Israel

by Avery Gale

  “Holy fucking hell. Remind me to never piss one of you off. Shit.”

  Sam McCall looked up and laughed. “Guess we don’t have to check the ballistics to see who fired the shoulder shot.” Sam and Sage’s wife, Jen, was standing next to a disgruntled looking Sage. Excitement vibrated from her, the waves so strong Israel could feel them all the way down on the sidewalk. Jen fist-pumped the cool, night air, and blew kisses down to Sam while Sage tried in vain to pull her back from the roof’s edge.

  Police Chief Parker Andrews shook his head. “I’m glad we cordoned off the area, or I’d be answering calls from every media outlet in the damned free world. Hell, I’m not even sure what I’d tell them.”

  “The Council and her pack are claiming first dibs, Parker. You okay with that?” Austin gave his friend and fellow Dom a considering look. Israel knew Parker had been briefed about the expectations of the growing magical community in Austin, so big brother’s question was merely a formality.

  “Off the record? Yes. I’m sure their justice system works much faster than ours. I don’t expect to see her back on the street in two hours, and that’s a virtual certainty if I take her in.”

  “I don’t want to think about the volume of paperwork involved with this case—a shot fired at a popular local physician, in an area cordoned off for a movie scene no studio would know anything about, and security feeds scrambling a four-block section of the city. Hell, you’d be buried alive by the paperwork before the media ever got their chance.” Kyle West slapped Parker on the back before turning to Israel.

  “Go. I’m sure Bristol is rattled. It’s damned scary having someone point a gun at you and pull the trigger—I don’t care if you are in a fucking tank.” Israel agreed, and he’d seen the bullet bounce off the glass. Clovia Williams had wanted to put a bullet right between Bristol’s eyes. The woman was fucking nuts. “We’re going back to the armory. I want to help debrief our trainees and remind them about the NDAs they signed.”

  “I bet some of them are having Will Smith moments from Men in Black… that ‘I can’t fucking believe what I just saw’ realization. Finding out there is more to the world than you’d ever dared to imagine is eye-opening.” Israel knew the Chief of Police experienced those same eye-opening moments a couple of years earlier, an experience Parker told Israel and Austin had changed his world view between one breath and the next.

  “Since we don’t have one of those fancy flashy things that will wipe out recent memory, we need to be there before the trainees disperse. It won’t take them long to clean and store their weapons since Jen is the only one who got off a shot.”

  “Something we’ll be hearing about for years to come.” Kyle chuckled, shaking his head as he looked at Sam McCall.

  “Don’t look at me. You knew better than to give those two the best sniper seat in the house. Although I have to admit, I’m anxious to see what our lovely sub promised my brother in exchange for taking the first shot. I fully intend to reap the benefits.”

  Israel knew the McCalls played good cop bad cop with their sub, very much like the Wests. Both women were spirited enough, it took two Doms to keep them in line. Israel laughed about how liberally he was applying the term, in line.

  As the group broke up, Israel turned to walk back to the parking garage, nearly tripping over Brigitte. “Damn. Sorry, I didn’t realize you were behind me.” He grasped her shoulders to keep from knocking her to the ground, gasping at the sizzle of power he felt vibrating beneath his touch.

  “I just got here—I was dealing with Ms. Williams. She is in the custody of the Magic Council. Please reassure Dr. Banks, the other woman is receiving the medical care she needs, then she will be in custody for the foreseeable future. If reprogramming isn’t successful, she’ll be stripped of all special abilities and will remain confined.”

  Israel nodded and waited. The power of her magic blocked his empathic skills, but Brigitte’s expressions made her an open book when she was dealing with friends and family.

  “If the blood tests come back the way we suspect they will, we’ll be able to introduce Bristol to family members who have been looking for her for a long time. Denali already has some family history knowledge, thanks to her grandfather. Her clear ties to both the Eskimo and Native American cultures go a long way to explaining why she’s a conduit for magic. Both women have vast reserves of magic—far more than they know. The Council of Magic will help them tap into and channel it. We want to keep them off the dark force’s radar as long as we can.”

  “Keep us posted. In the meantime, I’m going to keep her as close as possible.” He smiled down at Brigitte before pulling her into a quick hug. “Take care, Brigitte. Thanks for your help and for bringing the issue of increased medical care for our community to the attention of the powers that be. Their help will be greatly appreciated.” Even in the dim light, he could see her cheeks tinge pink. Humble looked awfully sweet on the woman whose witchcraft was the envy of every magical he knew.

