“What are you thinking about oh tall, dark, and beautiful?” Jenny asked as she came up to wrap her arms around Kasey’s waist.
“A lot of things. I’m worried about Raelin. I don’t really want her getting hurt any more than I want Del to be,” she said, pressing back into Jenny’s warmth. “I know Raelin says she has a plan, and I know she’s capable of defending herself, but she’s just as mortal as the rest of us.”
“What do you mean by mortal, Spaulding?” Jacobs spoke from the entrance to the living room.
Kasey jumped at the added voice and her head whipped around to look at her ex-boss. She flushed a little, but didn’t move from the circle of Jenny’s arms. “I just mean that I’m worried about her. She’s determined to go in there and fix things without any regard for her own safety.”
“That’s what people do when they are in love. They think of the other person first.” Jacobs smiled at the couple. “That’s a nice ring that you’re wearing these days Jenny. Do I take it that congratulations are in order?”
“Yes Ma’am,” Kasey said shyly. “I asked her on a picnic we had. Just kind of blurted it out randomly. I’d meant to wait a few more months to be sure and all, but it just kind flew out of me before I’d thought about it,” she babbled.
Jenny laughed and patted Kasey on her stomach. “It was a perfect setting.”
Jacobs smiled. “True love doesn’t have to wait for a good time to be sure. Take it while you can because you never know when it will be cut short.” The smiled lessened a bit as the older woman turned away. Clearing her throat, she stated, “Raelin does have a lovely home.”
Jenny agreed, “Yes, it’s always been comfortable, but with Delaney here, it became a home.”
“I imagine even with all of us here it feels pretty empty to her without Delaney here,” Kasey said sadly. She’d sensed the sadness in the director and she cocked her head a little and looked at the older woman. “Excuse me for asking ma’am, but is everything okay?”
Looking at the books on the shelves, Director Jacobs took a moment to consider her words. Since Spaulding wasn’t with the Bureau any longer, she didn’t see why she couldn’t have a confidant. “My partner of twenty years is very sick and she may not make it to the end of the year, so I know about taking pleasure in every moment that you can.”
Kasey was taken by surprise at the admission. The director had never mentioned anyone, male or female or maybe she was just out of the loop. “Nancy, I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”
The older woman arched an eyebrow at the use of her first name, but figured that it was about time. “Not very many people do. I’ve managed to keep my personal life quiet for my entire career, and now part of me is regretting it. I envy you and Jenny because it is much easier for you to be open about your relationship. I wish you both much happiness.”
“Don’t envy me. I mean, I still haven’t gotten the guts to tell my mother, and my sister found out by accident. It’s not too late you know,” Kasey said gently, moving to stand next to her ex-boss. “It’s never too late to be who you are.”
“My resignation letter has already been typed. As soon as this is over, I’m tendering it. We were thinking about moving to a small city and just enjoying the time we have left together.” Nancy sighed.
“There’s one house left on the outskirts of town that you are welcome to.” Raelin came into the room, having caught the tail end of the conversation. “It’s all yours.”
“I can’t possibly accept that. It wouldn’t look right,” Nancy argued.
Raelin walked over to her and placed a hand on the older woman’s arm. “It’s a gift from one friend to another in a time of need. You’ve more than paid for it by helping us out both these times and getting Delaney and Kasey their jobs.”
Smiling, Nancy agreed, “Thank you then. I accept.”
“If you all will excuse me, I need to get ready. Jenny, would you mind coming up to my room in about ten minutes.” Raelin patted Jacobs on the back as she passed by.
Raelin went up to her bedroom and put on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt before walking over to Delaney’s jewelry box. Silently asking for forgiveness, she reached in took out a silver cross necklace, and put it on. She had just clasped it closed when there was a knock on the door.
“Hey it’s me. You wanted to see me?” Jenny asked poking her head in.
Turning Raelin smiled as she crossed to the dresser to pick up a sealed envelope. “Would you give this to Delaney afterwards? After...the spring?”
