Missing Magic

by Karen Whiddon

  “Your association with Mick.”

  At her snort of disbelief, he smiled. “Somehow, some way, you’re a threat to their plans. What we have to do is find out how.”

  Once they’d wiped up the floors and the counters were clean, they moved on to the walls.

  “You know,” she mused. “When I was a policewoman and I investigated robberies and break-ins, the victims always said they felt violated. While I sympathized, I didn’t really get it. Now, I know exactly what they meant.”

  They got the walls as wiped down as they good. “I’ll mop later.” She picked up the phone, started to dial, then, shaking her head, she punched the off button. “I can’t believe how this is affecting me.” Looking down at her hands, she saw they were trembling.

  Cenrick put his arm around her shoulders and drew her close. “Hey, at least you weren’t hurt. Count your blessings.”

  “I know, I know.” She made a face. “You’re right; nothing’s missing, at least that I can tell. But this was my home. My first real home. Growing up the way I did, when I finally got my own place, I took pains to make each room exactly the way I wanted. And now someone’s gone and taken that away.”

  He hugged her, offering a silent comfort.

  Though she told herself she wouldn’t cry, the hot ache at the back of her throat and the stinging in her eyes proved her wrong. For a moment, just a tiny slice of time, she allowed herself to hold on to Cenrick, taking comfort in his solidness, breathing in his masculine scent.

  Then she pushed herself out of his arms and lifted her chin. “You know, if I’m looking on the bright side, at least they didn’t touch my shoes.”

  He stared. “Your what?”

  “Shoes.” With a small shrug, she gave him a sheepish smile. “I’m fond of designer shoes. Expensive ones. I have a bit of a collection.” She led the way to her bedroom closet, opening the door to show him rows and rows of boxes. “They left these alone, thank goodness.”

  “They probably didn’t know they mattered to you.”

  “True. I’m sure if they had, they would have destroyed them.” She trouped on back to her living room, eying the mess. She sighed and held up the phone she’d carried with her.

  “I keep putting off the inevitable. I need to call this in.” At his blank expression, she elaborated. “I need to make a police report, so this is documented.”

  Again she dialed the number she knew from heart. Susan Best, the dispatcher on duty, took the report and promised to send out an officer. Her unemotional voice and the way she didn’t even ask Dee if she was okay, told Dee the poisonous lies about her had spread through the entire department.

  Again, almost as if he could sense her despair, Cenrick came to her. This time, he took her hand. They sat, side by side on her ruined couch, and waited for the police.

  In twenty minutes, the doorbell chimed. The responding officers, Ben Lieber and Linda Lacey were two Dee knew well. She and Linda had even gone out for drinks once or twice. They’d both lamented how hard it was to be a woman in a man’s world, though both were determined to make it.

  At least Linda was still in the game.

  Lieber, an older man with a bald spot, was decidedly unhappy to be there.

  “Point of entry?” he asked, his tone suggesting that perhaps she’d trashed the place herself.

  “Over here.” Cenrick showed him the broken door frame.

  “I can’t believe you of all people don’t have a better deadbolt,” Officer Lacey commented, shooting Dee a harsh look.

  “I know.” Dee felt a bit sheepish. “I’m getting a new one now, believe me.”

  “Get two,” Linda said. As the other woman smiled sympathetically, Dee felt relieved. At least not everyone in the police department believed the false stories about her.

  Officer Lieber however, apparently did. Clearing his throat, he planted himself in front of her, his aggressive stance making his hostility evident. “Do you have a list of what’s missing?” Pen posed over paper, his narrow-eyed glare told Dee exactly how much he disliked even talking to her.

  The sad part was she couldn’t blame him. Once, she’d have felt the same, were their situations reversed.

  “Whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty?”

  At Lieber’s shocked expression, Dee realized she’d spoken her thoughts out loud. Good. She was tired of being tarred and feathered without even a trial.

  “Do you have a list?” Officer Lacey stepped in to fill the silence. Through most of this, her gaze kept returning to Cenrick.

