Page 42 of To Teleport, or Not to Teleport?
Hatred for whoever was causing him so much grief filled me. I’d never felt the emotion so thoroughly. Its oily residue wrapped around my insides as I envisioned all of the ways I’d off them in a novel if I were an author. If it meant protecting Grayson, I’d do it in real life.
Grayson didn’t deserve the hate he was receiving for simply living. He had never been like the abusive man who’d raised him. The crimes some accused Gray of had been both a curse and a blessing.
It had been some of those crimes that had saved mother and son when Bryson had been sent to the pokey. If I was a betting woman, I’d have bet that the abuse at Bryson’s hands would only have escalated. There was no telling what would have been left of Grayson and his mother, if anything.
I unlocked my phone and scrolled through my contacts. When he took a turn exceptionally fast, I accidentally pressed DeeDee’s number.
“Aileen?” DeeDee asked, the town growing larger before us as we sped into town.
“Hey, can you tell Mac to meet us at Gray Designs, like yesterday?”
“What’s going on?”
“Dee, get Mac!” I snapped and immediately felt awful for speaking to the sweet deer Shifter in such a manner.
“Is that smoke?” Kaleb asked, leaning forward between Grayson and me.
Wisps of gray floated to the sky, and my stomach rolled. To my left, the muscles in Grayson’s jaw tightened, his teeth grinding with the force.
He’d done everything to be a productive member of the community again, all because he was determined to return for me. He’d even created a spot for me in his home.
Love filled my chest, causing my heart to expand for the man who’d once been my best friend and crush—a man I was proud to accept as my mate, even if it had taken me a little longer than it should have.
If the person behind Gray’s misfortune tried using me to hurt him, something I’m surprised hadn’t already happened, they would be in for a surprise. There wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do for him. Fierce protectiveness filled me, driving out the last bit of hate I’d allowed in me. “I love you, Grayson McCune.”
He looked away from the road to my face and back again, the engine slowing with the surprise I’d caused.
Leaning forward, I pressed my lips to his cheek and whispered. “I. Love. You.” Pulling back, I let my cells heat up, envisioning the front of his shop.
“What are you—”
This time when I teleported, I aced my landing. Through the glass, I saw flames licking up the drywall and destroying the wooden furniture Grayson had spent hours working on. Behind me, I heard people running to see where the smoke was coming from.
“Aileen!” Cami shouted as she reached me. “What is going on?”
“He’s done nothing wrong, and this is how they welcome him?” I shouted, my chest rising and falling.
Raising my arms in the air, I directed my palms toward the blazing fire. “Free the innocent of the flaming tongues of deceit. May what the wicked have done come back in three. Goddess undo the damage done, so that we can finally live as one.”
The flames inside the shop became smaller, and the moment relief tickled the edges of my consciousness, the fire grew almost twice as large.
“No!” I screamed, tears falling down my cheeks.
Tires squealed in the distance as sparkling-blue bubbles filled the air, announcing Baba Yaga.
“Well ain’t that quite the bonfire,” Baba Yaga said, bangles jingling as she tapped a slender finger on her chin.
“Please dosomething,” I begged.
Grayson wrapped his arms around me and pulled my back to his front, ignoring the powerful witch before us as a growl filled the air. “Don’t ever teleport into danger again! I can rebuild it a thousand times, and I’m not leaving this town withoutyou.Do you hear me?” He spun me in his arms and tipped my face back with one hand. His touch was rough but not painful. I knew I could make him so angry, his head wanted to pop, but he’d never hurt me. “I love you, Aileen, and I didn’t come all the way back to Assjacket to lose you!”
“Oh my,” Baba Yaga whispered, and from the sound of her gaudy bangles, I imagined her fanning her face. “Go on, girl. You can’t leave him hanging like that. Oof!”
My cheeks warmed. “I love you too, but your store—”
He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter if I don’t have you.”
My heart squeezed, filling with so much emotion, I thought I’d burst. With a shake of my head, I said, “They won’t stop unless we stop them.”
