Page 112 of Mystery in the Mountains

Luckily, they slid right into the lock, and she pulled away the chains.

“Well, well, well. What have we here?” a voice sneered by the door.

“You,” Asher said, recognizing him from the times he’d tried to buy Sunny’s house.

He moved to push Sunny and Bridget behind him, but both inched away from him. His wolf growled and snarled, trying to get out, but it was no use.

Even if Sunny and Bridget would have stayed behind him and let him protect them, what could he do in this state?

“You know, you really should have taken the offer,” said the suit, who he now knew was Bradford Wilkes, making his way over to Sunny. “You could have left with more money that dilapidated cesspool is worth . . . Now you won’t even leave with your life.”

A look of defiance filled Sunny’s face as she went toe to toe with him. Asher would have loved it if he weren’t terrified of losing her again.

“You think you’re so big. Trying to finish what your daddy started,” Sunny said to him.

A look of confusion danced across his face before he fixed it back to his previous snarl. “My father and the coal company just wanted your mountain. They wanted to mine it, but I know there’s something even more valuable in it. That’s what I’m here for. And I mean, working for the coal company—we’ll take that, too. As long as VenDeer gets their coal, they don’t really care how I do it.”

“Oh, yeah?” Sunny said, stepping up to him. “I have all the proof I need right here to show that the coal company ran my mother’s car off the road. I have the letter they signed to leave my land and this mountain alone.”

Asher felt the need to get in front of Sunny, but he also knew these women were more powerful than he and Abe could ever dream of being. They were just the muscle, but that didn’t look like she needed it. Still, he wouldn’t think twice about snapping this man’s neck if he stepped a foot closer to her.

“This is bigger than VenDeer. This is about stomping out your kind once and for all. The coal company doesn’t care what I do as long as they profit.”

“Their hands are tied,” Sunny protested.

“Their hands may be tied, but the churches are not.”

Asher’s wolf was scratching and growling, trying to get out, but he still could not shift. He would feel a lot less vulnerable if he was a wolf and not a naked man.

“I’m done fighting. If you’re dead, then I won’t be able to stop me.”

Before Asher could stop him, he pulled a gun from his back pocket.

The world slowed as Asher watched him pull the trigger.

A deafening bang filled the air. No! He ran to Sunny, who looked at her chest at a dark spot.

He waited for that dark spot to grow or turn red, but it didn’t.

Sunny, confused, clutched her chest, but the substance came away clear.

The man shot it again. Only this time, there was no bang, only a stream of water that came from his gun. He inspected the gun and pulled the trigger again. His face contorted in rage.

“That’s not possible,” he bellowed as he pulled the trigger.

“That’s quite the squirt gun ye have there,” Bridget said with her Cheshire grin.

“There are magic blockers up. How is this possible?” he asked, pulling the trigger again as the door swung open.

Abe’s face contorted as he took a spray of water straight to the face.

“What the fuck?” he growled out, wiping his face.

“Oh, did ye put a blocker up? Ye sure are a smart witch hunter. I’m guessing it didn’t include Fae magic, though? Ye see, that’s where I get all my magic. Take him to the forest,” Bridget said.

“This isn’t the end. There is no fighting what’s coming. Your end is coming for you and all the freaks like you.”

Abe took ahold of him and pushed him out the door.

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