Drew's Z was parked out front waiting for them with two new tires. When he stepped out of the cab, mouth hanging open, Cassie laughed.
"I told you we have people in every industry. Cars can be a great way for police to know someone else is involved." She rolled a shoulder. "We're faster than Triple A at getting a car out of there."
The same way he had for the last two years since he'd moved in, Drew strode up to the building's secured entrance and fished in his pocket for the keys. Cassie put a hand over his.
"Pritchard's disciples have had enough time to find you. Go slow."
He nodded grimly. Drew led the way through the corridor and up the stairs to his floor. They avoided the elevator for the noise that would announce an arrival. When they reached the door Cassie quickly touched his shoulder and held up a hand. She was going in first. He held out his keys pinched in his hand to keep them from rattling, Cassie smiled and winked. Drew was a quick learner. Recalling his rap sheet, Cassie realized he wasn't learning, he was settling into an old lifestyle. Knowing that would help to make him easier to protect, it failed to upset her.
Going rogue had given her a reckless vibe and Cassie was feeling powerful. Mentally she cautioned herself not to get too crazy but it was difficult. This was the first time she'd stepped out of line, well second, but both times had been with Drew and now they were on their own without any orders to follow. They hadn't seen anyone since entering the building and it only added to the illusion that they were all alone in the world.
Recovering some amount of sanity with effort, Cassie reached down and pulled power. The Earth couldn't give her what she needed from three floors up, leaving the water in the pipes to eagerly heed her call. Hand filled with energy, she used it to open the door instead of the key, holding an arm out to keep Drew back. When nothing exploded, they cautiously peeked around the doorframe and slowly walked inside.
Everything was as she remembered it. Drew looked at her and nodded that nothing was amiss. Cassie shut the door and locked it behind them. She hovered in the front room while he went down the hall and gathered what he needed. The clock over the microwave said it wasn't quite noon.
She pulled her phone from her pocket and dialed Julia. Apparently, Dr. Jones had gotten to her first.
"Cassie what in hell are y'all doin'?" Julia's shrill timbre was a new one and her Creole accent made it hard to understand as her words ran together in the unique cadence of the bayou. "Runnin' off with a client on his wild goose chase when I told you to stay put? You're goin' against protocol and puttin' both your lives in danger. You know that. Did he talk you in to this?"
There was finally enough of a pause for Cassie to answer and she did. She'd been working through her rationalization on the cab ride over.
"It's not a wild goose chase Julia. Drew knows Pritchard. He knows his patterns and his haunts. We're better off on the offensive on this one." She lowered her voice so Drew was less likely to hear. "Didn't Dr. Jones tell you? He's tied Brandon to him. He's probably tracking him right back to us. We're less safe being there than out here."
Julia calmed down, recovering a more genteel tone. Cassie had a point. "The healer said Drew was pretty upset. Is he a danger to himself or to others? What about you? Can you keep his influence from affecting you?"
Cassie considered her questions. Drew was angry but he was thinking rationally and had shown restraint with the doctor. "No, he's not a danger."
"And you, are you thinking clearly? The healer said she thought you were distracted." Julia pressed, the healer had been sure to point out the potential emotional interference in Cassie's judgment. Pritchard was far too dangerous for her to be less than focused on the chase.
Silently, Cassie cursed the doctor and her big mouth. "The thing with Drew is under control. I let it go too far but it was only one time and he only did it because of the amulet. It's behind us now, okay?" She was sharper than she'd intended. It was hard not to be, the subject was a festering sore that just kept getting poked. "I'm going to get a piece of Pritchard for you, for when you come back. That way you can break the binding between them even if he manages to get away again."
"Don't even think about facing off with him alone. I'm serious honey you're spending too much energy worrying about Drew and his brother to manage if things get bad. Wait for us and we can get what I need to break the binding together." Julia's voice had grown maternal, it was worse than yelling.
"Julia, you haven't seen him." She lowered her voice. "It's bad. If we lose any more time Brandon might be too far gone to break the tie that binds them. If I can find him I can get something to you as soon as you get here." Cassie sniffed, the stress was getting to her and Julia's warmth was pulling her emotions to the surface.
