Release

By Adrian J. Smith

The wicked witch reigns supreme, and yet, the enemy isn't always who we expect.

Molly works relentlessly to locate the one person she needs--Faye. Making reckless decisions, Molly puts her team and herself in danger as her obsession with Faye deepens and becomes the only thing she can think about.

With a frantic call from Ben, Faye leaves her hiding place. Unsure about the safety of returning to the house and Molly, Faye takes many precautions as she searches for a way to save Molly from herself. Willing to go to the ends of the earth, Faye looks for a cure, even if it leads her directly into the hands of the enemy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Supposed Crimes, LLC
• Release date: Sep 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9781952150722

Adrian J. Smith

Adrian J. Smith, or “AJ” as she is often called, is a part time writer with an epic imagination, sharp wit, and kind heart that gets her into a bit of trouble when it comes to taking in all the neighborhood stray cats. Being obsessed with science fiction, Smith often goes off on tangents about the space-time continuum. She is also a part time lunatic with a secretive past. It’s been rumored that she was once a spy for the government, but anyone who has gotten close enough to know the truth has never lived to tell the tale. When traveling around the world on various classified tasks, Smith requires the following be provided: buffalo jerky, mimosas, and eighty six pennies. This is all we know about the reclusive woman.

Book preview

Chapter Two

Joel shifted in his chair in his office, a floor down from where Molly had holed herself up for the last twenty-three hours. He kept telling himself that when she hit twenty-four he would go up there and try to pry her out of the room, but the constant pulling her from herself wore on him. An empath could only take so much of a mix of emotions, of the self-indulgence, of the depression before it would wear on them too.

He let out a breath and shifted some papers on his desk. They were all concerned about her. Every single person in the house had talked to him at least once a month since Faye had left. Joel bit his lip as he stared at his phone. He could call her. She would answer for him, but he, Benjamin, and Faye had all agreed they would only call in case of a dire emergency. She’d gotten a phone solely for the purpose of connecting with the two of them, and Benjamin had been instructed that as soon as she did call or they called her he was to wipe every record of it. They did not want Molly to be able to trace Faye.

It was all a headache that had been brewing in the base of his skull for the better part of a year, ever since Faye had been kidnapped by Caliban. Molly had changed even then, though he hadn’t mentioned it to anyone but Benjamin until recently. Speaking of—a smile tugged at Joel’s lips as Ben clearly was coming to see him. The energy that burst from him, the giddiness at having to walk from his lab three floors down up to Joel’s always let Joel know exactly where his lover was.

When the door opened without a knock, he knew Ben had something pressing to tell him. Ben shut the door behind him and turned to face Joel, his light brown hair haphazardly sticking up around his head, deep purple bags under his eyes since he’d clearly stayed up at least a full day if not more. Ben had been sparsely seen around the house, but Joel knew he was working on a super-secret project, and Amelia getting Molly out of the house for hours at a time had afforded him a great opportunity to get some work done.

I got a hit! Ben whisper-shouted as he set his ever-present tablet onto Joel’s desk.

Hit on what? Joel narrowed his eyes and tilted the tablet up so he could see it.

It was just a bunch of numbers, with very little information he could actually decipher. Setting the tablet down, he shifted it to Ben and shook his head. Ben bounced in his shoes and grinned.

Cal…

Don’t.

Dark Face.

Where is he?

Not sure exactly at this moment, but he has been to Turkey.

Has been as in when? Joel glanced toward the door to make sure no one was coming in. He listened to the emotions around him, determining who was nearby and who was far away. Amelia was coming, so they only had a few minutes before she would make her presence known.

As in the last month.

That’s a lot of time, Ben. Joel pursed his lips. Couldn’t find anything more recent?

That’s the thing. Look. Ben pointed down at the tablet again, and Joel blinked slowly before glaring. Look, here.

I don’t read computer.

Ben’s lips opened then closed. Oh, right. Anyway, so Cal…Dark Face has been to this exact same place in Turkey three times in the last six months. I’m betting, this might be where one of his facilities is.