“Sure,” Jenny said taking the envelope. She looked up at Raelin and had to do a double take to make sure she was seeing correctly. “Are you wearing a cross?”
Reaching up, the witch touched the symbol lightly. “It is Delaney’s and I thought that I would wear it for luck.” Taking a step closer to her niece Raelin hugged her close and murmured, “I love you Jenny. Thank you for being such good friend to me all these years.”
“Quit talking like you’re not coming back,” she said into the taller woman’s shoulder, a hitch in her voice as she returned the hug. “I love you too, and since you are the cool aunt, you need to come back,” she whispered.
“Just make sure that Delaney gets that after the spring.” Giving the young woman a final hug, she grabbed a satchel and headed downstairs. Once there, she opened the fridge and began filling the bag with bottles of water.
Kasey wandered in from the living room; she’d had a good conversation with the Director and found the woman wasn’t nearly as uptight as she pretended to be. She spotted Raelin throwing bottles of spring water into a satchel and quirked an eyebrow. “Hey, what are you up to? Almost time for you to head out.”
“Yeah, it’s about that time.” Closing the fridge, the witch stood in front of the Deputy. “Kasey, I’m going to depend on you to take care of Delaney. She’s probably going to be very weak once she gets to the glen. Get her to eat some fruit and to drink some of this water. Now I’m going to try to make it to the spring about an hour or so after I send her to the glen. I’m going to need you to be there because I don’t think that I...I’ll be too weak to do anything. Okay?”
“Raelin, I’ve been listening to you talk about this all day. The more you talk the more I think you believe you are going on a suicide mission. What aren’t you telling me?” Kasey asked in all seriousness.
Raelin bowed her head swallowed a couple of times and tried to keep the tears from her eyes. Clearing her throat, she looked up at her friend. “I don’t know what this spell is going to cost me. I just know that if I don’t do this Delaney and Ariel don’t stand a chance and I am not going to cost Jessie her daughter. I can do this, I can get them home.”
“I don’t doubt your ability to get them home Raelin, but I really don’t want to be the person who has to tell Delaney the love of her life isn’t coming back. You’ll get your ass back here, you hear me?” Kasey said firmly.
“Hey, Jenny told me you were getting ready to go. Mrs. Jacobs wants to get your wire set up,” Jessie said coming into the room. “Oh, am I interrupting something?”
Raelin wiped at her eyes before she turned to her attorney. Clearing her throat, she stated. “Please don’t blame Delaney for this and keep Ariel from her. They love each other so much and you’ve raised a beautiful daughter who is very special.” Bowing her head, she headed towards the living room with the satchel to be wired.
Jessie watched Raelin walk into the other room and then looked at the deputy across the room from her. “I’m not sure how I’m supposed to feel about that. I want to be okay and not blame anyone, but at the same time my little girl was kidnapped. I trusted them to protect her, and realistically I know Del would have done whatever she could to protect Ari, but it’s hard.”
Kasey stuck her hands in her jeans. “You went to the casino along with us. Did you get the idea that they would take it to this extreme? If you had, would you have let Ariel stay?”
“Probably not. I would have refused the case and not l
et Ariel out of my sight until it had all blown over,” Jessie replied honestly.
“Then the blame goes both ways. This is tearing Raelin apart on so many levels and I can’t even imagine what Delaney is going through,” Kasey stated.
“I know, I’m sorry. Delaney is your friend and you must be just as worried about her as I am about Ariel,” she sighed. “So what are we going to be doing while Raelin is at the casino? There must be some way we can help her.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Raelin paused as she watched Tia retreat back down the stairs of the maid’s access. She knew what had to be done and she wasn’t going to accept anything but. Taking a deep breath, she then let it out as she entered the familiar plush hallways of Bisanti’s private suite and slammed open the doors to his office secretly satisfied when he looked up startled. She held up the manila folder that had been delivered by courier earlier in the day.
“I believe that you wanted me to sign these...not happening. You don’t get anything until I’m happy,” she tossed the folder onto his desk.
