Bewitched, Bothered, and Bitten (12 page)

He shook his head. “No. You would have argued with me about it, then, after a nasty little spat, I still would have had Conner’s man come out here and pick up your vehicle whether you liked it or not.”

Oh, hell no. “Now, wait just a damned minute…” I began. Somewhere in the kitchen I heard my phone ring. Concerned it might be important, I darted down the stairs, but not before pointing a finger at Finn and saying, “Don’t think this is over, buster.”

He merely bared his teeth at me in a poor semblance of a smile. “It’s over and done. Anything you have to say won’t change that.”

I almost zapped him as I passed by, but somehow managed to control the childish impulse. “We’ll see about that,” I muttered.

I found my phone on the counter next to the coffee pot and answered.

“Hello?”

“Kerry! Thank the Goddess.” It was Sally Abrams, Saundra’s sister. She sounded extremely upset. She began speaking, her words slurring and disjointed to the point that I couldn’t understand what she was saying.

“Whoa, whoa. Slow down, Sally. I can’t understand you.”

Then one word in the jumble became very clear. “….DEAD!”

“What?” I whispered.

With a choked sob, Sally finally spoke clearly. “Saundra is dead!”

I
don’t remember
much of what happened after Sally’s call, only that Finn removed the phone from my numb hand.

It seemed only seconds had passed when Finn squatted in front of me, worry in his eyes. I glanced around and wondered how I ended up sitting on the couch. I didn’t remember walking over to it, much less collapsing on the cushions.

“Kerry, we need to leave.”

I blinked at him, feeling as though I were underwater. I could hear and see, but it was garbled.

His hand cupped my knee. “Kerry.”

“Okay.”

Finn helped me stand, his arms taking most of my weight. He practically carried me out to the car, settling me in the passenger seat, and even buckling my seat belt for me. We didn’t speak on the drive back, but Finn cradled my hand in his the entire time.

I finally woke from my stupor about fifteen minutes from the city. “I need to speak to Sally.”

Finn stared at me, his expression empty of emotion. “No.”

“I need to know what happened, Finn,” I insisted. Saundra’s body had been found at my store and, though I didn’t yet know the specifics, I was almost certain that her death had something to do with me.

He turned his eyes back to the road, still so calm and collected that I wanted to kick him. “You will, but not right now. I need to get you somewhere safe. Then, I’ll tell you what happened. When the time is right, I’ll allow you to call Sally.”

If I had hackles, they would have been standing on end at his words. “Allow?” I asked, my tone dangerous. If I was angry then I didn’t have to feel this horrendous grief.

Finn growled. “Bloody fucking hell, Kerry! I want to keep you safe. Why are you fighting me every step of the way?” The steering wheel creaked as his grip tightened.

“Because a good friend of mine is dead and it’s my fault!” I screamed. “It’s my fault she’s dead. It’s my fault.” My voice broke as the tears started to fall, all my anger falling away.

Finn pulled over and stopped the car. His arms came around me and he tucked my head into the crook of his neck. “Shhh. I’ve got you,” he murmured. “I’ve got you.”

I don’t know how long it took before the storm of sobs, guilt, and regret passed, but my throat felt raw and my eyes burned. I pulled away from Finn, trying to dry my face with my hands. He held out a clean white handkerchief.

I took it from him and dabbed at my eyes. “Thanks.”

“Look, I know you’re upset, but we need to get to the safe house. Once we’re there, I’ll tell you what I know and you can talk to Sally tomorrow. You’re vulnerable as long as we’re out in the open.”

Since it was obvious that he wasn’t going to budge on the safe house and me speaking to Sally in person, I decided to pick my battles and let him have this one. “Okay.”

Finn’s eyes narrowed. “That was easier than I thought it would be.”

I barely refrained from rolling my eyes. “What? I can be reasonable.”

The expression on his face clearly showed his disbelief, but he didn’t speak. He rebuckled my seatbelt, then his own, and maneuvered the car back onto the highway. I was surprised when he exited the expressway and headed into a subdivision. The neighborhood had cookie cutter houses and was solidly middle class. He drove to the end of the street and turned left. A sign declared it a dead end.

He turned into a vacant lot at the end of the cul de sac. “We’re here.”

I looked around at the large, empty lot in front of us. The grass was neatly manicured and there were good-sized trees along the perimeter in both the back and the front. “Um, are we camping? Because, I hate to point this out, but that’s pretty fucking out in the open.”

Finn chuckled softly. “Look with more than your eyes.”

Frowning, I stared at the bare land. Then I noticed something shimmering in the air. I blinked several times and looked beyond what my physical body could see. Suddenly, it was no longer empty. While the other homes on the block had smaller lots, this one had almost triple the amount of property and a large two story house in the middle. It looked a great deal older than the rest of the neighborhood. Almost as though it had been sitting here for decades and the expansion of the surrounding area somehow left it untouched.

Finn followed the driveway around to the back of the house, pulled a garage door opener out of the console, and pressed the button. I gaped as the garage door lifted to reveal a four car garage. Three bays were empty, the other held a nondescript beige sedan. He pulled in next to the sedan and shut off the car.

“What is this place?” I asked.

“It’s one of the safest buildings in the city. It’s protected and hidden by some of the strongest magic in history and even a powerful warlock wouldn’t be able to pinpoint your location if he attempted to scry for you. Still, I’ll need to take your cell phone. While the protection prevents you from being located through magical means, I don’t think it extends to the GPS locator in electronic devices.”

I nodded and gave him my cell before we got out of the car. He insisted on carrying my bags for me and led me into the house. We walked through a mud-slash-laundry room, then entered a spacious kitchen. I realized that the house was much larger on the inside than it seemed from my view of it before entering.