I’m going to need a bit more than that to be sure.

Right. Well, there’s definitely a big building there. It’s off-grid, which is always a warning bell. Ben took his tablet and flipped through a few different screens. He set it down in front of Joel again, and this time, there was a map on it Joel could actually understand.

Picking it up, he stared at it, turning his head from side to side. He zoomed out on the map then back in. The location was in a remote part of the country, so they’d have to go off-grid to have the right kind of power in some ways. Gnawing on his lip, Joel’s chest clenched. Amelia was close.

Let Molly know about Turkey.

Will you… Ben looked around the room then whispered, Will you want to tell Faye?

Joel nodded and held a finger up to his lips to tell Ben to be quiet. He let out a breath as his door slammed open, and he sorely missed Faye because had it been her, she would have done the exact same thing.

I tried to get over it. Really, I did. Amelia’s voice was strained. She plopped down on the singular couch in Joel’s office, shoving her boots up on his coffee table and laying back, spreading out, and making herself comfortable. I just can’t.

What are you talking about? Ben sneered.

Joel had known Ben had gotten tired of Amelia and her antics. At one point, they’d been good friends, almost like siblings, but as time wore on, Amelia seemed to get on just about everyone’s nerves. Joel didn’t correct Ben because he too wanted to know what Amelia was going on about.

Molly! She about got herself killed last night. She insisted we work on opposite sides of the bridge, so it took me forever to get there once I even figured out something was going on.

Joel put his hand up to stop her. Start from the beginning.

Amelia sighed, turning her head on the back of the couch to look at them before moving to sit up. Molly wanted to go after the beast on her own. I told her no, that she wouldn’t allow it for any of the rest of us and that the damned creature could be dangerous. Which, hello, it was.

Ben rolled his eyes and sat in the chair in front of Joel’s desk. Amelia glared at him and crossed her arms, her defenses going up.

Go on, Joel said, trying to get her to speak up more.

She insisted I take my bike and she the van. I had to go back and get my damn bike this morning.

So you’re just mad? Joel asked. Because I’m not really getting the sense of how this is all Molly’s doing or what else it is you’re trying to tell me.

When I showed up, she’d already killed it. She didn’t have any tranqs on her like she promised she would take and would have insisted I take. She wanted to kill it, I think. Her last sentence was almost a whisper.

Joel’s back straightened. He had been wondering if it would start to go this way, if Molly would lose what little humanity she had left, what little control she had left. He’d seen such a change in her that he almost didn’t know her anymore. Most of her regular work had fallen onto his shoulders, so he had been doing her job, his job, and running interference between the rest of the house and her. She’d put herself in a bubble.

He let out a breath. I’ll talk to her.

I don’t know if talking is going to work. She needs a smack upside the head.

Amelia was angry, but she was quite possibly also right. She’d known Molly longer than Joel, although Joel had more of an insight to Molly’s inner workings than her former protege. Although the last year had proven he didn’t really know her at all.

The entire situation could have been avoided if we’d just stuck together like had been the original plan and if she’d taken the damn tranqs.

She killed it with magic? Ben’s eyes widened as he asked.

Amelia shot him a look of disbelief. What did you think killed it?

He shook his head. I—I didn’t know. I didn’t really think about it, honestly.

Joel wanted to defend Ben, say he was busy with another project at hand, but that would tip Amelia off to what they were doing, and no one wanted that to happen, not even Molly herself. Breathing out a sigh, Joel rubbed the throbbing knot at the back of his head.

She’s going crazy. I’m sure of it. Amelia admitted. But I don’t know if there’s anything we can do about it.

Shrugging, Joel shook his head. I’ll talk to her.

That’s all you do is talk! Talk this and talk that. Something has to be done. It’s not safe for us to be around her.

That was the truth of it right there. If Molly’s actions were putting her team in danger, then what? There were no rules, no order, nothing. Molly made the rules, but if she wasn’t in her right mind, then who was supposed to take over? Joel? He was hardly prepared for that, not to mention he respected Molly far too much to push her out and leave her on her own while he took over everything she had spent centuries building.

