

  The surreal thought would have been laughable if the gun weren’t still pointed at her. This was crazy. Libby didn’t hurt anyone. She’d been part of the Tribunal, had been thrilled when Tate took over her responsibilities so she’d have more time to go hang gliding or take tango lessons.

  Darby was pretty sure this wasn’t the first time Thomas Lancaster had angered someone enough to make them want to lash out, but this was Libby. It didn’t make any sense.

  “What’s going on, Libby?”

  “I’m finishing old business.”

  “With who?” She wasn’t sure how Alex fit into the whole situation. Had he stumbled across Thomas and Libby by accident, or had he picked up on some bad vibes?

  “I couldn’t sit back and watch him do it to you.”

  “Do what to me? Libby,” she prompted, regaining her aunt’s attention, “what are you talking about?”

  Her aunt’s eyes, so much darker and angrier than Darby could remember, never left Thomas’s. “He was sabotaging your happiness. He does that. He couldn’t stop Bree and Finn from being together, but he was determined to keep you and Bryce apart. Always has been.”

  “I don’t understand.” It was easy to say to buy time, hoping someone else would come along. Tate would sense the tension, wouldn’t she? Or at the very least realize Alex was hurt?

  “He would have found a way, Darby. No matter how hard you tried, he would have found a way to come between you and Bryce, the same way he found a way to come between me and his brother, the same way he came between our parents.”

  Darby’s head started to spin. “I’m not following, Libby. Could you just put the gun down so we can sort this out. Please.”

  “I can’t do that.”

  “Then talk to me. How did he come between you and his brother?” She’d never even heard they’d been a couple. And what did that have to do with Darby’s grandparents?

  “He was mad. Always so mad. Even now, he’s sitting there, his fury just eating him up inside, driving him to make sure everyone else is just as miserable as he is.”

  “Libby,” Darby said softly, “you dated his brother?”

  She nodded, her eyes misting. “And he poisoned it by making his brother question everything. Thomas was always there, criticizing and judging, slowly eroding every moment of happiness until there was nothing left. He refused to see another bond forged between the Calders and Lancasters.”

  “Another bond?” Their grandparents?

  Libby nodded. “My father and his mother had an affair years ago. They’d been quite the couple when they were younger, but life took them down different paths and they didn’t reconnect until years later.”

  “After my mother was happily married,” Thomas interjected.

  “It wasn’t like that,” Libby pressed.

  Thomas sneered. “It never is, is it?” He glanced at Darby. “You need to go find help. Now.”

  Although she was fairly confident Libby wouldn’t hurt her, she couldn’t say the same about Thomas.

  Staying put for now, she turned back to her aunt. “What happened after that?”

  “Nothing.” Thomas met Libby’s enraged gaze. “Shortly after that, my parents picked me up from Danny’s house, and on the drive home my father confronted my mother about the affair with your father,” he snapped. “They argued and my father lost control of the car. My mother died moments after the crash.”

  “But sparing you. Leaving you alive and so damn determined to make sure no Calder would ever be involved with your precious family.”

  That was the accident her father had been talking about? The one that changed everything for Thomas?

  It made sense, explained why he’d been so suspicious and negative where her family was concerned. If he’d blamed a Calder for breaking up his family, for taking his mother from him…

  “Don’t feel sorry for him, Darby,” Libby warned. “He’s caused more misery than he ever experienced.”

  “You have no idea what I experienced,” Thomas countered.

  “Shut up.” Libby took a threatening step toward him.

  Darby rose to her feet. “Whoa.”

  Libby ignored her. “Why couldn’t you have been the one on the plane?”

  The demand hung on the air between them.

  Thomas’s eyes narrowed. “What did you do?”

  “Not enough.” Her expression turned stricken, and she glanced at Darby. “I didn’t mean to hurt anyone. The plane wasn’t supposed to crash.”

  A buzzing filled Darby’s ears, a definite sign her brain was on complete overload.

  “I just wanted him to suffer for a little bit,” Libby continued. “So I put a little something in his coffee.”

  “Miles,” she whispered. “Miles drank your coffee.” She glanced at Thomas, remembering the conversati
on between Bryce and the pilot when they’d boarded the plane. “Miles was in pain. His heart.” Wasn’t that what Bryce had said after the crash?

