Chapter 23
Lina looked over at Liam as he put his half-empty sack of wipes away and stowed the half-full trash bag behind his seat. “I never thought of stocking baby wipes in my go-bag, but I’m going to have to add them.”
“Yeah, I learned about them when I was in the desert for a tour. They work like a charm, even if they are a bit wasteful. Still, in a pinch, they do the trick,” Liam said, starting the SUV and pulling out onto the quiet road.
They were quiet as he drove them back toward the house on the south shore. They’d both been through a lot tonight, and fatigue was setting in.
“I can’t believe she’s really gone,” Liam said at one point, breaking the silence as they drove down the highway.
“She’s really gone,” Lina confirmed, her tired head lolling against the headrest as she turned to look at him in the dark of the SUV’s interior lit only by the ambient LEDs secreted around the interior of the vehicle. “If I didn’t say it before, you were amazing tonight, Liam.”
“So were you, sweetheart. I’d heard you were an artist with a rifle, but I hadn’t really known just how good you are.
That first shot was sweet, and the second gave me just the opening I needed.
Thank you for having my back.” He lifted her hand from the center console and raised it to his lips for a tender kiss.
“Thank you for having mine,” she replied.
“Mrs. E was too well shielded for me to break through but your beast put her in her place. You are magnificent in your lion form, Liam. And a hunka hunka burnin’ love in your human shape,” she added, chuckling.
“In case you haven’t noticed, I like you in both forms. No, wait.
Scratch that. I love you in both forms.” Her gaze went soft as she looked over at him.
He really was the most amazing man she’d ever known.
He kissed her hand again, lingering a bit as he met her gaze, then had to turn back to the road. “I love you too, Lina. Always.”
Her heart warmed. Really, their love was all that mattered. They’d figure out the rest—the careers, the logistics, the future—later. Right now, in the aftermath of battle with her mate alive and the threat eliminated, their love was enough. More than enough. It was everything.
When they got to the coven’s neighborhood, Liam’s Uncle Nate was waiting for them in front of the house they were using. He looked relaxed and waited for them to park before sauntering calmly to meet Liam at the SUV as they got out of it.
“Everything secure?” Liam asked, still a bit on edge, though it was clear his uncle’s easy manner was lightening his anxiety.
“All clear and calm,” Nathan replied with a slight uptilt of his lips.
“We barely saw any action here. Just a few foot soldiers moving into position who never went anywhere. We figured they were waiting for a signal that never came, and when they tried to slink away, we were waiting. Gunnar’s got most of them in custody, and he’s taking them out to your old place. ”
Lina figured he was talking about the island base just off the coast of Long Island where Liam had been stationed until very recently. The whole reason Liam was even in this area to begin with had been to decommission that site and clear out any evidence of his unit’s presence.
It made sense that the retired SEALs would make use of the facility since it was lying empty at the moment.
There had to be cells, and it was a secure location in the middle of the water.
It wouldn’t be easy for any normal person to escape from, and as water-shifters, the SEALs had the run of the place.
“Did you clear it with command?” Liam asked, frowning just slightly.
“I talked with Morrow. It’s all good,” Nathan claimed, and Liam seemed to relax.
“Good. I still had a skeleton crew out there,” Liam went on.
“I know. I’ve already talked to them, and it’s taken care of.
They’re helping with the questioning and housing arrangements for the prisoners.
We’ve also got some magical help going out from the coven tomorrow to question them.
After the elders have a go at them, we’ll make decisions about where to send them, or if we’re going to let them go,” Nathan went on.
“What about the girl mage Mike took into custody?” Lina asked, surmising that they would probably put her on the island too.
“She’s already on a boat headed out there. She hasn’t put up a fight, which seems odd.” Nathan looked troubled.
“You didn’t see her,” Lina explained to the older man. “She looked like she really didn’t want to be there, and her manner and accoutrements were all wrong. She was driving a beat up old compact car, and she moved like a scared mouse from the moment she parked and got out of her car.”
