Chapter 4

Giovanni Sardo smiled at the insurance adjuster and accepted the check the man offered. Three hundred thousand dollars was probably six times more than the small house now lying in a heap of rubble on the yard was worth.

That Giovanni had been able to magically persuade the adjuster to give him that much for the house was testament to the new powers he had attained. And to think he owed it all to that bitch, Ana, for dropping the house on him when she left.

Served her right, he thought. She figured she was getting even with him for the punishment he’d given her for disagreeing with him. As it turns out, she’d handed him what he’d wanted most in life. Power.

Giovanni was a minechicudet, a Sardinian male witch, the seventh son of the seventh son in a long line of witches. How he’d been born with such diluted power was a mystery to all his family and a disappointment to him. He’d dreamed of power his entire life, and how he could use it to get the wealth and status he craved.

He’d never planned on marrying, and sure would not have married Ana if it had not been ordered by his family. His mother had been in the States for a visit with relatives who had immigrated here. She was with Giovanni the day he first saw Ana.

Ana was performing in a festival in one of the local parks with a group of women she’d taught to belly dance. It was her lithe, sexy body that prompted him to stop and watch. It was his mother’s elbow in his ribs that prompted him to introduce himself to her after the performance.

His mother had recognized Ana as a witch and had predicted that her power was strong enough that if Giovanni mated with her and gained control of her, he could take her power as his own. Psychically draining others of power was one of his family’s strongest talents.

It hadn’t seemed like a bad idea at the time. Ana was sexy as hell, and as he soon discovered, not at all inhibited in the art of sex. He used every ounce of charm he possessed to win her. And once he had, he insisted on marriage, even though she was against it.

For the first time in his life, Giovanni found his mother to be completely wrong. He’d spent three years with Ana, trying to tap into her power, to take it as his own. And all for naught. Ana was what his people called a white-lighter. She operated strictly on the “harm none” principle and seemed to be protected from forces stronger than he and his combined family.

When he realized, he was not going to get her power, and she certainly was not going to voluntarily give it to him, he became dissatisfied. He resented that she had power she would not use to improve their way of life and resented that he was stuck with her even more.

Giovanni was trapped. Sex between them had ceased six months into their marriage. Ana would not even sleep in the same bed with him. She slept on the lumpy old couch with her damn hawk perched beside her.

Giovanni wished that hawk a grievous and painful death. He’d tried to shoot it once, but Ana had intervened. Now both of them were on guard for anything he might try.

The night they’d gotten into an argument over homosexuals was the turning point for Giovanni. He hated homosexuals. Gay or lesbian, it didn’t matter to him. If he’d had the power, he would have wiped them all from the face of the earth. He’d said as much when they saw a piece on the news about same-sex marriage. Ana, of course, had disagreed. Being the bleeding heart she was, she thought people had every right to choose their life mate regardless of gender and was strongly opposed to the prejudice that heterosexual people had against the homosexual community.

Giovanni had lost control and punched her. And that blow woke something inside him. A long-suppressed need to inflict pain broke free from the darkness and emerged. With it came a rush of sexual energy stronger than anything he’d felt in years.

And it only grew stronger and more satisfying with every blow, slap, punch or kick he delivered to Ana.

He halfway expected her to fight back magically. But she did not. She tried to physically fight him, but Giovanni was a big man, and she was no match for him. And her hawk was not there to help. So, Giovanni had an orgasmic time, beating and raping her, then leaving her broken on the floor. He went out, got himself a hooker and a bottle and celebrated, establishing himself an alibi for when the authorities came to tell him that his wife was dead.

It had not turned out that way. Ana had managed to crawl to the phone and dial 911. She was in the hospital for quite a while, but when she was released, she returned to him to announce to him that she was leaving.

Giovanni didn’t give a fat shit about Ana, but his pride would not tolerate her walking out on him. No woman walked out on Giovanni Sardo. He tried to stop her, but that damn hawk intervened. Ana packed up her car and as she pulled onto the street she looked back, waved her hand, and said a chant.

