Magical Redemption Read online

  Magical Redemption

  Biomystic Security Book Four

  Jaliza A. Burwell

  Magical Seclusion

  Copyright © 2019 by Jaliza A. Burwell

  All rights reserved.

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Copy Edited by Bookends Editing

  Book Cover Design by Jaliza A. Burwell

  Printed in the United States of America

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Epilogue

  Author’s Note

  Coming Soon

  From the Author

  Stalker Links

  Chapter One

  Soft music played as I strapped the small device, no bigger than my middle finger, to the rod underneath my truck. My arm was sore from holding it up for so long without rest, my hand already shaking. Exhaustion was my new best friend these last couple of weeks, and I’d become adept at shaking it off. I did again as I kept working, determined to finally get this done. To think only this little bit of work would exhaust me. My recovery was going too slow.

  As I applied pressure against the device, my frustration grew at my weakened state. The tape needed pure force rather than a delicate touch to smooth it out, and all I wanted to do was drop my aching arms to relieve their shaking. The tape wasn’t my brightest move, considering it wasn’t the most stable creation after the spell I’d cast on it. I’d spelled the tape to be super sticky and to withstand magic so it didn’t wear down. Before this, the magic on the device I created had eaten at the tape and it would fall off. This was my last resort.

  Once the special tape was around the device, holding it in place, I let go. Instantly, the tension left my arms feeling like jelly while I held my breath. When the darn thing didn’t fall and hit me in the face, I sighed in relief. Again. First step done.

  I reached into the toolkit wrapped around my waist and felt for what I needed. I skimmed my fingers over the familiar ridges and pulled it out. The tool looked like a mini icepick, except it was made out of bone instead of steel. I pricked my finger against it, feeling the bite of magic infused into the sharp tip. The magic was to keep the wound from healing. Useful when I worked with magic involving blood. I’d rather not have to prick my finger over and over again. Blood pooled on the tip of my pinky as my magic swirled around inside of me in sluggish movements, not up to working right today. Not much of a shock. My magic hadn’t been working right since the break-in at Biomystic. I was becoming cranky, needing a good solid day to flex my magic to relieve the tension of magic that only happened when I didn’t use it often enough.

  Some days, magic felt like a drug addiction. As soon as I knew I was about to use it, my body went high, extra adrenaline pumping through me, and my magic stretching out, trying to find out what it could get away with. For the last two weeks, I hadn’t been able to get that rush of adrenaline. I was under strict rules to use little magic if any at all. And my magic wasn’t stable enough to risk it. The last thing I wanted was to try and end up pinned underneath my truck. I’d hate to have to blow it up so I could get out from underneath it.

  Once the bead of blood on my finger was big enough, I drew a simple symbol on the device, pushing a little bit of magic and intention into it. The device grew hot, like the other times, but the special tape didn’t unravel.

  Smirking, I eyed my work. I’d take the success, even as small as it was. For once, I felt normal. Normalcy had been evading me for the past two weeks since the Biomystic Security break-in and Henzie’s death. Pain flared in my chest, and I took in a sharp breath, closing my eyes. I allowed myself to feel it for only ten seconds before I shoved my emotions down. Grief. I’d never felt the disgusting emotion until he died. Had never been put into that position. I’d never had people to lose before working at BMS. I hated it. It was an ugly feeling that overwhelmed me if I wasn’t careful enough.

  I was getting ready to slide out from underneath my truck when hands gripped my ankles and pulled me out, the squeaky wheels of the car creeper making the movement fluid. I let out a girly scream and was ready to shove my foot into the idiot’s stomach when I saw hazel eyes.

  “Davies!” I glared hard at him. “You scared me.”

  He chuckled and in a playful tone said, “Well, hello to you too, Laila.”

  I rolled my eyes and grabbed his offered hands. He yanked me to my feet, and my head spun from rising so quickly. I steadied myself on his broad chest.

  “You’re dizzy,” he said.

  “Yup.”

  “Have you been drinking enough?”

  I laughed, though it was humorless. “Davies, there isn’t enough wine in the world to help me right now.”

  “That wasn’t what I meant, and you know it.”

  I pushed away from him and gathered my supplies, including my phone, and turned off the music. “I’m fine. I’ve been distracted.”

  “You’ve been distracted for two weeks. Your gorgeous green eyes shouldn’t be rimmed with dark circles.”

  Whirling around, I gave him the stink eye. Davies’s blond hair was extra wavy, curling into his eyes as he looked down at me. The man was a tower, well over six feet. His shifter genes from a great-great-grandfather had come out to play in weird ways, and that included making him taller than other humans despite being mostly one of them.

  “Why are you here?” I snapped at him, wanting to wipe the smirk off his face.

