by Clara Cody
He raised his eyebrows with a sly grin. “Come find them.”
She scoffed, crossing her arms. He must be really drunk. She was in no mood for these games, and if he thought she was going to just blush and turn away, he was wrong.
She stepped up to him and reached a hand down, stuffing it into his pocket. His thigh was hard and muscled through the thin fabric. She swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry. Dane’s grin widened. She could only pray that his thigh was the only part of him she touched. No key. She searched the other pocket and her fingers felt the cold touch of key teeth. She pulled it out and turned her back to him, grateful for the chance to catch her breath away from his observing gaze.
She opened his door and stepped in. “Come on, then.”
“Don’t you want to know what I found out tonight?”
“Okay, what did you find out tonight?”
He made a circle with his thumb and forefinger. “A big fat nothing. Like the rest of the day. Fucking useless.”
“You mean getting drunk didn’t help the case? What a shocker.” She pulled back the sheets on his bed for him.
“Helped me.” He flopped down on the bed, throwing an arm over his eyes.
She sighed. “Don’t think of it like that.” She sat on the edge of his bed, a foot from him. “We may have found several dead-ends, but at least now we know that there’s nothing there. We can move on to more things tomorrow that might be of more use. I was just reading—”
“Boring!” he groaned, pushing himself to a half sitting position and clumsily threw an arm around her.
“Oh!” she gasped as he dragged her towards him. He lay back down on his side, his arm around her waist. She sat in the middle of the bed now, her eyes wide with surprise. He was…hugging her. His hold was firm, but not tight. She could move away if she wanted to.
“I like the way you smell.” He said it softly, almost too softly for her to hear. He took a deep inhale. God, he must be really drunk. A few moments later, and he was snoring gently. He rolled away onto his back, releasing her.
He was a beautiful creature. Everything from his square jaw line to his muscled chest and strong hands was utterly perfect. She leaned over him, admiring the fingers that rested on his chest. She’d never had the opportunity to really look at them before. At him in general. She’d only ever allowed herself fleeting glances, afraid he might catch her staring. He wasn’t going to catch her now that he was passed out, that was for sure. Even if he did, he probably wouldn’t remember it come tomorrow.
There was something incredibly sexy about his hands. They were strong and heavy looking like they could crush stone. But they could also be incredibly gentle. She remembered the way he’d touched her when they’d kissed. Firm, but gentle. That was like him. There was no doubt that he could be a beast when needed, but she’d also seen how he was with Andrew Turner and Melissa’s mother. He cared, he was kind.
As much as she gave him a hard time, if she was honest, she had to admit that he wasn’t the person she thought he was. She wasn’t sure just yet who he was, but he wasn’t the ego-driven shifter she’d pegged him to be.
Her phone rang in the other room. Cursing under her breath, she slipped from the bed and hurried to the phone. It was her boss, Olson. She let loose another curse before answering the phone.
“Sarah, how are things in Hill Haven? Almost there?”
“Uh, not quite, sir.” She chewed her lip. “We’re getting there, though. Making some good progress.”
“And Agent Landon? Are you keeping him in check?”
A snort echoed through the air from the next room, where he’d passed out.
“Umm, yes, actually. Dane is toeing the line. Behaving himself.” She cleared her throat. “As ordered.”
“Dane, huh?” He chuckled at her momentary lapse in etiquette.
“Agent Landon,” she corrected herself, “has…proven himself useful.”
“Yeah, well, let’s wrap this thing up sooner rather than later, shall we? The last thing the agency needs is people finding out there’s some spell or weapon out there that can lose shifters their powers.”
“Yes, sir. Of course.”
“Good girl.”
She cringed. God, she hated when he said that. He genuinely seemed to think it was a compliment. She hung up and tossed the phone on the bed. Okay, so she’d stretched the truth a bit. But it was for her own good, and Dane’s for that matter.
Still, she felt a little bit bad about it. Maybe she could do something nice for Dane to make up for it. Even out her moral scales.
