by Deanna Chase
“Jade. My god. Are you all right?” Kane asked, putting his arm around my shoulders and pulling me in close to him.
“Yeah, but I’m starving, and I could probably drink a gallon of water,” I said, leaning into him and trying to ignore the pent-up frustration that was simmering beneath his surface. The magical bands that had been containing my magic were gone, and everyone’s emotions were running high, threatening to overwhelm me.
“Here, Jade,” Bea said, handing me a bag of her homemade trail mix. “This should help.”
I took the bag of nuts and dried fruit and gobbled down a handful. When I glanced back up, she handed me a bottle of water. “Thank you.”
“Come on. Let’s go get some actual food,” Pyper said, dragging Julius out of the lobby of the council offices.
The rest of us followed, and I was surprised to find that Kane already had the Lexus back. “How’d you know where to find it?” I asked him.
“Mati and Vaughn. They called not long after you were taken in.” He opened the door for me, and I glanced around, looking for Flame. “Where’s the dog? Didn’t they pick her up too?”
He raised both eyebrows. “The fire-breathing one?”
“Yeah. That one. She tried to turn the council witches into crispy-fried assholes and then took off before they could apprehend her. But I saw her curled up in the car as we drove away.”
“Mati didn’t say anything about her. I’m not sure they even know she’s on the loose.”
“Great,” I whispered as I let my head flop back against the headrest. “One more thing to worry about.”
Bea bustled around her bright kitchen while Lucien set a plate of cheese and crackers on the table. Discussing the supernatural and actual dragons in a public place wasn’t an option, so Bea had led us to her place and had graciously offered to feed us. She’d already set out a pitcher of homemade lemonade, and Pyper and I were busy chowing down on the cheese and crackers while Lucien, Julius, and Kane vented about the council.
“I’ve never known them to coerce someone to work for them before,” Lucien said, his face taking on a red tinge from his anger. “It’s unethical.”
Julius let out a bark of humorless laughter. “I have. The problem with the council elders is that they don’t have anyone to answer to. When they get a bee buzzing in their ass, they’ve been known to pull all kinds of shit until they get what they want.”
Bea set a bowl of potato salad on the table. “Julius is right. It’s why I broke ties with them years ago.”
“The charges are relatively minor and wouldn’t amount to much even if they did decide to rule against you both. But they definitely could’ve pulled all kinds of shit to delay the hearing. I think you probably made the best choice, choosing to track Harper down. You were already working on finding out what was going on anyway, right?” Lucien asked as he pulled out a leather-bound notebook.
“Jade definitely was in investigation mode,” Pyper said.
I scooped a large spoonful of potato salad and dropped it onto my plate. “There was talk about dragons. All I wanted to do was make sure we didn’t end up with another one terrorizing New Orleans.”
Kane put his hand on my knee and refilled my lemonade glass. “No surprise there. My girl would never be able to ignore something like that.”
I smiled up at him, my heart swelling with love. He knew and accepted me even while it was clear to me he really would prefer I stay locked in the house until our daughter was born. The great thing about Kane was that he respected me and my judgment. I wasn’t about to hide out while anyone was in danger. We’d tried that once. It hadn’t worked out. Besides, I was stronger than ever at the moment. Other than the council threatening my freedom, I wasn’t in any danger. Not yet anyway. When it came to magic, nothing was certain. But I would do my best to keep myself out of trouble.
While I dug into the potato salad, Pyper flipped the folder open that Kinsley had given us.
“What’s it say?” I asked between bites.
“Not much. Just a background check on Harper and a copy of the contents of her notebook.” Pyper shuffled through the papers and handed half to Julius, who was to her left. “Doesn’t look like a lot to go on.”
Bea placed a tray of croissant sandwiches on the table and sat next to me. “I’m sorry you got dragged into this.”
I gave her a small smile. “Occupational hazard I suppose.”
She chuckled. “Coven leaders do usually see more than their share of trouble.”
