“I want you to go back to my apartment and wait for me there.”
She stopped her maneuverings and rounded to glare at him. Gone was the soft, sweet gaze of their workday together. No, the eyes that studied him now were the eyes of a pissed off woman. He didn’t have to work hard to see that she was Kendrick Kane’s daughter. The man had terrified him as a child and the woman who stared at him now could melt glaciers with her glare.
“Did you just tell me to go home and hide?”
He crossed his arms over his chest. She might be able to intimidate the world, and even make him sweat a little bit, but he wasn’t going to be pushed around by her. No way, no how.
“The hiding is optional. The going home is an order.”
If it was possible to scream telepathically she did it. “An order?”
Inside of him, his wolf whimpered. This was not good territory. His use of that word was a big mistake. He held enough of her soul to know she didn’t handle what she considered manhandling very well. Parker hadn’t put his hands on her—and never would—except she considered orders to be akin to beatings.
The door to the kitchen flung open and Angel gasped. He whirled around. The twins stood in the doorway staring at them.
They were identical. The one who stood on the right hissed. “I told you I felt magic.
Someone in here is using telepathy.”
Bob slammed his spatula down on the stove. “What is going on here? I don’t know who you two think you are but I don’t let customers in my kitchen.” He pointed at the door. “Out.”
The woman on the right sneered. “Go to sleep, old man.”
She clicked her fingers and Bob hit the floor. Angel swore as she ran to his side.
Parker stalked forward. For once, he wasn’t ashamed of his wolf side. He wanted to kill these two bitches. No one hurt Bob…
Angel snarled as she grabbed Bob off the floor, holding him in her arms. “Are you crazy? You don’t use that kind of magic on an old man.”
“What are you? The magic police?” The twin who had knocked out Bob laughed.
She turned her attention to Parker, which was just fine with him. “Tell your boyfriend to back off or I’ll make him a toad.”
She’d been looking at him when she spoke but she’d clearly addressed Angel.
“I don’t tell him to do anything.” Angel gently eased Bob’s head back down on the floor and stalked over to him. “He’s a fully grown wolf-shifter. He’ll have you for dinner before you can blink.”
That was right. He could, if he wanted to, have these women for dinner.
He hadn’t made a move but the witch stared at him like he’d threatened her.
Inwardly, he shrugged. His size alone made that happen all the time. Finally, she spoke again. “I mean it. I’ll turn her into a cockroach.”
He knew the women must be feeling desperate. They’d stormed into the room thinking they could pick on whoever was in here. They were no better than bullies— magical bullies but the idea was the same.
The door banged open behind the horrible twins. The twin who had threatened Angel fell forward at the impact, discharging her power through her hand. It happened so quickly, it was over before he even realized what was about to occur.
Angel!
He screamed in his mind but it was too late. His blood boiled hot as the woman who had been picked out for him by the universe doubled over on the floor.
He howled along with his wolf at the horror.
“Oh my gods!”
He stared at the person who had knocked into the twins. It was the unattractive woman who had accompanied them. She gasped as she whirled her arms in the air.
The room seemed to slow down for a moment before the twins froze on the ground.
He didn’t care. He only had eyes for Angel as he darted across the room. She was unconscious and he cradled her in his arms. He hadn’t wanted this thing between them.
Still, he couldn’t stand the thought of her dying. Inside of him something shriveled at the thought. He could still feel her soul where it had been entrusted to him safe and secure inside of him.
That meant she still lived, which was a small relief.
The third woman who had barged in spoke. “Oh no, what’s happening in here?”
He pointed at the woman. “You did this.”
“No.” She gasped again as she ran over to him. “I didn’t. Charra did. She and Penny are horrible.
I’m sorry I knocked into her. She must have planned to hit her with the spell anyway otherwise this couldn’t have happened.”
“You heard me?”
She shook her head. “Of course, I did. You spoke to me directly. You wanted me to hear you, right?”
That was too weird. He couldn’t deal with it right now. “Fix her.”
She bent over. Placing her hands directly above Angel’s body, she made a hissing sound.
“I can’t.”
“You can’t? Or you won’t?”
Parker had never thought of himself as being rude but he couldn’t stand to look at this woman.
Sores covered most of the visible skin on her face. One of her eyes drooped down lower than the other and her hair was a rat’s nest of brown tangles. It was painful for him to stare at her even as he forced his gaze to remain on her distorted features and not on Angel’s unmoving figure.
The woman stared at him with sympathy in her eyes. “Thank you for continuing to regard me.
It’s hard, I know.” She nodded in the direction of the two frozen twins. “Their mother did this to me. I have to stay with them and take care of them until she turns me back or I’ll stay this way forever. It’s a spell. It’s almost impossible to look directly at me. But you’re doing it.” She glanced down at Angel. “And she did when she took my order.”
“She’s kind.” He grabbed the woman’s arm. “Please, can’t you fix whatever they’ve done, to both Angel and Bob?”
The woman shook her head. “I would if I could. It’s too powerful for me. They’re more talented than I am.” She stared down at Bob. “He seems to just be unconscious but she’s in a magical coma.”
“What do I do?”
He had an idea of what he could do. He could wake up the wonder twins and beat them—hard—until they told him what they’d done to Angel and they undid it. He’d never raised a hand to a woman, but he was willing to break his cardinal rule right now if need be.
“Take her away from here, quickly.” She bit her fingernail. “My freezing spell won’t hold very long and they’re going to be really mad when they come to. You don’t want to be here when that happens. I’m Liz, by the way.”
“Take her where, Liz? Who can help her if you can’t?”
He didn’t know how to drive a car. Even so, he’d take her wherever she needed to go. He’d find a way.
“There are only two places to go and neither of them are very good options.” She stood.
“Kendrick Kane is a very bad man who controls an empire of wolves. I think he’s somewhere in Arizona.”
She visibly shivered. “I’m afraid of him. It might be too far for you get there in time.” She bit her lip. “Or you could take her to his sons. They live up in Maine on an island called Westervelt. I wouldn’t go anywhere near there, personally.
They killed a witch there a few years ago. Neither situation is very good. I’m sorry I can’t be of more help.”
Liz darted over to where the twins lay unmoving. “You need to hurry. You don’t have much time.”