I will deal with it, Amelia.

Amachon thinks something is up to, she added.

I’m aware. Once again, the knot in the back of his head pulsed. The last two years had given Joel a run for his money. Amelia’s mouth opened, but Joel shook his head at her. Unless you have something substantial to add to the conversation, I’d prefer you finish your complaint in writing and email it to me.

Amelia huffed. Like it’ll do any good.

She got up and stormed out of the office. Benjamin moved behind the desk to stand next to Joel and pressed his lips to Joel’s cheek. She’s just mad.

Rightfully so. I’d be pretty pissed, too.

Want me to go with you to tell Molly about Caliban?

Joel sighed. No. I think you better stay as far away from her as possible. Let me deal with the wicked witch.

Ben snorted. You got it. Any time I can get out of that, I’ll take it.

Joel waited for an hour after Benjamin left before he dared to walk up the winding staircase to Molly’s office. Her office used the be the hangout zone, but since her shift in personality, it had become Joel’s office. Perhaps it wasn’t only her personality if he thought about it. Perhaps it was because he had become more the boss than her. It saddened him to see her become this way. He was a trained psychologist, but anything he had tried to do to bring her around had failed. She’d just fallen further within herself.

Knocking on the door, which he had never done before these last six months, he waited for her to beckon him to enter. When she didn’t, Joel rapped his knuckles again on the door before he turned the ancient knob and let himself in. Molly sat at her yellow couch, a cup of tea between her fingers as she stared out the parapet doors she had left open.

Molly? he asked.

She didn’t turn to him. Joel sat next to her, pressing a hand to her thigh and squeezing to get her attention.

What are you thinking?

I’m thinking two centuries is too long to live, and I’d rather not see the next one come and go like these past ones.

His heart clenched. You’re not…

No. She took a sip of her tea and scrunched her nose. She set it on the table in front of her. Cold.

Joel wasn’t sure what to say. If her tea was cold, she had been staring out the window far longer than either of them probably anticipated.

Have you heard from her?

No. Molly, can we talk about last night?

She shook her head. I’d rather not.

You didn’t follow protocol.

She laughed. My dear boy, I wrote the protocol. I can change it as I see fit whenever I want.

The protocol is there for a reason. It’s to keep everyone as safe as possible. What if Amelia had been on the side of the bridge you were on? Did you think about that?

Molly’s red lips thinned, her dark eyes lighting with the anger that had become ever present in her repertoire of emotions. She wasn’t.

But what if she had been? What if she had been the one to be hurt?

Then she wouldn’t have fought hard enough.

Joel cursed. He was going to get nowhere with her just like every other time he had tried. Maybe Amelia had been right. Either way, Molly was certainly testing his abilities and his patience in ways it had never been before. He leaned into the couch and stared out the open parapet to the rain as it fell.

Have you noticed the weather lately?

She shrugged. Who hasn’t?

Did you ever think, Molly, that it might be you controlling it?

She turned to stare at him, her dark curling hair cascading over her shoulder moving with the slight breeze from the open doors. Her eyes wide. No. I would know if I was sending that amount of power out.

He cocked a brow at her. I’ve seen you have outbursts of your magic recently, and you didn’t know they were coming.

She looked almost perfect. If he took out the personality changes, she looked like the Molly he had met almost six years prior. She always dressed impeccably and in expensive clothes, her hair always in place, her make up always done up right. However, the woman who had tracked him down and convinced him to join her team seemed to be nowhere in sight. Gone was the Molly with a kind and tender heart, a joy in teaching and growing and mentoring. She’d turned into a cold bitch who didn’t care about anyone around her.

Benjamin found something on Caliban.

She turned at that, her head twisting sharply in his direction. What was it?

He’s been in Turkey recently.

She gave a wry smile. Is that where his facilities are?

At least one of them, but Ben hasn’t been able to determine if it’s another temporary facility or outpost facility like the one in Paraguay.

Molly let out a breath. Tell him to keep looking.

