Bound: The Hybrid's Witch Book 2

Chapter 5

I locked the door after I called Nik. All I needed was for some stranger to wander in off the street to see the dead witch and me wearing her blood on my clothes. I leaned on the wall beside it waiting for him to knock. Despite my anticipation of it, the sound still made me jump.

"Cassie, open up." He sounded frantic and I was glad I'd opted to wait by the door. He might not have waited for me to make my way from deeper in the bar.

I flipped the lock and let him and Stefan in. Then I shut the door and relocked it.

Nik grasped my upper arms and turned me to face him. His eyes ran over me, looking for any injury. "Are you all right?"

I gave a little shrug. "I just put a bullet in someone's head. I'm super."

He pulled me against his chest and wrapped his arms around me. My arms slid around his waist and I just enjoyed the moment.

"She's dead," Stefan announced.

I peered around Nik to frown at him. "Really? What was your first clue?"

Nik chuckled. "Now, sweetheart, he was simply making certain. It would be most unpleasant for everyone if the witch wasn't dead when we buried her."

He laced his fingers with mine and led me over to a table. After getting me settled he took the seat across from me. "Now, what happened?"

"What?" I asked, pulling my gaze from the dead body on the floor.

"He wants to know why you knocked off the witch that was trying to help you," Stefan clarified.

"Can I smack him?" I didn't really expect an answer. It wasn't like I'd wait for permission if I was going to do it anyway.

Stefan chuckled and went back to cleaning up my mess.

"You'll have to excuse Stefan, love. I removed the remaining compulsion so he would remember my sister. He's a bit testy about that bit," Nik explained.

I frowned. "Where is your sister?"

"She was taking awhile to wake up. We left her a message," he said as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

"Gloria didn't feel right from the beginning. There was something...off."

"Why didn't you say something? I wouldn't have left you."

I took one of his hands in both of mine to play with it and huffed out a breath. "Because I wasn't sure, Nik. With my magic the way it is, I see danger everywhere."

He twisted his hand around so he could hold mine. "That's not necessarily a bad thing, Cassie. I'd rather you be overly vigilant than dead."

I blinked at that. "Yeah. Death is kind of way down on my list of things to do."

"I would hope it's at the bottom," Stefan piped up as he picked up the witch and draped her over his shoulder.

"I'm seriously going to smack you, Salvatore," I called after my friend as he headed toward the back room.

"I'd like to see you try, princess."

Nik's mouth was twisted into the smirk he got when he was trying not to laugh. I shook my head and rolled my eyes. "Anyway, your witch intended to use your sister's necklace to draw and store my magic."

His brows shot up. "And she thought I would just allow this to happen?"

"You weren't supposed to know about it. She intended to cast a spell to keep me docile," I explained.