Page 9 of Enchanted with the Orc
It was David. It had to be. She didn’t consciously remember him, I knew she didn’t, so the only way she could have had a dream about him was if it was a premonition. She was still growing into her powers and they were going to fluctuate for a while.
A dream like that meant that the people were going to be in her future. Me? Of course. Enka? Doubtful, but we’d see. David? I sucked in a deep breath, shaking my head.
Premonitions could be avoided. There were ways to circumvent them and I was going to use every single method until we were safe and sound.
“Are you ready for that trip?” I asked her, lowering myself to lift her into my arms. After a few years of carrying her, I now had the upper body strength of a champion lifter, I was certain. That didn’t mean my legs didn’t shake as I straightened up with her.
Maybe if you went to the gym and stopped eating cookies…
I cut my thoughts off, balancing my daughter on my hip as I exited the apartment, leaving it open behind us. I’d left a note on my coffee table for one of the witches in my coven to find. It explained a little of what was happening and I’d asked them not to try to find me.
Knowing those glorious females, it would be a waste of ink. They’d scry for me as soon as they could, but I’d also told them that finding me could put me in even more danger—which was true. If David had found me here, then he could be following them too.
The last thing I wanted was for them to head into a situation where he thought they were hiding me. When I disappeared, I hoped he would leave them alone.
Going down the stairs instead of the elevator, I listened to Gabbi tell me all about her last playdate—which I’d been present for—in detail. Looking around, I made sure that I wasn’t being followed, peering into the shadows of the night around the building before I started walking.
I took a left and then a right, having memorized the map to the bus that I knew would leave in five minutes. Every sound was louder at night, startling me into spinning around to face a non-existent threat three times before I spotted the bus moving along the road.
I swallowed hard, running a palm down my daughter’s back as I hurried to the bus stop. “I love the bus,” she told me, and I pressed a kiss to her soft hair, thanking the Goddess Mother that she’d given me this sweet, beautiful gift from a marriage that had been the most horrific time of my life.
“I love the bus too, sweetheart,” I told her, tapping my bus pass, smiling at the driver and then hurrying to a seat near the back. When I was seated, I glanced through the windows, fear ratcheting through my body since I couldn’t see clearly through them.
I almost missed the man standing at the corner with his hands in his pockets, but my throat closed as I recognized the silhouette. I’d know him anywhere.
Fuck.
I exited the bus, holding Gabbi tight as I hurried to the next bus stop. My head swiveled in all directions as I tried to keep a look-out for David. I couldn’t see anyone around us, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t there.
I knew the way he worked. The fact that he’d let himself be seen wasn’t a coincidence. He’d done it to let me know that he was there. Hewantedme to see him.
Psychological warfare was one of his MOs. He used toloveto have me walking on glass, tiptoeing around his moods until I was a mess of anxiety.
He was doing the same thing now, I was sure of it. But I wasn’t the same woman I used to be. I may have lost my powers, but I had my daughter with me, and I wasn’t going to let him hurt us.
When I heard the footsteps approaching us I swung around, my daughter clutched close as I eyed the threat. The dark silhouette was so big it was intimidating, but I knew from the fact that it washugethat it wasn’t David.
Sagging with relief, I turned back to check the streets for the oncoming bus, and I didn’t think anything of it as the person stood next to me.
“Where’re you headed?” a familiar voice asked, and I startled so hard I felt Gabbi stir in my arms. And she was adeepsleeper, so I had to be shaking in my boots.
“Enka?” I gasped, staring up at the deep, dark, glittering eyes of the male who was smiling down at me.
“Hey,” he said, lifting a hand in a wave that was so silly, it made the anxiety that I was drowning in ease up enough for me to breathe. In the next moment, though, dread filled me.
If Enka was here, then someone had sent him. Which meant that someoneknewI was gone and probably wanted me to come back. I couldn’t do that, but I didn’t know how to explain why.
“I—I was just heading out to get Gabbi a present,” I lied, keeping my voice steady from all the years I’d had practice in keeping the truth from David. The stutter was new. I was usually cool and calm under pressure unless it affected my daughter, but not now.
Looking up into this male’s eyes, I realized I didn’twantto lie to him. I wanted to tell him the truth. To lay everything bare before him and that was dangerous. I didn’t evenknowhim.
“Hmm,” he said, nodding, looking around. “But the thing is, you’renot really headingintothe city, are you?”
Swallowing hard, I turned to peek at the street again, trying to gauge when the next bus would get here. It should be a couple minutes out, which meant that I would be saved from having to face this interrogation if I could keep my wits about me.
“It’s a special cake that she likes,” I told him, not looking at him and fighting the idiot inside of myself who wanted him to hold me in his strong arms. “I’ll bring some back for everyone, so you can head home.”
Let your mate protect you.
