Chris came out of his library to see the three men sitting in his living room. He paused and looked around. “Did I forget about a meeting?” Where were the women? “Where is everyone else?”
Dade leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “We were instructed they were coming here after work, and they have been locked in your little magic broom closet for the last hour.”
Chris raised his eyebrows. “Doing?”
Owen lifted his hands. “Won’t say.”
Steven slumped down on the couch. “They’re not too pleased being driven to and from work.”
“I see.” Chris turned and started down the hall. “Let’s see what they’re up to.”
The men got up and followed him.
He tried the doorknob to find it locked. “Kase, unlock the door.”
“Soon,” she called to him through the door.
He stood there glaring at the door. They’d locked him out of his own room in his own home. We’ll see about this. He stepped back and slapped an invisible command at the door.
Sparks flew off it, and the door remained closed. “What the...”
Dade grinned. “Quite the little witch you have there, Larkin.”
Steven whistled out a breath. “Just how much trouble can they get into with all your stuff in there?”
Chris still scowled at the door while he answered. “A lot.” He tapped the door with his hand. “Kassandra, unlock the door.”
A gentle breeze blew over all four of them.
“That would be a polite no,” Dade said quietly.
“Like hell I’ll be locked out of my own temple room,” Chris hissed. Stepping back, he stared at the door. The handle shook. When he thought it was going to open, it started to pour rain on the four of them. He waved a hand to stop it and looked at the men beside him. Dade’s long hair was soaked, and the expression on his face was similar to how he was feeling about the whole thing.
“And that would be a mind your own damn business,” Owen said, sticking his hands in his pockets.
Chris looked at Steven. “You have any ideas?”
Steven shook his head, trying to get the water to stop dripping in his face, then took a step away from the door. “Oh no. I’m plenty happy enough to wait until it opens on its own. You might like lightning striking you, but I’m not too open to trying that.”
Chris shook his head. “Are you all afraid of them?”
Dade nodded. “I’ve seen what each one can do alone, especially your little innocent there, my friend. The four of them together scare the hell out of me.”
Chris sighed and looked back at the door. “Kasey?”
“Yes, Christopher?” Her voice came through the door again.
“You’re making me angry, and I don’t want to do something I’ve promised you I wouldn’t.”
A gentle breeze ruffled his hair. “I know you won’t, Chris. Now go away. I’m trying to concentrate here.”
His jaw dropped. Sighing, he looked at the others. “Beer?” They nodded and followed him down the hallway.
“Seems you’re a bit afraid of their wrath, too, counselor,” Dade mumbled behind him.
“Shut up,” Chris growled and walked into the kitchen.
When the women walked into the living room, they were met with four glares.
“Oh!” Kasey jumped and pulled the gris-gris bag from under her shirt. She looked at the women. “Wow, do they ever work.” The other three nodded. Turning her head, she looked at Chris. “You need to calm down.”
“Do I?” he said softly.
She frowned at his expression, then put her hands on her hips. “Yes, you do.” A chair came across the room and nudged the back of her knees.
“Have a seat and explain to me why I was locked out of my own temple room.” He hadn’t moved a muscle.
Sparks flew towards him.
He glared at her, and the sparks vanished with a simple wave of his hand.
Kasey watched the other women sit quietly, obviously not wanting furniture to come at them.
Cora held up a hand and stared at the men. “Did you really think we were going to just sit by and let the four of you tell us where we could and couldn’t go, and be escorted quietly?”
Dade leaned forward. “Yes. We are not targets of some maniac out there.”
She turned cold eyes towards him.
“Would you rather we don’t say a thing and wait until it’s too late, Coralee?” he asked her.
Cora sighed. “No. But you have to let us breathe.” She looked at the other women for a moment. “We’re not used to having to answer to anyone. You have to give us some room to breathe, Dade. Rachel and I have agreed to move into Owen’s and not be alone at night until this is settled. The occasional ride to and from somewhere is also welcome. But are you going to sit at the mall and watch us shop, then usher us home, too, every time?”
Dade crossed his arms over his chest and sat back. “If I have to.”
Kasey watched Rachel turn and glare at Steven. “How do you plan on babysitting us with your schedule?”
Steven shrugged. “I can switch things around if you need to be somewhere.” He leaned towards her. “Although dating might get tricky.” He grabbed at his mouth as if something were covering it.
Rachel grinned at Kasey. “Oh, that’s awesome. Thanks for the lesson.”
Kasey smirked and then looked over at Steven.
Rachel turned back to him. “If I require someone to go with me on a date, and I do plan on having a life still, I will double with Cora if need be.”
Dade snorted.
Steven looked at Chris with angry eyes, still trying to brush the unseen hand from his mouth.
“Enough!” Chris waved a hand so Steven could speak and looked around at the four women. Kasey sat there in the chair he’d shoved at her with her arms crossed, looking every inch the witch. “Slapping magic at each other isn’t going to solve anything. Now explain what you were doing and what you said when you came out. What have you done?” He watched and waited.
Kasey sighed and got up to pace. “It took quite a while to get it, and it required all four of our skills to do it. We’ve charmed the gris-gris bags to be warning systems. They’ll warn us if there are any angry or evil intentions towards us. They should work at a fair distance, too.” She grinned at Chris. “As soon as we were finished and placed them on, we could feel your emotions before we opened the door. The closer we got to you, the stronger it became.”
Chris sat back and looked at her, his anger fading quickly. Of course, it annoyed him when it was replaced with pride, because he really wanted to be mad at her right now. “Fine. We’ll give you a bit of space, but if any one of you feels even the slightest twinge of anything, I want you to get someplace secure and get a hold of any one of us.” He looked around at the other men, who obviously weren’t happy either. “Deal?”
Kasey shrieked and landed in his lap. Grabbing his face, she kissed him hard. “Deal,” she whispered against his mouth.
“Can we take this opportunity to get the list and any plans for Lammas organized?” Steven grumbled. “I have to start pulling favors and shifts to cover for me so I can go away for a few days again. Half of me is happy to get four days instead of three. The other part of me isn’t really comfortable with vacationing alongside a killer.”
Rachel smiled at him. “I’ll keep ya safe, Doc.”
He rolled his eyes at her.
“So, who is doing the shopping? And I think it would be more cost-efficient if we didn’t send Owen this time.” Leena laughed, looking at him as she said it.
Kasey wiggled out of Chris’s lap and slipped onto the floor. Holding her hand up, Kasey grinned when a pad and pen came around the corner into her hand. “I’ve really been practicing,” she said to Dade, who groaned. “Okay, so who needs what? Chris and I’ll do the shopping this time around.”
“Are we following the same vehicle arrangements as well?” Owen inquired, looking around to see shrugs and nods. “Alrighty, then.” He glanced at Chris. “It would make me feel much better if you were to tell me you’ve made some sort of connection or have some kind of lead with that list of names.”
Chris ran his hand down the back of Kasey’s hair. “I wish I could. All we can hope is he makes a mistake this time, and we get to him before anyone is hurt.”
Cora leaned forward and said in a tone that had everyone holding their breath, “He won’t harm another woman again.”
The three women looked over at her and met her determined look with an understanding of things to come.
This Lammas gathering would be one to remember always.
