by Daisy Dunn
The men proceeded to watch the video and were astonished by the raw power this tiny woman possessed. They watched her run toward the hidden camera with her arms in the air and a swirling mass of turbulent air growing in size and speed behind her. Suddenly, her arms came forward and the air mass separated, went around the woman, and exploded forward. A man ran beside her at a distance, but his facial features could be seen in the cleaned-up picture that had been sent to them. Taking a look at the photograph, they printed a copy for each of them to carry. With their new mission in place, they headed out into the small town to start asking around about the woman and the man in the photograph.
The day had passed by quickly, with the sun starting to sink lower in the sky, yet the men were no further ahead in their knowledge of the people in the picture than they were earlier in the day. They’d stopped people in the street to ask them if they recognized either one of the two, but everyone they talked to said no. However, no matter how long their search took, they would find these two people and bring them back to the syndicate.
“I think we need to take a break for a while. Why don’t we go out for supper, relax for a little bit, and resume our search after we eat?” Todd suggested as his stomach rumbled for the countless time that afternoon.
“I couldn’t agree more. You know, I saw a tavern up the road that seemed to have a lot of vehicles in the parking lot. Why don’t we go there, question some of the locals, and have a bite to eat?” Stanley said, rubbing his chubby belly.
The men turned around and walked two blocks to McLeod’s Pub. Upon entering, Todd smelled the delicious aroma of steak grilling and knew right away what he planned on having. “Let’s sit at the bar so we can talk to the bartender. They always seem to know everyone in these towns,” Todd leaned down and whispered in Stanley’s ear.
“Great idea. Let’s go.”
Sauntering up to the bar, they both sat down on stools waiting for the bartender to come their way. Grabbing a handful of salted peanuts, Todd tossed a few in his mouth and noticed the staleness of the snack instantly. He dropped his remaining handful back in the bowl for the next fool dumb enough to try them.
The bartender made his way to the men and said, “Good evening, gents. What can I get for you?”
“Do you have any specials, preferably with steak?” Todd asked before Stanley could jump in.
“Tonight’s special is suds, spuds, and steak.” He pointed to a chalkboard on the wall behind him with all the details on the special.
So much for being an observant Hunter if I can’t even notice a sign. “I’ll have the special, medium rare for my steak.” Todd’s mouth started watering at the thought of his upcoming dinner.
“I’ll have exactly the same.” Stanley gave his order as well.
“Thank you, guys. I’ll put your order in right away.”
A minute later, the bartender came back with their frothy golden beers and iced mugs, placing the heavenly elixir in front of them. He turned to leave, but Todd grabbed his arm. He then reached inside his own jacket for the picture of the powerful girl and mysterious man.
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure,” the bartender answered casually.
“I have a picture of a man and woman I’m looking for. I don’t even know if they live in this town, but since you probably know most of the people residing here, maybe you can help me.”
“I can try.”
Todd had folded the picture so only the faces of the two could be seen, not the scene around them. He handed the picture to the man and waited to read his face for a glimmer of recognition.
The bartender smiled and said, “You know, you’re the second person in a month that’s shown me a picture of this young lady.”
“Do you know her?” Todd could only assume the first person looking for her must have been Nigel.
“Yes, I do, but I’m feeling a little odd about giving out her name to strangers. The first man looking for her said she’d been a long-lost relative, but she said he never sought her out when I asked her about him a couple weeks later. May I ask why you two are looking for her?”
“Of course you can. We are private investigators, and Mr. Nigel Price, the man looking for this woman, has gone missing. We’ve been hired by his family to find him, and all we know is that he’s looking for her. She’s the only link we have so far to him.”
“Well, she did tell me he didn’t contact her,” the bartender reiterated.
“Would you be so kind as to call her and see if he did stop by recently to get in touch with her? Otherwise, we have no other leads, and this investigation will come to a dead end. His family is so worried about him. It’s not like him to not keep in touch with them.”
“All right, I’ll ask her, but I don’t feel right about giving out her personal information. I’ll see if I can get her permission.”
“Yes, please ask her. Thank you for your kindness.”
The bartender nodded and walked a couple of paces away to the phone behind the bar. Luck seemed to be on their side, as the old phone happened to be a push-button, and from the angle Todd sat he could see the numbers he pushed clearly. He mentally noted the numbers and quickly added them into his cell phone so he wouldn’t forget them.
A moment later, the bartender returned to the men and said, “I’m sorry I can’t help you. She’s not at work right now. But she will be tomorrow if you want to stop back here, and I’ll call her again for you.”
“You have been more than helpful, sir. Thank you for doing this for us.”
“You’re very welcome, but I haven’t done much of anything yet.” He tapped the bar countertop in front of them and walked away to serve other customers.
Todd immediately pulled out his cell phone and dialed the number he had just typed in. The phone rang twice, and a sweet voice answered the line and said, “Elemental Magic, this is Flame speaking. How can I help you?”