He is. The reaction from Molly had been less than spectacular. They had been searching for Caliban since he had kidnapped Faye almost a year before, since he had run experiments on her and stole her DNA to recreate the vampiric race—which he had failed miserably at. Caliban didn’t understand the full history of vampires like Molly did, and thus, he didn’t know that genetic manipulation with vampires was far more difficult than it was with humans or normal Tainted.

When Molly had finally told Joel what she’d found in Paraguay, he had dug far deeper into his research on vampires to try and find out exactly what they were and how their gifts were transferred from one to another. Faye had always considered herself a lesser than vampire, someone with blood too watered down that it made her weak in the sight of other vampires—of which there was only one other in existence.

What no one had shared with her was that because of the way she was born rather than created, Faye held far more power than any other vampire. She could change them, and they would follow her, sire to her. She could create an army if she wanted.

Joel went to stand up and leave, but Molly pressed her hand to his shoulder, her gaze beckoning him to stay. He relaxed into the couch and stared out the parapet window along with her. Do you think she’ll come back?

His heart broke. He knew Molly loved Faye, whether she’d ever admit it or not. When Faye had come into the house, Molly’s interest in her had been genuine and far beyond any other love she’d had. It was hard to find someone who had lived as long as her, and while Faye was much younger, she’d seen almost a century of loss and pain and changes. She understood things for Molly no one else could.

Joel gave the answer he knew he had to, even though he didn’t believe it. No.

But he lied. Faye wanted to come back. The house had been the only home she’d ever known, the only place she’d ever felt free and accepted, but in order to protect her, to save her, she’d had to leave. Joel kept his gaze on Molly’s face, caught the start of tears in her eyes before she blinked them back,

Thank you, she muttered. I will see you tomorrow.

With a dismissal in hand, Joel rose from the couch and left the room and Molly to her own thoughts. Whatever happened, he knew his time was running short to save Molly from herself.

Chapter Three

Ben double and triple checked the systems before he dared open up the secret server he had created. He locked down his work area and set up the alarms so he would know if someone was walking by or coming his direction. He had spent weeks building it all up and months perfecting it. So far it had been rather useful.

He hated being so secretive with his boss, but to be honest, there was no other way around it. They simply couldn’t trust her anymore, at least not him and Joel. She had broken down their trust month after month, and the changes he had witnessed in her had broken him completely. Molly was a stranger.

She had raised him, practically; she had been his lover even at one point, but nothing in the past year had told him Molly was the same person she had been for the majority of her life. Joel had agreed with him, and they had taken to privatizing a lot of their life and making secrets of another good chunk of it.

While Benjamin worked for Molly, he also worked on the side to try and figure out who Caliban Troy was, what he was doing, and why he was so damned interested in Faye. Yeah, Faye was a vampire, one of the last two of her race, but she’d been around for nearly eighty years and no one had any interest in her before now.

When Molly had told him she was going to join Caliban’s ranks to try and find more information about what experiments he had run on Faye, he’d been wary of it. He had been right to be. Caliban had shared information, Molly had shared information, but neither had seemed to get what they wanted.

He’d done his best to ward off cyber-attacks and hackings, but he knew Caliban’s crew had gotten information from their network. After he’d brought it to Molly’s attention the third time, she’d told him to just let him have the information he wanted. It was then he’d started to create his own fortress in his work area. Molly had no idea how he’d safeguarded everything there.

Pulling up the email, Ben wrote a set of coordinates in coding and emailed it to Faye. She would get it and know what it was. Whatever she did with that information was up to her. He hadn’t heard from her since she’d left. He wanted to, but he hadn’t. He had no idea where she was or what she was doing, or if she even cared that he still tried to update her on the information he found out about Caliban in all his research.

She had gone silent. To be fair, he wasn’t even sure she was still alive, although he might be able to figure out with the tracker Molly had insisted he put into a necklace she’d given to Faye. When Faye had left, Ben had told her to keep it and that he could find her if necessary. Faye and smiled at him sweetly, but that was it.