She shut the door that separated the two rooms before pulling out a small trinket from her bag. A necklace she’d found at one of the shops she’d visited today. She’d bought it when he wasn’t looking. Two twisted metal circles were held together with a black leather cord. She didn’t know why she’d bought it at the time, but she was glad she did. It was perfect. It would suit him more than any of her other trinkets or charms. She couldn’t imagine handing Dane a pink stone or a mini vial filled with blessed oil.
If today was any indication, he would need all the help he could get. A simple ward in his bedroom wasn’t going to be enough. She just hoped that he would like it.
Chapter 10
The smell of hot dogs and french fries filled the park. The crowd cheered at the baseball game from behind Sarah.
“Anything else, ma’am?” the sweaty vendor asked, handing over a bottle of Powerade. She looked at hot dogs rotating under the fluorescent light and shook her head. “No, thanks.”
Sarah brought it back to the stands where Dane sat, observing the field. “Here you go. It’s good for a hangover.”
He took it, snapping off the cap. “I told you, shifters don’t get hangovers. I’m just…under the weather.”
“Mmmm-hmm, sure thing. Just drink it.”
It was a charity baseball match. Cops versus firefighters. Most of the town had shown up to watch and cheer on their buddies. It was the one bit of information that Dane had gathered the day before. Sarah didn’t really see the point in going, but Dane thought it would be good to see the whole town altogether. It couldn’t hurt, so she came along.
Her hand went to her pocket, where she kept the necklace she’d placed a ward on the night before. She wove the soft leather strap around her fingers. Just do it, she told herself. Here, Dane, another ward. Casual-like, no eye contact. She should have just done it first thing that morning over breakfast. Now she was going to have to pretend like she’d forgotten about it.
She closed her hand around it and took a breath. “So, I, uh—”
“Notice anything weird?”
“What?” she asked, simultaneously relieved and disappointed.
He took a drink and pointed to the set of stands beside theirs. “Humans are over there, shifters are over here. That’s a pretty serious divide.”
“Oh. Yeah, it is. Maybe the shifters are more paranoid now?”
“That doesn’t explain the tension. Can’t you feel it?”
She looked from stand to stand. The truth was, she hadn’t noticed, but the two groups barely seemed to look at each other. The people on the edges of the stands all turned their bodies away from the other. She turned at looked at the line up at the concession stand. People stood in small groups, with their arms crossed, not looking around at all. There was no small town friendliness going on here. “Okay. But why?”
Before he could answer, Lance came strolling up in his baseball uniform, knees and ass dirt-covered. He’d just finished running the bases for his team. Another cop was up to bat. Sarah recognized him as one of the jerks that laughed at Lance’s joke the other day. He swung and missed. Ha, sucker!
Lance sat on the other side of Dane. “Thanks for coming out. I don’t know about her,” he said, clearly referring to Sarah, “but it’s good for the shifters to see you around.”
The batter hit the next ball and made it to second base. Another cop walked up to the plate. He was showing off, twirling the bat. L
aughter erupted from the stands behind them. The other was quiet.
“I got something for you,” Lance said, handing Dane a folded piece of paper.
“What is it?”
“An address. We don’t have any witches or warlocks in town like I said, but I thought I’d look outside. This guy lives in the boonies, about twenty minutes out.” He shook his head. “Right under my nose, and I didn’t even know it.”
“Fredrick Easton. All right, thanks.” Dane stuffed it into his pocket. “We’ll check it out after the game.”
The pitcher threw the ball, a little high. The cop on base didn’t swing. The umpire stood, pulling off his mask. He was handsome enough with his short cut brown hair and square shoulders. Definitely good looking, but in a sleazy way that made her want to take a long, hot shower. “Strike three. You’re out!”
The people around them booed, some humans cheered.
“What’s up with them?” Sarah asked, keeping her voice low. “It’s like a civil war around here.”
“Yeah, things have been tense. You see the umpire? That’s Troy Donovan. He’s the mayor.”
