10. Chapter Ten
Her delicate finger ran along each spine as she traveled the herbal medicine section of the bookstore. She’d spent her day in the home library, looking for what she needed while I spent mine watching her. I should have used that time looking for Brock.
We should have found him by now. Alas, he was too good at hiding. And I was doubting my ability to do my fucking job.
I hadn’t wanted to bring her here, but the pleading look in her emerald eyes killed me. Against my better judgment, here we stood, my witch checking each title as she hummed her melodic tune while I never took my eyes off her.
We were exposed and though it should have been a normal outing, a simple date evening between husband and wife, I couldn’t bring myself to enjoy her time.
I stood behind her, hands stuffed in my pockets as I watched, and waited. My shoulders were slumped, and everything about my body language screamed pure contentment. I was a married man, watching his wife in her happy place. Her joy brought me my own.
Well, it should have. Yet here I was, apprehension stirring inside of me. We weren’t safe out in the open like this. Not with Brock still on the run. He could be tailing us, could have someone else doing it for him and reporting back that we were in public.
“Are you almost done, sweet Evie?” I asked, my tone low, carefree.
It took immense effort to pretend I wasn’t reeling on the inside.
“Yes,” she sang as she pulled a book from the shelf. Her hand ran along the title before hugging it to her chest. She turned to me, grinning.
“Found what you’re looking for?” I asked. My gaze was on her, but I was readily aware of our surroundings, of the man to our right that had been lurking for too long, instead of on how the green in her eyes sparkled with satisfaction. How could I relish in her beauty when all I wanted was her safety?
My witch nodded, tightening the book to her chest with one arm, and extending the other to reach for me. “Ready.”
I hesitated a moment. Each touch of our skin meeting sent me into a spiral of doubts. I’d convinced myself I wasn’t good enough for her, that she deserved to be at peace with Ryan, living above a bookstore in Ireland, belly swollen with his child.
Each time I conjured that image, each time I attempted to open the pages of her story and finish out the ending, a pang of jealousy and resentment struck me in my heart. It should be my baby, not his. It should be our gothic mansion–the home I grew up in and had resented for its lack of love that was now filled to the brim with plants and candles and incense. Everything that was uniquely her.
I’d have to purge the place of her things when I finally let her go. Maybe even set fire to the atrium. I’d never be able to set foot in the library again without wandering to her happy place. And being there without her would be too painful.
I swallowed the lump forming in my throat and took her hand in mine, despite knowing what would happen next. Each time I touched her, I regretted my decision to set my little bird free from her cage. Letting her go meant taking my heart from my chest.
Fuck, when had I become such a sap?
Evie’s cool hands wrapped around mine as I tugged her into my side and resisted placing a kiss to the top of her head. A finger ran along my wedding band as she squeezed my hand. “Thank you,” she whispered.
“For?” I asked, my voice cracking, my strength gone as I inhaled the scent of sweet lilacs.
“Bringing me here, Jericho. I know you don’t want to be out in public right now.”
“It’s nothing,” I lied as I picked up our pace.
We’d been here long enough, and I was ready to get back to the safety of our home. She followed my lead as we wandered toward the register, while I continued to scan the shop. We’d driven into town, I’d brought the fucking calvary with me. Three men flanked us, Yuliya waited by the entrance while three other men covered each exit.
If Brock knew we were here, he wouldn’t be able to get to us. Still, I wouldn’t feel at ease until we were beyond the gates that blocked anyone from coming to my queen’s castle. Beyond those walls, the only dragon to be slayed in her fairytale would be me, and I’d hand over the dagger for her to slay me herself.
Evie only released me when we reached the counter to pay for her book. I’d been so in my own mind, so worried about anyone coming for her that I hadn’t even paid attention to the book she’d picked. The cover was like any of her other herbal recipe books. Green with some type of plant on it. The exact name, I wouldn’t know but I cocked a brow at the title. A woman’s book of healing: Healing Tonics and Supplements.
“What’s this for again?” I asked. Didn’t she have enough of these books?
“For Rose.”
I pulled out my wallet to pay for the book, then hesitated before handing over my credit card to the girl behind the counter. I still hadn’t gotten Evie a card, and the guilt of that bothered me. Had she ever gone to a register and paid for her things herself?
“There’s a recipe in here that can help treat her condition. I tried to find it online, but I still haven’t figured it out. Yuliya said she’ll help me navigate Google. But that was right before she started grumbling about you being a pain in her arse.”
Guilt bubbled inside of me. Poor Rose had been placed on bed rest. We should be celebrating her bringing life into this world, should be enjoying her pregnancy and here I was so worried about the wellbeing of Evie, that I wasn’t home with her while she was forced to stay cooped up.
Sure, she had her husband. But that Irish cunt didn’t count. She needed more than him to take care of those children.
I rolled my eyes, disdain for him taking over any previous emotions. Evie settled a hand on my back, rubbing soothing circles. “What’s wrong?” she asked, sensing my shift in mood change.
“Nothing.” I clenched my jaw as I took the bag from the cashier and led my wife toward the exit. “Let”s get home.”
I pushed open the glass door, dipping my chin toward Yuliya in a silent acknowledgement that she was good to get into her own vehicle.
“Oh, but can’t we go to Charlie’s? He’s supposed to have some flowers sent over tomorrow, but when I spoke with him he told me that Queen Salvia was about to bloom. I have my book too, he can clip some of the ingredients for me.”
