Magic Resistant (7 page)

“I’ve run across these tattoos on several
rogue demons I sent back. Now, there are two sets of tattoos, like
the one on this demon and another one almost identical with a
different line right here.” He pointed at the top line that slanted
up to the right. “The other tattoo has it slanted
down
to
the right. I have no idea the difference between the two, but it’s
important. I haven’t yet photographed the other one since I’ve only
encountered them when sending back the rogues. They weren’t kind
enough to stay for a photo shoot.

“Also, notice, no defensive wounds. Its heart
removed, but no indication the demon fought back or tried to
escape. All the slashes on its body are even and surgical looking.
Demons are powerful beings, even the lowly ones. It'd take immense
power to do this. Or bind it to a ritual, which again, uses a lot
of power to force a demon into taking part.”

“I don’t mean to sound cavalier, but this
doesn’t tell me anything about your innocence.” Julia interrupted,
her eyes riveted to the screen.

“Just explaining some background on what I
was working on, why this all started happening. There were a few
attempts on my life. I thought nothing of it. I’ve made quite a few
enemies which happen in our line of work. Then I received this
voice message.”

Moving the mouse to an audio file on the USB
key, he double-clicked to play it. A distorted, scratchy voice came
out of the speakers.

“Stop looking into the slavery ring or next
time your shielding won’t save from the poison.”

He’d almost fallen to a poisoned needle
embedded in his apartment’s doorknob. As with most mages, he kept
his shielding up continuously, on guard against any possible
attacks.

Jackson continued, “No one knew about that. I
didn’t tell anyone in the Enforcers and made no report about it.
That’s when I figured something else was going on. So, of course, I
started digging deeper.”

He played a few more audio files, wiretaps of
high-profile people, discussing their slaves.

“They were so sure they were above the law
they weren’t even discreet.” He said with disgust. “Unfortunately,
these are illegal wiretaps. I had to pull a few strings, beg some
favours and had them put into place. I just wanted to know who I
could put pressure on. Instead, it blew up in my face and I’ve been
running since. Nothing here proves I didn’t summon that demon, but
it shows someone wanted me out of the way.”

“Honestly, I'm not sure what I believe right
now. I’ll help in whatever way I can. But for now, another heal on
my ankle would be great. And maybe get rid of these scratches.” Her
smile hesitant, but her voice calm and sure. Her fingers fluttered
against the vivid angry scratches on her face, torn by the Fay
branches.

Amazed and a little suspicious she seemed
willing to give him a chance, he wondered at her angle. There
wasn’t much in these files that pointed to his innocence. Was she
hoping to blindside him, lull him into a false sense of security?
Her sweet innocent smile could easily hide treachery and he’d be a
fool to forget her partner, Markus. He was ruthless, cunning and
willing to break rules to win. She would’ve learned many of his
tricks. Making a note to keep a close eye on her, he decided to
extend some trust towards her.

While Jackson had other evidence that would
help make his case, he figured it would be better to save it for
tomorrow. It was getting late and he needed to gather what little
energy he had left to attempt another healing.

Chapter Four

JULIA GAVE A wide
yawn, astonished at how tired she was. Hadn’t she spent most of the
day unconscious? The trip through Fay shortened her day, giving her
less waking hours than normal. Then again, her day also started
obscenely early with Markus banging on her door at 3 A.M. Wow, had
that been just a few hours ago?

Sitting on the bed, she spread her hands out
on the hideous blanket. Honestly, who chose this? An eyesore, thin
and threadbare in a few spots, it would’ve made a great addition to
a bonfire. With the hot summer night, the blanket wasn’t a
necessity for which she was grateful.

Realizing she was ignoring the lumbering
dragon in the room, she turned her mind to the one pitiful bed in
the small area. The uncomfortable and lumpy bed currently
cushioning her butt.

No way. Sharing with Jackson, not an
option.

She’d put up with only so much. While she
wanted the prestige of capturing the elusive, and damn sexy,
fugitive, some lines stayed uncrossed. Finding out if he groped in
his sleep was one of them.

