The Keepers: Archer by Rae Rivers

her cheek. Of everything she’d come for, the only thing she was walking away with was a photograph of his family. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. “Everything’s going to be okay.”
    She closed her eyes, resting her head against his. “Warrick should know better than to piss off a Beckham witch.”
    True, but in fact, Warrick had done him a favour. Thanks to his meddling, Sienna seemed to be slipping back into her defend the world mode. He smiled, slid an arm around her shoulders, and led her back to the living area.
    Declan’s eyes narrowed when he saw Sienna, and he glanced at his brother. “Is she okay?” he mouthed.
    Archer nodded. “Let’s go.”
    “We don’t have to clean this mess?”
    Sienna smiled at the relief in Declan’s voice. “Leave it. When this is over I’ll come back to sort it out. And don’t look so damn pleased with yourself.”
    “Trust me, honey. Pleased is the last thing I feel right now,” Declan said and followed her out the door.
    ****
    Sienna had never been a fan of road trip bonding but the tension between the two brothers hung in the air like an unwelcome aunt.
    Her efforts to break the silence during the long drive home had resulted in quick one-worded answers, and she’d eventually given up and made peace with the fact that the trip back to Rapid Falls would be far from exciting.
    For two brothers that had once been inseparable, the rift between them was unnerving.
    The darkness had added to her boredom, making her road trip pure torture. At least with the light, she’d been able to watch the passing scenery.
    Her relief came an hour later when they finally stopped for fuel and refreshments. Determined to mellow them both, she returned to the car loaded with enough drinks and food that had both men raising an eyebrow at her.
    She ignored them and held back a smile once they were back on the road, and both brothers attacked her stash of road trip munchies with fervour.
    She’d figured they’d be hungry. All that muscle and testosterone in the front of the car needed fuelling, didn’t it?
    “Have either of you spoken to Ethan?” Sienna asked from the back of the car and handed out hot coffee.
    Declan took a sip and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “He’s with Rose. They’re alerting the four witches who have the stones and their Keepers.”
    “I wonder how long it’ll be before Warrick strikes at one of them.”
    “If he’s able to track them down, I say we should let him.”
    Archer choked back his coffee and cleared his throat. “Hell no. Someone could get killed.”
    “I meant we should let him strike, not that we should let him succeed,” Declan replied, rolling his eyes.
    “You want to use one of the four witches as bait? That’s absurd.”
    “Worth a try, don’t you think?”
    “We can’t anticipate his moves, Declan. It’s too risky. He has no use for any of the four witches other than to get the stones they harbour. He’d kill them in a heartbeat.”
    “So what else would you suggest? That we sit back on our asses and wait for him to come to us? Either we use a witch to draw him out or we go find him ourselves.”
    “We wouldn’t even know where to look.”
    “Can’t you or Rose use a locator spell or something?” Declan glanced at Sienna, blue eyes flashing with hope. “Surely one of you Beckham witches can track him?”
    Sienna shook her head and hauled out a chocolate. If she was going to deal with all this testosterone, she might as well enjoy it with a sugar rush. “Warrick’s not one of us, Declan, you know that. Locator spells don’t work for evil.”
    “Yes, but isn’t there a loop hole or something?”
    “It’s magic, Declan. You’re not going to find loop holes.”
    Declan reached back and snatched the chocolate from her. Settling back in his seat, he bit into the chocolate, chewed, and swallowed. “I still think we should draw him out.”
    “We’re not using a witch,” Archer said firmly and