Warlock Unbound: Heart's Desire, Book 4

by Dana Marie Bell

  Kerry nodded and stood, numbed by what was happening. How could this be? Once such allegations were launched, the only way to get her job back would be to get a lawyer and fight with all her might to prove that they were false. “I want to see the complaints.”

  The director nodded. “I’ll forward them to you. Now, I’m sorry, but you need to turn in your badge.”

  Kerry gripped her hospital badge. That small piece of plastic had meant the world to her the first time she put it around her neck. She’d been so proud to get the job she loved. Now she was about to lose it. Turning in the badge felt like a knife in her gut.

  She pulled the badge off, trying not to cry as she placed it on the director’s desk.

  The director snatched it up and placed it in her drawer, closing it with a sharp click. “Good-bye, Ms. Andrews. I wish you luck in your future endeavors.”

  Translation: Get out, you’re done here. The director already assumed the investigation would come to nothing, and was letting Kerry know without actually saying it. Kerry would never work in this hospital again.

  Kerry didn’t speak. She turned on her heel, marched out the door and to the staff locker room. She wasn’t surprised to see the security guard there, ready to escort her out. She cleaned out her locker, collected her coffee mug from the nursing station, and under guard, left the hospital she’d grown to love so much.

  Kerry would first go to Annabelle. If the patriarch of the Evans clan didn’t have the answers she needed, then Kerry knew what her next step had to be.

  New York, and Daniel Beckett.

  Chapter Three

  “Lord Chancellor?” Abraham “Mac” McDorman, Gareth’s steward, cornered Daniel an hour after the Beckett spell had been cast. His wolf was twitchy, waiting for the two candles to touch and show that Kerry was finally in New York. While his human half understood it might take some time, his wolf, now that they’d finally given in, was eager to see his mate safely in their den. It was an emotion Daniel firmly agreed with, but until Kerry showed up there was little they could do about it. And that was putting both of them on edge.

  “Yes?” Daniel tried to keep the growl out of his voice. He was scaring the piss out of people a lot more than he usually did, and Gareth was ready to confine him to his quarters until he could get his wolf back under control.

  “We’ve received word on Arthur Godwin.”

  That caught Daniel’s full attention. “Have you now?” He invaded the steward’s personal space, sniffing the air around the man. He caught the acrid scent of fear as well as the tangy scent of a victory earned. “Where is he?”

  Mac swallowed so hard his Adam’s apple bobbed. “The Hamptons.”

  Daniel blinked. “The fuck you say?”

  Mac choked out a laugh. “Yes, I do say.” He stepped back, out of Daniel’s personal space, and held out his tablet PC. “Here, sir. I’ve got all the data you need.”

  Daniel grabbed the tablet and began scrolling through picture after picture of Arthur, sipping drinks and laughing with people Daniel didn’t recognize. “Does Gareth know this yet?”

  “No, I’m rather afraid I chickened out on that.” Mac rocked back and forth on his heels. “I thought perhaps you might be willing to inform him.”

  Daniel shook his head, clucking quietly at the chicken-shit steward.

  When Mac walked away flapping his arms, Daniel finally let the laugh he’d been holding back out. He’d grown to like Mac while working with him. The man insisted on calling Daniel “Lord Chancellor” or “Sir Daniel”, but in all other respects he treated Daniel as an equal. They had worked out a routine during the weeks that Gareth had been king, one that was slowly getting them over the humps in Gareth’s newborn rule.

  But this was a huge hump, one that Daniel now had the pleasure of sharing with his brother. Destroying Arthur Godwin would end the threat against them, and Gen, once and for all.

  Daniel pulled out his own tablet PC and checked Gareth’s schedule. It seemed his brother was currently with the new council, detailing their duties to the crown and the court. Daniel was tickled pink that his mother was on the new nine-member council. She’d keep any nasty bitches away from Gen and throw her full support behind her son. Gareth had also named Chris as a council member, granting two Becketts places of power. The fact that there were now several male members of the council had shocked the court. Traditionally, the council had been all female, but Gareth didn’t believe in an all-male or all-female council. Each member should have something to contribute and a voice to be heard; nothing more or less was required. He’d handpicked them with the help of Lillian Fletcher, the head of the council. Keeping the number at nine also ensured there would be no deadlocks when it came to making decisions for the court or Gareth.

