Fire and Flame

by Anya Breton

  Derrick’s black eyes narrowed into fine slivers. “Ever since you started working for McKenna, you’ve been acting above your station. You ain’t better than the rest of us, Conley. You just got the second lucky shot after the fuck who got the first lucky shot.”

  His friend charged to the door after speaking his piece. What Derrick had said made sense. He had been the first witch to challenge the new regional high priest. But it hadn’t been luck that had won the duel. It had been sheer determination no one would have Sara but him. Until now, he’d been unwilling to admit the true reason to himself.

  Now that he’d come to terms with his desire, Brent would have to persuade her she was of a similar mind.

  His conscience, though battered and heavy, couldn’t survive killing every male she favored who wasn’t him.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Sara thought nothing of answering the house phone until her greeting was followed by a dark growl. “Cunt.”

  Her face warmed in a combination of fear and anger. “Who is this?”

  A low voice replied, “Sebastian, Maggie, and Tanya’s killer unless you get your stuck-up ass here in time.”

  Two girls whimpered in heartrendingly high-pitched voices in the background of the call. An older boy with a sharp voice threatened to set someone on fire if they so much as breathed on his sisters.

  “Who is this? Where are you?” Sara screamed into the phone before the caller disconnected.

  Her mind raced through the names of the children in the Indiana covens. Who among them was a trio of siblings, two female and one male? God! Why didn’t she know this?

  She’d only been gone for…five years.

  Her shoulders slumped. The females on the call could have been younger than five. Sara’s cheeks flushed with shame for abandoning her people without pledging to another coven. She’d not even returned for summers as most other collegiate witches did. But now was not the time to lament her desertion.

  Sara rushed to the door and hopped down the stairs two at a time in her haste. She blew through the living room, ignoring the snoozing witch on the leather sofa. No one stopped her from bursting into the office where she hoped she’d find Brent. Sure enough he stood to the side of Fintan’s desk with a stern expression fixed on Perry Palmer. Perry’s head was lowered in a shameful pose. The tightness of his features implied shame wasn’t the only emotion involved.

  Brent’s attention quickly snapped up, eyes widening in surprise. Briefly the image of him crouched at her feet on the office floor flashed in her mind. There was no time to worry about how awkward it was to see him after last night. Three innocent children were in danger. They took her full focus.

  Sara shook the cordless phone. “Someone just called and told me they would kill Sebastian, Maggie, and Tanya unless I got there in time.”

  Brent met her gaze. “Unless you personally got there in time?”

  She quickly nodded and then relayed what she’d heard in the background. Brent and Perry exchanged a quick look that was all business despite what had appeared like a reprimand moments earlier.

  Perry spoke first, “Grace Anala.”

  Brent nodded in agreement. Then he faced her. “Will you wake Colin up and send him in here?”

  Sara glared at him. “You’re not leaving me here, Brent. The caller said he’d kill them unless I got there in time, me not you.”

  He drew in a quick breath. “The killer is probably trying to lure you out where they can get a crack at you without your guards.”

  “Or maybe he’s trying to lure you out so they can get a crack at us both while we’re separated,” she retorted.

  “They would have been smarter to get me when I was alone with their relative. But they didn’t, so I really don’t think they’re clever enough to dream up this type of scheme.”

  The reminder wasn’t a welcome one. Yes, Brent had left Monday to kill someone because she’d failed to do it herself. Nonetheless Brent was being foolish. Since her daddy wasn’t here to set him on the right path, it was up to her to dispense with the wisdom.

  Much as Fintan would have, Sara spoke the carefully enunciated syllables in a clear voice. “Never underestimate your foe.”

  This time his quick inhalation was twice as frustrated. “I’m not underestimating them. Perry will come with me. Colin and Vanessa will stay here and keep you safe. I want you to stay in the living room away from the windows.”