Scowling he pulled out the papers and confirmed that they were unsigned. “What is it that you want? I don’t think you are in much of a position to negotiate,” he growled, not in the mood for this today. “I think I made the terms of your blonde’s release clear.”
“You did, but you couldn’t have thought that I would just sign the papers without seeing Delaney and the girl. If you did, you’re a hell of a lot dumber than you look.” The witch knew that she was pushing the envelope in trying to get him upset. She needed everyone’s emotions high cause she needed to use that to help teleport her wife and Ariel.
“I would keep your insults to yourself. I tend to lose my patience when my feelings are hurt. One phone call and you never see your wife or daughter again,” he sneered, standing from his place his eyes flicking to Gino as he entered the room.
“And with that one phone call, you lose your casino, lock, stock and barrel. You wanna play this way? I can do that.” Raelin inwardly smiled. Bisanti’s anger was almost rolling off him in waves.
He glared at her for a long moment, his anger flushing his face red. He knew she was right and if getting the shares in the casino meant taking her down to see the Chief as she sat on her throne, then so be it. “Fine. I’ll take you down there and you sign the papers. If not, none of you will leave this place walking. Got it?”
“I got it, now let me see my wife and Ariel.” Raelin sighed and turned towards the door.
“Gino, you take her down there and bring her right back up. She makes one funny move, you pull the plug and off all three of em,” Bisanti growled. “You’ve got twenty minutes.”
“Yes sir,” the Italian mumbled and steered Raelin towards a back staircase she hadn’t seen before.
Seeing the pair disappear down his private staircase Bisanti picked up a phone and dialed the cell number of the young man currently standing watch downstairs. “Yeah, Raelin is on her way down. Make sure her wife looks nice and pretty when she gets there and tie the damn kid back up to the post,” he snarled before slamming the phone down.
Gino held onto Raelin’s forearm tightly as they walked down the stairs, and Raelin quietly asked for permission to get a bottle of water out of her bag.
“Whatever,” he mumbled as he pushed open a door and walked into a dank hallway. The air was musty and it was obviously underground as the only light provided was the harsh flickering of the florescent lights above their heads. He halted in front of a battered door, smiling as he heard both Ariel’s cries for the beating to stop and Del’s pained moan. “We made sure she’d look good and pretty for when you got down here.”
Quickly drinking down half the bottle Raelin walked through the door thinking that she was ready to see her wife, but nothing in her imagination prepared her for seeing Delaney with a bloody face and wrist’s rubbed raw from being cuffed to the chair. She blinked back the tears when she saw Ariel tied to a nearby pipe. “Please just let them go...they have nothing to do with this,” she turned to the young man, and gasped as she finally recognized him. “Trey...Trey Kingsley...What are you doing here? Why are you doing this?”
“What do you mean why? You fucking ruined us. You and this bitch here,” he sneered. He grabbed Del’s face between his fingers, tilting her hanging head up so she could look at him. “You just couldn’t leave well enough alone,” he said, dropping her head again.
“You were at the opening of the Foundation...I thought I saw you there, but I wasn’t sure. And then I saw you here when we did the tour,” the witch stated.
“That’s right. I been here all along. You ruined me and my mother when you got my father thrown in jail. We couldn’t show our faces in town anymore. Now it’s my turn, doesn’t feel too good, now does it?” he sneered, giving Del’s cheek a hard pat.
Raelin took a step forward until she was restrained by Gino. “I didn’t ruin your family. Your grandmother and father did that. They were selling women as slaves, and one of those almost was your half-sister.”
“My what?” Trey asked with a laugh. “You are out of your mind.”
“You didn’t know...your father didn’t tell you before he went to prison. Jenny LeBlanc is your half-sister, and she’s the reason that Delaney was asked down to investigate by your grandmother,” Raelin informed him.
Trey looked at her wide eyed a minute before remembering where he was. “Look, I don’t care about that girl and I sure as hell don’t care none about what happens to you or this bitch here. I believe you got some papers to sign?”