“It might’ve been an act,” Nathan said, his head tilted, as if considering the situation.
“I’ll grant you that. But I really don’t think so,” Lina insisted. “I think she was an unwilling participant, sent there by someone she dared not disobey.”
“Or she was the sacrificial lamb, sent there to be slaughtered.” An old woman’s voice came out of the darkness, followed by Mrs. Peabody emerging from the shadows beside the house.
Lina had to hand it to her. The old witch had just snuck up on three shifters in their prime. Now that was a feat of stealth seldom matched. All of them looked at the older woman with varying degrees of surprise and consternation.
“Good to see you, Mrs. P,” Liam said respectfully to the coven elder. “Do you really think the girl was sent to be sacrificed?”
Mrs. Peabody moved closer and nodded. “Judging by what I’ve heard about her so far, I believe that is the case.
I’ve been taking a closer look at that grimoire page you found, and I believe it is necessary to have a blood sacrifice on hand when calling a monster so vile.
As soon as it forms in the mortal realm, its hunger must be assuaged, and I think the girl was there to be devoured.
She might be from a powerful magical family, but they clearly didn’t care about her.
Most mages with a modicum of power manage to at least buy themselves a new car once in a while. ” She sniffed disdainfully.
“Mike sent me the details on her car, and I had a buddy run it. The car is registered to Letisha Portnoy, age thirty-two, employed as a librarian in Upper Montclair, New Jersey,” Nathan revealed.
“Portnoy,” Mrs. Peabody breathed. “Yes, that explains a lot. The Portnoys are a very old and magical bloodline that had quite a few blood-path mages in their number back when last I encountered them. I am not surprised that they have thrown their lot in with the Venifucus in this matter, or that Mrs. E knew them well enough to get them to sacrifice one of their own for the cause. Likely young Letisha is a failed witch in the eyes of her family, and they have no further use for her, so they were willing to let her die if it furthered their evil plans.”
“That’s disgusting,” Lina objected. “That poor girl was scared out of her wits, and I doubt she knew she was there to be eaten by some other-realm monster.”
“No, they wouldn’t have told her the entire plan,” Mrs. Peabody agreed, then straightened and looked directly at Liam and Lina.
“I cannot thank you two enough. You have prevented a terrible act being committed on this realm, and you have ended the life of a woman I once thought of as a friend. She betrayed us all, and for that, her life was forfeit. One of the credos of the coven is that we cannot allow evil to stand, and she broke our trust time and time again. While I am saddened that it came to this, I am pleased with the results of tonight’s work and want you both to know that you are honored friends of this coven.
In other words, we owe you a big favor,” she added, grinning in a way that made her look twenty years younger.
Lina couldn’t help but answer that smile with one of her own. “We were glad to help,” she replied.
“This is twice now you have come to our aid, Liam,” Mrs. P went on, facing Liam squarely. “I perceive even greater things in your future, young man. You have my thanks and that of my sisters in the craft.”
“You’re very welcome, ma’am.” Liam held her gaze for a moment, then looked over at Lina. “But it’s been a very trying night, and we’re going to have to spend a long time cleaning up. If all is well in your neighborhood, and you don’t mind us disappearing for a few hours, we’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Don’t worry, son,” Nathan told Liam, gripping his shoulder for a moment. “I’ve got you both covered. Clean up. Rest and recuperate. We’ll debrief in the morning.”
“Thanks, Uncle Nate. I appreciate you having our backs,” Liam said. Nate nodded, and they said their goodbyes.
Nate went off with Mrs. Peabody while Liam and Lina walked toward the house. He badly needed a shower, and then he needed to rest and recuperate, just like Uncle Nate had said. But he also needed his mate. He put his arm around Lina’s shoulders as they walked up to the door.
When they went into the house, they dropped their gear in the bedroom and headed straight into the master bath.