The next thing Giovanni knew, he was waking up in a hospital to learn that his house had collapsed on him.

He was mad enough to kill and would have killed Ana if he’d known where she was. But then something marvelous happened. He started to notice that his power was stronger. Much, much stronger. He could control people with a suggestion, manipulate them to do his bidding.

It wasn’t until he was released and returned to look at the rubble that had once been his house that he realized what had happened. While standing in the yard, surveying the mess, a vulture landed on the ground beside him.

Giovanni nearly fainted when the bird spoke to him, informing him that there was another inside him. Something that had been long buried beneath the house, imprisoned long ago by white witchcraft. Ana’s actions had released it and it now resided in Giovanni.

At first Giovanni was a little panicked. Being possessed and stripped of his will and self-identity was not at all appealing. But soon his familiar and the Entity inside him eased his mind. The Entity did not want to take him over, but merely wished to live through Giovanni. And in return for life, it offered the power he now possessed and much more. The only thing it asked was that they find Ana Stillwater and kill her. She was descended from the witches who imprisoned the Entity and the time for revenge had come.

It was a perfect deal for Giovanni. He had three hundred grand in his pocket, power and a new familiar. Now all he had to do was locate Ana. Killing her would be a pleasure. He’d enjoy taking his time and prolonging it. And when she breathed her last breath, her power would also be his. Then he’d take whatever he wanted from life, and to hell with anyone who stood in his way.

* * * * *

Ana heaved out a long breath when she saw Chase’s truck pull away. Fergi swooped down to land on the porch rail. Cody immediately bristled and Ana stooped down beside him. “That’s Fergi. Remember me telling you about her? She’s my friend, so you have to be nice and get along with her. Okay?”

Cody gave her a look that clearly said, “but I’m a hunter by nature,” and she rubbed his head. “Yeah, well, so is she and her wingspan is nearly seven feet. Not to mention the fact that her talons are razor-sharp, so in this one case you might want to curb your natural inclinations and make friends. Right, Fergi?” She looked up at the hawk.

Fergi let out a cry and Ana smiled and walked over to her. “Yes, Cody’s fine. I’ve explained things to him. Right, Cody?”

Cody barked and bumped up against the side of her leg. She knelt down to give him a rub. “So, Cody, what’s the deal on Chase Hawks?” she asked. “Have I totally screwed up or is he okay?”

Cody’s response was to lick her face. “Yeah, I guess he’s okay,” she said as she stood. “You wouldn’t like him otherwise, right? Besides, Fergi agrees and who am I to doubt her wisdom.”

He barked twice and she exchanged a look with Fergi. “You sure about this?”

Fergi let out a shrill cry and lifted into the air. Ana watched her rise higher and higher then headed up the front steps of the house, continuing her conversation with the dog. “So, he gets the thumbs-up from you and Fergi, but between you and me, he makes me kind of nervous.” She looked down at Cody. “Okay, so nervous isn’t exactly right. I mean, let’s face it. He is hard for a woman to ignore and yeah, I can’t help but notice. I mean, damn! He can make you wet just looking at him. Oh, sorry. Didn’t mean to embarrass you. But anyway, something about him still makes me nervous. It’s like he’s not really being honest or something.”

She pulled open the front door and Cody bounded in. Ana stopped just inside the door, closed her eyes, and let the energy of the house surround her. What was that she felt? She sank down onto the floor into the lotus position in one graceful move, despite the pull of the damaged ribs.

Focusing on her breath, she counted slowly, inhaling for the count of four and exhaling for the count of eight. When she’d gotten her breath down to three breaths per minute, the sensations of her body disappeared, and her mind opened.

For a few moments there was nothing. Then she began to recognize the energy. This place was sanctuary. A place where the rest of the world could not go. Her eyes flew open. Why in the world would he have let her invade something so precious to him?

