Gynn Mysteries - The Romeo Effect (On Hold)

Chapter 17

Roger unlocked the door and held it open as Bruce carried Lena inside. He hadn't the heart to wake her and it was partly his fault she was asleep. It took two more bottles of wine to convince her not to walk out of his office and seek James Wolfe out. Talking Lena out of murder had been a challenge. The state of mind she had been in, left little doubt she might have tried to kill the bounty hunter. Bruce knew there was no way Lena could be the same if she had.

Eventually, her exhaustion got its way and she curled up in her chair and fell asleep.  

"Roger leave the keys on the table over there," he said in a low voice.

"Will you be long, sir?"

Bruce glanced down at the sleeping woman in his arms. She looked peaceful and all the weight she was carrying on her shoulders for awhile was off of them.

"I'll be staying. Come back in the morning to collect me."

"Yes sir."

Roger's eyes narrowed on Lena as he turned to go.

"What is it, Roger?"

"Is it wise, sir?"

Bruce  stared at her. Lena was no killer, but she could wake up and disregard the conversation. Her survival instincts were on high alert. With the possibility of wensen still so fresh in her system, she could heed it and follow through on her desire.

"Leaving her now would be a poor decision on my part. Next thing I know, I'm getting  call saying she's been arrested for murder. What then? Cannot exactly drag her out of that sort of hole, now can I?"

"No sir."

"No indeed. It takes a few weeks for the power to subside. It's fresh in her system, so I'll stick around, make sure reason has been restored. I need to make sure Lena is in control."

Without another word, Roger headed out, shutting the door behind him. Bruce trekked upstairs to Lena's bedroom and laid her on the bed. He carefully without waking her took off her shoes, socks and jeans then pulled the sheets and cover over her as she rolled onto her stomach. She was muttering something incoherent into the pillow, he tried to hear what it was, but the muttering stopped and it was all the stirring she did.

Bruce shoved his hands into his pockets and watched over her for a few minutes. Wandering about her room, he checked to make sure all was secure and found himself lingering in the threshold of the library. He leaned against the doorframe, and crossed his ankles letting his gaze sweep around the space.

Her obsession was borderline crazy in his opinion. His gaze fell on a small canary vase. It was made of clay. He hadn't seen it before, so he strolled in. He crouched down beside it and tilted it, peering in. A small parchment was inside. He stuck two fingers inside and retrieved it. It was an Enochian spell on how to capture a spirit of smoke.

"Geez."

It contained barbaric instructions on how to treat the creature, to maintain hold over it, how to ingest some of the power and a few more terrible things. He jammed the parchment back inside and stood.

There were other new items added to the space besides the canary vase. He shook his head. He couldn't help her with any of this. Lena was battling against a part of herself, and it was her battle to win. Unfortunately, what she wanted could not be achieved. She sought something, he knew only a legitimate act of god could do. Lena wanted to be mortal. Fully mortal.

Bruce raised his head, "How about it?"

He hadn't expected an answer. He could understand why Lena would want that. She didn't have a good opinion of her people. Her experiences with Jinns left her hating herself and from what she shared with him, her encounters had not been pleasant or kind. It hadn't helped when her father tried to take her heart and continued now to get it.