“This is beautiful.”

“Thank you,” Finn replied.

“Who does it belong to?” I asked. “I’m not displacing someone from their home, am I?”

He chuckled, gesturing for me to follow him out of the kitchen, through a gorgeous foyer, and up the stairs. “No, you’re not kicking anyone out of their house.”

I trailed my hand on the banister as we climbed the stairs, admiring the warm tones and smooth finish of the wood. “So, who does it belong to?”

Finn didn’t respond, merely walked down the second story hallway to a door at the far end. When we entered the room, I saw it was a suite. There was a small sitting room with a television, couch, and chaise and French doors that were open to reveal a large bedroom with an enormous sleigh bed in the center.

He carried my bags into the bedroom and set them on a bench against the wall. Suspicion curled in my belly as I watched him shrug out of his jacket. I approached him as he carried the garment to what appeared to be a walk-in closet and disappeared inside. Determined, I followed, then stopped short and gaped as I took in every fashionista’s dream. There were rows upon rows of racks, shelves, and drawers. Only half the closet held clothing and all of it was for a man. I had a strong feeling I knew who’s home I was in, but I wanted Finn to say it out loud.

“Who’s house is this, Finn?” I demanded. “Tell me.”

Calm and completely unruffled, he hung up his jacket. “It’s mine.”

Anger surged inside me. “I thought you said we were going to a safe house?” I snapped. “I’m sure that the Faction is aware of where you live, Finn. Please explain to me how that is safer than my cottage, especially since I will need my books, herbs, and other tools to research this prophecy, make amulets, and brew potions.” He stepped toward me, his hand out, and I batted it away as I retreated.

Finn advanced quickly, his hands gripping my upper arms. My back hit the open closet door and I glared up at him. I opened my mouth to hurl insults at him, but Finn put his hand over my lips, effectively shutting me up.

“Mmmmhhhmmm bhhhmmmm.” Though it came out completely unintelligible, I still tried to call him a motherfucking bastard.

“Now, now, Kerry. That’s not nice.” I jerked my head, trying to dislodge his hand, but he gripped me more firmly. “Let me finish what I was trying to tell you. I’ve owned this house for decades, but only moved in a few weeks ago. There is no way the Faction knows that this house is here. The Council doesn’t even know of its existence.”

I stopped struggling and just stared at him.

“Are you going to calm down?” he asked.

I nodded slowly. The hand he had over my mouth loosened slightly. I was tempted to bite him, but knew he would enjoy that too much, so I settled for stalking away.

“Dammit, Kerry. Why are you being so irrational?” he snapped.

I whirled on him. “Why didn’t you tell me you were bringing me to
your
house?” I already knew that answer, but, once again, I was going to make him tell me because he was a close-mouthed bastard and I knew he hated it.

“You know why,” he growled.

I crossed my arms over my chest. “Yes, I do, but you’re going to say it out loud.”

“Why?”

“Because I know you hate explaining yourself,” I answered, nearly yelling.

Suddenly, the scowl on Finn’s face disappeared and he smiled. “You are a piece of work,” he muttered.

The tension and anger that had been holding me up leaked out of my body and my shoulders sagged with fatigue and sorrow. He was right, I was behaving irrationally and out of character. I might enjoy giving Finn a hard time, but he didn’t deserve what I’d been dishing out. “Yes I am, but I shouldn’t be left out of the loop, Finn, and you know that. I need to know the details.”

“Why?”

I threw my hands up in the air. “I’m not going to just sit by while the Council and the pack fight this battle. The coven is in just as much danger as all of you and we need to know what’s happening! I can help. The coven can help.”

Finn studied me carefully. “Is this about the coven helping or something else?”

I sighed. He saw right through me. This wasn’t just about the fact that he’d brought me to his personal home without telling me where we were going. “What happened to Saundra, Finn?”

His face went hard, all emotion wiped from his expression, but he didn’t speak.

“I have to know.” My voice was low. I didn’t want to know, didn’t want any more guilt on my conscience, but, as the next High Priestess, I
had
to know. The coven would have questions and they would expect me to have the answers.

Finn ran a hand roughly through his hair. “Fine. Let’s go downstairs. I have a feeling that we both will need a drink before this conversation is over.”

*     *     *

Five minutes later,
we were in his study. I watched from my position on the sofa as he started a fire in the fireplace. Once logs were alight and crackling, he walked over to a set of decanters on a small bar in the corner. He poured an amber liquid into two snifters and brought them to the couch.

“It’s cognac,” he murmured as he handed the glass to me.

“Thanks.” I sipped it tentatively because cognac had never been my favorite drink, but it was smooth and left a trail of warmth from my tongue to my stomach.

Finn sat down next to me, rolling his glass between his palms. “Are you sure you want to know the details?” he asked.

“Tell me, Finn.”

He leaned back against the cushions and grabbed my legs where they were curled beneath me. As he straightened them and pulled them across his lap, he gently pushed my shoulder so that I reclined against the arm of the sofa. Once I was comfortably settled, he began.

“Yesterday afternoon, it appears as though members of the Faction entered your store. Rather than finding you there as they expected, they found Saundra instead. From what Conner’s men could gather, they then went up to your apartment. When the warlock and his lackeys discovered you had packed a bag and were gone, they attempted to coerce your employee into giving them your location.”

A chill permeated my body. They had likely missed me by less than an hour and instead hurt someone I should have protected.

“She was more than my employee,” I whispered. “What did they do to her?”

He shook his head. “Kerry….no. I don’t think….”

“TELL ME!”

“No,” he stated, his face stony. “You don’t need to know that. I will tell you that she fought hard and wounded at least two of them before they subdued her.”

“Is that how they knew where my cottage was?” I asked quietly.