“Get me a list and I’ll tell him to send some over with the shipment tomorrow,” I clipped, not wanting to be out any longer than we already were.
I immediately regretted my short tone when she folded into herself, shoulders slumping to make herself smaller. When had she been able to go anywhere with free will? Even today she’d begged me to take her out. She may not have asked me directly, but she was pacing the library at home. Like a caged tiger in a zoo, she needed out.
“Evie,” I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. “It’s just not safe right now. Let’s find Brock and then we can go wherever you’d like okay? I’ll call Charlie and have him send over the herbs you need for Rose’s tea.”
I tugged her into me, as we stood in the middle of the parking lot. We were exposed to the enemy just standing in place like this, but my heart broke as her bottom lip quivered and she sucked in a breath, her head bobbing with acknowledgement.
“I’m sorry, Jericho,” she whispered so low that I could barely make out the words. I probably wouldn’t have even known what she was saying if I hadn’t been staring at her lips, reading them as she spoke. “I’m sorry that my demons are following us.”
My breath shook as I exhaled before I dropped my forehead to her cheek. My nose nuzzled against soft skin. “No. You don’t apologize for this. I’m the one who should be sorry. I’m letting this situation dictate how we live.”
She nodded, her hands wrapping around my neck as she stood to curl into my shoulder. Lilac, that beautiful and sweet scent was going to be the death of me. It made my heart beat faster and it stirred my cock to life.
I’d miss her scent, her touch, her taste when she was gone, back to her homeland with her sweet unsuspecting lover.
But she may still choose you!My desperate heart screamed. It wanted me to fight for her, and make her stay. I didn’t need to lay down and accept defeat against a fisher boy-turned-bookstore-owner!
“Jericho,” Yuliya hissed, her voice coming from behind me. “We need to go.”
Rustling sounded behind us, and I turned to see two of our men wrestling a man to the ground. I grabbed my woman and hurried away from danger. Something I didn’t think I’d ever do in my life. I’d always ran toward it, ready to fight.
Not today. Not with the most precious crystal by my side.
“I’ll be home soon,” I promised.
“It’s not him,” one of the men shouted as I shoved Evie into the car. I caught a glance of him yanking up the suspect, a man in his thirties wearing a peacoat and a top hat. Who the fuck wore top hats anymore?
I locked Evie into the car and once she was secure, it sped away, her driver hastily peeling out.
I approached the man in question, hands stuffed in my pockets as I pretended I was anything but the raging man I was. Why had my soldiers thought this man was a threat? “What’s your name?” I asked as he was released.
He brushed off the dirt from his trip to the asphalt, and let out a huff. “Excuse me, you fuck? Who the fuck are you?” He demanded, thick New York accent in tow. He turned to the men now behind him, shooting them both middle fingers. “I’m gonna sue you fuckers.”
I peered over the angry little fella. “Why did you stop him?”
“He fit the description, pakhan. He reached into his back pocket.” The guard explained. “He wasn’t armed, it was just a cell phone.” He had the wits about him to appear sheepish, blush creeping up at his hasty mistake.
I wouldn’t fault him for being extra cautious. I’d rather he react and an innocent man have been searched, than to have my wife harmed because they hadn’t noticed a man with a weapon.
I dipped my chin in acknowledgment as Yuliya snickered behind me. When I tossed a look over my shoulder to her, amusement flashed in her baby blue eyes as she shot me a smirk. “You’re too high strung, isoveli. Is your witch not leaving you satisfied?”
Quite the opposite. She was begging me while I pulled away. I was the one leaving her begging for me. “Lets go,” I grumbled, ignoring her comment as I followed her to her car, since she would now be taking me home.
When we settled into the vehicle and were finally alone she let out a soft sigh, glancing at the ring on my right index finger. The obsidian jewel that Evie had given me the night I’d questioned her about Eoghan’s wife.
I grinned and my cock twitched at the memory of my interrogation methods that evening. The way Evie squirmed beneath my hold, the way she refused to give me her secrets. I had loved every moment of her torture, every soft desperate moan that had left her strawberry lips.
“Put some pressure on Sean.” I finally broke the silence. “Have him do his hacker shit and get a location on Brock already. I cannot fucking take this anymore.”
Normally Rose would be my hacker, but I didn’t want to put any additional pressure on her than she already had. Alastair had connections with Caledonia security, but Sean Murphy was the best bet, and not because I refused to run to Alastair with my tail tucked between my legs. Sean was Evie’s nephew. He could fucking show up for his aunt. He should have already been doing it.
Yuliya grunted her approval. “He’s been working on it for a bit. I’ll check in on him.”
“You went to him behind my back?” I said, not hiding the disapproval in my tone for her working a lead without coming to me first.
She gripped the steering wheel and shot me a death glare. “I will be the next pakhan, Jericho. When you get your head from your ass, and you leave with Evie. It will be me in charge. The Murphy Clan are close with Corbin. They are our allies as are the Greens. Not to mention they’re now your family. You need to start trusting others to help.”
“Well what’s taking him so fucking long, Yuliya?” I deflected, not wanting to acknowledge that she was right.
“He’s running his face through AI, but you do know that Brock would have to show his face first? It takes time.”
I scrubbed a hand down my face, not wanting to accept that she was right. I was ready to move on with my next step in the plan and take Evie home. The longer Brock was out there, the longer I was suffering. She was a temptress and I knew that it would take everything inside of me not to break, not to keep her as mine when I knew she belonged to another.