“Yes, sir.” I keep one eye out the window watching the shoreline but there’s no sign of the warlock.
The policeman’s eyes follow mine where the last of the pinks in the sky fade to dark purples. “What happened, here?”
I take a deep breath. In situations like this, the less you say, the better.
So, try to stick to the truth, Liv.
“I was downstairs when I heard a woman screaming.”
“The music was pretty loud. Wasn’t it hard to hear?” Gray eyebrows raise and his aura flickers in disbelief.
“Well, I was using the bathroom. The line downstairs was too long.”
That was an excellent lie.
Nodding, he types some more. “What about all these folks in the bedrooms upstairs. Why didn’t they hear anything?
I can’t help but smirk as I remember the shocked look on the couple as I barged in on their doggy-style. “I think they were otherwise engaged.”
“Go on.” Apparently, the cop has no sense of humor.
I’m just so damn glad no one died, especially me, that I’m giddy. “When I heard the woman shouting, I pounded on the door and called out, ‘police.’ Then, this guy opens up and says something about his wife getting dressed but I didn’t believe him. I know some martial arts and hit him pretty good. He must’ve heard sirens because he jumped off the deck.”
The policeman squats and points at the blood on the floor. “That his?”
“I don’t know, officer.” I say this in case the guy with the knife presses charges. I can’t imagine he’d take the risk but weirder things have happened.
“What you did was really stupid, miss. You could have been killed. Is there anyone I can call for you?”
I do my best to look contrite and give him Jack Fialko’s number.
At the name, he whistles through his teeth as he looks through his notes, “Say, aren’t you the owner of that new-age place down south of here?”
“You know of it?” I get all warm and fuzzy. It’s so cool when people know me, not just the billionaire Fialko I work for.
“My wife swears by your tea. She’s got hot flashes.”
“I remember her. You have two kids in college, right?”
“Yes, that’s us.”
“Small world. Say hi for me.” I give him my biggest smile. Maybe the connections will buy me some bonus points and he won’t feel the need to arrest me.
He thinks for a while before rubbing a hand over his face, stopping to scratch at the stubble on his chin. “Do you think you’d recognize the man who attacked you if you saw him again?”
“It all happened so fast… I’m not sure I’d be a reliable witness.” The truth is, this small police force can’t stand a chance against something magic and evil. Eventually, I’ll need to contact The Guild but not yet.
All the party goers are all gone when I’m finally allowed to walk downstairs.
“My God, Liv. I got here as fast as I could. What happened?” Jack runs up, hugs me, and gives me the ol’ flame in the center of his eyes routine.
He’ll go absolutely ballistic if I tell him there’s a strange witch within his territory. That’s why I decide to research some more before saying anything. That altar, the black aura, the darkness… something is very, very off and I don’t want him involved until I find out more. My employer has a tendency to blast with fire first and ask questions later.
So, with a shrug, I downplay it. “It was just some little turd-head. I felt something bad about to happen and got to him before he had a chance to rape a young collegiate. The police will find him.”
I can tell by his aura that he doesn’t believe me. “I just sent Kayla home in an Uber. You going to the police station?”
“I don’t think so. I didn’t get a good look at the guy.”
Back in the present, sitting beside Jack in my healing room, I wonder if I should say something more about that night. Now that I’ve had a few moments to think it over, the energy thrown at me in my store matched the rapist. Maybe I’ll just wait until tomorrow. It’s late, I’m tired, and don’t need an angry Jack all up in my face.
Chapter Five
Mohegan.
To learn more, I pretend to be asleep while Olivia and her patron talk. Obviously, she’s lying to the witch, but why? And why doesn’t he push her?
What an odd relationship.
Finally, she ducks behind the tie-dyed curtain, I sit up, and tap Fialko on the shoulder. “I don’t think that flying bottle was any Halloween prank.”
He turns toward me, eyes dark. “Agreed. Did you sense anything? Anything at all?”
