A Magical Reckoning: Magic and Mischief Book 1

by N. R. Hairston

  His thrusts sped up, his breath coming in short spurts. “Damn, Rye.” We kissed furiously as if any minute this could all be taken away. “Didn’t… know… it… could… be like this… didn’t know…”

  I matched his rhythm, throwing my head back and trying hard to get to that climax I felt building in my stomach.

  He snapped his hips faster and I felt like I would die from pleasure. How the hell could something feel so good?

  We kissed again, this time, more demanding than the last. “Don’t… want… this… to… end… want… to… stay… inside… you… forever.” Soon we were both grunting and coming and it was the best thing I’d ever felt in my life.

  Our lips inches apart, our breaths mingling, I whispered the words that had been on my mind the whole time. “Next time we use the oil.” Remember what I said about it extending the orgasm in men and women? He did, because he shuddered against me, and suddenly he was coming again, holding me tight and kissing my neck the whole time.

  Once he was done, he laid his head in the crook of my neck, breathing hard, and repeating my name over and over again.

  My whole body tingled, and the only thing I wanted was to curl up in a ball and go to sleep. I was boneless and didn’t care who knew it. I placed a soft kiss on his shoulder and then detangled myself from him.

  He beamed at me as if I rose the sun and hung the moon. “C’mere.”

  I went willingly into his arms. “What do you want?”

  He grinned that crooked smile again. “You gonna give it to me?”

  I chuckled lightly. “Depends on what it is?”

  “Can I get a new pair of shoes?”

  “You--” I punched him in the arm. “Yeah, you can get some shoes, but you got to work for them.”

  He grabbed me around the waist and dipped me in the water. We both went under and came back up wiping our faces.

  A loud voice sounded from the bank, causing us to jump apart. “Am I interrupting?” Drena stood there, hands on her hips, expression unreadable.

  I turned to Jax. “She’s with me,” I said before he could react. Seeing her there brought everything back to me. Cam. Cam was still out there waiting for me to find him. I kissed Jax again, feeling nothing but affection. “Thank you. For allowing me to forget for a minute.”

  I got out of the water and didn’t look back. My clothes were still dripping, but I put them on anyway. They felt icky and wet, but I figured they’d dry eventually.

  Drena watched me with blatant disappointment. “What?” I asked, feigning innocence.

  She scoffed, and marched in front of me. “Just come on.” I took a quick peek behind me and saw Jax coming out of the water and putting his clothes on.

  Three trucks and two SUVs had joined my car in the parking lot. Drena handed me a set of keys. “Here take these.”

  I pushed the lock button trying to see which one I’d be driving. “Find anything yet?” I asked, walking over to the blinking lights of the black SUV.

  The fat that Jax had drained from my back was taking its effect, and the fight we’d just had only made it worse. The skunk oil helped, but it didn’t replace the fat that had been lost. I was tired and knew if I didn’t find somewhere to rest soon, I wouldn’t be any use to Cam or anyone else.

  Drena shook her head, going back to my original question. “Haven’t been here long enough. But we did catch up with the last two from the steak house. We’re going to try and flip them, see what they know.”

  Jax finally joined us, and I decided it was time to go. “Let’s get our bags. We’re going to change vehicles.”

  Drena refused to acknowledge his presence. “Already taken care of,” she said to me alone.

  She was pissed, and she had every right to be. I was supposed to be working a case, not having sex like some teenager on spring break.

  “These our new wheels?” Jax asked, as a way of breaking through the tension.

  We needed to talk. What happened between us had been nice, but as long as Cam was missing, I couldn’t let it happen again. “Get in,” I said by way of an answer. The first thing we needed to do was find a clean hotel room. These clothes felt grimier by the minute, and the only thing I wanted was to get out of them.

  Drena had her phone pressed to her ear. “Not so fast.” She walked over, a finger raised in the air.

  I held my breath, hoping she’d found something that would help us find Cam.