“Aunty Raelin, you is come. I wants to go homes, that man, he isn’t very nice to Delly and I want to go home. I’s scared,” Ariel cried as she squirmed against the rope that bound her to a pipe.
“Rae,” Del breathed lifting her head to look at towards Raelin.
The witch quickly thought to Ariel. “I want you to picture the glen, where you were the flower girl, in your mind. You hold that picture in your mind, okay Ariel? Can you do that?”
Hearing the seriousness in Raelin’s tone, Ariel nodded and thought back that she could do it. “I remembers it. It’s my favorites place at your house.”
“Good girl.” Raelin thought before she turned to Gino. “Let Delaney quiet the child. Just let them be together and I’ll do everything that you want,” she begged.
“Everything huh? I got a pretty long list of what I want.” Gino grinned.
“You keep your filthy hands off her,” Del rasped out from around her split and swollen lower lip.
Gino was across the room in seconds, backhanding Delaney across the face and reopening the split in her lip. “You shut your trap. This is between me and the lady.”
“Stop please...” Raelin took a step forward before Trey grabbed her arms and pushed her back. “Just let Delaney hold Ariel.” Tears were rolling down the witch’s face. “Delaney, don’t give them any more reason to hit you, please.”
“Fine, sit the kid with the bitch in the chair,” Gino grumbled, untying the ropes from around Ariel letting the child scramble into the wounded blonde’s lap. “You satisfied now? Can we leave?” he said rolling his eyes.
Smiling at her wife, Raelin nodded her head. “Del, I want you to picture in your mind where you go when you need to relax, and Ari, I want you to whisper what I told you to Delly...NOW!” Pulling from everyone’s emotion in the room and whatever power the water had given her, the witch mumbled the incantation and flicked her wrist. Sparks and a flash of purple filled the room temporarily blinding everyone.
Gino blinked his eyes as his vision came back just in time to see Raelin staggering on her feet. He swung his fist back and connected with her jaw, sending her to the floor in a heap. “Where are they? What the fuck did you do, you freak?” he yelled hitting her again, this time connecting solidly with her eye and lip.
“You won’t get anything now. They’re safe, and now they’ll be ready for you. Delaney will bring all of this down around you, and you will rot in jai
l for the rest of your lives,” Raelin gasped out she glared up at the men with her eye already shutting from the blow.
“Well then, I just guess that we’ll have our fun with you. You’ll bring a pretty penny where you’re going.” Drawing his leg back Gino gave her a swift kick in the gut, smiling as she curled into a fetal position. “Trey, toss her into that closet. Mr. Bisanti ain’t going to be too impressed when he hears what happened down here.”
Raelin laid gasping on the floor, trying to catch her breath and to protect herself as much as possible. She felt herself being picked up by Trey and being physically tossed into a nearby closet exactly like the one in her dream.
“Enjoy your luxury suite while you can, Witch. Where you’re going, this is gonna seem like heaven,” Trey taunted.
Groaning, Raelin heard the door slamming and then it being locked. The brunette laid on the ground in pain, but inside she was laughing. She had gotten Delaney and Ariel out of there. She closed her eyes and gave thanks.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Del saw a flash of light and then suddenly she felt a painful jolt as she landed on her side, chair and all in what looked like the glen. She cried out as the cuffs dug into her wrists as her weight shifted and she slammed her head on the ground.
She heard Ariel yelling at her Mommy and Jessie’s frantic crying as she repeated the toddlers name over and over again.
“Jessie, take Ariel to the house and look her over. Jenny and I will take care of Delaney,” Kasey said even as she was moving towards the blonde in the chair. “Jesus,” she breathed when she got a look at Delaney. She saw the cuffs and reached for the keys on her belt, undoing them both and wincing at the damage she saw on her wrists. “Jenny, hand me the first aid kit we brought and bring it here quickly,” she asked as she looked over Del’s face.
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