Cursed Vengeance by Rebecca Brooke, Brandy L Rivers Page B

forehead before leaving me there. Shaking my head, I hurried through a shower and getting dressed. Then I packed a bag for the rest of the week.
    Beyond that, I wasn’t sure what I was doing. Was Dylan a part of my life? Absolutely, but I wasn’t ready to define what that meant. I still had to save their lives.
    I had several boxes filled by the time Dylan wrapped his hands around my waist and leaned down to murmur against my ear. “Tell me you’re okay with this decision.”
    I leaned into him. “Very. Not a single regret.”
    “Wanted to make sure,” he whispered.
    I turned, meeting his gaze. “Do you regret it?”
    He shook his head. “No. You’re worried, though. I can feel it.”
    Snorting, I turned around and put the last book on top of the box. “My brother is going to die if I don’t find an answer in three days. Your birthday is shortly after. Plus, there’s still the creepy gift out there.” I reached into the box and pulled out a black satin bag with drawstrings. “I need to bring it, but I don’t want to touch it. I can feel the magic and it’s toxic. Not like poison, but not right. I have a feeling it holds a clue. But I’m not ready to open it.”
    “And the bag?”
    “Will lock the magic inside. Later, somewhere safe, I can find out what’s inside, but right now, I’m not ready. There’s other pieces of the puzzle to explore.”
    “I’ll load the truck. You do your witchy thing with the box.” He winked, picking up the first box.
    I slung the duffle bag over my shoulder. Staring at the package, I opened the bag and dropped it over the brightly wrapped box, then tied it shut.
    Dylan was already heading inside when I followed to grab the last box, but he stacked them and took them, sticking his tongue out. “Strong back, remember?”
    I couldn’t help laughing as I locked up.
    The trip back was quiet. I was on my phone, looking up anything I could that had anything to do with Solstice Blessings and Anabeth Rowan. Even her name sent a chill down my spine.
    I looked up as Dylan shut down his truck. He shook his head with a raised brow.
    “Come on. I’ll explain when we get inside.”
    He nodded, but didn’t say a word as I hopped out and grabbed a box.
    Sean opened the door as I came up the steps. “I know that look. Why do I feel like this is going to get a whole lot more interesting?”
    “Something like that.” I put the box down in the corner and pulled out my laptop I packed with the books. Taking it to the table, I opened it up, typing one handed to bring up the website. Being a semi-frequent visitor, I had the wireless info loaded already.
    Dylan came up behind me, his hands going to my shoulders, massaging gently. I took a deep breath and pointed at the woman in the picture. She looked to be in her early thirties, younger than the woman on my porch, but their eyes were the same, so was their gaudy jewelry.
    “That’s Anabeth Rowan, our grandmother. The picture was taken a year ago. She looked like she was in her fifties on my porch, but I think that was magic.”
    Sean rubbed his Jaw. “An illusion. Yeah, she’d be capable of that if the stories I heard are true. What about it?”
    “Why did she want to look older for me?”
    “Maybe she didn’t want to shock you in case you didn’t know about our world. I’m not sure what she knew about you.”
    “You know David Brighton?”
    He rolled his eyes. “Yes, I know your father.”
    “Slimeball works for Anabeth.” Sierra shuddered. “I think Tom Payne works for her too.”
    “The douchebag you were with in college?”
    Dylan’s grip tightened on my shoulders. “What did douchebag do?”
    Huffing, I patted Dylan’s hands. “Not important. I dumped him after a few months. That was forever ago. Still, he’s listed on the website. Part of her outreach program for sensitives. What the hell does that mean?”
    Sean nodded slowly. “Looking for untrained witches most likely. Recruiting.”
    “And what’s with the