by Linda Wisdom
Maggie stiffened even as Declan’s hand moved gently down her back in soothing strokes.
“She was someone precious to you, wasn’t she?”
She nodded. “Aleta, my baby sister.”
“I gather she didn’t die of natural causes.” He wrapped his arms around her, allowing his body heat to seep into her skin.
Maggie nodded. “Aleta loved being outside where she could gather flowers and play with the lambs. Sometimes we complained she was underfoot, but then she’d look at you with her big, blue eyes and smile at you, and you’d forget why you were angry.” She swallowed the tears that threatened to fall.
“There was a boy in town, Axel. He…” She pulled in a deep breath to center herself. “He had a very mean streak. He liked to spook the sheep, frighten the girls, and he’d pick fights with the smaller boys. And as he got older, he would do more than frighten the girls, but since his father was a local landowner, no one dared do anything.”
Declan pressed his lips against her hair.
“One of the local girls had spurned his unwanted attention, and he decided to frighten her father’s herd of sheep. Except Aleta was nearby picking flowers. She wasn’t able to get away in time, and by the time I got to her…”
A harsh sound erupted from her throat. “By that time, she was crying that she hurt, and blood was seeping from her mouth. She didn’t have a chance. After that, I vowed I would protect as many innocents as possible.”
He turned her to face him, kissing her tears away. “And you have,” he assured her. “No wonder you are so fearless. Aleta would be very proud of her big sister.”
“The man knows just what to say.” She smiled through her tears and dipped her head to kiss him, feeling the old pain drain away and the heat of their loving begin to burn again.
She rubbed her free hand over his chest and downward. She’d just cupped his cock and raised up to bend her head over him when the phone rang.
“Let your voice mail pick up,” he advised, breathing heavily, prepared for a second go-round.
The second ring brought her head back up. “Damn.” She glanced at the Caller ID. “Double damn! It’s Courtney’s school.” Maggie barely said hello before she was off the bed and running to her closet. She kept the phone tucked against her ear as she fought her way into her clothing.
“What happened?” Declan asked.
“It seems my ‘cousin’ has been fighting and I need to meet with the principal,” she said grimly, pulling on a short, pink cotton cardigan over a pink-and-black print top and black jeans. She took a quick look in the mirror, finger combed her hair, and added a swipe of lip gloss.
“I’m coming with you.” Declan was off the bed and gathering up his clothing.
“Not a good idea. I have a feeling I’ll be doing a lot of yelling.” She was gone before Declan could argue any further.
He’d barely gotten into his clothes when his cell rang.
“Call this an oops. You won’t be able to leave the house until I get back because the wards automatically set when I leave,” she told him and then disconnected.
Then I guess I may as well take my time.
***
Maggie made it to the high school in record time.
“Don’t lose your temper,” she told herself, walking down the tile hallway to the offices. Once there, she gave her name and waited.
“Ms. O’Malley? I’m Mr. Turner.” The tall man walking out of the principal’s office paused and looked at her quizzically. “You are Ms. O’Malley, Courtney Parker’s cousin?”
“Yes, I am. You have a copy of the paperwork on file.” She stood up and offered her hand. “I understand Courtney is in trouble?” She looked past him and saw the girl seated in a chair by the desk. Since she wasn’t hunched over, Maggie guessed she hadn’t gotten the worst of the fight.
His lips firmed. “Let’s go into my office.”
“You didn’t need to drag her in,” Courtney drawled once the door was closed.
“She’s your legal guardian.” He took his chair.
Maggie realized they weren’t the only ones in the office. A burly man was also there, along with a boy sporting a cut lip, a black eye, and assorted bruises.
“What happened?” Maggie asked, noting bruises on Courtney’s arms and legs and another bruise on her cheek.
“I thought we would wait for you before we discussed the situation.” The principal wasn’t happy to have the proceedings taken out of his hands. “This is Mr. Reynolds and his son Troy.”
