“Hey!”
Her gaze flickered to a figure in the corner. One of the Tears, Charlie guessed. Or someone eager to cash in on the price on her head. Great, just great. Now would be a good time to use your mojo.
The man drew a gun, pointed her, but the entity didn’t feel bothered by it. “Get down on the ground, witch,” he ordered.
Don’t kill him, he can–
Another burst of blue light and the man hurtling across the room.
More light pulsed and burned until a darkroom came into view.
“Mine,” the entity hissed.
Out! Charlie screamed. What would it take to control her own body again?
Strong arms suddenly wrapped around her.
“Forgive me,” Drake murmured and the world went black.
Chapter 11
Charlie glanced at her board again. After making sure everyone was okay and losing her only potential lead, the gang member had escaped. After that she’d returned home, refusing to talk to anyone – even Drake. Although he’d called by phone, doorbell and telepathically over the past couple of days, Charlie was determined to figure out what the hell had taken her over and how it connected to her case without anyone’s help. It was safer for everyone if she stayed away from them.
Cate and other family members had tried calling, but she felt too embarrassed to speak to anyone. Damn it, there had to be a connection somewhere. What am I missing?
Silver orbs sparkled as Cate appeared in the armchair.
“Don’t you have more important things to do? Like council meetings or running your own cases?” Charlie groaned.
“No, I came to make sure you’re okay.” Cate gave her a quick hug.
“I’m fine, I’m working,” Charlie replied, shrugging off her embrace. “Are you alright?”
Her aunt grinned, rubbing her forehead. “Fine, but my head hurt like a bitch after you knocked me out.”
Charlie flinched. “I said I was sorry.”
“It wasn’t your fault, and you and I are going to chat,” she said, squeezing her arm. “I know you’re hiding away because you think you’re a threat–”
“I am a threat,” Charlie snapped. “I attacked you and everyone in that room.”
“We know it wasn’t really you,” Cate said, shaking her head. “Plus you’ve seen me at my worst. Look how I reacted when I almost lost Jason.”
“How do you know it wasn’t me?” she retorted. Hell, she hadn’t even wanted to look in a mirror since then for fear she wouldn’t see her own reflection staring back “That thing said it was me, that we’re one and the same.”
“Look, whatever it is we’ll figure it out.” Cate sank down in the armchair.
She snorted. “No, go home, Aunt Cate. Don’t you have your own cases to deal with?”
Cate’s eyes narrowed. “Charlie, shutting everyone out won’t help. Maybe you should come home for a while.”
“I tried that, remember?” She couldn’t deal with everyone fussing over her again.
“I know losing–”
“Yeah, losing my team sucks. I’m done with the feeling sad all the time stuff. I need to work, so go.” She waved her hand in a shooing motion.
Cate crossed her arms, leaning back in the chair. “What’s going on with Drake?”
Charlie froze, remembering the kiss. “Nothing. He comforted me and I–” She shook her head. She didn’t want to think about him.
“You like him, don’t you?” Cate grinned.
“Maybe when he’s not being irritating as hell.”
“The link you have will make things more difficult, but I think you care about him,” Cate said. “I sensed you and the orb are connected. How, I don’t know, but you shouldn’t ignore it.”
“We’ve only been working together a few weeks. I’m not in love with him. Scott and I are just taking a break.” She felt a pang of guilt at the mention of Scott, she hadn’t spoken to him once since their last encounter and he hadn’t called either. Maybe their relationship was truly over now.
“It’s your choice, not mine.” Cate rose. “You know where I am if you need to talk. Get yourself out of this place. Shutting yourself in here won’t help.” She vanished in a swirl of silver orbs.
Charlie slumped onto the chair, sighing. Okay, maybe she’d been avoiding Drake, confused by their kiss and what had happened. Her phone buzzed again. This time it was Kaz. “Hey,” she answered.
“Finally! Where have you been? Drake told us what happened. You don’t have to lock yourself away,” Kaz said. “If you go postal on us I’ll just stun your arse.”