So that’s the man everyone’s pissed at? He looked like a politician. Troy Donovan smiled and waved at some people in the stands. Waved like a politician, too.
“Traitor. Most of the humans love him, of course. They’re all for a new piece of forest to be opened up where they can hike and hunt and swim. It’s not their fault. Not that that matters to most shifters in town.” He scoffed. “The humans just want a place to shoot grouse. Hell, if half those hunters knew what the mayor was up to while they were out drinking with their buddies…”
Dane was rubbing his forehead, pretending to listen.
“What do you mean?” Sarah asked.
“He’s a grade-A skirt chaser.” He shook his head. “I’m no angel, Dane can attest to that, but that guy has no scruples. No morals.” He spat on the ground.
The mayor flashed a smile at two young girls, they couldn’t have been more than sixteen, who walked by. He tipped his hat.
Sarah shuddered. “But he’s a shifter, too. Wouldn’t he suffer from the loss just as much as everyone else?”
“You’d think that. But no. His family’s got their own chunk of land behind his house. It’s not that much, but hey, he’s barely even a real shifter. He probably only let’s his wolf out every couple of months. Shit, gotta go,” Lance said, clapping Dane on the shoulder. “I’m shortstop.”
Sarah tried her hardest to pay attention to the game and what was going on outside of the game, but her mind kept returning to the necklace. The longer it took, the more anxious she got about it. Why hadn’t she just gotten it over with that morning? But she knew why. It was the same reason she didn’t just hand it over right now. What if he didn’t like it?
Her mind only stopped ruminating on that one thing when she saw movement in the trees behind the baseball diamond. She sat up, peering beyond the umpire.
There was a man lurking there in the trees. He stood behind a thick trunk, looking out at them. He had wild, shaggy brown hair, and round, bulging eyes. He was thin and lanky. Definitely not a shifter.
Sarah had never seen the man before. What the hell was he doing back there, and who was he looking at? She stood, slipping from the bench. “I’ll be right back.” She whispered. The man hadn’t noticed her yet, and she wanted to keep it that way.
He slunk back into the trees. The occasional shaking of bushes and glimpses of his dark black t-shirt told her he was moving along the tree line. She hurried, hoping to cut him off. If she could at least see his face clearly—
“Where do you think you’re going?” A man stepped in front of her. He was massive, with a big, barrel chest and a scruffy beard.
“Excuse me.” She tried to walk past him, but another man joined him, blocking her way. She looked past their shoulders to see the man disappear into the forest. “Dammit!”
“We asked you a question, witch.” She turned to see another man stepping up behind her.
She swallowed hard. They were between the concession stand—which was currently empty. Perfect!—and the crowd of people watching the game. There was no one watching them. Her heart leaped into her throat. She spoke, praying that her voice wouldn’t betray her. “I am an Agent, please move out of my way.”
The men laughed, nudging each other. “Hear that, she’s an Agent!”
“A scheming witch, more like it.”
It took every ounce of strength she possessed to not shrink before these men. They were massive, she was small. They were three, and she was alone. But she wouldn’t shrivel up before them. She wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of seeing her cowed. She took out her badge, her fingers fumbling lamely, and held it out to the ring-leader. Her fingers shook. “Move.”
He stepped up. “Make me, witch.”
“Trust me, she will.” Dane stood behind her, his eyes seething. Her heart lifted, and the fear drained away. He was here.
“This doesn’t concern you.”
He pulled her behind him. “If you have a problem with my partner, then I’d say it does.”
“Dane, we should just go. Come on. There are other things we need to be doing.” Like finding out who that guy in the trees was.
He just ignored her, staring down the other man.
She scoffed. Fine! You want to be a jackass and fight, fine! She reached into her pocket, pulling out the necklace. Dammit, she should have given it to him before. Like she said, protection could only come too late, never too early. Shit, and now might be too late. She had no time to waste.