“Fine. I’m here. What happened?” She sat down and looked at Courtney.
“The bitch tried to kill me,” the boy shouted.
Maggie half rose in her chair.
“Enough. Troy,” Mr. Turner said. “We don’t use that word. Women are to be respected.”
“I’m pressing charges,” Troy’s father rumbled. “And I’m suing you for my son’s medical bills.”
“I don’t see any need for stitches or X-rays,” Maggie said. “But I also see that Courtney has her share of injuries.” She stared down the boy. “Who taught you it was all right to hit girls?” She glanced briefly at the father, who looked ready to inflict some damage of his own.
“I was defending myself.”
Maggie ignored his belligerence and looked at Mr. Turner. “Were there any witnesses?”
“Who the fuck are you to question us like we’re in the wrong? It was that girl who almost killed my boy,” Reynolds demanded.
“We have zero tolerance for fighting in this school,” the principal interjected, sensing he was rapidly losing control.
“So both of them are suspended?”
“Courtney is expelled, and Troy will have a two-week suspension.”
“He’s the victim here,” the father insisted. “Troy doesn’t deserve to be suspended for even one day.”
“If you have zero tolerance, then I should think that both would be expelled. Courtney is revealing enough wounds to show that Troy did his part,” Maggie said. She stood up and walked over to the girl, leaning down to examine the teen’s face and picking up her arms. “What was the fight about?” she asked her charge.
Courtney refused to look at her.
Maggie turned to Troy. One fulminating look shut the father up. By then, the principal was letting her take the lead.
“Why don’t you tell me what happened?” She was secretly pleased to see the boy’s temper was starting to rise. She hoped that meant he’d actually tell the truth.
“She got all over me, punching and kicking and biting me. I could have rabies.”
Maggie waved Courtney back into her chair when she started to stand up. “I think you’re safe on that score.” She glanced at the principal. “No witnesses?”
“None that would speak up,” he said wearily.
I could be rolling around in bed with Declan instead of playing Law & Order here.
“Tell me what happened, Courtney, and tell me everything.” She stared into the girl’s dark-brown eyes. It would have been easy to use magick to get the truth out of her, but Maggie wanted her to volunteer it.
Courtney looked ready to explode again. “I’m tired of him groping me,” she snarled, looking Maggie in the eye. Not once did her gaze veer from the witch’s stare. “He and his asshole friends think it’s funny to brush up against the girls and cop a feel.
“He palmed my ass, and I told him to knock it off. I also told him if he didn’t back off, I’d make sure my boyfriend turned him into hamburger. He laughed and grabbed my breast, and it hurt.” Her face flamed a bright red. “So I hit him, and he hit me back.”
“You’re lying. My kid wouldn’t touch a skank like you,” Reynolds growled, flexing his meaty fists.
Maggie spun around and stared the man down while Mr. Turner sputtered.
“Now I see what’s going on. Your son started it, and Courtney finished it. Yes, she was wrong to fight. She should have come in here and made a complaint. But if Troy’s been sexually harassing her fo
r some time, she obviously was fed up and finally did something about it.”
“You’re right. Courtney should have reported this to me,” Mr. Turner stated officiously. “She also should take her share of responsibility for her actions. I realize you are new to parenting, but allowing a child to get away with such grave actions can only lead to more dangerous situations. Courtney has shown emotional problems in the past, and what happened today is proof she needs more intensive counseling.”
“And what about Troy? Let’s talk sensitivity training, anger management, and a personality transplant.” She was one second away from throwing down some serious magick.
Maggie looked around the office and then focused on Courtney.
“Are you happy in this school?”
The teenager shrugged. “The teachers don’t suck. Just some of the students.” She glared at Troy, who smirked.
“Then we’re outta here.” Maggie pulled her to her feet and tugged on her hand, pausing long enough for Courtney to pick up her backpack.
“We really need to discuss this further,” Mr. Turner pointed out, holding up a hand to stop them.
