Page 47 of Dragon Charmed

“Hello, Megan.”

“John. Good to hear your voice. I wanted to hear how things were going on your end with your PI.”

“Unfortunately I ran into a problem with that.”

Megan looked at Tessa before continuing. “What do you mean?”

“The investigator I was going to hire is finishing up another case. He isn’t going to start searching for Mia until he’s free.”

Tessa interrupted him. “Ben must have finished up early.”

“Who’s Ben?” John asked.

Tessa’s stomach dropped. “Ben Wells, your PI,” she choked out.

“I don’t know anyone by that name.”

Tessa stood on the back deck of the clan house, staring at the valley. She was trying to pull enough air into her tight chest to stop herself from hyperventilating and was failing spectacularly.

All because of the man she had spent the last few days with. Someone she thought she could finally relate to. Someone who passed the tests she lobbed at him. Someone who acted like he cared for a little girl in trouble. But none of that mattered.

Ben Wells was a liar.

And possibly worse. How could this have happened? Once John had announced that he didn’t know Ben, they all started to talk at once. When the walls closed in, Tessa had to get out of the room.

She had mucked everything up. And that was a hard pill to swallow. She always plowed ahead, consequences be damned, when it came to protecting the people she loved. And it was a short list. Her mom, who could very much take care of herself. And Megan, whom she loved like a sister, and now Megan’s daughter. And with Megan becoming part of the clan, Tessa had barged her way in and considered them her family now as well. She wasn’t sure if they felt the same, especially after today.

She heard the door behind her open and wondered who was coming outside.

When her best friend stepped beside her, Tessa wanted to cry. She would much rather have Marcus or Eric chewing her out than Megan coming out here to…what exactly? Tell her it was okay that she had trusted a man who was a liar and probably worse? Who endangered the clan. “Are they all done growling?”

“Yes. John reached out to his PI and confirmed that Ben Wells is not working for him. Marcus is having Jonas check Ben’s phone number.”

She wanted to grab her friend’s hand. Instead she clenched her fists. “What a cluster, Megs. I was the one who approached him. Here’s what I don’t understand. What was the point of him going along with my incorrect assumption?”

“You said he had a paper that said, ‘Find Mia White.’ Maybe he thought you could lead him to her?”

She shrugged but felt far from nonchalant. “Possibly. But for what reason? So many questions. If he works for the bad guys, why didn’t he hurt us? Why did he let us go? He willingly dropped us off at my apartment. He was the one who suggested it.”

“Marcus thought of that too. He’s checking your car and the suitcases for trackers.”

Tessa’s legs started to shake so hard she sat on the foot of the lounge chair. “That seems convoluted to me. If he is after Mia, why didn’t he just take Lily with him? She could be used to draw Mia out of hiding.”

Megan sat next to her. “All good questions. I wish I had the answers. We don’t know why he’s looking for Mia. Maybe others had the same idea we did and wanted to use Mia to help with the curse. Mia told Evelyn that she had taken Lily to keep her safe. Maybe Ben works for the people who had Lily to begin with.”

Tessa’s stomach threatened to rebel, and she took a deep breath. Even with all the lies, she couldn’t see Ben hurting that little girl. But what did she know? She couldn’t trust herself anymore, and she had spent years honing her BS monitor to keep the men away who tried to control her or simply underestimated her. She’d sworn she would never let that happen again. And she had been duped in the worst way. This wasn’t about her—this was about protecting a little girl. And the clan who would probably boot her out, and she wouldn’t blame them.

The back door opened, and Evelyn and Lily stepped out onto the deck.

“Sorry to interrupt, but Lily has been asking for you.”

Tessa held out her hand. “Is something wrong, sweetheart?”

Lily walked over and slipped her hand into Tessa’s. She reached up with her other hand and ran it over Tessa’s head, petting her. Tessa glanced at Evelyn for some clue as to what was happening.

Evelyn’s expression softened. “Lily likes me to do that when she’s upset.”

Tessa blinked back tears and gathered the little girl into her arms, breathing in her berry scent. She would do anything to protect her, Bella, and the clan from Ben Wells and whatever he was planning. It was her responsibility to make things right again.