A solution presented itself in the way of a
couch. Sitting along the wall next to the bathroom door, it didn’t
seem at all comfortable. However, neither was the bed. As she
hobbled over to the couch with a pillow and the ugly blanket,
Jackson came out of the bathroom.

“What are you doing? You shouldn’t be on your
foot. You’ll set back the healing by walking on it.” He tried to
take the pillow and blanket from her, but she hugged it tighter to
her chest. “I can make my own bed on the couch.”

“No, I’ll sleep on the couch. No sense in you
being there. You’re taller than me and it’ll be uncomfortable. Take
the bed. Minus this pillow and blanket, of course.” She preferred
being closer to the main door.

If her lucked changed she could escape while
he slept. So far, the universe conspired against her, putting her
in this bizarre situation. Barring a few horrible experiences, her
life had bumped along uneventful, blissfully boring considering her
job as an Enforcer.

Contacting Markus would be easy once she was
out of this shielded room. She’d tested a mind-speak spell while
Jackson was in the bathroom and it bounced back to her.

“Look, I’m the one that kidnapped you, so I
should suffer on the couch. Take the bed, rest and let your ankle
mend.”

Since he looked ready to argue the rest of
the night about it, she took the straightforward route. A few feet
closer to the main door wouldn’t make much of a difference, she
decided. Giving him a fake, sickly sweet smile, she capitulated,
taking him by surprise.

“Yeah? No more arguments? Well, okay then.”
He appeared lost, like he didn’t know what to do now. It would seem
kidnapping women wasn’t an everyday occurrence. Well they had that
in common at least. This was her first time as a kidnap victim.

“I’m heading to bed. I’m tired and I’m ready
for this day to be over.” She said as she continued to hobble over
to the couch. Fluffing up the thin pillow, she dropped it on the
couch along with the blanket.

“I hope this will be comfortable for you, but
I doubt it. You’re too tall for it.” She added, feeling malicious
and spiteful.

She turned and made her way slowly back to
the bed. Jackson stood in the middle of the room, looking forlorn.
Perhaps next time he’ll think twice before abducting a woman. She
suppressed the giggle tickling the back of her throat and ended up
coughing instead. A few moments later, she was back under control,
as long as she didn’t glance his way.

She had to admit though, he did save her life
and so far behaved like a gentleman towards her. He’d made no
inappropriate remarks or tried to put the move on her, even while
healing her ankle. He’d touched her long enough to cast the spell
and that was it.

A small, treacherous part of her sighed in
disappointment. She wanted to explore the feelings he caused in
her, toss him on the bed and have her wicked way with him. However,
she still wasn’t sure about his innocence and she would never
forgive herself if he was guilty. At least she felt more relaxed in
his presence knowing he wasn’t going to kill her.

She dutifully kept her head turned as she
heard Jackson grasp the hem of his shirt. The urge to watch him
undress for bed was strong but she squashed it. Sure, it’d been a
while since her last lover, but she wasn’t a sex starved
pervert.

Right?

The silence from her internal voice did
nothing to reassure her.

The rustle of clothes followed by the
unzipping of his duffle bag told her he was changing into something
else. Firmly, she told herself it didn’t matter if he slept in his
boxers or not. Wait, was he wearing boxers or was he a briefs kind
of guy? Maybe he preferred commando? Catching her lower lip between
her teeth, she focused on the pain and pushed all thoughts of his
underwear, or lack thereof, from her mind.

Julia opted to stay clothed. Nothing else to
change into, she decided sleeping naked wasn’t a smart choice.

They both settled down for the night, neither
of them content. The mattress was thin and sagging and each time
Julia moved, it would squeak and groan. Her discomfort was nothing
compared to the tossing, turning and muttering of curses coming
from Jackson. Burying her face into the pillow, she had a hard time
controlling her laughter. Served him right for arguing with her
even if it was in her best interest. He should’ve realized the
couch was too short for him, but fine enough for her. She fell
asleep amused and in a surprisingly good mood all things
considered.

She forgot to make any plans for escape while
he slept.

