“So which family member are you worried about the most? Is it your father that makes you look at me like I’m a train wreck that is going to ruin it all?”
He shook his head in response and grinned at her sarcasm. “No. It's actually my brother. He's the one that took over my Alpha spot when I left, and I think he's the one that didn't understand it the most. He always looks up to me, and for me to change things so drastically was really hard on him.”
“So, you want him to think that you went to work with the Syndicate because it was the right thing to do? I mean, he knows what they are, right?”
Molly was actually being serious. She wanted to help, because even though it didn't feel like it was possible now, she knew that they were going to be more to each other. She trusted her gifts, even if they were hard to live with sometimes. She just had to have faith.
“You just say whatever you want. If my brother doesn't think you're kidnapped, it will probably make things easier. Either way, though, nothing has changed. The plan is still the same. No one is going to whisk you away from me.”
Molly wished that she could, for once, understand the situation fully. There were a lot of nuances that she wasn't quite sure about. There was so much that she didn't know. All she knew for certain was that Tevin was the man for her. He was going to be the man of her future, and she wanted them to have a good life together. If that meant a little lying in the beginning, then she was okay with it. As long as they could be honest about what was really going on eventually.
Molly assured Tevin that she had no intentions of making his life difficult.
“I just don't understand, Molly.”
Molly was confused. She was doing her best to help him out in any way that she could. What did he not understand?
“What?”
“Why are you making everything so easy? You could have put up a fuss back there at the place I got you from. I saw a couple of guards outside, and I'm sure that there were several more in the house. Why did you just walk out with me? Why are you trying to make it easy on me now? It doesn't make any sense.”
She could see why he would think that. It really didn't make any sense. If it were any other situation, any other man, maybe it would have been completely different. Molly probably would have kicked and screamed the whole way, maybe even doing a couple of spells to make sure that she wasn’t taken away. All of that was possible, but that's not what Molly was looking for. What she was looking for was a way to make it easy on them both. Molly was very much aware that any hard feelings that they had against each other would continue on. She didn't want that.
“Why does it make sense to make something more complicated than it has to be? If I had made noise in the house, you most likely would have killed the others, just like you did the one in the hallway. Any fight that I would have given you would have only put more blood on my hands. It is the same with your family. Say that I get one of them on my side, then what? They can't save me from the situation I am in, and they certainly can't save me from the Syndicate. All of that unneeded turmoil is going to make you mad. That is going to end up with me having a lower quality of life while in captivity. So, fighting makes no sense.”
There was, of course, the other reason: the fact that she dreamed about him every night for over a decade. And the fact that she knew they would be together one day soon. Molly even knew that she would carry his child in the not too far future. All of those things where the real reasons, but it sounded better to deny them for the time being. He wouldn’t believe her anyway.
“You are very right. All of those things would happen. I don't want to kill anybody else, and I don't want to cause any more trouble. Even though your reason seemed to be self-serving, I am still going to thank you for that.”
Molly nodded. There was nothing else to say. That was all that he could know for now. He wasn’t ready for the rest of it, but he would be soon.
Chapter Eight
Jessica was the first to get enough bravery up to knock on the witch’s door. She was shaking a little bit. Jessica was the one that had come up with the grand plan. She wanted to help as much as possible. She wanted to get back at the Syndicate, and maybe the witches would have a better way than what she was coming up with.
She heard a voice on the other side, and it sounded old and decrepit. It reminded her of the appearance of the house, but she walked into a lavish interior. It looked nothing like the outside and was completely unexpected. She had to remind herself that the same went for the witches. They might look old and feeble and tired, but she knew better. They were none of those things. They were predators, and she needed to treat them as such.
Trevor was right behind her, but he was the closest to the door. Jessica was not the only one that was bothered by where they were. She wanted to tell him that it was going to be all right as well. Maybe he needed to hear it just as much as she did. Jessica wanted to do those things, but at the same time, she knew that it would only make them appear weaker.
“What can I do for you? I have to say that I'm a little surprised to see you here.”
The old woman was looking at Jessica, and she tried her best not to flinch. The gaze was overwhelmingly intense, and she had to fight every part of her body to look away.
“You helped someone erase my memory. I got it back now, and I need to know where to find those people. I was hoping that you would be able to help me find them with any information you may have.”
She heard Trevor gasp next to her. Obviously, he was not ready for her to go into straight offensive mode, but that was exactly how Jessica was feeling. It was taking everything inside of her not to propel herself forward to attack the old hag.
Jessica had to smile wide like she meant it, the whole-time shooting daggers at the witch.
“And how is Dominic?”
“Dead.”
Jessica was satisfied with the small flinch from the witch. Were they close? Had the witch picked a side? She didn’t seem worried about her own safety. While Jessica knew that her man was fearsome when he was protecting her, she had to wonder if it would be enough against the three witches. They were a different kind of enemy. The kind that was hard to beat.
