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He put his clothes back on as he waited for Lauren to finish packing and for Maeve to call him back.
When Maeve phoned, she told him the crew would arrive in ten minutes to take them to the Landing. He wasn’t to worry. Her team would identify the witch and record her death. Her body would be taken to the morgue and cremated within the hour. No courtesies were given to any witch, warlock or wizard who practiced the dark arts.
With everything settled and Lauren’s bags packed, he led her into her living room. She looked shocked out, so he sat beside her and held her with an arm around her shoulder. She leaned into him and after a moment, he knew she was weeping, though very quietly.
The transport arrived a few minutes later and backed into her garage. The sun had risen fully, but neither of them was in danger. The back of the van was exactly as Maeve had described: A vault.
Once at the Landing, she took them to a private apartment and said she would check in with them that evening. In the meantime, if they needed food or anything, they had only to call the day-shift and they’d be taken care of.
But neither he nor Lauren needed much more than a good day’s sleep. He crawled into bed and spooned her then fell into the best sleep he’d experienced in a long time. He was with the woman he loved, he’d accepted and embraced her as a witch, he’d even taken on some of her attributes.
He didn’t know what the future would hold because Five Bridges presented new challenges every single night.
But he didn’t care. He had what his heart needed the most. The rest would be what it would be.
~ ~ ~
That night, Lauren sat beside Cole on the seating wall in the Landing’s outdoor entertaining area. Alpha Braden, Maeve’s mate, had formed a pack of the various rescued wolves and they’d fired up the grills in honor of Vickie’s rescue.
A keg had already made an appearance and both she and Cole were on their second glasses of beer.
She couldn’t believe all that had happened in such a short time, but mostly that Cole had come back to her yet more completely than she would have ever believed possible. He was even part warlock now. He’d also explained that his stubbornness in believing she’d lied to him about why she’d injured his knee had been more about his distrust and fear of her kind than anything else.
Somehow, the experience of being with her as they worked to save Vickie, had changed his soul. He even seemed different to her, more at peace for sure, but stronger, too. He was even talking about setting up a rescue operation in Savage for kidnap victims.
For herself, she was overwhelmed and happy beyond words. She kissed him often and savored his frequently repeated professions of love and adoration.
For the most part, the wolves left them to sit alone and be together. As wolves, they no doubt recognized that a bond was forming between them.
Maeve had already told them that a crew of her witches was at Lauren’s home and would take great care to remove any remnant of the dark witch’s presence that might have been left behind during her death. Lauren was relieved. She loved her home. It had been her sanctuary and she wanted to be back there without fear of being haunted by Monique.
She also knew the three witches involved and had confidence the cleansing would be thorough. Her home would be restored and made ready to crea
te new memories with Cole.
As a therapist by trade, she had already started processing the traumatic nature of Monique’s attack. She’d also booked some time with a fellow therapist to put herself mentally on a good path.
Cole took a call and when he put his phone away, he told her they were free to return to her house whenever she was ready.
“Do you want to go back?” she asked. “Or would you rather wait a while?”
At that, he smiled. “Knowing that a team of your kind has been at work, I have no question we should return to your house, the sooner the better. Though I would like to get some clothes from my home.”
“Are you due back at the station tonight?”
“I told Roberts I needed a few personal nights off. He said he’d heard what we’d done for Vickie and told me I could have a week.”
A week.
Alone.
With Cole.
She felt lightheaded at the thought. “I want to go home. But I want to be with you when I do. And no, I’m not afraid or upset knowing that Monique died there because I’m confident with what the witches will achieve. How about I fly to Savage with you while you pack up?”
He rose to his feet and held out his hand to her. He presented his booted foot as well. “Then let’s go.”
They said their good-byes and were cheered as they flew up and out of the refuge.
