Devil Hath Come (an FBI/Romance Thriller ~book 7) (50 page)

“We are walking,” he replied, pulling out a blindfold. “I need to cover your eyes, if you don’t mind.”

She didn't stop him
as she listened to the men having fun with the idea of doing the same thing to her later. Callen swore he was going to get him some blue scarves for at home too. Since he knew what color Ares was using, it meant that they had visual on her. It reassured her that they were lying in wait and would be ready to make their move.

“You can hold onto me,” stated Artemis
as she held out her one arm.

“Me too,” Pandora offered, taking her other arm. “We won’t let you fall,” she promised.

There was a disgruntled sound from Finn Williams as he obviously wasn’t pleased that she was joining them.

Yeah,
she could add that to her list of problems. It seemed brewing hostility was just one more hurdle that they needed to overcome. The witches didn't trust the Feds either. “Oh, I appreciate that. I wouldn’t want to ruin your dress, Artemis.”

The woman laughed. “It looks better on you, so you should keep it,” she
offered.

A
s they exited the building, Elizabeth gasped.

“Are you okay?” Ares questioned.

“Yes sorry. When we went out the door, the cooler air startled me,” she stated, warning the men they were on the move. “I’m good now.”

The men were chattering in her ear, offering her reassurance and love. Ethan was trying to protect her even from far away and was absolutely the strength in her life. Callen was joking around, teasing her,
and once more confirming that he was the humor and sweetness that made her smile.

“We’re almost to the wood
s,” Ares reassuring her.

“I can’t wait,” Elizabeth replied.

“We have you in our sights, Lyzee. We’re entering behind you. No worries, baby. We have your back.”

“You have this, a
ngel.”

Elizabeth
had no choice for now. She was off to see some witches.

             
                  *   *   *

Belladonna Leonard loved very few things in her life. One was her only child
, and the other was the Goddess. Growing up stifled, she married young and had her little pride and joy. Baby Orion lit up her life in so many ways.

Then her true love died.

Her heart hardened, since the day that he was taken from them. Had he just stayed home that night, instead of running to his family’s beck and call, he would have lived.

She would have lived…

When Belladonna took her son away from the people who caused her husband’s death, she tried to love him with all that was left in her, and she was pretty sure she was successful.

He was a doctor.

Her boy was handsome and very intelligent.

He was an amazing man
.

Growing up, he was a joy and easy to manage, until he discovered the opposite sex. It wasn’t like he was girl crazy, but she knew this one day was destined to come.

He would find a wife and not need her anymore.

The last piece of her heart wanted to break. Time passed far too fast in her opinion.

Sitting on the couch, in the house that she had picked just for him, Belladonna watched her son walk towards her, holding the pretty woman’s hand. Yes, she’d used her tarot cards and had seen a blonde woman as his wife, but she’d hoped there was still more time.

All Belladonna wanted was her little boy back.

It just seemed like yesterday…

As they approached, the woman was back to being calm and serene. It irritated her to no end.
Belladonna was sure the woman was only with her boy for one reason, and that was the money in his bank account. They were all simply gold diggers, and this one would be just like the rest. Oh well, she’d make sure to uncover the truth and make him see past her pretty exterior. Her boy had a big heart, and would give away his soul if someone asked.

Now it was time to keep him safe.

She watched as they sat down and the woman tucked her legs beneath her. It wasn’t lost on Belladonna that she was wearing her son’s shirt, and from the brush burn on her face, she knew why.

“Mother, let me int
roduce you to Cyra. She’s my girlfriend.” Chris knew he was drawing the mom bull's-eye on Cyra’s chest by simply using the words. His only hope was that she would be strong enough to hold up under the scrutiny. “We work together for the FBI, and she’s a special agent.”

Cyra leaned against him
and held his hand in hers as they both sipped their wine. She wasn’t afraid of the woman, now that she was seeing her without the creepy, giant bug. The woman was still young looking, and had long sandy brown hair. Across her nose was a splattering of freckles and grass green eyes.

“Let’s cut right to it, shall we?” Belladonna began.

Chris stepped in protectively, “Yeah, we should. Why are you here, Mother?”

She shrugged nonchalantly. “The gargoyles told me
that there was a new energy here, and I needed to check it out.”

He stared at her
and with just a look, wordlessly begged her to stop the craziness in front of Cyra.

“Well they did, Orion. Stop doubting your mother, it’s getting incredibly old.”

Cyra looked at him. “Orion?”

Belladonna grinned
as she found the thread to use against the relationship. With a little tug, it would all begin to unravel. “Oh, that’s his birth name. You mean his own girlfriend doesn’t know that Christopher is his middle name, and that he dropped the first one because of embarrassment?”

“No, I wasn’t aware, but we have our lives to find all these things out. Isn’t that what it’s about?” Cyra wasn’t worried or afraid of the witch. She’d faced down kill
ers, been shot at and almost killed a few times.

“Are you Christian?” she asked, watching her son go tense beside the woman.

“I was raised as one.”

She stared at the small, simple gold cross around her throat. “Yet you still practice, since you wear the symbol.”

Cyra’s hand touched the jewelry. “It was my mother’s.” She offered the woman no other explanation.

Chris reassuringly stroked her hand. He could hear the pain in
her words. There was that pain for him too, only he didn't know or remember the man who died.

“You’re an agent and kill people?”

