Page 88 of Boss Witch

Twenty-­four hours later, Gavin received a summons.

The message came from his dad personally, and at least this confrontation wouldn’t take place in St. Claire. He packed up his stuff just in case he couldn’t come back to the flat and arranged his belongings in the storage compartment of the Duc. He secured Benson’s habitat, but the mouse preferred traveling in Gavin’s pocket, now that they could communicate properly. Normally, mice panicked and bit when they were exposed to loud noises and rapid speeds, but as a familiar, Benson wasn’t an ordinary pet any longer.

You smell worried, the mouse observed.Should we be doing this?

“It’s my best option,” Gavin said, wishing he believed it fully.

Briefly he stared at his phone, considering whether he should send a message to the coffee klatch because he genuinely felt close to some of them, especially Leonard and Howard.I might never find out how the Leonard/Gladys/Howard love triangle plays out.Since everything was uncertain, he didn’t knock on Mina’s door as he left.Perhaps I’ll be back. Or maybe the order will sever my magic and blur my mind.

Hell no.

Without thinking about it too much, he clipped his phone to the front of the Duc. It didn’t matter if the order was tracking him anymore, and it seemed fitting to turn their own tech against them. If he parked carefully and activated the camera, he could stream the footage to multiple sites he’d saved—­on both sides of the brewing battle. Hunters and witches—­who were essentially the same—­should see how this played out.

He rode to the rendezvous with his head roaring loud enough to challenge the Duc’s engine. The place his father had chosen was a truck stop some distance from the airport, plenty of pavement and no witnesses. Gavin arrived first, and he angled the motorcycle to catch the action. The land was flat enough that he could see for miles, and he spied a black SUV pulling into the car park in the distance. Gavin tapped the camera on his mobile, activated the video, connected to the livestream he’d set up prior, and swung off the bike.

“Stay out of sight,” he whispered to Benson.

Do you think I’m a rodent of unusual size? I’m a mouse. If you need me to spy for you, that I can handle. Otherwise…The mouse’s calm sarcasm kept Gavin’s emotions in check. As he waited, the weather wasn’t too hot despite the bright summer sun overhead. A minute or so later, Ted hopped out of the SUV and ran at Gavin like he meant to tackle him.

Gavin sidestepped, careful to stay within the mobile’s frame. “Before you have a go, understand that there are witnesses.”

“The fuck are you talking about? You’re alone.” Ted cracked his knuckles, but he didn’t lash out. Yet. His crew emerged from the back doors, and they all looked pissed, especially Joanna and Ingram. “The only reason I’m not already on you is because I have orders to wait until Jase gets here.”

“It’s all pointless,” Gavin said. “Hunters will make up their own minds, now that the truth can’t be hidden any longer. We’re all witches, understand?”

The air smelled faintly of petrol and the soft rubber of hot tires. This was such a ridiculous place for his fate to be sealed—­with cars zipping by on the tollway and lorries parked across the way.

But here we are.

He focused on a weed that had tenaciously taken root in the cracks in the asphalt. The energy swirled forth readily this time, and he fed the weed, envisioning it growing tall and strong. The plant quivered and sprang up, big enough to widen the crack in the pavement.

“Witchcraft,” said Darcy in a shocked tone. She took a step back, eyeing Gavin like she’d never seen him before and he might suddenly set fire to everything and everyone around him.

“You can all do that,” he said. “With varying degrees of success. I suppose it’s possible you’d have a different attunement.”

“Don’t say it,” Joanna cut in with an icy tone. “You’ve just given us proof of your deviance and your break with all the beliefs we hold sacred. We have no choice but to—­”

“Continue with the same bullshit?” Gavin guessed. “Just give it a fucking rest. It’s nonsense. I’m sure you’ve read the journal pages I posted. Those who have access to the archives can even verify the documents, if they haven’t been burned by now. But even if they have been, it doesn’t change a dammed thing. You’reallfucking witches who choose to hurt your own people. You have no jurisdiction, and if you take hostile action against your own community, the council will act accordingly.”

“Been rehearsing that speech?” Ted asked in a mocking tone, twirling his keys.

Before Gavin could answer, another black SUV rolled up.Truly, it’s a big cliché.His father, Jason Rhys, got out of the driver’s seat. It was a wonder he could recollect what side of the road to drive on. Gavin couldn’t recall the last time his old man had left headquarters and ventured into the field. It shouldn’t surprise him that Jase punched first and spoke next. Since Gavin figured he owed the old man one hit, he didn’t dodge. Gavin’s head snapped sideways. It stung, but he was in the process of dismantling Da’s entire life. As it was built on a secret and a malicious lie, this was the only way to go.

He spat blood and thumbed the red smear off his split lip. “I’ll grant you that. Not one strike more.”

“You awful, ungrateful bastard.” This wasn’t shock. No, it was pure, unadulterated rage.

In that moment, Gavin realized his fears about the old man were founded—­and disappointment broke over him in a drowning wave. “You knew,” he whispered. “This isn’t a revelation to you, it’s a secret you were keeping.”

Da glared at him with eyes unnervingly like his own, only they were flat metal with no give. There never had been any, and perhaps there never would be. This man couldn’t love. He craved power the way some people wanted a packet of crisps.

“That is—­”

“The truth,” Gavin cut in. “I won’t listen to you posture about how you were doing God’s work. I lived hearing that until my ears bled, always trying to please you, and it was never enough. I’ll repeat what I told Ted. You’re a self-­hating witch, that’s all. And the council has jurisdiction over witches who harm their own.”

“Treacherous and worthless, just like your grandfather,” Jase sneered.

Grandad had always been a sore spot for Jase, and it might push him past the point of no return if Gavin admitted he’d gotten his intel from Kevin Rhys. So he ignored that insult.

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