  Gen had argued that Gareth shouldn’t put any more family on the council, but Daniel disagreed. His brother needed support in his rule. Daniel had never seen a family as loyal to each other as his own, but he understood Gen’s point. And the council members they’d picked, men and women both, were approved by both Mac and Lillian.

  Daniel knocked on the door to the council chambers before entering. As chancellor, he could have been part of the lecture Gareth was giving, but he’d chosen instead to do other things. He helped run the day-to-day operations of the court with Mac, deciding which issues needed to be brought to Gareth’s attention and which they could handle themselves. The council dealt with the outside world, and was one of the many reasons there was tension between the witches and the wizards. The old council had followed the tradition of separatism, but Gareth wasn’t having any of that. There was a witch and a warlock in the family now, and soon to be a mundane. Separatism was so far out the window it was sipping Mai Tais in Bermuda.

  “Lord Chancellor?” Lillian Fletcher stood, bowing her head respectfully. The other eight members followed her lead. “Is there something I can help you with?”

  Daniel looked right at Gareth. “Mac managed to find Arthur Godwin.”

  “Yes!” Chris pumped his fist and tried to high-five their mother.

  Marjory Beckett merely raised her brows at her son until he lowered his hand. “What information do you have, Daniel?”

  The councilors settled, each of them looking at him with different levels of anticipation. His mother waved a hand at him, urging him silently to continue. His mother showed no favoritism to her sons and took her duties very seriously. She argued with them as often as she agreed with them, doing her best to show she was impartial when it came to her new job. Daniel was so proud of her he could burst.

  Daniel handed Gareth the tablet. “It seems Arthur Godwin is currently in the Hamptons, living the good life.”

  The council members glanced at one another, their expressions ranging from confused to pissed. Chris’s eyes had gone from warm brown to wolf gold. “He’s what, now?”

  “He’s sipping what looks like martini’s and schmoozing with the hoi polloi.” Gareth handed the tablet back. “Assumptions?”

  “He’s a pompous ass?” Daniel shrugged when all eyes turned on him. “What? He is.”

  “He’s also not doing anything at the moment that would warrant the attention of the wizard king or the council.” Lillian tapped her fingernails on the conference table, her brows furrowed. “When it was simply an issue involving two families and their infighting, going after him would have been considered acceptable by the court because Gareth Beckett had not yet been crowned king. Now, however, it could be viewed as a witch hunt, the king using his resources to hunt down a personal enemy.” Lillian winced and glanced at Chris. “No offense intended. We are well aware that your fiancée and your brother are both witches.”

  “None taken,” Chris replied, but his attention was on Daniel, not the head of the council. “What about the fact that he participated in the kidnapping of two innocent women, at minimum?” Chris held up his hand when Li
llian went to interrupt him. “He was present when Genevieve fought Davis Godwin, and was responsible for many of the wounds inflicted on Kerry Andrews and Johra Yashodar. He’s not innocent in this, believe me.”

  “I understand that, but our job is to ensure we do not seem like the magical police of our world. We can’t simply attack, not without proof. Perhaps if your Kerry were here, that would be different. She could petition us, and we would then in turn be able to call for aid.”

  “Jo is here. She can provide witness testimony.” Daniel wasn’t about to give up on his hunt, not when they were this close to killing the last of the bastards who’d harmed his mate.

  “What we lack is proof that Arthur Godwin did anything more than just bind the women. As you said, Johra Yashodar can provide witness testimony, but nothing she saw implicates Arthur as anything more than a lackey to his father’s depravity. For that, he deserves to be punished, but not necessarily by us.” Lillian glanced around at the council. “What we can do is this. We request that an investigation be launched into whether or not Arthur Godwin is following in the footsteps of his father and brother. If you find proof, we will be more than happy to turn our full attention to bringing him to justice.”