She snorted. “Good to know. I needed a break from – everything.”
“Drake’s been worried. I don’t know why you don’t jump on him. I’d kill for a hunky demon to care about me that way.”
She rolled her eyes. “Is that all you called for?”
“No, I got a lead. I think I found a potential witness who was close to the warehouse that day. I tracked him down and got a number. He’s a junkie though.”
“Great, that’s doesn’t make him reliable, but hell, any lead is better than nothing. What’s the number?” Charlie pulled up the notes tab on her phone. “I’ll talk to him. Have you told Drake about the lead?”
“Not yet. He’s been at his club most of the day.”
Thank the goddess for that! “Okay, don’t tell him.” The address appeared on screen.
“We’re supposed to be working together, remember?”
Charlie sighed. “I know. I just can’t face him – yet.”
“So there is something going on between you – wait, he’s the demon, isn’t he? The one you’re connected to?” Kaz demanded.
Charlie’s eyes narrowed at the phone screen. “How’d you know about that?”
Kaz chuckled. “Nigel and I saw you two kissing.”
“How?” Her heart beat skipped a couple of beats, cheeks flushing.
“The Alliance building has cameras, we watched the footage of what happened after you attacked everyone.”
“Right.” Her cheeks burned hotter. “Damn it!”
“On the recording Drake said you’re life mates. Why didn’t you tell me? I’d never hit on your man.”
“He’s not my anything. It’s complicated.”
“Well, I’d grab onto him while you can. That Lana bitch has a big thing for him,” Kaz said. “You’re not going to talk to the witness alone, are you? The Tears are gunning for you.”
“I’ve already proved I can handle them. I’ll call if I need backup.”
After a quick chat with the witness who called himself only Andre, Charlie drove to a small cafe outside the city to meet him. Her phone chimed, signalling another text from Drake.
Are you alright? Answer my damn messages!
She grinned; she liked it when he lost his cool demeanour. Fine, she texted back. We’ll talk later.
When?
She sighed, knowing she could no longer avoid the inevitable. How about we have dinner tonight?
Fine, I’ll pick you up at seven. We need to talk.
We will.
The cafe was a small building that had seen better days with grimy walls that had once been white, paint peeling off the windows and bins overflowing with rubbish. A perfect place for a junkie to hang out. Charlie checked her weapon, clipped on her badge and covered both with her jacket.
Seeing an enforcer often made people uneasy and she didn’t want to scare the potential witness away. She knew the others would have wanted to come but it was easier to go alone. More than one enforcer, or having Drake there, would spook Andre even more.
There were only a couple of people sitting at one of the tables. She sat down and ordered a coffee. Her eyes took in everything from top to bottom. The bells on the door jingled as a man in torn jeans and a black anorak came in. His brown hair fell over his eyes and his beard needed a trim. He glanced around, uneasily until he spotted her.
“Andre?”
He nodded and
stalked over. “You the girl who was there that day?” he whispered.
I’m a woman, not girl. “Yeah, I’m the one. Would you like some coffee or something?”
His eyes scanned the room again, darting in every direction. “No, listen, kid...”
Her lips thinned. Hell, she was twenty-four, hardly a kid. “Agent,” she corrected. “What did you see that day?”
“I saw Moret and another guy going in there.”
“You know the name of the other guy?” She pulled out her PDA to start writing notes on. The team still hadn’t been able to identify him.
“He’s bad news. Saw him run out after a loud bang went off. Lots of blue light came out of that warehouse.”
“Do you know his name?” Charlie paused when the waitress bought her coffee over. “Did you see them carrying anything?” Come on, Andre, give me something to go on here. She took a closer look at his eyes. No signs of being high.
“Yeah, they were carrying a wooden box, it had blue light coming out of it.” Andre shuddered.
She sipped the coffee and almost gagged. It tasted like boiled swamp water. Bet this is gonna burn a hole in my stomach.
