Wicked Release by R. G. Alexander Page B

expression. “He’s right, girls. We need a man to make this work.”
    Tyghe snickered. “Words to live by.”
    “Don’t get cocky, boy. I can still take you over my knee.”
    Callie looked Jenner up and down, doubting the tiny woman could make good on her threat, but Tyghe looked duly chastised.
    Harrison threw her arms in the air. “Fine. You’re in. But don’t interfere with our investigation. You aren’t exactly known for being discreet. As soon as I glamour Callie, we have to start preparing her, getting the word out that there’s a new Magian in town. And that she’ll be coming to the this quarter’s Triune.”
     
    What had she gotten herself into? Callie sat on Harrison’s luxurious bed in nothing but a small towel, watching the two women muttering to each other as they gathered their supplies. This was what she’d always wanted. Sort of. She’d wanted to be an Abbott, truly to be a Magian born. Harrison’s temporary fix would have to do.
    If it worked, she could finally see the people and places Harrison would tell her about late into the night during those lucky occasions when her foster mother allowed her to sleep over. And those stories Jenner wove at the kitchen table before anyone else was awake. Stories about Storm battles and the origins of the Magians. Tales that took her away from her awkward, unhappy life just long enough to give her hope for something more. Something magical.
    Please let this work .
    Callie wasn’t afraid of the mysterious Magian they were searching for. They’d given her so much, it was nice to be needed by them for once. And she was looking forward to using the skills she’d been learning at the police academy. Harrison was right, other than Uncle Jackson being her friend’s second father, Callie had an uncanny knack for finding out the truth. It had always been that way. Call it instinct or luck—most of the time it was a double-edged sword. From discovering her foster family believed her a nuisance they’d only kept around for the money, to finding out her math teacher was engaging in extra-curricular activities with the football coach, she’d just always…known. Like a tickle up her spine. And she was always proven right.
    The only thing she wasn’t looking forward to was being Tyghe’s pretend love interest for the next week. She could hardly imagine it. Okay, that was a lie. She didn’t want to imagine it, but since the idea had been presented it was practically all she could think about.
    He was a jerk, but he was a sexy jerk. Always had been. And he knew it too, the arrogant ass. Harrison was always telling her one wild story or another, usually revolving around Tyghe and his kinky predilections. He’d already been reprimanded twice by the Magian law for using his magic in public, and, according to his sister, sex had usually been involved.
    Sex with Tyghe in public. She could never be so bold, so brazen. Her skin heated as she closed her eyes, instantly envisioning the stormy-eyed Magian pressing her against a wall and taking her as a crowd of people looked on. He wanted them to look, to know how crazy she made him. Wanted them to know she was his.
    “Don’t be nervous, Cal. I promise I know what I’m doing.”
    Callie’s eyes popped open and she blushed, shrugging. “I know you do, Harry. I trust you not to turn me into a hamster…again.”
    “Never gonna let me forget that are you?”
    “Not a chance.”
    Jenner smiled, coming to stand on the other side of the bed. “The spirits blessed the two of you when they brought you to each other. It was fate. The bonds of friendship are more powerful than any magic you could name.” She sniffled, and the two younger women rolled their eyes, pretending they weren’t moved by their gentle companion’s words. “I just think it’s wonderful that you’ve agreed to do this, Calliope. That it’s finally happening. I only wish it wasn’t under these circumstances, but I know you’re old enough to