by Amy Sumida
“If it was extinct, why was I born? A new familiar with a new soul, bound to serve the Panthera bloodline. If nobody was left, why are we still here? No bloodline means no familiars. We are familiars, therefore there must be a bloodline,” Seth peppered him with his argument – an argument he had heard over and over again.
“Will you two stop bickering? This isn’t an argument either of you can win. Vaughn; Seth is right on some points and you know it,” he turned to Seth who was looking smug, making Vaughn want to wipe the look right off his handsome face, “And Seth; Vaughn is right about the magic, we would sense it. There is no way Ivory is any kind of witch, let alone one from our coven.”
“Enough of this crap,” Vaughn declared. Talking of his lost coven always left him moody for days and they had work to do. Besides, Ronan was right; it wasn’t a dispute either of them could win because neither of them could prove their points, “We need stop to with all our feelings – including the horny ones. We have a job to do. Ivory has a sicko stalking her and she needs our help. Let’s do the job we were hired to do.”
“And if she wants more than that?” Seth asked, clearly not willing to give up on the idea of having the pretty little brunette.
“Then that will be up to her, won’t it?”
Chapter Nine
The second hand on her bedside alarm clock ticked agonisingly slow. She should be used to the insomnia by now, after having been on high alert for months lest her prowler paid a night time visit. But her restlessness had been for a whole new reason last night. Three whole new reasons to be exact, and their names were Seth, Vaughn, and Ronan. The rest of yesterday had been spent answering questions about her routines, her friends, her staff, her family, her hobbies. The only time she hadn’t felt like she was being interrogated was when they were dismantling her expensive new alarm and replacing it with their own security system. She now had individual alarms on every window and external doors and motion sensors in the house and on her front step. The sensors were hooked up to cameras and would record everything as soon as movement was detected. She was trying not to see it as an invasion of her personal space, but a necessity. It was hard though, given she was such a private person by nature and oh yeah, she was hiding the fact that she was a freakin’ witch!
Groaning, she rolled onto her back, starfishing on the huge, soft mattress. She had purchased the round bed on a whim when she had been attending a deceased estate auction. Rich, lonely dead people always had the best antiques. It’s where she had acquired all of her furniture. One look at the decadent and indulgent round bed base had her blowing two months of her income when the gavel came down. She had spent weeks eating two-minute noodles after that, but it had been well worth it – even though it was far too big for one person. Hell, it would be too big for two people as well. Now, if there were four people … She yanked her pillow from under her head and did her best to self-suffocate. She had no business thinking those dirty thoughts. Even though the men had been nothing but professional with her and each other the night before, she hadn’t missed the easy, intimate way they were around each other. Their little ménage looked to be solid and happy. So why did Vaughn have desire in his eyes when he had backed her into the wall yesterday? She must have imagined it, she assured herself, and proceeded to get ready for the day.
She found all three of them in the open dining room off the kitchen. She had a large table that could comfortably seat eight people with single chairs at either end and along one side, and an old church pew along the other. The heavy mahogany table was a priceless, one of a kind, hand carved piece and had been another steal from a rich dead dude. Although it dominated the space off the kitchen opposite the converted living room, she thought it fit perfectly. It had been her last purchase for her renovated apartment. She hadn’t been lying when she told Vaughn she had done most of the renovations herself. And she had hardly even cheated with her magic – mostly. Some of the heavier items like the table and her massive, awkwardly-shaped bed had received a little twitch of her nose and wave of her hand.
When she had first rolled into Hadleigh, she’d had no intention of staying. The town was too small with a population of around ten thousand permanent residents. Although, that number almost doubled during all the main holiday periods and during the summer; it was popular for its nature walks, hiking, and rock climbing. Always before, she had chosen to hide out in the bigger cities, believing the old adage that there was safety in numbers. And it had definitely worked until she had started to believe she was being watched. It was nothing like her pathological gift-giver now, just some raised hairs on the back of her arm every now and again. It had been enough to convince her to move on and she had stumbled upon the picturesque mountain town because she had to pee. One potty stop, one pub purchase, and five years later, she was still here. She absolutely loved it.
She felt a pang of guilt for assuring Vaughn her secret past had nothing to do with the trouble plaguing her now. What if it did? What if it was someone from the conclave? Or even a witch hunter? But if that were the case, surely they wouldn’t be trying to scare her with date requests, dead flowers, and soiled lingerie. No – it had to be just some random crazy. But doubt still niggled at her. If it were something to do with her magic, the men would be seriously outnumbered and outgunned. But it wasn’t like she could tell them she was a modern-day witch. There were still some true believers out there who were harmless enough – most of them members of the Wiccan religion – though they weren’t true witches. However, the majority of people didn’t believe in magic and she was just as likely to be shipped off to the funny farm if she confessed now.
“Ivory, you going to stand there all day?”
The deep voice belonged to Seth and had her jolting from her thoughts. She really had no choice but to keep on her current path, she decided. So she pasted a smile on her face and walked to the coffee machine that appeared to already have gotten a workout, “Sorry. I was just thinking. I hope everyone slept well,” she turned and leaned back against the kitchen counter. Damned if the three handsome men didn’t look perfect sitting at her table.
