Library

19. Frederick

Chapter 19

Frederick

“ W hat’s the status?” I asked Warwick. We were scouring the reports that the hellhounds had been providing from their continued patrols. They had moved from Treasure Ridge down to Honey Creek and had settled on Timber Valley. There had been what we had thought was exciting of Malorie, but we were still waiting for confirmation. Her parents were obviously quite devastated about the information. The council provided them with regards to Marco.

“I’m not sure what is what. Someone said they saw a woman matching her description at the Timber Valley grocery store. Another person said they saw someone that looked like her picture at several of the fast-food places,” Warwick said. “But none of that makes any sense because if she is with Marco, why is she at various food places? Why would she need to go to the grocery store? Why would she need to go anywhere? He’s a warlock, and has powers just like you and I do. He doesn’t need for her to go shopping for them.”

I thought about it for a moment and couldn’t come up with anything either. “Hear me out. What if she’s not with him?”

“What do you mean? Would she introduce him to her parents as her mate, and then go missing if she wasn’t going to be with him?”

True, that was a very valid question. But from what I understood about Marco Gallo, he didn’t do things like you would expect.

“I don’t think I have an answer for you. Dominic will tell you that of the few times that he has actually seen Marco in person, he did not get a good feeling from the man. He will also tell you that the rumors around his coven where that no one messed with Marco or Riccardo, ever. If you did, you would be lucky if you saw the next morning. I don’t know what that means for Malorie. Is possible that she is visiting all the restaurants and the store because she’s looking for him as well. What if he left her behind?”

That would be just our luck. The council was finally moving in on him, and I could absolutely see Marco, as abandoning his One I’m taking off elsewhere.

How long would the council seek him out? Sure, it wasn’t as if we were going to simply give up on searching for him. Marco would go into a file of unresolved cases. But would we actively search for him like we were at the moment? I wasn’t sure.

“You bring up an interesting thought. What if he has already moved on? Do we even know what his next goal is? Has Salvatore and his team figured out any sort of pattern?”

I shook my hand because I simply did not know. Like so many things with this case, there were multiple different levels of it, and Marco and Riccardo Gallo were the absolute most dreadful portion of it.

“At this point, I think, instead of trying to find a needle in the haystack, which would be Marco, we should focus on locating Malorie and then following her. If she is with him, she’ll lead us to him.” That was the best I had, and it wasn’t all that great. I wasn’t the first to voice those words, but we seem to keep coming back to them because we had been left very few other options.

Vaughn came into the conference room Warwick and I we’re sitting in. Evan trailed in with him, followed closely by Everest.

“There was another sighting,” Vaughn told us. That grabbed our attention, and immediately more Warwick and I were up and out of our seats.

“Where?” I asked.

“At the bank in Timber Valley. We have the video footage to back it up this time, and there’s not questioning that it’s here. Not only was Elizabeth seen there with Malorie, there’s a very clear view of both of them on multiple instances, and they were seen leaving together after spending several minutes with a teller.”

“Do we know what they were doing at the bank?” Warwick asked.

“Elizabeth pulled out a large sum of money and gave it to Malorie. After that they left together. When we checked outside cameras, we were only able to get a really good view from the ATM that was on the side of the building. That camera showed Malorie getting into a pickup while Elizabeth got into an SUV. There was a man that looked as if he could match Marco’s description, in the truck,” Vaughn told us.

I thought about this new information and wondered how useful it was going to be and helping us find them. “When was this? “

“Unfortunately, it was yesterday. For whatever reason watching Elizabeth or James’s bank accounts wasn’t a top priority. They had seemed as if they were, devastated by all of the news they were receiving regarding Marco. I don’t think anyone thought she would give them a bunch of cash in order to help them escape.” Vaughn shook his head. “What do they need cash for? Isn’t Marco supposed to be a warlock with magical powers? Why can’t he just do his magic thing and…proof?”

I looked at Warwick and raised an eyebrow. The same questions seem to be asked over and over. Next line “He hasn’t lost his powers somehow, has he?” Everest asked.

Warwick and I were shaking our heads in unison. “Not as far as anyone knows. We haven’t been able to get close enough to him in order to be able to bind his magic. That would be ideal, but he always seems to be one step ahead of us still.”

“How much information have we been sharing with James and Elizabeth? What if they’re telling Mallory who is warning Marco?” Everest asked.

“There is always that chance,” Warwick said. “The council has anticipated that to some level, and there, of course, has been some information that has been shared with them to see if it somehow gets back to the pair.”