  If I hurt his feelings, he didn’t show it. I hated myself for acting like this, but for some reason I couldn’t stop. I was snappy with everyone. Part of it was because during the break-in, I’d had to fry my brain to destroy memories before they were stolen. I was still feeling the side effects, and it kept me from doing any of the projects I wanted to do. There was a lot of scattered information that had to be pieced together, and I also lost some control of my magic. If I tried to do anything heavy duty with it, I ended up hurt. My brain would turn into one big headache. Dwight Lombardi, Biomystic’s Big Boss and one of my boyfriends, had put a ban on projects that took any amount of juice after I knocked myself out from a small spell rebuff that sent me flying into a wall.

  His exact words were, “No more fucking magic or you’re fired.”

  That didn’t leave me with much to do, and I hated it. Hated him a little too if I were brave enough to admit it.

  “What are you doing?” Davies asked, looking at my truck.
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  The RAM 3500 Laramie Longhorn was my baby. I liked trucks, nice big strong sturdy trucks, and this particular one I was very protective of. My hobby was making sure he ran beautifully. Ask me to fix a car and I’d stare at you blankly. Ask me anything about my truck and I could tell you about every little nut and bolt used. I grinned at Davies.

  “Want to touch him and find out?” I asked in a sickly sweet voice, knowing he’d never refuse a challenge.

  His eyes met mine, his lips curling into a smirk. “Do you really have to ask?”

  I stepped back and motioned to the truck. “Try opening the door.”

  He eyed it, walking toward the front, trying to figure out the trick. After a few seconds, I was about to call him a chicken, but he didn’t need my ribbing as he reached out and grabbed the handle.

  Davies tilted his head back and bellowed at a nearly impossible volume, “Thief! I’m a thief.”

  I cracked up laughing, holding onto my side as he continued to scream the words. People in the parking lot gathered around, trying to figure out what was going on. His eyes were wide, and a deep red blush worked its way up his neck. He strained so hard against the magic that the veins in his neck and forehead bulged out.

  Before he hurt himself, I touched my truck, giving it a magical pat on the back. It calmed down, and I keyed the spell placed with a simple adjustment to recognize Davies’ energy signature as safe. When he touched my truck, it’d no longer him force him to become an alarm system.

  “What the fuck?” Davies panted, hands on his knees. He looked like he’d just finished running two marathons.

  “My new security measure,” I said. “I read in the news about a bunch of kids going around and stealing trucks like mine. I figured I’d make them regret ever putting their dirty hands on my baby.”

  Davies eyed my truck.

  “You can touch it now,” I said.

  “I’d rather not.”

  “I tuned it to you. You can touch it.”

  He frowned before poking at the truck, snatching his hand back the moment his finger grazed the metal surface. When nothing happened, he poked it again, and then finally opened the door.

  “How did you do that?” he asked.

  “Magic.” I shrugged. Davies wouldn’t snitch on me about using magic to Dwight. Out of all the guys, he was the one who understood the most that I needed to use magic. He let me get away with the little things. But only the little ones.

  “That’s so cool,” he said. “Can I get one?”

  “No way,” I said. “This is mine. Find your own trick.”

  He chuckled and pulled me into a hug. “Never a dull moment with you, Babe.”

  Returning the hug, I found comfort in the way his large body wrapped around me. Davies was a big man, easily dwarfing me. His hugs made me feel like I was completely wrapped up in him.

  I pulled away and reached up, messing his already disheveled shaggy blond hair.

  “Hey!”

  Laughing, I moved away from him before he could grab me. “Don’t worry, you’re still hot.”

  He smirked. “You think I’m hot?”

  “Don’t get a big head. What are you doing here anyway?”

  He raised an eyebrow as if surprised I forgot.

  “What?” I asked.

  “It’s date night.”

  I blinked as I remembered what that meant. Pulling out my phone, I hit the button to light it up and then looked at the date and time. I groaned.

  “You forgot.” There wasn’t any judgment in how he said it.

  I sighed and ran a hand through my hair before yanking out my hair tie and redoing the ponytail. “I forgot.”

  “And that’s why I came to get the princess. Milady, it is time.” He did a full bow, tucking his arm into his stomach and one leg stepping back. “Shall we go?”

  I snickered and shook my head. “I need to get ready. I can’t go like this.”

  Davies looked me over slowly. “I like the way you’re dressed now.”

  “I’m a mess.” I pulled at the baggy t-shirt and stained old jeans. It was my outfit for when I worked on my truck. Even my t-shirt said, “I am the warranty,” with a hand holding a wrench on it. No one but me was allowed to do work on my vehicle.

  “You look fine,” Davies said.

  “Oh?” I teased, making sure my voice smoothed out and deepened. “Are you saying I don’t need to wear a dress, maybe that nice new black one I bought that doesn’t have a back and dips in the front down to my breasts? The same dress that fits every one of my curves? I can ignore the high heels I got to go with them?”

  By the time I finished, Davies’s eyes were huge and glassy.

