Since Austin had inveigled Rest into helping him gather the supplies to alter a camouflage spell, Rest knew what to expect, and it was a good balance to the nastiness of encountering death magic.
“Go on then.” Darius concentrated on the note for a couple of minutes.
The unconscious men in the yard and veranda slept on.
Inside the house, the woman made no attempt to look out the window or find her husband. Then again, the boom resulting from Darius’s destruction of the death magic token was sufficient to discourage a wizard, let alone a mundane.
Darius muttered under his breath as he stooped awkwardly to open one of Webb’s lightly curled fists. Darius pressed the note into it. The one that read, We don’t deal with intermediaries. He wobbled when he stood, and Gabe steadied him. “Thanks. Cramp.” Which meant he was exhausted.
“Austin!” Rest shouted.
Austin had opened the wide stable doors and the floodlighting from the yard illuminated him in the high doorway. He waved a hand, indicating that he’d heard, but was busy.
Rest knew better than to interrupt a spellcasting, but this one was an entertainment, not one that mattered, and he wanted to leave.
Darius leaned against the doorway and addressed the woman. “Tell Webb that the note will stay attached to his hand until he’s recited it to twelve people.” Then he leaned back, out of her sight.
From the direction of the stables came Austin’s laughter. “It worked,” he called as he jogged back to the team.
Gabe kept hold of Darius, positioning to take some of his weight. When they walked into the portal, as tired as he was, Darius would need help to keep his balance.
Rest hooked Darius’s free arm over his shoulders.
The humor died from Austin’s face. He sprang up onto the veranda and grabbed Rest’s shoulder. The team knew how to move fast, and when to leave.
Rest opened the portal and they entered the Path. Exiting it to the safety of the ranch house was a relief. The old house might be poor and it definitely showed its age, but there was no death magic here and no threat against his friends.
While they’d prepared for the mission, Donna had set a ward around the house. Witches had their own form of magic, and although Donna’s witching talent was small, she’d wanted to add protections. Unspoken had been her worry of what would happen if things went wrong and Paul Webb managed to defeat their attack and follow up on it for vengeance.
She ran forward as they walked out of the portal.
Darius straightened, taking his own weight once they had solid decking rather than the shifting chaos of the Path, beneath their feet.
It left Rest free to pick up Donna in a relieved, triumphant hug.
“Safe?” she asked low against his ear.
“All safe. No casualties. It went to plan.”
Her arms tightened around him.
“What did you do in the stables?” Gabe asked Austin.
Austin grinned. “You told us Paul Webb prized his horses. I spelled them to be all the colors of the rainbow. There were only two horses in the stables, but out in the fields…” His grin had a feral edge. “No harm to the horses, but Webb’ll know we could have done worse.”
Darius limped inside, the screen door slamming behind him. He was back before those on the porch could do more than exchange worried glances. “I’m okay. Tired. We’ll debrief in the morning.” It wasn’t quite an order, nor yet a plea, but it was obvious he needed space. He held a sleeping bag, and carried it with him. Like Gabe had the previous night, Darius evidently intended to sleep under the stars.
Perhaps the desert would ease him.
Gabe grabbed a second sleeping bag, nodded to them all, and took his own departure.
“I guess that leaves the living room for me.” Austin grinned at Rest, the devil lurking in his eyes.
The sleeping options that remained for Donna and Rest included the bed in his room. The only bed in the house. The bed big enough for two people…
“Good night, Austin,” Donna said firmly. She raised her voice. “’Night, Gabe, Darius.”
“I’m going for a run,” Austin said, abandoning humor. “I’m still wired. Not sure how you all decompress so fast.” He jumped down from the porch, jogging toward the barn.
Donna looked at Rest. “Do you need to decompress? Run? Talk?”
He pulled her inside, out of sight, and kissed her.
“That works.” She smiled at him when they came up for air. Her hands moved idly over his shoulders, smoothing over his muscles and the curve of bones. “Rest?”
