After the Summerland (The Witches of Spring Hill Book 1) (17 page)

She sped off toward the kids, hoping that their inexperienced driving
would give her the edge. All she had to do was give them a little nudge at the
right moment and be gone before Liam made his way back home. She followed them
from a distance without lights so they would be surprised when she made her
presence known. She wanted it to appear as if she came out of nowhere.

She quickly caught up to
the car and gleefully anticipated their fear once they realized it wasn’t their
dad barreling down the road after them. She considered ramming the car right
away, but decided it would be more fun to play cat and mouse with them for a
bit. She flashed her bright lights and was thrilled when she caught panicked
eyes in the rearview mirror. She smiled in pleasure at the fear. She flashed
her lights several more times and drove right up on the bumper hoping to get
another look at their scared faces. Selene could feel the fear as it rolled off
of them and knew they would eventually have to pull over, speed up, or slow
down.

She was prepared for
whatever choice they made. No matter how it happened, it would not end well for
the Alexanders tonight. As anticipated, the car slowed down and just as she was
about to bump the rear fender, she felt a shield lower around their car. She
was so surprised that she momentarily lost control of the Mercedes, as they sped
across the bridge. Fortunately, she quickly regained control and turned toward
the main road into town. She didn’t know how it happened so quickly, but she
knew for sure that someone in that car used magic.

She only allowed
herself a moment to be angry before she rationalized that it was not really a
setback. She finally found out what she was waiting for Xavier, Cian, and
Brianna to find out for her, which was just confirmation of what she already
suspected anyway. At least one, if not all, of the Alexander kids knew of their
abilities and were using them openly.

She reminded herself
that tomorrow she would put things in motion with Peter Alexander, and from
that point forward things would happen quickly. Now that she knew the kids tapped
into their magic, she would just move up the timeline before they could get any
stronger. No problem, she thought as she continued on her way to the rented
house, I’m ready to go home.

Then this morning, everything
went picture perfect. She told Xavier her plans for the day and he told her he
was going to spend the day at the library doing research on the Alexanders and
the property. She found that funny, but let him believe he was contributing. So
far, they had given her nothing about the triplets — other than their school
schedule, which she already knew. She dropped the three of them off at the
library and parked at the back of the lot. She cast her disguise spell quickly
so no one would notice her Mercedes driving out toward Peter’s house. Once she
got to his house she cast another spell hiding her car from passersby, not that
there were that many up this way, but she certainly wasn’t going to leave the scene
until after Liam and Marcus showed up. She couldn’t resist watching their
reaction.

Since the curtains on
the front window were wide open, she had no trouble seeing Peter turn on a
basketball game, grab a beer, and settle into a recliner. She slipped on her
gloves, walked up the side of the driveway so she wouldn’t be seen from the
front window and simply knocked on the door. Without even looking to see who it
was, he opened the door to her. She cast her spell immediately, walked in, and
locked the door behind her. She walked him to the recliner where he was
sitting before she arrived, and slapped him across the face. “It’s your due,
old man!” Selene yelled at the catatonic Peter. Though she wanted to do more
than slap him, she knew that if she killed Peter, Liam and Marcus wouldn’t stop
searching until they found his killer. She couldn’t risk it. Not when she had
so much to gain by waiting. She went to the kitchen and placed the note on the
counter.

She took her time looking
around the house, but didn’t find anything of any interest to her. She didn’t
think he would be stupid enough to leave anything valuable around the house,
especially since she moved back to town. She also didn’t find anything she
could use against him or anything that would help her get back what was rightfully
hers, so she waited another twenty minutes to make sure he
wouldn’t remember seeing her, and then made the call. She dialed 911, listened
for the operator, held the phone for a moment so the
line stayed open and then hung up. She wanted the operator to assume Peter was
injured or unable to speak, so that when Liam and Marcus heard about it they would be filled with fear. After a couple of seconds, she opened the line again and set the
phone on the counter next to her note. She walked out the side door, locking it
on her way out.

Selene sat patiently
waiting until she saw the cars approaching from the road. She watched as first,
the jeep, and then, Marcus’s truck pulled into the driveway. She watched Marcus
and Liam walk around the house and finally go in through the front door. She
was surprised to see the three Alexander kids sitting in the car and even more
surprised that Liam would leave them alone.

Seeing an opportunity
again, she started to climb out of her car when suddenly another vehicle came speeding
down the road toward the house. Who the hell is this, she thought, surprised
when she recognized the Subaru from last night. Surprise turned to confusion
when she saw Xavier, Cian, and Brianna driving the Alexanders’ car.

The car went by so fast
that the kids didn’t even notice her parked on the side of the road, or else her
spell was even stronger than she thought it was. Xavier pulled the car directly
behind Marcus’s truck and before she could react, Liam came charging down the
driveway.

She sat in the car
watching her nephews talk to Liam. As usual, Brianna stood to the side
observing everything without getting involved. Whatever was being discussed had
Liam seeing red. He looked ready to strangle Xavier, but before things escalated
further, the dark headed girl stepped in between him and Xavier.

Selene glanced up on
the porch at Peter who was looking around his yard. Although she knows he can’t
see her, his gaze lingers ever so slightly in her direction. He has clearly
recovered from the spell she cast; and she is certain that enough time lapsed
that he won’t remember opening the door to her. She knows that as soon as Peter
read the note, he would put two and two together. He would know right away that
it was her who left it, and he would continuously wonder how she got in and out
of his house. And although she left nothing out of place, he would know that she
went through his belongings. This would make him wonder if she found out
anything (she didn’t) or if she planted anything so that she could listen in on
him (she did).