“You survived,” I said and grabbed a roast beef sandwich.
“And so will you.” She winked and filled her glass with lemonade.
“Whoa,” Julius said. “Pyper, did you see this?” He leaned over, showing her one of the pieces of paper.
“No.” She scanned it, and her eyes widened. “Harper’s a known medium as well?”
“Says she worked for the coven leader of Salem for a while before she moved to New Orleans,” Julius said.
“That’s interesting,” I said. “She told us she has an aunt who’s a witch and owns a novelty shop in Salem.”
Julius shook his head. “That’s not entirely true. Her aunt is the coven leader. She owns a haunted inn and has been making money on the side selling love potions, psychic readings, and herb curses.”
“That sounds kinda shady,” I said. “Curses? From a coven leader?” I glanced at Bea. “That’s pretty unethical, isn’t it?”
She nodded. “If they’re minor curses, it might sound worse than it is. If they’re fake, then she’s just a scammer. If she’s dabbling in black magic…” Bea pressed her lips into a thin line. “Then that’s something the council would’ve looked into. Or should unless there’s some corruption going on up there.”
“So it’s either shady or downright evil. Not a good sign.” I picked at the croissant, troubled that Harper had lied to me. I’d liked her when we’d met and had been giving her the benefit of the doubt. But maybe I was wrong. If she’d worked for her shady aunt, maybe she was trying to unleash dragons.
“I don’t understand how she was able to escape the council,” Pyper said, her brows pinched as she handed me the files. “If she’s just a medium, she wouldn’t have been able to magic herself out of there.”
A bark of laughter escaped from the back of my throat. “Hell, I’m a coven leader, and even I can’t magic myself out of there.”
“She must’ve had help,” Bea said.
“Maybe a ghost let her out,” Pyper said.
Everyone was silent for a moment while we stared at Pyper.
“What?” she asked.
“Did you see or hear any ghosts while we were there, other than Kimmy?” I asked.
She shook her head. “No, but I wasn’t listening for any. But you did last time you were there,” she pointed out.
“True.” I chewed on that information. “Kinsley said that Pyper’s skill would come in handy. Maybe that’s what she meant. Maybe we need to go back to the council offices and hunt some ghosts.”
Pyper groaned. “Today?”
“No.” Kane put his arm across the back of my chair. “It’s late and I’m taking Jade home. Tomorrow you can start the Harper hunt.”
“Tomorrow. Definitely.” I stifled a yawn. “We can go back to the Witches’ Council and check out the new recruits for Mati’s sorority. See if anyone knows anything.”
“I’ll do some research of my own,” Lucien said, pushing his chair back and standing.
“Thanks,” I said, grateful my second-in-command always had my back.
He cleared his throat and added, “I think Kat is expecting you both for lunch tomorrow.”
Son of a… He was right. We were supposed to finalize the details for her wedding shower that I was hosting at my house on Saturday. I’d debated just taking care of all the details myself, but Kat had very specific ideas about what she wanted for her wedding festivities, and rather than get it wrong, I’d decided to just loop her in on everything.
So far that had proved to be the right decision.
“Of course,” I said. “We’ll be there, right Pyper?”
She pulled her phone out and tapped the screen. “Got it right here. Lunch. One o’clock at the sushi place in the CBD.”
Lucien let out a breath and his shoulders relaxed as he gave us a hint of a smile. “Good. That’s good. I know she’s looking forward to it.”
I touched his arm. “Tell her we missed her today. And that I’m fine. So she doesn’t need to run over and check on me.”
He chuckled. “I’ll tell her, but no promises.”
Kane stood up and walked him to the door. “Tell her if she’s coming to come soon. I’m putting Jade to bed early tonight.”
Pyper leaned across the table and whispered, “After he gets you into that lacy black number.”
I rolled my eyes. “That’s probably the last thing on his mind.”
She glanced over at Kane and then back to me. “No, it isn’t.” Laughing, she stood and held her hand out to Julius. “Take me home, babe. I’m ready to throw pizza money at Bo and make it an early night.”
