Page 73 of Wrongfully Magicked
“No, wait.” I hold up my hand before he can put his words into action, and everyone turns to look at me like I’m crazy. “If we take it down, then they’ll know we’re on to them.”
A furrow appears between Porter’s eyes, and he crosses his arms. “You have a plan.”
“Yes.” It isn’t a question, but I answer him anyway. I don’t look away from his burnt orange eyes, not wanting to see the others’ reactions, knowing they won’t like what I’m going to suggest.
Porter is different.
He’s the leader of the group—what he says goes.
If I can convince him, then the rest will fall into line.
I blow out a harsh breath, then pull my shoulders back and straighten my spine. “Use me as bait.”
“No,” Darby replies immediately, a muscle jumping in his jaw, and his blue eyes darken with rage. “The bounty requests you be taken by any means necessary. As long as you remain alive, they don’t care what condition you’re delivered.”
I purse my lips, then shrug. “I’m not surprised. My family isn’t known for delivering flowers to the elderly or kissing babies. If we wait, they are only going to get more desperate and dangerous. If we don’t make our move now, it might be too late.”
I ignore the guys when they immediately begin arguing, and I plow forward with my plan. “We’re one step behind my family, and time is growing short. If you take the ad down, Jackal will know we’re on to them. They’ll switch tactics. They are getting desperate, and they are going to take drastic measures to get what they want.”
“You want to turn yourself over to them,” Porter says, his expression unchanging, not giving anything away.
“The only way to get to my family is by getting behind their defenses. If we want to find Charlotte and the demon contract, then we need to set our own trap. No contract, no deal, right?” My skin prickles like pins and needles are being threaded through my flesh, and I’m not sure I’m even breathing as I wait for his reaction.
“You can’t really be listening to this bullshit!” Soren snarls, pulling away from me as if he can’t stand being near me.
His retreat hurts, and my skin cools like something vital has been severed.
It feels too much like rejection, and I swallow hard, crossing my arms to keep warm. Unfortunately, the chill slowly sinks into my bones, where not even my fires can keep the cold at bay.
Porter ignores everything else and asks a question of his own. “Can a demon contract be destroyed?” He’s not looking at me, his attention focused on Soren over my shoulder.
Following his gaze, I see Soren pacing the confines of the kitchen. Smoke rises from his clothing, tatters of his shirt falling behind him, turning into poofs of ash when they hit the ground. He drags his hands through his dark red hair in frustration. “No, demon contracts can’t be destroyed.”
“Never?” I can’t stop myself from asking, my spirits plummeting. Though he doesn’t answer, I don’t miss the slight hesitation in his step. My attention sharpens, and my hands drop to my hips. “What aren’t you saying?”
He rolls his shoulders like his human body is too small…or like he’s trying to contain his beast. His voice is a rumbly growl when he speaks, his reluctance obvious in the way he refuses to even glance at me. The rebuff stings, but I harden my heart against the pain. “While they can’t be destroyed, they can be renegotiated if there is enough incentive, or null and voided if a loophole is found.”
It’s more than I could hope for, and a spark lights up in my chest.
For the first time since I escaped my family, I finally see a way out from under their thumb, a way to be free, and I’m not willing to give up this chance. I suspect I won’t get another one if I don’t act now, and resolve fills me.
I lift my chin and face down the rest of the guys, unwilling to back down. “I’m doing this with or without you.”
“She’s right—they are crossing lines and drawing attention to themselves, which means they are desperate.” Before another argument can break out, Porter raises his hands. “They blew up a building to get to her and almost succeeded. The attack today was more personal. They don’t care what they have to do to get to her. They are becoming more and more violent.”
“We can protect her,” Cassius hisses, his fangs flashing as if daring anyone to deny it. His green eyes are almost pure yellow, the pupils just slits as his basilisk pushes to the surface.
I should be terrified, but I don’t flinch away, knowing his beast would never harm me.
“We couldn’t today,” Porter mutters, the reminder silencing the room. “She was taken today, and we were lucky she was able to escape, or we might not have ever gotten her back. What happens next time? If we do nothing, next time, she could vanish forever. Are you willing to take that risk?”
No one speaks for a full minute, each lost in their own thoughts, and I feel their eyes on me like a physical touch. Though Stryker hangs back from the rest, his attention is no less intense. My concerned gaze drops to the matted blood on his fur. I don’t like seeing him hurt, and my fingers twitch with the need to make sure he’s all right.
“You’re injured.” I take an involuntary step forward before I can stop myself, worry clutching my chest, then I hold out my hand to him. “While the others discuss our options, why don’t you let me check your wounds?”
CHAPTER TWENTY
ANITA