“Mmm?”
“I don’t want to make love the first time with your friends here. The house…”
“Is small,” he finished when she seemed stuck for a tactful description. “And the doors need re-hanging. Sound carries. We’ll wait.”
Her fingers curled in his hair, tugging slightly as she studied his face. The table lamp in the corner showed her heightened color. “You don’t mind?”
“I do, but I also like that you’re shy.”
“I’m not shy! I’m…”
“Discreet?” He smiled, kissing her mouth lightly. “I want you all to myself, Donna. The new house is nearly complete. If we can live without a kitchen a while longer, I’ll focus on the bathrooms, and we can move in, or at least sleep there—you just need to choose the furniture for our bedroom.”
Her face lit up as if he’d given her a gift.
Perhaps he had. Our bedroom.
Our future.
He felt as if she’d given him the most precious gift. He’d built the house as a challenge, not letting himself ever dwell on what he would do with such a big house, and him alone. But with Donna, the large house with the master bedroom situated so that it was almost in a private wing, was perfect.
Everything seemed to be aligning.
Rather than tear down the old ranch house, he’d update it. The team would be welcome in his new house, but likely would prefer the independence of a separate house. When Gabe brought his woman…
Donna squeaked.
“Sorry,” Rest said hastily. In his enthusiasm for his thoughts, he’d squeezed her too tightly.
“I’m excited, too.” She wriggled, the movement happy rather than sexy.
However, his body responded as if she’d attempted a sophisticated seduction. He took a deep breath as he attempted to control his desire. Donna was right to want their first time to be special. And now that he’d thought of her in his home, he wanted their first time to be there, in the house that, unconsciously, he’d built for her. Right down to the window seat she loved.
Chapter 10
Two days passed in busy, mundane activity. Donna found a hundred and one chores to occupy her either at the adobe house or, having convinced Rest to portal her out to shop, in shopping for it. He’d bought an air mattress on her first shopping jaunt, and it meant they could be alone at the new house. Nights with Rest were glorious! Donna sung as she worked, and her hips swished in dance steps when she thought of tonight.
Darius monitored the darknet for rumors of Rest and his team’s re-emergence into active status.
Gabe went home. They had all attempted to warn him to be careful. After all, he had his partner to keep safe. At which point he’d smiled and laughed under his breath. “Wait till you meant Shiona. It’s she who’ll keep me safe once she hears our story.” He’d paused. “I hadn’t told her the details of our combat courier missions, only that I’d been part of magic and military combined units.”
Austin was the surprise. He took advantage of Darius’s darknet magicks to digitally and untraceably touch base with his real estate work back in Atlanta. However, once he’d handed off urgent tasks, he’d joined Rest in finishing the plumbing for the adobe house.
Rest didn’t seem surprised by Austin’s assistance. The two worked together easily and at speed. Neither appeared to hurry, yet their understated competence built momentum.
On the evening of the se
cond day, Darius manned the barbeque set up out front of the old ranch house, Rest collected Gabe from his home in the bayou, and they sat around catching up.
“We need a dog,” Donna said.
“What kind?” Rest asked.
She smiled at him for the ready acceptance indicated in his tone. “One that likes the desert?” She laughed. “I don’t know. It feels like an evening like this needs a dog.” The vibe was relaxed.
Even Darius’s update on happenings in the wider world, with specific reference to news of the team’s raid on Paul Webb’s farmhouse, was positive. Webb could have tried to free himself of the note stuck to his hand by reciting it to twelve people who either wouldn’t understand it, were asleep, or owed him sufficiently to keep a secret. Instead, he’d opted to spin his trouncing into a positive—the legendary combat courier team was active again, and he’d been their first target. In a weird way, it increased his prestige.
“We’re legendary?” Austin queried. “Pass the salsa, please.”
It really was a relaxed meal.