As a rule, I’m pretty close-mouthed until I know all the players. In this instance, it’s way too soon to tell the good guys from the bad. Still, it wouldn’t be bad to release a small tidbit of information.
“The bottle was filled with some dark shit, the likes I’ve never felt before. Does Olivia have a lot of enemies?”
“My enemies are hers and I got plenty.”
“For God’s sake, get a new healer. I can hook you up with a male more suited for you and your clan.”
He snorts out a laugh, stands, and checks under the fabric to see if she’s in earshot before answering. “You’re kidding, right?”
“No. Serious as a heart attack.” My head’s throbbing, so I push my fingertips into the soft area beside my eyes. This is exactly why I have no patience for his kind.
Fialko paces and rubs a hand over his jaw before saying, “You’re a stranger, so I’ll cut you some slack. Olivia says and does pretty much what she damn well pleases. If she wanted to leave, she’d be long gone. She loves it here; the ocean, my family, her shop… I couldn’t get her to leave, if I tried.”
My hopes of driving away with her on the back of my bike dissolves. It’s just as well. If my ex taught me anything, it was this. Never trust a witch.
Right on cue, lightning flashes, I count to three, and thunder follows.
Jack stares out at the storm with his hands clasped behind his back. “You need a place to stay?”
It feels more like a statement than a question and frankly, it’s getting old. What’s going on between me and Olivia is none of his damn business. Doing my best to look intimidating, I sit up, and crack my knuckles.
“Nope. Think I’m staying put.”
Fialko’s brows crease, his mouth grows tight, and I get the feeling he might fry me on the spot. Perhaps I should try a different tack.
“Listen, Jack, I can call you that, right? Are you married?”
Thank God, the flame in his palm disappears and he smiles for the first time tonight. “I found my perfect match, Zoe, about three years ago. Mated by magic. We got one of each, a three-year-old daughter and a son, three months.”
“Congratulations. I thought I heard that. So, maybe you can cut me some more slack. I can’t leave Olivia until I figure a way to cure this freaky-ass love spell we caught.”
His eyes widen and he drops onto a wooden rocker, mouth wide. “Shit. How the hell did that happen?”
“Wish I knew. We just touched hands and boom, Christmas, Fourth of July, and Chinese New Year all wrapped into one.”
I let the implications sink in while Jack shakes his head back and forth. “I thought healers didn’t have mating rituals.”
Other than vague stories told by the firelight by my grandfather, I’ve never heard of this kind of instant-lust, either but don’t tell him. Neither do I mention that I’ve no idea how to get rid of it.
Standing, he sighs. “Fine. But you hurt her, you deal with me. Got it?”
“Yeah, I get that.” Slowly, so he doesn’t think I’m reaching for a weapon, I dig into my pocket and hand him my card, the one I reserve for people I need to impress.
“Call that number. Tell my grandfather it’s okay to brief you. He’ll answer any questions you have about me.”
The warring clan billionaire taps my card on his wrist, thinking while another set of car lights pull into the p
arking lot. A minute later, a college-age gladiator, carrying shield and sword enters the tiny room and almost trips over the tabby cat. “Hey Uncle Jack, what’s up with Liv?”
The older Fialko stands and shakes the kid’s hand. “Sorry to call you away from your party. I need someone to guard this place. You sure you’re sober?”
“I had too much last weekend, so I laid off tonight.”
The kid frowns, pats the cat and then points at me. “Who’s he?”
Jack puts an arm over the kid’s shoulder and pushes aside the curtain but not before raising one warning eyebrow at me. “Stay put.”
That cat gives me the same damn disapproving look, meows, and follows them with its tail up in the air.
Seriously, cat?
Olivia re-enters with her laptop and sits down on the cot. “Good. You’re awake.”
Unable to resist the feel of her soft skin, I reach over to caress her thigh. If we don’t do something about the spell soon, I’m dragging her under my body and we’re doing the deed.