Chase was asking himself the same question as he drove toward the Circle R Ranch. His place had always been just that. His. A place where nothing connected with the family could touch him. A place where he could go and escape, be alone and hear his own thoughts. So why in the hell had he taken Ana there?

He had not wanted to take her to the Circle R because then his father would get involved and things tended to get more complicated when Charlie Russell got involved. Chase would rather that Charlie not even become aware of the situation, and Jason, Chase’s friend with the police department, had assured Chase that unless Ana filed charges against him, Charlie wouldn’t have to find out.

Chase pulled around to the back of the house and climbed out of the truck. Just as he reached the wide back porch, his half-brother Caleb barreled out the back door.

“Where the hell you been?” Caleb mumbled around a mouthful of Clara’s apple pie, a huge wedge he held in one hand. “Old man’s been raising hell because you didn’t get that mare over to Smiley’s place.”

Chase had completely forgotten about the mare. Charlie had been itching to breed her to one of Smiley’s stallions and there would be hell to pay if he didn’t get what he wanted.

“A hundred bucks if you do it for me,” Chase offered.

Caleb thought about it for a second or two then grinned. “Done, but cash in advance, brother.”

Chase reached for his billfold. “I’m short twenty. I’ll make it up tomorrow.”

Caleb grabbed the money and stuffed it in his pocket. “Plus, a twelve-pack.”

“You know Charlie’ll kick your ass if he finds you drinking.”

“What Charlie don’t know won’t hurt him,” Caleb replied. “Come on, Chase. I’ll come over to your house and bring a porn flick and we’ll knock back a few.”

Normally Chase would have given in. At least that way he’d know Caleb wasn’t drinking and getting behind the wheel of the new pickup Charlie had given him for his high-school graduation present. How to say no without revealing he had a woman in his house was a problem.

“How ‘bout we hold off ‘til the weekend on that? Then I’ll have Harvey drop off a keg and you can drink ‘til it runs out your gills.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Caleb agreed.

They slapped hands together, grasped and released and Caleb ran down the steps and headed for his shiny new Dodge pickup. Chase watched him climb in his truck, then turned and entered the house.

The kitchen of the Circle R was the hub of all activity, but today it was quiet. Clara was just taking a big loaf of what smelled like fresh apple spice cake from the oven. The smell made Chase’s mouth water. He snuck up behind Clara and grabbed her around the middle, leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “Think you could spare a slice of that cake for a hungry ranch hand, ma’am?”

“Get on with yourself.” She turned with a smile that faded the moment she looked at him. “You got trouble all over your face, child.”

“No trouble with me.” He turned away rather than tell the lie to her face. Clara was as much a mother to him as the one who lay in the ground in the small family plot on the north ridge. He’d never been able to lie to her and get away with it. While he could fool most everyone else, Clara read him like a grammar schoolbook.

“Humph!” She turned back to the counter to turn the cake out onto a cooling rack. “So, what brings you here? Charlie isn’t home.”

“Came by to pick up my trailer. Left it here last week.”

“Getting a new horse? Clay says that Nightmare isn’t any closer to getting broken than a month ago. You are figuring on getting rid of that loco horse and getting you another stud?”

Chase’s mind went to Ana and the way Nightmare had taken to her. It was peculiar to say the least. He’d had the horse six months and so far, she was the only person who could even get near the animal. Charlie and several others thought he should take a hard stance and break the horse whether he wanted to be broken or not. And that could be done with most animals. But Chase saw spirit in Nightmare that he did not want to break. He wanted the horse to keep his fire. Charlie had laughed at him and so had a couple of his cronies, but Chase had long learned not to care what Charlie thought. If he lived his life to Charlie’s dictates, he’d never step a foot inside another rodeo arena, or spend another night outside where he could listen to the whisper of the wind.

