“Yeah, sweetheart?”
“There’s some powerful dark magic at work here, honey.” I don’t think I’ve ever come up against anything so vile but I can feel the evil oozing from my bowl. I quickly put a cleansing spell into effect which decimates whatever was trying to permeate our own air. “I don’t understand either because whatever it is was trying to get through to us here.” I need Tabatha. “Can you try and reach them through the familial link?” We don’t completely understand how or why, but our original group developed a familial link much like each mated couple has which has made it easy when we’re on missions together.
“Okay, let me get on that while you do whatever it is you do best, my sorceress,” he says, leaning in to kiss me.
“I need to call Tabatha, only I’m worried about doing that because of what I need to ask.”
“Let me alert the guys, perhaps one of them will have a suggestion.”
“Good plan.” While I wait for him to reach out to Ice, I grab a bottle of water from the mini fridge, then decide he likely needs one as well, so I pull one out and take it to him.
Beast
After arguably one of the best nights we’ve had, although each of them is spectacular in their own right, being awakened by my mate clutching her head and saying that it’s a trap has my heart pounding. I typically don’t feel fear, but right now, I’m not ashamed to admit I’m worried about my cousin and his mate.
“Ice? Ice, man, if you can hear me, let me know,” I say.
“B-b-beast?” His voice is low, slurred, almost as if he’s been drugged.
“Yeah, it’s Beast. Where are you? Where’s Leigh?” I ask.
“C-c-captured.”
“Focus, Ice. Where the fuck are you?” I growl out.
“S-s-south.” His voice fades out.
“South? South what? America? Dakota? Carolina?” I prompt.
Nothing.
Silence.
“Ice? Talk to me, man. We can’t come for you if we don’t know where you’re at,” I urge, my voice breaking as fear claws its way through my body. With Leigh being a hybrid and him being a polar bear shifter, if they’ve gotten into the wrong hands, well, it doesn’t bear thinking about.
When I realize he’s not answering because he likely succumbed to whatever he was given, I reach out to Maverick. “Mav? You there, man? Ice and Leigh have been captured. Don’t know where they’re at, all he could give me was ‘south’. Esme isn’t having any luck finding them either but says whatever’s at play is dark. She needs Tabatha, can you get a message to her somehow? Esme says it’s not safe for her to call and Tabatha’s not on our link.”
“South what?” Maverick questions, sounding surprisingly alert despite the fact it’s going on three in the morning.
“That’s just it, I don’t know. He got that out then quit answering me.”
“Okay, here’s what we’ll do. I only know of three souths off the top of my head. You and Esmerelda go meet with that guy because that may help us narrow shit down. I’ll get everyone ready here so we can take off the second you know. Part of me wants to hit the road, but I suspect it would be like a needle in a haystack, you know?” he asks.
“We’ll get back out on the road shortly then. What about Tabatha?” I inquire, watching as Esmerelda quickly packs our bags, then wiggles her fingers toward me. I find myself fully dressed, down to socks and my boots and when I raise my eyebrow at her, she giggles before dressing herself the same way. In mere seconds, we’re ready to head out. I grab our bags and her rolling suitcase then open the door, motioning for her to precede me out. Once we’re in the truck, I drive around to the office and toss our room key in the night dropbox.
Because we hadn’t been sleeping long, I swing through an all-night restaurant to grab some much-needed caffeine, as well as tea for my mate. When I hand her the cup, she smiles and says, “Thank you, sugar bear.”
“Anything for you, sweetheart.” After a quick stop to top off my gas tank, I plug in the coordinates to the navigation system and we hit the road, both of us lost in our own thoughts.
“Do you think they’ll be okay?” I hear the worry in her voice so I reach over to take her hand in mine, lacing our fingers together.
“They’re both badass in their own right, Esme. If we can get a lock on where they’re being held, we can arrive en masse and maybe, just maybe, eradicate the threat to our kind once and for all.”
