Surge Of Magic (27 page)

Before she had the chance to pick up the rope in order to fling it at the person, the door opened and someone rushed in. Stunned to see it was Randy—or possibly Randy’s lookalike—wearing casual clothes with his hands behind his back, she needed to alter her plan. Too bad her brain had already short-circuited.

A guard stepped into the room.
Think
. She glanced at the chair and willed it to fly. And fly it did, smacking him right in the face. Unfortunately, all that did was force him to stumble backward. He batted the chair away and let out a few curses. Shit.

Without thinking, she raised both hands and directed a bolt of electricity to flow. Never did she expect such a strong blue streak to come out of her. The man screamed. He grabbed his gut and dropped to his knees.

Blood pounded in her temples as the smell of burnt flesh reached her. She’d run over a squirrel once and was still sick to her stomach over it. Harming a person really tore her up, until she remembered these mutants weren’t human.

“Teagan, we need to get out of here,” Randy said, taking her back to the present.

She stuck her hand into her pocket and was about to extract a key when she remembered this could be a trick. “What’s your mother’s first name?”

“What?”

“Your mother’s name?”

“Alice.”

That was right, but perhaps they’d researched him. There had to be something only the real Randy would know. “What did I give Kip for his last birthday?”

“A book on weapons.”

She let out a breath and removed the key from her pocket. “Let’s see if this works on your cuffs.”

“What were those questions about?” he asked.

“I’ll tell you later.” She quickly freed Randy then grabbed her purse. “We need to get out of here.”

He took hold of her hand and then half dragged her down the hallway. When he reached the main entrance, he lifted a finger to his lips then positioned her behind the door. She wanted to ask where Kip was and what happened to the other guard, but before she could open her mouth, the door opened and Randy broke into a smile.

“Took you long enough,” he said. Randy faced her. “Look who’s here to save you.”

Once she spotted Kip, joy spread through her. Teagan rushed around the door and threw herself into his arms. “Thank you.”

“Hey, what about me?” Randy asked. “I agree to be captured and chanced getting killed so we could save you.” The humor in his tone helped take the edge off the horror.

“We aren’t out of danger yet,” Kip said. “We have to get out of here before the next shift arrives or my guard wakes up and shifts.” He slipped her purse from her shoulder and placed it in his backpack. “Hope you’re up for a jog.”

She was still a bit woozy from the drugs, but she wouldn’t let that stop her. “I’ll do my best.”

As she stepped outside, a guard laying face down on the ground groaned. Kip clasped her hand and rushed her toward the woods. She didn’t want to know what happened to him.

Once her body got used to the rhythm of jogging, she was able to keep up, though she could tell they were taking it slower for her sake.

After fifteen minutes, her energy finally gave out. “I need a break.”

She planted her hands on her knees.

“Are you okay? I have some water in my pack,” Kip said.

“Water would be wonderful.” He retrieved a bottle and handed it to her. She drank her fill. “Thank you.”

“Let’s walk.” Kip tapped his ear. “Jackson, we have Teagan. Tell the others we’re good. We’re heading to the truck now.”

She suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of love. So many men had been willing to charge into danger for her. “Tell them, I’ll bake a cake for all of them.”

“That would be great. You can thank everyone at the party this weekend. Now we have two things to celebrate.”

Fifteen minutes later, they reached Kip’s truck, and she was never so happy to see anything in her life. She just wanted to go home and hide. Then it occurred to her that the Changelings would never give up trying to steal her magic. “Do you think it’s safe at my house?”

Kip looked over at Randy then back at her. “Maybe you ought to stay at our house for a while. I have it alarmed.”

Randy cleared his throat. “If you don’t mind, I’d rather crash at Teagan’s place for a few days to give you two some privacy.”

He was the best. “I owe you big time,” she said.

Kip helped her into the back of the truck then handed the keys to Randy. “Mind driving? I want to make sure Teagan is okay.”

“Not a problem.”

Kip slid into the back and hugged her close. As soon as Randy pulled onto the road, reality slammed into her, and she began to shake. Those monsters could have killed her.

Kip kissed the top of her head. “You’re safe now.”

