CHAPTER ONE

 

“This has to be the best stakeout spot in the world.”

Simon Alison settled more comfortably in the spot on a low hill he and Robin Chesley had chosen to watch the ongoing movement in a big, wide warehouse. The front doors of the warehouse were wide open, and inside a few men were seated right at the entrance with a table and a few chairs, where they played some cards. They’d been at it for almost two hours now, and Simon couldn’t figure out how they weren’t bored yet just sitting there instead of doing something productive. He’d always been the type who became restless when he didn’t get to expel his excess energy.

Which was why Robin’s statement—said with utmost relish—was something that he met with a raised brow.

“Really? In the world?”

Robin shrugged, strands of her black hair falling on her face. She blew them off and glanced at him before focusing back on the warehouse. “In the world I know, at least. I haven’t traveled that much yet.”

“Hmm.” A smile tugged off his lips. Considering how much he and Robin had traveled over the past year as their missions took them all across the globe, he was pretty sure that was incorrect. But he understood what she meant. When one was working on a mission, you really didn’t get to explore the place much and couldn’t claim they traveled and explored richly. Still, he couldn’t help but make a playful remark. “I guess being in Paris isn’t considered that much of a treat, huh?”

Those big green eyes gave him a look that said somewhere between shut up and don’t be sassy, and Simon was yet to figure out which one. Robin had always been about the look.

When she didn’t respond, and he knew taunting her further would just get him hit with spells on his backside, Simon decided to keep his full focus back on the warehouse. The men had moved on from playing cards to getting out a bottle of Jack Daniels for them to share, which meant they were settling in for a longer night. Half an hour later, Simon inwardly sighed and opened his mouth to talk to Robin again, who was utterly still beside him.

A blur appeared in the sky—a flash, really, barely recognizable if one wasn’t looking. He straightened immediately.

“He’s here,” he whispered.

“I know,” Robin murmured back. She was staring at the sky, too—probably sooner than he was. The dragon shifter—the third part of their mission unit—barely stirred the air, but Simon could feel him lurking nearby. “They’ve arrived.”

Five minutes later, Robin’s guess was right. The vehicle the dragon shifter had been trailing finally arrived and stopped beside the warehouse’s entrance, and the men who’d been drinking stood at attention. It was a nondescript black van, a stereotypical kidnapping and other suspicious activities type van.

They watched with bated breath as the driver got out and talked to the men. Then electric shockers—Taser-like weapons that could electrify with a touch—were taken out as they surrounded the back of the van, indicating they were about to open it.

A flash appeared in the sky again. Then Charlie Takeshi’s dragon form went down and shifted into his half-human form, leaving behind his sharp dragon claws and teeth. He charged the men with a speed that was incredible, using his martial arts skills to take them down one by one. Simon’s shoulders tensed when one snuck up behind Charlie as he got busy fending off two men at the same time. The dragon shifter ducked at the last second and evaded the weapon aimed his way, his claws swiping into the man’s back and drawing blood. He then opened the back of the van—

And got blasted by a strong shock of invisible force.

Simon prepared to shift. But before he could, Robin was already standing up and sprinting forward, her dark cloak flying behind her. He cursed under his breath and went after her, yelling.

“Chesley!”

“Witch!” she yelled back. Then she ran faster.

Simon shifted to his wolf form instantly and caught up to her, and together they ran down. An invisible warmth surrounded him, and he knew right away that it was her magic cloaking them from being seen. They approached the fight as quietly as they could, with Robin almost stumbling and his body catching and nudging her before she hit the ground. Then, seconds into the approach, he heard her mutter under her breath.

“Now.”

The warmth disappeared, the spell gone. Simon leaped on the man clinging to Charlie’s back and yanked him off, feeling the weapon whisper an electric shock on his fur. He ignored it and kept going, watching out of the corner of his eye as Robin went for the van’s door. She held up her hands, and they lit her signature red and gold sparks as she fought with someone inside. Sweat poured down her forehead, but she might as well have been alone for all the attention she paid outside her magic. He did that job for her, making sure no men came close to attack as she kept up with the push and pull of power. Simon couldn’t see beyond the darkness inside the van, but he was sure that was where their target—the focus of their whole mission—lay.

