AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I couldn’t hold my tears anymore. A sob wracked through me, and the flood gates opened wide. I guess I was getting the Tony award, because I was straight up past theatrical, in complete hysterics. “I can’t be here right now!”
“Belissima, you need to stay here. I went to your boss this morning and charmed her into showing me the security footage of you fainting. You didn’t drop the tray of champagne flutes–they exploded. Your magic is emerging, and it’s out of your control.” She came over and held my hand.
She closed her eyes and concentrated for several seconds. She opened them again with a concerned expression. “Your power signature is off the charts. I’ve never felt something this strong in my life.” She felt my forehead and realized it was burning up. “This is dangerous, Diana. You need to stay home and we need to figure out a plan. You may need to pause school for a bit so we can teach you about magic and get this under control.”
“Fuck no! Absolutely not.” I wrenched my hand out of her grasp and backed up. “You altered my memory. You kept a huge part of me a secret. You want me to ruin my entire life? I DIDN’T ASK FOR THIS!”
I threw my hands up in anger, feeling a surge of energy rush through me to my fingertips. The entire house shook and rumbled like we were in an earthquake. My anger smothered me so badly, I lost control. Parts of the ceiling fell onto the floor. The windows in the kitchen cracked. The fridge fell over, almost smashing Angie into the ground. She ran over to me and took my hands into hers. After a few seconds, the house stopped shaking. I cried so profusely that tears rolled down my nose and into my mouth. At this rate I would cry a river and drown all three of us if I didn’t get the hell away from this house.
“I can’t be around you two. You altered my memory.You lied to me.Who the fuck am I? Who are you two? Because I never thought my own family would do this to me.” I grabbed my purse and keys, then slipped some shoes on, making my way to the front door.
“Belissima, wait. Don’t go. There are a lot more dangerous things lurking in this city for people like us than possibly getting hurt by a random man you let drop you off at the house. Magic is the underbelly of this city. There are scumbags that hunt magical people, and your power signature and inability to control your magic paint a big red target on your back. You need to learn how to protect yourself.”
“You’re right. There are a lot worse things, like having my family betray me and lie to my face for eight years. Or having my memories erased, memories that could have been of my dead mother.” At this point I was beyond tears, trying not to scream. “I’ve made it this far without getting into trouble. I’m sure I can survive another day.”
Running out of the house, I slammed the door behind me. I texted Charlie, alerting him that shit hit the fan and I was on my way over to his apartment. Hopping on my bike, I realized I forgot my helmet, but didn’t care. Distance wouldn’t solve everything, but it would allow me to get some space so I could process all of this.
Bash and I were parked in a black Lexus across the street from Diana’s house. Was it my first choice of vehicle? Fuck no,soboring. But you can’t go clandestine in a Bugatti, even in this nice Prospect Park neighborhood. I was elbow deep in a bag of BBQ chips, crunching away, not giving a single fuck about anything except Diana. My excitement to finally meet my Little Goddess in person was thrumming through my veins. I kept replaying Desmond’s intel of her on loop in my mind. The way her lips parted when he touched her hand… the sway of her hips when she was working behind the bar. How peacefully she slept on that nasty looking leather couch.I guess there are worse places to pass out.And naughty, naughty Desi put his hands on her thigh while she was out cold. Then he kissed her hand, and I could practically feel how turned on she was. Everything about her was sensual. Not porno sexy, butcarnal.
Take her home. Give her all of you.The voices in my head were giddy with excitement.
I was more than ready to take her home. She would live in the lap of luxury with a new crew, new life. I’d shower her with presents and give her anything she wanted.
“We have to keep an eye on Diana and make sure she isn’t being targeted, and you’re stuffing your face with fucking crisps. At least chew with your fucking mouth closed!”
What a grumpyarse.
“Woah there Bash-a-Smash, it’s not lost on me how important this is. Just because we’re keeping an eye on her doesn’t mean we have to look like constipated old biddies. Put a smile on your face and get ready. By the end of the evening she’ll be coming home with us!” I bounced up and down in the seat, shaking the car, barely able to contain how pumped I felt.
Bash elbowed me in the ribs, and I spit out a mouthful of mushy, potatoey, barbequey goodness.How dare he!Thankfully none of it got on my suit. I wanted to make a good impression on Diana when we brought her to her new home.
“I just wish you’d take this more seriously. The whole plan rests on keeping her safe until we can figure out what to do with her.”
“Trust me, I’m the one you want with you when shit gets real, especially in a situation as unpredictable as this one.” I felt some foreboding, emotional magic coming from Diana’s house. “Are you picking up on what’s brewing in the house?”
The world outside her may have been dangerous, but something menacing was happening inside the house. I could feel a negative vibe coming from it, steeped in anger and betrayal. There were multiple energies, but two of them were sad with a dash of fear, which led me to believe it was an argument between her, her grandmother, and her sister. After several minutes, the vibe got extremely intense, and the entire block started to quake. Houses, cars, and trash cans were rattling. People in the street fell over. One woman’s little froo froo pooch got off his leash and ran away.Run, Snookums, run! Go find someone who respects you enough to let you keep your balls.
“I like her style,” I admitted aloud. I loved the idea of her being a fiery-tempered, deranged mess, just like me. Someone with whom I could share my chaotic soul.
“Yeah, until she caves her house in and accidentally kills herself. If she’s a witch, she isn’t immortal.” Bash’s worried face spoke volumes. He had it bad for the Little Goddess. I guess that’s why he marked her in the first place. Well, too bad, selfish man. He had to learn how to share, because I wanted her too.
She stormed out of her house in a huff, slamming the door behind her. She was crying, poor babe. That beautiful heart-shaped face was as red as a Valentine’s Day heart. I wanted to hold her chin in my hand and lick those tears right off her face. I bet they tasted so emotional and salty.My favorite flavor.
She hopped on her motorcycle without a helmet, speeding off into the distance with no regard for her safety. I thought all of us would agree, she’d be leaving that metal monster behind when she moved in. We followed her to an apartment complex, where she stayed for a while. When she reemerged, she was dressed for a night on the town. A man followed her out and opened up a taxi door for her. Where did she get a change of clothes? Who was that guy?!
“Who the fuck is this?!” I tried to open the door, but Bash waved his hand to magically lock it.
“Calm down, it’s her friend from work–he’s not into her.” Bash should know by now, Inevercalmed down. I was chaos personified.
“I don’t give afuck. Why does she have clothes at his house? I don’t like that she ran to him with her problems. Is he supernatural?”
“Not that I know of, but seriously, stop. I need to focus on following them to wherever their taxi is going. Mindlink Desmond and Mal. Let them know we’ll need them for backup.”
As I linked the others, I couldn’t help but smile. Excitement ran through me like Taco Bell on a Tuesday night. All we had to do was catch her, and then we could take our Little Goddess home.
* * *
Diana and herfriendended up meeting a few other people at some Italian place for dinner. Sebastian and I watched her from the car in an alley across the street. Mal and Desmond faded to the backseat, and we were a modern day band of musketeers, ready for action! Her group sat right in a U-shaped booth by the window, giving us a prime view. Bash started shaking his leg in the most annoying way. I was the fidgety one in our group, constantly having to move and groove, so having Bash do it finally made me realize how annoying it could be.