God, he missed his best friend. In the time she’d lived at the house, they had grown so close. Their love of technology letting them talk for hours about programming and inventions. Faye had seen the technological age blossom right in front of her, and Benjamin enjoyed teasing out stories and information from her about it all.

He closed his computer, erased the drive on the one computer he used for this purpose, then locked it back up in the safe under his desk that no one knew about. He took down the defenses on his work area so if anyone wanted to come and join him for whatever reason they could. He hoped Faye got his email, and beyond that, he hoped she did something with it.

Molly slid into his work area a few hours later, after he was back to working on his latest invention—a self-contained energy source strong enough he could use it with his accidental creation of a phasing out machine. He had yet to make any progress on it.

Benjamin, her smooth British tone slid over him, causing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand on edge.

What’s up, Molly? he turned to her, the stool he sat on swiveling with his body.

She raised a brow at him. How are you doing?

He stiffened as she walked closer, pressing a hand to his shoulder. It was something she had normally done ages ago, a sign of comfort to him, but now it made him tense and want to leave the room. Instead, he forced himself to stay still as he turned to his computer, Molly leaning far too close to him, her breasts pressing into his back.

I’m fine, he grunted.

Are you still on your medication?

His jaw dropped, and his eyes widened. Turning, he glanced into her dark eyes, not quite sure what to make of her question. He nodded at her. He’d always taken his medication. Day and night. Sure, he missed a few pills here and there. There was the three days he’d been lost in Colombia, and he had panicked, wondering if he wasn’t going to be able to control himself.

Pity, she muttered. Leaning in, she pressed a kiss to his cheek before turning back to his room and staring around it. What are you working on?

What’s your interest in it suddenly?

Molly’s gaze hardened when she looked at him, and Ben was sure he had walked into his own pile of shit. She’d been unpredictable lately, but asking him about his work was really out of the ordinary.

I realized recently it has been a while since I’ve been down to check in on your inventions.

His lips thinned. Yeah, like a year.

She snorted. Don’t have that attitude with me.

There it was. Her anger. Ben had managed to flair it into existence. He rode on it, trying to hide what he’d been doing hours before and everything else he had worked on since she’d gone crazy. Why, Molly? Because you’ve been such a peach to us?

Her eyes glowed briefly, her fingers curling into fists as she stood in front of him. God, she was beautiful when her magic flowed through her like that. Even Ben could see it, and he had witnessed it hundreds of times in the last year compared to the two decades he had lived under her roof.

How dare you? she accused. I own this house. You are my employee. Don’t you dare speak to me that way again.

Or what? You’ll turn me into a toad?

Like you would ever willingly shift. Her voice was hard with rage.

Ben’s stomach twisted, and his heart thumped. He’d lost his gumption. He’d been fighting her more and more lately, but that one comment—it knocked the wind from his sails. He couldn’t come up with a response, and luckily, he didn’t have to. Joel stood in the doorway, his face set and his shoulders tensed.

Molly.

She spun around to face him.

You will not speak to Benjamin like that.

Drawing in a deep breath, Molly pulled her hand back, a bubble of light growing between her fingers. Joel stared her down, daring her to throw it. Ben sat in his corner, frozen onto his stool as he watched the two of them duke it out right in front of him. Joel had mentioned Molly was escalating, but this was the first time he’d seen it in person.

When Joel didn’t back down, Molly finally did. She straightened her shoulders and stood prim and proper before the two of them. She sent Ben an apologetic look over her shoulder with a smile on her lips. Without a word to him, she swayed her hips as she walked toward the door and stopped by Joel, gripping his arm in her hand. She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek much as Ben had done earlier in his office.

Will I see you tonight? she asked, her voice low, clearly aiming for seduction.

Not tonight, Molly, Joel answered, keeping his gaze locked with Ben’s.

She pouted but sauntered off. Joel held his hand up to stop Ben from talking until they were both sure Molly had left the floor. Ben let out a breath and put his head in his hands. Joel came over and rubbed his hands over his back. Don’t listen to what she said.

