by Bianca D'Arc
The calico cat jumped into the vehicle, a furry streak of orange, brown and white. It went straight to the back where the women were sitting and climbed into a redheaded woman’s lap. She cuddled the cat like an old friend and started to cry happy tears.
“I knew that cat was someone’s familiar,” Gabe muttered. “Let’s go,” he said to Margo, and she took off again. “Now, just one last thing,” he said to himself as he turned in his seat to keep what was left of the house in sight.
Gabe flicked his finger at the wreckage of the house and lit the fire that would burn for hours. Nothing could be left of that house of horrors for the civilian authorities to puzzle over. Margo kept going, and they were long gone before the first fire engine showed up.
Soon after Margo took the wheel, Ezra directed them to the outskirts of town where there were a few clusters of high-priced homes. The gated property he navigated to was a mansion. An empty mansion set on a large plot of private wooded land.
“What is this place?” Margo asked, ducking her head to look up at the tall pines around the perimeter of the property, even as she drove up the winding driveway.
Ezra had given her the gate code, and she’d punched it into the keypad after leaning out the window. The heavy ornamental, but seriously protective, gates swung silently open and then closed behind them as soon as the van was through.
“It used to be owned by Beth’s father,” Ezra said, naming the mermaid mate of the bear shifter, Trevor. “It was a place their entire pod could come and vacation. It’s set up for multiple guests and has a nice big pool house. I cleared out Jonathan’s people and have been keeping the place in readiness for just this kind of thing, should the opportunity arise.” Ezra cradled the unconscious bear shifter woman as if she was made of spun glass. “It’ll be a good place to recover and heal,” he whispered as if to the woman in his arms.
“Collin can get medical and psychological support up here in a couple of hours,” Margo said softly. “Can’t you?” She eyed her boss in the rearview mirror.
“They’re already waiting,” he said in a firm but gentle voice. “Ezra gave me the address and gate code, and I sent them ahead.”
“Good one, boss,” she complimented her forward-thinking employer. There was a reason she liked working for Collin. He was always one step ahead of everyone. She could really respect that. Especially in this kind of situation.
He nodded at her as she rounded the last bend of the long driveway and the house came into view. It was big and lit with welcoming lights. As she pulled up the van in front of the wide double doors that led inside the massive house, they were opened from within by a team of women in medical garb. They took charge of the former captives as soon as Collin opened the sliding door on the side of the van.
The redheaded witch kept hold of her cat, but nobody minded. Ezra, likewise, refused to release his burden and insisted on carrying the unconscious bear shifter woman into the house, two nurses following close behind.
Within an hour, the three strike teams had converged on the mansion with the women they had rescued in tow. The house was filling up, and everybody was being checked out by the medical team Collin had pre-positioned. The entire medical team was female—something Collin had done in order to minimize any possible trauma the women may have experienced. Margo thought that had been a compassionate touch.
She’d been acting as a liaison between her boss and the Redstones while Collin took off to collect Theodora’s family from the airstrip. He’d had her parents flown out specially, so they could see their daughter and help her recover. Until they arrived, though, Ezra seemed to have appointed himself Theodora’s guardian. He claimed he was staying by her side in case she woke scared and shifted. Even a weak bear could do a lot of damage. Ezra was there to help keep her calm—or so he claimed.
Nobody felt like arguing with him, and honestly, since Theodora was the only shifter in the group of freed women, they were keeping her in a separate room, away from the others, just in case. It wasn’t out of the realm of possibility that she would wake frightened and immediately shift. If that happened in front of the humans, things would get really complicated really fast.
The three strike teams had freed about two dozen human women, who were being kept in their own wing of the mansion. The freed mages and Theodora were kept in another part of the house. The four magical women clustered together in one suite, while Theodora was kept in the next room over. Her former cellmates kept checking on her, according to the nurse who had been left with them, which Margo thought was really sweet.
Steve Redstone was already making plans to turn over the human women to federal law enforcement personnel. He would claim he’d stumbled across evidence of human trafficking on one of his job sites and had been collecting evidence before he went to the civil authorities, but then, things had snowballed, and he’d decided to take action. Luckily, Steve had many contacts in law enforcement from his old military days.
Rather than go directly to the local cops, he’d already called a friend of his who was high up in the FBI. The regional director was more than willing to overlook the fact that Steve and his people had acted on their own to perform the rescue. The director knew Steve and quite a few of the members of Steve’s team. He knew their abilities, and he would probably just thank them for doing the job cleanly and without fuss.
In fact, Steve reported to Margo, the man was already on his way to the mansion. Margo passed along that information to Collin, who was waiting at the airstrip. Collin would need to time his arrival with Theodora’s parents to minimize exposure of the magical women to the human officials.
That left the four witches. They had most likely been living normal human lives before being targeted and abducted. Margo went into the suite where they were staying cautiously. The calico cat sniffed at her but didn’t hiss, which was a good sign, and Margo was a bit surprised to find Gabe there, talking quietly with the women.
