THE RISK OF LOVE AND MAGIC (33 page)

Without waiting for Magnus, Nadine strode out of the office and headed toward the lobby. Neither of them were known for their social graces, so they’d have to learn to communicate in other ways. Or she’d have to learn to read his obtuse mind.

The police were taking statements from the sane witnesses, but there was no sign of Jo-jo. Nadine almost sighed in relief. She didn’t think she could take any more emotional meltdowns right now, when there was too much riding on these next hours.

Even Nurse Wretched was gone. There probably wasn’t enough evidence to accuse her of anything, but with any luck, the battleax wouldn’t be put in charge of any more helpless patients.

It had been pure pleasure seeing her tormentor Maced and knowing her life was back in her own hands again.

Now, she had to make that life useful. “We need a ride down to our car,” she told the lobby at large before Magnus could take the upper hand.

The cops looked to Magnus. He crossed his arms and lifted his eyebrow. Nadine didn’t know whether to smack him or hug him.

One of the deputies shrugged. “I can take you down. We still need you to make statements.”

“We need to save a few kids first,” Nadine corrected, hurrying for the door. “It’s hard to make a statement until we know what we’re dealing with.”

The ride down the mountain was faster than their hike up. Nadine used the time to call Vera and let her know that the general had been stopped but that they still had some problems. She ordered Vera to move Jack and all her new paranormal friends to a safe place.

In minutes, they were back at the Hummer. Nadine grabbed the key first and appropriated the driver’s side. She thought she detected a glimmer of appreciation beneath the Maximator’s square-jawed sternness, but he had it under control when he took the passenger seat.

Just the hope that he understood buoyed her spirits to ridiculous proportions. She squashed them. “I don’t have a driver’s license. If we get stopped, do I go to jail?”

“You will. I won’t. How am I supposed to know you had no license?”

She punched his big biceps. “Just for that, I’m going to speed. If I’m going to jail, it will be for a good reason.”

***

Magnus tolerated Nadine’s reckless drive down the mountain until they reached rush hour traffic on the highway. Even though this mountain highway wasn’t the multi-lane I-5, it was fast and busy enough to test Nadine’s skills. Remembering her terror when he’d first taken her out in speeding traffic, he ordered her off at a gas station exit.

He was supposed to be letting her fly free, and he was back in caretaker mode again. He ought to smack himself.

“Coffee,” he ordered, handing her his cash. “Anything resembling breakfast would be good.”

She looked at him as if she wanted to say something, but she chose wisely and took the cash instead. Only as she stalked off, her short curls bouncing and her rear swaying beneath that ridiculous hoodie, did he realize he was ordering her around—as the general had. Last time he’d done that, she’d run away. Would he ever learn?

He was in the driver’s seat, stewing, when she returned with breakfast sandwiches and coffee. Wordlessly, she climbed in the passenger side and began eating. His relief was boundless.

Not knowing where he stood in her estimation, Magnus tore into his food, finished it in a few bites, and drove off.

He didn’t want to ruin her life, he told himself. He was backing off, letting her be herself, doing his damndest not to take over.

But he hated this silence between them. He’d enjoyed the camaraderie they’d shared these past days. Okay, so he’d more than enjoyed the sex.

“Any way you can read the general’s mind if we find out where he’s been taken?” he asked.

“Possibly,” she reluctantly agreed. “Really don’t want to go there again.”

“Fair enough. Just checking in case we needed it. Can’t say I know a lot about what you do, so I have to ask.”

Her shoulders slumped slightly. “I suppose I ought to learn more about my weird talent, but I really just want to have a normal life. Is that too much to ask?”

“Normal isn’t all that interesting,” he said, doing his best to ponder her plaint. “But no, it’s not too much to ask. I’m betting that the reason more people don’t have your abilities is because they’re too freaky to understand, and they let them degenerate. Or they’re called schizoid and they get medicated. Pippa’s theory is that parents need to teach their children how to use their abilities in a safe environment.”

“Yeah, I could see that.” She sounded a little less miserable. “Instead of teaching the kids to be weapons, we should be teaching them how to help people with their gifts. Or just how to survive without looking like freaks. But we have no instruction books.”

