Charmed Spirits (13 page)

“Fucking
kids.”

“See?
It’s just kids. We can go out, yell, and they’ll leave.” Jordan gave a wry
smile, and Matt shook his head.

“I
hope it’s that easy.”

“They’re
just kids, Matt. Stupid kids, but they didn’t know anyone would be in here.”

“Yeah,
but we were and your car was parked outside, Jor. It was obvious someone was
inside. And you got hurt in the process.” Rage built up in him, and he cursed.
They’d hurt her, damn it, and he was supposed to go out there and act like a
nice guy to get them to leave? Well, too damn bad. If only he were still in his
ghost form. He’d scare the shit out of those kids. He smiled. Yeah, that would
be nice.

“Uh,
Matt, why are you smiling like the Joker from
Batman
right now?”

“Just
thinking about how it would be nice to haunt them.”

She
punched him in the shoulder and scowled. “You’re bad.”

“True.
Okay, come on, let’s get this over with.”

Matt
opened the door and walked out, Jordan hot on his heels. He looked around the
barren yard, full of weeds and dead grass, for the culprits but didn’t see
them. Maybe they’d moved on. Maybe it had been just that one kid.

“You
see anyone?” Jordan asked as she looked around his body since he blocked the
door.

“Not
so far. Maybe they’re gone.”

“Hopefully.
I’m getting hungry.”

“I’ll
feed you, baby. Don’t worry.”

“Aww,
I like it when you go all caveman sometimes. Just don’t make it a habit. I’m an
independent woman.”

He
turned around and kissed her. “Wouldn’t dream of it because I know you are.”

He
felt Jordan stiffen, and magic swarmed around them, this time, not as warm as
before, almost protecting, before he heard glass break again. A rock slid past
them and he waited for the glass to come inside…but it didn’t. He opened his
eyes, and she stood in his arms, her eyes focused on something else, something eerie.

He
looked behind her, and his jaw dropped. The glass windows on either side of the
door had shattered into thousands of little pieces of sparking crystal. They
floated in the air in frozen animation in the foyer. He looked closer and
rethought that. No, they weren’t frozen still. They moved in a pulsating wave
with each breath Jordan took.

She’d
saved them. By using her magic, she had assured they wouldn’t be cut or worse…

“Jordan…”
He didn’t want to distract her, but he needed to make sure she was okay. He’d
never seen anything like this before. Yeah, when they’d been kids, she’d shown
him a few things, but those seemed like parlor tricks compared to this.

“Can’t…talk…concentrating…”

He
needed to touch her, to help her, so he reached out and held her hips, her body
stiffening, and then relaxing in his hold. She smiled and sighed, sending the
glass past them, away from the house where it had been thrown after the rock
had shattered it, and into the field as it crumbled to dust.

“Holy
shit! Did you see that? It was the fucking witch!”

Matt
turned and saw the kid with the red hat looking wide-eyed as three of his
friends came around a tree, rocks limp in their hands.

Anger
poured through him, and he clenched his fists. “What the hell do you think you
were doing? You could have killed her!”

“Matt…”
Jordan held his wrist, holding him back.

“We
didn’t do it!” A kid called out.

“We
know you threw it,” Matt yelled.

“Uh,”
the little kid blushed and shifted from foot to foot.

The
kids blinked, silent, then turned and ran down the street.

“Fuck!
I can’t believe they threw that shit
knowing
we were standing out here.
What if you hadn’t been able to control it, Jor? They could have killed you.”

She
traced a finger down his jaw. “It’s okay. We’re safe. Let’s get out of here.”

He
closed his eyes and rested his forehead on hers. That had been too close. He
just got her back. He didn’t want to lose her.

“Oh,
I wouldn’t be too hasty with that,” Prescott said as he meandered his way up
the drive, leaving his silver Mercedes running.

They’d
been so focused on the kids, they hadn’t even noticed Prescott pull up.

