Irresistible Magic (Crescent City Fae: Book 2)

by Deanna Chase

  Oh holy mother of…crap! Not Phoebe, too. My head started to ache. I clamped my mouth shut, afraid of what I’d say. Now wasn’t the time. And we’d needed Harrison and Nicola. I was glad they’d been there. But couldn’t someone, anyone, just tell me the truth once in a while? I took a deep breath. “Did he? Find out I mean? Is David outside or on his way?” If he was, I just might take out my anger on him in the form of a tranq dart.

  Nicola shook her head. “He was otherwise detained when I got the message.”

  Dammit all. The one time I actually wanted his lying ass here, he happened to be busy.

  Phoebe, satisfied the vampire was secure, rummaged in her backpack and came up with a bottle of water. “Here.” She handed it to Tal. “Drink slowly.”

  He nodded and fumbled with the cap.

  “I got it.” I took the bottle from him and unscrewed it. He frowned and turned away from me to sip his water. “Tal?”

  “Not now, Wil.”

  He was naturally thin with broad, muscular shoulders, but right then he looked emaciated, as if they’d drained the life right out of him. Hot tears stung my eyes. I blinked them back, unwilling to let him see me break down after everything he’d been through.

  “How much of the drug did you give them?” I asked Tal quietly.

  He turned slowly and gave me an incredulous look.

  “What? He demanded we bring him the extra samples. And his people are clearly drugged.”

  His green eyes flashed with anger. “None, Willow. Fucking none. Do you really think I’d try to save myself by risking everyone else’s safety?”

  “I…” Shit. That’s exactly what I’d thought. But hell, if I’d been tortured, I might have given it up. The voice in the back of my mind whispered No you wouldn’t. And Tal knows it.

  “Never mind.” Screwing the cap back on the bottle, he joined Phoebe and the vamp she’d managed to knock out with one of her spells. “He’s out cold.”

  “Damn straight,” she agreed.

  Tal walked back to me and took the tranq gun from my hands. I was too stunned by his stony expression to do anything but let him. “Grab your Taser before anyone else gets it,” he said.

  I watched him retreat to Phoebe’s side and dragged myself over to the crates to search for my stun gun. I found it lying near the wall, hidden in shadows. Was Tal really angry that I’d thought it possible he’d given his captors the drug? Well, he’d given it to Allcot. How was I supposed to know? I did know, though. He’d only given it to Allcot to help protect me. I hung my head and wandered back to him.

  “I’m sorry,” I whispered in his ear. “What can I do to help?”

  “Stay with Link,” he snapped.

  I stepped back as if I’d been slapped. Granted Tal had been through a horrific ordeal, but dammit, that didn’t give him license to treat me with such disdain.

  “Wil,” Phoebe said.

  “Yeah.”

  “The drug was the excuse for abducting Tal, but that isn’t what he was really after.”

  Tal snorted his agreement.

  The lightbulb started flashing in my brain. Of course it wasn’t. No wonder they’d been so easy to find. Von hadn’t been hiding at all. “He wanted me.”

  Phoebe nodded. “It’s why he demanded that you bring samples of Tal’s drug.”

  I should have known as soon as he started asking questions about Beau and me. The stalking, the office break-in, and the abduction of Tal were all related to getting close to me, to find out what I knew about Beau and exactly which of his gifts I’d inherited. Did that mean Asher and company were still in the dark about me? Von had asked why Asher was so obsessed with me. Asher might know, but Von didn’t seem to.

  There was only one way to find out. “Wake him up,” I told Phoebe.

  Nicola stepped up beside me. “Can you do that?” she asked Phoebe.

  Phoebe glanced at Nicola. “With your help.”

  “You got it.” Nicola took her place beside Phoebe and the pair joined their power together. The normally bright white that pooled in their hands turned pale blue, indicating they were in sync.

  Their magic melded together and shot straight at the vampire’s heart. He jolted awake with a start, reflexively struggling against his restraints. With a loud roar, he jerked forward, causing one of the bolts to pop and freeing one arm.

  “Hold it right there, Von,” I demanded, brandishing my stun gun at him once more.