“This is all just really frustrating,” Everest said. “And dumb.”

I had to bite my lower lip to keep from laughing. He wasn’t wrong. It was dumb. Just like previous assignments, they’re always seem to be someone that would forever be one step ahead of us. We had all of these capabilities, but yet we were reverted to doing things the way humans were forced to do them. We had to observe and take notes while hoping that we got a break in the case and we were able to catch our foe.

“With all of this new information, has there been an updated plan?” I asked.

Vaughn gave me a look of sorry. “No. We were just supposed to share the new news.”

I looked over at Warwick, completely unimpressed.

“If that isn’t just wonderful,” I said. I glanced at the clock on the wall, and decided I’d had enough. “Since there seems as if there is nothing for us to actually do, going to go home and spend the rest of the afternoon and evening with Dominic. We are getting closer to deciding on what it is that we want for the theme for our nursery, and that seems to be, a much more enjoyable way to spend the afternoon than sitting here making my brain hurt,” I told them. I stood and without a word from any of the others I left.

It was close to four afternoon anyway, and sure, I probably could find something to do somewhere in the council, but why? I still loved my job, and was excited that we were doing wonderful things. But this assignment was simply going nowhere. We didn’t know where Marco was, and unless we happened to get really lucky with a sighting that was reported to us quick enough, I didn’t think we would find him in the very near future.

I made it all the way to the front desk before someone caught up with me. I was surprised to see it was Benjamin. He was usually one of the last to leave.

“Is everything all right with Eli and the twins? I asked.

“As far as I know. I’ve just decided to take the rest of the afternoon off. I finished all of my paperwork, and unless the council decides to start sending enforcers back out into the field, I think we’re going to have some upset enforcers soon.”

I looked at Benjamin absolutely surprised. “I get it, I understand. They are after Marco and they really want him. But I agree completely. Is this our only assignment at the moment? Why? Surely there are other injustices that need to be dealt with. Why can’t some of us be sent on those?”

Benjamin glanced over at Slater before he offered me a tight smile. What did that mean? I hadn’t said anything in front of him that wasn’t allowed. Besides, Slater was actually a full enforcer. He had the same Clarence as most everyone else in the council, so why couldn’t we talk freely in front of him?”

“Trust me, I understand completely. It was much like this when we were searching for Justin. And then after he was located, when we were looking for Orson. The biggest difference between them and now is the fact that the council is fully staffed. We were run ragged with all of the time we spent out in the field.”

We checked out and said our farewell to Slater, before exiting the building. It was towards the end of March, and at our elevation, we still had a lot of snow and cold weather. Luckily, it wasn’t actively snowing at the moment.

“Do we have too many enforcers, do you think?” I asked Benjamin.

“I don’t believe so. The assignments need to be readjusted to wear. Everyone has a chance to feel as if they are actively doing something productive. Marco may or may not be in the area. Do we need three teams on that particular assignment?”

“Personally, I think one is more than enough. But if there isn’t enough for the other nine teams to have something to do, I understand why so many are focused on this one.”

“I will say that after the meeting I just left, I really hope that Marco is located soon because he was the main topic and it was suggested that more teams were pulled in order to focus on him and him alone.” Benjamin shook his head.

What was going on with this? “Is it something personal at this point? Does someone have it out for him, more than would be expected?”

Benjamin shook his head as we slowly walked toward our houses. “Not that I would think so. I know that it is a sore spot since he was missed in Italy. I’m not sure why he hasn’t returned there, other than the fact that Vincent’s coven is in full force there. Now that Marco has left the country, they really want to make sure he never comes back.”

I side, more frustrated with the entire situation than I probably should be.

“What about you? You’re leaving early.”

“My head started hurting, and that told me it was time for me to go home to Dominic. We’ve settled on two separate themes for our nursery, and I am really hoping that we can decide on one over the other this evening it’s nothing grand, nor is it nearly as important as what we are doing at work. But it’s something that is always in the back of my mind even just a little. It’s his tiny little irritation, that I’m ready to be solved”

“Can understand that. Might I ask what the two things are? Maybe I can come up with a suggestion for something that might help ease the frustration.”

“We are trying to decide between some sort of nautical theme, or fun and bright hot air balloons. Both have their pros, but there are of course cons for each.”

“Always. I can certainly see the pros of both right away. Which one are you hoping for most?”