She’s right, though.

It is your choice what you do with your Tainted nature, whether you do something with it or not.

Ben drew in a deep breath and shook his head, confusion lingering in his chest and in his heart. Joel wrapped his arms around his shoulders and hugged him tight.

Come on. I haven’t seen you in weeks.

Ben followed Joel up to Joel’s room. As soon as they were in the door, Ben relaxed. This was his safe space, his sanctuary, his sanity. He laid on the bed with his hands under his head and stared up at the ceiling. She’s batshit. Does she really not see it?

Joel let out a wry chuckle. I find it amusing you use the word batshit.

Furrowing his brow, Ben turned to look over at Joel. He was slowly undoing his button up shirt. He’d taken to wearing them instead of his normal T-shirts since he’d had to take over a lot more of Molly’s duties, which meant he had to be professional. Ben missed his relaxed boyfriend, but he didn’t mind Joel in a suit. It was sexy.

Joel gave in when he saw and felt Ben’s confusion. What did Dracula turn into?

Ben understood then. A bat and Molly has been crazy since Faye left. I get it. Faye’s a vampire, bat. Haha, funny.

Except, he wasn’t really amused, and Joel knew that. Half-naked, Joel sat down on the edge of the bed and ran a hand over Ben’s arm to draw him in to the conversation. Ben turned to look up at the cute, scruffy man before him. He’d never thought he’d find someone like Joel.

I think, perhaps, if we really look at it, Molly began changing well before Faye left.

What do you mean? Ben sat up and leaned against the headboard. We all saw it after she left.

Joel shook his head. No, that was a major catalyst, yes, but this started before. Think about it. When Faye was kidnapped, did Molly act normal?

Ben bit his lip as he thought, trying to remember everything. Eventually, he shook his head. No. You’re right. She didn’t fight as hard to find Faye as she could have, she took some big risks in how she went about getting Faye back, and then after? You’re right. She was changing before Faye left.

Exactly. When she agreed to work with Dark Face, that was a big clue to me something was off, but her emotions were all over the place before then. It’s like she turned completely inward, at least now. Then she was still struggling to look out for others, to have their interest in mind, but when Faye left, she gave up that battle.

Maybe we shouldn’t have sent her away.

Joel’s lips thinned. No, that was the right decision. That was for Faye’s safety. In the safest house in the world, she was in the most danger here.

Go figure. Ben reached down and threaded his fingers through Joel’s. What do you think is wrong with her?

Honestly?

Ben nodded, looking at their joined hands. He felt safe talking to Joel, safer than he ever had before. They were good for each other, and they were good for the house. But lately he wondered if they were forced to leave the house for whatever reasons, if they would be able to make it outside the world they’d originally found themselves in.

Stop thinking that, Joel commented. He shifted up and cupped Ben’s cheek with his fingers, drawing him down for a long kiss. We’ll survive wherever we land.

What will we do if we have to leave?

We’ll figure it out if and when that happens.

Shouldn’t we have a plan?

Joel shook his head and pecked Benjamin’s lips one more time. No, I have another plan.

Another plan? For what?

Sitting, Joel rested his head on Ben’s shoulder. I think Molly has been cursed.

By who? Ben sat straight up, his back rigid and fear raced in his chest. A curse—that would have to be another powerful witch, and there weren’t very many of them left.

Joel shook his head. It’s only a suspicion, but I was doing some research because I needed to figure out why Molly was doing certain things that made no sense, and I really do think she’s been cursed.

Who would do that?

Someone who needed her out of the way.

Out of the way for what?

Joel pursed his lips. Think about it, Ben. Who has this always centered around?

Faye.

Exactly. Joel turned his chin up to kiss Benjamin’s neck. It’s always Faye, isn’t it?

I guess. Ben let out a sigh, enjoying the feel of Joel’s lips against him. It had been far too long since they’d had any quality time together. They had been so busy trying to find Caliban and keep Molly in line their own life was pushed to the back burner.

Ben shifted, laying half on top of Joel and running a hand over his chest