  “He shouldn’t have been. It was nothing like that,” Libby rushed to add. “It must have been something else.”

  “His heart medication,” Thomas cut in. “Whatever was in the coffee must have interacted with his medication, triggered a heart attack.”

  Libby shook her head.

  “It’s your fault he’s dead.” Thomas stood, and Libby tightened her hand around the gun. “And you nearly killed Bryce and Darby. You talk about the things I’ve done, but I haven’t killed anyone.”

  Licking her lips, Libby jabbed the gun in his direction. “You know exactly what you’ve done.”

  “Don’t, Libby. It’s not worth it.”

  Her aunt took another menacing step forward, and Darby reacted on instinct, putting herself in Libby’s path.

  A heartbeat later the gun went off.

  * * *

  “Where’s Darby?”

  “Lost her already?” Finn turned from his seat at the bar to face him. “This is becoming a bit of a habit for you guys, isn’t it?”

  If Finn weren’t the only Calder he’d managed to track down without disturbing her parents, he would have walked away.

  “I woke up and she was gone.”

  Bree slipped an arm around his waist. “You guys made up? That’s awesome.”

  Bryce nodded. It was much better than awesome. At least it had been until fifteen minutes ago when he’d found the bed empty next to him. “Do you know where she is?”

  They both shook their heads.

  “You’re sure things were fine between you guys?” Finn asked, still looking skeptical.

  Bryce didn’t have time for an interrogation. He needed to find Darby. “I brought pens. We were good.”

  “Pens,” Bree echoed, looking confused.

  Finn frowned, then seemed to understand the significance. “She wouldn’t be with our parents and Dante is bunking with Alex.”

  “Then where the hell could she be?” He turned and scanned the bar as if he could be that lucky and find her close. But that wouldn’t make sense. She wouldn’t have left their bed to come for a drink.

  Not without waking him first.

  Another thoughtful look crossed Finn’s face.

  “What?”

  “She mentioned your father earlier. I told her that he was part of the package.”

  Not the best words of advice, considering Darby and his father’s history, but would that have been enough to coax her out of bed? Had she wanted a clean slate?

  “Mom was staying with Angel tonight,” Bree said. “She’s still miffed about how he’s treated the Calders.”

  This was news to Bryce, but not entirely unexpected. He’d sensed some underlying tension between them yesterday, and especially after she’d overheard their argument and discovered how he’d treated Darby all those years ago. “I’m going to check over there. If you come across her…”

  “We’ll keep her with us right here,” Finn finished.

  Bryce turned away, stopped.

  “The peach-colored row of bungalows after the pool,” Bree called out. “The last one on the end, by the purple flower bushes.”

  Unsure whether he wanted Darby to be talking to his father or not, he made his way across the resort, his steps just shy of a run. The light in the bungalow was on. If his father wasn’t sleeping yet, maybe that meant he’d been talking to Darby at some point. Maybe she was already back at their hotel room, waiting for him.

  Hoping that was the case, he started up the steps.

  A gunshot rang out, and his whole world dropped off its axis.

  He bolted up the steps, knocking the door all the way open.

  “It’s okay,” Darby yelled from where she was crouched on the floor. “We’re all okay.”

  The reassurance didn’t stop him from dropping to his knees and hauling her into his arms.

  He took note of his father and Libby standing in opposite corners of the room, and the gun lying on the floor much too close to Darby. What the hell had happened?

  “I’m okay,” she breathed against his ear and he eased his grip, but just a fraction. He’d had too many scares where she was concerned, and the next one just might kill him.

  “I’m not,” came the raspy reply from nearby.

  Bryce glanced down. “Alex?” Jesus. “Was he shot?”

  “I might as well have been.” Slowly sitting up and leaning against the side of the bed halfway up, he probed the side of his face. “I’m starting to think the universe has it out for me,” he muttered, then seeming to remember who he was talking to, stopped. “Or not.”

  It took another few minutes for him to get all the way to his feet. “Do not move,” he ordered Libby.

  How exactly he planned on making her listen when he couldn’t tap into his magic to back up the threat escaped Bryce, but Libby obeyed anyway.

  “Not a word,” he went on to warn Bryce’s father. “You will not speak to Libby or anyone else about this until I get everything sorted out. You got me?”

  Thomas nodded, either too stunned by whatever had happened or by the fact that laid-back Alex had exerted his Tribunal power.

