Maia's Magickal Mates [The Double R 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (40 page)

“We’re not going to let anything happen to him, honey.” Thayne stopped in front of the lawyer’s office, hand on the doorknob.

Maia bumped into him when he didn’t turn it to open the door. “What’s the matter?”

“Oh Goddess…” Thayne stepped back, grabbing Maia’s hand and jerking her with him behind the building.

“Thayne, what is it?”

“Prentice is in there, speaking with the lawyer.”

Maia peeked from behind Thayne to glance through the windows and saw Prentice and the town lawyer smiling and shaking hands. “What the—?”

“Cade’s in trouble.”

“No shit, Sherlock!”

“Okay, take a deep breath. We need to think this through. We don’t know what they’re talking about or if it has anything at all to do with Cade.”

Maia stared at him. “You know what you need to do, then.”

His heart squeezed in his chest at the challenge in her voice.

Penetrating Cade and Maia’s thought’s during sex was one thing. Using his gifts to save all their lives or heal a patient in his care was another thing, but this, invading a man’s private thoughts and—

A man who tried to kill me and everyone I care about, a man who killed my aunt.

Maia was right. He knew what he had to do. He just had to do things carefully, without letting Prentice know he was here, no mean feat with someone as powerful as Prentice had proven to be so far. The man might already know they were there.

Thayne pushed Maia back behind him and concentrated, reaching out his thoughts to the lawyer first and ascertaining that he and Prentice were indeed talking about Cade. Money had exchanged hands, and an allegiance had been forged. Cade would not be getting any help from this quarter. They were on their own.

Before he could turn his thoughts to Prentice, the powerful Wiccan-gone-wrong turned from the lawyer and stared out the window directly at Thayne. He smiled.

You’re too late, Malloy. I’ve set the wheels in motion for your brother’s belated demise. Glad you could come to see the finale, though.

Thayne staggered back, nose bleeding from Prentice’s sudden psychic attack.

Maia caught him against her as he wiped the back of his hand beneath his nose.

“What happened, Thayne?”

“C’mon!” Thayne grabbed her hand and dragged her to their horses, quickly mounting his.

Maia stared up at him, fists on her hips. “We can’t just let him get away with this.”

“We’re not, but trust me, you have to get on your horse now and follow me.” Prentice had been at meticulous work poisoning the well water, and now it was bubbling over, festering and toxic, in the form of a budding lynch mob.

They were on their way to the jailhouse, looking for an outlet to release their simmering anger and hate, looking for someone to kill.

Not my brother. Not Cade.

The look on Thayne’s face must have clued Maia in as to how desperate the situation was. She climbed onto her mount and followed Thayne as he kicked his horse into a gallop.

The pair of them dashed from the lawyer’s office to the other side of town where the sheriff’s office was located.

A small crowd gathered around the entrance. Thayne didn’t trust it not to quickly grow.

He dismounted his horse, heart pounding at the hush that fell over the throng as he and Maia fought their way through them to the front door.

He tried not to show his fear, but he could feel the horde’s collective animosity and disapproval. He knew that the sheriff and his deputy wouldn’t be able to hold off this bunch if they really put their minds to rushing the station.

Thayne thought of the telegraph office but knew it was too late now to get a message out to any of the nearby forts like Smith. Even apprising a marshal of the clear crisis would be a waste of time at this point.

Maybe had he listened to Cade last night they all could have headed off this situation at the pass. He still wasn’t sure how. He didn’t think the sheriff or his deputy would have looked at them any less askance or that their story of a serial killer would have been any more feasible to the Old West lawmen, but at least they could have gotten their own version of the events on the table instead of allowing Prentice free reign of the situation.

Thayne thought they were well and truly screwed now. They were on their own.

Jed turned to him from the cell where he had locked Cade, gun drawn. “What are you two doing here?”

“You have to get my brother out of there.”

“We had everything under control before you two got here. Your presence is stirring up the crowd.”

“I’ve got news for you,
deputy
, that crowd was stirred up long before we arrived.”

Despite himself and the situation, Thayne smiled at Maia’s bossy tone and stance when she slammed her fists on her hips to face off with Jed’s second-in-command.

“You send that child killer out here, Jed, or we’re coming in there to get him!”

“Oh Goddess, this is serious.”

Thayne wished he could dispute Maia, but he couldn’t.

Maia walked over to the cell, linking her fingers with Cade’s as she squeezed her face between the bars to kiss him. “How are you holding up?”

“I’m okay, but you two need to leave before things get out of hand.”

“And leave you? I don’t
think
so.”

“Thayne…” Cade stepped away from the bars and gave his brother a look over Maia’s shoulder. “Get her out of here.”

“What? No. No way.”

“Maia…” Thayne caught her by the shoulders and drew her back against his chest. “We’ll figure this out.”

“We’re not leaving him.”

In the next moment, a rock crashed through the window and snatched the decision out of their hands.

Before the sheriff could react, the crowd rushed the front doors, flooding into the jailhouse and overtaking the deputy.

Jed fired a round over the vociferous mob’s heads, but their forward momentum continued, two of the men breaking from the crowd to tackle the sheriff to the floor.

“Stop what you’re doing right now! That man is under my jurisdiction and protection and innocent until proven guilty.”

“You let us handle this, Jed, if you don’t have the stomach to,” Cody Paxton said.

“Yes, sheriff. We’ll handle things from here.” Prentice emerged from the crowd, squatting next to Jed, who struggled against the two men holding him down.