  She lifted her chin. “You’re dividing your men. The five of us stand a better chance together rescuing three small children than dividing us between two tasks. They’ll expect you to leave the helpless princess here with guards on her. Let me come. I won’t be helpless.”

  His head tilted to the right with an impatient motion and his lips opened. A refusal was imminent.

  She spoke before he could. “Three innocent children are involved. I won’t stay home helplessly. One way or another I’m going.”

  Brent inhaled a large breath that lifted his chest by a full two inches. He let it out in a noisy gush and then focused on Perry. “If someone is watching the house, we’ll have to split up.” He shot her a warning look when she opened her mouth to argue. “Initially.”

  He paused, perhaps to make sure she’d hold her tongue. “Sara’s car can hold the most and it’s easiest to get out because it’s parked at the end of the driveway. I’ll drive it around the neighborhood until I’m sure I’ve lost any tails. Then I’ll double back and park in front of the house behind us. You four need to sneak out through the back yard in twos. Scale the fences to do it so there are fewer eyes on you. You’ll have ten minutes.” He gestured at Perry and then the office door. “Go wake Colin and get Vanessa here. I want Colin with Sara. They need to come first. Then you and Vanessa. Leave the lights on and the television in the den going. But don’t forget to lock the doors. We don’t need anyone planting bombs in the house while we’re out because you forget to turn a deadbolt. Got it?”

  Perry was all business when he nodded his head. He strode to the door without being told it was time to get a move on it.

  Brent started after him. Or so she thought. He stopped inches in front of her, giving her the full measure of his displeasure. She bravely held his swirling gaze. She’d meant what she’d said. She’d rescue those kids if she had to evade her guards here to do it.

  He spoke barely above a whisper. “Do you understand the danger you’re putting us in by insisting on coming along?”

  She was such a bumbling witch that she’d cause them twice as many problems than if she’d stayed home? He had a horrible opinion of her. If they’d had time, she would have allowed herself to be hurt by it.

  Again her chin lifted with stubborn determination. “I understand that five to however many they have are better odds than two to their number.”

  “Sara,” he gently chided. “I’m not going to be worrying about those kids while you’re there.”

  His response was simply too much to ignore. “I’m not so incompetent that I’d blow up a house trying to rescue kids. You don’t have to be—”

  He rolled onto the balls of his feet, closing the inches between them to settle his lips to hers. Sara was mute from the flash of heat that traveled up her body.

  When he drew back, he gave her what looked suspiciously like a wry smile. “If you die I’ll hire a Death witch to resurrect you so I can shout your ear off.”

  And then Brent sauntered out of the office leaving her to wonder exactly what had happened to him and hoping to god she lived long enough to find out.

  ****

  Brent had a sinking feeling she’d been right. There’d been an Escalade with tinted windows parked at the end of the block he’d never recalled seeing before. It hadn’t followed him in the Lexus. They were still within range of Sara. That made him edgy.

  He didn’t want her on the front line like this. It wasn’t her place. Fintan had never involved her in any coven drama. Brent shouldn’t either.

  But she’d been d
etermined. There was little he could do to stop a determined Sara. The best he could do was to persuade her to plan her actions rather than run off half-cocked as she had after the bowling trip.

  He gnawed on his thumb nervously as he took the winding curves of the subdivision. Brent had two minutes to kill before he could park in front of the neighbor’s house. That would give the pairs two remaining minutes to get over the fences after he’d arrived.

  Repeatedly he thought of the tinted SUV and the phone call. It had definitely sounded as if their foes wanted to divide them. Were they planning to bomb the house? He wished he hadn’t been so hasty with Derrick. Derrick was the coven’s expert on explosives.

  He’d considered having Sara call Derrick back. It was her house. But if Derrick came running to her, Brent would be hard pressed not to get violent all over again. It was a catch twenty-two. If they lived through this attack, he’d swallow his pride and call his friend himself.