  “You guys should go. Tell Dante I need him, though.” Alex dropped onto the edge of the bed and didn’t look like he’d be moving anytime soon. “The whole world is still fucking spinning,” he grumbled. “What did you hit me with?”

  Libby winced. “A lamp.”

  “Feels more like a goddamn baseball bat.”

  “At least she didn’t break another bone,” Darby offered.

  Alex scrubbed a hand down his face. “Ever the optimist. Good night, you two.”

  Following Alex’s instructions, Bryce led Darby out of the bungalow, not all that surprised to see Dante already headed up the steps. “Alex will explain. I think,” Bryce added. He sure as hell didn’t know what was going on, so he hoped Alex did.

  “Are you going to fill me in?”

  “As soon as it sinks in,” Darby promised. “The next time we go on vacation, promise me it won’t be anywhere like this.”

  He tipped her face up, his hand still shaking a little from the thoughts that had gone through his head at the sound of the gunshot. “Done.”

  * * *

  “Your family doesn’t know the meaning of alone time, do they?” Bryce hadn’t even gotten the door shut on his apartment door, their bags barely set down, when he glimpsed Dante coming down the hallway.

  Darby yawned behind him, still groggy from the sleeping pills that hadn’t entirely worn off. After the crash both of them had been more than a little anxious about flying again and had opted for something to help them relax during the flight.

  Bryce barely remembered the takeoff and even the landing was a little foggy. He was pretty sure he had Riley to blame for that. “You’re gonna want a drink of this,” she’d insisted, covertly passing him a flask across the aisle before the flight had even finished boarding.

  One drink had turned into at least five for him. Seven for Darby. And then their meds really kicked in.

  The meds had also spared them both from a flight filled with answering questions about what their plans were.

  Plans that definitely hadn’t included Dante.

  Had he realized that taking Dante up on his offer to drive them from the airport to Bryce’s place would involve an extended visit, he would have called a cab.

  “Wonder what he forgot?” Darby mused, joining him at the door.

  “That’s optimistic.” There would undoubtedly be a lot more to it than that.

  Laughing, she bumped him with her arm. She looked good standing there, in his place, her face a little flushed and sleepy, her hair pulled back in a loose ponytail that left wisps of hair curling around her face and neck.

  The second he got rid of Dante he planned on moving the one curled across her shoulder and replacing it with his m
outh. And that was just to start.

  Dante reached them and his face exploded into a wide grin, a sight so unexpected Bryce wanted to look around for the hidden cameras.

  Clearly he was about to be punked.

  “Violet’s in labor.”

  Beaming, Darby hopped in place. “Let me get my coat.” She handed Bryce his and slipped her shoes back on, grinning right through another yawn.

  “You guys know that labor takes a while, right?” Bryce’s cousin had been in labor for nearly two days.

  “She wanted to start pushing the second they got there apparently. The baby might already be here.”

  Bryce didn’t even know that Darby’s brother could grin that big. It was almost disturbing.

  Resigned to spend more time with Dante Calder than anyone should have to, especially someone involved with his sister, Bryce followed them out to Dante’s SUV.

  * * *

  The ride to the hospital was filled with Darby alternately yawning and chatting about the pending arrival of the newest family member.

  Somehow Bryce knew Reece Prescott was panicking. Not only was he about to become a dad for the first time, but his kid was going to be as magically inclined as the rest of Violet’s family.

  He could only imagine the kind of tricks Finn Calder would be teaching his niece or nephew, just to rile Reece.

  Finn happened to be the first one they saw the moment they walked into the Labor and Delivery waiting room at the hospital.

  He and Bree had decided to wait until after Violet had their baby and things had calmed down for everyone before taking their honeymoon. The pair had also been the main reason their families had given Bryce and Darby some space at both airports.

  That left Finn a few spots lower than Dante on Bryce’s list of pains in the ass.

  Riley launched herself to her feet, rushing to hug Darby. “We’re going to be aunties.”

  Dante frowned. “How did you get here so fast?”

  “Your sister should have her license revoked,” Alex growled from his spot on one of the couches in the room.

  He still had a nasty bruise on the side of his face from where Libby had clocked him with a lamp.

  For now, Libby’s magic had been bound while the Tribunal decided what they were going to do about her actions.