“I’ll meet you at the Grind at nine,” I said as they headed for the door.
Pyper threw one hand up, indicating she’d heard me, and a moment later it was just me, Kane, and Bea.
I glanced at my mentor. “What do you think? Is it possible dragons were awakened?”
She picked up the tray of leftover sandwiches. “Anything is possible when it comes to magic and the supernatural. You know that, Jade.”
“That’s what I was afraid of.” I pushed my chair back and started to help her clear the table.
“I’ve got this,” Bea said, gently taking the plate from me. She placed a soft hand on my arm and smiled down at my belly. “Go on home and take care of that baby growing in there.”
“No, we should—”
“Go home and get some rest,” she insisted. “Besides, Maximus will be here soon. He’s excellent at clearing tables.”
I giggled at the image of the Brotherhood leader clearing her table. “I guess it’s good for him to be domestic every now and then.”
“He sure isn’t at the Brotherhood headquarters,” Kane said, slipping his arm around me. “A little domesticity is good for a powerful leader.” He winked at me. “Right, love?”
“I have no idea,” I said, grinning. “I have a loving husband who takes care of all that stuff for me.”
Bea laughed. “Okay, you two. Out. Call me tomorrow.”
I untangled myself from Kane and reached over to hug her. Bea’s arms came around me, and I held on for a beat longer than normal. She smelled of citrus and sunshine, and her soft embrace reminded me of my own mother, who lived in Idaho and was planning to visit after our daughter was born. It was nice to have a mother figure. Though I had to admit, Bea was just about the complete opposite of my earth mom, who spent her days in jeans and T-shirts in her shed, mixing healing herbs. Bea wore silk blouses and linen pants and looked like she belonged on her front porch, sipping mint juleps.
But looks were deceiving. Bea owned a new age shop in the French Quarter, and when she wasn’t working, she was often helping me or one of the other coven witches deal with any number of evil forces that seemed to be drawn to the Crescent City.
“Thanks, Bea,” I said. “Let us know if Maximus has heard anything.”
“Tomorrow,” she said, her eyes twinkling with mischief. “I think you’re not the only ones who might be having an early night.”
7
“Well. Sounds like age hasn’t caught up to Bea and Maximus,” I said as Kane drove us home.
He groaned. “That is not an image I need in my head the next time he’s giving me an order.”
I laughed. “No? I guess not.”
“How are you doing, love?” His tone was soft and full of concern, matching the love that was streaming off him and wrapping around me like a blanket. He reached out and put his hand on my leg, squeezing gently.
“Better now that it’s just us.” I placed my hand over his, just for the connection. “I’m not sure I’m ready for this.”
He turned the corner and pulled the car to a stop in front of the shotgun double we shared. “Don’t worry. You have a whole team behind you. We’ll find Harper, and your days will go back to prepping the nursery and helping Kat and Pyper with wedding preparations.”
I sucked in a fortifying breath and shook my head. “That’s not exactly what I meant.”
His dark eyes flashed with concern. But instead of asking further questions, he said, “Hold that thought. This calls for ice cream, air-conditioning, and a neck rub.”
I chuckled as he slipped out of the car and hurried over to my side to help me out. Sweat had soaked right through the back of my tank top, and the one thing I wanted more than anything in the world was a shower. The hours spent in lockup at the council, along with the late-August humidity, had left me sticky and completely worn down. The food and lemonade had helped somewhat, but I wasn’t going to feel human again until I washed the day away.
Kane led me inside. Duke, the golden retriever ghost dog, met us at the door, his tail wagging and his tongue hanging out.
I smiled down at him. “Hey, boy. You haven’t seen Flame, have you?”
The dog wagged his tail harder and turned around, leading us into the kitchen. Kane and I glanced at each other.
“You don’t think that fire-breathing dog actually ended up back here, do you?” Kane said.
