Compelled (28 page)

After my chat with Quinton, I found Bill in the office going over invoices. He grumbled under his breath, even more so after I walked through the door.

“Hello, Bill,” I said softly.

He grunted.

“I know what you’re thinking,” I began. “And I wanted to say outright that I’m sorry.”

He grunted again.

“If you don’t want me to come back after an unexcused—”

He pushed up his glasses and snorted.

“—lengthy absence, I understand,” I finished.

He finally looked up at me. “After you left, that fire witch finally set the counter on fire.”

I cringed, not wanting to look behind the counter if I ever saw it again.

“Also that harpy, you know the one who tried to swindle us for that scratched up vase? That crazy bird came back and tried to do it again.”

“She was rather—”

“And the new girl I hired to manage the invoices after you disappeared has messed up everything in your system.” He made another rude noise. “She said she went to some fancy business school. Business school, my ass. Back in my day, we learned in the field. You took a few blows in the crotch, you bent over and recovered, and then you picked yourself up by the britches and you learned. This girl has a brain the size of a smashed walnut.”

“I’m sorry.” There was a new scent here—a perfume I’d smelled before.

The door swung open behind me, and a blonde woman walked in. Erica Holden. She stopped in her tracks when she saw me.

“Nat, you’re back.” Her gaze switched to the floor and then she adjusted her clothes with twitchy fingers. Her cotton-candy sweater still clung to her boobs and hung on for dear life. Be that as it may, out of all the women in town, I still believed Erica was one of the most beautiful ones. Too bad she had a past history of being a major bitch.

“Hello, Erica.” I tried to hold her gaze, but she wouldn’t look at me, which was as it should be, since I had a role to play as alpha female.

The goblin coughed to get his new worker’s attention. “Erica, I don’t know if you’re just too smart for the software, but you managed to change half the ID numbers on past orders.”

Now,
that
made me shudder. The only way to do that was if someone had
really
messed with my work.

Bill got up from the desk and Erica took his place.

“Fix it,” he ordered.

“Of, course. I’ll get right on that.”

“Nat, go to the dock, I want to talk to you.”

The woman who had walked past me and sat down didn’t exude spite or smugness. Her scent came off as calm and submissive. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who the new spring season had changed.
 

I extended an olive branch to show there were no hard feelings between us. “Once I talk to Bill, I can offer you a hand if you’d like?”

“I’d appreciate that,” she said softly.

I followed Bill out to the dock. My boss walked up to the edge but didn’t fall over. “I’ve already hired someone else,” he said with finality.

“I know and I’m okay with that.” I kinda wasn’t, but Bill didn’t need to know that.

Bill cleared his throat. “She’s wet behind the ears and stuck up, though. She could use someone to train her.”

I hid a smile. Bill rarely outright said when he needed help. Ordering folks was ten times easier.

“Yes,” I folded my arms and joined him. “She could use a hand to get her on track.”

“With her business degree, she’d make great manager material.”

“Maybe.” I wouldn’t let him take it that far.

He coughed again. “So did it help you in Russia?”

“Did what help me?” Color me confused at this point.

“The blade.” So he meant the goblin blade.

“Yeah, it did.”

The smile on his face widened and even his eyes brightened. A rare sight for Bill unless he held some cash in his hands. As he stole a glance at me, a thought came to mind.

“So it was yours all this time?” I asked. “The knife?”

My boss’s right eyebrow rose over his glasses. “Not really.”

“Okay, now I’m lost.”

“That’s not unexpected.” He sighed. “You gave it to me when you asked if I knew the owner.”

“I handed it to you to show you—”

“You
never
hand something like that to someone like me.” He chaffed. “Remember that…okay.”

I nodded. A bit touched.
A little bit.

“When you put it in my hand, it became mine. When I
reluctantly
gave it back to you, I guess I left it with some operating instructions.”

Ah, so that was what Tamara had noticed. The secrets the blade had kept.