Sarah dove between the two men. Merely talking wasn’t going to do the trick. Trying to pull him away might just instigate something. Instead, she grabbed him by the face, and kissed him. His body tensed for a moment, clearly shocked. Then, he relaxed, melting into her, and her into him.
Still holding the necklace in her hand, she slipped it into his back pocket. She released him, her lips still tingling. His touch lingered on her skin as she moved away.
He had a stunned, hot look on his face. “What was that for?”
She shrugged. “For luck.”
“Enough of this bullshit,” she heard from behind her as she was shoved out of the way. The big man came directly at Dane, his fist flying through the air. Dane pivoted, dodging the punch, and landed his own right in the brute’s stomach. But his fist practically bounced off the man’s hard muscles. The guy laughed without so much as a flinch. “Is that all you got?” He looked between his buddies. “Jesus, the Agency must be harder up than we thought.”
Dane looked shocked, his eyes moving between his fist and the man’s stomach. His opponent took advantage, punching him in the face.
Sarah gasped. “Dane!”
He was on the ground, his eyes glowing yellow. He struggled to his knees before another couple of punches rained down on him.
“Dane!”
“What the hell is going on?” Someone brushed past her. It was Lance. He pushed the other guy back, away from Dane. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” He gave the guy another shove backward. “Do I have to remind you that they’re here to help us?”
“A witch, Brody?” the man yelled. “You really think a witch is going to help us?”
“I don’t know if you noticed, dumbass, but this town is full of shifters, and no one has any fucking idea what’s going on. So, yeah, maybe a witch is exactly what we need.”
The man’s face was red, but whatever he was going to say, he held back.
“Why don’t you get out of here before I have you arrested?”
He sent a glare in Sarah’s direction before stalking off with his friends, mumbling something.
With the danger past, Sarah fell to her knees at Dane’s side. “Are you okay?”
He groaned. His eye was already swollen, and his jaw red.
Lance stood over them, arms crossed. A crowd had gathered, everyone staring. “Way to keep a low profile,” Lance said, lo
oking at her, blame filling his eyes. He just shook his head and turned on his heel, returning to the baseball game.
“Are you okay?” she repeated, brushing hair out of his face.
He shook his head.
“Does it hurt?”
“I…I couldn’t hit him. There was no power behind it. Like a bullet with no gun powder.” His eyes met hers. He looked more scared than she’d ever seen him before. “My powers…they’re gone.”
Chapter 11
“I can’t shift,” Dane said, staring down at his hands. “I’m weak, I’m slow!” He’d never felt so powerless. All his life, he’d always been the strongest, the fittest, the quickest. Now, he was just normal. Not even average for a shifter, but for a human.
“Just hold still.” She slapped a cold steak over his eye. “Someone must have slipped you something last night. Who did you talk to? Was there anyone acting funny? Did anyone get your drink for you?”
“No.” He held the cold steak on his face and fell back on the bed. She sighed, a look of pity on her face. That only made him feel worse. “Can you just go?”
“Why, so you can sit and feel sorry for yourself in peace? I don’t think so. Moping about isn’t going to do anything.”
He scoffed. “Easy for you to say. You’re still an all-powerful witch.”
“All powerful. Ha! I have some, yeah, I wasn’t born with like you, that’s for sure.”
“Yeah, right.”
“Actually, yes!” She threw her hands up in the air. “For your information, I’m not a strong witch, okay? I’m not like you with your natural ability. My powers are weak. And don’t look at me like that. Don’t feel sorry for me. I may have weak abilities, but I’m still the top witch in my department. Want to know why? It’s because I work my ass off. Yeah, I work day and night so I can build up my powers and perfect every spell, ward, and potion that I possibly can.”
“Okay, okay. Look, I wasn’t judging you.”
“Oh yes, you were. Why not? Everyone does. Sarah’s just some uptight, workaholic witch with a stick up her ass. Well, I’m not, okay? I have to work hard or else I might let someone down. Someone like Melissa. Someone like you.” She turned her eyes away.
