Jack turned to stare ahead. “Wow. That’s really nuts.”
I nodded. “Sure as hell is. So Haru and Reo are here to watch my back while we track down this siren. They know what they’re doing. They won’t get in the way.”
Jack turned in his seat and checked them out. Finally, he gave them an appreciative nod.
“So what’s the deal with Cass?” Jack said. “His girl called him a snickerdoodle. Has he gone soft or something?”
“Actually, she called him her shnookum, and hell no he hasn’t gone soft. Would you like me to tell him you asked about him, though?” I said with a wicked smile.
Cass would kick his ass for even asking the question.
“You can’t entirely blame me for asking,” Jack said. “I show up and here you are playing house with the local alpha. And Cass has some giant roller-derby looking chick fawning all over him. It’s ... weird.”
I noticed Kenzie’s attention on me from the back and flicked my gaze toward her. When I smiled a bit at her, she shook her head and rolled her eyes as if to say, “Jack hasn’t changed a bit.”
What did I ever see in this asshole? Oh yeah, he was hot as fuck, and the sheets sizzled when we rolled in them.
“I mean, you’re knocked up,” Jack said. “How’d that happen?”
“You need me to explain the birds and the bees to you?” I said, because his serious questions were making me want to slam on the brakes, jump out of the car, and run away.
“Nah, I remember the steps to getting you there pretty damn well.” He winked.
Dick.
I hissed. “Jack,” I scolded. “Your ex-girlfriend is in the car.” And I was extremely not single.
“Keyword, ex,” Kenzie said in a tight voice, but surely she didn’t expect him to think before he spoke. That wasn’t his way.
I hurried to change the subject. “Did Mack fill you guys in on what’s been going on with Calista?”
“Not really,” Jack offered. “We just got the regular ol’ case file. It doesn’t say much beyond that this siren is a real bitch.”
I wiggled in my seat. “She’s definitely that, but it gets more complicated.”
Kenzie leaned forward in between our seats. Jack was the one with the reputation for bringing difficult perps in at the Agency, but Kenzie could hold her own too. She had to be good at her job for Mack to send her out, especially since she was a human.
Sighing, I filled them in, leaving out only the bits about the teeny-tiny little inconvenient broken gate to the underworld. You know, that thing. I wasn’t ready to deal with the shit show that would inevitably arrive when they found out about it. I was going to try to keep it on the DL for as long as possible.
“That sure is complicated,” Kenzie said when I’d finished. “So if this one triplet, Calista, is loose, and the other is in lockup, where’s the third?”
I flicked a nervous glance at Haru and Reo, whose faces were masks that didn’t reveal a single secret.
“I’m not sure where the third one is,” I said, and that was the truth. We had theories, but no way of verifying that the third siren was still trapped in the underworld like legend said.
“Could the third one be working together with this Calista? Is there any chance that we’ll be heading into a trap of some sort?” Jack asked.
“There’s always that chance in our line of work, Jack, you know that. All we know for sure is that Calista is as mean as they get, she has two sisters out there, and she’s far more powerful than any normal siren. And like I said before, we think she’s gotta be working with a witch.”
He nodded. “That’d make sense with the soul and youth stealing. Witches love that shit.”
Was that a dig at my people? Gran would’ve smacked him upside the head for a comment like that.
“Do you have any idea what witch she’s working with?” Kenzie asked, more diplomatically.
“No. But whoever she is, she knows what she’s doing. Calista has tripled in power since Cass and I first captured her and her sister.”
“All right,” Jack said. “So tell us about this gym we’re heading to.”
“Typical gym from what Molly could tell.”
“And Molly is your purple-haired apprentice?” he asked.
“Hm-hmm. Apparently every single one of the vics were members of the same gym, one of those upscale places with a spa and pool and everything.”
“A pool,” Jack repeated. “That doesn’t bode well.”
“No, it doesn’t, especially not since the last time we tried to apprehend her there was a pool there too, and she used the water from it to trap me in a huge water bubble. I couldn’t breathe. It was bad.”
Jack snapped his head to me. “How bad?” His entire posture screamed protectiveness.
“Really bad,” I said. Jack’s eyes grew stormy and I rushed to continue. “She’s able to control the water to a greater degree than other sirens. She can shape and direct it in huge quantities. Keep sharp while we’re out there.”
Jack pointed up ahead. “Is that the place?”
My gaze swept over the sign. “Yep, that’s the one.”
“Damn,” Kenzie said. “It’s ritzy, huh?”
She could say that again. It looked more like a five-star hotel than a gym.
