Page 11 of Tangled Hearts

They continued looking. The stakeout was turning out to be useless, I was not gaining anything from it and was about to leave when SHE arrived. I could tell it was Sunshine’s mother because the air was saturated with her magic. You could taste it all bitter and dark. She wasn’t like any other witches I had come across before.

She was a gorgeous woman, beautiful dark long hair, dark eyes and big full lips. She had perfected her RBF, but I think she had the magic to back her up. She was in a long dress that looked to be from the Victorian age, but with a gothic twist.

“Did you capture her?” Her voice was cool, but her eyes said she was ready to let loose if anyone pissed her off.

“No, she escaped with the vampire, a wolf and the cat,” the man replied.

The air grew thick with magic, it was almost stifling even being so far away from them.

“How the hell did this happen?” Her tone was lethal. “Who are they?”

“I don’t know,” the man responded, unphased by her anger. “Your sister and Caston?—”

“I felt it,” she snapped, walking away from the man towards the castle.

“Sir, we found nothing in the southern?—”

Laima turned around to look at the person who spoke. The man looked uncomfortable before his eyes bugged out and he clawed at his neck. Before I knew it, his neck snapping was the only sound I heard.

His body slumped onto the ground as she glared at him, then walked away. Killing him was like nothing to her. She was ruthless and she hadn’t even heard everything he was going to say.

I waited until everyone followed her before moving towards the front of the castle, my mind raced with the need to do something, but I also felt a need to go back to my mate. My chest ached knowing she would worry. Opening one of my pockets I grabbed my phone, hoping it had some charge in it, but it was completely dead.

Before I could talk myself out of it, I walked to the front of the castle to see Laima walking through the destruction.

“Bring me Taylin and Merrick,” I snapped. “I expect them within two days and tell my sister her assistance is needed.”

Shit, I didn’t expect Merrick to be involved too. This seemed way bigger than I had anticipated. How many people were in on Oria’s secret. Who else had also used her?

My heart was beating fast as anger consumed me. Thoughts of running over there, snapping her and her minion’s necks ran through my head. I could be fast enough, I could make it all go away or she could kill me before I even had a chance to get near her.

“I need that cat. Either capture or kill him; he's just as important as finding her,” Laima snarled.

“Yes m’lady,” the weird dude replied to her.

“I’ll be at my sister's estate before I go back to the tower,” she said, turning around to look at him. “If we are lucky, I can find out who she is with or find clues. Get me Joseph as well.”

My blood ran cold when she said Joseph. That fucker was helping her and who knew for how long. I growled, barely keeping the sound low. Thankfully, I was far enough away that I don’t think they heard me, but it looked like I needed to pay Joseph a visit before I went back to Sunshine.

Joseph lived close to a small town called Mountain View. He lived deep enough into the woods that he was usually left alone and I needed that for what I was about to do to him. His cabin looked run-down, but the inside was modern and sleek. He liked to pretend he was poor and needed the money, but I knew he was full of shit. We always met him at another house that was dilapidated, but I knew it was all a facade.

The only reason I knew where he lived was because I had had a bad feeling about him and I followed him home one day. Soren and I were surprised when he came here instead of the other house he claimed was his. He also had a wife and kids. Joseph was a family man, but I knew one day he would fuck us over. I just hoped he would be smart and think twice about it.

The lights were on inside as I tracked him walking inside with a daughter on his hip. A moment of guilt surged through me, but I needed his information, and possibly his life.

I knocked on the door knowing that he would try to either hide everyone or go out the back. Once he saw me through the door though, he knew he couldn't run anywhere I wouldn’t catch him. He set his daughter down and walked to the front door. His heart was beating rapidly and I loved the smell of his fear.

“Can we not do it in front of my children?”

“You might want to say goodbye if this doesn’t go how I want it to,” I said, trying to scare him.

If it were Soren, he might have killed him already and Ryder would probably hear him out and kill him, but I wasn’t as quick to kill as they were.

“Ok,” he said, about to close the door, but I shook my head.

“It stays open and if you try and run, I’ll make sure they all see you die in the most gruesome fashion,” I growled.

“Of course,” he said, leaving the door open as I heard him walk to the living room telling his wife that I was here to see him and that he loved her.

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