“I see. That’s a shame. He was a very handsome man, but you have your own strapping young man with you. Maybe we can talk. You seem like a woman that has her mind made up.”
Jessica didn’t like the way the woman was checking out Trevor, but she knew not to say anything. Of everything that she’d heard about the witches, being flirty with shifters was not one of them. Though she had to admit that Trevor was handsome to almost anyone. He was just that sort of man.
“I hope so. I am wondering if you would be interested in giving away some information.”
“Oh, dear…”
“Jessica.”
Chelsea didn’t like being interrupted, and she stopped, giving her a cold look when she finally turned her way. It was enough to shut Jessica up immediately.
“Jessica, we don’t give away anything. That’s not how the world works. You’re young, but you’re not that young. What do you have for me?”
Jessica smiled. Of course, they weren't going to do it for free. She had expected as much, though Jessica had secretly hoped that they would want to do the right thing.
“I am sure there is something we can give you that you want in exchange. All you have to do is name it.”
Chelsea grinned a little bit bigger, and Jessica wondered if she was playing right into the old witch’s hands. It was apparent that she had something in mind before it was even offered. Jessica felt like she was being set up, and she looked over to Trevor. He had the same expression on his face, but neither one of them dared to accuse the witch of anything.
“I lost something, and even though I have worked with the Syndicate in the past, they refuse to give me back what is mine, claiming falsely that they don’t have it. If you bring it to me, I am sure I will be able to give you any answers that you need.”
&nb
sp; “What did you lose?”
“A crystal that has been in my family for eons. When the Syndicate first started out, they had decided that they wanted to get rid of all other magical beings but their own. It didn't last long, of course, because you can't take out a witch without another witch. We don't die as easily as the rest.”
Jessica couldn’t even imagine Chelsea being afraid or running from anyone. She saw nothing but power. She could only pretend to know what she’d look like when she was upset and had her intent on hurting the person that was bothering her.
“That doesn't sound so bad. If it is not so hard to get, why haven't you gotten it yourself?”
Chelsea smiled. “I never said that it would be easy to get. If it were easy, I would've done it myself, you're right. They have certain forcefields in place that make it so that I can't go there. Also, in general, I don't like to do my own dirty work. I'm getting too old; that's what young people are for. If you need my help, then you can help me first.”
Trevor piped up. “How do we know that you will keep your word?”
Chelsea was not happy with him questioning her integrity and told him that while she may have a bad reputation and had done some brutal things in the past, she has always kept her word.
“And let me promise you something now, young man. If you ever question me like that in my house again, I will make sure that you don't leave.”
Jessica felt alarmed; she didn't want anything to happen to Trevor. Trevor was known to say things that he probably shouldn’t, and she cut him the same dirty look that the witch was handing out. It was her silent way of asking him what the hell he was doing. Was he trying to get them killed?
“You're right. I'm sorry. We are just desperate to find Molly, one of the other girls that was taken. They are going to try to sell her off to some horrible men and I figured that women like yourself would want to help.”
“If you are trying to get my help through my compassion for my fellow magical people, good luck. I have learned that the best chance we have of getting help is to have something of value that the other person wants. That is the only way it is right and fair.”
Jessica agreed and said that she had no problem getting what Chelsea needed. She wasn't sure what exactly she was agreeing to, but it was out of her mouth before she could think twice about it.
Jessica was so afraid that Molly was in the same position that she was in. She hated to think of her living some false life with false memories. Jessica would do whatever she could to help anyone out of that situation. She didn't need anything in return. Just helping another person would be enough, and that was probably what the difference was between her and the witches. Witches only seemed to be out for themselves, and Chelsea, especially, did not have much empathy for the situation.
One of the questions that they had for the witches was where they could find the Syndicate. They had several safe houses that had been found and rendered useless, but at the same time, none of the major players had been found. A few lackeys that were far more afraid of their boss than the shifters had made it almost impossible to get anywhere. Now they really needed an address.
They were given one, but not the one they needed. It was to another location for the crystal heist that they’d agreed to. Jessica asked Chelsea where the address took them.
“It's going to take you one of their main safehouses. There are always several Elders present. It isn't the place that they have most of their meetings, which they have one coming up in the next week or so, but it may very well help you save your girl.”
They thanked Chelsea without much more as far as questions. They had basically been given a direct route to where they needed to be. It was easier than they would have imagined, which of course, made Jessica nervous.
Trevor wasn't as sure about it as Jessica was and he made his feelings known. He worried that it was all just some kind of setup. He didn't trust the witches and hadn't wanted to work with them to begin with.
