Bounty Hunters and Black Magic

by Kristen Banet

  She reached the last door and sighed.

  It wasn’t locked, opening easily for her. William never locked his office door.

  “Anyone should be able to get me at any time. They need to feel like I’m always here for them.” That’s what he always said to me. Just like I don’t put wards on the property. We both agreed to that.

  She stepped in slowly and had to hold back tears. She had refused to come to the office after he died. They had left everything the way he had kept it. She would have come to clean it up if they had picked a new sheriff, but they never had.

  Until now.

  She walked around the desk and waved a hand, the dust picked up and bundled into a small tornado of air. Another wave and the window opened behind her, and she flung the dust out. The window slammed shut afterwards.

  The first thing her eyes fell on was a picture of them together on their wedding day. It was the only picture he kept in the office. He said if anyone was foolish enough to target her for being his wife, they deserved to have their balls blown off. He worried more about Valen, Tobias, and Maxwell getting hurt.

  The very memory made her smile again, even as tears threatened her.

  I need to go talk to him. It’s been months since the last time I did.

  She put it out of her mind for a moment, though. She needed to get the sheriff’s office and jail back into running condition.

  She did the office first. It would be where she spent most of her time. She used magic for all of it. She got the broom working on its own and went through all of William’s papers. He’d had a couple of other running investigations before he died. She would make sure to look into those first, to get her feet under her.

  Once the office was done, she moved back to the front of the building, ignoring the jail for a little while longer. It would require a serious overhaul. She had to research some spells that Maxwell normally did for William to make sure it was secure for any sort of Supe that could be thrown in. She wanted to do them on her own, to show herself she could manage it.

  The reception area was normally manned by a deputy, and it would need to be cleaned quickly. It was the place where everyone would be coming to talk to her for help.

  “I’ll need to for a little while,” she mumbled to herself as the door opened.

  Certainly someone doesn’t need me on my first day! I have so much to do.

  She looked behind her and saw the bounty hunters walk in. She swallowed a lump in her throat. Easton was in front, pulling his hat off as he approached. Remy was looking around.

  “We came to say we’re off. Maxwell wrote us a letter to the bank about the bounty.”

  “Oh, that’s right!” She snapped her fingers. “You owe me a third, but don’t worry about it. I’ve come into more money than I know what to do with.”

  “We heard. Congratulations on the new job,” Easton said kindly. “I think it looks good on you.” He reached out to touch the badge on her chest. “It’s been a pleasure, Adalyn, truly.”

  “Likewise. You’re both more than welcome here in Redstone.” Her heart felt like it was going to jump out of her chest. She had already said goodbye to these men once—no, twice before. It hadn’t been as easy as she had hoped. They had been an unexpected little gift in her life. Now here she was again, hoping they would stop in, brighten her day every so often after they left. “Oh, and thank you for coming to help me. You didn’t have to.”

  “In the end, we didn’t—you had it fairly handled—but we weren’t willing to take that chance.” Easton gave her that enigmatic smile.

  “We’d promised you wouldn’t get hurt if you just followed our plan, and you did anyway,” Remy mumbled. “We’re sorry for that.”

  “Don’t be. I brought it all on myself and I’m more than okay admitting it.” She shook her head, raising a hand to stop him trying to apologize again. “I’m a grown-ass woman who can admit her own mistakes. And now I’m the sheriff. I think danger is just something I’m going to have to get used to.”

  “If you need any help and we’re around, let us know.” Easton grabbed her hand and kissed her palm.

  “For a price?” she asked softly. He leaned in and kissed her cheek. Her heart refused to slow down.

  “One you might be agreeable to,” he promised, giving her a quick wink. He released her and left, leaving her alone with the uncomfortable hellhound shifter.

  “Remy?”

  He didn’t say anything, just grabbed her shoulders and held her for a much more passionate kiss than Easton had given her. His tongue dove into her mouth, like he wanted to devour her one more time before leaving.

  When they broke apart, she was once again practically panting.

  “I was…distraught that you might have gotten hurt. That you have gotten hurt. That I might lose the chance to come see someone who doesn’t judge me as a monster.” He took a deep breath. “And that it was my fault.”

  Something about his words made him seem like a stray dog that got very little love or affection. He wanted a place to belong. As William would have said, he was looking for his Pack still. Easton was his friend, but they were always on the move. There was no community waiting for them. They were drifters with no place and no one except each other.

  And she’d given them a table to sit at without judgement.

  I had no idea that could mean so much to someone. I really had no idea how much that gift really meant to him. To me it’s just the way things are done. This is Redstone. No one here would ever call another Supe a freak or a monster.

  “Remy, you can always call me a friend. Redstone will always have a place for you and Easton. As the new sheriff, I promise you that.” She would see any Supe find a place in her home. A safe place, a home for all of them.

  “I…thank you. I should go. We want to make good time to Fort Lackey.” He pulled away and she nodded, waving.

  “Be safe,” she called.

  “You too,” he replied, walking out.

  She gave a heavy sigh and went back to work. Duty calls.