  Daniel’s hands clenched. He wanted that fucker dead and buried yesterday, not at the convenience of the council. “What if he’s killed without that proof?”

  Lillian winced. “I’m afraid that might cause trouble with not only the witches and warlocks, Lord Chancellor, but with the wizards as well. We cannot appear to be a people who police the magical world. That must remain the domain of the Own, both the God’s and the Goddess’s. While I understand the need to apprehend him and question him as to the kidnapping of both Johra and Kerry, the only images we have of him show that he is simply existing as most do when in the Hamptons.”

  Daniel grunted. “So if Zach and Gen do the investigating, you’ll be okay with that?”

  Most of the council members nodded, excluding his mother and his brother. They abstained, no doubt keeping the family aspect out of it.

  Besides, Daniel had no doubt that if Zach and Gen were looking into Arthur Godwin, so were the rest of the Becketts. It would be Zach and Gen at the forefront formally, but they would have a full contingent of Beckett backup.

  “Then let’s get Zach and my wife up here.” Gareth pulled out his phone. “I’ll call Gen. Daniel, you call Zach.”

  Daniel nodded and pulled his phone, dialing his annoying-ass brother. “Hey, butt munch.”

  “What’s up, asshat?” Zach’s cheerful tone made Daniel sigh. No doubt Zach was raiding Gareth’s kitchen again. The man was a bottomless pit, especially when he was nervous. And damn if finding the last Godwin wasn’t sending his baby bro into a fit. Zach felt the same way Daniel did. Johra still bore the marks of Davis Godwin’s depravity. Slim lines where Davis had used his dagger decorated both of Johra’s arms and legs, as if Davis had planned to flay her alive.

  “We need you in the council room. We found Arthur.”

  “On my way.” That quickly, Zach’s tone went from ooh, ice cream! to that of a serious predator. Zach took his responsibilities as an Own very seriously, especially when it came to the family that had harmed his mate.

  “He’s on his way,” Daniel grunted, pocketing his phone.

  “So is Genevieve.” Gareth glanced around at the council. “We can continue this at a later date if you wish, since we’re now dealing with the Own. Or you can listen in, give us advice on how to approach Arthur.”

  The council murmured to one another, but Daniel could still hear most of what was said. The majority seemed to be leaning toward supporting Gareth and the Own, and in the end that was the direction Lillian Fletcher took. “We believe we would be of help to the Own, if they’d allow it, your majesty.”

  Gareth beamed at them. “Good. Thank you. I want you all to know I appreciate that, even those of you who wanted to refrain from getting involved.” Three of the council members winced.

  One of them, Emily Cho, responded to Gareth’s words with a conciliatory tone. “We just want to make sure that this is an Own investigation. We want no stain attached to your majesty’s reign.”

  “I understand, and thank you for your honesty.” Gareth folded his arms across his chest. “That’s exactly what I want from all of you. If you disagree with me, tell me why. I might not go along with your reasoning, but I’ll give it the respect it’s due if you do the same for me.”

  Councilor Cho beamed. “Understood, your majesty.”

  Zach walked through the door in that moment, Jo right by his side. He glanced around, his gaze finally landing on Daniel. “Gimme.”

  Gareth handed Zach the tablet. Daniel watched his brother scroll through the images, his expression becoming more and more concerned. When he handed the tablet back to Gareth, he was scowling. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

  Daniel winced. When a normal witch had a bad feeling, something was about to go down. When Zach, the strongest witch in centuries and one of Hecate’s Own, had a bad feeling, someone was fixing to die. “Can you investigate him on that feeling?”

  “Hell yes, I can.” Zach cracked his knuckles. “I’ll head to the Hamptons as soon as possible.”

  “You will?” Johra put her hands on her hips, her dark eyes narrowed.

  “Yup.” Zach kissed her nose, causing Jo to roll her eyes. “Own business, sweetheart.”

