“Hm?” Erica looks my way.
“She’s trying to make all the alphas and super alphas sick. What about you? What plan does she have to stop you from stopping her?”
“I’m covered. I’ve done an extra-special protection spell. I’ve also got all these crystals on.”
She flashes her ringed fingers and bangle-laden wrists. She’s also wearing three necklaces.
“I deconstructed everything in the crystals and plants in that basement,” Dani adds. “She’s not super creative, obviously. She’s using the same plants as last time to attack the shifters. It stands to reason she’s probably using a similar getup for Erica as what she set up to stop me. We’vegotthis.”
“She’s not even close to being one of their strongest or smartest witches,” Joel calls over. “Her background check? I’d say she’s near the bottom of that organizational chart.”
“You’d be correct,” Aphra says, coming into the room. She was upstairs putting her daughter to bed in a guestroom. “Like I told the Young sisters, Alta’s always had an inferiority complex. Always trying to get Anya’s approval. Not the savviest witch, either. I also predict she’ll use the same bag of tricks she used for Dani, thinking she can disable Erica.”
“Even knowing how much power Erica has?” I ask.
Aphra nods. “She thinks she’s harming Erica’s mate. She’ll expect it to throw her off her game.”
“I mean, she’s got human henchman. Surely, they can’t do much to help her cause other than spy on airlines, carry unconscious people, or carry a woman and be a creepy perv making gross sexual threats.” I roll my eyes.
I feel something weird spike in my chest.
It’s like Jase’s face just turned to stone.
It reminds me of the look on his face back in that basement when he was trapped and watching them carry me down the stairs.
Eureka hits me.
I gasp. “I know how to stop her.”
All eyes swing to me.
“There’s a Starling power suppression necklace in my carry-on bag!”
“There’s no time,” Joel says, staring at his laptop. “They’re just now getting into our cave.” He turns the screen so we can all see.
Alta stands in our cave with a large tote bag. Her two stepsons are hoisting a frail-looking man up out of the little dingy and onto the stone ledge.
“Go get it, Jase?” Erica suggests. “Get it and get outdoors with it as fast as you can and I’ll talk Grey through getting it to us in thatcave using his telekinesis gift. This way, in case she does have something else planned to fight me, we’re covered.”
“No need,” my brother says with a grin. “I’ve been practicing. Just get it outside.”
“Back in a minute,” Jase says and he’s immediately gone.
“You’ve got smarts,” Dr. Blakely says, tapping his temple. “I do hope you’ll work with me, Bailey. I sent you an email this afternoon, by the way.”
“Thanks, Doc,” I say. “I’ll look it over and think about it.”
“Take a month and decide,” he says. “Enjoy your honeymooning time. You two have certainly earned it.”
“I appreciate that.”
Of course I’ll look at the offer letter, but I think I’d rather stay here. See Linc’s and Joel’s mates through their dramas. Be here for the birth of my nephews.
60
JASE
I run at superspeed to my house, feeling rage at the return of that cloying scent in my nose from all those flowers. They might not weaken me, but theydotake me back to the anger and frustration of being locked up in that basement while my mate was defenseless.