“Sure did, thanks,” Ronan answered, looking fresh and put together. He was clearly a morning person and she tried very hard not to hate him for it.
She cast her eyes over the other two, seeing a casual looking but somewhat sleepy-eyed Seth and a grumpy looking Vaughn. At least one of them wasn’t a fan of mornings. Why wasn’t she surprised it was the blunt, gruff one? “What’s the plan for today?” she asked.
“We’ll be with you at work today. You won’t be doing much without at least one of us following you around for the foreseeable future, I’m afraid,” Ronan informed her, nicely.
“Vaughn said as much yesterday, albeit in a much ruder fashion,” she pointed out, causing Ronan and Seth to laugh. Seems they knew exactly what the other man was like and didn’t care. She didn’t really mind either if she were being honest. She always preferred honesty to subterfuge, which was another reason why wearing a false face bugged her. There was only one problem with their plan; “I understand the necessity and I’m very grateful, but I can’t just have you prowling around the bar, dogging my every step. I have to work and people will ask questions.”
“We won’t get in your way. You’ll hardly know we’re there at all,” Seth assured her.
She eyed them dubiously. They were tall, built, and jaw-droppingly gorgeous with dangerous auras that screamed bad boy. There was no way they weren’t going to stand out like sore thumbs.
“I know what you’re thinking, Ivory,” Ronan’s voice interrupted her thoughts, “And we can blend in when we need to.”
She very much doubted that, “This is a small town,” she reminded them, “You won’t be able to do much blending. I really don’t want the world to know I’m being stalked and protected by three bodyguards.”
“Because you’re keeping secrets,” Vaughn pointed out, his voice rough.
She shivered in reaction to his earl
y morning voice despite the accusatory words he was using. Rather than engaging in a verbal sparring match with him, she simply shrugged, taking another sip of the life-affirming coffee in her hand. She saw Ronan cast a dark look in Vaughn’s direction, who merely raised an eyebrow. The man was clearly unrepentant.
“We don’t want to tip our hand to your stalker either. If he realises his access to you is being blocked, he will either back off or move up his end game,” Ronan explained, ignoring Vaughn’s accusation.
She worried her lip – she hadn’t considered that having bodyguards would piss off her stalker, “Are you going to be in danger here? Is this guy going to resent your presence enough to try to hurt you?”
“Well, yeah. Hopefully,” Seth answered, causing her jaw to drop.
“You want him to come after you?”
Seth shrugged, his shoulders lifting and falling and drawing her gaze, “It would make life a little easier – draw him out, reel him in, take him out.”
He sounded so casual about putting himself in danger. She knew it was their job but she didn’t want to be responsible for putting them in harm’s way. Before she could voice her objections, Ronan spoke;
“Seth’s right. More often than not, just us being here will be enough to force the offender’s hand. But it’s just as likely that he will take out his rage on you rather than us. That’s why it’s so important for you to do what we tell you.”
She swallowed loudly, unable to suppress a shiver of fear. Whoever it was killed animals and jacked off on underwear. She really didn’t want him to focus any more attention on her. She would do her best to follow the instructions and heed the commands of the experts currently taking up residence in her house. But it still didn’t solve the problem of their conspicuousness. She didn’t care what they said about being able to blend, there was no way her staff wouldn’t notice them. Wait a minute … her staff, she thought, an idea hitting her suddenly;
“What about if I hire you?” she suggested, excitedly.
“Um, you kind of already did that,” Seth pointed out.
She flapped a hand, “Not in that way. I mean at the bar? That way no-one would question your presence and you would have a legitimate reason for being there.”
They all looked at each other and she could practically hear the wheels turning in their heads. They weren’t immediately objecting so she took the opportunity to forge ahead; “My head bartender has been at me for months to hire some bouncers,” she looked them over once more, trying very hard not to linger on their biceps and pecs, “You certainly look the part.”
“Bouncers?” Ronan screwed his nose up in distaste.
“Bouncers, huh?” Vaughn’s eyes lit up, the idea obviously appealing to him, “I could do that. Takin’ names and crackin’ skulls,” he rubbed his hands together in glee and she laughed at his exuberance. Of course he would like the idea of that.
“It’s not a bad idea,” Seth acknowledged, “Undercover. We’ve done similar things before.”
Ronan looked thoughtful for a moment and Ivory held her breath. It seemed that Ronan was the unofficial leader of their threesome – at least when it came to business matters anyway. Another minute of contemplation followed before he finally nodded his head, “I think we could make that work. Vaughn and I have actually worked in a pub before anyway.”
Excellent, she thought. She had just hired herself three new bouncers.
Chapter Ten
Three days later, and nothing of consequence had occurred in regards to her sinister friend. She had received no new packages, no emails, no letters. It was as if he had just up and left … or was waiting to drop a bomb. Her nerves were beginning to get the better of her and waiting was almost worse than the horrible deliveries, she thought, as she wiped her bar down. It was mid-afternoon and only a handful of patrons graced her tables. Herself, Lee, and Stella – her cook – were the only ones currently working. Oh, other than her new bouncer of course, she amended, trying to discreetly ogle Seth from across the room.