“Excuse
me?” Matt asked, then clenched his jaw. “What are you doing here?”

Prescott
dusted a piece of lint off his tie then raised a brow. “I could ask you the
same question. You
are
trespassing on town property after all.”

Matt
barely resisted the urge to growl. “That means you are doing the same.”

“Oh,
I don’t think so, Mr. Cooper.” He sneered the last word, and Matt wanted to
punch the man’s shiny nose. Ass. “I’m here on official business. As you know,
I’m trying to get this monstrosity torn down, and I can’t do that if I don’t
thoroughly inspect the place. And look what you’ve done. You’ve broken windows,
and who knows what else? I can only blame the mutant behind you for that.”

Jordan
sucked in a breath, and Matt wanted to carry her home so she didn’t have to
hear Prescott’s vile remarks. But before that, he wanted to cut off the guy’s
nuts.

“Watch
what you say about her, Prescott. Just because you’re mayor doesn’t give you
the right to spout shit.”

“Oh,
it gives me the perfect right.” He quickly dialed his phone and smiled. “Ah,
yes, Sheriff? We have a disturbance over at the old Marlow place. I believe
some children may be hurt.” He smiled and nodded. “Good, I will wait here for
you.” He pressed end and grinned.

“What
the fuck are you talking about? The kids weren’t hurt.
They
were the
ones who hurt Jordan.”

“Oh,
really? I don’t know. I didn’t see that. I came up, and Jordan was using her freak
powers to scare poor little children and throw glass at them.”

Matt
growled and stepped forward.

“Matt,
stop. It’s not worth it.”

“I’m
going to kill him.”

“Oh,
and now I can get you arrested for threatening a public official. Oh, today is turning
out to be a good day.”

“There
they are!” the kid in the red hat said as he pulled his irate parents behind
him. “That’s the lady that almost killed us with glass.”

“Mayor,
I’m glad you’re here to take care of this problem.” The dad, in his too-hot
suit leered at Jordan before snarling.

“Don’t
worry, I’ll handle it. She won’t be a problem much longer. Ah, here comes the sheriff.”

Tyler
parked the car and got out, a frown on his face. “What’s the problem, Prescott?
I don’t see any kids hurt. Just Jordan.”

Prescott
raised his chin and narrowed his eyes. “I want Jordan Cross arrested for endangering
children. She almost killed them with glass.”

“What
the fuck?” Matt yelled. “She didn’t touch them. Those kids threw rocks and
busted up the windows. Arrest them for vandalism if you’re going to arrest
anyone.”

“I
didn’t do anything wrong,” Jordan whispered, and Matt held her hand, trying to
give them both the strength to get through this.

Tyler
held up his hands. “Hey now, one thing at a time. Matt, tell me what happened.”

Matt
opened his mouth to speak, but Prescott cut him off. “I’m the mayor in this
town, and you know the laws of Holiday. My word
is
law. I ordered you to
arrest the witch; now do it.”

The
parents nodded their head in agreement, and Tyler’s shoulders fell.

“You’ve
got to be fucking kidding me,” Matt snarled.

Tyler
walked toward them and sighed. “You know the law, Matt. It’s Holiday, not a big
city. I’m just a peon in the grand scheme of things. Prescott appointed me
because he likes to see the Coopers under his control. I accepted the job so I
could help at least somewhat.”

“Things
need to change,” Matt growled.

Tyler
glared at him, his color rising. “Then do something about it. Because, as
sheriff, I can’t. I can only do my best.”

“Enough
squabbling!” Prescott yelled. “Arrest the witch! Arrest the witch!” The crowd had
increased as people came out of their homes, some even joining in with
Prescott’s chant.

Matt
wanted to kill someone. Preferably the mayor from hell. How had he let this
happen?

“Matt,
it’s okay. I’ll go with Tyler,” Jordan whispered, defeat in her tone. “I don’t
want to cause any more of a scene.”

