13 #2
“Thank you,” Tracey told me firmly. “I know you’re part of all of this, but you can’t be paid extra as a team lead for the council. It’s seen as a conflict and the council guards can’t have extra jobs like cops or—it’s amazing how much you’re putting in.”
I dipped my head and accepted what she was saying but wasn’t really sure what was going on. Obviously, someone had started shit or said something to reach her ears that I was getting too much from Bevin? Maybe it was unfair the time she’d spent with me?
Honestly, probably all of the above with how selfish people could be, but I appreciated her shutting any of it down.
“Whatever you guys need,” I told her since others were listening. “We’re stretched thin, and there are some things I can’t teach without approval, but this—Wyatt could teach if he was here.”
She frowned and looked around. “I actually haven’t seen him much this break. That’s odd. I wonder…” She seemed to think better of what she was going to say. “We all need to take breaks, so hopefully he’s getting rest or recharging and not family drama.”
Or something was going on that I didn’t know about and she was covering it because Taylor looked like he was trying not to react.
Not my business, not my circus.
But as much as I wanted to work out, I was too tired after all of that and napped at the glamping setup while Loki harvested for me.
The beds were insanely comfortable and someone was always cooking or around, so it was like a community.
That was nice, but sometimes I just wanted the quiet too.
I could tell others felt the same because there wasn’t pressure to chat.
I was actually off Saturday, but Bevin was going to integrate the last of the council’s familiars into the group that was there all the time. It had taken longer than planned because some really were as egotistical as their warlocks, but she was finally comfortable with taking that step.
It was a last-minute plan before school started again and all the council members could swing the time. Normally, that was when they were the least annoying and the ones who had already gone felt bad for those who hadn’t.
At first. Now that things had dragged out because of the attitudes of their familiars, people were losing patience. Luckily, it wasn’t too bad and none of it was pointed at Bevin.
Still, I wasn’t the only one who made sure to get her out of there fast. I was glad for the timing because Eunice was actually starting his shift. He hadn’t been around besides just for work which was part of what was so weird. He always volunteered for everything.
Always.
He was someone who always wanted to help. Not just the council, but to move or with a party. You name it and Eunice would be there. He was that kind of guy and genuinely a nice person. Never asked for anything back, but everyone would because people only had good things to say about him.
Seriously, I didn’t think one guard could talk shit about him and that wasn’t a thing. No matter how nice the person, personalities still clashed and nothing matched without some friction.
But with Eunice? Nope. Everyone liked him and I’d never heard a bad word about him.
Bevin caught on when I gave her a look and glanced his way.
She winked at me and hummed a bar of the Mission: Impossible theme song before we headed that direction.
Seriously, she was such a damn goof. Normally, I would have chuckled and enjoyed it because I knew she’d done it because I was worried.
But I was worried about one of my best friends. Eunice and I hadn’t just gone through guard schooling together. No, we’d met in grade school. He was one of my oldest friends and honestly like a brother to me. I’d do anything for the guy.
Even break my own morals about privacy and take his valid beating later when I confessed what I’d done.
Bevin tripped over her own feet when we got closer and wasn’t focused on that or me when I caught her. I was about to ask her if she was okay, but then I saw she was trying to hold it together… While staring at Eunice’s familiar.
No. No, I’d been right.
My head whipped around to look at Eunice and that was the moment he caught what was going on, freezing in his conversation. He went pale as he glanced between Bevin and me… And then to his familiar.
“That’s why you haven’t been around. You didn’t want her to hear your familiar,” I whispered.
He jumped away from the group of people, and to my absolute horror, he pulled his gun. People kept it together, remembering their training and telling him to calm down and asking what was going on.
I pushed Bevin behind me, but she tried to fight me.
“Eunice, don’t do this,” she begged him. “We can fix this, I promise.”
“Fix what?” I asked, but mostly him. “But she’s right. We can—put it down, man. No matter what’s going on, you can’t hurt her.”
“Not me,” she whimpered.