“Anyway, times a wasting, and Erica is probably in there tossing my money down the drain. Offer her a hand, will ya.”

“Sure.” I wanted to ask why he’d hired her of all people, but even Erica needed a job. Her dad was one of the wealthiest guys in South Toms River so something must have gone down between the two to where she felt compelled to work.

How things had changed.
 

I had worked a full and rewarding day.

My husband knew me all too well.

As I walked into our home, dinner’s rich aroma and a clean house greeted me. As I shrugged off my jacket, I smiled. That smile ended when I looked at the coat. It had tears in a few places and the zipper didn’t go all the way up. A thorough dry cleaning and some mending would do it some good.

Maybe I should buy a new one.

“You ready to eat, wifey?” Thorn called out. “I burned some soup for you, sweetheart.” He laughed, enjoying his joke. My husband was actually a pretty good cook.

“Sounds wonderful.” I cleaned out the pockets so I wouldn’t forget to take care of it tomorrow morning. What I plucked from the recesses of one pocket made me pause. Two petals. I’d gotten them from Nick. A few months ago, they’d been vibrant and red, but now they were now black and withered. What happened to them?

My mind flashed to when he’d first given me a rose:

“Plant it at the perimeter of your property. Water it with frankincense and the flower will protect you from those who mean you harm.”

I laughed to myself remembering that day. I’d been reluctant to part with just one of my Christmas ornaments, and he didn’t want to give me his flower.

Eventually I’d given him his flower back, but on the day of my trials around New Year’s he’d given me the most wonderful gift.
 

He reached into his pocket and palmed something I couldn’t see. Then slowly he opened my hand and placed rose petals there. Bright red and freshly plucked. My skin tingled from where they lay.

With my right hand, I traced along the edge of the two petals. “Is this from the rose you gave me? The one to protect my property?”

“Yeah. Magic still lingers there.” Our gazes locked briefly. “It’ll always be there.”

He never fully explained what powers the rose held, but since I’d received them, they had been tucked away in my pocket.
 

Realization sucker-punched me in the gut.

Every time I cast a spell, I had to draw from a source. Each time it should have been from
me
. A few times it must’ve been, but when I needed it, really needed it, a part of Nick had been there to shoulder the burden. My dear friend Nick had helped me save Thorn.

I was quiet during dinner that night, enjoying the soup and chicken dinner with Thorn in front of the TV. After a few hours of mindless TV, Thorn dozed off, so I left him to prepare for bed. As I hung up my clothes and prepared my blouse and skirt for tomorrow, I noticed something shiny on my dresser.

Right there on my jewelry box was another unexpected gift: a pink seashell on a gold necklace with a note on it:
I didn’t forget.

I hurried to the window and found it cracked open. When I gazed outside, no one was there. My mermaid friend Heidi was long gone. With a barely contained giggle, I ran my hand over the beautiful shell. It warmed my palm.

When I put the necklace on, I breathed a sigh of relief and brushed my fingers along the ridges. Heidi had told me she used it as an anchor to keep her steady during the rough times. Its magic didn’t work on werewolves, but for just a brief moment, I
believed
that it did.

And that was more than enough for me.

Thank you for following Natalya on her journey until the very end!
 

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You’ve just read the third full-length book in Natalya Stravinsky’s series. The other books in the series are Coveted and Kept. There is a prequel novella called Collected available.
 

If you’d like to read an excerpt from another book in the Coveted universe called Repossessed, please turn the page.

REPOSSESSED

BOOK 1: WARLOCK REPO MAN CHRONICLES

Dating Tip #24: Witches hate warlocks who want to jump into bed after the first date. Just because you can pull a rabbit out of your hat doesn’t mean you can pull something magical out of your pants.

From behind the desk in her matchmaking agency office, Tessa Dandridge thought she’d heard it all until her client blurted,
“My last date had National Geographic boobs.”

