Magic Resistant (25 page)

Markus crossed his arms, no longer pacing the
room. The unconscious human lay between them, neither sparing him a
glance. Eyes narrowed, Markus stood strong, proud and silent.

Ominously silent.

This trick wouldn’t unnerve her, though.
She’d worked with him for too long. He’d taught her stubbornness,
how to wait out a reluctant informant. She wanted answers.

"He's not good enough for you." He finally
replied.

"What?" That didn't make sense.

Grateful for the desk under her butt, the
sturdy wood kept her upright. This was the last thing she expected
from him. He’d never struck her as the jealous, possessive type.
They didn’t have that kind of relationship in the first place. Why
would he feel that way?

While she gaped at him, he explained. "I love
you like a daughter. No man will ever be good enough for you."

She waited for him to elaborate and the tense
silence stretched. Was that all he had to say? He screwed with her
life and he thought that was a good enough explanation? He wouldn't
calmly accept
her
dictating
his
life.

“Not sure how I feel about all this. Gotta
admit, I’m a little pissed off at you for being so high-handed and
making choices for me. I’m a grown woman and I don’t need you
deciding who I can and can’t meet, especially if I might enjoy
their company!” She stopped to suck in some air and realized she’d
been yelling. Guess she was angrier than she thought.

Fixing him with a furious glare, she
continued “You and I are going to have this out later on. We don’t
have time to stand here and argue. But don’t think I’m going to
forget this. And remember what I said earlier about you getting a
new partner? Forget it! You’re not getting a new partner. I'm gonna
make your life a living hell for pulling this damn stunt on me. And
wipe that smirk off your face or I’m not responsible for what I do
next.”

“Sorry.” His lips quirked upwards before
straightening. He sounded contrite, just not enough to satisfy her.
“I’ll meekly accept any reprimands you give me at a later date. I'm
glad you’re safe.”

He held out his arms for a hug. After a
moment’s hesitation, she stepped over the human and wrapped her
arms around him.

“I’ve missed you.” She whispered into his
chest.

“I missed you too.” He tightened his hold and
then released her. “Tell me, what in the nine hells is going on?
Why haven’t you tried to escape from Jackson?”

She stepped back to get a better look at his
face, searching for any signs of deceit. How much could she trust
him? He’d been her mentor, her father-figure, for so long. She used
to believe she could trust him with her life. Now, she wasn’t so
sure. She wavered back and forth, recalling all the times he had
helped her, supported her and encouraged her to be a great
Enforcer. He never berated her or made her feel lacking.

Her mind made up, her words quiet, she said,
“I love him and Jackson’s innocent. We just don’t have solid proof
yet.”

She swung away from him, pacing in the tight
quarters, muttering to herself, “I’ve spent the last two weeks
going over everything he’s gathered. There’s a ton of shady
dealings happening. But we’ve got nothing concrete to clear him. A
lot is circumstantial evidence.”

She whirled towards Markus, the feminine part
of her enjoying the swirl of her dress, and she assessed his
reaction. To say she’d stunned him was an understatement. Not the
answer he expected.

Long term commitment had never featured
heavily in her life. The few men Julia had dated didn’t last long.
Most couldn’t understand or tolerate her long hours and inability
to discuss her work. Never mind hiding who she was and her special
talents. How could she spend hours in the basement without rousing
suspicion? Jackson, at least, knew about her hobby and would
probably pester her to watch as she imbued her earrings.

For her to fall in love so quickly was
unfathomable. Even with someone whom Markus recognized as a
potential love interest for her. She, herself, had a hard time
believing how fast she’d fallen for him.

“Does he really mean that much to you? Would
you turn your back on the Enforcers, on me?” He asked, slow and
careful. Julia almost heard the wheels turning. Markus never asked
a question without a deeper purpose behind it. Probing her reaction
for more than her depth of loyalty, but what, she wasn’t sure.

