by Vella Day
Her heart jammed in her throat. “Why would he be calling you?”
Many of the Wendayans and shifters needed Missy’s healing powers, but Teagan refused to believe Kip had been injured. Her vision indicated she would be with him when harm struck. Regardless of her belief in her premonitions, her insides cramped thinking Kip could be in need.
“He might be asking why you won’t return his calls,” Missy suggested.
“We broke up. Or rather I told him I didn’t want to date anymore.” Teagan’s shoulders slumped and tears brimmed on her lids. “You need to answer it but don’t tell him what just happened.”
“Okay.” Missy swiped a finger across the screen. “Hello?” Her skin paled and she held up a finger, indicating Teagan should stay. “Slow down, Kip. Tell me exactly what happened.” Her brows furrowed and Teagan’s anxiety ramped up. “What’s his room number? Don’t worry, I’ll be right over.” She disconnected then faced Teagan. “Two masked men just stabbed Randy.”
Kip’s twin brother. Teagan’s heart nearly jumped out of her chest and she absently rubbed her left arm where she’d experienced the ache. “Is Randy okay?” She waved a hand as if to erase her comment. “That was a stupid question. He wouldn’t be in a hospital if he were. Did Kip say how seriously he was hurt?”
“Kip just said Randy called him and told him two men broke into the house, took a few punches him, and then stabbed him.” Missy stood. “I’m going to the hospital to see if I can help with the healing. Do you want to come?”
When her friend’s brother’s hotel room had been broken into recently, two masked men had been responsible. She would have concluded the two incidences were connected, except that one of the intruders had been caught and the other killed. “I can’t.”
Missy rushed over to the locked cabinet behind the counter and withdrew her flowered bag that contained her herbs, candles, and crystals for healing. “What should I tell Kip then? He’ll ask about you.”
She didn’t want to hurt his feelings, but telling him the truth would be worse. “Maybe say I already went home.”
“You’re my cousin, and I love you, but I won’t lie for you.”
She was right. It wasn’t fair to ask her. “Tell him I didn’t want to be in the way and that someone had to mind the store. You go ahead and help. I’ll lock up if Aunt Kathryn doesn’t make it back by five.”
Missy hugged her again. “He needs you, Teagan.”
Guilt swamped her. “Kip will be okay. He has to focus on helping his brother, not on why I’ve pulled away.”
Missy nodded, clasped her bag then rushed out. The moment Missy left, the air seemed thinner and her chest caved. More than anything, she wanted to be with Kip, but to do so could jeopardize his life.
*
Kip was frantic, and it wasn’t because his brother had his arm cut open. With a few stiches, the wound would heal, and the bruising on his face and hand would fade with time. It was what Randy had just confided in him that had his panic button pushed.
Kip looked behind him to make sure the curtain to the small emergency room cubicle was closed. Randy was hooked up to monitors that thankfully showed normal readings. “What do you mean you have no powers?”
“Just what it sounds like.” Randy held up his uninjured hand like Kip had seen his twin do so many times before. With his fingers extended, he narrowed the tips to the size of a half dollar then aimed at the metal chair across the room. Instead of an electric blast coming from his hand, the overhead light flickered briefly. Normally, the chair would have jumped from the current sizzling through it, scorch marks marring its surface. “See?”
Kip’s heart nearly broke at the pain radiating off his twin. A Wendayan losing his magic would be tantamount to a Were not being able to shift. If Kip could donate half of his abilities to Randy he would.
Not wanting any nurse or doctor to overhear his conversation, Kip pulled the chair closer to Randy’s bed. “Tell me exactly what happened. I don’t understand how someone could steal your magic right from your arm.” The whole concept scared the shit out of him.
Randy rested his uninjured forearm across his pasty forehead. Blood was caked above his right eye from a small cut, and his short dark hair was mussed. Randy’s red eyes spoke of too much stress, and the bruise on his cheek and knuckles implied his brother had fought back.
“I was working at my office desk when someone knocked on our front door. I answered it, and when I saw two men wearing masks, I tried to close it, but they barged in anyway.”
“Why didn’t you check the peephole? It’s why it’s there.” Damn, now wasn’t the time to chastise his brother for being careless.
Randy blew out a breath. “I had my mind on my case. Besides, we live in the fucking Cove—a place where crime rarely happens.”
“Sorry, go on.”
“They smashed their way in, and before I had a chance to zap them, the taller of the two pinned me down while the second man waved a knife. I was able to break the big man’s hold and put up a fight for a few seconds, as evidenced by the bruises on my knuckles and face, but in the end they overpowered me.”
Fuck. The mere thought of the anger and panic ripping through his brother had Kip’s stomach in knots. “Did you do some damage to them?” Kip worked at McKinnon and Associates, a private investigation firm. “If you bruised one of the men, the attacker might be easier to spot.”
Randy lifted a shoulder. “Hard to say since they wore their masks. I did manage to kick the one of them in the gut, spin around, and then land a punch to the tall one’s face before they took me down again. That’s when the shorter guy sliced open my arm.”
Kip dragged a hand down his scruffy jawline and blew out a breath. This was bad. Real bad. “Did they say what they are after?” Perhaps the thugs could be identified by their accent or the deepness of their voices.
“No. Not a word. They came in, tackled me, and cut my arm. They didn’t make any demands or attempt to take anything.”
Kip wasn’t convinced the men had really stolen Randy’s magic. The fear of being attacked might have caused some kind of mental block. With time, he hoped Randy’s abilities would return. If Kip brought up that theory now, given the strength of his brother’s conviction, it would piss him off.