What? Who then? I didn’t have time to ask before Eunice responded, his gun not pointed at anyone but just out and the safety off.
He was focused on me, but really Bevin. “I didn’t talk. I didn’t. I didn’t say anything.”
“I know,” Bevin choked out. “We can fix this.”
“We can’t,” Eunice whispered. “Jason Berns is too powerful and the council won’t protect my family.
They won’t do anything but try to take more power for themselves.
” He looked past us, probably at the councilmen arriving after being informed.
“Fuck all of you. You did this. I believed in you. I did. I believed you were the way and would protect us. You are just as bad.”
“Eunice, I know things aren’t what we thought, but we can still fix things and—” I argued, holding out my hand to him.
He met my gaze. “Not this time, Link. Jason was clear that if I got caught and was a witness, my family’s dead besides my sisters who will be their whores.
” He gestured past me. “They won’t do anything.
They can’t. They let it all get like this and…
” He focused on Bevin. “I hope you win. I’m sorry. I never told him anything.”
“No!” I roared as he raised the gun to his own head and pulled the trigger in one motion, none of us being able to stop it with our magic in time. We couldn’t in that area of the council estate.
And none of us were close enough to stop it physically.
I caught him before his head hit the ground, but that didn’t matter at that point, blood everywhere and just a mess. Another of our closest friends right there with me yelling for a healer knowing it wouldn’t do anything.
Because Eunice’s lifeless eyes were staring up at us.
Distantly, I heard other orders being given, but I couldn’t process them. I couldn’t process anything. I couldn’t wrap my mind around what had just happened.
Someone touched me and I shoved them away, people around us yelling more. I yelled for them to go away and not to touch him.
“Link, it’s me, kiddo,” Uncle Mark said gently. “He’s gone. He’s gone, Link.”
I shook him off but also set Eunice down, closing his eyes after I did. I met the gaze of my other close friend, Dean, and he just plopped back on his heels and stared at the blood on his hands.
I pushed to my feet and shoved my uncle aside, focused on Bevin. Winter slid in between us faster than I would have thought and moved his hand to my chest. Had I even known he was there?
Does it fucking matter?
“Let’s just—I know you’re all over, man, but it’s not on her.”
I frowned, my brain not processing his words like I normally would.
Then I curled my lip. “You really have a shit opinion of me and we’re going to handle that later because it’s undeserved and I’m tired of it.
” I glanced around him so I could see Bevin, but I kept my body in place so he didn’t react. “What did you hear?”
“Okay, fair, but not here,” Winter muttered. “Others shouldn’t know that answer.”
“Then get her off to the side because I need to know that. Now,” I said under my breath, meeting his gaze and making it clear that he better listen to me because I had no problem going through him.
He gave a sharp nod and led Bevin off to the side, Dean joining us and waving back others, but a few of our supervisors joined.
We couldn’t shut them out, and I was pretty sure they knew she could hear the familiars or she was special at least. Most around the estate knew she was the owner of Familiar Treasures but not the rest.
Bevin seemed to decide that was better than risking more people, focused on me. “That I needed to leave. That if Eunice interacted with me, he’d have to report it to Jason Berns and he was running out of excuses and Jason was getting impatient for information. He didn’t tell anything.”
“He wouldn’t have,” Dean whispered. “He wouldn’t trade one life for another.” He swallowed loudly. “He’d give his.” He swore in a few ways and wiped his eyes with the back of his arm. “Fuck everything.”
“What else?” I asked Bevin. Something filled her eyes and I pushed. “What?”
“That it wasn’t just Eunice, but they didn’t know who. That was why Eunice was so trapped. Jason has someone else here and he didn’t think he was the only family head who had infiltrated the council.”
“Get her out of here and don’t bring her back or interact with any of the council or guards until we can do a full security cleanse,” the head of the council guards told Winter. “Tell Taylor to lock down all communications with us—he’ll know what to do.”
“Wait, I can help and—” Bevin argued.