He grinned. “I can handle her grumpy.”
“Just as well, considering you’re going to be living together.”
I moved back to the table and sat down. Aiden followed me across. “Why is she going into hiding rather than staying here? I was under the impression neither he nor your father were able to break through all the protections here.”
“Only because they didn’t know about the wild magic,” I replied. “That’s now changed.”
“They attacked the place twice—if they’d been able to do something about the wild magic, wouldn’t they have done it the second time?”
“They wouldn’t have had time to do the research then, but Clayton now has.”
“I was under the impression wild magic couldn’t be countered.”
“It generally can’t be controlled, but we’ve always been able to contain and protect it.”
He accepted the coffee Belle handed him with a nod of thanks. “Which means it’s no safer here for you—and yet I take it you’re not intending to hide?”
“No, because I also believe that he’ll only come after me as a last resort—and if he can’t get Belle, he’ll go after you. Which is why I’d like you to stay at the compound for the next few nights.”
“I’d rather stay here and protect you.”
“That’s not really wise—”
“Why not? Between my gun and your magic, I’m thinking we stand a very good chance of taking the bastard down.”
“You’re overestimating my magic.”
“You’re underestimating it.”
“Actually,” Belle said, “he does have a point. Even Clayton can’t out-spell the speed of a bullet.”
It’d also make me feel a whole lot better if you weren’t alone here.
“Fine.” I gulped down some whiskey. “What time is the meeting?”
“Ten minutes—why?”
“Give me your charm—I want to weave through another spell that’ll warn you of an incoming magical attack.”
He immediately handed it to me. The multiple threads of protection magic I’d already woven through the basic copper and leather necklace pulsed, sending a ripple of rainbow energy spiraling through the café. It might not stand up against a full-on assault from a witch as powerful as Clayton for very long, but it would stand.
I quickly threaded the warning spell through the outer protection layers, activated it, and then handed it back. “It’ll begin to pulse if there’s an imminent threat—the stronger the pulse, the closer the threat.”
“Good.” He leaned forward and kissed me. “Be back soon.”
“All our measures so far have centered on prevention,” Belle said once he’d left. “What we haven’t discussed is how we’re actually going to deal with the bastard once he does attack.”
“That’s because what we do depends entirely on what he does.” I picked up my glass and finished the whiskey. “Given he’s undoubtedly behind the shooting of my father, it’s very possible he’s also decided to get his revenge on us the old-fashioned way—especially given the shooter wasn’t caught.”
“You don’t believe that. You can’t. Not after seeing his demeanor in Wodonga.”
“Maybe, but I didn’t actually think he’d resort to shooting my father, either.”
Belle was silent for a moment, then her gaze met mine and she said softly, “If it came down to it, could you kill him?”
“Without a moment’s hesitation.” Especially if it came down to a choice of his life or that of anyone I cared about.
“Taking his life won’t be the same as taking the life of a demon. It’ll have deeper ramifications.”
I knew she meant personal ramifications more than rule of law. “Then I’ll go to a psych and deal with them. I will not allow him to take any more of my life or my time, Belle. He’s already taken far too much from both of us.”
“Amen to that.” She clicked her glass against my empty one. “Hopefully, it won’t come down to that choice.”
“Hopefully.”
But even as I said it, I knew the chances were low. There was only one way this was going to end, and that was with one of us dead.
* * *
Aiden had left for work the next morning by the time Belle returned, which was probably just as well, as I wasn’t in the mood to answer any questions about where she’d been. Not when my dreams had been filled with warnings of looming death and destruction. Of fire and smoke and distant, insubstantial glimpses of charcoaled wall struts that were impossible to identify and yet left me terrified.
“Well,” I said, as she walked in. “How was it?”
She shuddered. “The Addams Family has nothing on her inner sanctum, let me tell you.”
I smiled and slid a cappuccino across to her. “Meaning she has all manner of ‘Things’ crawling around the place?”
“Well, I didn’t spot any creepy crawly hands, but there were certainly plenty of weird noises—cracking whips and clinking chains—all accompanied by a chorus of groans, moans, and shrieks.” She took a quick drink and licked the froth from her lips. “I swear she’s running an underground BDSM den of some kind.”
“Anything is possible with Maelle, though it’d be hard to keep something like that secret given the power and reach of the gossip brigade.”
“Unless she’s not catering to locals but rather outsiders. It wouldn’t be hard to conceal the comings and goings of her patrons, given this whole reservation survives on tourism.”
True. And a BDSM den certainly seemed a more appropriate business than a dance club for someone with Maelle’s dark energy. “Were there any problems?”
She shook her head. “I didn’t even see Maelle. Roger escorted me to my room—which thankfully had its own en suite, so I didn’t have to leave said room—and reappeared once I was awake and showered to escort me out.”
“Was the room located underground?”
“We certainly accessed the area from the basement, but I couldn’t be certain where we went from there. There was some sort of weird veil that confused the senses.”
Unease prickled down my spine. “Magic?”
She nodded. “And powerful enough to disorientate. I honestly couldn’t have said whether I was in the same building or not. I certainly couldn’t hear the music, which was weird given I could hear all the other