  She scribbled on a piece of paper and then thrust it into my hand. “One of the steak house guys is talking. He gave up three addresses. Probably more places like this one here, so we need to be careful. It could be a trap.”

  I read over what she’d written. The closest one was still a couple of hours away. “I’ll check them out. What’s your tail like?”

  “We won’t be far behind.”

  4

  The car ride to the hotel was silent, my thoughts focused completely on Cam. I gripped the wheel tight and thought back to that floor with his blood on it. My mind swam in several different directions and for the first time since this whole thing started, it really began to sink in that I might not find him alive. A sob rose in my throat, but I fought it down. Cam needed me. Tears weren’t going to help anyone.

  The room we rented had a separate bath and shower. So Jax took the shower and left me with the bath. By the time I got out, he’d already changed into fresh clothes and had ordered room service. The smell of garlic, green peppers, and onions filled the air. I licked my lips. I didn’t care what it was. I was eating it.

  “I didn’t know what you wanted,” he said from his spot on the floor.

  “You don’t have to sleep down there.” I pulled the portable little tray over to the bed and took a look. It held a container of baked spaghetti, with copious amounts of cheese. I inhaled deeply, taking in the smell. Two pieces of garlic bread lay wrapped in foil. I opened them and put one piece on my plate. Under another tray was a tossed salad, and then, under another was sweet potato pie. All perfect, except there was only enough for one. “Where’s your food?”

  He’d been laying on his back, but came up to a sitting position. He stared at me for a full twenty seconds, but didn’t say anything. He turned eyes toward the floor and then mumbled something so low that I could barely hear him.

  “Jax?”

  He exhaled as if I was forcing something on him he didn’t want to say. “I just thought I’d eat your leftovers or something.”

  “Why?”

  He didn’t answer, but his eyes never left mine. It took a moment for it to sink in, but when it finally did, I look at him curious. “Jax, where do you work?”

  His eyes said he had no idea where this was going. “Albright Enterprises,” he answered uncertainly.

  My eyes widened. Albright was one of the top defense agencies in the country. How the hell had it taken me this long to know that he worked there? “So you’re with the government?”

  “Yup.”

  “How come you never said anything?”

  His expression never changed. “You never asked. Why are you now?”

  Was he serious? “Cause you’d rather starve than let me take care of you.” I stared at him incredulously. “You make more money than I do. You can’t get to your cash right now, so let me help you. Let me do it for Cam, and what you did for him. Fuck what people think.”

  He shook his head. “I don’t care what people think about me. I never have.”

  “What then?” If I sounded exasperated, it’s because I was. I really didn’t understand his reasoning.

  “I don’t care what people think,” he repeated. His eyes bore into mine, two pools of heat, slowly ripping me apart.

  My breath hitched as the meaning of his words sunk in. “I don’t think that, Jax,” I said softly. “I’m not really ready to buy you a pair of shoes. It was a joke. One we both enjoyed. Remember?”

  “Yeah, but that was right after we’d, you know.”

  I smiled at the memory. “Yeah, I
know. Look, after this is all over you’re more than welcome to pay me back for everything.” He smiled, and my heart lifted knowing we were on good terms again. “Except the steak house,” I added. “The department had to come in and pay for that.”

  He laughed, easing the rest of the tension out of the room. “We skipped out on the check, didn’t we? You’ve made me a criminal! What will my superiors think?”

  I put my hand to my chest, pretending to be scandalized. “What will mine think? Oh wait, they paid for the check. We’re fine.” I threw the hotel phone at him. “Get you some food.” He ordered five times the amount he’d gotten for me.

  We spend the rest of the night discussing how we’d go about approaching the next three addresses. He stayed on the floor and I curled up in the bed, willing myself to believe that Cam was still alive, and we wouldn’t be too late.

  The first place was empty in a way that said no one had been there in weeks. The second had leftover food and a few overturned chairs, but besides that, nothing. We didn’t make it to the third.