Somehow, he got the idea that Ana would understand that. Why exactly, he didn’t know. Maybe it was the way Nightmare had taken to her, or her complete ease with the animal. She’d had no fear, like she’d known the horse wouldn’t hurt her.

Which made the mystery of Ana Stillwater even more tantalizing.

“Earth to Chase,” Clara’s voice broke into his reverie. She shook her head and laughed, handing him a plate with a big slice of warm cake. “Sure as I live and breathe, there’s something afoot with you, Chase Hawks. But I won’t pry. Just you promise me that you’ll be careful.”

“Always.” He smiled and dug into the cake.

* * * * *

Ana backed out of the kitchen door with the mop. The house was clean from top to bottom. Not that it had been dirty to begin with. But a deal was a deal, so she’d scrubbed and dusted and polished and mopped until there was nothing left to clean.

The house had an aura that was distinctly male, except for the room Chase had given her to stay in. Ana was positive that the furniture and quilt on the bed belonged to a woman. She’d stood, eyes closed in the room for a long time, soaking up the vibrations, and she was convinced that whoever the woman was, she had owned the furniture when she was very young, very much in love and also very unhappy, which seemed sad, and also made Ana curious.

She had not gone into Chase’s bedroom at all. Well, she’d started to, but then decided against it. He might be offended if she entered his bedroom without permission and she didn’t want to upset him the first day she was there.

As soon as the kitchen floor dried, she’d start looking to see what the choices were to fix for dinner. But at the moment, she was content to sit down on the back porch step and drink up the energy of the place.

Cody lay down beside her, working his head into her lap as she arranged herself in a meditative position, and Fergi perched on the back of an old wooden rocker, making it sway back and forth. Ana took a good long breath and closed her eyes.

Once again, she was enveloped in a sensation that translated in her emotions as “refuge,” a place a safety. She knew beyond all doubt that despite the face Chase Hawks showed to the world, he needed this sanctuary in order to be able to deal with the rest of the world. Here was where he found peace. And she did not think finding serenity was an easy task for him.

But there was an underlying current of something deeply buried. His house contained vestiges of old emotional wounds, energy that had diminished but not disappeared. Whatever emotional baggage he carried, he was dealing with it but was far from free of it.

This made her question again why he had brought her there. This place was obviously very important to him, almost sacred. Why offer to bring a perfect stranger into the one place you protected from the rest of the world?

She didn’t know the answer, but she did suspect that he was afraid that she would seek to retaliate legally against him for running over her. Maybe he was afraid he’d lose this place if she pressed charges against him or tried to sue him. Maybe the fear of losing what was so dear to him made the risk worth it.

But she did not think that was the sum of it. There was more to Chase Hawks than met the eye. And what met the eye was awfully tempting. Ana had never felt such energy from anyone as she did when his eyes met hers. It was like something physical; it was so strong. And while she knew part of it was purely sexual, she thought perhaps there was something beyond the animal attraction.

Without warning, sadness settled on her like a heavy cloak. Ana tried to decipher the feeling. It was not her own sadness, but from another. She opened herself more to try and touch the center of the sadness, and when she did, an image of Chase appeared in her mind. He stood alone, watching the sun rise, and instead of being awed by the beauty, his heart was filled with sadness and loneliness.

Ana’s eyes popped open in surprise. Boy, wasn’t she a superficial Sally? Just because he was amazing to look at, had this great house, horses, and the greatest dog in the world, she assumed he had it all. There had to be scads of women who would darn near kill to get a taste of him, so why was he so lonely?

Maybe she was wrong, she decided. Maybe her receptors were misaligned or something. But even as she tried to convince herself, she knew what she’d felt was true and that brought out what was either her biggest strength or deadliest weakness. She wanted to ease his sadness.

Which meant that the first thing she had to do was to get dinner started and then she was going to give his house a good cleansing. Once that was done, she was going to recharge the house with positive energy and when he got home, it would be to a house filled with good, happy vibes.

With her mission clear, she rose and went into the house, Cody one step behind.