  Again, Dee couldn’t relate. Before all this had happened, she herself had been ready to jump his bones.

  “No list. As far as I can tell, nothing is missing. I don’t think robbery was the motive.”

  “Really,” Lieber drawled. “Then pray tell, why the break-in? Just to inconvenience you?”

  Dee ignored him, focusing on Linda. “Intimidation.”

  Lieber laughed, a mean sound. “Don’t you mean payback? Payback for dishonoring your badge and that of our department?”

  “Ben, that’s enough.” Officer Lacey snapped. “If you can’t be professional, why don’t you wait outside?”

  “Sounds good to me. It stinks in here.” Stalking to the door, Officer Lieber left.

  “Thank you,” Dee said softly. “You don’t know how hard this has been for me.”

  “Look.” Officer Lacey waved away Dee’s thanks. “At the department, a lot of people don’t believe the charges. Gossip has dozens of witnesses saying you took bribes, that you were running a racket, selling drugs, you name it.”

  “One hooker, and some guy I’ve never even met.” Dee shook her head. “I swear to you, I wasn’t.”

  “Tell it to Internal Affairs.”

  “I have.” Swallowing, Dee looked the other woman square in the face. “I’m going to find out who set me up and I’m going to clear my name.”

  “Yeah? You’d better do it fast. They’re talking about calling a grand jury and setting up a hearing next week. If they indict you…” She didn’t have to finish. Dee knew if she was indicted her career was all over.

  “They don’t have enough evidence to go to a grand jury.” Unless more had turned up, something she hadn’t been told about. “I’d better call Lieutenant Cowell.”

  “You do that. In the meantime, we’ll make our report.” Lacey opened the door, turning one last time to check out Cenrick before looking at Dee. “And Bishop? A word of advice. Look into Mick’s so-called girlfriend. My gay-dar was way off if she’s for real. I heard she used to be a scientist at some hush-hush government lab.”

  With that, she let herself out.

  Once she was gone, Dee stared at Cenrick. “Do you believe that? They know about Natasha.”

  “They know what we do, that she used to be a scientist.” He shrugged. “They don’t know about the Fae or the machine that’s stealing their souls.”

  “And they think Mick is dead.”

  “And that I’m evil incarnate.” She laughed, a sound without humor. “Come on. Let’s head over to the hardware store and pick up a couple of deadbolts.”

  When they returned, new door assembly and deadbolts in tow, she sighed again as she surveyed her wrecked living room. “I’ll make us a pot of coffee.” Standing on tiptoe, she placed a casual kiss on his cheek, wondering if he’d totally forgotten what they’d started in the car. Now that the initial shock of the break-in was over, making love with him was all she could think about.

  As she moved away, he grabbed her, claiming her mouth in a savage kiss. Thank goodness.

  Letting the package fall to the floor, she wrapped her arms around his neck. “Cenrick,” she gasped against his lips.

  “Now is not the time for reason.” He told her, his breathing harsh. “I need to feel you, your sleek softness and rounded curves. I want to make love to you, to bury myself deep inside you.”

  She started to speak and he shushed her.

  “Nothing else matter
s, not this instant. Just you and me.”

  Her moan was a sound of acquiescence. He was right. Desire, wild and fierce and urgent, swept everything else away.

  “Touch me,” he growled against her mouth.

  Her breath caught. Her heartbeat stuttered. Hesitantly, tentatively, she trailed her fingers over his chest, down to his flat belly, and the band of cloth at his waist. Finally, skimming over fabric, she touched him there, gasping as she felt the fullness of his arousal through his trousers.

  This time, he moaned as she cupped him.

  He tugged at her shirt. Still stroking him, she lifted it, pulling it over her head and tossing it away.

  The bra went next, his fumbling fingers finding the clasp in back.

  “You next,” she gasped against his mouth. She tugged at the nape of his shirt, tearing it.

  Eyes burning with desire, he shrugged off the shirt. She gave him a slow smile. “The pants have to go too.”