They were all seated in a conversation area to one side of the main room. There were several bedrooms leading off from the main room, and a bathroom or two, as well. Very luxurious, but the waif-thin women didn’t seem to care about their opulent surroundings. They were all listening intently to Gabe’s quiet words. Margo moved closer, and Gabe looked up and met her gaze with a soft smile, just for her.
Her heart filled with the love she hadn’t yet told him about, but there was work to do first. She’d have time to grab him and tell him they were mates later. She wouldn’t give him a choice. She was going to keep him for the rest of their lives. She just had to convince him.
But, first, work.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“The FBI is on the way. They’re going to take the other women in hand, but you four are a special case,” Margo addressed the women sitting quietly around Gabe. “I was sent to ask your preferences. If you were living among humans, there are probably reports of your disappearances. Police were likely involved, and it might be easier if you returned now, with the help of our friends in the FBI. Or you can stay with us and return to your lives—if that’s what you want—in your own way. You’ve all been through a lot, so we’re okay with leaving the choice up to you.”
“If we stay with your people, where would we go?” the blonde of the bunch asked. There was a redhead, a blonde, and two brunettes—one with hair a darker shade of brown than the other.
“I believe the owner of this house would allow you to stay here for a while, if that’s what you want, or there’s an offer of sanctuary with the Redstone Clan in Las Vegas,” Margo told them.
“Redstones are cat shifters, right?” one of the brunettes asked.
“The leaders are cats,” Margo allowed, “but the Clan is enormous and made up of many different species of shifters.” She didn’t think that was secret knowledge, so she felt comfortable in sharing it.
“They have spiritual support too. A priestess and shaman,” Gabe supplied, surprising Margo with his inside knowledge.
“Tha
nk you for the options, but I think I’m going to go with the FBI. I never had much magic, and I lived happily among regular people. I had a job and coworkers, and a boyfriend.” Tears started trickling down her face as she spoke. It was the brunette with the lighter brown hair, and the girls on either side reached out to take her hands in a show of support. “I want to go home,” she said. “I hope you understand.”
“We do understand,” Margo was quick to reassure the woman. “I think, in your shoes, I’d probably do the same.”
“And I’m going to put you in touch with my cousin, like we were discussing,” Gabe put in, his voice pitched to a comforting level. “I’m sure she can help you recover and retrain your magic. Maybe you could speak with her by phone before you leave us?” Gabe made the statement into a question, and the brunette nodded gratefully.
“I’d really like that. And I want to keep in touch with all of you…” she looked at her fellow former captives and smiled at them, “…and Theodora,”
They had bonded in that prison, Margo realized, and had forged friendships that would probably last the rest of their lives. Facing such dire conditions and the constant threat of death together had probably done that.
“I’ll call my cousin, right now, so you two can talk,” Gabe said, standing and moving off to the other side of the room, his phone already in his hand. The brunette got up and followed him.
One down, Margo thought. Now, for the rest.
“I think I’ll do the same as Mimi,” the blonde said suddenly. “I had a good job and a small coven. They’ve probably been searching for me all this time,” she said.
“Would you like to try calling someone?” Margo asked. “I could facilitate that. You know, sort of call them first and explain a bit about how you’ve been found then put you on the line. I’m really a private investigator, so I’ve had some experience with that sort of thing.”
“Would you?” The blonde looked so hopeful. Margo assured her she’d be pleased to help. And that was two down.
“I never had a coven or anything like Lucinda,” the darker-haired brunette said, “but I do have a small circle of friends who are all sort of New Age practitioners. None of them know that I have real magic, but they are my friends and have probably been looking for me. I could probably use a little help getting back to my old life, if you’re willing to make one of those calls for me.”
Three down, Margo amended her internal tally, even as she assured the woman that she’d be very pleased to help in that way. “The FBI will help, as well,” Margo assured them. “I’m pretty sure they have procedures they follow in cases like this. There will be a debriefing and lots of questions, so those of you who want to go the human route will have to decide what it is you want the FBI to know. It’s probably best to get your stories straight before you get involved with them,” she cautioned.
“When will they be here?” the woman identified as Lucinda asked.
“An hour or so, last I heard,” Margo told her.
“Then, we’ve got a bit of work to do,” Lucinda said decisively, standing and putting her hands on her hips. “Come on, Betty. You, me and Mimi have to get our stories straight.”
With that, she and the darker brunette went over to where the first woman was just finishing up her call to Gabe’s cousin. They sat at a table on the other side of the room and started talking. Margo would go talk with them as soon as they’d had a chance to iron out initial details. It was important that everyone know what they were going to tell the feds about the group that had been held by Bolivar.
“That leaves me and Kally,” the redhead said when Margo looked back at her. The calico cat had jumped up to sit in the woman’s lap and was contentedly purring as the woman stroked her fur. “And Thea. What’s going to happen with Thea? She was in such bad shape.”
“Theodora’s parents will be here shortly. They actually hired my firm to look for her, so the paperwork end on her case is all tidy. We can have her safely back with her people ASAP,” Margo assured her.
“Who was that man who wouldn’t let her go?” the redhead asked, a worried expression on her face.
