Page 60 of Handcuffs and Hexes

Hazel gasped indignantly. “Keepmeout of trouble! More like the other way around.”

“Your grandparents were so sad when your parents took you away. They were sure you were meant to stay in Darlington. Andnow you have not one, but two people anchoring you to the city. They would’ve been very happy.”

The words put a pensive look on Hazel’s face.

“Hey look, they’re giving out pizza!” Mike said as we approached. “Go hog us a box, will you, Sarah?”

“Why me?”

“I could send Eugene, but you know he’s going to come back with pineapple on it.”

Hazel made a face. “Eww! Okay, fine, I’ll go grab us some pies.”

The second Hazel was out of earshot, Mike, Tommy, and Eugene descended on me and Liam. Chief just walked away like it was totally fine for someone in uniform to threaten to remove all my limbs and put my own head up my ass sideways if I ever even thought about breaking her heart. Tommy explained in detail how the human body could be turned inside out like a tube.

If these guys had ever doubted Hazel’s ability to do her job, it was in the past. They thought of her as one of them now. Perhaps there were others on the force who still doubted her, but her job was secure.

Did they not understand that Liam and I could take all of them at once and still have enough energy left to make Hazel scream our names? But I decided that for once in my life, I was going to take the noncombative route. These weren’t just some guys Hazel worked with; they considered her something of a littlesister, and I understood that all this was a necessary display to keep the peace.

I was just ready for today to be over so I could take Liam and Hazel home and we could spend the rest of the night recovering in my giant jacuzzi. Maybe Liam was onto something about a hot tub on the yacht.

We hadn’t even had a proper talk about what was happening between us yet.

It was Liam’s, “Um, guys, where’s Hazel?” that finally had everyone scanning the crowd for her.

It was only now that I felt it… the familiar aura of my father’s magic. I would recognize that stench anywhere. Fuck! If that asshole was here, that meant he’d seen Hazel with me. We needed to find her now!

Chapter 29

Hazel

“Howthefuckdidhe get the police and the EA looking for you so quickly?” gritted the elder wizard.

Did Seth’s father not see the fact that I was still in uniform? Or did he believe that I wore it for fun? I bet he was the type who thought women couldn’t be cops.

“It’s too late anyway. You’re mine now.” He leered at me. “At least you’re a human and a woman this time. Far from beautiful, but pretty enough.”

So, how did a cop end up kidnapped? Apparently, very easily. The owner of the pizzeria who’d been giving away celebratory pies had just put a large pepperoni pizza in for the boys and girls in blue when I suddenly found myself unable to move. I was led magically away, unable to shout a warning. Once outside, I was stuffed into the back of a car that wasn’t even supposed to be there. All vehicles should have been directed away one intersection over.

And as we'd driven down the empty street, no one had stopped us. Not even the pair of cops who sat in their cruisers watching the intersection. They didn’t even notice the barrier lifting into the air and landing back into place as we drove under it . It was all very creepy.

We’d kept driving to a gated community and into the garage of a mansion. Seth’s father—what was his name again? Samuel?—wasn’t even going to hide where he was taking me. This must be his home, as in Seth’s old house.

Was it bad that the first thing I thought to do was look for his baby photos? Elena would be so happy to have them. Maybe later, when the asshole didn’t have me tied to a chair in the basement. The driver had rushed me down here to “avoid scaring the children.” I wondered if Seth knew he had half-siblings. Probably, yes. There probably wasn’t much Seth didn’t know. I wondered if he’d had kids with the lady we saw him with that day at the marina.

“Let’s see what you’re capable of,” Samuel said, rubbing his hands. “If my son wants you, then you must have plenty of magic.”

This guy thought I had magic? He was in for a surprise.

He reached his long, spindly fingers toward me, and the moment they touched me, it felt as if they were ripping out every happy feeling in my body. After a moment that felt like an eternity, he released me, and I was finally able to gasp in a breath.

But it was quickly shaken out of me. “You’re hiding it.”

“What?”

“Your magic!”

“I don’t have any.”

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