I followed Tianna’s cherry red Mustang into the parking lot of a medical complex, which was right next to the gym, and took the spot next to hers. The second we hopped out of the car, Tianna started flashing orange magical light at us.
“Whoa!” Jack put up his hands. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
Tianna didn’t stop and she didn’t answer.
Cass flew right up to Jack’s face. “My woman is doing you a favor. She’s casting a cloaking spell over us so no one sees our motley crew armed to the teeth heading toward that fancy gym.”
“All right. That’s good, then,” Jack said, looking a bit unnerved.
“You bet your tight ass it is,” Cass snapped.
Cass was all attitude, but Jack’s face lit up in a grin. “It’s good to see you, Cass. It’s been a long while.”
“Yeah, it has. I guess it’s good to see you too.” Cass looked to me with a bit of worry marring his mug.
‘You okay with this?’ he asked me.
‘Yeah, I think so. You two used to be friends. Sort of. So let’s all just try to get along.’
Cass nodded. ‘If at any time you decide it isn’t all right and you want me to kick his ass, just say the word.’
I grinned, and from the way Jack was looking at the two of us, it was clear he realized we were doing our telepathic thing.
“Get your shit together, people,” Tianna said. “We’re all going to need to be at our best when we head in there. I can feel the siren. She’s definitely here.”
The siren was here now? The hairs on the back of my neck stood up at attention.
“And I had a little chat with Willemena before she left,” Tianna continued. “She has some ideas about what witch we might be dealing with.”
En masse, we leaned toward the towering fae-witch.
“She says there are only three witches anywhere near this area capable of augmenting a siren’s magic like this. She believes it’s either Char of the Northwestern Coven, Saharan from Washington, or Darlene from the California rogue witches.”
None of us said a word for a few beats. “Why do y’all look like someone just stole your ice cream cones?” Molly asked.
“Because those witches are on the most wanted bounty list,” Cass said. “If we’re up against one of them … we’re fucked.”
“They’re as bad as they get,” Tianna agreed. “They play for whichever side offers them the greater reward.”
“And they have the skills to demand their price,” Kenzie added.
“I thought Mack sending reinforcements was overkill,” I said.
“And now you’re worried we might need more?” Jack asked. “Don’t worry, Evie. I won’t let anything happen to you.” He winked again.
‘I see he hasn’t changed a bit,’ Cass said.
Kenzie cast a murderous look at Jack. “Can you stop thinking with your dick for one second?”
“What? She’s pregnant, for crying out loud. I won’t let anything bad happen to you either. Don’t worry.”
Kenzie just rolled her eyes. “Just be my hunting partner and keep it at that. I don’t need saving.”
God, what a nightmare it would be to work with your ex. There was a reason the number two rule was to never date your partner. This was the kind of shit that happened when you did.
“We’ll protect Evie,” Reo said to Jack. “You don’t need to worry about her.” He and Haru stood shoulder to shoulder, the only ones not to look the least bit worried at the roster of witches we might be dealing with in addition to a murderous siren.
“Let’s go,” Tianna called. “No one will notice us approaching as long as you don’t touch anyone.”
I needed to learn this concealment spell. It sounded badass.
“Do you think Calista knows we’re coming?” Kenzie asked.
“She might. I wouldn’t put it past her,” I said.
She could be lying in wait for all we knew. I’d never wanted to nab a perp so badly.
“Do you feel any dark witch magic?” Tianna asked me, her eyes lit up with curiosity, and I realized I was still in training.
Closing my eyes, I took in a deep breath and let my magic filter out like little fingers, brushing up against the various energy strands inside of the gym, just as Tianna had taught me. When I felt a sickly, heavy energy, I recoiled and snapped my eyes open.
“I feel a dark magic and bad intentions ringing throughout my bones. The witch is most definitely inside,” I said.
Tianna considered me with approval in her gaze. “Yes, I think she is too. I think the siren and the witch are waiting for us.”
Fuck. Now I was glad we’d brought such a big crew.
“So does she know we’re coming?” Molly asked, starting out toward the entrance with the rest of us.
“I’m not sure about that,” Tianna replied. “But she might, because she’s in the most powerful place of all for her right now.”
“The pool,” Cass guessed.
“Bingo, sugar plum.”
“Great. She’s got a gazillion gallons of water at her disposal. Everyone, make sure to keep your heads above water, literally.” I patted the katana slung across my back, then my gun just to make sure, while Cass unzipped his fanny pack and passed me a few of Gran’s magic vials.
“Once we have eyes on her,” Jack said, “we’ll surround her and come in hard. Let’s take her down before she has the chance to cause too much trouble.”