“He’s one of her kind. You know what she is, right?” Margo asked, uncertain of how much the other woman had seen while they’d been held prisoner.
“She’s a bear,” the redhead whispered. “A bear shifter. Bolivar used to hurt her until he provoked the bear to come out, and then, he’d taunt her to break her spirit.” There were tears in the other woman’s eyes, and Margo could only imagine the horror all of those women had been through at the hands of Mathias Bolivar. She was glad he was dead. Really glad.
“The man is also a bear shifter. He didn’t want her to wake up scared. He figures if she shifts out of reflex, he can protect everyone else from her bear and also calm her with his own bear’s presence. He’s very Alpha, even for a bear shifter,” Margo told her.
“I’ve never been around shifters much,” the woman admitted. “You’re one too, right?” Margo nodded. “Thea made me feel safe, even though I knew we were all likely to die in that prison. Her bear form was comforting, not scary.” She paused, stroking the cat’s fur. “I don’t have anyone looking for me. I worked from home and owned my own business. I’m a writer,” she elaborated. “I doubt anyone even noticed I’d gone anywhere, except Kally.” She stroked the cat again, lovingly. “And she came for me. All this distance, and she came.” The woman bent down and nuzzled the cat in her lap, letting her tears slide into the fur of her companion.
“Where do you live?” Margo asked softly.
“Sacramento,” she replied, sitting up straight again. “I’m Angelina Barkette.”
“Margo Mahigan,” Margo replied automatically. “I bet I could get the Redstones to take you to your place and make sure everything is still in good order. Somebody must’ve missed you by now. The postman, at the very least,” she joked.
“Maybe,” Angelina allowed. “I confess, I haven’t been very social in recent years. Since my mother died, I barely go out of the house. And when the magic came… I didn’t really know how to handle it. I’ve become a bit of a hermit, but Thea made me think that maybe shifters wouldn’t mind that I was a witch. I mean, you’re magic too, right?”
Margo looked at Angelina with understanding. “Anybody who objects to your magic isn’t somebody you want to be around.”
“I’m not that strong, anyway. I just have a way with animals,” Angelina admitted, stroking the cat. “I’m nothing compared to your boyfriend.” She gestured toward Gabe who was still across the room with the others.
“My boyfriend?” Margo repeated the words in a questioning tone, looking over at Gabe.
Was that the way people perceived them? Huh. She didn’t hate that idea. In fact, she was thrilled that Angelina could see they belonged together. It was a good sign.
“Well, yeah,” Angelina went on when Margo didn’t say anything else. “It’s pretty obvious the way he looks at you and the way you worked together so well. I would’ve assumed he was your husband, but shifters don’t do big wedding ceremonies, right?”
“Some do,” Margo told Angelina, turning back to look at the redheaded woman. “In fact, Gabe and I met at his sister’s wedding just a few weeks ago.”
“It’s only been a few weeks? I would’ve thought you two had been together a long time. If ever I’ve seen a perfect match, you two are it,” Angelina replied candidly.
Margo felt warm all over and smiled at the other woman. “I’m glad you think so. I’m definitely considering keeping him.”
They both chuckled at Margo’s proprietary words.
In short order, everything was decided. The three women who wanted to go home and be reintroduced into the human world by the FBI and their local authorities got their stories straight and went to join the other two dozen women who’d been held at the three hotels. The shifters were making themselves scarce, moving into the magical wing—as Margo came to think of it—of the house, leaving the larger section
to the former captives and those chosen to interface with the FBI personnel, who were to arrive at any moment.
The three women who’d been held by Bolivar had been asked not to identify neither Bolivar nor the house. The shifters didn’t want to have to explain why a man was missing and a house had exploded. Sure, Steve figured his FBI friend would put two and two together, but if they didn’t bring it up, he probably wouldn’t ask. Not when he considered what the women had been through.
Most of the regular human women had been raped, except for a few young virgins in the group, who were being preserved to be sold intact, as it were. Steve Redstone had assured Margo and Collin that all the men who had participated in holding the women hostage were in custody. One team member with military police training had been left at each hotel with the unconscious and bound prisoners. The FBI would pick them up once they spoke to the women.
Redstone didn’t seem concerned that he’d be in any hot water over this, and Margo found his confidence reassuring. There were all kinds of rumors in the shifter community about the Redstones and their connections—and also about the operations they had conducted on or near their home turf of Las Vegas. They were a law unto themselves, or so it was said, and Margo was coming to appreciate the truth behind the rumors.
Angelina, it had been decided, was going to get an escort home to Sacramento but would be welcome in Las Vegas if she decided to continue on with her escort after she made sure her home was secure. Margo thought privately that Angelina was already planning to just pack a bag in Sacramento and head farther south for a bit of sanctuary among the Redstones. She’d already asked Steve’s mate, Trisha, about the priestess in Las Vegas, and Margo even thought she’d been on the phone to the holy woman. It seemed a sure bet that Angelina would go…and the cat already seemed half in love with Steve, much to his chagrin. Little calico Kally followed him around when she wasn’t in Angelina’s lap.