JACKSON WOKE UP tired, groggy and so damn
sore. It had been impossible to fall into a deep sleep on the
couch. Either his feet hung over or his head was too high on the
arm. A crick in his neck taunted him. Should’ve taken the blasted
bed. He massaged the aching muscle then cheated as he gathered a
tiny amount of energy. The healing spell warmed his skin, pouring
the soothing balm into him.

Standing up, he stretched, hands clasped
above his head. Each muscle extended, luxuriating in the full body
move. A moan drifted to his ears. He dropped his arms and shrugged,
not realizing he’d made noise. The stretch felt damn good
though.

A quick shake of his limbs and he was ready
to start his early morning workout. He faithfully followed the
routine instilled in him during his Academy days. As both an
Enforcer and a fugitive, complacency would cause him harm.

His loose sweats allowed for free movement
and he hadn’t bothered with a shirt. Normally, he slept naked but
figured Julia wouldn’t appreciate his lack of sleepwear.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Julia
join him and shifted over to give her room. She caught up with him,
her body graceful in motion. The mixture of yoga and tai-chi helped
stretch out the kinks and he nearly groaned in pleasure. No matter
where he was, he made time to enjoy the meditative benefits from
this workout.

He fluidly moved into Warrior One Pose and
almost stumbled. Julia had followed his lead causing her tee-shirt
to ride up as she lifted her arms. The uninterrupted view of her
flat stomach distracted him. Without missing a beat, she flowed
into Warrior Two. Her slightly baggy, low rider jeans hugged her
ass as she completed the lunge.

Concentration shot, only through sheer habit
did he finished the routine. He tried to tell himself it was due to
being celibate for the better part of three years. He wasn’t buying
it. Distraction by a woman just didn't happen to him and not
because of a bit of flesh showing. Hell, it was summer. Women
walked around in a lot less than what Julia was wearing and he
didn’t get hot and bothered looking at them.

Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath to
center himself. This odd burst of desire racing through his veins
was an unneeded complication. When he opened them, any scrap of
tranquility he’d managed deserted him again.

Thoroughly distracted, he hadn’t heard Julia
move. Now sitting on the bed, her injured leg stretched out and her
jeans pulled up, showing off her shapely calf. She probed her
ankle, testing for tenderness. He clenched his hand as he
remembered how smooth her skin felt under his fingers, how tempted
he’d been to stroke her leg.

Briskly, he turned his back on her, wondering
how in the nine hells he was going to spend time alone with her
without going stir crazy. It’s been less than 24 hours and he’d
already had more than a few dirty thoughts regarding her. He needed
to bury himself in paperwork. That should help suppress his
attraction to her. If he was lucky, she had some annoying habits,
like talking constantly about nail polish or chewing her hair.

Rummaging through the duffel bag, he grabbed
a shirt and yanked it on over his head. Clearing his throat, his
back to her and his voice gruff, he said, “I’m going to look over
some of the files I have here. Maybe you could too. A fresh set of
eyes might see something I’m missing.”

He heard her rustling behind him and turned.
She’d moved to the small table near the bed and sat down in one of
the chairs. Thankfully, she had covered up although his libido
didn’t seem to care. Damn, she needed to have extremely annoying
habits.

“Sure. I’m itching to see everything you
have.” Her lips curved into a smile and he reminded himself she was
talking about the notes and nothing sexual.

What a shame.

He grabbed the laptop and sat it on the small
kitchen table then gave himself a mental kick. All of it was on his
computer, thus creating a distinct lack of actual paperwork. He
hadn’t bothered printing anything out since he’d been the only one
looking at the files. Hell, he didn't even have a printer. No way
was he carrying one around along with everything else, which meant
crowding around the computer in close proximity to her.

Jackson softly sighed and knew he needed to
man up and get over it. She didn’t ask for his interest and he
wasn’t going to burden her with it. Even if it killed him, he would
act like a perfect gentleman. Bad enough he’d kidnapped her and was
holding her against her will.

“Oh, actually, do you have a spare
toothbrush? This morning breath is driving me crazy and if we’re
going to share the computer, I don’t want to inflict it upon you.”
She gave a small chagrined smile, peeking through stands of hair
that had fallen across her face.