Rapidly blinking to clear the tears (again
with the tears!), she thought over the true meaning behind his
words. Did he want to know how much she cared for Jackson? Was he
questioning her loyalty to the Enforcers? Or did he have
information she wasn’t aware of? What answer did he expect from
her?

The thought of choosing, giving up her life
with Markus and the Enforcers or a life with Jackson choked her.
She might as well have the option between being blind or deaf, both
robbing her of something important.

Her job with the Enforcers challenged her,
stretched her limits. Markus refused to accept mediocrity,
demanding her absolute best. And yet, it was safe and predicable.
What they expected of her never changed. She’d spent her whole life
training for this career.

Sometimes, though, the unknown road was the
only choice. If she crashed and burned then so be it. At least she
tried.

“Yes. Yes he does. I would trade my life for
his if it came down to it.”

An eternity passed as Markus weighed her
answer, searching her soul to discover the truth of her words. He
sighed, sad, yet determined.

“Well, if that’s how you feel.” She braced
herself for his next words, expecting him to demand she turn
herself and Jackson in to the Enforcers. After all, she’d been
harbouring a fugitive as well as aiding and abetting one.

“I’ll help you.” She blinked at him, unable
to speak.

He’d help them? Why would he do that? Was his
loyalty to her that strong, even after she basically told him
Jackson meant more to her? The surprises kept coming during this
conversation with him.

He continued on, “We’ll find the proof, prove
his innocence. If you trust him then so do I. Your judgment has
proven accurate in the past.”

“We do have some proof. Or at least different
leads to follow. We think some werewolves might be involved.” Julia
gave him the rundown on Gavin, leaving his name out.

Markus smiled, a wild, feral curving of his
lips that didn’t bode well for his prey. She’d seen that look many
a times, usually just before he cracked a case wide open and the
offending party lay figuratively broken. No matter how tough,
Markus became relentless in his pursuit.

He replied, “That’s fantastic. Well, not that
this happened, but that you were able to track all this down in
such a short time. I think I can work with this. Do you have copies
to give me?”

Eagerness shone in his eyes and she half
expected him to rub his hands in glee. Obsessive Markus amused her,
when he didn’t drive her nuts. He’d forget to eat, randomly
disappeared, ignored her calls and generally acted like a sullen
teenager.

“Talk to Nathan. He’s got all the files.
There’re audio recordings and video footage. Some of it isn’t legal
though, not that it’d bother you. But we can’t use it in court. Can
you also tell my family and Nathan I’m fine? I’m sure they’re
worried about me.”

“They’re not the only one. I can’t believe
you’ve been in contact with Nathan and not me.” Genuine hurt crept
into his voice.

“Pure chance I talked to him. He bugged a
login he knew I’d use. I’ve tried to keep a low profile. I don’t
want anyone I care about becoming a target.” She beseeched him. “I
just didn’t know who to trust. There’s been some pretty suspicious
stuff happening within the Coterie.”

Markus raised an eyebrow, interested enough
in this new development to push aside his hurt. “What do you mean,
suspicious? Also in the notes?”

“I’ve included everything Jackson has. The
stuff about the Coterie, I found while snooping through the
database. They’ve been keeping dossiers on human military bases and
science buildings. The odd thing is, I’ve tried searching online
for some of these sites and found nothing, not a single trace of
them existing. They have files about the personnel, schedule
rotations, security and clearance levels. I also found evidence the
Coterie sanctioned hits against several of these places worldwide.
What I found really strange was the lists of missing people: mage,
human and werewolf with notations about possible Fae and demons
abductions. None of it makes sense as to why they deemed missing
people as classified. This should be common knowledge so the
Enforcers can search for them.”

The whole situation bothered Julia. Why hide
this information? And more so, why destroy military and research
facilities?

Add in the fact that only the leaders of the
Mage Coterie, Mara and Roan, had access to these files (not all
thirteen members of the Coterie) made it more suspect.

As with every government, there were several
levels of management.