  Brent held his breath as he drove around the last bend in the road. He came to a slow stop in front of their back neighbor’s house. With his foot on the brake, ready to leave at any moment, he impatiently waited for the quartet to arrive. Or at least for the first duo.

  Thoughts swirled in his mind regarding their upcoming skirmish. He shouldn’t consider that dying might not be bad if Sara went with him. It was selfish of him to want her to die with him. But he couldn’t make himself feel any other way. And if she’d died before him… There would be no point to life.

  It was a startling conclusion. And frightening because he’d never thought he’d ever feel that way about anyone.

  Movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. Brent’s jaw set when he recognized not Sara and Colin but rather Perry and Vanessa. His heart broke into double time as he contemplated the horrible news they’d have for him.

  The pair slipped into the backseat without a word. Brent put the car in park then impaled his friend with his darkest of glares. “Where is she? I said you two were to come last.”

  “I tried!” Perry’s pitch lifted defensively as his hands gestured at nothing helpful. “They were just about to leave when the phone rang again. She answered it. It was that witch again, the one that called her a cunt.”

  Cunt, the word echoed in his thoughts. Why hadn’t Sara told him that?

  Derrick had called her the awful word before he’d left. It had been the final straw that had broken the camel’s back. Brent could hardly forget it now because the insult had made him want to rip off his friend’s head. Could Derrick be involved in the current threat or was it a simple coincidence?

  “Is she coming?”

  Now that she’d demanded to be included, Brent found he didn’t like the idea of her staying home. Especially not with only Colin to guard her. And not with the Escalade down the street.

  “I think so,” Perry replied. “She was telling them that you wouldn’t let her go. That you’d locked her up in the house but that she was trying to get out so she could save the kids.”

  Was her ploy a brilliant move or a foolish one? Only time would tell.

  New movement out of the corner of his eye sent his heart skipping. It stumbled twice when he recognized the silky, honey hair drawn into a ponytail. Sara had made it out of the house.

  Colin waved her toward the SUV then started around the opposite side. Brent held his breath until she’d opened the passenger door then slid her narrow rear onto the seat beside him. On his ragged exhale he couldn’t resist grabbing hold of her face. Uncaring who saw him or what her reaction would be, he kissed Sara full on her sweet-tasting mouth.

  Initially she tugged at his grip. But when his tongue pushed through the small part in her lips, she warmed beneath his touch. He wished there weren’t three children to rescue because the lift in temperature was promising. Reluctantly, he made himself release her.

  “Improvisation can get you killed,” he told her gruffly.

  “Improvisation might be the only thing that keeps us alive,” she shot back though the pink flush in her golden cheeks told him she wasn’t as testy as her sharp voice would have him believe. “If they think I’m in the house, they’ll divide their people to try to get us both.” With a regal wave of her hand at the windshield, she settled back against the seat, maintaining her prim pose. “Now drive, Brent. We have kids to save.” She even put on her seatbelt while ordering him around.

  He stared, gobsmacked by something suspiciously like love.

  Though it had seemed Sara got everything she’d ever wanted with ease, he was beginning to see she’d only made it appear that way. In reality, she’d worked hard and had fought everyday to get what she’d had.

  And it had begun with the friends of the second grade bully.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Sara didn’t know what to make of that kiss. It had been in front of the others. In front of Vanessa. And she’d not heard a peep from the female witch in the back seat since it had happened.

  The children in danger should be her focus, not whatever was or wasn’t happening with Brent. This war with the Ena brood had to be ended. Aggression might be the only viable answer.

  If these three children shared any blood with the McKennas, it was distant at best. She’d have met them otherwise. Which meant whoever was targeting them wasn’t doing it in an effort to wipe out the McKenna line. Sara had to hope the children were merely a diversion and that the witch wouldn’t actually hurt them. But the very fact they’d threatened at all implied these Ena witches were the worst sort. Perhaps the world would be a better place without them.

