Must Be Magic (Spellbound) (32 page)

Bryce turned away, stopped.

“The peach-colored row of bungalows after the pool,” Bree called out. “The last one on the end, by the purple flower bushes.”

Unsure whether he wanted Darby to be talking to his father or not, he made his way across the resort, his steps just shy of a run. The light in the bungalow was on. If his father wasn’t sleeping yet, maybe that meant he’d been talking to Darby at some point. Maybe she was already back at their hotel room, waiting for him.

Hoping that was the case, he started up the steps.

A gunshot rang out, and his whole world dropped off its axis.

He bolted up the steps, knocking the door all the way open.

“It’s okay,” Darby yelled from where she was crouched on the floor. “We’re all okay.”

The reassurance didn’t stop him from dropping to his knees and hauling her into his arms.

He took note of his father and Libby standing in opposite corners of the room, and the gun lying on the floor much too close to Darby. What the hell had happened?

“I’m okay,” she breathed against his ear and he eased his grip, but just a fraction. He’d had too many scares where she was concerned, and the next one just might kill him.

“I’m not,” came the raspy reply from nearby.

Bryce glanced down. “Alex?”
Jesus
. “Was he shot?”

“I might as well have been.” Slowly sitting up and leaning against the side of the bed halfway up, he probed the side of his face. “I’m starting to think the universe has it out for me,” he muttered, then seeming to remember who he was talking to, stopped. “Or not.”

It took another few minutes for him to get all the way to his feet. “Do not move,” he ordered Libby.

How exactly he planned on making her listen when he couldn’t tap into his magic to back up the threat escaped Bryce, but Libby obeyed anyway.

“Not a word,” he went on to warn Bryce’s father. “You will not speak to Libby or anyone else about this until I get everything sorted out. You got me?”

Thomas nodded, either too stunned by whatever had happened or by the fact that laid-back Alex had exerted his Tribunal power.

“You guys should go. Tell Dante I need him, though.” Alex dropped onto the edge of the bed and didn’t look like he’d be moving anytime soon. “The whole world is still fucking spinning,” he grumbled. “What did you hit me with?”

Libby winced. “A lamp.”

“Feels more like a goddamn baseball bat.”

“At least she didn’t break another bone,” Darby offered.

Alex scrubbed a hand down his face. “Ever the optimist. Good night, you two.”

Following Alex’s instructions, Bryce led Darby out of the bungalow, not all that surprised to see Dante already headed up the steps. “Alex will explain. I think,” Bryce added. He sure as hell didn’t know what was going on, so he hoped Alex did.

“Are you going to fill me in?”

“As soon as it sinks in,” Darby promised. “The next time we go on vacation, promise me it won’t be anywhere like this.”

He tipped her face up, his hand still shaking a little from the thoughts that had gone through his head at the sound of the gunshot. “Done.”

“Your family doesn’t know the meaning of alone time, do they?” Bryce hadn’t even gotten the door shut on his apartment door, their bags barely set down, when he glimpsed Dante coming down the hallway.

Darby yawned behind him, still groggy from the sleeping pills that hadn’t entirely worn off. After the crash both of them had been more than a little anxious about flying again and had opted for something to help them relax during the flight.

Bryce barely remembered the takeoff and even the landing was a little foggy. He was pretty sure he had Riley to blame for that. “You’re gonna want a drink of this,” she’d insisted, covertly passing him a flask across the aisle before the flight had even finished boarding.

One drink had turned into at least five for him. Seven for Darby. And then their meds really kicked in.

The meds had also spared them both from a flight filled with answering questions about what their plans were.

Plans that definitely hadn’t included Dante.

Had he realized that taking Dante up on his offer to drive them from the airport to Bryce’s place would involve an extended visit, he would have called a cab.

“Wonder what he forgot?” Darby mused, joining him at the door.

“That’s optimistic.” There would undoubtedly be a lot more to it than that.

Laughing, she bumped him with her arm. She looked good standing there, in his place, her face a little flushed and sleepy, her hair pulled back in a loose ponytail that left wisps of hair curling around her face and neck.

The second he got rid of Dante he planned on moving the one curled across her shoulder and replacing it with his mouth. And that was just to start.

Dante reached them and his face exploded into a wide grin, a sight so unexpected Bryce wanted to look around for the hidden cameras.

Clearly he was about to be punked.

“Violet’s in labor.”

Beaming, Darby hopped in place. “Let me get my coat.” She handed Bryce his, slipping her shoes back on and grinning right through another yawn.

“You guys know that labor takes a while, right?” Bryce’s cousin had been in labor for nearly two days.

“She wanted to start pushing the second they got there apparently. The baby might already be here.”

Bryce didn’t even know that Darby’s brother could grin that big. It was almost disturbing.

Resigned to spend more time with Dante Calder than anyone should have to, especially someone involved with his sister, Bryce followed them out to Dante’s SUV.

The ride to the hospital was filled with Darby alternately yawning and chatting about the pending arrival of the newest family member.

Somehow Bryce knew Reece Prescott was panicking. Not only was he about to become a dad for the first time, but his kid was going to be as magically inclined as the rest of Violet’s family.

He could only imagine the kind of tricks Finn Calder would be teaching his niece or nephew, just to rile Reece.

Finn happened to be the first one they saw the moment they walked into the Labor and Delivery waiting room at the hospital.