“Listen, I was only by the river guarding my stash. I sleep there sometimes,” he said. “I didn’t do nothing.”
Charlie sipped more of the foul coffee then shoved it away. “Then why didn’t you come forward before now? It’s been six months.” She drummed her fingers on the table.
Andre flinched. “I was scared, kid. You know what them Tears would do to me if they found out.”
“Names,” she persisted, tapping her PDA, ignoring the kid comment. “Did you see anything else? How did the men leave?”
He chewed on his bottom lip. “I can’t tell you. He’d kill me.”
She put down her PDA and reached over the table to touch his arm, making him flinch as if she’d just scalded him with fire. “Andre, I promise I’ll keep you safe but you need to give me that name and tell me what you saw.” She stared into his washed out eyes. Please give me something, anything!
Andre continued to tremble even as he gulped down his own coffee, sloshing it over the table and leaving brown puddles. “Goodridge. That’s his name.
“What else?” She tasted a bitter aftertaste in the back of her throat and pulled up her case notes to make sure she hadn’t missed anything.
“One of them pulled out a ball.”
Charlie’s eyes narrowed. “A ball? What kind of ball?” She wondered if this was a dead end and the guy had just come to tell her nonsense after getting strung out on his drug of choice.
“You know, a glowing blue ball thingy. Never seen no bomb like that.”
The cafe faded as her mind went back to the warehouse. She crawled along the cold concrete. Blue pulsing lights came from a wooden crate.
“Stay back,” Moret shouted, aiming his gun at her.
She glanced over at fallen box. The orb seemed to call to her. The Srimtar. She’d seen it.
Light exploded from it, knocking the men away from her before she passed out.
Charlie blinked, feeling a wave of dizziness wash over her. Three people now surrounded the table. Moret, Andre and another man. “What the hell?”
A sharp pain hit the back of her head as something struck her from behind. Her vision blurred as blackness took hold, threatening to pull her under but Charlie fought to stay conscious. She reached for magic. Someone yanked her hands behind her back. Her powers wouldn’t come. She’d been drugged, she realised too late. But she’d be damned if she’d go down without a fight.
She jabbed the man behind her in the ribs and heard a grunt of pain. With a shaking hand, she grabbed her gun and fired. A blue stream of energy shot out.
Andre screamed.
Figures faded to colours. Damn it, she couldn’t see a bloody thing. Using her free hand, she dropped her badge on the floor as someone grabbed her, hitting her again.
Charlie blurred in and out of consciousness as they threw her into a van. She blinked from the impact. They tied her hands and feet and then gagged her mouth. They’d taken her gear too, even her comm link ring. Her head pounded like a heavy drum as she heard an engine start.
She moaned, trying to call for help but only muffled sounds came out. Drake! She tried to call him in thought. But their telepathic link only worked with magic, he wouldn’t hear her.
She closed her eyes as oblivion took over.
A sharp pain across her face brought Charlie back to consciousness. Her vision swirled in a blur of shapes and colours as she found herself in a dark room. The windows had been boarded up, the crystal lamps on the walls cast eerie shadows around the room. It contained nothing but the chair they’d tied her to.
“Welcome back, witch,” said an unfamiliar voice.
She tensed, realising she wasn’t alone.
They yanked off her gag. “Don’t bother calling for help, this place is shielded. No one will hear you.”
“Who are you?” she demanded. “Where the fuck am I?”
“I’ll ask the questions. But you might as well know my name. I’m TJ, one of the Tears.”
She closed her eyes, trying to get her body to focus. Her magic still lay just beyond reach. Drake! she called again.
Still nothing.
“Where’s the Srimtar?” TJ demanded.
She shook her head, trying to clear it. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
The response to his question earned her another blow to the face. Charlie felt blood drip from her nose, her head pounded harder and her stomach recoiled as she spat out vomit. It left a nasty taste in her mouth. She hoped she’d brought up some of the drug too.