  “I’ll be in touch. Invite me to the wedding. Be nice to my nephew.” Three short sentences and she was gone. No flashy wave of the cape, no mystical smoke—just gone. It was as disconcerting as it was impressive.

  Chapter Twenty

  Two months later

  Kodi West bounced up to the picnic table, setting her plate between her two grandfathers, and flashed them a grin, Israel suspected the little imp learned from Lilly. He’d also bet his sizeable savings, her radiant smile rarely failed to get her whatever she wanted from the two older men.

  Del looked at her and chuckled. “Damn, girl, you look just like those hippy chicks we saw in California when we were young bucks.”

  “Dad, I doubt she is familiar with the hippy counter-culture movement.”

  “Sure, I am familiar with all the cool things that happened during the sixties. Gramma told me all about it. If you were a hippy, you got to dress funky, wear flowers in your hair, and travel without leaving home.”

  Kent West snorted tea from his nose, and Kyle looked like he’d swallowed a lemon. Kodi’s studious twin, Kam, sat down next to Kent and rolled his eyes.

  “She used some nasty citrus stuff on her hair last summer, trying to get it to streak when she was in the pool. I swear she bleached out her brain cells instead.”

  “You can kiss my perky derriere, Sherman.”

  Kam rolled his eyes again and shook his head, obviously accustomed to his sister’s taunts.

  “Dad, you really need to cut off the cable in her room. She watches all the oldie cartoons, and it’s turning her brain to mush.” It was impossible to miss the disdain in Kameron West’s young voice. The kid was the spitting image of his dads, but his attitude was all Kyle. Kam had yet to learn discretion, but the kid was surrounded by mentors, not only his fathers and grandfathers, but their friends and associates as well. Israel doubted Kam’s mother or grandmother would let him go too far over the line with his sister before clipping his wings.

  Del looked at his grandson and shook his head. “She’s gonna kick your ass, you know. You keep thinking you’re all that and a bag of chips, you’ll never find a girlfriend.”

  “You’re the best, Papa Del.” Kodi leaned into her grandfather, giving him a tight hug and kissing his weathered cheek. “I can always count on you and Papa Dean to have my back. Kam thinks he’s smarter than I am because he gets better grades, but he has no life. He studies all the time. When we go to college, I’m going to acclimate so much faster than Sherman will, you watch and see.”

  “Wasn’t Mr. Peabody the super smart one and Sherman, his adopted son/student?” Israel remembered the cartoon. Hell, it had been old when he was a kid—if Kodi was watching it, she was probably doing so on YouTube.

  “Yes, but I’m not calling Kam Mr. anything. Nope, not happening.”

  “You won’t get the chance to call me anything. I’m going to invent a time machine to launch your happy self back to the sixties. You’ll be able to hang out with the creators of The Flintston
es, Mr. Magoo, Top Kat, and all the other goof troop nonsense you’re using to shave points off your IQ at an alarming rate.”

  Kyle looked at Israel and rolled his eyes. “Your parents must have been promoted to saints the minute they hit the other side. These two are going to drive me to drink. I can’t imagine what it was like with ten kids under one roof.”

  Israel laughed without bothering to mention there were times he missed the chaos so much, he felt it to the depths of his soul. A wave of sadness threatened to swamp him until warm hands softly massaged the tops of his shoulders. Every ounce of the tension he’d felt instantly drained from the muscles as his mate pressed her softness against his back.

  “Sorry I’m late. I tried to tell the babies I delivered this afternoon that I had an important party to attend, and it was okay to ignore the full moon, but they weren’t having it.”

  “Bet their mamas weren’t interested in waiting either.” Tobi West’s tinkling laughter made her husbands smile as she settled on Kent’s lap.

  “Geez, Mom, must you be so…” Israel heard the rest of Kodi’s unspoken statement and wondered for a second if it was something she’d expressed before when her fathers frowned.

  “Be very careful, Kodi. We won’t tolerate disrespect, particularly when it is directed at your mother. Your tone speaks as clearly as your words.” Kyle’s reprimand hit the mark. The sassy young girl nodded without saying any more. Tobi looked over his shoulder at Bristol and grinned.

  “Have you eaten? There’s still a ton of food inside. It would be a shame for you to go hungry when you and Israel are the guests of honor.” Without waiting for Bristol to answer, Tobi scrambled to her feet, the petite, blonde dynamo motioning her friend to follow. “Come on. I wanted to talk to you, anyway. No reason to trouble our men with girl talk.”