Don’t cry, don’t cry
. She needed to be strong. “How can you be so sure they won’t come after me again?” Her damn voice wavered.

“We can’t be sure of anything, anymore than I can say that they won’t run up to me someday, and stab me and steal my powers.”

That didn’t make her feel any better. “If all of the Wendayans are at risk, maybe we need to warn them.” She looked up at Kip whose jaw was tight.

“I think we need to take this back to the Clan leaders and have them come up with a plan. This is bigger than us. In the meantime, we need to be careful.”

“So as not to be fooled again by a Kip or a Randy lookalike, do you think we can come up with a phrase that we say, and the other person has to respond in a certain way—something a Changeling can’t fake?”

“A lookalike?” Randy asked.

She explained how someone who looked like him had come to the house and told her Kip had a heart attack. “I willingly got into his Mercedes.”

“That is creepy,” Randy said.

Kip’s arms tightened around her. “That’s a great idea. What could it be?”

“We’ll have to brainstorm it.”

“Hey, Kip?” Randy asked as he looked in the rear view mirror. “I think we have company. And it isn’t one of ours.”

Teagan started to turn around when Kip dragged her upper body onto his lap. “Stay down. I’ll take care of this.”

He moved to the side of the car and rolled down the window. Cool air rushed in, but it brought some much-needed oxygen into her system. “Not sure who they are, but we don’t need them following us,” he said.

Kip twisted toward the rear and stuck out his arm. As much as Teagan wanted to look, she couldn’t chance being seen. Once she realized she hadn’t had a premonition that something horrible would happen to Kip or Randy, her heartbeat slowed.

Two shots rang out, making her heart beat in a rapid tattoo. There went her calm, and her unfailing belief that she’d always have a premonition when something bad was about to happen.

“Fuckers,” Randy snarled as he swerved the truck.

Teagan grabbed hold of the seat and closed her eyes, almost expecting to careen over the edge of the mountain.

Kip leaned back in and rolled up the window. “They won’t be following us anymore. All I can say is that a bullet better not have hit the car.”

“Not to mention, you’d have to come up with a good story for the insurance company as to why someone was shooting at you.”

“Damn Changelings.”

“What did you do to them?” she asked, her voice thick and wavering.

Kip sat her up and pressed her face against his chest. “I stopped the electrical system in their car. They’ll be stranded for a while. I figure if they understand what they’re up against, they’ll stay away from us.” He pressed a hand to his ear. “Say again. Okay.” He rubbed her back. “Are you okay with having a quick debriefing at the office? Connor, Rye, and Kalan are on their way back there, and they’d like to ask you a few questions.”

“Sure, I’ll do anything I can to help stop those criminals, though I really don’t know much.”

“Any little detail might even help.”

The next fifteen minutes before they reached town seemed to take forever because Teagan kept imagining another ambush. Only when Randy stopped behind Kip’s workplace, did her nerves calm down, and she started to relax. With an arm around her shoulder, Kip led her inside. “We’ll meet in the conference room. Can I get you anything?”

“A cup of coffee would be great. I need something to settle my nerves.”

As Kip stepped over to a coffee station, she looked around and was immediately impressed with the maps on the wall and what looked like a real time video of an aerial view of the bunker. When she spotted Kip sneaking out from the side of the bunker and attacking the guard, she realized this was a replay.

“Pretty cool, huh?” Jackson said. He stepped over and hugged her. “So glad to see you’re okay.”

Kip had said Jackson’s surveillance had been critical to the success of the mission. “Thanks for helping.”

“No problem. I will admit, I was worried when the guard caught Randy.”

“All planned, my man. All planned,” Randy said with pride in his voice.

Kip returned with a cup of coffee and a donut and led them into the conference room. The rest of the team came in shortly.

Rye sat at one end of the table. “Glad to see you’re unharmed, Teagan. “Can you tell us everything you remember?”

She started with how she’d been fooled into believing it was Randy who’d come to her door claiming Kip had had a heart attack, and then how the man had stabbed her with a needle.

“Did he really say I had a heart attack?” Kip asked. “And you believed him?” He puffed out his chest.