“Write them,” he said. “Talk to Francesca. Will you really end up controlling the general’s businesses? That’s gonna suck time and probably not be your idea of normal.”

“I just said that to frighten Dick into behaving. I have no idea how control of a military industry is passed on. Feng Jin is a lazy druggie who just wants any money he can lay his hands on. Chang will end up in charge. He knows more than anyone else. But if Jo-jo is insane, it might be difficult to obtain the paperwork to give him ownership.”

“So, what do you consider normal?” Magnus asked, trying not to place too much hope on her answer.

She sipped her coffee and stared at the road ahead. “I have no idea. A job. A house. A car. Friends. Travel. No more secrets.”

Magnus noticed she didn’t add
lover
or
boyfriend
to that list. Maybe she was shy of saying it in front of him, although
shy
wasn’t a word he’d apply to Nadine. Oz would come right out and ask. Conan would probably tap her computer and send her virtual bouquets. Magnus had no clue if he even had a right to ask her for a date.

Hell, she didn’t even have a home to go to. Of course, neither did he. Did homeless people date?

His phone rang and he handed it to Nadine. He missed his Camaro.

“Conan,” she read from the screen before answering.

She listened attentively, sighed with relief, muttered a
Thank, God
, and turned to Magnus. “They took the kids at the school to safety last night. The bomb squad found the explosives at the school—in the ‘grave’ that Vera saw. They’re dismantling it now. Another crew is on its way to El Padre. They think Dick and Conan have disarmed the software triggers but even if they haven’t, there’s time. Jo-jo had them set to detonate over several days.”

“In hopes we’d all gather together after each explosion, and he could ultimately get all of us. Charming.”

Feeling as if the weight of the world had fallen off his shoulders, Magnus recalculated his route. “They don’t need us at the school now. Tomorrow’s the wedding. You want to see Mikala and meet the family?”

Nadine sent him a brilliant but weary smile.

***

Frazzled, Nadine fell asleep on the drive to El Padre. She woke when the Hummer hit a sizable pot hole a few feet from the town welcome sign.

“They put that hole there so people will notice the sign?” she asked sleepily.

“Or to wake them up so they won’t fly off the side of the mountain. Sorry I woke you.”

“Sorry I conked out on you.” She ran her hand through her curls, discovered she was still wearing the ear clip, and removed it. “I look a fright. Should we stop somewhere and clean up?”

“That’s what Oz’s place is for. We’ll shower, get some sleep, and be ready for the rehearsal dinner tonight.”

She glared at him. “You can walk in looking all studly military and cool. I’ll go in looking like a scarecrow in a fright wig. Uncool first impression.”

He shot her a look so full of incredulity that even she registered it.

“You just saved a school and no telling how many families, including ours,” he said. “Do you really think anyone will see you as anything but an angel with a halo? Besides, you look gorgeous.”

That was glib foolishness, except Magnus wasn’t prone to flattery. Satisfied that he thought she didn’t look too awful, even though she knew better, Nadine tried to dismiss her anxieties. Hoping for more pleasant thoughts, she opened her mind.

The shock of joy and recognition that she received was worth every bit of exhaustion. “Mikala’s watching for us. Be prepared.”

“That’s all you needed to read her?” he asked. “The town sign?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe the short distance. And Mikala’s open mind. I have a lot to learn.”

He whistled. “I’ll say. The general was an idiot.”

“He is a military strategist, not a scientist. Po-po would probably have figured out our abilities, but Jo-jo was just looking for weapons.”

“Imagination and creativity need to work together with analytics and strategy, got it. Not easily accomplished,” he said with regret. He pulled up to a high arched wrought iron gate that revealed only a shrubbery-lined drive. A stucco wall concealed any view of the house.

“From what I’ve seen, your brothers and their wives have that combination. I don’t know how they make it work though.” Nadine steered her thoughts from the magical marriage blend of creativity and science. They’d only known each other for a week. Magnus wasn’t giving her those kind of signals.

Instead, she gasped in shock at the sprawling mansion exposed as they drove down the drive. “Your
brother
lives here?”

“Oz and Pippa made their fortunes in La-la Land. The cost is their privacy—hence the mountaintop retreat and high walls.” He eased the Hummer down the drive to the parking area in front of a garage.

