Chapter 22 #2
Despite everything—the pain, the exhaustion, the adrenaline crash waiting to happen—Lina laughed. “That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard all night.”
They retrieved their clothes and dressed quickly, despite their injuries.
Some of Lina’s clothing was ripped due to her precipitous shift, but they would do.
She also managed to locate her beloved rifle and break it down to put back in its travel case.
She’d give it a proper cleaning later, but for now, time was of the essence. They still had a lot of work to do.
They went back to the tower footprint and helped with cleanup for a few minutes. Mike had secured the young mage with zip ties and was on his phone, coordinating with the rest of the team. The perimeter was secure. No other threats had appeared.
“Any news from the other team?” Liam said, turning toward Mike as he neared.
“Negative,” Mike answered quickly.
“Do you have a safe place to take the girl?” Lina asked, taking note of the shaking girl who sat on the ground nearby, softly sobbing with her hands secured behind her.
“I do. We’ll debrief her and find out anything important she might know. I should have a report for you by morning.”
“Sounds good. Don’t hesitate to call if you need help with her. I’m sure the old ladies would be willing to help out, if necessary,” Liam said, alluding to the coven members.
“Will do. I’m bugging out now with her,” Mike said, jerking his thumb toward his prisoner. “Ted and Trevor are on cleanup here. The rest of the team will stand watch in case anybody comes by that seems suspicious.”
“Good idea,” Liam responded. “We’re going back to the house to see how the others are doing.” He moved closer to Mike and spoke in an even lower tone. “If that girl was here, she’s got to be a high-level mage, despite how sweet and innocent she appears.”
“This isn’t my first rodeo, junior,” Mike said, smiling to take the sting from his words. “I’ll be careful.”
“Just checking. She looks like a waif, but she’s got to have some zing if she was here to help Mrs. E,” Liam said, then straightened. “I look forward to hearing what you find out. For now, I need to get us both cleaned up.”
“Yeah, and put some aloe on those burns. They got you good, kid,” Mike said, grinning at his young cousin. “I almost came down to help before I realized you had everything in hand. Good work, cuz.”
“Thanks, Mike,” Liam replied, looking a bit uncomfortable with his older cousin’s praise, but also pleased by it. “And thanks for the backup.” The two men shook hands, and Lina moved to do the same.
“Thank you, Mike. Please pass on my thanks to the rest of your team,” Lina told the retired SEAL.
“Thanks for inviting us to the party. We had fun,” he replied with a broad grin as he took her hand. “See you soon.”
As Lina and Liam walked away, Lina puzzled over Mike’s last words. “What did he mean he’d see me soon?” she whispered to Liam.
“I think he means he’ll be at our mating party,” Liam said, grinning down at her.
Mating party. She hadn’t thought that far ahead.
She didn’t have a lot of family to speak of.
Not in the States, at any rate. Lynx were a lot more solitary than lions.
But she knew Liam came from a big and powerful Clan.
She just hadn’t realized they’d want to throw a mating party for him…
and her. Wow. This was going to take some getting used to.
Liam made his own calls as they made their way to the SUV. He called Rich first. A short, clipped conversation confirmed their success and asked for the status of Nathan and his team back at the coven’s neighborhood.
“Everything’s good with the coven,” Liam reported once he’d finished his phone call.
“Nate caught a few soldiers moving into position, but the attack was never launched. Probably, they were waiting for Mrs. E’s spell to unleash hell so they could act, but when we stopped her, we stopped them as well. ”
“Thank the Goddess for that,” Lina breathed as they reached the SUV.
Before getting in, Liam retrieved two sacks of baby wipes and two trash bags from the rear of the vehicle.
He handed one set to Lina and kept one set for himself.
Then, he opened the baby wipes and did his best to clean the blood off himself, dropping the used wipes into the trash bag as he worked.
She followed suit after stowing her rifle in the backseat.
It took a lot more wipes than she would’ve thought to clean herself enough to where she felt comfortable, but she really needed a good, long, hot shower to feel really clean.
She promised herself she’d get right on that the moment they got back to the house.
The shift had helped her shoulder and injured leg feel better, but she was still sore.
Maybe she’d soak in a hot bath after the shower got rid of the remaining blood and grime. Yeah, that sounded just about perfect.
Tonight, they’d stopped a catastrophic summoning and eliminated one of the most dangerous rogue witches in the country.
That was more than enough, but apparently, they had also been able to protect the coven from Mrs. E’s allies.
The result of the evening’s work made Lina’s protective heart warm with satisfaction.