I shook my head “I don’t care. I want Dominic to be happy, and he goes back-and-forth between the two. That is understandable, but, when he gets frustrated, I become irritated because it could easily be remedied”

Benjamin started chuckling. “You may not like this idea, but you could always write them both down on a piece of paper and after putting them in a bowl, you simply pick one. Probably not the best solution, but it can keep both of you from having to make the final decision. Leave it up to chance.”

That seem like the best idea I had heard in quite some time. “That’s what we need to do. I’m not sure why we haven’t done something like that before now, but that definitely would make things easier.”

Benjamin chuckled. “You’re welcome. I’m going to go home and chase after my twins for a bit and you, and Dominic and figure out just what theme you want for your nursery. Enjoy your evening,” he said. Seconds later, Benjamin disappeared. I could not fault him for that. In fact, I was a bit surprised he walked with me for as long as he had.

Since he had the right idea, I used a bit of magic to pop myself back home as well. When I entered the house I immediately heard music coming from upstairs. My One was either in the bedroom or he was in the nursery. The other two rooms were still empty. Well, technically, all of the rooms except for ours was empty because we’d not yet been able to decide on how to decorate any of them.

“Dominic?” I called out. The last thing I ever wanted to do again was surprised Dominic by coming home when I wasn’t expected. I climbed the stairs in seconds, and when I reached the top, I found Dominic with his hand sticking out of what was going to be our nursery.

“I’m glad you’re here. Can you come in and tell me what you think about this?”

I didn’t know exactly what this was, but I found out quickly enough when I entered the nursery and found bright, colorful, hot air balloons floating from the ceiling. They weren’t actual hot air balloons, but mini replicas, and quite adorable.

I looked at Dominic and offered a warm smile “Did you decide on a theme then?”

“Only if you like it; which you haven’t said yet.”

“Personally, I think it’s adorable. It’s bright and colorful and I believe that would be more attractive to a young baby. But the bigger question is do you?” I wasn’t the only one who had to look at the nursery on a regular basis. Dominic would probably spend more time in it than I would be honest. It wasn’t as if I was planning on being an absent parent, but I was still working for the council. That meant I was going to have time during my day that I would not be home with Dominic and our son.

“that’s what I was thinking as well. Maybe when he gets older, we can redecorate and go with a completely different theme. It’s not as if either of us have to spend hours doing something of that nature.” Dominic flicked his hand toward the far wall on suddenly there were fluffy clouds at the top and on the ceiling. “See? Is simple as that.” Dominic looked as if he was pleased with the results of what he just did. I thought it was cute, but I wasn’t going to say anything to sway him one way or another either way. “I was reading an article earlier, and it mentioned how newborns could not see beyond the basic colors of red, black, and white. I have more colors than that here, and I tried to have just red balloons with very muted wall tones, but I didn’t like the results. You don’t think it’s too much, do you?”

“I think it’s perfect. We are in agreement about waiting until he’s older and then re-adjusting the theme if necessary.” I pulled Dominic into my arms and finally claimed a kiss. “That’s better,” I told him. “But, back to what we were discussing. I think that the balloons are cheerful and colorful. Yes, this isn’t our bedroom, but we will both be spending time in here with our son. Should we have to look at monotone walls?”

“No. And I’m sorry I have been so undecided about this. I should have been able to pick a theme at minimum, a month ago.”

I leaned in and gave Dominic, another quick kiss. “Who says? There has been no rush. We both know that the baby will spend at least the first month, if not the first two in our bedroom with us. You still have seven weeks to go before you’re due. This hasn’t been a top priority,” I told him again. We had time.

I knew he felt as if he should have all of this sorted since he was home all day, but there was no need for him to feel as if he should be worried about all of this. I wanted him to relax and enjoy himself. He more than earned it. He should be enjoying all of the joys of being pregnant and having the ability to relax. I needed to do better at reassuring him that it was all right that he took days to do absolutely nothing.

“You’re right, of course. I’m probably a little stressed about this because it feels like I’m not doing enough to get ready for him.”

I shook my head. “We’ll take it one day at a time. But if you think about it, there really isn’t anything for us to do to get ready for him. We have everything we need, and if we discover we’re missing something, it’s easy enough to get it in an instant. Relax. Enjoy not having to do anything. Catch up on that growing pile of books,” I told him. That got his attention. I smiled because it seemed as if I’d finally mentioned something that he could get behind.

Comments

0 Comments
Best Newest

Contents
Settings
  • T
  • T
  • T
  • T
Font

Welcome to FullEpub

Create or log into your account to access terrific novels and protect your data

Don’t Have an account?
Click above to create an account.

lf you continue, you are agreeing to the
Terms Of Use and Privacy Policy.