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

can arrive en masse and maybe, just maybe, eradicate the threat to our kind once and for all.”

“You know that another threat will pop up, Beast,” she cautions.

“And we’ll be ready for it when it happens,” I soothe. Deciding to possibly assuage her fears, I state, “Maverick said he’ll reach out to Tabatha and once we have a direction to head toward, he’ll make sure she’s there to work with you. Do you really think you’ll need her?” I’m a bit concerned because my sorceress is one of the most powerful witches there is in the supernatural realm, so for her to say she needs help has me worried.

I watch as she shivers with the memory of whatever she saw in her magic bowl. “Yeah, sugar bear, I’m going to need all the damn help I can get. Whatever or whoever has them has some dark forces at work. All I could sense was vile evil trying to break through which is why I did a cleansing spell.” I nod even though I don’t have the first fucking clue what she’s talking about. “You have no idea what I mean, do you?” she asks, giggling.

“Nope, not that first clue, Esme, but that’s okay. You know what you’re talking about which is all that matters as far as I’m concerned. If you say you need help, then we’re going to make sure you get it.”

As the miles pass, we talk about the compound we now live in and how it’s grown so much. Several of the people who came back opted to go up to Colton’s place in Montana for ‘official rogue enforcer training’ as they called it, but in reality, Colton gave Maverick and Paxton the go-ahead to bring anyone in that they felt would be beneficial to us as a whole. Most have found jobs in the surrounding town, assimilating with the humans that we’re sworn to watch over. “That day we met, I honestly never expected my true mate to pull into our campsite,” she admits.

“That makes two of us, but wild horses couldn’t have kept me from you,” I state.

“I remember seeing as you scooped me up and took off with me,” she teases. “For the record, I want you to know that I’ve fallen in love with you, and it would kill me if anything were to happen to you.”

“That makes two of us, Esmerelda. You’re the beginning to my end, the light to my darkness, the tea to my coffee.” Okay, so I’m no poet, but hopefully, she understands the depth of my love and adoration for her.

She giggles then asks, “The tea to my coffee?”

“Yeah, they’re opposites like we are in so many ways, yet they work, you know?” My voice is gruff, full of emotion when I think of all that she’s brought to me in such a short time. To think I’ve got a lifetime with her and that probably still won’t be enough causes my heart to clench in dismay. “Never leave me, Esme. I couldn’t bear it.”

“Sugar bear, as long as I draw breath, I’ll be by your side,” she promises, placing her hand on my thigh. “How much longer?” she asks.

I glance at the navigation system and reply, “Maybe another thirty minutes or so. Why?”

“I need to get ready. I’ve been trying to reach out to Leigh with no success,” she advises. From my peripheral vision, I see her wiggle her fingers and suddenly, her magic bag is in the front seat. Within seconds, her bowl is in her lap and she’s mumbling while waving her hands. Magical sparks fly around the cab of the truck as she does her thing, which always entrances me. “You said the others are waiting for us to get information, right?” she asks, casting me a sideways glance.

“Yeah, that’s what Mav said they’d do. Did you see something?” I can’t help the excitement in my voice; after hearing Ice fade out, my worry over him and his mate has been at the forefront of my mind.

“Maybe. This isn’t going to be pleasant for you and I’m sure he’s already feeling as though he’s in hell.”

“Why?”

“Because all I can see is jungle, sugar bear. Hot, steamy jungle.”

“How did you see that? I thought something was blocking you?” I question.

“It did when I tried to track Ice so this time, I tried to track Leigh. I don’t think they quite know what to do with her because even though I can’t reach her through our link, I was able to get into her thoughts and saw the images of what she saw before she lost consciousness.”

“So that sounds more like South America than either South Dakota or South Carolina,” I surmise.

“Probably but I suspect we’ll confirm that shortly,” she advises.

I maneuver down a rutted road, concern on my face. The coordinates have us out in the middle of nowhere which is something I’m not too crazy about given the fact that two of ours are apparently in trouble. “I can feel his fear,” Esmerelda says, breaking the silence that had the air thickening with worry and dread. “It’s palpable, Beast.”

“I feel it too, Esme,” I admit. The hair on the back of my neck is standing up, my gut is roiling, and my bear is hovering at the surface ready to break through and destroy anything in his path. “We’ll exercise caution.”

“Of course we will,” she sasses, flicking her hand in my direction. Surprisingly, it wasn’t one of her spells because no magical sparks fly which is rather disappointing. I’ve grown used to the colorful displays she causes whenever her magic is floating around. “We’ve already got a protection spell on us,” she advises, almost as though she peeked into my thoughts.

“How did you know I was thinking that?”

“We’re in sync, sugar bear. Not like that boy band or anything, we just get one another.” I burst into laughter at her comment; only my sorceress could come up with something so off