  With each intersection the car passed, Sara wanted to ask where Grace lived. How far did they have to go? They’d already wasted ten minutes at the house.

  Her edginess increased when Brent took the beltway’s on-ramp. Rush hour traffic would slow them. Could she hope they didn’t have to go downtown?

  “We’re going to park down the block,” Brent announced once he’d gotten up to traveling speed. “We’ll split up. Vanessa, Colin, and Perry will go around the block to flank on the west side. Sara and I will take the east. Move slowly and quietly. Don’t let them know you’re there. We’ll keep in contact by text. Put your phones on mute.”

  “Grace has a two story bungalow but there are no windows on the second floor in the front,” Perry added. “If they have someone watching from the top floor, we’ll need to avoid being seen in the back.”

  “So no sneaking in through the back,” Colin said.

  “Right,” Brent agreed.

  Sara wasn’t sure she liked the plan. And since strategy had never been Brent’s strong point, she’d take a crack at it. “Shouldn’t you go in with Perry like you originally planned? They’re not going to be expecting me for a while because they think I’m still in the house watching television.”

  Brent exhaled a heavy sigh, one that hinted he wasn’t pleased.

  She hurried her explanation. “If I appear at the front door they’re going to know I’m not alone. But if you tear in without us, it will be a diversion. We can sneak in undetected. Your poker hand is hidden.”

  “They saw me pull out in the Lexus alone,” Brent reminded her.

  Sara’s mouth formed a perfect O. She’d forgotten that. Why in the world had she let him rush out without Perry?

  “Crap,” she quietly grumbled.

  Brent’s lips flattened in a grim line. Determination darkened his features. And then he spoke. “So I drop the four of you off down the block. I drive around so you have time to get into position, and then I pull up out front, palms blazing.”

  Perry’s head shaking was visible out of the corner of her eye. “I like the flanking plan better.”

  “She’s right,” Brent argued without turning. “I wasn’t thinking clearly. If I show up with Sara or even you, they’re going to know we set them up. Our only chance is to make them underestimate me.”

  He shot an unreadable look across his shoulder at Sara. Was he recalling Fintan’s lesso
ns now? And had he actually admitted she was correct?

  Colin had to complicate the situation. “What if someone tailed us and sees the four of us jump out?”

  “No one is tailing us,” Brent replied in a cool voice.

  “This is a Lexus with a vanity plate,” Colin argued. “Someone doesn’t have to tail us. They just have to set up posts in key locations.” Though the witch was the bearer of bad news, he gave a helpful suggestion. “Stop off at my place. I’ll drive the four of us in my Ford. It’s silver, has tinted windows and a nonsense plate.”

  Sara was thankful Brent had relented and agreed not to divide his men because it required the brainpower of the entire entourage to consider every possible threat. Could she hope they’d make it out of this unscathed with three unharmed children?

  No, she wouldn’t hope. She’d make sure it happened.

  ****

  Brent curled his hands tightly around the Lexus’s steering wheel. He’d soon walk into a deadly situation…alone. But he was more concerned that Sara was in an SUV somewhere in the distance without him. She’d made the argument for them to stick together and then she’d broken them up. He wanted her with him.

  It didn’t matter that the others were within a mile of him, he wanted to be able to see her. Above all, he wanted her safe. Trusting his friends to see to that was nearly impossible. He wanted to call them every other second to make sure all was well.

  Damn the Ena witches.

  Hadn’t there been enough bloodshed? With the three in Pennsylvania, the one that had attacked Sara in the cemetery and the witch Vanessa had led him to Tuesday all dead, their feud should have been over. How many of them could possibly be left to demand vengeance?

  His thoughts once again jumped to the possibility that this was Derrick’s doing. The poisonous word had turned his mind against his friend. Derrick wouldn’t threaten small children, would he? If he were capable of it, then Brent was a startlingly bad judge of character. He’d always known his friend was an aggressive dick, but he’d never thought him capable of this level of violence.