She leaned forward, praying she had a serious expression. “Liam, you’re a five hundred year-old warlock. You can’t be picky when it comes to witches. I understand some women tend to decline and often use glamour to portray themselves as something they’re not, but you shouldn’t close yourself off from perfectly fine dates.”

“Tessa, after all these years, I feel like I’ve obtained a status that should attract younger witches who aren’t hags—no offense, ladies.” He glanced to where Tessa’s assistant, Danielle, took notes.

In her line of work, too many warlocks used the wand between their legs to do all the thinking. “Don’t talk that way about the women I represent. The simple fact is that you won’t be able to relate well to most of the younger women in my club. They have a lifestyle that you don’t follow anymore. I think you’d be better suited to an older witch.”

Liam shook his head and stroked his salt-and-pepper-colored beard. The wealth and power he’d accumulated in the magical community hadn’t attracted any quality women—women who didn’t need an enchantment spell to remain in his presence. The young ones found him disgusting and the older ones weren’t going to put up with his superficial crap. Of course, she couldn’t tell him that…

With enthusiasm she added, “Now, trust my professional judgment. Danielle will arrange a party in a week for you to meet eligible women. You’ll love who I have for you.”

Liam had approached her agency a few days ago claiming he was tired of the old-school witch matchmakers who weren’t hip enough to find a woman worthy of his status. He was full of it—and she didn’t mean all-power magic either. He was out for sex, plain and simple. And if she didn’t need the income so badly, she’d have sent him packing.

“Why can’t I just help you pick out the women you intend to invite?” he asked. “Then I’d be sure to find one I like.”

“If you connect with someone, then you’re free to go out on a personal date. But, you’re not allowed to cast any spells on her and I expect the date to be platonic. If you both have a good time, you can continue on your own from there.”

He frowned. “If you could just sprinkle in a few younger ones—”

Tessa cut him off. “Be sure to stay open-minded over the next couple of days.”

He tapped his finger on top of her desk. “About this no sex thing…I see no reason why two adults can’t have a good time together if the feeling is right.”

“Because I run a matchmaker service. If you’re looking for a call girl, there are plenty of them around town. I make marriages, not one-night stands.”

Deep furrows lined his forehead. He rose, gripping an old oak cane between long fingers. With a curt nod, he shimmered and disappeared into mist. She’d won, for now anyway.

Danielle rose and removed a piece of lint from her tweed skirt suit. Tessa had dragged her best friend from Northwestern University in Chicago to New York City to join in this venture. Over the years, she had been the optimistic, perky side to the business. From her blonde pixie haircut to her short, dainty frame, Danielle exuded sunshine. “Two or three witches we have on file fit Liam perfectly.”

Days like these made her long for weekends. “Thanks, Dani.”

She nodded and left. Most likely to take care of something Tessa always forgot to do.

Time to focus on what the day would bring. The glare of the morning sun peeking over the New York City skyline reflected against her iPhone as she confirmed her full schedule. It looked like she would have enough time to run an errand or two before a lunch with an important client. So, with a skip in her step, she left the office to enjoy a bit of the day before she had to head back to the office.

Spring had arrived in New York City, and the streets buzzed with pedestrians flowing down the streets. April sunshine wasn’t too hot or cold, the perfect time to enjoy the city. Tessa hailed a cab to the curb. A sexy businessman in a tailored suit emerged and grinned. His emerald-green eyes glanced at her legs and ran up her skirt. Before settling on her hazel-colored eyes, his gaze lingered on her chest. If Tessa didn’t have a limited amount of time to get things done, a brief conversation might’ve been in order. Her gaze drifted to his ring finger. Not married. But he wasn’t supernatural either, so she smiled and tried to enter the cab, only to find out she wasn’t the only one eager to reach her destination.

An older woman dressed in a dark red coat swept in like a vulture on a kill and slid into the seat.

“Whoa!” Tessa said.