  It was well past two in the morning by the time I pointed the car toward the last location. Jax sat on the passenger side. He’d steadily tapped on the window for the last ten minutes and I was just about to go insane. “Stop!” I finally shouted, not able to take it anymore.

  He looked startled, and then he put his hands in his lap. It seemed like it took some effort to keep them there.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  He seemed conflicted. “Something about this seems off. I don’t like it.”

  “You think it’s a setup?”

  He ran a hand down his face. “How long did it take for Drena’s team to catch up with the two from the steak house?”

  I saw where he was going with this. “You think they met up with Drake first? Maybe got directions on what to say?”

  His answer was slow. “Maybe he’d already instructed them on what to say. Just in case they were caught.”

  “Then he knows we’re coming. Maybe we should--” Boom. Before I could finish my thought, a large truck slammed into us and sent the car spinning.

  “Hold on.” I fought with the wheel, trying to keep us from going off the side of the road. “Grab my phone, speed dial two and let Drena know what’s happening.”

  We skidded onto the curb. Shit, Drake wasn’t going to make it easy, but I should have known that. I’d just gotten the car back on the road when the hood was ripped away, causing it to go spinning again. We weren’t going to make it out of here without a fight.

  I eased down to third gear, slowing the car enough to regain control. Once done, I stopped driving, cut the engine, and turned to Jax. “We gotta do what we gotta do.”

  He pulled me close. “Just you and me? I like those odds. Haven’t failed us yet.” He kissed me hard, and then pulled back. “We can do this,” he whispered.

  “I know,” I said, stepping out of the car.

  Three figures met us in the middle of the road. Drake, Tec, and… Cam! My eyes froze on my best friend. He stood tall, shoulders thick and broad, black hair the same length as mine. I exhaled deeply, my eyes shining. I could hardly believe it. Cam was alive and unharmed. Everything was going to be okay now.

  Without even thinking about it, I jumped into his arms and squeezed him as hard as I could.

  I could hear Jax in the background, calling my name, trying to stop me. I didn’t listen. Jax could wait. Right now, the only thing I could see was Cam.

  He gripped me tightly and spun me around, a big smile on his face. “I’m okay, I’m okay.” He gave me a light kiss on my forehead and then released me. “I knew you would come. Told them you would always come for me. Once I saw him take the chain, I knew there was a good chance he’d go to you, and you’d come. So, we had to be prepared.”

  “I saw your blood on the floor,” my voice cracked as I thought back to that moment. Somewhere in the back of my mind I wondered what he needed to be prepared for, but I pushed that away, too happy to be in his presence.

  Jax appeared by my side, face hard, body alert. “Pretty sure he knows that.” He stood like a tightly wound spring, ready to pop off at any moment. “The more I think about the time before my escape, the more I realize just how at ease Cam was. Other skunks, they’d be shaking and scared. None of that from him. In fact, thinking back, the taunting about the chain seemed more like friends jeering each other around a table of beers.

  I wondered if Jax had hit his head. “Why would you think that? He’s the one who was in restraints, remember?”

  Jax’s expression softened as he talked to me. “To control his thiols. Rye, you’ve been talking and hugging him for the last three minutes and neither Drake nor this other guy have made a move to stop you. Why do you think that is? Think about it.” He said that last part with a little more force. “They had a big shipment due, I heard some guards talking. That’s why I thought they’d found Cam and brought him in, because I’d already drained every other skunk there dry.

  “I had no idea he was in on the whole thing. The only reason he probably gave his oil was because if he hadn’t, they never would have made their quota.”

  Drake and Tec were being eerily silent. Even now, they stood by watching all this play out, but doing nothing to intervene. That wasn’t right. Shouldn’t they be running or trying to rip us apart? I whipped back around to Cam, who hadn’t move from his spot, his eyes and face unreadable.

  My voice shook, as I asked questions I never thought I’d have to. Not to Cam anyway. “You don’t…? It’s not…? You don’t work for him, do you?”