Without words, they shucked their clothing and went into the shower that was mercifully big enough for both of them, with multiple shower heads and a rain shower feature that dumped water directly over their heads.
Liam adjusted the temperature until they were comfortable, and then they just stood there for a while, allowing the warm water to sluice over them and wash away the blood, sweat, and the taint of evil that had brushed so very close to them.
After long moments, he reached for the soap and a puffy scrubber thing he’d found in the cabinet that would be easier on Lina’s perfect skin than the loofah he preferred.
He soaped her up and then himself while she washed her hair, ridding it of the debris of battle.
By bits and pieces, they got clean, taking care of each other in the most intimate of ways without it being a sexual thing.
Far from it. They were both bone-deep tired.
They were emotionally and physically drained by what they had done, and what they’d had to do.
While it was entirely justified, it wasn’t always easy for the human sides of their minds to deal with taking someone’s life.
Tonight, they had taken out three Venifucus mages and possibly saved a fourth, though that was yet to be determined.
They’d done good work. Necessary work. But it had still been rough.
Once they were clean, Liam pulled Lina into his embrace, and they just stood there under the cleansing water, not talking but taking shelter in each other’s arms for a good long while.
When the water finally began to edge toward cold, Liam reached past Lina to turn off the tap. The silence that followed was almost startling. Only their breathing filled the steamy space, the world outside distant and irrelevant.
Lina rested her forehead against his chest, her hands braced lightly on his ribs.
He folded his arms around her, feeling the fine tremor that ran through her.
It wasn’t fear. She hadn’t shown fear in the face of Venifucus mages.
His woman didn’t know the meaning of the word fear, and he loved that about her.
She was slowly uncoiling everything she’d been holding in while they’d faced danger together.
“It’s over,” he murmured against her hair.
Her voice was muffled against his skin. “For now, at least.”
He smiled faintly. “Good enough for me.”
They stood that way for a long time, neither willing to move first. The exhaustion in his muscles was bone-deep, but so was the relief. The scent of her shampoo mingled with clean skin and warm water. She smelled of home and comfort, and everything he hadn’t realized he needed.
When she finally lifted her head, her eyes were soft but steady. “I still can’t believe we made did it. That we ended the threat.”
Liam brushed a wet strand of hair from her cheek.
“You fought like hell, and I’m so damned proud to be your mate.
I’ve served beside a lot of seasoned warriors, but I’ve never seen anyone braver than you.
I almost died when I saw you flying through the air, claws out, launching yourself at that old witch. ”
Her lips curved, shaky but genuine. “Coming from a Navy SEAL and one of the most badass lions I’ve ever met, that’s high praise.”
He chuckled quietly, the sound easing some of the heaviness between them. “Guess we make a good team.”
“The best,” she agreed, then her smile faded into something quieter, more serious. “We’re really doing this, aren’t we? You and me.”
He met her gaze, no hesitation left. “Yeah, Lina. We are. No question about it.”
Something hard and tight inside her seemed to let go then. She leaned into him again, resting her head against his shoulder while his hand traced slow, comforting circles along her back.
“Tomorrow, we’ll have to deal with the debrief, and probably meet with half a dozen people,” she said softly. “But for the rest of tonight, I just want to remember that we survived. That we stopped her. I just want to be with you and forget everything else.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do,” he promised.
They stayed in each other’s arms a little longer, letting the warmth of their embrace soothe what battle had left behind. When they finally stepped out of the shower and toweled off, everything felt quieter, as if the world itself had exhaled and found peace.
Later, as they sat side by side on the bed, Liam laced his fingers through hers. “Whatever comes next,” he said, “we face it together. That’s how this works now.”
Lina squeezed his hand, eyes glinting with tired affection. “Together,” she echoed.
And when she leaned her head on his shoulder, he knew it wasn’t just the battle that had ended tonight. It was the long, lonely part of both their lives. They had each other now, and mates were forever.