“We’ve discussed this enough. All you’ve done is make Courtney the villain in this without any hint there’s shared responsibility.”
“I’m calling the cops,” Troy’s dad threatened.
“Don’t. Even. Think. About. It.” Power swirled around her like a whirlwind, leaving the room airless.
The large man backed down immediately.
“What are you?” he whispered.
As she and Courtney walked out, Maggie leaned over to murmur in his ear, “Your worst nightmare.”
“What happened in there?” Courtney demanded, as Maggie practically dragged her down the hallway. “Why did the room turn all weird?”
“Because I can make it that way,” the witch said grimly. “It might be something you’d be wise to remember.”
Maggie didn’t speak again until she drove off the school’s campus.
“You’re blaming me, aren’t you?” Courtney asked, slumping in her seat. “You didn’t want to do it in front of them, but you feel that way. No wonder. Troy’s a total scuzzball, but no one’s going to say that. Everyone’s afraid of him.”
Maggie pulled the car over to the curb and shut off the engine.
“Never ever feel like a victim,” she told the girl. “As for what I believe and don’t believe, what really matters is the truth. You told me what happened, and I believe you. But what I saw in there was proof you fought like a girl.”
“I am a girl!”
“If someone touches you when you didn’t ask for it, then you fight dirty. We’ll work on that.” She started the car up again. “Right after we find another school for you.”
“Boy, you pull me out of there, and you’re already thinking of dumping me in another school? FYI, do not even think about one of those schools that require everyone to wear those lame-ass uniforms. I don’t care what they say, those schools are scary. I mean, for all you know they pour chemicals in the school drinking water to turn the kids into Stepford students,” Courtney declared.
Maggie closed her eyes. “Note to self. Restrict Courtney’s cable TV.”
The girl scowled at her. “You’re really getting into this guardian shit, aren’t you?”
Maggie thought back to that fleeting moment when she thought what it would be like to be a mother. Except instead of starting out with a tiny baby, she was saddled with a cranky teenager whose moods jumped around faster than the speed of light. Then there was the sexy demon waiting for her back at the house, and she really wished she were going back there alone.
“Not really. I’m just making it up as I go along.”
Chapter 12
“I should have kicked him in the nads,” Courtney said, following her into the kitchen. “I mean, who would seriously want to have kids with that moron? The only thing he knows how to do is play football.”
Before Maggie could tell her she’d had more than enough of Courtney’s “I should’ves,” the girl had skidded to a stop.
“Whoa!” All of a sudden, the teenager slouched in what she obviously thought was a sexy stance but what actually looked as if she had back trouble.
Maggie silently echoed her emotions. “Oh, yeah, this is Declan. And this is Courtney. As you can tell, she’s feeling a bit bloodthirsty toward the male sex, but I think one look at you has changed her mind.”
“Hi,” Courtney practically purred. “And there’s only one guy I want to tear apart. You’re perfectly safe.”
Declan, who’d been sitting at the table with a cup of coffee, smiled up at her. Courtney immediately straightened up and ran for the coffeemaker to pour herself a cup.
“Thank you.” Maggie plucked it out of her hand.
“So what happened at the school?” Declan asked.
“Troy is pure pus,” Courtney announced with a touch of theatrics. “I’m going to text Mick that I want him to beat him up.” She pulled her cell from her bag.
“I don’t think so.” Maggie confiscated the phone and stuck it in her pocket.
“Hey! Isn’t that illegal or something?” She turned her attention to Declan. “So who are you exactly? Maggie’s lover? Old friend?” Courtney plopped down in the chair across from him.
“Business associate.”
“She said she wasn’t a prostie, so what do you guys do?”
“Consulting,” Maggie said.
“Consulting what?” She looked from one to the other. “I watched a show on TLC once where a drug dealer called himself a consultant. But you don’t look as scuzzy as he did.”
“I own a club, and Maggie oversees security for me.”
