Chapter 17 - Troy
I slept like shit. I tossed and turned, unable to calm myself. I was angry at myself for not telling her sooner. But even more angry that I let Martin control everything. I wished things were different, and the shock on her face was sketched into my head.
I rolled over and looked at the time. It was three in the morning.
I threw the sheet off and decided to go for a run. I left the house and drove to the park. I shifted and went running into the woods. I tried to let my wolf lead the way, not even caring where we were headed.
I understood her wanting space, and I wanted to give her that. She deserved it. I could see just how shocked she was as I told her everything. I wished I’d done it sooner.
I arrived home exhausted. My mind was still going, but my body was ready to sleep. I took a hot shower and allowed the heat to relax my muscles.
I got dressed and headed into the kitchen. I froze when I spotted Elize sitting at the counter with a cup of coffee. I swallowed and walked over.
“Morning.”
She gave me a soft smile. “Morning.”
“You’re up early.”
She nodded. “I couldn’t sleep. So, I figured I might as well get started on the day.” She looked me up and down. “You’re up early.”
“I couldn’t sleep either.” I poured myself a cup of coffee and sat down next to her.
She clicked her tongue and nodded. “So, what are your plans today?”
“You know the usual. Have some meetings, tell Ivan what to do, and wallow in self-pity.”
She made a face, and I smiled. “I kid, of course.”
She softly smiled as she looked down at her coffee. “I’m sorry.”
“Elize, don’t apologize. You have nothing to be sorry about.”
“But you’re waiting for me.”
“I will continue to wait. You’re worth waiting for.” I kissed her on her cheek before I grabbed my keys and left.
I headed to work and decided to go through emails. I organized my desk drawers and made a list of things that Ivan and I still needed to get done for the summer. I was doing everything to stop myself from seeking Elize out.
After I finished cleaning, I knew I needed to do something productive. I couldn’t let what was going on with Elize, and I got in the way of finding out the truth.
So, I looked up Martin’s calendar to see what he was doing. If I couldn’t get him to admit to anything, I certainly couldn’t catch him in the act of something.
I found he had a few meetings planned. Most of his day was empty, but he planned a private phone call during his lunch break. I knew that was my chance.
I ended up following Martin around. I made sure he didn’t know I was around, but I watched him. I tailed him all day until he parked for lunch at the small park that was next to a soccer field.
I watched him, not even sure what I was looking for at this point. But either way, I knew I had to find something.
The side of my car opened, and I turned. I was surprised to see it was Elize.
“Elize.”
“You on a stack out?” she asked as she climbed in.
I stammered for words, not sure what to say when she held up a sandwich. “I figured you’d probably be hungry.”
“How did you know I was here?”
“I called Ivan when you didn’t answer my call. He said you guys were busy and wouldn’t tell me. So I threatened to key his car.”
My jaw dropped. “You’re joking.”
She snorted. “I would never actually do it, but I got what I wanted. So, you’re stalking my uncle?”
I swallowed. “I might be, but you don’t have to be here. I know that…”
She shook her head. “I don’t need you to protect me, Troy. I need to know the truth about everything.” She sighed. “I want to help with this. Actually, I need to help with this. So, let me.”
I nodded. “Only if you want to. I’m not forcing you.”
She gave me a soft smile. “I want to. And besides, my uncle will give me more information. He doesn’t know that I know everything. Why don’t we use that to our advantage?”
“That actually might help.”
Over the next couple of days, Elize and I worked together. We monitored Martin from a distance. She went out to lunch with him one day, hoping to get information, but got nothing. I looked through anything of his that I could get my hands on, but found nothing.
Elize even tried to talk with the other council members, hoping maybe someone would accidentally slip up, but she got nothing.
We were sitting across from City Hall at a picnic.
Elize was lying on her back, staring at the sky, while I could see straight into City Hall.
I could see that Martin was on a phone call, nodding his head along.
Elize managed to plant a bug on Martin’s cell phone, but we hadn’t received anything important back.
“You think this is obvious, what we are doing?” Elize asked as she turned her head toward me. She was wearing a sun hat and a summer dress. She had a soft smile on her face. I didn’t even care that this was a cover. I got to spend time with her.