  He stepped back rather cockily and something inside me broke, as I knew his next words would change me forever. “No,” he said, and I sagged in relief until he began to speak again. “He works for me.”

  Everything in me froze. I tried to move, but my body felt like lead. My mouth opened, but no words came out. I hadn’t heard him right. I couldn’t have. Cam couldn’t… He wasn’t… My knees buckled and vomit erupted in my mouth.

  A strong arm wrapped around me and kept me from hitting the ground. Jax. He pressed me to him, and I held on for dear life. At least someone was still on my side. “Don’t give him your pain,” he whispered. “He’s not worthy of it.”

  I wanted to argue with him, and I started to do just that. I opened my mouth to tell him that he didn’t know Cam the way I did, but then the reality of the situation bore down on me, and I let out a large sob instead. Now wasn’t the time to fall apart and I knew that, but Cam, my Cam. I just didn’t understand.

  Knowing that my crying helped no one, I took a moment to compose myself, and then turned to Jax. “How long have you known?” I asked, my voice laced with acid.

  His grip tightened, but there was a gentleness in his tone. “Not until I saw them here. They didn’t behave like enemies. Something just seemed off about the whole thing.”

  I allowed myself a glance their way. Cam now stood between Drake and Tec. “I don’t want to hurt you,” he said. “I just want you to understand.”

  I ran a disbelieving hand down my face. What was there to understand? “You don’t really expect me to be okay with this?” I asked. “Because that’s what it seems like you’re asking.” I tsked at his audacity. “I think you know me better than that.”

  Cam took a couple of steps toward me, and Jax pushed me behind him as if I needed his protection. Annoyed, I stepped around. “I got this. I don’t need any help.”

  He nodded. “I know you don’t. It was instinct is all.”

  I stared hard at my best friend and realized I’d probably never really known him in the first place. Because the Cam I knew wouldn’t do this. The Cam I knew didn’t think like this. “Cam,” I said, my voice low, my tone pleading for him to help me understand.

  The hard line of his mouth went slack for just a second, and I thought I’d gotten through. Then he spoke, and my heart broke all over again. “Drop the case, Rye, and we can both leave here unharmed.”

&nb
sp; The pressure behind my eyes was too much and a few tears slid down my face. I started to wipe them away, but then said, fuck it, he caused them, so let him see them. “I love you. Actually care about you.” I pointed to Drake and Tec. “They don’t give a fuck about you. Yet you sent your minions to kill me. To stop me from reaching you. How could you do it?”

  Not even a blink. “I knew you could take ‘em.”

  He hadn’t known shit and his words set off a firestorm in my blood. Half the oil he used probably came from his own body. They objectified us enough; to have another skunk do it was disgusting. “You sell yourself like a whore,” I spit. Not really meaning it, but too damn mad to take it back.

  His voice was hard as stone. “And you fuck like one. Buy any one of your special friends something pretty lately?”

  I wouldn’t let him distract me. Which I was sure he was trying to do. “I like my men a certain way. I won’t be shamed for it. What does that have to do with you turning on your own people?”

  His chest rose, and his face contorted into one of such furious rage that I had to step back to keep my composure. “My people.” He sounded like he had a mouth full of rage. “You mean the same people who let my mom die instead of giving her the skunk oil that would have saved her life? Are those the people you’re talking about?” A cloud of thiols flooded around him, feeding off his energy and managing to appear as menacing as he did.

  I chose my words carefully. “That’s not true, Cam, and you know it.”

  His mom had been a Scope agent. One day she and three other skunks had come under fire. They’d fought hard, but Cam’s mom had taken a hit to the gut and upper shoulder.

  Cam said they should have taken skunk oil from their backs to heal her. All involved put in their official reports that there hadn’t been time. To stop meant to die, and none of the four had made it out of there unscathed. Sadly, Cam’s mom had been the only casualty. Cam had wanted the other three brought up on charges. It didn’t happen, and not one skunk in our community stood by him. They’d all agreed that it was better to have one dead skunk, than four.