“You son of a bitch!” Thayne made a move forward to attack Prentice, but two men from the crowd intercepted and grabbed him by the arms, holding him back.

“Let him go!” Maia shouted, and two men grabbed her from behind.

Thayne watched helplessly as Prentice snatched the set of keys from the sheriff’s belt and stood to approach the cell.

Cade reached through the bars and caught Prentice by the lapel, but before he could get a solid grip, someone hit him in the face with a rifle butt. Cade lurched back, blood spurting from his nose. “Stop it!” Maia screamed, fiercely struggling against the two men holding her.

“That’ll teach ’im for sticking his nose where it don’t belong.” Cody smirked.

“I’ll take care of things here, Cody. Why don’t you oversee the final preparations at the stable,” Prentice said.

“You got it, Mr. Teague.” Cody trotted off to do Prentice’s bidding like a giddy kid, and Thayne wondered what Prentice was paying him. Was it possible the simpleton was doing this for free and had no other motivation driving him except his grudge against him, Cade, and Maia for thwarting him at Hank’s?

Whatever the reason, Thayne wasn’t allowed any further reflection as the rifle wielder who’d attacked Cade used his weapon on Thayne, striking him in the temple.

He crumpled to his knees, bleary-eyed, but he didn’t completely black out. He held onto consciousness by a thread, listening to Maia’s outraged shrieks above him as the two men holding his arms finally released him.

Prentice’s face filled his waning sight, and Thayne felt a tug on his neck when the man snatched off his pendant.

Not Mom’s pendant. No!
“Don’t,” Thayne croaked, weakly reaching for it to no avail.

Prentice stood, stepping out of Thayne’s reach. “See you later at the necktie party. Your brother’s the guest of honor.”

Thayne held onto awareness for as long as he could before finally losing the battle and succumbing to merciful darkness.

* * * *

Cade woke to the murmur of voices. He felt the underlying excitement of people milling around nearby waiting for the show to begin.

He didn’t open his eyes and reached out for Maia’s and Thayne’s thoughts instead, curious at whether he could initiate a link on his own.

You are not alone, Cade.

“Mom?”

Remember what I told you before. Your belief will get you through this. Your belief is your strength. Believe in the magick. Use it.

Cade held onto his mother’s voice. He held onto her presence in his mind, garnering power from it.

Would it be enough?

He reached out further for his brother and Maia.

It took several moments before he hit pay dirt, and when he did Maia’s and Thayne’s thoughts were fuzzy. Their consciousnesses faded in and out like a weak, static-filled cell phone connection.

Panic-stricken, he silently screamed at them with his psychic voice.

Cade?

Thayne!

He has Mom’s pendant.

It doesn’t matter. We can do this on our own. We just have to believe. Isn’t that what Mom always told you?

I don’t know…

Thayne! Thayne, stay with me.

What had Prentice had his men do to Thayne besides hit him with that rifle? Had they beaten him further? Was he too weak to do this? Was Maia?

Maia? Maia!

I’m here. Don’t shout.

We need to pool our energy. We can’t win any other way.

Do you remember the incantation?

Cade chuckled at his brother’s question. He didn’t think he could forget that chant if his life depended on it.

“I see you’re coming around. No use playing possum.”

Cade felt Prentice squatting beside him but didn’t respond, not even when Prentice nudged him in the ribs with the toe of his boot.

He can only beat you if you let him, Cade. Believe.

Cade held onto his mother’s words and took a deep breath.

Are you ready, Thayne? Maia?

Without Mom’s pendant—

We can do this, Thayne. I know we can.

Had another dream, did you?

Something like that.

I’m game, guys.

Despite her affirmative thoughts, Cade worried about Maia’s weak response. She sounded as if she were exhausted and in pain.

What had Prentice
done
to her and Thayne?

I’ll be okay. Let’s do this.

“I know what you’re doing, Cade. It’s not going to work.”

Don’t listen to him, Cade. We’ve got this. Right, Maia?

Right.

Emboldened by his mother’s presence and Maia’s and Thayne’s thoughts, Cade opened his eyes to glare at Prentice.

He instantly saw the group of men standing behind him, anxious and waiting. When his gaze finally landed on Thayne and Maia sitting back to back at the lynch mob’s feet with their hands bound behind them, he felt both relief and rage.

Slowly, he became aware of the noise rising up from outside the abandoned stable, the pounding on the door, and voices raised in protest. Surprisingly, he was even able to distinguish some of the protestors—Sabrina, Hank, Luke, and Joshua among them.

It would be nice if the crowd outside was as big as the group of men inside the stable, even nicer if they gained entry and could stop what was about to happen.

Cade wasn’t hanging his hopes on the latter, though.

Damn, poor choice of words.

“Don’t count on any help from your friends outside. By the time they get in here, it’ll all be over.”

“How can you be so hateful? What did we ever do to you?”

Prentice drew back as if Cade had slapped him, and Cade pressed his slight advantage.

“You know this isn’t the way of a true Wiccan. This isn’t what you were created for.”

“How would you know?”

“I know you’re in pain. I used to be in the same kind of pain before I found—”

“What? Your true calling?” Prentice sneered, pressing his index finger firmly against Cade’s temple. That’s when a torrent of images, thoughts, and feelings washed over him, so fierce and great that he couldn’t keep everything straight.

Cade cringed at the pain but more at the injustice of Prentice’s motivations and the futility of his actions.

“Please spare me. The injustice was finding out my parents secretly funneled money to that aunt and uncle of yours
for years
, trying to make amends for what they did to your parents.”