  He stood still as she tugged his trousers from him. Unable to resist stroking him, she bit her lip as he pushed his rigid flesh against her hand. About to lower her mouth to taste him, she made a sound of disappointment when he stopped her.

  “Now it’s your turn,” he growled, motioning to her pants.

  Keeping her gaze locked with his, she shimmied out of her jeans. One simple flick of her wrist, and she sent her panties sailing across the room.

  “Come here.” He tugged her to him and they tumbled on the shredded couch. She gasped as he settled her over him, her body heat fueling his.

  She’d only made love half a dozen times in her life, most of those times with her fiancé Peter. Never had she felt like this.

  Placing his hands at her waist, he slid her up his length, to the top of his swollen head. Then, while her damp folds enveloped him, he took her nipple into his mouth, lightly biting.

  She moaned. He suckled. She lifted herself up and with one swift motion, took him deep inside her.

  He clenched his teeth. “By the Goddess…”

  When she began to move, she forgot all her past. She gave herself over to the sensation helplessly, tightening herself around him with each upward stroke.

  “Ah, Cenrick.” Increasing her pace, she made love to him with wild abandon. Shuddering, her release came an instant before his. She clenched in the throes of her ecstasy as he groaned as he poured his seed into her. Her last thought before she collapsed on top of him was that she’d finally found the magic that had been missing from her life.

  Later, while Cenrick held her and savored the scent and feel of her while she slumbered, he tried to understand. Confusion and elation battled equally inside him. How had this happened? Completely unexpected and at the worst possible time, he’d found the one woman whose spirit resonated with his.

  In Rune, they called these soul-mates.

  How Alrick would laugh. Especially since Cenrick had teased him without mercy when his brother had felt the same about his own human woman, Carly.

  Finally, Dee snuggled close, Cenrick slept.

  In the morning, feeling strangely happy to be so domesticated, he woke and moved from the couch without waking her. Stepping over the shredded pillow, he went out to retrieve the newspaper from the landing. As he turned to go back inside, he came face to face with a large, manila envelope taped to the front door. Dee’s name was written on the front, in black ink.

  After thoroughly inspecting the thing, he carried it inside. If magic had been used around the paper, he couldn’t detect any.

  Still dozing, Dee had snuggled into the ruined sofa. She groaned when he turned the blinds and flooded the room with bright sunlight.

  “Wake up.” He waved the envelope at her. “Someone left you a present.”

  Blinking, she pushed herself up. “What the—?”

  “It was left on your front door.” He dropped it in her lap.

  She ripped into it carefully, peering inside before gently shaking the contents into her lap. A square of lined notebook paper fell out. When she unfolded it, she found a key taped inside.

  “Something’s written on the paper.”

  “Mailboxes and All,” she read. “That’s up on Hemphill Street.” Rubbing her eyes, she climbed off the couch, wincing when she surveyed the disastrous mess from the day before. “Give me a minute to wash my face and brush my teeth and we’ll go. We can grab some coffee on the way out. Five minutes,” she promised, and dashed into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

  True to her word, she appeared a few minutes later, wearing jean shorts and a tank top. “Ready?”

  All he could do was stare. “You look… beautiful,” he managed. Though he would have thought their marathon lovemaking the night before would have satisfied him, he felt his body stir.

  She laughed, swatting at his arm on the way past him. “Right. Come on, let’s go.”

  He followed his usual precautions when getting in her car and she waited patiently. Once he had buckled in, she drove slowly from the parking lot, waving to the unmarked police car parked across the street.

  “Watch. He’ll follow us.”

  The white car pulled up behind them.

  Dee drove slowly, signaling each turn. “Giving him time to get complacent before I lose him.”

  Once they left her neighborhood, she began to pick up her speed. While she drove, she was focused, watching both the road and her rear view mirror.

  They entered the freeway at a sedate forty-five miles per hour, according to the speedometer. Once on, she moved into the middle lane, gradually increasing her speed. The unmarked police car stayed with them.