“You know that another threat will pop up, Beast,” she cautions.
“And we’ll be ready for it when it happens,” I soothe. Deciding to possibly assuage her fears, I state, “Maverick said he’ll reach out to Tabatha and once we have a direction to head toward, he’ll make sure she’s there to work with you. Do you really think you’ll need her?” I’m a bit concerned because my sorceress is one of the most powerful witches there is in the supernatural realm, so for her to say she needs help has me worried.
I watch as she shivers with the memory of whatever she saw in her magic bowl. “Yeah, sugar bear, I’m going to need all the damn help I can get. Whatever or whoever has them has some dark forces at work. All I could sense was vile evil trying to break through which is why I did a cleansing spell.” I nod even though I don’t have the first fucking clue what she’s talking about. “You have no idea what I mean, do you?” she asks, giggling.
“Nope, not that first clue, Esme, but that’s okay. You know what you’re talking about which is all that matters as far as I’m concerned. If you say you need help, then we’re going to make sure you get it.”
As the miles pass, we talk about the compound we now live in and how it’s grown so much. Several of the people who came back opted to go up to Colton’s place in Montana for ‘official rogue enforcer training’ as they called it, but in reality, Colton gave Maverick and Paxton the go-ahead to bring anyone in that they felt would be beneficial to us as a whole. Most have found jobs in the surrounding town, assimilating with the humans that we’re sworn to watch over. “That day we met, I honestly never expected my true mate to pull into our campsite,” she admits.
“That makes two of us, but wild horses couldn’t have kept me from you,” I state.
“I remember seeing as you scooped me up and took off with me,” she teases. “For the record, I want you to know that I’ve fallen in love with you, and it would kill me if anything were to happen to you.”
“That makes two of us, Esmerelda. You’re the beginning to my end, the light to my darkness, the tea to my coffee.” Okay, so I’m no poet, but hopefully, she understands the depth of my love and adoration for her.
She giggles then asks, “The tea to my coffee?”
“Yeah, they’re opposites like we are in so many ways, yet they work, you know?” My voice is gruff, full of emotion when I think of all that she’s brought to me in such a short time. To think I’ve got a lifetime with her and that probably still won’t be enough causes my heart to clench in dismay. “Never leave me, Esme. I couldn’t bear it.”
“Sugar bear, as long as I draw breath, I’ll be by your side,” she promises, placing her hand on my thigh. “How much longer?” she asks.
I glance at the navigation system and reply, “Maybe another thirty minutes or so. Why?”
“I need to get ready. I’ve been trying to reach out to Leigh with no success,” she advises. From my peripheral vision, I see her wiggle her fingers and suddenly, her magic bag is in the front seat. Within seconds, her bowl is in her lap and she’s mumbling while waving her hands. Magical sparks fly around the cab of the truck as she does her thing, which always entrances me. “You said the others are waiting for us to get information, right?” she asks, casting me a sideways glance.
“Yeah, that’s what Mav said they’d do. Did you see something?” I can’t help the excitement in my voice; after hearing Ice fade out, my worry over him and his mate has been at the forefront of my mind.
“Maybe. This isn’t going to be pleasant for you and I’m sure he’s already fe
eling as though he’s in hell.”
“Why?”
“Because all I can see is jungle, sugar bear. Hot, steamy jungle.”
“How did you see that? I thought something was blocking you?” I question.
“It did when I tried to track Ice so this time, I tried to track Leigh. I don’t think they quite know what to do with her because even though I can’t reach her through our link, I was able to get into her thoughts and saw the images of what she saw before she lost consciousness.”
“So that sounds more like South America than either South Dakota or South Carolina,” I surmise.
“Probably but I suspect we’ll confirm that shortly,” she advises.
I maneuver down a rutted road, concern on my face. The coordinates have us out in the middle of nowhere which is something I’m not too crazy about given the fact that two of ours are apparently in trouble. “I can feel his fear,” Esmerelda says, breaking the silence that had the air thickening with worry and dread. “It’s palpable, Beast.”
