Witchlock by Dianna Love

done.”    
    Adrianna answered, “Thank you.”  
    His gaze roamed over Evalle’s torn and bloody shirt, now covered by his jacket, but he conceded. “Let’s go somewhere close and eat. I’m starving.”  
    “Me, too,” Evalle agreed, glad to feel harmony return. “I know a place just east of the park that’s open all night.”  
    “Works for me,” Adrianna agreed. “I have my car here. I can drop you at Storm’s SUV.”  
    When they reached Adrianna’s Lexus sedan, she slid into the driver’s seat as Storm held the front passenger door for Evalle.  
    Adrianna murmured, “What’s up with him?”  
    Evalle whispered, “Think he’s tired. He ran all the way here from South Georgia in his jaguar form.”  
    Once Evalle and Storm transferred to his truck, Storm drove silently as Adrianna followed them to the Metro Café Diner, which stayed open twenty-four-seven. Evalle’s mouth started watering as soon as she entered the café. She slid into one of the red vinyl booths with Storm on her right and Adrianna across from them.  
    Vintage rock played softly in the background, entertaining a dozen customers enjoying late-night meals. A little quiet for a Saturday night, but it was close to midnight at a diner in a peaceful suburb. Not some party club in downtown Atlanta. Two young men sat at the bar nursing beers and thumbing their smart phones. They’d paused long enough to scope out Adrianna and Evalle until Storm had unloaded his alpha stare in their direction.  
    The men decided to stick to safer entertainment on the internet.  
    Adrianna requested hot tea, but Storm and Evalle made up for her meager request with their food orders. Between shifting from human form to jaguar and racing back to Atlanta on four legs, Storm must have burned a ton of calories. Evalle hadn’t eaten a decent meal since he’d left, mainly because she’d been eating her own food.  
    Grabbing a meal now took the pressure off of her cooking at home.  
    Score.  
    With the waitress out of the way, Adrianna leaned forward and said, “Give me a moment and I’ll create a privacy spell that will allow the waitress to pass through when she returns.”  
    Storm’s fingers covered Evalle’s hand, warming her from the soul out again. Maybe he was only tired, as she’d told Adrianna.  
    Adrianna leaned back, closed her eyes and murmured a soft chant. When she sat forward again, she asked, “Can you free up some time very soon?”  
    “I can, but Evalle doesn’t need to help,” Storm answered before Evalle had a chance to speak.  
    She gritted her teeth and said, “We both made commitments to Adrianna. We’re both paying up. End of discussion.”  
    A flash of anger rushed off of Storm. Too bad.  
    He had to get past this uber-protective mode he was in. Had she known becoming his mate was going to flip a switch and throw him into overdrive when it came to her safety, she wouldn’t have ...  
    Okay, she still would have become his mate.  
    Regardless, they lived in a dangerous world, and Adrianna had come through more than once on tight timelines. Evalle would not put her off any longer if Adrianna had something pressing.  
    Plus, Evalle had wanted to know Adrianna’s secrets for a long time. No Sterling witch joined VIPER just for the exercise.  
    Evalle said, “We should be able to get a couple days off after the last few weeks of nonstop work for VIPER. What do you need us to do?”  
    Storm said nothing, but he did lean in to listen.  
    Adrianna drew herself up, shoulders back like a polite child waiting to recite English homework. “I came to VIPER for a reason. They needed a dark witch and I needed to find someone powerful enough to help me, but also a being I could trust to not betray me. That limits the field greatly. I didn’t expect to find two, but it will give us a better chance of succeeding.”  
    Evalle had heard some of the Beladors speculating about Adrianna’s reason for joining up,