“Let’s go,” Dave said in my ear as his fingers wrapped around my wrist.
Before I could respond, my body warped and my skin heated fast. My breath rushed out of me as we landed in a park.
“We need backup,” Dave said as I coughed my guts up. “We have to go back and arrest them.”
Without waiting for me to answer, Dave grabbed his phone and dialled the team. As he spoke, I collapsed on the ground, my backside hitting the earth hard. I had never seen anything so crazy in my life. Both men were insane. How could my father insist that I marry a psychopath?
Grabbing my arm, Dave hauled me to my feet. “We’ve got them. We can’t stop now.”
My energy had drained out of me. Not only was I dead, I couldn’t connect into the ley line. My power had been useless at the scene. I had never felt so vulnerable.
“I know,” I said, spinning away from him. “Maybe it’s best that you go without me.”
Closing my eyes to block out the anger that flashed across his face, I squeezed my fingers into my palms and felt for the ley line. When connection was made, I heaved a sigh of relief, the air rushing from my tight lungs. I was still alive, of course I was connected to the ley line. If I couldn’t access it, I wouldn’t be alive.
Storming over, Dave grabbed my shoulders and forced me to look at him. His dark hair flew around his face as his eyes stared into mine. “For a long time I’ve watched you beat anyone you’ve come against. All that time you had a fragment of an arrogance about you that used to annoy me. However, working in the field with you has shown me why you need to believe in yourself. You have many enemies, Gemma. Why are you suddenly allowing them to intimidate you? Just because you’re dead, doesn’t mean you’re not powerful. Get a grip on yourself.”
My mouth hung open as I stared at him. The intensity of his gaze made my heart thump in my chest, and my palms line with sweat. He truly did believe in me. Even though I had never given him much credit for what he was capable of. He was the one who had helped us escape an ancient powerful witch. He was the reason that I wasn’t currently locked up, awaiting a shoddy wedding to an insane crazy man.
“Okay.” Putting my hands on his arms, I squeezed before tugging him towards me.
His eyes widened as I grabbed the back of his head, my fingers brushing into his hair. Pulling his face towards me, I planted a kiss on his cheek before releasing him. “Thank you. Let’s do this. Let’s kill these bastards.”
Chapter 11
The nervous energy that sizzled in my veins made me smile when Kate grabbed my hand from behind. “I can feel a lot of magic nearby,” she whispered as we made our way up the pavement.
The house was just around the corner, our prey probably fled by now. Hopefully, the men would have been careless and left many clues for us to trace them.
“Gemma?” Dave called from ahead.
He had led the way with Jake, allowing both Kate and I to back them up. I would have to find out how the ground beneath the house blocked me from connecting to my magic.
“You’re not going to believe this!” they shouted.
Why was my partner bellowing across the road for all the neighbours to hear? For our enemies to hear?
Jogging to catch up to them, I was about to berate him for drawing attention when I paused. The metal bars of the fence were still there, but inside, where the previous house had been, it was empty. Pristine gardens stood in its place, the grass almost too green against the now grey sky.
“Is it an illusion?” Jake asked, his bright blue eyes tracing every part of the garden as he sniffed the air. “I can’t smell anything other than greenery.”
The bastards had either cloaked the house with a very strong spell or moved it all together.
Rushing to the gate, I thrust it open, frowning when it easily swung inwards. Stepping inside, I bit my lip as the dead energy sunk into my skin. The magic from yesterday had disappeared. There was nothing here.
“I can feel it,” Kate muttered as she joined me. “I think I can get a reading.”
Moving towards the centre of the grassy area, Kate closed her eyes and held her hands lightly by her side. Her lips moved gently as she summoned her gift to read the last 24 hours. We had only been gone, preparing our approach, for two hours. In that time, Xvair and Lucien Harvey had managed to escape with everything that could have helped us in our investigation.
“No!” The word was quiet as it left my lips, but the energy behind it was harsh.
Stamping my foot, I growled as the Earth shook beneath my feet. The ley line here was free again. I was able to pull power through me, the usual heat of the line searing my insides.
“It’s okay,” Dave muttered as he took my hand. “We’ll find something.”
Ripping my hand away from him, I marched us to where the house had been. There was still no magic, no cloaking spell. They really had gone. Rage suddenly blistered as it grew inside me. Opening my mouth, I let out a scream so loud that a couple of birds in a tree nearby squawked as they flew away.
“We had them! We should have stayed here!”
All the fear and anger that had been bubbling inside me since I had been shot, took over. My desk friend stared at me, his eyes not blinking, which made it even worse. Why was he not remorseful? If he had just left us in the house, we