The top thirteen consisted of two humans,
Felix and Paige; two mages, Mara and Roan; two werewolves, Logan
and Aaron; two vampires, Augustus and Leonora; four Fae, Titania,
Una, Mab and Duessa (two for Light and two for Dark Fay); and one
demon, Oonis. They governed over all of Earth and recognized no
borders.

Below them, it broke up depending on the
race. Mages had their levels sectioned off according to region. A
prime minister had a region such as the one who took care of
Canada. Under the prime minister, there were ministers who took
care of each province. Each main region had a different amount of
ministers depending on the division of the area.

Canada had thirteen ministers for each
province and territory. The United States had fifty ministers for
each state. They found following human boundaries made it easier.
Enforcers were then assigned to and protected the prime ministers
and ministers along with policing the main population. The Coterie
leaders had their own private squad of Elite Enforcers.

Of course, the werewolves had a different
setup. The alpha had a region or territory as they liked to call
them, but not divided the same way as the humans or mages. Five Top
Alphas controlled Canada and six in the United States. Under them
were lesser alphas who had almost as much authority as the Top
Alpha and each ran a different city and pack.

Sylvia’s pack leader was Derek and one of the
Top Alphas with all of Ontario as his region. The only ones above
Derek were Logan and Aaron, the Werewolf Coterie, although he had
four equal in power to him. It also was no coincidence the
werewolves mainly had male Alphas. The strongest and most
aggressive lead a pack, able to hold them together when their
animal instincts threatened to overwhelm them. Africa, however, had
the lone female Top Alpha.

Markus interrupted her mental musings. “I
need to see this information immediately. I’ll talk to Nathan and
have it sent to me. Send him a text, tell him I’m authorized.”

He glanced down to the human lying at their
feet and she followed his gaze. She resisted the urge to kick him,
dismissing it as petty impulse. But damn, how she wanted to.

“What are you gonna to do with him? I wanna
be there when he’s interrogated.” She told him, feeling a little
vindictive.

“Our methods can be…
unpleasant
at
times. You’re not ready to see that.”

Again with the shielding of her tender
sensibilities; the grittier side of their job too harsh for her.
She stopped being a child the day the Enforcers executed Irene.
Markus refused to acknowledge it.

“I beg to differ. It wasn’t you he threatened
to beat and rape. A large, vicious part of me would love to see him
properly interrogated. Men like him are scum and I feel no sympathy
for him.” She bared her teeth, relishing the idea of his pain.

A raised eyebrow from Markus stopped her
short. It was insubordination to demand anything from her superior
and refusing his orders; both of which he wouldn’t tolerate.

As much as she hated to admit it, Markus was
her superior and his word law. Ignoring chain of command wasn’t an
option, not if she wanted to continue as an Enforcer.

“I’m sorry. You’re right. Make sure it
hurts.”

He grinned and the cold light in his eyes
awakened her reptilian brain, the one that ran on basic instinct.
It vividly reminded her of his unknown depths, hidden pieces of his
personality. Was it a mistake to trust him? She’d seen firsthand
his ruthlessness, his ability to bend the rules when they got in
his way. The deep rage was new to her, though. He’d always had
complete control, no matter the situation.

However, he’d never done anything to
intentionally hurt her, minus some misunderstandings. Silently
sighing, she realized it was pointless to regret a possible
outcome. If he betrayed her, she would deal with the fallout if it
occurred.

“Do you need help getting him out of here?”
She asked, not expecting him to say yes. His magic was, of course,
much stronger than hers. Also, as he said, the wards on the
building were too weak to cause him any issues.

Sure enough, he shook his head then held his
arms out for another hug. She stepped into his embrace, wishing,
for a brief moment, it was a few months ago. A less complicated
time when her worries consisted of avoiding scrutiny and solving a
case.

However, she didn’t want to wish away her
time with Jackson; a child’s fantasy, turning back time.

Moving apart, she walked to the door and
waited while Markus casted invisibility. First on the human and
then himself, both faded from sight, hidden from all except her.
The shimmering forms moved towards the door. She unlocked it,
holding it open. Once they exited, she followed, closing the door
behind her.