  She sighed, but her gaze softened. “Fine. But you’d better come back to me in one piece.”

  “Duly noted.”

  “Good.” Gareth slapped Zach on the shoulder. “No doubt Gen will want to go with you.”

  Zach’s brows rose. “You’ll allow that? I thought you’d wrapped her up in bubble wrap after she broke her leg.”

  “Her leg is healed, and she’d hand me my nuts on a platter if I tried to stop her from going after Arthur.” Gareth gestured toward the council. “And we’ve got backing this time.”

  Zach relaxed slightly. “That’s excellent. I’ll call Prince Roland, see if we can get some backing from the witch court as well.”

  “I’m going too.” Fuck if Zach and Gen were going without him. No way. Daniel would go by himself if he had to. Arthur wasn’t going to get anywhere near his family.

  “Fine. Just remember, you’re there as chancellor. Make sure that you get something I can bring to the council so we can get the court to side with us.” Gareth was staring at him, that determination that made him a good king tempered with brotherly worry. “And try not to get your ass kicked.”

  “Will do.” Daniel was positive the man was faking his happy, easy lifestyle. Daniel wanted to know what the fuck Arthur was up to before it was too late to stop him. And if Arthur was planning to harm Kerry, then may the gods have mercy on him, because Daniel certainly wouldn’t.

  Lillian smiled at Jo. “We need some testimony from you on your kidnapping, Ms. Yashodar.”

  “Of course.” Jo settled at the council table, her hands folded before her. Her head was held high as she faced the council. “What would you like to know?”

  “Can you tell me about Arthur Godwin and his role?”

  Jo grimaced. “Arthur Godwin was the first of my captors. He led me to the altar and tied me down before patrolling the shore on Davis Godwin’s orders. He was supposed to deal with the Becketts if they came looking for me or Kerry.”

  Lillian glanced at Daniel, an apology all over her face. “Did Arthur harm you?”

  “Other than threatening me and pushing me to the ground, no…wait. He punched me in the stomach when I refused to be a good little sacrifice and lie down on the dark altar.”

  “So there is no doubt he was involved.”

  “Nope.” Jo popped the “p”, sounding almost bored. “Why are you asking me all this?”

  “Because—” Daniel stepped up to explain, “—th
ey need your testimony, and Kerry’s, to convince the court that we’re not just using Gareth’s power as king to continue some vendetta against the Godwins.”

  Jo’s brows rose. “Huh.” She tapped her fingers on the table. “That makes sense. You can’t have the court doubting the king, and vice versa.”

  Jo, as the future head of the Yashodar clan of witches and someone close to the prince and princess of the witches, had some insight into how a court functioned. If she was behind the council’s desire to stay one step away, then perhaps Daniel shouldn’t feel quite so pissed off at what he felt was a wishy-washy reaction to the Godwin threat.

  “Thank you, Johra. If you have anything to add, please bring it to our attention.” Lillian stood as Gen entered the room. “Your majesty.”

  Gen’s faint wince was soon replaced by a well-practiced smile. “Councilor Fletcher. I understand you wished to speak with me?”

  “I believe the king and the chancellor can fill you in.” Lillian picked up her paperwork and tapped it on the table. “Do we have anything else we need to go over?”

  The council shook their heads, muttering various versions of no.

  “Then I declare this meeting adjourned.”

  The council stood, some nodding to Gen and Gareth on the way out, some talking amongst themselves. Only Chris remained behind. “So. When are you guys leaving?”

  “Leaving?” Gen glanced at the rest of them before focusing on Zach. “What’s going on?”

  “We found Arthur.”

  Gen glowed brilliantly green before her power settled around her. “I see.” She leaned against Gareth. “When do we leave?”

  “As soon as possible.” Daniel wanted this done before Kerry showed up. “I’m thinking tomorrow at the latest.”

  Gen checked her watch. “It’s still early. I say we go now.”

  Daniel’s brows rose. “Gareth?”

  Gareth nodded. “Get your asses out of here. Just bring my mate back in one piece, understand?”