“No. How would she get over the bridge?” Still, we followed Duke into the kitchen, where he promptly sat in front of the back door as if waiting to go out. Since he was a ghost dog, if he wanted to enjoy the great outdoors, a door wasn’t going to hinder him. I opened the back door and let out a small gasp as I recognized the small ball of fluff curled up in the shade under the small table we had out there.
The dog’s head jerked up, and Flame let out a small bark as she darted into the house and ran for the water dish I’d left out earlier in the day. After lapping up some water, she trotted back over to me and collapsed at my feet.
Kane let out a sigh. “I guess that means we have a houseguest for the time being.”
Holding on to the edge of the counter with one hand, I bent down and scooped her up with the other. She looked at me with weary eyes, yawned widely, and then tucked her head against my chest. “I think you might be right.”
After rummaging around in the fridge for some leftover chicken breast, I made her a bowl of chicken and rice and set her down on the floor. She gobbled up her dinner in less than a minute and then just lay down on the tile floor and closed her eyes. In seconds, she was snoring.
“At least she isn’t breathing fire,” I whispered to Kane.
“That’s something.” He stared at the tiny brown dog. “How do you think she got here?”
“Who knows? Maybe Mati and Vaughn found her and brought her over.”
“And just dumped her in the backyard without any water or food on an insufferable day in August?” he asked.
I had to admit it seemed unlikely, but I pulled out my cell phone and sent Mati a text to find out. Mati immediately texted back that she hadn’t seen Flame since we’d been at her apartment earlier in the day. “It wasn’t Mati and Vaughn. Maybe it was magic,” I said with a yawn, my eyes watering with the effort of staying awake. “I don’t know, but right now, I’m not sure I care. I need a shower and a nap.”
“Nap?” Kane eyed the clock on the wall. “It’s after eight already. I think maybe you might just want to call it a night.”
That was tempting, but… “Shower first.” Then I grabbed his hand and led him into the master bedroom. “I might need someone to wash my back.”
“You’re sure?” he asked, already tugging his shirt off. The hint of the desire that had sparked between us earlier in the day came roaring back, and suddenly I wasn’t quite as tired as I’d been a few moments before.
I chuckled. “I’m sure.�
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Kane disappeared into the bathroom, and before I could even kick my shoes off, I heard the water rush through the pipes and the spray of the shower. Then my husband was back, still wearing those low-slung jeans and looking sexier than ever. He knelt before me, gently slipping my shoes off and then reaching up to peel my pants off me. I sat on the edge of the bed, watching as his hands glided over my smooth skin, and wondered what I’d ever done to deserve him. He was everything I’d ever wanted—kind, gentle, loving, honorable, and a total badass when fighting evil. And hot. Pure man-candy. How we’d ended up together, I’d never fully understand, but I knew that I loved him more and more with each passing day. And I wouldn’t trade a moment of this life even if it meant we never got another moment’s peace.
“Your skin is so soft, Jade,” Kane whispered and slid his hand up my inner thighs, parting them gently to make room for him to slip between them. His hands kept roaming upward, over my hips to my waist and then under my tank top, still moving up, up, up until he pulled the garment over my head, leaving me in just my red bra and panties.
My skin started to tingle all over, and I lay back on the bed, inviting him to explore anywhere he wanted.
“Goddess above, Jade. You just get lovelier every day.” He reached down, his hands cupping my breasts while both thumbs gently stroked my nipples, turning them hard instantly.
I sucked in a sharp breath, staring up at his hard body, my fingers aching to touch him. “Come down here,” I said, tugging on a loop of his jeans.
He chuckled softly. “Nope. We have a shower to take. Remember?”
I let out a small frustrated groan. Who cared about a shower when he’d just lit my body on fire? “If you lie down on this bed, I’ll make it worth your while.”
“Trust me, love. You want what I’m offering.” He tugged on my hands, pulling me to my feet. Then he turned and led me into the bathroom. After divesting us both of the rest of our clothes, he opened the shower door and waved me in.