Maggie stood behind Courtney shooting Declan a ‘Nice touch!’ smile.
“Really? What’s the club’s name?”
“Damnation Alley,” he replied. “And no, you can’t go there.” He neatly anticipated her next comment. “You have to be over twenty-one to get in, and we enforce that rule.”
“I can look twenty-one.”
“You can look twenty-one in six years.” Maggie took the chair to Declan’s left. “And any ID claiming you’re of age is now promptly impounded.”
“Ha! You’ll have to find it first. It’s probably a sucky club anyway.” She resorted to slouching again, but no sexy teen stance this time. “So why are you here?”
“We were going over some reports when the school called me. Why don’t you go upstairs and do your homework while we finish up here,” Maggie suggested, aware that once Courtney checked her hiding place, she’d find her three false IDs gone.
“Uh, helloooo! Expelled, remember? I am so off homework duty.” She hopped off the chair and executed a little happy dance.
“Then go upstairs and clean up your room. You’ve barely had the room for twelve hours, and it already looks like a war zone. I want to see that place looking immaculate.”
“Fine, but I’ll be down for lunch.” Courtney rolled her eyes before sweeping a knowing look over them. “It’s okay if he stays.” She nabbed some cookies and left.
“Thank you,” Declan called after her. He turned back to Maggie. “That wasn’t some airhead of a teenager.”
“No kidding.” She rubbed her forehead. “She also doesn’t understand the meaning of the word ‘silence.’ I bet she even talks in her sleep.”
“What will you do with her now that she’s been expelled from school?” Declan asked. “Although I guess you know something about that kind of punishment.”
She flicked her fingers at him, releasing a bit of magic that attacked him like a swarm of gnats.
Declan growled and batted at the intruders until Maggie took pity on him and banished them.
“I need to get her into another school, but at the same time, I wonder if that’s a good idea. I didn’t sense any magick in that idiot Troy or his equally inane father, but that doesn’t mean someone didn’t set her up for this. All anyone had to do was cast a s
hort spell on Troy to act like a chauvinistic jerk, knowing he could set her off. ”
She sipped her coffee and looked at the cabinet holding the chocolate marshmallow cookies. A moment later, the bag was on the table. There was nothing like the best part of the cocoa bean to make life seem brighter.
“But what will I do with her if she’s not in school? And it’s not like I can take her out to the compound, although it would be tempting. And wouldn’t Mal just love that?” she mused with a soft laugh, taking a bite of cookie and savoring the rich taste.
“Why not? Where else could she be better protected?”
Maggie’s laughter burbled out. “Uh, maybe because he’d take off my head if I did. Very few humans know about the Hellion Guard. Yes, they know about magick in the world and the creatures that use it. The Vampire Protectorate, the Witches’ Council, and the Ruling Council are recognized as peacekeepers among our kind, but the Guard is special ops.
“We’re the SEALs, Recon, Green Berets, Rangers, and Black Ops all rolled into one violent package. We do the dirty work and make things go away. The compound here isn’t the only one. There are three in Europe, one in Australia, and even one in a hidden realm. I do this because it’s important to me. I want to keep others safe, and this is the best way to do it.”
“I’ve been to your compound. I saw children there. A school and a playground any child would kill for,” he persisted. “You feel Courtney needs to know the truth about what could happen to her. Fine. Take her there. Give her the chance to help you fight back. You could still keep the house as a cover, since you’re being watched.”
“So you felt it, too? I sensed it last night, but no one tried to breach the wards. They’ll probably settle for surveillance until then.” She stopped and lifted her head. “Something’s wrong.” She was out of her chair and running for the stairs before Declan could blink. But he was quick on her heels.
Maggie’s heart thumped in her chest as she raced up the stairs, almost skidding to a stop when she reached Courtney’s closed bedroom door. She didn’t bother knocking but barged in.
“Privacy here!” Courtney’s head snapped up. She sat in a cleared section of the floor, hastily pushing some things under a pile of clothing.