Hanging up the phone on the woman, he turned to Stanley with a huge grin on his face. “Well, we’re one huge step closer to finding her. I now know where and when she’s going to be working. I think we should celebrate a job well done. When we get home tonight, let's make a plan to kidnap her, doing something even the mighty Nigel Price couldn’t do.” The men lifted their glasses and clanked them together in cheers.
This job is turning out to be easier than Commander Tower made it seem.
* * * *
Flame heard the click of the line going dead on the other end of the phone. She hung up and returned to the front counter where Ivy finished helping a customer.
“Flame, what’s wrong with you tonight? You don’t seem your usual self. You actually look quite sad. I haven’t pried into your business, but I’m starting to get worried.” Ivy reached over to Flame and stroked her arm gently.
“Well, I guess out of anybody, you would understand. Last night, I had the most amazing night with Ethan. When we were at the bar, I went into that sensual heat and ended up sleeping with Ethan. I had absolutely no regrets this morning, and I felt pretty good about my feelings toward him.”
“I don’t know why you’re so down. It sounds to me like you had a wonderful time and you found a potential mate.”
“That’s exactly what I thought until Jack came in here this morning to talk to me. As usual, we got into a huge fight when I told him about my date with Ethan. Heated words were exchanged, and then Jack did something I didn’t expect. He told me he was in love with me, and then he kissed me passionately. We ended up making love in the back stockroom.” Flame hung her head low and kicked the toe of her ballerina flat shoe lightly against the underside of the counter.
“So, you have two men who are after you fighting for your affection. Why is that so bad? I have two mates, and so does Skye, and we’re all making things work.”
“Somehow things seemed to turn out for you two, but I can’t see Ethan or Jack accepting a situation where they have to share me. This is horrible. I didn’t even think I had feel
ings for Jack until he showed me his wonderful side. He even said he’d been in love with me from the first moment he’d met me. However, that’s how I feel about Ethan.”
“Do you love Jack, too?”
“Yes, I do. Oh, Ivy, I’m usually the voice of reason, but when it comes to my own life, I’m lost.”
“I’m going to give you the same advice you gave me when I came to you with exactly the same problem. Let things happen and eventually they will work out on their own. Don’t stress over these two men. Instead, go with the flow and see what happens. If they truly love you and you love them, things will fall into place as fate has ordained.” Ivy hugged Flame tight, giving her exactly what she needed at the moment.
“I feel so blessed to have a friend like you.”
“You better believe it, sister.” Ivy giggled. “Now, we better clean up for the night and get ready to close up shop. Everyone will be here at eight o’clock for the meeting.”
“Oh, no, I forgot about Jack’s talk tonight. I hadn’t been expecting to see both of them so soon. Mind you, I’m only assuming Ethan’s coming, too.”
“Something tells me that you’re right. Why don’t you vacuum the floor, and I’ll count the money in the till. I’m sure we won’t have any more customers in the next fifteen minutes.”
Flame nodded and started cleaning up the shop. On one hand, she dreaded meeting Jack and Ethan together, but on the other hand she so desperately wanted to see them.
Everyone arrived around eight o’clock. The final two to walk through the door were Jack and Ethan. Flame’s heart felt as if it were caught in her throat. Both men were beyond handsome to her. Their personalities couldn’t be any more different, but she still wanted both of them. What am I going to do? Not everyone is lucky enough to find two men willing to share one woman. Skye and Ivy managed to find very special men, but the likelihood of this happening with Jack and Ethan is pretty nonexistent.
Both men looked at Flame from the moment they walked in the door. Have they told each other about me? From their casualness with each other, she suspected they hadn’t.
Once everybody had greeted one another and formed a loose semicircle around Jack, he began to address the group. “I know you’re all wondering why I’ve asked you here tonight. Well, I think it’s time to be honest with this group. First of all, my brother and I have discussed this and have decided to tell you who we really are.” Flame watched as Jack paused and looked at his brother, who nodded briefly. “Ethan and I are phoenix shifters.”
Chapter 6
A collective gasp ran through the group, as they looked back and forth between each other and then back at Jack. Flame stared in disbelief at the two men, trying to digest what Jack had just admitted.
Once the group settled down, Jack continued. “We have the ability to change into giant phoenixes, as well as to control fire. We also possess more strength and speed than the average human.”
Flame gasped again more loudly, placing her hand over her mouth. All eyes turned to her, and she mumbled, “Sorry to interrupt, please continue.” They control fire. No wonder I feel my soul pulled to both men. Her excitement for the men grew.
“Normally, this is a secret Ethan and I would never share with anyone. However, we believe all of you have a secret as well. If you choose to share your private information with us, please know it’s going to a reliable source, and we vow to keep your secrets.”
“Can you prove your abilities?” Flame asked as she walked up to the two men. She prayed they weren’t lying to her.
