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“No, of course not,” Isaac said, not able to hold back the sarcasm. “But instead, you let them almost take your actual life!” He wasn’t sure if he wanted to hold her tighter to protect her or knock the damn chip off her shoulder. Maybe both.
“Why are you here, anyway?” Kate asked as if he’d been waiting around just to flash to her.
“I was having lunch with Jack and Meredith when Reece messaged Jack.”
“You didn’t have to come,” Kate said again.
“What? You think?—"
“Kate,” Jack said, putting a halt to what Isaac was about to say next, which was probably a good thing. The first time Isaac saw her in over a week and she’d been hurt, which didn’t sit well with him. Though anytime she was hurt didn’t sit well. “Tell us the rest,” Jack prompted.
Kate turned around, her back settling against Isaac’s chest, and he wrapped his arms around her again. “There were three of them. The guy who grabbed me, a woman, and another guy. The third guy didn’t come near me, but he was definitely the one in charge.”
“What did he look like?” Isabella asked.
“The boss guy? His head was almost shaved, and he had olive-toned skin. The backs of his hands were covered in tattoos, but I couldn’t make any of them out.”
Some of the color drained from Isabella’s face. “Eddie. He’s my brother. Reece and I have already had a couple of run-ins with him. Was he looking for the mirrors?”
“Oh shit. I don’t know if they got them!” Kate struggled again to get up, but Isaac didn’t want to loosen his hold on her. “Kate—” he said quietly in her ear.
“I’ll check,” Jack said as he stood and walked to the back of the workshop.
Isaac looked over at Jack as he pulled on the locker door and swung it open. The locker was empty. Kate was going to blame herself, even though she was caught by surprise and outnumbered. He still hadn’t figured out how she’d gotten the chip on her shoulder, but she seemed determined to prove something to someone.
“The door was still locked, but someone dissolved the spell,” Jack said as he walked back over. “Only someone with Maverick’s magic could have destroyed the spell I cast. Which means that the spells we’re using on the buildings at night aren’t going to be enough to keep out Maverick and his people.”
Meredith grasped her husband’s hand. “Plus, we still have to figure out how to close the magic box since the mirrors didn’t work.”
“We found the answer!” Isabella said, her voice full of excitement. All eyes turned to her. “It wasn’t the metal frames we needed to find. It’s the mirrors!”
Reece dropped his arms from around Isabella and stepped forward. “We’ll get the mirrors back. We know where Eddie hangs out.”
“What help do you need?” Jack asked.
“Some kind of backup, but I don’t know yet. Isabella and I should go in first since Eddie will be expecting us.”
Jack furrowed his brows. “Then you’ll need more people.”
Isaac watched the interchange as Reece and Jack made plans, but he wasn’t really listening. Part of him was still focused on Kate. Running his hands up and down her arms, he could feel her tension, but he purposely avoided activating his magic to sense her essence. Out of respect for her, he wouldn’t do it unless she asked. But even without using his special ability to feel emotions, he could sense her decreasing adrenaline without being intrusive.
When everyone agreed to go back to The Magic Plate for a late lunch, Isaac bowed out for himself and Kate. Sensing a growing feeling of shame welling up within her, Isaac prepared himself.
2
The second the last person flashed away, Kate jumped to her feet and spun to face Isaac. She hadn’t wanted to make a scene while the others were around, but now that they were gone, she could let all her feelings out on Isaac.
Hands on her hips, Kate stared him down where he was still sitting on the ground. “How dare you come barging in here like?—”
“Like someone who cares about you? Like someone who was worried because you were attacked?” he drawled as he slowly got to his feet.
“Yes!... No!... That’s not what I meant.” Fuck. Isaac had the ability to confuse the hell out of her. Ever since she had flashed out of his place, naked as the day she was born, she’d been fighting with herself. During seven long sleepless nights, she had reminded herself why she only wanted sex. Why she should only want sex. Anything more was too dangerous. She’d already had her heart ripped more than once. When you loved someone, you were vulnerable. And when you were vulnerable, they knew just how to hurt you the most.
“What do you mean, Kate?” Isaac asked softly.
She hated that he always used her name—it made conversations seem too intimate. Like he was giving her his undivided attention and no one else mattered. He was so hard to resist when he did that. And she needed to resist him because if she didn’t, she’d start to develop feelings.
She worried that maybe it was already too late—she did care. When he had charged in earlier and pulled her back against his chest, she had felt protected, and the horrors of the attack started to recede.