  It was near dinnertime, hours later, when she was nearly done. She looked over her work, pleased with everything. Other than Maxwell’s office and the jail proper, she was done cleaning. She picked up her things, ready to leave, when Remy came bursting back into the building, causing her to nearly jump out of her skin.

  “I want to stay. You need a deputy, right?” he asked, walking up to her. She was so shocked by his reappearance that she didn’t move or answer. “I can do the work. I’m tired of moving around, and I’m tired of being in mostly human towns trying to be the monster chasing around other monsters. But you need someone to help you here, and I can do that. I like Redstone.”

  She opened her mouth, unable to find anything to say. Her mind was a complete blank.

  “I mean, Easton and I were headed to Fort Lackey and talking about how we wanted to do work down here in the southern regions when I realized I just don’t want to move around anymore. If I’m going to stay near Redstone because we fit here, why not just…stay in Redstone. And that got me thinking, you’re the sheriff and if no one has stepped up in the last year, maybe I can. I can be a deputy. I know the laws. I can track and…”

  “Yes,” she answered. “Yes. Stay. I would love to have you here as my deputy.” She said it quickly, hoping he didn’t take her silence as a rejection. “Please. What about Easton?”

  “He’s going to turn the bounty in and come back as fast as possible. We think we could both help you, but the money is important. He figured with the money, we could buy a piece of property, or get a more stable place to live-”

  “I have room,” she offered, then slammed her mouth shut.

  What am I thinking? They barely know me and I them.

  “We could rent them,” he offered back. “We would hate to be moochers. Easton would kill me if I just accepted and you let us stay for free. Plus, we’ve been looking for a place to settle down in and retire for the last few years.”

 
; “I could take it out of your paycheck,” she said. “As deputies, you would get fifty dollars a month. Say, five dollars a month for each of you?” I don’t need the money. It’s a token rent.

  “Ten,” he countered.

  “That’s more than I offered, not less.” She was floundering. She was about to have roommates. Bounty hunter roommates.

  No. My deputies. My deputies are about to live with me. I do need deputies. And company.

  “I know, but it’s fair,” he replied, sitting on the reception desk. “We’ll chip in on food and we can make a cooking schedule. Easton and I do it on the road. Each night, one of us takes the cooking duty while the other sets up our tents.”

  “I like that. I won’t do your laundry,” she said softly, the idea settling in. She loved when people helped her in the kitchen. She would like not having to cook every night.

  He reached out and pulled her closer to him. His arm snaked around her waist. “I won’t expect you to keep sleeping with us. He won’t either. We know you were using us to get back in the swing of things. This changes things, since we’ll be around and in your space more.”

  “And if I want to keep sleeping with you?” she asked, leaning forward to touch her lips to his.

  “I’m not going to tell you no,” he whispered. “We can keep it casual. I’ll never expect anything from you.”

  “Thank you.” She didn’t want to stop sleeping with them just because they were around, but she wasn’t sure where she wanted it to go either. She wasn’t ready for a relationship, not at all. She wasn’t sure how she felt about them, or if she would ever feel anything.

  She knew she wanted them. That she still wanted them. And that’s all that matters right now. I can deal with the rest tomorrow.

  “Can we do this without Easton here?” she asked softly. “I know-”

  “He wouldn’t have let me come back if he thought I would hurt you,” he answered, nuzzling his cheek to hers.

  She kissed him, running her hands up his chest. He growled and pulled her flush against him, between his legs. She unbuttoned his vest, then tugged it off him. Then she undid her own, meeting his hellfire orange eyes as she stripped it off. She heard the badge thunk on the floor as he opened her shirt. She only wore a simple camisole underneath, which wasn’t the most supportive thing for her breasts. He threw her shirt to the side with one hand, as the other massaged her breast.

  Next, she undid his shirt slowly as he kissed her neck. While she wasn’t pinned by his gorgeous, unique eyes, she realized the blinds were open, and waved a hand. They slammed shut, and she hoped the entire town hadn’t seen her let the hellhound shifter begin to strip her.

  Finally, they were down to only their denim jeans. He slid off the desk and forced her to turn around. Then he spun them both and pushed on her back so that she would lean over.

  Oh. Oh yes. I like this position.

  She leaned over the desk, undoing her jeans. She heard his belt come undone and the distinct sound of a zipper.

  “Keep the chaps on,” he murmured, yanking down her jeans as much as he could.

  She gasped, looking back. “Why?”

  “Because it’s hot. They make your ass look heavenly,” he answered, kissing her shoulder, then he bit down on it, making her moan. She had always loved men in a good pair of denim and their chaps on, but she had never thought a man would like her in them.

  It was work, but eventually, the head of his cock pressed against her. She was already wet, waiting for him. He growled, deep in his chest, as he began to push inside her. She moaned, her forehead hitting the desk as he entered. Grabbing the other side, she held on as he seated himself deep in her.

  “Heaven,” he said softly, his breathing heavy and hot. “That’s what you are.”

  She wasn’t able to respond as he pulled out and shoved back in, beginning a rough pace that made her toes curl in her boots. Like the first and only time she’d been with him, he was relentless and passionate, leaning over her as he thrust. She tried to hold back her cries, knowing she was going to get people’s attention, but she couldn’t. He had her screaming.