“I feel it too, Esme,” I admit. The hair on the back of my neck is standing up, my gut is roiling, and my bear is hovering at the surface ready to break through and destroy anything in his path. “We’ll exercise caution.”
“Of course we will,” she sasses, flicking her hand in my direction. Surprisingly, it wasn’t one of her spells because no magical sparks fly which is rather disappointing. I’ve grown used to the colorful displays she causes whenever her magic is floating around. “We’ve already got a protection spell on us,” she advises, almost as though she peeked into my thoughts.
“How did you know I was thinking that?”
“We’re in sync, sugar bear. Not like that boy band or anything, we just get one another.” I burst into laughter at her comment; only my sorceress could come up with something so off the cuff and relate it to a musical group. Of course, that’s not one I’ve ever willingly listened to; I’m more of an old school country music lover. Although some of the newer artists aren’t so bad. I’ve noticed that Esmerelda is all over the place with her music tastes, from acoustical pieces to rock, her mood dictates what she listens to which is fine by me as well. See? I may be a polar bear, one of the more feared beings around, but I’m rather mellow and easygoing.
“You bring so much color into my life, Esme,” I say as I pull into a driveway that’s hidden between two overgrown bushes. Someone is definitely hiding themselves based on the whole cloak and dagger thing we’ve been doing since Colton took the phone call. I decide to back the truck into a parking spot, although that term is relative as well seeing as there are two ruts that pull up in front of the small cabin. Other than the initial bushes as I drove down the driveway, the area is relatively barren with regard to trees, so I’m not worried about this being an ambush. Still, it always pays to be cautious which is why I execute a three-point turn then back my truck next to the non-descript four-door sedan sitting there. “You ready?” I ask, looking over at her. She twirls her index fingers and I see the sparks fly before they settle across both of us. “A little extra, huh?”
“I don’t like this, Beast. So I’m making sure that we’re fully covered.”
I nod, turn the truck off then hop out before I walk around to her side. This may be my favorite part of her riding with me because once I open her door, she turns around, places her hands on my shoulders while mine go to her hips, then she slides down my body. Each and every single time she does this, my breath catches in my throat. Before we go further, I lean in and kiss her until we’re both breathing hard. Taking her hand in mine, I lace our fingers together as we approach the rickety looking porch.
“Don’t go no further,” a voice calls out. I hear the unmistakable sound of a shotgun being readied and halt, pulling Esmerelda behind me.
“You know who we are, you called Colton,” I yell out, anger at our current position evident in my tone. “He told you who would be coming as well. Would you like to see a display of what my mate can do?” I taunt. Okay, maybe that isn’t such a good idea since he has the shotgun, but I’m tired, hungry and pissed. My cousin and his mate are somewhere being held captive and this fucker apparently holds the answers.
“Names,” he demands, his shadow barely seen in the darkened doorway.
“Beast and Esmerelda,” I reply, my anger now barely in check. Who in their right mind would travel into the middle of nowhere just because?
“Alright, you can come closer but take it nice and slow,” he commands. We edge closer but my eyes never stop scanning for any other threats. Once we’re at the bottom of the stairs, he steps onto the porch, the shotgun still pointed at my chest. I know if he decides to pull the trigger I can heal but not knowing what he has it loaded with has me more concerned for my mate. She must sense my unease because I feel her pat my side as if to say we’re going to be fine.
“Okay, you got us out here, can we dispense with the gun?” I ask, waving my hand in his direction. “You have information we need, man, and the sooner we get that, the sooner we’ll be out of here.”
“Y’all want some lemonade?” he asks, setting the gun off to the side.
I’m about to lose my shit, shift and destroy him when Esmerelda says, “I’d love some please.”
“Just made it fresh. Come have a seat and I’ll be right back.” The strange little man, because he is little, coming up to maybe my ribs, scuttles back into the house leaving me to stare bemusedly at where he was just standing.