Her eyes close as if in pain and she pushes my hand away. “Don’t. I like my life the way it is. Simple. By the way? A lifetime of living with someone who reads my aura would drive me bat-shit-crazy.”
“I could teach you how to hide it.”
Great, now I sound like a kid on a first date trying to impress his girl.
Thankfully, she ignores what an idiot I am and shares her screen. “Here’s what I found so far.”
I scroll through the vague online references to healers, mages, or witches who’ve been put under mating spells, then discouraged, hand it back. “None of these describes what’s going on between us.”
Tucking a pretty lock of red hair behind her ear, she purses her lips into a frown. “I know that. I was looking for anything at all. In the morning, I’ll call a few of my colleagues.”
“I will, too.” But inside, I groan.
There’ll be no hearing the end of it from my grandfather. I can’t count how many times he’s said it’s high time to settle down and have kids.
“You okay?” A silky palm slides across my forehead and I shudder from grade-A desire coursing through my veins.
“I’ll be fine.”
The wind rattles the dishes downstairs in her cupboards and the whole damn building shakes.
No doubt checking out the discomfort in my aura, she chuckles. “Be still. This house has been here for over two hundred years.”
“Really? Do you think it’s this house that holds the key to the spell? Maybe it has nothing to do with you or me. Maybe we’re just two witches in the wrong place at the wrong time. If we start our research there, maybe we can figure our way out of this fucking nightmare.”
The atmosphere around her body flares, her mouth tightens, and her voice goes cold. “Don’t worry. I want out as badly as you do.”
I guess I insulted her.
“Shit. I’m sorry, Olivia. You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on and if I was going to fuck someone under the influence of magic, I’d do you first.”
“Same here.” Chuckling, she shoots me this sly smile and her eyes rest on my face, like an impish elf.
She’s so damn erotic, so powerful, and so perfect that it’s all I can do not to pull her onto the cot to lay with me. I’m beginning to think I’d feel the same, even without the spell.
However, instead of kissing me, she stands, opens the blinds, and stares out where water and wind mix together in a horrible roar.
After a long while she sighs and turns to me. “You hungry?”
I nod with considerable effort and force my raging hard-on to half-mast. “How long you suppose this storm will last?”
“Two, maybe three days at most. The weather channel says twenty-four hours but they’re wrong. It’s strengthening.”
Yawning and stretching her arms to the ceiling, she opens a window and absorbs the energy. Lightning flashes, thunder booms, and waves crash onto the shore.
“I should get my bike into a shelter.”
“Jack took care of that. He’s got a garage about a block away. Your ride is safe.”
She turns emerald eyes toward me and licks ruby lips. I don’t like getting all poet-like so say none of that aloud. Besides, God knows what would come of it.
In that awkward silence between us, I clear my throat and ask, “Got any more of that tea?”
“What? It’s not working?” Brows popping up, she steps back, ready to make a run for it.
Hell no, woman, it’s not working. I want to drag you to your room, tie your hands to the bedpost and fuck you until we both cry uncle.
“No, no. I’m perfectly fine. I just got a bad feeling. Whoever wanted to hurt you is still out there and I want to be alert.”
I duck under the curtain, behind the counter, and sit on the stool closest to the window. Then, the lights go out, and come right back on, only dimmer.
“Shit. That’s my generator but we’ll need to conserve.” Turning lights off as she goes, she trots upstairs and comes down with a couple candles, an oil lantern and an LED flashlight.
“We should have just enough juice for the fridge, the heat, and a hotplate.”
“What about Jack’s nephew? He’s still out there.”
“This is just plain stupid. I’m sending him home. Even a crazy rapist wouldn’t come out in this weather.” She puts on a bright yellow rubber slicker, more suited for a nineteenth century fisherman and exits.
Holy Goddess! That little liar. I was right. She does know who threw that bottle! Fialko really needs to keep tighter reins on this woman.
Once back inside, she’s wet and all smiles, clueless as to how badly her tongue slipped.