Darius, though, frowned at his rare and bloody steak. “We’re not legendary, but we’re unique. Whoever used Webb to subvert General Olafur and set the ambush two years ago wanted to isolate Rest from us.”
“A lone courier is different to one with a team,” Rest said. “Vulnerable. United, we’re a threat.”
“That we are,” Darius agreed. “It’s changed Webb’s calculations.”
“How?” Austin didn’t pause in helping himself to a second serving of potato salad, but he was listening intently and analyzing Darius’s statements.
Donna found Darius difficult to read. She looked instead at Rest, who was chewing a bite of steak and watching Darius without expression. Perhaps he couldn’t guess what bothered his former captain, either.
“I have a couple of messages Webb has left in chat rooms that I’d like you to look at,” Darius said to Austin. “It seems to me he’s reassessed our value. Rest, alone, he was willing to deliver to whoever paid him to set up the ambush.”
Gerald Svenson, Donna thought, although she didn’t have proof, yet. The men were intent on avenging their fallen comrade, Wayne, but she was focused on the future. She wanted the threat to Rest gone.
But Darius thought the situation was changing. “Us, as a combat courier team, is a different proposition. Webb wants to be our manager.”
Rest blinked.
“The balls on him,” Austin said.
“Uncle Bo’s been monitoring Webb’s activities. He’s a competitor,” Gabe said. “Uncle Bo left a message with Shiona. Uncle Bo’s gone dark. According to him, him being gone will give us the freedom to take on jobs directly. No confusing things with him in the middle, as Rest’s former agent.” Gabe paused. “He reckons Austin could fill the team manager role.”
Austin froze, just for a fraction of a second. “Negotiating deals? Hell, yeah. But deciding which jobs to take…” He looked at Rest.
They all did.
Rest took a bread roll, split it and slathered on butter. “I don’t want to decide. Bo did that. He understood the implications of taking on certain jobs and refusing others. Using him was about more than maintaining my cover.” He pointed the bread roll at Austin. “That’s the sort of intelligence gathering and favor exchange that Bo reckons you’ll be good at. He’s right.”
Donna could see that.
Austin charmed people by understanding what they wanted, not just by being ridiculously handsome.
“All right,” he agreed after a couple of minutes’ thought. “But deciding on what the team wants to be known for, the kind of jobs we take, the rates, all of that has to be a team decision.”
Darius’s phone buzzed. He was gradually lifting the digital blackout in as much as he had an operational cellphone. Everyone else was waiting for his all-clear to resume twenty first century communications. At the moment, their online activities were limited.
Donna had taken advantage of his offer to provide her with an untraceable email, and had sent emails to Sadie and Viola, saying everything was okay and she’d be in touch soon. Not that it had been necessary. Before she’d left Washington, she’d spoken with both her finder talent friend and her boss, and told them she might be out of touch for a week or two and not to worry.
Even then some part of her had been hoping Rest would let her stay, at least for a vacation.
Instead…she smiled at him. This was so much better than the wildest dreams she’d dreamed.
“Gabe!” Darius snapped. “You said Bo was going into hiding?”
“Yeah.”
Everyone’s knives and forks hit their plates. Something was wrong.
Darius frowned at the phone. “Bo has messaged me on the emergency contact I gave him. But the message is for Donna.”
“What is it? Who is it from? My parents—”
“Your boss,” Darius cut short her panicked questions. “You did say her name’s Viola?”
Donna stretched out her hand for the phone. Darius passed it over the scraped-clean bowl of potato salad she’d made earlier. “Larry’s hurt,” she read. “Oh good grief! He’s at the temple ruins. His assistant couldn’t reach Rest, and Larry needs help, magical help, so Mark contacted Viola. Larry passed on the details for contacting Bo to Viola.”
“Anything more?” Rest asked.
Donna shook her head, passing the phone to him. There was something conclusive about reading a message for yourself. “Larry’s hurt by something magical. There were the remains of death magic in the ruins, but I didn’t sense anything active.”
