Elf (Mystic Guardians #2)

Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

E zra

Just turning into the long driveway to Brian’s house had Ezra’s stomach churning so hard, he had to swallow back bile. Years he’d spent here being miserable and then toward the end…scared. He’d known his husband wasn’t a good man but hadn’t realized how bad until he’d walked in on Brian slicing someone’s neck. And now, he knew that Brian trafficked human beings. He was one sick motherfucker.

Being here sent that familiar, metallic taste of terror to his tongue. His heart started racing as his palms sweated.

Fingers threaded through his and he looked up to find Alaric watching him with concern tightening his brows. He probably had some kind of supernatural radar that alerted him to how the fear was affecting Ezra physically.

“You shouldn’t have come,” Alaric said softly.

They were sitting in the third section of the SUV with Finn and Bain in the middle. Xavier sat up front with Callan driving. It had been amusing to watch the huge demon curl himself into the vehicle.

“I need to confront him myself. Need to know why he’s trying to have me killed.” Ezra squeezed his fingers. “It’ll be fine. I’m going in with five of you powerful guys. What could he do?” He realized where they were and leaned forward. “You can park here. There are cameras everywhere, but a really nice blind spot around back where we can sneak in.”

Finn turned to look at Ezra. “I’ll go in first and disable the cameras.”

“But won’t that alert him before we can get inside?”

Finn gave him a toothy grin. “I’ll be fast.”

“Trust him,” Alaric said. “He moves quickly in his other form.”

“Wish I had another form,” Ezra muttered. “Would have come in handy when I still lived here.”

Callan parked off the driveway in a stand of trees, and they all got out. Ezra watched with complete fascination as Finn just vaporized in front of his eyes. While they waited, he worried his nerves were going to hit astronomical levels. He’d left Brian the day after witnessing the murder and hadn’t been back, his only contact with his ex over the phone once when he’d caved to the persistent calls. He didn’t even really understand why the man wanted him back. He’d never loved Ezra. Was probably incapable of love entirely. At least he couldn’t imagine the kind of person Brian could care about as anything more than a possession.

In no time at all, Finn returned, and they hurried toward the back door. Hoping his code still worked, Ezra keyed it in, breathing a sigh of relief when the door opened. It wouldn’t take long for Brian’s people to let him know about the cameras, so he hurried toward the office where his ex basically lived. It was a big room with a desk and two couches, various lamps, and the Salvador Dali paintings Brian collected. There was also a fireplace which gave the uncomfortable room a hint of coziness. That coziness had fooled Ezra at first, making him think he’d be welcome in there. That wasn’t the case. Turned out, Brian probably kept a fire going to counter his absolute coldness. The man was ice through and through.

Knowing they still had the element of surprise and that he was surrounded by powerful beings, Ezra boldly marched into the office. “Hello, Brian.”

His ex looked up, firelight playing over his ridiculously handsome features. His white hair was stark against his olive skin, the instant frown and surprise in his expression something Ezra had rarely seen when living here. Showing emotion was not in Brian’s wheelhouse. Those brown eyes slowly moved to each man around Ezra, and Ezra took that moment to count how many people were in the room. Jake was there, along with the other bodyguard, Stephen. Other than them, only one of the usual two really creepy men Ezra had done his best to avoid was there. He didn’t have a glamour for Ezra to see through, but now that he’d been around Xavier, he understood that a lot of preternaturals looked more human than others. So he got the feeling that the creepy man held magic, and that was why he and his buddy had always made Ezra so uncomfortable. The twins, as he liked to call them, held no souls. There was something just…void…about them. He was glad only one of them was there.

“Guess you’re wondering why I’m here, huh?” he asked his ex.

“Of course. You’ve refused to see me for months. But who are your friends?”

“They’re my protection.”

“So many. Why would you need to bring protection with you here?”

“Maybe because you’re trying to have me killed?”

That’s when true surprise widened Brian’s eyes. Brian was a consummate actor—he had to be to pretend to be human—but this looked real. “I am not trying to have you killed. If I were, you’d already be gone.”

Ezra studied Brian for a few moments, but then he happened to glance at Alaric. The elf’s narrowed gaze was on the man just to Brian’s right. There was recognition in his eyes.

“He’s the warper wizard,” Alaric said just as the creepy man disappeared and reappeared right in front of Alaric.

All hell broke loose.

Callan let out a loud sort of roar and rushed the wizard, his meaty fist only glancing off the man’s face because he disappeared again. Alaric flung up his hands, and so did Xavier. When the wizard materialized, he was clawing at his neck and making a horrible choking sound.

Finn was fighting both Jake and Stephen but was soon joined by Callan, who picked up Stephen like he weighed nothing and threw him toward the fireplace. Stephen’s body slammed into the bricks, and there was a wretched crunching sound. When he scrambled to his feet, Stephen was holding his arm, which was undoubtedly broken. It didn’t stop him, and he rushed Callan, who merely laid him flat with one hard punch to his face. Stephen didn’t get up this time.

“Enough!” Brian yelled as he stood. “Release my wizard. Now.”

Shock made Ezra whip his gaze to the man still clawing at his throat. His ex knew about the preternaturals?

Neither Alaric nor Xavier lowered their hands. Ezra had no idea what they were doing to the wizard, but his lips had turned blue.

Xavier did look at Brian. “We know what you do. Know about the people you’ve trafficked. This wizard has been helping you, so he doesn’t deserve to live.” With that, he made a slashing gesture, and the wizard just dropped to the floor.

Ezra was pretty sure he was dead. He glanced around to find Jake on the floor, too, and that bothered him enough to go and check for a pulse. He breathed a sigh of relief when he felt one. He looked up at Xavier. “This man helped me, so please let him live.”

“Even knowing what he helped with? Hundreds of people have been taken, been forced into servitude, and this man was a part of that.”

“Maybe he didn’t know?”

“Oh, he did.”

Brian cleared his throat. “Nobody else here is dying. What I do has nothing to do with any of you. And to be perfectly clear, I have not tried to kill Ezra. Why would I? It would accomplish nothing.”

“Then why haven’t you signed the divorce papers?”

Brian stared at him for several moments. “You know I don’t like to fail.”

“But it wasn’t even a real marriage.” Feeling emboldened by all the power around him, Ezra narrowed his eyes. “I saw you murder someone. Saw you slit a man’s throat, right here in this room. You’re a bad person, Brian.”

“It’s unfortunate that you witnessed that, but sometimes one has to take care of problems.”

He was still so damn confident, standing there and facing a room full of beings who could easily take his life. There wasn’t an ounce of fear on his face, just complete assurance that he was going to come out of this. He truly believed himself invincible. Was truly delusional.

“I’m going to the police,” Ezra said softly, his voice easily carrying across the room in the silence. “I should have already done so. I will no longer be scared of you, Brian. You’re going to prison, where you belong.”

“I will be doing no such thing.” Brian pointed a gun at Ezra, and two things happened simultaneously. Xavier aimed a hand at the gun, and Alaric ran in front of Ezra. The gun went off, but the bullet hit the ceiling just as Alaric took Ezra to the floor, twisting his body so he hit the carpet and cushioned Ezra from the fall.

There was a yell, and he looked around Alaric to find Brian writhing in his chair. “Don’t kill him. He deserves to suffer in prison.”

Xavier just nodded, so Ezra turned his attention to Alaric. “You were going to take a bullet for me.”

Alaric just stared back at him before hugging him. “Always.”

And Ezra knew he meant that.