He
turned his back to the crowd and the town he’d called his own. No more. He was
done with them. They were cruel to people they didn’t understand, and the woman
in his arms was more important than anything else in his life.

“Jordan…”

She
held her hand up to his lips, silencing him.

“It’s
not worth it, Matt. Don’t get in trouble just by being with me.”

“I’m
not going to let you go.”

“You
have to, Matt.”

“Guys,
I need to take Jordan now,” Tyler whispered, his jaw clenched. “I know you
didn’t do what they say you did, Jor. You’re tougher than that.”

She
looked up at his brother and blinked. “You believe me? But what about…”

“What
about what?” Tyler shook his head. “I talked with Abby, I know you’re learning
control.”

“But
you still need to arrest her.”

Tyler
sighed. “Yes, because our town is fucked up, and you can do whatever the fuck
you want,” he grumbled to Prescott.

Jordan
put her hand on Matt’s chest and kissed his jaw. “I’ll be all right. Go home,
Matt.”

“I’m
going with you.”

She
shook her head. “No, you’re going to go home and work on what we talked about.”

“What
are you two talking about?” Tyler asked.

“Nothing.”
Matt scowled. “Fine, but come to me when you’re out.”

She
nodded, her shoulders straight.

“I’ll
take care of her, brother.”

“You
better,” he growled.

“What’s
taking so long?” Prescott whined. “Cuff her.”

Tyler
shook his head. “No, she’s coming willingly. I don’t need to cuff her.”

Prescott’s
face grew red. “She’s a danger to society. I said cuff her.”

“No,
I won’t do that. It’s in my rights as sheriff to at least decide whether or not
to cuff someone.”

Prescott
huffed. “Well, we’ll just see about that.”

Tyler
put Jordan in the back of the cruiser and closed the door softly. He got in the
front, and Matt watched as his brother drove the love of his life to jail.

Fuck
this shit. There needed to be some changes in this town. The days of Prescott’s
reign of terror were numbered.

“Remember
whose side you’re on, Cooper,” Prescott taunted. “Because when the shit hits
the fan, you don’t want to cross me.”

Matt
narrowed his eyes. “Oh, I’ll remember which side I’m on.” He pushed past the
crowd, using a little more force than necessary, and walked to his home.

He
had a lot to think about, but first, he needed to breathe because he was about
to kill someone and he didn’t need to be arrested by his brother. There had
been enough of that already.

Chapter 10

The
hammer caught the edge of his thumb, and Matt cursed. Well, that seemed about
right for the kind of day he was having. He paused, no, not the whole day. The
early morning when he’d been buried in Jordan had been fucking spectacular. It had
just happened to go downhill after that.

After
he got home, he’d showered, ate a quick bite, and then he drove over to
Jackson’s to use his garage. He wasn’t in the mood to work today and had called
in. Sally had been surprised, but she didn’t ask any questions. Even though
he’d moved out ages ago, he still liked to work with his hands and create
things in the place where he’d worked as a kid. Even though he’d tried to tire himself,
so he wouldn’t think about his problems, they still bugged him.

He
hated this town. He’d never thought he’d have to say that, but he did. He’d
grown up here and never thought he’d want to leave. But the way the citizens
had treated Jordan today…

He
put the hammer aside and picked up a piece of sandpaper. With each stroke, his
anger built. They’d rallied against her. Not all of them, but enough that he
wanted to vomit. He didn’t know how he was going to do it, but he was going to
change the minds of Holiday. They weren’t some backwoods, inbred town. No, they
were a nice group of people who didn’t know about magic so they acted out of
fear.

Something
they would have to pay for.

They
also were being led by a sadistic bastard who had it out for Jordan. Prescott
St. James needed to be put out of Matt’s misery. The rules set in place by
their ancestors were outdated and just plain wrong. That Prescott could have
whomever he wanted arrested was a farce and mockery of the law. No wonder Tyler
hated his job.