Ethan stepped forward and stood in front of her. He snapped his fingers and a flame danced along his fingertips. Jack walked up to Ethan, stuck his finger in the flame, and pulled the fire away from his brother to hold it in his own hand. Flame watched in awe as Jack made the flame shoot higher and grow into a fireball. Without thinking, she reached forward into Jack’s hand and took the fireball in her own. She held the flame for a moment, shocked to find not only one but two men with matching abilities to hers. With her other hand she covered the ball of fire, causing it to dissipate into the air in little embers of sparks that eventually disappeared.
“This is amazing,” Raine cried out. “They’re like us.”
“Jack and I suspect you women have elemental abilities, much like all your names suggest. Are we correct in this assumption?” Ethan asked.
“Yes, but how did you guess about our abilities?” Flame asked, astonished by the turn of events. “I know we work in a store called Elemental Magic, and our names are linked with the four elements, but most people think it’s only a gimmick, never believing we could possess any of these mystical powers.”
“This brings us to the reason we called this meeting.” Ethan pulled out a picture and handed the photo to Skye. He continued. “This picture is of Skye and either Luke or Levi. Have any of you heard about an evil underground syndicate called the Hunters?”
Flame looked at her friends, as everyone nodded in unison. “Yes, we’ve met them on a couple of occasions in town.”
“Luke and I have been running from them for years. We’re lycans. We thought the Hunters were only after werewolves, but since we’ve been here in this little town, we’ve discovered they’re after anyone who’s different and gifted. By the way, the man in the picture is me,” Levi admitted.
“Well, if everyone is going to be honest, Dillon and I should be, too. We’re cat shifters, black panthers to be exact. We’ve been on the run from the Hunters for many years ourselves. I think I speak for all of us when I say we aren’t running anymore. We’re going to stay here, protect these women as best as we can, not that they can’t protect themselves, and fight for our right to settle down and live in peace.” Conner wrapped his arm around Skye and kissed her forehead.
“Well said, Conner,” Luke interjected.
Flame continued to watch as Luke and Levi wrapped their arms around Ivy in a seemingly protective gesture, while Dillon joined Conner with his arm around Skye. The simple, yet intimate embraces warmed Flame’s heart. She longed to have a man to love her unconditionally like Skye’s and Ivy’s men. She was thrilled for them and prayed she could sort out this mess she’d made with Jack and Ethan before she lost them both.
Her gaze wandered over to Ethan’s and linked with his. He smiled and winked at her, his happy-go-lucky nature about to be crushed when she told him about what happened with Jack. She forced a smile back at Ethan, pretending nothing was bothering her.
“From the comments I’m hearing, I’m guessing you women are more powerful than I can imagine.” Flame turned her gaze to Jack as he continued to talk. “No wonder you would get so upset with me for wanting to protect you. It appears as if you are all quite capable of protecting yourselves.”
“Yes, we are.” Flame stuck up for her elemental sisters.
“Then I apologize for being so bossy and overprotective,” Jack said while frowning a little.
“Where did you get this picture?” Skye asked.
“I have underground connections with the Hunters. We have insiders with hidden abilities who are as determined to eradicate their syndicate as we are. They gave me this picture from a video they have of you, Skye. I couldn’t get the video, but this photo was enough to find you. For the past two days, Jack and I have been watching you women to make sure we didn’t see anyone hanging around or acting suspicious. So far, we haven’t seen anything out of the ordinary,” Ethan explained.
Skye turned to Ivy and handed her the picture. “Is this the same picture the Hunter showed you about a month ago?”
Ivy took the photograph in hand and examined it closely. “Yes, it is. I’m afraid the Hunter who tried to kidnap you managed to pass this on to the syndicate. Dammit, that means more will be coming soon, if they’re not here already.”
“Our home is extremely secure. If anyone tries to enter, there are booby traps everywhere,” Conner said. Flame could hear the agitation in his voice. “No one is laying a hand on my Skye ever again i
f Dillon and I can help it.”
“That’s what I hoped to hear from this group. We’re all in the sights of the Hunters whether they know of our abilities or not. Sooner or later, they will find us. Together, we’re strong and powerful. I say we band together as a pack and keep each other safe. I love this town and everything in it.” Jack looked at Flame as he made that comment. “I think we all deserve the right to settle down and raise a family in peace.”
Flame blushed at his words, and then looked down at the floor like a shy schoolgirl. What am I going to do with these two? Who do I choose?
Raine’s voice broke through the short silence, causing Flame to look over at her. “So, what do you propose we do? We can’t hide away since we have a business to run. Flame and I live by ourselves, but again, we do have the powers of Mother Nature to protect us, so I’m not afraid to be alone.”
“When Skye was kidnapped, was she solo in her home?” Jack asked.
Everyone glanced at Skye. Flame noticed her shoulders slump forward subtly as if she were betraying her sisters. “Yes, I was alone in the shower when the Hunter broke into my house.”
“This is my point. We all have moments of being vulnerable, no matter how powerful our gifts. The best way we can handle things, in my humble opinion, is to team up and never be alone,” Jack said with a seemingly matter-of-fact tone.
“I couldn’t agree more,” Levi piped up.
Flame looked around the room at everyone nodding in agreement. “Well, I guess Raine and I will live together for a while.”