Page 360

Chapter 3

As Tabitha watched the police car and its dark-haired, god-bod driver glide smoothly away, her heart stuttered back into action. Her lips still tingled from that kiss, and the heat between her thighs matched the glow spreading over her cheeks. What was wrong with her?

She’d just let him waltz in and take care of everything, barely putting up a token resistance. And then there was that kiss. Electricity sparked through every nerve of her body, linking her inescapably to the man whose mouth plundered hers with a gentle passion that bordered on worshipful. She’d never known another one like it in her life. Not even on her wedding day.

Her heart dropped. It had been three years since they’d found Nathan’s body in his car, not five kilometres from the wards surrounding Carnarben. So close to home, and yet they’d got him anyway. No man deserved to die like he did. When they’d called Tabitha to identify the body, what she’d seen featured in her nightmares ever since. It was enough to keep her in her hometown when she’d so desperately yearned to be free.

Three years it had taken for the pressure to build and to put a solid plan to leave in place. Because there was no way she was risking her baby after what happened. Echo was safer than Carnarben, because at least the Inquisitors didn’t watch it. That, and they feared the wolves.

But thanks to her actions, all that had changed. How was she going to tell Luna they would have to go back home? That they would both have to continue suffering through the well-meaning sympathetic looks. The constant ‘Nathan wouldn’t have liked that’s’ or ‘how do you think he would have handled that’s’ that came with every action, every decision made.

Tabitha was sick of trying to measure up to the expectations of a ghost. Nathan was popular, a people person who everyone thought they knew well, but no one really did. Except for her. Luna deserved the chance to grow up without people judging her every move based on the supposed opinions of her father. Nathan would have been happy as long as they were happy, but he was the mayor and people in Carnarben formed their own opinions of him. They didn’t always align with hers.

She slipped back into the house, checking in on Luna again briefly, even though she knew her girl would be out ‘til morning, then went out the back. Taking a seat cross-legged on the veranda, she took a moment to gather herself. Breathing in, she focussed on collecting the negative energy. Breathing out, she released it from her body, letting it dissipate to the winds. The scent of lavender still lingered from her morning meditation, helping provide clarity.

She needed it. The wards needed to be strengthened. Unfortunately, it took her a lot longer to achieve her balance after the day’s events. When she felt lighter, Tabitha circled the house fifteen times, three times for each element: Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Spirit. She wove tendrils of each into a deadly barrier around her home, hoping it would be enough. Tabitha may have been the strongest witch born in generations, but the Inquisition were sneaky. It would take more than wards for her to feel safe.

On that note, she pulled out her phone, dialling one of the few numbers she’d memorised.

“Bright,” a curt voice answered.

“Ryan? It’s me.” She waited in silence for her brother to respond. He hadn’t been happy about her leaving and made it abundantly clear he thought she was risking too much. It grated to know he might be right.

“What’s wrong?” Panic crept into his voice. “You said I wouldn’t hear from you until I said sorry.” And he hadn’t. Apologised, that was. This was going to hurt.

“There’s been an incident…” she hedged.

“Is Luna okay? If I push it, I can get there in two hours. Maybe less. Tabitha, talk to me!”

She would if he’d shut up. “Luna is fine, and I’m not sure if I’m panicking about nothing, but some evidence of me using my powers may be leaked to the press.”

She told him about her day, leaving out the kiss with the overwhelmingly attractive Alpha. She didn’t want him stewing on that. Particularly as Nathan had been his best friend.

“At least it was an emergency. You may be reckless, but you aren’t stupid.”

Thanks, brother.

“I’m setting up an automated search loop now. If anything pops up with the code words, I’ll know immediately.”

She breathed a sigh of relief. Sometimes, having a sibling in the Australian Secret Intelligence Service was a godsend. Other times, it just made her twin overwhelmingly overprotective.

Like now.

“I’m coming to get you both.”

What was it with men telling me what to do today?

“No, you’re not. We’ll be staying here.” Never mind that until she’d called him, she’d contemplated leaving herself. The fastest way to get Tabitha to do something was to push her in the opposite direction. He should have known better by now.

“Like hell you will! I’m taking you back to Carnarben. Those wolves couldn’t keep a sea monkey alive.”

Neither could he as a kid, but she wouldn’t point that out now.

“We’ve just set ourselves up, Ryan,” she said, firm in the face of his fury. “We need this, to get away from everything. Living with the memory of Nathan there… it’s just too much.” Her voice cracked on that last, but so what? He knew things had been rough the past few years.

The silence on the other end of the phone was deafening. She knew what he would be doing—pacing up and down the corridor, trying to plot a course of action—but waited him out anyway.

“Fine,” he grumbled, and she heard the distinctwhumpof his arse hitting a chair. She almost smiled at his defeat. “But if my search gets a hit, I’m down there with you in an instant. I’ve got leave owed, so no arguments.”