She can’t help but
wonder what he told Liam and Marcus about the note. They have no reason to
suspect it was her who left the note, especially since to their knowledge she
doesn’t even know Peter. He won’t say anything for fear of getting caught in the
web of lies he’s spun. Unless the kids identified the car last night, none of
them, except Peter, would know the note was from her. She lets out a long sigh,
relieved that the first step of the process is complete.

Eventually she sees Xavier
hand the keys to Liam and head toward the jeep. She wonders how Xavier got the
keys to the car in the first place and then notices that they all seem familiar
with each other. Suddenly it dawns on her that Xavier didn’t go to the library
to look up information, he was going to the library to meet the Alexanders.
That sneaky little bastard, she thinks. I’ll give them a chance to come clean
and if they don’t tell me about their little adventure today, I will begin my
preparations.

She watches the jeep
back out of the driveway and sees Xavier in the front seat. Brianna and Cian
are in the back and as they drive past, no one seems to notice her parked on
the side of the road. She watches Liam slow down, and feels a trickle of fear that he
saw her, but he quickly
speeds back up again. She’s not at all surprised they didn’t see her since her
spells have been getting stronger and lasting longer since she moved here.

She waits until Marcus, Peter, and the kids
leave the property before pulling out. She drives slowly toward the library and
releases the spell when she gets onto the main road. At the library, she sees the kids sitting out
front on the bench, waiting for her. She looks around the parking lot expecting
to see Liam’s jeep somewhere, but it is nowhere in sight. She suspects that he
is parked somewhere nearby, probably watching her looking around for him. She
smiles at the thought.

Before Selene arrives,
Xavier, Cian, and Brianna discuss what to tell her. They have the advantage since
she doesn’t know they saw her at Peter’s house. They also have time to prepare
a story, since Xavier already knew she was going to be at the house. They all
agreed it was important for him to stay on her good side. They decide that
Xavier will do all the talking, while Brianna and Cian just play dumb.

Brianna and Cian aren’t
sure if they can trust Xavier since he didn’t tell them that he knew Selene was
going to Peter Alexander’s house in the first place, but he explained that as long
as one of them knows what her plans are, then they have the advantage. The less Brianna
and Cian know the better it will be for them. Their lack of knowledge will
protect them from Selene and prevent them from having to answer her questions
on the spot. Brianna and Cian briefly make eye contact, conveying in a glance that
neither of them trusts their brother 100% when it comes to Aunt Selene. Although
they can see his point, they still feel betrayed by him.

After spending the day
with the Alexanders, Xavier admits to himself that he does not want to follow
through with Selene’s plans. She may want the property, but the more Xavier
thinks about it, the more he wonders what life will be like for them once it is
hers. As far as Xavier can tell, Selene’s power has not gotten any stronger,
but he definitely notices that she has become nastier than usual. Xavier knows
how obsessed she is with the property, but for the life of him he can’t
understand why. There must be other properties that don’t pose the same
challenges that this one does.

Xavier can’t help but
like the Alexanders, and although he won’t admit it out loud, that includes Liam.
Xavier liked how protective Liam was of his family and he thought how nice it
would be to be part of such a strong family. He looks at Cian and Brianna and
decides that all he can do is protect the family he has, while he can.

Just as they see
Selene’s car coming down the road toward the library, Cian says, “Chloe is
going to text me soon. She wants us to come to their house tonight. She wants
to finish our conversation from earlier and sort some things out. We have to
go, but since we won’t be able to talk later, we need a game plan now. How
should I respond?” he asks his sister and brother.

After thinking about it
for a second, Xavier asks, “You’ve seen all this, brother?” When Cian nods,
Xavier continues, “Your abilities are getting much stronger here. You have seen
that we are going to go, right?”

Cian nods again. “I
know we’ll go, but that’s all I can see. I’m not sure how we will get out or
what will happen when we get there. Xavier thinks for a minute then says, “When
she texts you, ask her to pick us up at 8:00 at the
school. It will be dark enough that we should have no trouble sneaking out,
especially with all that Selene has been up to in the last 24 hours. She’s
probably exhausted and will go to bed early. Just make sure it is at the school.
We’ll have to walk so Aunt Selene won’t hear her car pull up.”

Their aunt pulls up to
the curb and they climb into the car. Selene smirks and asks, “How was the… library?”

Xavier smiles and says, “Very interesting. I
learned a lot. I’ll have to fill you in on what I found out… later,” he rolls
his eyes back toward Cian and Brianna in the back seat, implying that what he
has to tell her is not for their ears. Selene smiles, looking relieved to know that
he still has her back.

Back at their house,
Brianna and Cian slip away as planned, giving Xavier a chance to talk to Selene
alone. He told her the story they concocted that that they ran into the Alexanders
at the library just as Liam arrived to pick them up. Chloe didn’t notice her
car keys fall out of the backpack so Xavier saw a great opportunity to follow
them. He quickly realized they were on their way to Peter’s house, but knew he
couldn’t turn back. He figured their presence would distract them from
searching for evidence about who had been there. He told her that Liam accused
him of stealing the car and pretty much got in his face, but her name never
even came up.

Selene smiled at this
and although she hesitated to completely believe him, she decided for now it
was easier to just go along with what he said. She filled him in on how easy it
was to cast the spell and get into Peter’s house, but she didn’t tell him about
the note she left or explain what she was looking for. Neither of them said
anything about Brianna and Cian, and after dinner, Selene retired to her room,
exhausted from the last 24 hours.

Xavier sits in his room
watching the clock and thinking about the day’s events. He knows that Selene is
keeping secrets from him and probably suspects him of lying to her, but tonight
is a huge risk. If Selene finds out they are going to meet the Alexanders
tonight, he doesn’t know what she’ll do to all of them. He feels an immense
amount of pressure and needs to go for a run to blow off some steam, but knows
that he will make too much noise coming back and showering so he just sits and
waits quietly until it’s
time
to go.