“Who could?” Austin demanded. “The rune and the magic it had collected there smothered everything else, and we didn’t stick around to examine it afterward.” After Darius had taken the rune on himself.
“What did we miss?” Donna whispered. “What did Larry find?”
Rest passed the phone back to Darius. “He’d be reckless.”
“What was this guy chasing?” Gabe asked.
Rest frowned at Donna, then Darius. “A legendary fruit from the Garden of Eden.”
The notion didn’t even rate a blink from Gabe. “Could he have found it?”
“No,” Donna said. “The paradise fruit is just a story. But he found something. Or something found him.”
“Or this is a trap.” Austin had resumed eating, but not in the leisurely manner of before. He was refueling.
The others picked up their cutlery and followed his example.
All except Donna. But then, Larry wasn’t their friend. Her stomach was in knots. “If it’s a trap…”
“We’ll still go,” Rest said.
Her breath rushed out in relief. “Thank you.”
Austin’s eyes glinted with humor. “Can’t start our new business by abandoning clients. It’s a matter of reputation.”
Donna didn’t make the mistake of believing him. Rescuing Larry was a matter of kindness and honor. The billionaire had been Rest’s client. And just possibly, it was something the team had disturbed at the temple ruins that had hurt Larry. They felt responsible.
“We need details,” she said. “I’ll phone Viola.” She looked impatiently at Darius’s phone.
“No,” he said. The order was low, quiet and firm. “Tell us about Viola. I looked into your background. I know she’s a treasure hunter, a collector of magical items, and a gallery owner. Would she have contacts to heal Larry of magical hurt?”
“She’s an Old School member. Like me.” Donna hoped her tone was as determined as Darius’s order. The others might be used to their former captain making command decisions, but this involved her friends. “The Old School will help. But if time is of importance…” She looked imploringly at Rest.
He gripped her hand. “We still have to prepare.”
Staring into his eyes, at the concern there—possibly more for her response to the delay, than worry for Larry—she drew a deep, would-be calming breath. There were a thousand different ways that this could be a
trap, and she couldn’t concentrate on any of them, so she had to let the men do what they’d trained for. “What do you need to know about Viola?” she asked Darius. “I’m too worried to organize my thoughts, so it’s better if you question me.”
He nodded, and started drawing out information on Viola’s business habits, her lack of magical talent, and her relationship with Larry, her ex-husband. He asked if she could be blackmailed or threatened, and if so, in what way. But it wasn’t a conventional interrogation. Even as he questioned her and the others listened, everyone moved around, preparing for an extraction mission when the potential threat involved was unknown.
Donna interrupted her answers to grab at Rest’s arm as he went past her. “I want to go with you. Larry knows me.”
“He knows me, too.” His refusal was in his voice. “We’re trained for this, Donna.”
The truth of that forced her to bite back her protest. “Will you courier Larry to Viola’s house? Depending on how badly hurt he is, the Path won’t be easy for him, even if you carry him. Or a hospital? Or—”
“Does Larry have a house in San Francisco?” Darius asked.
Her head snapped around. “Yes, but it’ll be warded. Viola can lower the ward around her home for Rest to portal in, but she can’t grant permission for the ward at Larry’s house.”
Rest put his arm around her. “We won’t need permission to carry him in. I’ll portal to just outside his house. Likely we won’t even notice the ward if we walk in with him.”
The simplicity of the solution stunned her for a second. Then she nodded. “I need to message Viola to go to Larry’s house. It’s only a few miles from her home. I think he bought it to be close to her. Not that he visits San Francisco much.” She was rambling. “Darius? Phone?”
For a second, the wizard and former army captain hesitated. Then he tossed the phone to her.
Relief that he trusted her and Viola almost made her fumble the catch. “Thanks,” she said briefly.
“Wait till we leave to message Viola,” Rest added.
Desert Devil (Old School Book 5) Page 15