They wanted something tit for tat, and even though so far, it didn't seem to be too much, she had to wonder if they would hold up their side of the bargain. Jessica hadn't even considered how hard it was going to be for them to break into one of the Syndicate's safe houses. They had been around for hundreds of years for a reason. They weren’t going to be able to just stroll in and get what Chelsea wanted.
“Do you think we'll be able to do it, Trevor?”
He shrugged. “We're not going to be able to do it alone, but we have a lot of people backing us up. Jamie will get everyone together and will be able to go from there. Don't worry about it, Jessica. We will get the crystal for the witch, and then we will get the information about Molly and save her. If we do it quickly enough, Chelsea made it sound like there was a chance that we could get all the elders at once. Maybe we can take the Syndicate out once and for all.”
“I hope so. I haven’t even been in it long, but I am done dealing with them. Someone should have taken them down sooner. If it’s going to be someone, Trevor, it might as well be us.”
Jessica knew that she sounded braver than she felt. She always felt invincible when Trevor was around. He made her feel like no matter what was going on, everything was going to be okay. She wanted to believe the same that time around, no matter how worrisome it all seemed.
He hugged her close, kissing her when she turned to him. “It might as well be us. We will have plenty of help. The havoc that they have been causing lately does the Syndicate no favors. They now have many new enemies that will be more than happy to stand with us. Just you wait and see.”
Chapter Nine
For the second night in a row, Molly was waking up with nightmares. They were real doozies, and she flailed about, screaming so loudly that Tevin had to wake her up. He worried that she had something else going on. Tevin just thought it was a regular nightmare until he heard her voice call out his name.
Tevin had no idea why she was calling out to him in her sleep. Maybe it was because they were close at the moment and sleeping in bed together, or maybe it was something else. When she woke up, her eyes were still half asleep, and she pulled on her clothes.
“I don't know if I can do this, Tevin. I know we're supposed to be together, but I don't see how.”
Tevin asked her what she meant. She didn't answer him, and after a moment, she sort of woke up. When he asked again, she had no idea what he was referring to.
“You just called out my name moments ago and said that we were supposed to be together. What does that mean?”
Tevin could tell that she wasn't even awake enough to answer. He did not have much hope of getting information out of her, yet he asked, nonetheless. Something occurred to him, and he had to wonder why she was acting so differently than he would have expected. He had told himself that it was because she was afraid. He hadn't actually been able to find a real answer, but maybe he was way off. How did she even know him when they had just met not too long ago?
Before he could get a cohesive answer, Molly was back to sleep, now in his arms. Every inch of her was pushed up against every inch of him, and he was struggling with the contact. Tevin knew that it was going to be difficult laying with her, especially given the attraction he felt, but her being in his arms was too much. He had not seen that coming, and because of that, he had not prepared. Although, how does one prepare for such torture?
Instead of getting any sort of sleep, he stayed up and listened to her breathing and tried to relax. Her body felt so slight against his, and he wanted to hold her there just like that forever. Was it her words of what was supposed to happen getting into his mind? Is that why he wanted to hold her and never let her go?
Molly woke up in Tevin's arms, and she did feel a little disturbed by how it actually felt to be there. A feeling of rightness, or even a feeling of being home, came over her. None of those things were going to help make sense of the current situation she was in. The only thing being in the man's arms was going to deliver was even more cognitive disson
ance. He was her captor, and at the same time, he was her future lover. He was the man in her dreams. Tevin meant many things to her, yet she did not know which one she wanted.
“I was wondering when you were going to wake up.”
She turned to the voice and made a little yipping sound when she saw him. Tevin was staring at her. Molly was entangled in his arms, and it took her a moment to remove herself. Her face was burning with embarrassment because of how close they were. She was practically on top of him, and he didn't seem to mind. That wasn’t too hard to imagine.
“Sorry about that. I don't know how in the world I ended up around you like that.”
He waved her off and told her that it wasn't a big deal. “You were pretty upset from the dream that you had last night. You said my name. You said something else too, but I probably just heard you wrong.”
Molly had been known to talk in her sleep before, and she hoped that she didn't say anything that was too damaging.
“What did I say?” Dread filled her while she waited for a response.
“You said something about me and you were supposed to be together. Then you said my name a couple more times. Were you dreaming about me?”
Tevin was teasing, and it made her face turn red with embarrassment. Molly did not see the humor in it. She felt like his words were a bit too close to home, and instead of laughing and joking like maybe he assumed she would, she started to get up. Whatever it was, it was not something that she could really talk about. Molly knew that most would not understand her visions or how they worked. Most people do not want to be told, even by themselves, that they should do one thing or another.
“It is probably because we have been around each other nonstop for the last couple of days. I don't know about us being together or what we're supposed to do. Maybe you did hear that wrong.”
Alpha Shifter Bride Service: (A Paranormal Romance Series) Page 46