“Don’t think being related to the Grand Mistress will save you. No one’s coming to rescue you, witch. Now, where’s the Srimtar?”
Chapter 12
Drake paced up and down the office area. “Gods above and below, where is she?” he thundered. Fire formed in his palm but he snuffed it out.
“Would you please calm down?” snapped Kaz. “We don’t know she’s in trouble.”
“I know!” he snapped back. “I can’t sense her presence. Gods, I should have forced that damn bond on her.”
“Calm down,” Nigel intoned. “Losing it won’t get you anywhere.”
Drake muttered a curse in his own language and balled his hands into fists. His inner demon demanded blood as rage burned hot in his veins. He hadn’t lost control like this since he lost his own family eight thousand years earlier. That was why he’d never grown too close to others, except his oldest friend, Jason, then the McCray family.
He’d come close to losing Charlie once before when she died six years earlier; forming a link had been the only way to revive her. A link he no longer felt. What had happened? She’d been a presence at the edge of his mind since that day. Where had she gone?
If she were dead, he knew he would have felt it.
“Got it. I found her phone,” Nigel announced, holding up his PDA. “I know where she is.”
Drake grabbed the screen, peered at the location, started to shimmer out. One he got there he’d find his witch. If anyone had hurt her, he’d burn them from the inside out then send them to spend eternity in hell.
Kaz jumped up, grabbing his arm. “Hey, we’re coming with you. Charlie is our friend too.”
He muttered another curse, grabbed hold of them and shimmered out. Stars and planets swirled around them in a riot of colours as he moved through the different planes of existence. Light blurred as they reappeared in a small car park. He didn’t see Charlie’s little blue car anywhere in sight and wondered if she’d shimmered there. If so, he would’ve sensed her magic yet he felt nothing. Not a good sign.
“This must be where she was meeting Andre,” Kaz remarked. “He’s the witness I mentioned.”
“Convenient having a witness come forward after all this time,” Drake muttered, scanning the cafe in front of him. He felt no trace of his life mate anywhere, but he
sensed she’d been there. He could feel the lingering energy. He sniffed, spotted something burning in a nearby bin. “Investigate that.” He stalked into the cafe, eyes alert.
There was only one customer there staring into a coffee mug. The man’s body shook. Drake smelt fear. Something glinted on the floor. He held out his hand so the object flew over to him and he flipped the case open. A gold shield glittered there, and on the other side was a photo of Charlie. Drake let out a growl, picked the man up by the throat. “Where is she?” he snarled, shoving it in the man’s face. “Where’s the woman who came here?”
The man squirmed, trying to break free. “Don’t know, I–”
Drake sensed he was a low-level demon with negligible power. He could squash him like an insect and the little weasel knew it. “Where is she?” he repeated, shoving the badge into his jacket. The walls trembled as his eyes burned with red fire, letting the feel of his power roam free.
“They – they took her,” the man cried. “I was only paid to meet her.”
The door flew open as Kaz and Nigel rushed him. “Drake, we found Charlie’s gear in the bin,” Nigel announced. “I think the cafe’s camera might show us more. Maybe we’ll be able to get a lead on how they took her out of here.”
Drake ignored them as he forced his mind into the other demon’s. Tell me what you know. Power he hadn’t used in centuries bubbled to the surface images as flashed by. He saw Charlie being grabbed, then dragged away. The name Myles Goodridge came to him.
“Drake, put the guy down. He’s just a lackey.” Kaz grabbed his arm. “We don’t kill people out of personal revenge.”
Drake threw the man across the room. His inner demon growled but he had no time for revenge. Oh, people would pay he’d make sure of it, but vengeance would have to wait for now.
Drake shimmered into his club. “Val?” he yelled. “Val, get your arse over here.”
Vale appeared. “What now?”
Drake gave him a look, eyes flashing amber. “Tell me where to find Myles Goodridge.”
“Goodridge? That’s impossible. That guy moves around so much no one can find him.”
“I will find him. Give me every address you have connected to the Tears.”
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