Chapter 24

Braxton heldLily's hand in both of his as they sat in his living room with Niko and Dante. It had been a few days since the battle with Lucy, and everyone had fully recovered. At least everyone except Lucy, who was in the paranormal prison hospital recovering from years of destruction to her soul from harboring so many stolen energies.

"Is she even fit to stand trial?" Lily asked Niko. "That power that she stole was brutal. I don't know how she lived like that day in and day out."

"She'll stand trial," he said. "She's not so far gone that any judge will believe that she's mentally insane. A psychopath, maybe, but she knew what she was doing then, and she knows what she did now. Power addiction is a hell of a drug."

"How long have you been tracking her?" Braxton asked. He'd been dying to get the details of Niko's life ever since they'd left Bethany Befana's house two days ago, but Niko had been gone, dealing with paperwork and procedural red tape after the capture of one of the Magical Task Force's top ten most wanted.

"About three years." He gave them a sheepish smile. "But I got thrown off the case about six months ago when someone found out my connection to you. They said I was making the case too personal."

"Weren't you?" Lily asked with a knowing smile.

"Sure. But it's not like I couldn't do my job. I had been tracking Lucy for months, and one day, she got the better of me and nearly put me in a magical coma. If it hadn't been for a stray wolf running in her path, she would have."

"A wolf?" Braxton and Lily shared a knowing look. She'd told him about her conversation with the guardian angel that had helped them find him at the other house Lucy had rented.

"It was gray, not white, so don't go thinking the two are connected," Niko said.

"Okay," Braxton said. "If you say so."

"Anyway, they said they were taking me off the case. I was furious. I was this close to finally nailing Lucy to the wall, so I took a little time off and tracked her on my personal time. They don't love that, but since I brought her in, they've decided to overlook it."

Dante leaned forward with his hands clasped together. "All this time you've been an agent with the Magical Task Force. Why didn't you tell us?"

It was a question Braxton was dying to have answered as well.

"Because my main case was tracking Katerina, and I couldn't afford to have either of you involved, considering our history. And I just didn't think that would be possible. I know there was no love lost between you and your mother, but family does strange things when they find out a relative is being pursued by law enforcement. It was just too risky."

Braxton wanted to say that he'd have helped in any way he could, but he didn't know what he would have done if faced with having to choose between his mother or helping Niko. He hadn't wanted her to move in, but he'd let her do it with the promise that she'd break the curse. He knew now that she never intended to do any such thing. She only wanted her power back, and she knew Lucy was in the area. He imagined that if it had been convenient to break the curse, or if it had been some sort of side benefit to her, she wouldn't have cared. But to put the effort in to help him? No, that was never in the cards.

"Makes sense," Dante said.

Braxton nodded his agreement.

"What are you going to do now?" Lily asked him. "Do you head back to Florida?"

"No. Not likely. I thought I'd stick around here for a while." His eyes sparkled with mischief.

"On leave or…" Lily asked.

"The MTF is letting me pick my field office. There's one about twenty miles south of here. I thought I'd give living in the Pacific Northwest a try. Maybe take out that girl I have my eye on."

Lily gave him a skeptical look. "If you're talking about my sister, she doesn't date people in law enforcement."

"Sure she does," he said easily. "She already has. She just didn't realize it at the time."

Lily shook her head. "She has trust issues. Let's just leave it at that."

Niko's amusement fled as he held Lily's gaze. "What does that mean?"

"You'll have to talk to her about it. I'm just warning you that now that she knows what you really do, don't be surprised if she bows out of whatever you two had going on."

He let out a huff and stood. "Well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see." He pulled his baseball cap on. "I've got to go see about that auction. Wish me luck."

Lily gasped. "You really are interested in buying that blue house?"

"Yep. You see, it's not all cloak and dagger and lies." He winked at her and then waved to his friends. "See you for beers later?"

"Not me. Lily and I have plans," Braxton said, eyeing Lily, who flushed pink.

"I'll be there," Dante said then laughed. "If you two come back here, be sure to put a sock on the doorknob. I don't want to interrupt anything."

Lily flushed a darker red as she shook her head.

Braxton just laughed. "Will do."

* * *

Braxton wrappedhis arm around Lily as they strolled along the waterfront. The full moon was out, and a pair of orcas were milling around in the bay. They'd had dinner at The Salt Circle and were now just enjoying everything Befana Bay had to offer.

Lily pointed out an older man who had a dog dressed in a pink outfit as she trotted along next to him. "I'm going to get a little dog someday."

"Yeah? What kind?"

"A Lhasa apso. Gran had one when we were kids, and that dog was so affectionate with her but very territorial and mean to most everyone else. She was the best guard dog we ever had."

He laughed. "Sounds reasonable after the last few weeks. Maybe I'll get one, too."

She chuckled. "Nah, we'll get one together. Her name has to be Rizzo though. Caustic on the outside, but loveable mush on the inside."

"You're on." His heart was full. Ever since the curse had been lifted, his life had been calm. There weren't any more women doing crazy things to get his attention. He and Lily had started to talk about a life together in the future instead of always avoiding the topic. It was the first time in his life when he woke up excited to see what each day would bring him.

"Aw, I can't wait to have a puppy," she said excitedly. "Is tomorrow too early to start looking?"

He laughed. "Nope."

"Good."

They were silent for a bit until Braxton said, "Thank you."

She leaned into him, her hand warm in his. "For what?"

"Everything. You gave me my life back." He paused and lifted his hand, burying it in her hair. "There are no words to express just how grateful I am for the gift you've given me. The only thing I can do is show you every day just how much I appreciate you."

She closed her eyes and leaned into his touch. When she opened them and met his gaze, a small smile claimed her lips. "You can't give me that much credit. I did it for me just as much as I did it for you."

"What does that mean?" he asked, caressing her cheek.

"It means I was getting tired of saying goodnight to you at my door. I wanted to be with you in all the ways that matter, but with that curse hanging between us…" She shrugged. "I'm hoping tomorrow is the morning I'll finally wake up with you in my bed."

Braxton was breathless as he leaned in and whispered, "Consider it done." He claimed her lips, kissing her with a passion that seemed to come straight from his soul. Both of his hands were in her hair, and he pressed her up against the railing as her soft body arched into him.

He tasted her over and over and over again, until finally she pulled away and said, "Take me home, Brax."

He grabbed her hand, and together they hurried up the hill to her house. The moment they were inside, he swept her up into his arms and carried her upstairs.

Lily giggled as he took two stairs at a time. "In a hurry?"

"You bet your ass."

She didn't waste any time either. Before he even got her to the top of the stairs, she was already unbuttoning his shirt. When they made it to her bedroom, they were hurried and impatient, pulling each other's clothes off.

And then they fell into bed, lost in each other. Finally showing one another just how deeply in love they were.