Esmerelda: A Rogue Enforcers Novel by Darlene Tallman (phonics books TXT) 📕

with binding that evil.” When I go to protest, she shakes her head. “No, I’ve handled this before. The two of you have come up against evil yourselves, but in order to help them, you don’t need to be touched by it right now.”

“You heard her, let’s get prepared,” Tabatha says. “I feel as though more are coming.”

“Yes, I know there were others there, so we need to be ready for anything.”

Before Gara starts whatever she’s planning, she states, “The ones coming have been drugged, as have your two people. If you go to that cabinet over there, pull out the vial marked dove ashes, then brew it into a tea. The purity from the tea will help expel any residual evil as well as help them all recover. It’s likely they’ll need to shift too.” I nod because I know from Beast that whenever they’re injured, shifting helps heal them quicker. Moving to the cabinet that Gara indicated, I pull down the vial while Tabatha grabs tea leaves from her own magic bag.

At my raised brow, she shrugs and says, “Wasn’t sure what all we’d need, to be honest, so I tossed in the leaves just in case.”

“I have some as well if you think we’ll need them,” I admit as I set the kettle full of water on the stove and turn it on. Examining the other cabinets, I begin pulling mugs down as Tabatha prepares each one with the additional ingredient Gara is providing.

The tea leaves are now steeping, the aroma wafting in the air when we hear a commotion at the front of the building. Leaving our ‘witches brew’, we both rush out to greet everyone. “Beast!” I breathe out, my joy at seeing him almost bringing me to my knees. He grins at me as he assists Ice to a chair where he all but collapses. I run over to him and take his hand in mine. “We have tea ready in the kitchen,” I advise. “Can you go and bring everyone a cup?” I ask, looking at the others who were obviously rescued in addition to our two.

Together, Tabatha and I join hands once again and set a healing spell in motion. I sense that once they shift, they’ll aid in their own recovery, but until they have enough strength to do that, what we’re doing will help. “Thank you,” I say when we’ve done what we can.

“My pleasure, Esmerelda,” she replies.

One after the other, they drink their tea, wincing at the bitter flavor, but not stopping until each cup is emptied. “You all need to shift,” Rufus commands. As if compelled, I watch them all begin shifting and soon, the room is full of a variety of shifters. Most are large predators, but there are a few smaller shifters who glance about almost fearfully. “No one will harm you here,” Rufus states. “I give you my solemn vow.”

Now that we have Ice and Leigh, I wonder how soon we can return home. I have something to tell Beast but want to be in the privacy of our cabin, not hundreds of miles away.

“We’ll be leaving shortly,” Beast advises, leaning in to kiss me.

“It’s as if you read my mind,” I tease, grinning up at him once we’ve broken apart.

“We’re on the same wavelength. I just want them back home so we can get back to normal, you know?” he asks.

“I agree, sugar bear. What’s going to happen to him?” I question, looking at the man who looks a little rougher than I expected. He’s snarling at anyone who gets too close, but because of what they used to bind him, he’s unable to shift.

“Colton’s going to meet us at the airfield when we return then take him to the council to await judgment after he questions him,” Maverick advises. “Esmerelda, I want to thank you for all you did to help us get them back.” He’s uncharacteristically chatty; usually he’s quiet, somewhat taciturn. What I would call a loner. “I’m not sure how I would’ve handled it if something happened to my sister, and I know my parents wouldn’t have been able to.”

“Family. It’s because they’re family, Maverick,” I tell him, patting his arm. He nods then goes in search of Connelly.

The trip home is uneventful. Esmerelda and Tabatha were both spent so they slept the whole way which gave me time to think of all the things that could’ve gone wrong. “But they didn’t,” Mav states, sitting down next to me. “Not only that, but we helped dismantle something that would've had terrible repercussions for humans and shifters alike.”

“You’re right. I’m glad to see both of them appear to be feeling better already.” With them both shifting plus whatever the fuck was in the tea that Tabatha and Esmerelda made them drink, it’s almost as if they’re back to normal. Ice is still thinner so I know they likely weren’t fed much, probably to keep them compliant, but I suspect that his mate, along with the other women, will get that turned around quickly once we’re home.

“Hopefully, Colton will let us know what ends up happening to that Boatwright fucker,” Mav growls out. “I’d have been happy to remove him from the breathing, that’s for damn sure.” I nod, thinking that even if the council decides that Boatwright deserves to be put down, their methods are far more humane than anything either myself or Mav would do for touching our family members.

“Well, we’ll just ask him periodically,” I state. “Otherwise, we’ll never find out.” Most missions, we go in, do our job, then return home none the wiser but as we have a vested interest, I’ll definitely be remembering to ask Colton whenever he reaches out to me for a mission.

“Oh, Kash let me know that your brother arrived safe and sound.” Mav starts chuckling then breaks down into full-on laughter, which has me looking at him as though he’s lost his mind. “Seems he and Charisma