  “Time to go change.” He herded me toward the building. I snickered as I let him. We went up to the fourth floor where the guest apartments were. I’d been staying there for a few weeks, since someone tried to break into the lab at my home. Not wanting to go back there, I made the apartment my temporary home, and the guys were more than happy to let me.

  After taking a quick shower, I put on the dress I’d described to Davies. I wasn’t lying about how tight and revealing it was. I wasn’t even sure why I bought it. Fashion wasn’t something I went out of my way to follow, and yet when I saw this in the window of a dress shop, it called to me. It practically begged me to wear it.

  Davies’ reaction was comical as I stepped out of the bedroom. He physically swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he scanned my body. I stood and let him have his fill. I enjoyed my body and with the way the guys looked at me, I never felt like an object, but more like a goddess, as if I held all the power.

  “Ready?” I finally asked.

  He nodded, silent. I grabbed my purse, and we headed out.

  Our weekly dinners were at The Lunar Oxen, a high-end barbeque restaurant in the south section of Springer City, meaning it was owned by wolves. The shifters claimed South Springer as their land and most, if not all, the business there belonged to them. We had a standing reservation at The Lunar Oxen every Saturday. My job was to show up and enjoy dinner with whoever was available.

  Halfway there, Davies spoke up as he navigated the dark streets. “How is the house hunting?”

  I moaned. “Why’d you remind me?” I asked and rubbed my face.

  “That bad?”

  “I hate it. I hate finding a place to live. I’ve jumped around enough times. My condo was supposed to be it. The place to be. My home for as long as I wanted and not as long as someone decided.” I bit back the building tangent, swallowing the anger. Taking in a deep breath, I calmed down and released it. “Sorry.” My voice was low.

  “Oh, don’t worry about me. Get it all out now before it builds and then you really say something you regret.”

  That I could do.

  “What are you looking for?” he asked.

  “Someplace I can feel safe. Somewhere I can do what I want. A place that has everything I need. I need my own lab. I need space. Dwight said all I have to do was choose, and he’d handle the rest. Of course, I’d pay for it, but he’ll make it so assholes can’t find me. The last thing I want is people hunting me down like last time.” Anger slipped into my voice again, and I stopped. I had played it off, but I hated the fact that a group of assholes tried to break into my lab at my home. Only my personal security kept them out long enough for backup to get there and chase them away.

  I leaned my head back and forced my body to relax.

  “You’ll find a place that will be a hundred times better than what you had,” Davies tried to reassure me. Now in a foul mood, I settled on pouting and glaring out the window as we continued through the city. I really hoped he was right. There wasn’t much privacy in BMS, not when everyone stopped by a little too often. More often than not, one of the guys was sleeping on my couch.

  Chapter Two

  The moment we walked into the back room, Davies said, “She’s a sourpuss today.”

  I glared at him as I sat in a chair Venni pulled out for
me. “I am not being a sourpuss.”

  “See what I mean?” Davies said to Dwight.

  I shook my head and took in everyone in the room. Dwight was melted chocolate goodness and even more so as he looked at me with humor in his dark brown eyes. He rocked his black suit and sat with his back straight, trained to be professional in almost all aspects of his life. I was learning how hard it was to get him to let down his guard.

  Venni sat next to him, his massive dark brown eyes tracking my movements. His black hair was pushed back away from his face, tamed, just like everything else about him. Venni always fought for control, just like me in that regard. Many people saw him and didn’t realize he was a shifter. In fact, people were quick to think Davies, his partner, was a shifter before considering Venni as the real threat. While he was big, he kept himself clean cut, and he was always quiet, making it easier to overlook him. That was always the baddies’ last mistake.

  I noticed Alijah, Rhett, and Elliot weren’t there. They were good to look at too. As I finished settling down, I froze, noticing someone new with us.

  “Shanton,” I said, eyes widening. “What are you doing here?”

  Cyril Shanton sat two chairs down from me, looking as good as he always did. His curly black hair framed a square face, his brows casting a shadow over sharp eyes. Shanton’s eyes were always the most expressive part of him, and right now they looked a little too smug. Wide shoulders filled out the dark blue suit, and my stare brought out a smile. Warmth flooded through me. Shanton always looked good. The fact that I hadn’t sensed him as I walked in proved how out of it I was. It was impossible to miss Shanton in any room. He was a whirlwind of energy with him at the epicenter. Irritation swelled inside of me for not noticing. How could I have not felt him? Was my body system so out of whack that I’d need to be hit upside the head before noticing something that was shoved right in front of my face?

  “I’m crashing your dinner date,” he said.

  The others shifted in their seats, and I realized there was tension running through everyone. Dwight glared at the dragon shifter while the others did their best to not meet his eyes. Shanton always went at his own pace and no one was brave enough to stop him. There were a dozen dragons left in the world and everyone did their best to not step on any of their toes. That allowed them to get away with a lot, like showing up to a dinner they hadn’t been invited to.