  He growled, baring his fangs. Link sprang forward and latched on to Von’s loose arm. The vampire roared and did his best to shake him off, but Link held on, his jaws clamped in a tight death grip. The vampire only flailed harder, this time breaking the chain holding his other arm. Before anyone could react, he clocked Link and sent him flying across the room.

  “Link!” I flew to his side, running a sure hand down his still body. He blinked and looked up at me through his golden eyes. “You okay?”

  His eyes closed and with effort, he stumbled to his feet.

  “Willow,” Phoebe called.

  I jerked my head up to find the vampire laid out on the stone floor. Link and I made our way to her side. “What happened?”

  “I tranq’d him.” She shoved the gun into a holster on her side.

  I frowned. She’d had to do something. Restraining him was proving to be impossible. But our investigation just came to a screeching halt. All our suspects were down for the count. “Gonna be hard to get our questions answered now.”

  “I did what I had to,” Phoebe said irritably.

  I took a deep breath. “I know you did.”

  “Come on. We have to get out of here.” She nodded to Nicola and Harrison. “Help me get the vampire in the car.”

  “Whoa.” I held my hands up. “The vampire? Where are we taking him? Shouldn’t we call the Void and have them take care of these three?”

  She shook her head and gave me a pointed stare. “Not unless you’re prepared to tell the new director all about your family history.”

  I let out a suffering sigh. “No. I’m not. But can’t we just tell them they violated the codes? Make up something about the vamp going after someone and the humans helping him?” There had to be something. What were we going to do with them? The restraints in the warehouse couldn’t hold him. What made her think we could?

  “There’s no evidence. It won’t stick. Besides, we need answers and if we let the Void take him, I’ll be limited in what questions I can ask.”

  Basically, we’d be nowhere fast. And we needed information on Asher if I was going to be safe. “Then where?”

  “David’s house.”

  “What?” I straightened and shook my head. “Absolutely not. You know I don’t trust him.”

  Tal shifted to stand closer and gently took my hand, clearly trying to soothe my agitation. It didn’t work. I pulled my hand from his, even though all I wanted to do was grip it now that I had him with me again. “Save your strength, Tal. You need it more than I do.”

  He let me go, moved a few feet away, and stood near Link. Link licked Tal’s hand, giving him the support I seemed to be incapable of extending right at that moment. I bit down hard on my lower lip and turned my attention to Phoebe.

  “He has that room, Wil. And I have a key.” She patted her pocket. “I never gave it back after he offered to let me use his place when I was tracking Clea.”

  The sun porch. It was the perfect place to interrogate a vampire. The walls were unbreakable, reinforced glass. Left in the sun porch long enough with the threat of certain death at sunrise was the perfect way to get a vamp to talk. And David’s place was safer than my shop or our home. Asher would find me in two seconds flat if we went to either one.

  “And if David is there?” I asked her. “Are you willing to let him run the interrogation?” Because he would.

  She grinned. “He left over an hour ago and is now at Allcot’s mansion. The coast is clear.”

  “How do you know that?”

  Holding up her
phone, she let out a small bark of laughter. “I’ve bugged his phone with a magical tracking app.”

  Nicola took in a sharp breath of surprise. “He’s not going to like that.”

  “I’m sure he won’t,” Phoebe agreed.

  An unspoken exchange transpired between the two witches. Finally Nicola smiled. “Can you hook me up with that app?”

  Chapter 20

  Thankfully, the witches were able to wield a spell to carry the vampire and his two sidekicks to the cars. We’d fished the keys out of Von’s pocket, and after a walk around the block clicking the unlock button, we finally had success with a beige Suburban. It was the fully loaded version, complete with drop-down movie screens and a rear full of kids’ toys. Who the hell had they stolen this mom-mobile from?

  Once we had the Suburban open, Harrison hauled our tranq’d victims into the back, piling them in a heap. Limbs tangled and poked into backs and ribcages. If they woke up in those positions, we were going to have some very cranky bad guys on our hands.

  “I’ll drive this one.” Phoebe snatched the Suburban keys from me and pressed the keys to her Camry into my palm, nodding to me, Tal, and Link. “You three take my car.”