Cassie stuck to her guns, she knew she was right. She'd seen Julia break a psychic connection once before and it was difficult because she wasn't the one who had initiated the binding, but she could do it. All she needed was a piece of Pritchard or something he kept on his person, something that came from him. Hair or a worn article of clothing was usually the easiest to get. And then she would need a sacrifice. Cassie would leave that to Julia, she tended to prefer to choose her own small animals saying it required a certain something in the animal. Cassie didn't understand but readily accepted Julia's expertise in the matter of all things Vodou.
"Is Drew able to help at all or is he just blindly leading the charge with you following along?"
"I think he's a natural." The doctor must have left out the part where Drew nearly moved her with his influence. "He's been using it for years by instinct and that was with the amulet limiting him. I'm telling you, you don't have to worry about Drew."
There was a long pregnant pause on the other end of the line. Cassie could hear the rustling of her hand over the phone and a rumbling that must have been Quan, though she couldn't make out the words. When Julia did respond, she was slow and deliberate.
"Cassie, you listen to me, I want you to be careful. No matter what you're thinking about Drew and his skills," she was clearly not convinced, "you need to keep in mind you are there to shut down Terry Pritchard. No matter what drama is unfolding in the lives of the Carter brothers, you must remember why you are there. We'll help them if we can when our assignment is done. Too many people stand to suffer if we lose our focus over a pretty smile and tight ass."
Bristling at the unnecessary reminder of her duty, Cassie snarled. "Call me when you get in." She started to hang up and thought of one more thing, "Don't forget to bring a chicken."
Julia grumbled an "I know what I'm doing" and the line went silent in Cassie's ear. On the other end, Quan was waiting for the rest of the report anticipating it was not good. He'd heard most of it. Julia's lips were pressed together grimly, he almost missed her soft "mierde."
Back in Tampa, Cassie stared at the phone's dark face. "Please hurry." She pleaded softly, pressing the heel of her hand into her forehead. A headache was coming on, no surprise given the fact that she was potentially throwing away her career and torpedoing her plans to take care of her family without having a clear understanding why. But her gut said Drew was heading in the right direction and she couldn't sit around waiting for her partners and Pritchard wondering who would get there first while she watched Brandon linger near the brink.
She felt a twinge for Dr. Jones but she knew the risks of staying with a patient bound to a sociopath. Healers weren't lightweights they were trained just as well as the Investigators for field work.
Drew had heard Cassie's conversation, even hushed tones carried on the hard bare surfaces of the unit. Guilt stirred in his breast and he attempted to quash it. He could not be held responsible for any sort of repercussions that came her way, he'd told her not to come. It had been her choice to follow him. Except his conscience was not so easily placated as that.
Hearing her espouse her faith in him while under the impression he didn't care about her, he felt something inside him give way. Drew came into view and saw her standing slumped, holding her head and looking lost. He set his bag on the tile with a scrape and she dropped her hand to her side.
He continued into the room, coming up behind her and slid his arms around her waist. For a brief instant he felt her sink into him only to stiffen and push away. "Are you in trouble for coming with me?"
"I came with you because it makes sense." She turned around yet could not bring her eyes to his nor did she answer his question. "We should get going. We have a witch to catch and I would like to find him before he finds Brandon." Cassie attempted to walk around him. "I hope you got what you came for."
Undeterred, he stuck his hand out and caught her by the arm. "In a minute. Before you go out there and risk your neck for my brother and me, there's something we need to straighten out."
"I've told you it's my job..." He saw fear mixed with something else in her eyes when she glanced up.
That something else was what he'd been hoping for, and before either of them could talk him out of it, he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close. Drew's mouth cut her off from saying anything else. Everything he wanted to say but couldn't he poured into his kiss. Starting out forceful he got her attention, then softened, brushing her lips with his and showing her he wanted more from her, more than just now. He pulled away and waited.
"Why?"