“Okay. I’m going to text Jack and tell him I sent his nephew home.”
“Won’t he be pissed?”
She shrugs as if crossing the billionaire is no big deal. “He knows better than to argue.”
Out the front window, horizontal rain strikes the glass and every few seconds, lightning flashes, lighting up the dunes.
I can’t help but smile as I sense her sucking in the storm’s energy, growing stronger by the moment. “You really are loving this, aren’t you?”
Her laugh is contagious. “The only bad thing is the internet went down. Research about our lust spell is off the table for the time being. You tired?”
“Not really.” I should be exhausted but who can sleep while in heat?
That tea has done nothing to curb my lust but if she can hold out, so can I.
Walking behind the counter, she opens a drawer and holds up a deck of cards. “Do you play? Poker? Rummy?”
Shit. That’s not the kind of game I was hoping for but I can work with it.
“Deuces Wild. I’ll deal.”
“Excellent. Let’s sit at the bar.” She sets down a bag of poker chips next to the dog-eared deck, then slips onto the stool next to me.
I picture removing one item of her clothing at a time, my mind on strip poker and let the lust in my aura show. “What’s the limit?”
Her throat clears, the tops of her cheeks pink. “I don’t suppose you want to play for fun?”
“Skin in the game makes it more interesting.”
Whoa. Easy does it, boy. That was a serious Freudian slip.
Overhead, the cat meows, jumps down from the upper shelf, and grins at me with yellow eyes. He turns three times counterclockwise and once in the opposite direction before settling down, head in its paws.
“Hey, Luna.” She pats a furry belly, the cat purrs, and closes its eyes in pure joy.
Damn, now I’m envious of her cat? That’s how far I’ve sunk in the last few hours.
The cat slinks away, giving me a snarky look while Olivia expertly shuffles the cards.
“Okay, sexy-biker-man. You’re on. How about one question, answered honestly, per hundred-dollar chip. Winner can cash in at any time during the game.”
So, she thinks I’m sexy.
My cock g
oes wild and I’m so concerned she’ll notice that I lose the first hand.
A Luna-like grin emerges on her face as she flips the winning chip in the air. “Sooo… I guess this means that I get to ask the first question. Why are you really here, Mohegan?”
“I got this urge and I followed.” This game is way too easy.
“We said honesty, Mohegan. ‘Fess up. No cheating.”
Clearly, for the next hand, I’ll need to up my game if I don’t want to be spilling my guts.
“Hey, I told the truth. I get a sixth sense when something bad is about to go down. I felt it and I came here. Simple as that.”
Her brows knit together and her mouth purses into a little frown. “Wait. Are you saying I’m that bad thing?”
“You tell me. Who else could it be?”
The witch actually has the audacity to wink. “You’ll have to win a hand to find out.”
I get a pair of aces on my next deal but she folds. I win the next but not enough points to ask a question. After a couple more hands, I get two kings, and am dealt a third.
She stares at me for the longest time and ups the ante. I do the same. When she calls, I smile as I slowly turn over my three of a kind.
“Dammit. I was trying for a full house.” Her cards drop on the steel countertop.
“Okay. My turn. Who threw that liquid at you?” I twist the winning chip through my fingers, enjoying how she squirms.
“I don’t know.” When her aura quivers, I slap my hands down on the steel countertop.
“Bullshit.”
“It’s true. I don’t know who he is.” Her lying eyes leave my gaze, flitting around the room until resting on a candle.
The flame flickers, our shadows dance wildly on the soda shop walls, and I force her eyes to mine by cupping her cheeks.
“Truth, Olivia.”
“Okay, okay. There was something that happened yesterday. I went to this party with my human friend. She’s young, a bit naïve, and I was watching out for her, you know?”
I nod, wondering if I really want to hear more. “What happened?”
“I get to this house and it reeks of an evil energy. You ever see a house with an aura?”
Mohegan: A Siren's Spell Romance Page 3