Kip slumped back against his chair. “How did you know again that they stole your magic? They could have been there for some kind of retribution. You do deal with the criminal element.” Until last year, Kip had been right beside his brother at the law office. It was one reason why he decided to give up practicing law and join a security team.
“Right after the beefier one stabbed me, he pulled out the knife and ran. Just as he and his partner reached the door, I lifted my good arm with the intention of sending a few hundred volts of electricity through them, only nothing happened.”
Kip studied Randy wondering if maybe the blade had been dipped in a strong paralytic or something. “I’m not seeing it. How exactly did they take your magic? Fuck, I didn’t even think it was possible.”
“I know, right? I’m still trying to figure it out.”
“I’d say they might have mistaken you for me, but with my short beard and longer hair, they wouldn’t have mixed up the two of us.” When Kip left the law firm, he let his hair grow and swore he’d never wear another tie again.
“I agree.”
“No one runs into a house, stabs the person, and then leaves, especially if he wanted you dead. In the ten years I was at the Public Defender’s office, I never heard of any criminal acting that strangely.”
“Strange or not, that’s what happened.”
“I’m going to do my best to find the bastards.” He leaned forward. “You sure you didn’t piss off any clients?” Randy worked on the side of the prosecution.
“Of late, I’ve been dealing with some lowlife thugs, but I can’t imagine anyone caring what happened to them.”
Some piece was missing. “Can you describe the knife?” Kip wasn’t e
ven sure why he asked, but there had to be some explanation. Kip had heard stories as a kid about Wendayans losing their magic, but he thought those were just stories. He figured the witches had lost their powers due to old age.
Randy slowly lowered his arm and his gaze shifted to the left. “It had a red blade, but why should that matter? Or more importantly, why use something other than steel? I will say it was damned sharp.”
“I have no idea. There has to be a connection as to why you were targeted.”
Before Randy could answer, the curtain parted. It was Missy. “Kip?”
He jumped up from his seat. “Hey, thanks for coming by.”
Her smile looked like she was having a hard time staying positive. Her auburn hair was pulled back in a ponytail, but many of the strands had come loose. She nodded then rushed over to Randy and set her flowered bag on the bed. “How are you feeling?”
Randy glanced up to him. They were all Wendayans and aware of each other’s powers. “I’m going to tell her everything. Missy might be able to shed some light on the situation.” Kip nodded. Randy explained what happened, leaving out no details.
“Do you think your powers were transferred to them when they hit you?”
Kip hadn’t thought of that possibility.
“I don’t think so. If they’d taken something as valuable as my ability to control electricity, they would have used that power against me right away. By all rights, I should be dead. Not that I can identify them, but I will hunt them down.”
His brother’s face was red and a fleck of blood appeared on the bandage. “Hey, you need to rest. I’ll do the looking.” Besides, if they didn’t get what they came for the first time, they might return, and Randy was in no shape to handle another attack.
“Fine, but take Connor and Jackson with you. These men meant business.”
Connor McKinnon and Jackson Murdoch also worked at the private investigation firm with him. The fourth member, Devon McKinnon, mostly ran the branch office. As much as Kip wanted Missy to start her healing ways, he had to find out about Teagan. He faced her. “Does Teagan know what happened to Randy?”
Missy glanced away. “Yes.”
That wasn’t good. He wasn’t one to beg, but he needed to find out why she hadn’t come. Teagan was one of the most caring women in the world, and yet in a flash, she’d turned from being wonderful to standoffish in a flash. Something had to have happened for her to announce that she didn’t want to see him anymore. “Did she say if she would stop by?”
“No.”
He needed to speak with Teagan. “Do you know why she won’t return my calls? I know we argued that last night about her visions and how much they are messing with her mind, but that’s not a good reason to up and leave a relationship. What we had was good.”
Missy pulled out a small burlap sac from her bag. “I’ve asked, but she won’t say.”
Now wasn’t the time to interrogate Missy—not when his brother needed her help. “Thanks. I appreciate all you can do.” Maybe she could pull a miracle out of her bag and bring back his powers.
She placed a sac under Randy’s head. “Close your eyes.”
Her calm and caring manner was similar to how Teagan had been until the night of their big fight.
Kip vowed that as soon as he brought the men who robbed his brother of his magic to justice, he’d win over Teagan Pompley—no matter what it took.
PACK WARS (Paranormal)
Training Their Mate (book 1)
Claiming Their Mate (book 2)
Rescuing Their Virgin Mate (book 3)
Box Set (books 1-3)
Loving Their Vixen Mate (book 4)
Fighting For Their Mate (book 5)
Enticing Their Mate (book 6)
MONTANA PROMISES (Full length contemporary)
Promises of Mercy (book 1)
Foundations For Three (book 2)
Montana Fire (book 3)
Hart To Hart (book 4)
Burning Seduction (book 5)
Montana Promises Box Set (books 1-3)
ROCK HARD, MONTANA (contemporary novellas)
Montana Desire (book 1)
Awakening Passions (book 2)
HIDDEN HILLS SHIFTERS (Paranormal)
An Unexpected Diversion (book 1) – FREE
Bare Instincts (book 2)
Shifting Destinies (book 3)
Embracing Fate (book 4)
Promises Unbroken (book 5)
WERES & WITCHES OF SILVER LAKE
A Magical Shift (book 1)
Catching Her Bear (book 2)
A Surge of Magic (book 3)
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