  He wrapped a hand in her hair, forcing her up from the desk slightly. He exposed her neck and bit down as he continued. She was forced to stare at the opposite wall, his hot body pinning her. Her thighs bumped into the desk with each of his thrusts. His free hand wrapped around her front and traveled down.

  She nearly lost it when he ran a finger over her clit.

  “Rem-Remy!” she begged.

  Then it started. The swelling didn’t shock her this time. This time, she had been waiting for it, excited about it. It was dirty, unique, and totally him. She felt naughty for wanting it again, but it wasn’t anything illegal, just unique. A lovely man that just made her toes curl and heart speed up. A man that made her want.

  He growled now with every thrust and she could no longer take it. She came hard, her lower abdominal muscles clenching him. He snarled and shoved in, and she nearly screamed when he tried to pull out that fullness and was unable to.

  “Fuck,” he moaned, as he began to come deep in her. “Fuck.”

  “What?” she moaned as he relaxed, his hand in her hair.

  “I normally don’t do this every time,” he said, panting over her and still coming. “Plus, we never talked about something really important.”

  Now he worries about it.

  “I drink a moon brew,” she murmured, riding out the aftershocks of her orgasm as he just stayed locked in her. Every time his cock twitched, another wave of pleasure cascaded over her.

  “Thank the gods.” He groaned and rubbed his cheek against her hair.

  “After this, we’ll…” She was having a hard time catching her breath. “We’ll go to the bank and fill out the paperwork. Then we need to clean up my house.”

  “Yes ma’am.” He kissed the top of her head, and together, they waited for him to be able to leave her.

  28

  Adalyn

  Adalyn and Remy, or rather, Remington Coldwell, as she had learned at the bank, ate dinner at the saloon before going back up to her house. She stumbled over the fact that he was a Coldwell, but he didn’t offer much information about it. A very rich, very prominent shifter family, the Coldwells were pretty infamous.

  She helped him settle in first, getting his bags up to one of her spare rooms. His mare got along with hers in the field right off the bat. She wondered how Easton’s gelding would do. They might need to keep that one in the smaller area of the field so Dark Prince wouldn’t cause any drama. When they got inside, Remy decided he would care for any structural issues, like her door and a couple of bullet holes in her walls, while she mopped up the blood.

  “Is that everything?” Remy asked, meeting her in the kitchen.

  “Yeah, that’s everything. Get comfortable. Maybe we can play some cards,” she offered, pulling a deck out of a drawer.

  “If you don’t mind, I was thinking of turning in. It’s been a big day.” He gave her a sympathetic look and she smiled.

  She felt a little down that he didn’t want to stay up with her, but didn’t blame him either. It’d been a big week for her. She could only imagine how he was feeling after deciding to change his entire lifestyle. “Goodnight. You don’t need to feel bad. I was just offering. A way to kill the time.”

  He leaned down and kissed her cheek. “You know where to find me.”

  “I do,” she murmured, watching him leave the kitchen again. And in a week, maybe less, she would have Easton there too.

  She sat down on her own, deciding to play a game of solitaire.

  Then she remembered the thing she promised herself she would do before Remy happened. She watched the sun fall below the horizon outside her window and considered what she would say to him. Once the moon was hanging high over the night, she walked back out of her house and towards the grave on the hill.

  Once there, she snapped her fingers and summoned her black craft candles. With another wave
of her hand, they levitated and lit up in gorgeous blue fire. She only brought the candles out when she wanted to focus. She had no intention of doing any real magic, but she hoped they would help carry her words to William on the other side.

  She knelt down in front of the tombstone and closed her eyes, thinking only of his face.

  “Love, the most interesting things have happened in the last few days. I banished a demon, slept with a couple of gentlemanly bounty hunters, got kidnapped, and escaped. I saw Maxwell again. Then I became the sheriff of Redstone, of all things. Those bounty hunters? They’re going to rent the guest bedrooms and become my deputies.” She took another deep breath. “I hope you’re happy, wherever you ended up. I’m keeping my promise to you. I’m living. I’m trying new things. Seeing new people. You know, all of that.”

  “Good. I’m really glad to hear that.”

  I’m so glad. It sounds like he means that.

  WAIT.

  Her eyes popped open as she stopped breathing. Slowly, she lifted her head.

  Sitting on his tombstone was William Lovett, wolf shifter—and now, a ghost. He had a bemused smirk, like he was waiting for something.

  She clapped her hands over her mouth to stop a scream. She fell backwards and scrambled away.

  “Before you ask, no, this isn’t your fault. I don’t know why I haven’t moved on yet.” He shrugged. “But I knew the moment I died that I hadn’t. I decided it would be best to wait awhile before revealing myself, so that I knew you had grieved and weren’t going to do anything reckless.” He sighed after that. “Though it seems you did anyway. Banishing demons now, are you?”

  She just stared at him. Reckless? I would never…I see his point.

  “Are you going to say anything? Maybe I shouldn’t have done this…” He looked away thoughtfully. “I had hoped hearing you say you were doing new things meant this would be a good time. Damn.”

  “William. You’re dead.” It was all she could get out.