Free The Dashing Witch (The Ward Witches) by Lauren McMinn Page A

to you. But at the moment, this is how it’s going to be. You’re my brother, and I love you man, but when no one, including you, knows how you’re going to treat her when you speak to her again, I can’t break that promise.”
    “ I’m rooting for you, Justin,” Dymphna spoke for the first time. “I know you better than Leo because of our shared element, and I don’t think you’d deliberately harm her. You're a healer by nature. But you did harm her. I’ll keep up the fight for her to talk to you, but I can’t make any promises. She’s emotional right now, and I don’t know that she’s ready to talk.”
    “ Guys, this is silly. You’re hiding my wife from me. I’ve got to talk to her.”
    “ She needs space,” Skylar insisted. “What you’ve got to do is wait. Go home.”
    “ I’ll fly out to LA if I need to!” He sounded desperate even to his own ears. Maybe he was desperate.
    “ You can’t take the time off the investigation,” Dymphna reminded him. “Linda and Selby are still out there, and they may be taking more witches.”
    Skylar paled. Linda was her aunt, and Selby was her brother, and she still didn't want to accept their guilt, even though she had accidentally helped prove it.
    “ Low blow, Dymphna,” Justin responded. He collapsed into one of the armchairs, head in his hands. “You’re right. I can’t leave the investigation like this. But I can't leave my relationship like this either. Since you’re all being obstinate, I’ll go home. For now. But this isn’t over.”
    He watched the three of them look resigned, communicating in glances from one to the other. Angry, he stalked out of there and waited in his car until he calmed down enough to drive.
    When he got home, Justin sought out Seb, this time watching his twin grab a snack out of the family kitchen. “They’re hiding her from me.”
    “ I expect so.”
    “ What do you know?” He demanded.
    “ Directly? Nothing. They know I’d tell you. I don’t want to go invading minds, but I can skim enough off the top to know that there’s something they’re hiding.”
    “ Thanks for the help. It's good to know that you, at least, would tell me.”
    “ Watch yourself, Justin. You should really figure out your plan before you go casting around for her. You need to know what to say to Melanie when you do find her or things will go from bad to worse. Trust me. I also hate to be like this, but we need you here. You’re head of Coven Protection, and I need your head on the problem of preventing another witch from being kidnapped. Figure out your stance on Melanie, and don’t try to push yourself on her if she’s going to such lengths to hide. I have a feeling it’ll all come out sooner rather than later, and we both know my feelings are usually right on.”
    “ Sure. I’ll be back at work in the morning with my head screwed on right.”
    “ That’s what I want to hear.” Seb bit into the apple, effectively dismissing Justin.
    Justin headed up to his bedroom and brooded. But unfortunately, Seb was right, and there was nothing Justin could do, especially until he knew what his plan was when he found his wife. But he was still no closer to that conclusion.
    That night, he had a vivid dream. He was lying on a couch, watching The Terminator of all things, and felt like he was burning up and delirious. He tossed and turned, trying to shake a sense of wrongness. And when he looked down, he saw he was wearing a bright purple teddy, ironically just the type that would get his blood boiling. He realized that he must be dreaming of Melanie. Or rather, his dream was of her reality. Justin figured that weirder things had happened with magic than this, so he began to try to look around for clues.
    The only thing he could discover beyond classy décor was a computer printout on the table. It was folded, and he couldn’t see much of it, but the top of the paper clearly proclaimed it a plane ticket. He tried to move, to get a better