She didn’t need his criticism. “Yes. I mentioned about you having a dizzy spell, and the fake Randy said that was one of the first signs, so I believed him.”

He rubbed her arm. “I’m sorry. I was trying to lighten the mood. But my dizzy spell was because I had a premonition.”

“What?”

“It involved you, but I wasn’t sure what it meant. Now I’ll be able to warn you if anything bad is to happen.”

“That’s amazing.” To think she’d received his ability to shoot electricity, and he had her ability with telekinesis as well as her premonitions. They were mated in every sense.

“Yes, we truly are bonded. Now finish your story.”

She squeezed his hand in support and then continued. “Next thing I knew, I was in that creepy room tied up.”

Kip then detailed his divide and conquer plan.

“When I was shoved into the room,” Randy said, “Teagan had already freed herself and took out the guard without my help.”

Kip swiveled to face her. “How?”

For the first time in a while, she smiled. “I guess I’m getting better with my newfound magic.”

They all talked at once. Slowly, she was able to answer all of their questions.

Kalan looked around. “Did they tell you why they took you?”

“No. After that man stuck me with a hypodermic syringe, the sedative knocked me out fast, so I never got to speak with any of them.”

“More proof,” Rye said, “That the Changelings have temporarily run out of their precious sardonyx. Otherwise, they would have stabbed Teagan like they did Randy. I figure they were expecting a shipment any day.” That thought gave her the chills. “I’ll investigate to see where one could buy some of this stone, and ask the suppliers if they have ever sold any to someone who lived in the hills around Silver Lake.”

“That’s going to be a hard sell,” Kip said.

“I’ll be persuasive.”

“I’ll ask Elana too,” Kalan said. “She might be able to give me some names of other importers that I can contact.”

Rye huffed. “I bet they’re sorry they stopped that supply line.”

“True.” Kip pushed back his chair. “If you don’t need us, I’d like to take Teagan home.”

“Absolutely,” Rye said.

The three of them left, and as soon as Teagan stepped outside, a weight lifted from her shoulders. This morning she’d been so happy that her life was on track, and in a few short hours, it had almost been cut short. Had it not been for Randy, Kip, and the others, no telling what might have happened.

Both Randy and Kip had parked in back. Only then did something occur to her. “Randy, if your car is here, how did that Changeling have it?”

“He didn’t. There are a lot of black Mercedes in town, and nothing’s distinctive about mine—no bumper stickers or major dents. Is it possible, you just assumed it was mine? Do you even know the year and model of this one?”

Even looking at it now, she had no idea. “You have a point.” Sneaky bastards.

Kip wrapped a comforting arm around her waist and turned to Randy. “How about Teagan and I head to her house and pack? You head home and do the same, and we’ll meet you back at our house in say an hour?”

“Works for me. I’m actually looking forward to a change in scenery.”

They said goodbye, and then Kip drove back to her house. When he arrived, he insisted on checking out the interior before allowing her back inside. This time she was thankful for his caution.

As much as she loved her house, she would feel safer in his. She’d thought about asking if they could return to Mr. Murdoch’s cabin on shifter land, but they were too isolated, and despite having been in the security business, she bet he hadn’t installed any kind of system.

She packed as much as she could in her one suitcase. “I can see a few trips back here.”

“It doesn’t have to be permanent.”

Given the size of his home, she wouldn’t mind. “What about Randy?”

“What about him?”

“I feel kind of bad that he has to move because of me.”

Kip shook his head. “I don’t think he really cares. My brother is rather adaptable.”

When they returned to Kip’s home, Randy was waiting for them in the living room. “Did we ever come up with something to say to each other so we can tell if it’s really us?”

“No,” she said. “It has to sound natural though. Maybe something like,
Did I tell you I found my lost ring?
And the other person would say,
You mean the one with the red stone?
”

Randy glanced over at Kip. “You don’t think that would sound strange coming from a man?”

“It’s only between us.”

They both shrugged. “So, we agree on the red stone ring that’s found,” Randy said.

That little bit of assurance really helped Teagan. “Just so you know, the toilet in my bathroom has a tendency to run. Just jiggle the handle.”