"It wasn't the amulet. I heard what you said to Julia and I wanted you to know it wasn't that the other night."
She blinked and Drew watched her pulse race in her neck. Now that he had seen her true feelings, he wanted to let her know she was mistaken in thinking herself alone in her affections. "I've been trying to ignore what happened except it isn't working for me." Drew ran a hand through his hair, grabbing a clump at the back and clutching it with his head bowed. So open, he wasn't able to face her. "Since that night I've been doing a lot of thinking. About you and me and everything."
Cassie could see how worked up he was, reaching out to touch his arm, to let him know she was listening and was rewarded with a look into his eyes. Soft gray, they were troubled and open all at once. Drew was letting her see into him, frightened at the idea of rejection, willing to try regardless.
"All I've ever had and cared about I've lost. Brandon is the last thing I've got and he's lying comatose in bed, waiting for us to perform some sort of exorcism." He lowered his voice grown rough with feeling. "Cassie you have a dangerous job and you can get hurt. I don't want to want you because the thought of losing someone else that I care about is something I don't know if I can go through again." He gingerly stroked the scar on her cheek with one hand while the other remained wrapped around her waist, keeping her there with him as if he was afraid she would run. The intimacy of being so close and meeting her eyes was too much and Drew closed his, resting his forehead on hers.
"But every time I look at you, I can't stop how you make me feel. You make me want to try. I want to try with you."
Drew was asking her to make the decision about taking that next step with him, leaving it to her to choose where her path would take her next. Tears pricked her eyes. She couldn't trust her voice, relying instead on answering him the same way he'd asked. Sliding her hands up, she placed a palm on either side of his face and rose on her tiptoes. When their lips met again, his response was jubilant, kissing her mouth, her cheeks and her eyes then returning to her lips where, as he kissed her their passions overflowed.
Cassie made a sound against his mouth asking for more and was wrapped up in a tight embrace, his hand sliding up into her hair while the other pressed her body against his. Thoughts of being followed, angry female acolytes and impending magickal battles faded as her fever for him clouded her brain and her body begged to be allowed free rein. She made another little sound, frustrated that even though she knew she needed to walk out of here right now, she couldn't force herself to break from him. Tension built up from years of denial added to the uncertainty of this mission, her future and Drew's role in both culminated in a need for release. For the moment she forgot about tomorrow and the train wreck sure to destroy it all. Her kiss turned desperate.
He felt the change in her, heard the need in that little sound in her throat and with that Drew lost control of himself. There was nothing but her.
***
The hall to his bedroom was littered with their clothing leading to the two of them lying together in a blissful nest, willing everything else to stay out. Drew brushed Cassie's hair from her cheek where it clung damply to it. She smiled at him and reached up to kiss him. He shifted his weight on his elbow and leaned down, freezing when they heard a rattling at the front door.
Cassie's eyes went wide and Drew's body stiffened. Rolling off the bed, he moved swiftly out into the hall. Cassie followed, taking a moment to throw his shirt over her head. She couldn't focus to fight if she was standing naked in front of someone, call her vain but it was true.
It turned out Drew's primary aim was for the bag he'd dropped in the living room. He had run straight to it and now he was digging in it. Cassie reached out again for the familiar feel of water, shocked at the amount of energy that surged up into her receptive flesh. It was more even than she'd been able to call before and she wondered if she was growing more proficient now that she had broken down the barriers to her inner magick.
Her body warmed despite her limited clothing as the organic energy raced excitedly up and down her skin, leaving the entire surface tingling in its wake. One palm flexed open and she pictured a measured amount of energy moving into that one concentrated point, the rest staying with her for a second defense or attack if need be. In her mind's eye she saw the blue ball roiling in her hand and let her eyes rest on the door, ready.
Drew had come up with a gun from his bag in spite of Cassie's prior caution. He held it pointed at the door not yet ready to count on his magick in a fight and needing to defend his home and lover. He took a few steps sideways to stand next to Cassie, leaving her clear to fight for herself. They exchanged a ready look and waited for the door to swing open.