Mikala burst through the shrubbery, running as fast as her stout little legs would carry her. Thrilled at the waves of happiness emanating from the child’s mind, Nadine jumped down from the Humvee, crouched down, and opened her arms in welcome. Mikala flew into them.

The little girl felt heartwarmingly solid and real. And wet. “You’ve been in the pool!” Nadine laughed as the child wiggled her towel around her waist.

“I’ve been swimming! And there are other kids and we’re having fun! Come see!”

Overwhelmed with enthusiasm, Nadine slowed her down. “First, you should say hello to Mr. Oswin. He’s been helping us.” Nadine stood to introduce Magnus.

He solemnly held out his hand. “Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Mikala. Is everyone at the pool?”

“Yes!” the child shouted, offering a confused expression with her damp handshake. Apparently the adults in her life didn’t shake her hand. Undaunted, she continued, “The bomb men were in the trees by the wall, and Miss Pippa said we should stay out of their way. So we’ve been hiking and finding berries and now we’re getting clean.”

Nadine intercepted Magnus’s inquiring look at Pippa’s unusual reaction to a terrifying situation. She translated. “Imagination versus practicality. Why scare the kids? Take them for a hike instead of running away or hiding in fear. Admirable.”

“I will assume Oz’s wall prevented the general’s henchmen from planting explosives on the grounds,” Magnus murmured as Mikala ran ahead of them. “So they buried them in the grove on the far side of the wall.”

“Didn’t see any holes in the road as we drove in,” she agreed.

“Maybe the general’s first order of business was to remove the barricade for later invasion? Even with trees in the way, I don’t know how he got around Oz’s security.”

“Hacked it,” Nadine said. “That’s where his military intel worked best. It’s really scary what can be accessed with a little time and effort. Can I just not think about it for a while?” She plucked wistfully at a flowering shrub lining the path behind the house.

“I’ll not tell you my next project for now,” he agreed obliquely. “The pool is just around the bend. Are you ready?”

She took his hand and nodded. Magnus bent and gave her a hasty kiss. She wanted more, but she understood this wasn’t the time or place.

She hoped there would be a time or place in the near future.

Mikala had already shouted the news of their arrival to the party gathered at the pool. Wearing a thin yellow cover-up that fell to her feet, Pippa strolled over to greet them.

Dorrie waved from the far side of the pool. The bride-to-be was wearing a short, brightly colored caftan, with her wild black hair loose about her shoulders. Beside her, Conan lifted his sunglasses and lazily saluted them.

Nadine tried to remember the names and faces of the other guests, but there were too many.

“The two of you must be exhausted,” Pippa said sympathetically. “You’ll need to get some rest before tonight’s festivities. If it’s okay with both of you, I’ve set you up in the studio so you won’t be disturbed. There’s food and your wardrobes have been sent down there.”

“You deserve a break today,” Oz said wryly, coming up behind his wife to shake their hands in appreciation. “Hero worship will otherwise ensue. Your timing is excellent. Dorrie’s grandmother has retired for her nap, so you won’t be subject to a genealogical inquisition yet.”

“I can handle that easier than a pool party,” Nadine admitted. “Food and rest would be better. I got a nap in but Max didn’t, and he could probably eat an entire roast pig by now.”

“I’m cutting back. Pigeons will do,” Magnus said gravely. “Is the studio unlocked?”

Nadine took a deep breath of relief realizing he wasn’t abandoning her just yet.

They had a wedding to survive before she went about picking up the pieces of her life to see what was left.

Assured that Mikala was safe and nothing would go boom anytime soon, Nadine followed Magnus down the desert path to Pippa’s studio. It rose like a giant white mushroom out of the sand and cactus on the hill below the guest cottage.

“It’s a privilege and an honor to be allowed inside Pippa’s safe place,” Magnus informed her as he punched in the key code. “This is where she comes when she wants to scream. Either Oz is feeding her tranquilizers, or he’s good for her.”

“I’m thinking the latter,” Nadine said absently, entering the windowless high space. All sound from outside disappeared when he shut the door. “Sound studio?”

“Recording studio, not that she records for the public anymore.” He unerringly located the refrigerator amidst all the high-tech equipment lining the walls.