He and Bree had decided to wait until after Violet had their baby and things had calmed down for everyone before taking their honeymoon. The pair had also been the main reason their families had given Bryce and Darby some space at both airports.

That left Finn a few spots lower than Dante on Bryce’s list of pains in the ass.

Riley launched herself to her feet, rushing to hug Darby. “We’re going to be aunties.”

Dante frowned. “How did you get here so fast?”

“Your sister should have her license revoked,” Alex growled from his spot on one of couches in the room.

He still had a nasty bruise on the side of his face from where Libby had clocked him with a lamp.

For now Libby’s magic had been bound while the Tribunal decided what they were going to do about her actions.

The plane crash may have been an accident, but Miles had died as a direct result of Libby trying to punish Thomas Lancaster, and Bryce and Darby could have been killed along with him.

“It’s complicated” was all Alex had said when Bryce had asked him about it at the airport. Bryce suspected Alex didn’t want to have to tell a former district attorney that toxicology reports would have to be tampered with if anything out of the ordinary showed up on Mile’s autopsy results.

Libby going to jail wasn’t an option if it inadvertently exposed her as a witch at some point. But justice would still be served, Alex had assured him.

Preferring to think about happier things, like the baby, Bryce focused on the group in front of him.

“How’s Reece doing?” Darby asked, sinking onto the arm of the couch next to Alex, but not before she slipped her hand into Bryce’s, keeping him close.

“He’s still conscious.” Finn grinned. “He popped out to say she’s doing great, right before you guys got here.”

“It’s still early,” Dante added.

Bree slipped her arm around Bryce’s waist, leaning into him. “I’m glad things worked out,” she murmured, her voice low enough that no one would overhear her with Dante and Finn already talking about what postbaby stunt they could pull on Reece.

Riley got in on the scheming moments later and Darby laughed right along with them.

How long until Bryce was the target of their plotting?

“What were we thinking?” he teased.

She laughed. “That we’re just as crazy as they are.”

“So when will I be standing in here waiting for my niece or nephew to be born?”

Bree didn’t say anything, and his gaze dropped to her stomach. She shook her head innocently, but he wasn’t buying it.

“It’s okay,” Finn said, his earlier amusement replaced by an emotion Bryce had never seen on the other Calder’s face.

Still laughing at whatever Dante had said last, Darby glanced at her younger brother. “What’s okay?”

At Finn’s nod, Bree beamed. “I’m pregnant.”

Hoots and more laughter followed the announcement, and Bryce pulled his sister into a bear hug that had her squirming.

“We found out a couple days after the crash, but…” Finn trailed off, not needing to explain their reasons for keeping the development to themselves.

“It’s a girl.” Reece skidded into the room, looking much paler than usual, but grinning. “We have a baby girl.”

Everyone was on their feet, asking when they could see Violet, how much the baby weighed, what they were naming her and why had she waited so long to go to the hospital.

After hugging the new dad, Darby slipped back to Bryce’s side.

He ran his fingers along her cheek. “You need sleep.”

“As soon as I see Violet and the baby. Promise,” she added, probably to stave off any arguments.

He stepped behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. “Does it make you a little sad?”

Knowing he was talking about losing their baby, she shook her head. “Not really. I wasn’t really ready to be a mom then.”

“And now?”

She turned in his arms, tipping her face up to meet his gaze. “First the talk about moving in, and now babies? You’re not interested in taking things slow at all, are you?”

“Hell no.” He covered her mouth with his, drowning in the taste of her. Always.

“Hey. This is where babies are born…” Riley snickered, “…not made.”

They both ignored her.

“It’s snowing. Again.” Shivering, Darby let the curtains fall back into place. “When you said we needed a real vacation, maybe you should have mentioned that detail.”

Rising from where they’d been lounging in blankets in front of the fire, he tugged her into his arms.

“I thought we both had our fill of sun, sand and surf for a while.”

That was an understatement. She’d been more than okay with a destination they could drive to. She just hadn’t expected it to be Canada.

And she hadn’t expected Ontario to have so much snow so early in December.

“How long are we staying?”

“Seeing as my new employers were generous enough to postpone my start date, we don’t need to be home for at least a week.”

“Bet you never imagined that you’d be working for my family.” She certainly wouldn’t have. Not in a million years.

“It’s only a trial consulting position.”

She nodded. So many of their clients often didn’t know what to do with the information her family dug up, so adding an in-house lawyer made sense. Darby wasn’t entirely convinced Bryce was ready to abandon thoughts of opening up his own practice, but for now this was what he wanted, and it left them a lot more time to spend together.

Shivering, she cuddled into him.

“You clearly need me to warm you up.”

“Is sex all you think about?” she teased.

He cocked his head as though he had to think about it. “Nope. I think about food too.” His mouth dropped to her shoulder, his favorite place to nibble. “And I think I’m hungry.”

Laughing, she tried to squirm free, happy that her arm had long since healed and she could use both palms to brace against his chest.

Bryce’s hand slid down to cup her ass, then lower, slipping beneath the T-shirt she’d borrowed that hung to almost her knees.

He stopped when his hand brushed the flimsy piece of pink and white around her thigh. “What’s this?”

She tugged the shirt up to show off the new garter she’d bought on impulse right before their trip. “I thought maybe you could try removing one without an audience.”

“God, I love the way you think.” Taking her hand, he tugged her toward the back of the cabin. “This way.”

She made it three feet before she recognized the mischievous glint in his eye. “Where are we going?”