Her three new bouncers, slash bar staff, had settled in very easily. It was disconcerting at just how easily they had been able to integrate into her daily routines. They were right; they could blend when they needed to. Nobody had questioned the three men’s presence and Lee had been ecstatic to learn the men would be doubling as bouncers as well as helping out behind the scenes. He was more than a little smug when they had successfully broken up a fight between three men on their first night. His look had been full of ‘I told you so’, which she had studiously ignored of course.
They had received great pleasure upon seeing Trucker Pete’s face when he had rocked up the night before. The man had been completely sober and suitably terrified when he realised the three huge men who he had pissed off were now hanging around on a permanent basis and were in charge of security. She was sure Vaughn, in particular, was gaining some kind of perverse pleasure at making Pete sweat. Libby’s eyes had bugged out of her head when she had shown up for work their first day. She had told Libby the truth of course, that the three newest Hex employees were actually the private security she had recommended. It had only made her friend drool more.
The past three days had been spent with at least one of them with her at all times, while the other two utilised their secret bodyguard resources to try and find her psycho. They had questioned her relentlessly, asking the same questions over and over again, trying to find any small clue to the person’s identity. She knew they had completed background checks on everyone in her life – including Trucker Pete. So far, everyone had checked out, much to Vaughn’s irritation. She wasn’t any closer to finding answers but she did feel safer. That was despite the fact that her lust had been on a slow burn for days.
As they were asking her questions and getting to know her, she had been doing the same with them. And so far, she liked everything she heard from Seth’s cheeky personality to Ronan’s intellect, and Vaughn’s grumpy persona. They were truly wonderful men.
“Ivory …” Lee was behind her holding up the work phone, “… phone for you.”
He quickly passed the handset over with one hand, his other already reaching for a glass to pull a beer. He really was an efficient bartender. She leaned back against the counter, tucking the phone between her neck and shoulder, even as she reached for a glass to buff. Lee wasn’t the only one who could multitask, “Hello?”
“Bad Ivory. Make them leave.”
The handset fell to the floor with a clatter along with her stomach. The voice in her ear was robotic but the undercurrent of rage could still be easily heard. It was him. Her stalker. She had never received a phone call before. As sinister and frightening as the notes and parcels were, they still felt somewhat distanced. But hearing a voice made it feel like he was able to reach out and touch her. She shivered, wrapping her arms around herself, and nearly screamed when she felt a muscular arm do the same.
“Seth …” She breathed out, recognising his scent almost immediately.
“It’s just me,” he confirmed, “What’s wrong?”
She tilted her head back, looking at him, “How did you know something was wrong?”
“I could smell, err, I could see the look on your face from across the room. Now tell me.”
She could have sworn he was about to say he could smell something before changing his mind. Thinking it an odd thing to say but with bigger worries at the moment, she merely gestured to the handset. Seth picked it up, cursing up a storm when all he heard was a dial tone.
“Come on,” he grabbed her hand and dragged her to her office. He pushed her into her chair and knelt in front of her, “Tell me everything.”
She shrugged, fiddling with her earrings in a nervous gesture, “It was my mystery admirer. He said I was bad again – must be a running theme of his. He also said, ‘make them leave’. I assume he was referring to you three.”
Seth took her hand, likely saving her from ripping her ear off, “Did you recognise the voice?”
/> “No. It was robotic. I couldn’t even make out if it was male or female,” she admitted, realising she kept referring to her stalker as a man when they could just as easily be female.
“What about the tone, the syntax? Remind you of anyone? A jealous ex? A jilted lover?” he pushed, but she was already shaking her head;
“I already told you guys – multiple times. I don’t have any recent exes. Hell, the last person to ask me on a date was Lee. And that was months before all of this started.”
Seth froze, “Lee? Your bartender?”
She nodded, eyeing him quizzically. He looked pissed for some reason. It was a good look on the man who was always so chilled, she thought.
“Dammit, Ivory! Why didn’t you mention this before? A new employee, someone in your close proximity, asked you out and you rejected him. You didn’t think this was important for us to know?”
She laughed before realising Seth was serious, “It wasn’t a big deal. He asked me out once. I said no once. That’s it.”
“You are not really that naïve, are you?” he asked, angrily.
“I’m not naïve and I’m not stupid,” her feminine pride smarted over the lack of faith, “Of course I considered him. But he checked out. Besides, you saw him standing right next to me when the phone rang. It’s not Lee.”
“What do you mean ‘he checked out?’ What makes you so sure?” Seth had his arms crossed over his chest and was doing a damn fine imitation of Vaughn’s cranky face.
“Because I’ve received packages at times when he hasn’t left my sight. It can’t be him. Unless I have two stalkers?” her voice was full of sarcasm.
Seth didn’t seem to hear it – or he was ignoring it, for he answered; “No. Stalkers with this kind of pathology tend to work alone. Any kind of competition for your attention would not be tolerated – even from a partner.”