“No, it looks like we are having a romantic time.”
She chuckled as she turned her gaze back up. I watched as Martin got up and started to pace back and forth, still talking on his office phone.
“You think we should have bugged his office?”
She snorted at this. “We could, but they do have cameras inside.”
I grunted and grabbed a pretzel, tossing it into my mouth. “I just need to stop thinking about him for a moment, and maybe another idea will come to me.”
She turned and rested her head on her hand. “I forgive you.”
My head snapped toward her, and she gave me a gentle smile. “I know that you didn’t mean to hurt me. I think a part of me always knew that.”
I swallowed, watching the way she fiddled with the strings on her dress.
“But this is going to take time to adjust. I’ve put up a wall, and I’ve never been able to trust people the same way.
And hearing that Martin… someone that was always there for me was doing things like this…
it just…” She frowned. “It shook me. And I need you to understand that this is hard.”
I reached across the space and took her hand. “I know. I know this is going to take time.”
“You’re not disappointed?”
“I’m not disappointed. Does this mean I can kiss you at least?” I asked, glancing down at her lips.
I watched a blush cover her face, and a small smile pulled at her lips. “We’re supposed to be stalking.”
“Just one kiss and we can go back to stalking.”
She laughed, but before I could lean in, a scream erupted in the air.
We both jumped and turned. Just then, I found a woman being shoved hard onto the ground across the street.
The man pinning her down as his body started to shift into his wolf form.
All the hair on my body went up as I realized what was happening.
“Shit!”
We both jumped up and started running. We ran across the street, and I yanked the man right off the gal. Elize moved toward the gal as I turned to the guy. His eyes were completely black, and he glared at me with fury. He
I could hear Elize behind me talking to the woman, trying to see if she was okay. The man moved fast, jumping at me, and we both tumbled hard to the ground.
I smacked my head onto the concrete and felt my vision quickly blur. “Troy!” Elize screamed.
But I kept my hold on the man, twisting and shoving him hard into the ground. I tried to shake the pain off as he thrashed against me. He screamed, but not in words.
Elize moved closer. She reached out, placing her hand on his head. But he continued to wiggle, trying to break free. Elize looked at me, her face going white.
“It’s not doing anything.”
“Try harder.”
She looked back down at the man and placed her other hand down. I could see the magic spilling from her fingers onto his head. But he continued to move. He was fighting her, and he was winning.
My stomach sank at this. Was her magic not enough anymore? Was the dark magic growing more powerful now?
“This isn’t working, Troy.” She looked at me with worried eyes. “I need more hands.”
I didn’t know what to say. We didn’t have any other witches in Riverville. At least, none that I knew that knew how to calm.
I could hear people starting to crowd around us. I quickly spotted Ivan as he was running across the street. We had to get the man under control one way or another.
“Troy, what do you need?” he asked.
“I need a rope and fast. Elize isn’t able to calm him.”
Ivan nodded and ran off.
“We’re going to have to tie him up until we can calm him.”
She chewed on her lower lip. “We need to take him to the convent.”
My eyebrows went up. “That’s a drive. I don’t know if I can keep him contained that long, Elize.”
“It’s the only way. I’m not enough. Victoria should be able to help.”
I nodded because I couldn’t think of anywhere else to go. It was that or lock him up.
“Grab the car,” I told Elize as I held the man down. “You’re going to have to drive.”
“But maybe I should just keep trying to calm him and have Ivan drive.”
I shook my head. “No, Ivan is going to help me keep him controlled. Get the car.”
I kept the man pinned, unsure why Elize hadn’t been able to calm him more. But it was a question for later. Right now, we need to get him under control.
Ivan arrived, and I had him tie the guy’s hands behind him. I could hear murmurs as Elize pulled the car up. Ivan and I pulled him into the back, and I took in the crowd that was forming. I knew they would have questions, and someone needed to be here to handle them.
“Ivan,” I pointed to the crowd. “Handle this. I’ll call you with updates and make sure the woman is okay.”
Ivan nodded as I got in, and he slammed the door shut. Elize looked at me. “I thought you said he was going to help you!”
“He has to handle the crowd. Drive, Elize.”