  Harrison and Nicola climbed into the Suburban. Phoebe waited for the rest of us to get safely to the Camry before she jumped in after them and took off.

  Tal sat back in the passenger’s seat and closed his eyes.

  I twisted the key in the ignition and let the car idle for a moment. “Tal?”

  He didn’t open his eyes. “Hmm?”

  I gripped his hand and squeezed, trying not to cry from the emotion swelling in my chest. “Don’t ever do that again.”

  He opened one eye and peered at me. “Do what?”

  “Get yourself abducted,” I whispered. “I can’t take it.”

  His eye closed and he sighed. “Be thankful they didn’t succeed in killing me.”

  The statement hit me like a sucker punch to the gut. He’d just confirmed what I already knew the moment I saw him in that chair. There was no denying they’d been draining the life from him. I leaned across the car and rested my head on his leg, needing to be connected to him.

  He placed his hand on my head and lightly stroked my hair. “I love you, too, Wil,” he said very faintly. I sat stunned, not sure what to say. Then, as I sorted my thoughts, his shallow breathing became steady and I knew he’d fallen into an exhausted slumber.

  I love you, too. The words ran through my mind over and over as I sat up and then eased the car into gear and headed back through the quiet streets. We’d never said those words to each other before. A month ago, I would’ve brushed them off as a brotherly type thing. But everything was different now. He’d said the words and I’d said nothing.

  Son of a…cripes.

  That was not how a declaration of love was supposed to go. I pressed my foot on the accelerator and sped the rest of the way to Mid-City. The beige Suburban was parked in David’s driveway when I stopped Phoebe’s car at his curb.

  “Tal,” I said, nudging his shoulder.

  He blinked, glancing around in confusion. “Where are we?”

  “David’s house. Remember? We brought Von and his minions here.”

  “Right.” He rubbed his eyes and reached for the door handle.

  I caught his arm. “Wait.”

  He glanced back at me, his face drawn with a bone-deep weariness.

  “Are you up for this? I mean, all your healing crystals must be back at your apartment, right?”

  He gave me a weak smile. “They are. But we both know we can’t go back there right now.” The door creaked as he climbed out.

  Link and I followed. I clasped Tal’s arm and the three of us headed into David’s house uninvited. A pit formed in my stomach. What would David say when he found out we’d barged in without his permission?

  Right then, I decided I didn’t care. He could find a way to deal with it. David hadn’t exactly been looking out for my welfare. No, he’d had his own agenda where I was concerned…again.

  Inside the house, I led Tal straight to the study where I knew Phoebe would be. She was huddled around the desk with Harrison and Nicola. No one even acknowledged us. A sense of déjà vu settled over me.

  Not too long ago, we’d had Clea locked in the sunroom while David and Phoebe shut me out of the interrogation process. That wouldn’t be happening again. I stalked over to the desk, hands on hips. “We’re here.”

  Phoebe glanced up. “I know. I heard you.” Her gazed flicked to Tal. “You probably want to find a guest room for him.”

  Anger seemed to seep from my pores, but before I could argue, Tal shook his head and said, “No. I’m not the only one who was taken.”

  “Elissa?” I asked.

  Tal gave me a confused look. “The lab assistant?”

  “Yeah. She hasn’t been home in days.”

  His brow crinkled as he frowned. “She was at work yesterday morning, but she left before the attack.”

  Well, that was something. “Then who?”

  “My boss. Professor Dawson. They took him at the same time they got me. I saw them stuff him in another car before they knocked me out. But when I awoke in the warehouse, he wasn’t there.”

  Phoebe sucked in a sharp breath. “Shit. We can’t leave him.”

  I shook my head and grabbed Tal’s hand. His boss was his only friend in town besides Phoebe and me. “Do you have any idea where he could be? You had multiple places to try, right?”

  Phoebe bit down on her lip, thinking. With a grimace, she said, “We could check them out, but those were long shots. The warehouse was the only one that seemed plausible.”

  Tal’s eyes narrowed. “You have other addresses to try?”