  Israel felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. Anytime Tobi avoided speaking in front of her Doms, trouble was brewing. Judging by their matching furrowed brows, Kent and Kyle experienced the same sense of foreboding.

  “Damn and double damn.” Tobi laughed as they made their way inside. “Israel looked like he wanted to pry you out of my wicked clutches. I swear everyone thinks I’m a troublemaker—it’s positively insulting.”

  “And well earned.” Jen stepped around the corner and laughed at Tobi’s frown before turning her attention to Bristol. “Hey, girlfriend, long time no see.” Giving her a quick hug, she looked over her shoulder and nodded to someone Bristol couldn’t see before silently mouthing the words, not my fault.

  “Jen, I can’t believe you are wimping out. Dr. B didn’t get to have a proper bridal shower before eloping, and we didn’t want her to miss the joy of being properly embarrassed by her friends.”

  Jen McCall leaned close to whisper, “Don’t worry, it’s just a naughty teddy shower.”

  Bristol nodded numbly, not entirely sure what a teddy shower involved. At the moment, she was too focused on the huge number of women filling the main room of the Prairie Winds Club. Equipment had been moved against the walls and partially hidden by colored screens, and there were rows and rows of chairs, all filled with chattering women, who stood to applaud when they saw her standing at the door.

  Denali’s beaming face smiled down at her from a large screen, waves slapping against a white sand beach in the background. Bristol gave her a shy wave, remembering Kensington was working on a movie somewhere in the Caribbean. London and Paris smiled and waved from a second large screen before London suddenly covered her mouth and darted out of sight. Evidently, the other woman’s tender tummy still hadn’t adjusted to its newest resident.

  Paris shrugged. “Guess it’s just going to be me until the little Martian stops turning her mama green.”

  Everyone laughed before their attention turned to the woman with the pink hair… no wait, now it was red. Slender legs clad in skintight jeans and black leather boots with sky-high heels ate up the distance between them, her long strides closing in fast. The flowing blouse Brigitte wore billowed softly behind her, leaving a trail of brightly colored glitter, the wild print reminiscent of the pictures Bristol had seen of the flower children of the 1960s.

  “Congratulations, Bristol. The members of the Magic Council send their best wishes as well. They are looking forward to meeting with you next week. They should have the test results by then.” Brigitte nodded to Asia and Catalina, who’d stepped up on Bristol’s left, before hugging her niece, Charlotte, who’d appeared on Bristol’s left.

  “Now, since I wasn’t invited to the elopement, I’m looking forward to this event.” The powerful young witch looked around and grinned, “You have an impressive number of friends, Bristol. Let’s see what naughty bits they brought.”

  The End

  Books by Avery Gale

  The Adlers

  Brooklyn

  London

  Austin

  Paris

  Cleveland

  Asia

  Kensington

  Israel

  The ShadowDance Club

  Katarina’s Return – Book One

  Jenna’s Submission – Book Two

  Rissa’s Recovery – Book Three

  Trace & Tori – Book Four

  Reborn as Bree – Book Five

  Red Clouds Dancing – Book Six

  Perfect Picture – Book Seven

  Club Isola

  Capturing Callie – Book One

  Healing Holly – Book Two

  Claiming Abby – Book Three

  Masters of the Prairie Winds Club

  Out of the Storm

  Saving Grace

  Jen’s Journey

  Bound Treasure

  Punishing for Pleasure

  Accidental Trifecta

  Missionary Position

  Another Second Chance

  Star-Crossed Miracles

  Dusted Star

  Lilly’s Choice

  The Wolf Pack Series

  Mated – Book One

  Fated Magic – Book Two

  Tempted by Darkness – Book Three

  The Knights of the Boardroom

  Book One

  Book Two

  Book Three

  The Morgan Brothers of Montana

  Coral Hearts – Book One

  Dancing with Deception – Book Two

  Caged Songbird – Book Three

  Game On – Book Four

  Well Bred – Book Five

  Mountain Mastery

  Well Written

  Savannah’s Sentinel

  Sheltering Reagan

  The Christmas Painting

  Taking Out the Mother of the Bride

  I would love to hear from you!

  Email:

  avery.gale@ymail.com

  Website:

  www.averygale.com

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  facebook.com/avery.gale.3

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  @avery_gale