“Actually,” she corrected, “I find justice for victims that can’t stand for themselves anymore. There’s a big difference.”

“Do you like children?”

Chris began getting sick. He knew where his mother was taking this. “I think that’s something that Cyra and I can discuss when the time is right, Mother. It’s really none of your business.”

Belladonna stared at the woman, waiting for a reply.

Apparently, the witch wasn’t giving up. “Yes, I do. I have a great love for kids.” Cyra wouldn’t back down. There was nothing this woman could throw out there that would make her run.

“You realize you’ll never touch a penny of his money. There will be an ironclad prenuptial agreement
before you ever say
‘I do’
. I will make sure of it.”

Chris sat forward
angrily. “Mother! Enough!”

Belladonna stared at him in surprise. Never had he used that tone with her. Well, he could be angry. This was in his best interest.

Yeah, his chances with Cyra were slowly ebbing away. It sucked that he had found the one, only to have his mother destroy it in seconds.

Cyra pulled her hand free
and placed her wine glass on the table in front of them. She stared into Belladonna’s eyes. “Let me be perfectly frank here. We haven’t discussed marriage and even if we did, I don’t see how your feelings on the matter are relevant. Since you brought up Christopher’s money, I’ll address it. I never even knew about it when I met him and had our first date. I have my own income, my own life, and my own assets. I am insulted that you even think I could be a gold digger. I don’t look at him and see dollar signs. I see a sweet, gentle soul that is worthy of everything that I can bring to the relationship.”

“So, if he gave this all up, you’d still want to be with him?” Belladonna questioned.

Chris wished they were back in Circle Rock. This had been a mistake.

Cyra didn't like how the woman was judging her
and didn't hesitate to reply, “Absolutely.”

The older woman laughed. “I’m sure.”

“I’ve walked through so much death to find this path in life. I’ve had to stare at broken bodies, lives, and hearts. I don’t want him for what he can give me, but what we can create together. I believe we’re all made by our parents. How he came from someone so callous, I’ll never know. You may be a witch, and you might even have some magick in you that I’ll never understand, but you are also doing him a disservice by trying to keep him from living.”

“I gave him life. You have no idea what that feels like.”

Cyra stood and Chris stared at her, as he knew in his heart that it was over. Now, it was just a matter of waiting for the final blow.

“I get that you hate me
, and I accept that. Since Chris is your son and loves you very much, I won’t put him in a position to make a choice. Unlike you, I won’t make him choose.”

Chris stared at her openmouthed, almost wanting to
drop to his knees and beg. It was all out of control, and he didn't know how to fix it.

“
Since I believe that you’ve said everything that you possibly could to me, I’ll leave.” Cyra headed towards the stairs as she fought the emotion that was devouring her whole. “If it would have mattered Belladonna, I would have signed a prenuptial in a heartbeat for him, had he asked.”

Chris watched her leave
and the anger bubbled up. “I don’t even have words for you right now, Belladonna.” He couldn’t even call her mother. The stunt that she had just pulled angered him so much, that he feared the ugly words that would slip effortlessly from his mouth. They would be ones that he could never take back or forget.

“I
’m just trying to protect you. She’s just another woman. There will, unfortunately, be more.”

Chris stood
and was ready to kick her out of his home. She may have picked it, but he paid for it and decided who stayed and left. “You have no right to even say that to me. I don’t want her to leave. She’s the one I want in life, and I wish you’d respect that!”

“You’re not seeing this clearly. I am.”

As he opened his mouth to spout vile things, he heard her footsteps. Down the stairs she came, and Rex was at her side. Back were the Fed clothes, her hair was pulled back and on her hip was her badge and gun.

Cyra focused on the woman, so as not to weep for the man. “I was in a Wiccan store the other day and I purchased something in anticipation for meeting
you. Since this will be our one and only chance, please consider it a hello and goodbye gift,” she stated, handing it to Belladonna. “It was nice meeting you, and I wish you well.” Those words were hard to spit out, but she was a lady and wouldn’t stoop to her level.

Turning towards Chris, she swallowed her emotion and
leaned against his body to kiss him softly on the lips. “I called a cab. You can pick me up tomorrow when it’s time to head back to Circle Rock,” she paused and closed her eyes to block out the emotion on his face. “I’m sorry, but I can’t do this. I won’t stay in a place where I’m hated simply because I have feelings for a very special man.”

She turned
to leave.

“Cyra, please,” he whispered
as his heart ached.

She didn't turn back. “Rex,
let’s go home.”

The word broke him. This was meant to be their
place, and now she was abandoning it. When he heard the telltale sound of his front door slam, he stared at his mother.

“She was the best thing that ever happened to me. I started living and feeling alive because of her. You just destroyed my heart, Mother. Not her,
but you. I won’t forgive you for this and trust me when I say that I have swallowed a great deal in my life for you.”

“You will thank me one day.”

Chris wanted to throw his wine glass against the fireplace. It was like talking to a brick. His mother was cold and empty. Why had he expected anything more?

Belladonna stared at the box curiously. She figured why not
. Opening it, she pulled back the tissue paper and stared at the scarf inside. Her eyes began examining the lettering in a language that she had loved for so long. Then it hit her. “I’ve made a horrible mistake, Orion.”

Chris stared at her
incredulously. “You think, Mother?”

Belladonna felt a wave
of nausea fill her, as the wording on the white scarf told a tale that she had always feared. “You need to go find her. I was very, very wrong.”