  “Well, technically, yes. But I doubt we’d find anything except car parts or other petty-theft items.”

  “Give me the addresses. I’ll go myself.” Tal grabbed a pad of paper from the desk and reached for a pen.

  “Wait.” I wrapped my hands around his arm and gently pulled him to my side. “You can’t go anywhere quite yet.”

  “I’m not leaving him with those monsters, Willow. You have no idea what they’re capable of.”

  An image of Tal, white and drained of life, made me tremble with delayed shock. “I think I do,” I said quietly, clutching the edge of the desk. “I know you have to do what you have to do, but please, take some time to heal first.” Tal was a healer. He had the magic within himself to become whole again. He just needed to focus.

  Tal sucked in a breath. “I don’t have my amethyst.”

  “What? You always…shit. They took it from you.” It wasn’t a question. Tal never went anywhere without an amethyst on him. It was either in his pocket or around his neck.

  Tal’s lips formed a tight line. He nodded once and turned to Phoebe. “Can I borrow your car?”

  “Wait.” Nicola reached into her purse and rummaged around.

  We all stared at her while she dumped handfuls of receipts and gum wrappers on the desk. “It’s in here somewhere,” she said under her breath.

  “What?” I asked.

  She grumbled and then a smile lit her creamy features. “Aha!” She pulled out a severely knotted silver chain, but on the end dangled a wire-wrapped pale lavender stone.

  Tal stepped forward and wrapped his hand around the pendant. His eyes closed and the tension instantly drained from his face. A tiny bit of pink colored his cheeks.

  I sank into a chair, finally able to relax for the first time all day. He was recovering right before my eyes.

  Nicola let go of the chain and stepped back.

  “Thank you,” Tal said.

  “No. Thank you.” A trace of a smile graced her lips. “Ever since you healed me last week, that amethyst seems to take away any minor ailment.”

  “It’s a side effect,” I mumbled.

  “What?” She turned, glancing at me.

  I cleared my throat. “After Tal touches someone with his
magic, it lingers. If you keep an amethyst on your person, the magic will flair to life when you need it.”

  “Sort of like an energy boost?” she asked.

  “Yeah.” Tal’s coloring was better, but the way his body swayed slightly indicated the bone-deep exhaustion was catching up to him.

  I put an arm around him. “Let’s go in the other room so you can concentrate.” What I really wanted to do was lead him to the guest room so he could lie down. But I knew he wouldn’t do that in David’s house and he wasn’t going to let anyone treat him like an invalid. Not that he was one. He just needed some time and space to recover. We moved into the living room where Tal took a seat on David’s pin-striped settee and leaned back. His shoulders hunched forward as he clutched the amethyst.

  “Tal?”

  “Willow,” he said, not opening his eyes. “Please. Let me be for now.” His voice was strained and full of something close to desperation.

  I backed up into the doorway. “Of course. I’ll be with Phoebe if you need anything.”

  He gave me one nod and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he hung his head.

  I’d give anything to be able to help him the way he’d helped me more times than I could count. The times I’d been battered and aching to the point of almost no return until his cool tingling magic took it all away. Now he’d have to use the last of his strength to heal himself. He could do it, but he wouldn’t be in any shape to fight for his boss. I’d guess he’d need at least a week to fully recover. He wouldn’t admit that to anyone, though. Not even himself.

  “Hey,” Phoebe said.

  I jumped and whirled to find her standing right behind me. My heart pounded as if it were trying to beat right out of my chest. “Dammit, Phoebs. Could you have been any quieter? You scared the crap out of me.”

  “Sorry.” She placed a gentle hand on my arm. “I need to talk to Tal for a sec.”

  I shook my head. “He needs some time to himself.”

  “Let her in,” Tal said from the settee. “I’m fine.”

  I clamped my lips together, forcing myself to not say anything. Phoebe hurried in and sat next to Tal as I leaned against the doorframe. They weren’t touching, but something about their interaction made me think Tal was more comfortable with her presence than mine. Something close to jealousy ignited inside me and I had to turn away to get a grip on myself. Absolutely nothing was going on with them. I knew that right down to my toes.