  Admiring her competence, Cenrick studied her. She seemed calm, cool, and in control. Then he noticed her hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly her knuckles showed white.

  “Hold on,” she said. Immediately, she yanked the wheel. From the middle lane, she cut left, roaring past four cars, then swung across two lanes and passed several more.

  “Now we’ll lose him.”

  He turned to look. He saw white cars, black cars, and various other vehicles, all moving the same direction. He couldn’t see their tail. “Where is he?”

  “Three cars back, right behind us.” She gunned the accelerator, slipping into a slot between a tractor trailer and a mini-van. “Hang on.”

  They shot forward.

  “There’s my exit.” She pointed to a sign ahead. “Downtown, half a mile.”

  Glancing back, he saw the police cruiser was trapped behind a delivery truck in the middle lane, boxed in on both sides, yet still in view.

  “He can still see us. How are you going to lose him?”

  With a fierce grin, she stomped the accelerator. “He’s about to get out of his box. Once he does, he’ll pull in behind us. That’s good, because I’m going to make it impossible for him to follow me off the exit. You’d better hang on.”

  True to her prediction, their tail finally passed the delivery truck and shot into their lane, two cars back.

  “Here we go.”

  Horns blared as she shot across two lanes, narrowly missing a station wagon. Tires screeched, then they were clear, barreling down the exit. Trapped, the police car continued on.

  “That took care of him.” Sounding satisfied, she slowed and made a right turn. “Here we are. Hemphill Street.”

  The four-lane street was lined with shops. Shoppers crowded the sidewalks, and traffic moved slowly between stoplights.

  “There it is.” She pointed. “Mailboxes and All. In that two-story, mini-mall right next to the Sonic.”

  They pulled in a lot and parked.

  He couldn’t resist glanced the way they’d come. “No police car.”

  “Good.” Unbuckling, she grinned. “That means we lost them.”

  He smiled back, resisting the urge to kiss her. “Where’d you learn to drive like that?”

  “Special training. I thought I wanted to be on our SWAT Team once.” With a shrug, she pocketed the car keys. “Since I don’t
work well in groups, I opted out. Come on.”

  The inside of the mini-mall was packed with men in Hawaiian print shirts, women in halter tops and shorts. Kids wheeled all around them, laughing and running.

  “Summer in South Worth,” she said. “Lots of tourists. I think the Mailbox place is this way.”

  Once they reached the storefront, Dee nodded at the clerk, refusing his offer of help. Eyeing the wall of mailboxes, Dee pulled out the key. “Let’s see. We need 2467. Ah, here we are.”

  The box was on the bottom, nearly at the end of the row.

  The key fit. The lock turned and she pulled open the metal door. Inside was a narrow manila envelope. She looked left and right as she withdrew it, relocking the box and pocketing the key.

  “Got it. Let’s go.” Grabbing Cenrick’s arm, she leaned into him as though cuddling.

  Though he knew she was putting on an act for her own reasons, his heartbeat sped up. “Aren’t you going to see what’s inside?”

  “Not here.” She whispered in his ear. “Pretend like were a couple, will you?”

  Puzzled, he put his arm around her shoulder and drew her close. “Why?”

  “If anyone’s watching for us, I’d like to be less obvious, though your size makes that difficult.”

  “I see.” Moving through the mall, he kept an eye out for any suspicious characters. No one appeared to be paying them the slightest bit of attention.

  Outside, the humid air felt like a slap in the face. The parking lot was full, with two more cars waiting in line to take the first empty slot. A huge bus rumbled past, the diesel fumes making Dee sneeze.

  “Damn allergies.” She shook her head.

  He hid his smile, thinking of Rune and the flowers.

  They crossed the pavement, making their way to her car.

  He heard a muffled sound, then the window of the pickup next to him exploded.

  “What the—?”

  “Get down.” Throwing herself on top of him, Dee knocked them both to the ground. “That was a gunshot. And they’ve got a silencer.”

  Their attacker squeezed off another shot, this time striking the side of a candy-apple-red BMW parked on their other side.