“Time to go, Caleb.”
“I got that loud and clear, Fee.” He spoke as we began to back away from the plant life unfurling to life, tendrils and thorns seeking that which might harm Anna. The ground started to rumble slightly, with the roots shifting underneath our feet. I began to grow claws from my fingers, finishing off the manicure. I would rather be dangerous than beautiful with French tips. Caleb frowned, adding lines genuinely as he used another spell to grab the fallen collar to his hand, carrying it with us toward the bike. He didn’t run but swiftly walked backward, holding the shield spell before us, keeping the plants away.
I clawed several plants around the property lines, hissing at the remaining tendrils before sliding onto the bike. The bike turned on, thankfully Anna hadn’t shortened out the electricity. I kept Caleb from starting a new magic war that I didn’t have the patience for today. He saddled behind me, and I kicked the bike into gear as we left the area with the dirt kicking up below. Once on pavement, I pushed us out of the small town to get far away before pulling off the road.
I pulled off my helmet and turned in the saddle. I kicked my leg around to straddle my bike back to face Caleb. His pale face was shades of green, and he was holding on to the back of the bike. He took a long deep breath as I watched him regain his feet.
“Caleb, you alive in there?”
“Yeah, I am. Fuck that thing hurt like hell.”
“One would assume. Do you have a plan?”
“Sleep, sleep, food, sleep, and oh for all that is holy in the world, water.”
“Wow, that is some deep planning. What about the whole mages in prison, collars, and bad guys?”
“I have got to sleep, Fee; I can plan after I rest and recover. Please take me somewhere to sleep.”
Once back at my place, I noted that the bodies had already been taken away. The cleanup hadn’t begun in full yet. I half dragged Caleb up to toss in my unmade bed, he went out instantly. I managed to clean enough to crawl into bed next to him and crash. Between the changes, it was time for me to sleep as well before figuring out what to do next.
Chapter Seventy-Six
I woke with hands, wandering hands, and for a moment couldn’t remember why in the world, I had picked someone up from the club. I opened my eyes and remembered, grabbing the hand kneading into my breast to pull it off by the wrist. Caleb muttered behind me, only to nuzzle in deeper. Comfortable yes, but not going to happen. I really couldn’t slip down this path again, I had to focus on the problems and not make a whole new one. Or would it be an old one? It didn’t matter, I was not letting my hormones dictate my life choices.
Pushing off his hand from moving lower, I rolled out of bed and he turned back onto the bed. Opening the door, I could smell the bleach and lemon scents from the cleaning group. There was a post-it nearby from my cats marking they had it handled. Clothing had been taken, floors cleaned up, and bodies gone. We might be illegal as hell, making clean up simple. Tossing the note away, I started eating my way through my refrigerator. I would restock sometime between saving mages and not eating all the bad guys. With coffee started, I tossed in the sugar and cream to lick up the sugary creamed caffeine mix in order to wake up all the way. I heard movements from the bedroom and soon the air filled with moans and groans. Pouring an extra cup, I wandered into my bedroom, offering the cup to a wild haired Caleb looking lost with pillow face.
“Glasses?” He patted around the bed, lost. He stopped to blink up at me widely. “What the hell?”
“Morning, Caleb, you are still handsy in the morning. Your glasses are over on the pile of books, this is coffee, your neck is leaking, and I will want new sheets.” I handed over the coffee while he grabbed the glasses. He blinked several times before putting his glasses on and trying to make some attempt to control his wild hair. I continued to sip my creamy caffeine while watching him stagger around looking for clothing, a clue, anything.
“I was kidnapped.”
“Not It.”
“I know, shit, Fee.” He started drinking the coffee. “Everything is a bit fuzzy. I know about the kidnapping, being brought here, the warehouse with others and escaping as soon as I could manage even with the collar.”
“Years of training didn’t go to shit; the military must be thrilled it didn’t go to waste. What about your wife and family, shouldn’t you be calling them?”
“No, and really a wife? I’m not married. Married, why in the world…”
“Because that is what they want for you, to breed off several new mages to keep the magic lines pure, remember. This unclean Hispanic girl of no family lines who is contaminated by jaguar shifter now.”
“Can we not?” He rubbed the bridge of his nose, setting the coffee on my nightstand on top of a stack of books.
“Fine, I will ignore it, for now, people in danger, and oh yeah, you brought it to my fucking doorstep.”
“I didn’t know where else to go.”
“I get that, but they are hunting you, and one got away, and now knows where I live.”
“I will handle this. Remember to send me a bill for cleaning and well, that other part. I might need to use this phone to call for backup.”
“Is this backup going to help with the mages, free them, and then what, set up camp