More men were coming out of the warehouse, and Simon realized this was bigger than he expected. His and Charlie’s eyes met at once, and instantly they went into standard formation: back to back while still protecting Robin, whose hands were shaking from the struggle. Whoever was inside that van had to be powerful, because Robin was one of the most powerful teenagers Simon had met.

They kept at it, and what was supposed to be a short fight turned longer as the men were more trained than they expected. Still, they beat them systematically, and three against almost fifty wasn’t that bad. A yell came from Robin, and suddenly she was diving inside the van, where more sparks lit, and a horrible shriek filled the air. Simon just about lost his breath when silence filled the van next—but just as he was about to rescue her, her head popped out.

“Target’s here. Hurry,” she said.

Simon and Charlie communicated silently, and Charlie handled the rest of the men as Simon slipped in. Their target, a kidnapped wolf shifter heiress named Lucy Marlow, was lying on the floor wrapped in magical chains, her eyes closed. She was unconscious. Beside Lucy lay ashes and a cloak stained in blood, and Simon’s eyes widened as he turned to Robin.

Robin shrugged. “The witch was playing dirty. I had to pull out a decent retaliation.”

Right. Only Robin would call a spell that turned enemies to ash a decent retaliation. Again, he was amazed at how someone so young could already do so much but kept it to himself as he hauled Lucy as gently as he could outside. He called out to Charlie, and Charlie kicked the nearest man in the abdomen before the three of them made a run for it. Just as they were about to reach the hills, Charlie shifted to his dragon form once more, while Simon shifted to his human form and hurriedly put on trousers while Robin was preoccupied. Then he and Robin climbed on Charlie’s back, with Lucy in front of Simon and Robin behind him. The dragon shifter took flight immediately, and the warehouse became a tiny little thing as they flew higher and higher in the air.

Charlie went at full speed, and Simon felt Robin’s hand tighten around his waist. She’d always been wary of open flights, complaining enough that they only used it for emergency purposes such as this one. Actually, this was only the second time she’d ever ridden on a dragon.

Half an hour later, Charlie slowed down enough for Simon to turn around and face Robin, then navigated Lucy in between them. Robin’s hands transferred their tight grip on Charlie’s scales while she studied the chains surrounding Lucy, which were glowing a bit. She nodded her head, then closed her eyes, muttering some chants under her breath. One hand came up to touch the chains, and soon the glow was gone, and she gave Simon the go-signal. Simon shifted his hand into claws and worked on the chains, eventually breaking them and tossing them down the ocean they passed.

“She’s going to wake up in less than an hour,” Robin said. “She just needs to gather her strength.”

Simon nodded. They rotated back to their original positions, and Robin clung on to his hips again, making him grin as he turned his head in her direction.

“What?” she asked defensively.

“Last mission,” he said.

“Oh, yeah,” she murmured. “It went well.”

It did. He and Robin had been working as a team for three years now, starting at the moment when she’d been lent by her witch mentor, the famous Red Denver, to the shifter community in New York—mostly to get her used to doing missions and physical activities. At the same time, Simon had just been starting, too, and they often went as assistants to the big dudes who handled big missions—just like Charlie Takeshi, who was his brother-in-law.

Thinking of his sister, who was Charlie’s mate, Simon turned to Robin again. “Don’t leave yet when we get to New York.”

“Why?”

“You have to try my sister’s famous pasta. She’s making it for when Chuck returns home.”

“We’re not Charlie,” she deadpanned.

Simon winked. “I’m her brother. We can gatecrash any time we want.”

Robin’s mouth quirked.

“So what are you doing after this? You’re going to do that travel thing you want?”

Robin shook her head. A determined expression crossed her face. “No.”

“Then what?”

“I’m going to practice until I’m the best witch there is.”

“And you are going to be,” he said sincerely.

Her lip quirking turned into a full grin, one that was rare and brightened those green eyes of hers. He grinned back, feeling it reach his heart as he realized he was going to miss her. They’d grown from acquaintances to friends, and he was comfortable around her. Robin was true to herself, and she had balls. She also had a mouth that could stab like a knife, which made being with her fun.

As far as he knew, witches who went on training rarely showed themselves to the public. That meant this was going to be their last dinner together for now.

As for him? He didn’t know where he was going after this. Maybe more assisting jobs. Maybe solo missions.

Whatever it was, he hoped fate was kind to him and Robin.