“What the fuck?” I mutter, stepping onto the porch and sitting in a rocking chair, Esmerelda sitting next to me. She reaches for my hand and I watch as she flicks her fingers, seeing the sparks of magic float around to surround us.
“We’ll be okay, sugar bear. He’s scared and nervous.”
“Which I don’t give the first fuck about, Esme. Ice and Leigh are in danger so the sooner this bozo tells us what we need to know, the sooner we can be on our way to getting them back.”
“Shhh, Beast. It’s going to be just fine.” She pats my hand while I continue to grumble under my breath until our reluctant host returns with a tray that holds a pitcher of lemonade and three glasses filled with ice. He sets it down on the table that’s between his chair and the one I’m sitting in then quickly pours us each a glass. Esmerelda takes one and sips before she smiles. “This is delicious,” she praises.
“It’s all in the ratio, ma’am,” he replies, handing me a glass. I barely keep from rolling my eyes at his words. What kind of man knows shit about ratios and lemonade for fuck’s sake?
“Well, you certainly have it perfected,” she replies as she continues to drink her lemonade. Personally, I’d prefer an ice-cold beer but since beggars can’t be choosers, I decide to drink mine as well.
“So, what was it that you wanted Colton to know?” I ask.
“Beast, he’s nervous, can’t you smell it?” Esmerelda asks.
“I know he is my beloved mate, but we need answers sooner rather than later,” I reply.
“Just go cautiously so we don’t spook him before we find out where Ice and Leigh might be,” she warns, raising her brow at me. Sassy witch. When I return her look, she flicks her little finger and one of my ice cubes splashes out of my glass, causing me to get a little wet. My glare has her giggling before she winks.
He fearfully glances around as if in the past few seconds, someone has snuck up on us. Seeing nothing, he takes a deep breath and says, “So I was somewhere I shouldn’t have been about a month ago when I overheard two guys talking about Geralynn and who was handling stuff now that she’s disappeared.”
Esmerelda glances at me then replies, “Go on. You’re safe, I promise. Did Colton tell you about me?”
“He mentioned you’re a witch.”
“That I am, and I’ve placed this area under one of my protection spells. No one can get through without me knowing. Now, can you tell us your name?” she asks, her voice soothing as though she’s dealing with a scared child.
“Burt. I’
m a raccoon shifter,” he supplies, gulping down half of his lemonade. I notice his hands are shaking which adds to the fear I scent wafting off of him.
“So, you overheard something?” Esmerelda prompts.
“One of the guys mentioned the name Ennis Boatwright. He’s a tiger shifter so I don’t understand why he would want to be involved with capturing other shifters or outing us to the humans,” Burt states.
A tiger shifter? They’re one of the largest predators out there, but I don’t understand why a shifter would be involved either. Something to ponder, that’s for damn sure.
“Do you know where this Boatwright is located?” I question. I’m not about to divulge that two of ours may be in his clutches, but it stands to reason that even if they weren’t, the Rogue Enforcers will do whatever they can to shut his operation down.
“Near Manaus City in Brazil. He uses the Amazon River to transport,” Burt whispers, looking around as though lightning is about to strike.
“Did they mention why a shifter is involved in this shit?” I ask. I’m doing what I can to temper my tone but it’s obviously not working because he shrinks back in his chair as though I’m about to strike him. “Man, I’m not pissed at you, it’s this whole fucking situation, you know?” I run my hands down my face. “We’ve been charged for centuries to protect the humans while living a life that they aren’t aware of, so what the hell is the purpose of this?”
“I think, from what I heard, they’re wanting to experiment on our DNA to see if they can create supernaturals on their own by turning humans,” he says. “They mentioned something about mixing stuff to ensure they had supernaturals they could control who would take over the world or something like that.”
Esmerelda: A Rogue Enforcers Novel Page 3
