Noone POV

Ashley sat at the table in Starbucks and tapped her fingers on it, waiting for Manuel to bring her coffee. He walked over to her and left the tray on the table.

"Your order, My Queen."

"Thank you." She laughed a little, picked up her glass and took a sip.

"What's going on between you and the agent Anoa'i?"

"What do you mean?"

"Ash, we've known each other forever, and you can not hide anything from me. You're having a nervous breakdown." He also drank from his cup.

"He is just annoying me. His self-esteem is too high."

"So you don't like him?" Manuel asked, secretly hoping for a negative answer.

"Of course not." Ashley's eyes widened. "I deal with a lot of idiots, but he is in a different level."

"Talk to me. You always choose the most horrible men, John, Matthew, let's not forget the captain of the basketball team Trevor...."

"I still can't believe you broke his nose..." she shook her head.

"He deserved it. No one can make my Ashley cry and get away with it."

"You were always here for me and protected me, you were closer to me than my father. When you left, I realized how much you meant to me. The rift between my father and me deepened. I never thought I'd find such a good friend again. But then Bex appeared." A smile appeared on her face, she drank again from her cup and continued to talk: "as unbelievable as it may sound at the beginning, we both didn't like each other. She thought I was daddy's spoiled little girl. She was too boring for me. After one of my regular arguments with my father, I went to a bar to have a drink and forget about my problems. Needless to say, I overdid it... I couldn't stand on my feet. Bex worked at the same bar. When she saw me in what condition I was, she took me to her home without thinking. The next day, she made me breakfast and asked me to talk. She listened to me without asking any questions, and suggested that I could stay as long as I wanted. I didn't want to see my father, so I agreed. We both started to get to know each other, and over time we realized that we had a lot in common. More than you can imagine."

"Wow. I'm glad you found someone like Becky as a friend. I don't know much about her, but if she can win your love, then she's a good person. It's not easy to break down the walls around Ashley Fliehr's heart."

"Yes, she's amazing. But now we must get up. I promised Bex I'd help her with dinner."

"What are we waiting for? Let's go."

...

"Ready to start?"Becky asked, closing the closet door behind her. She sat down next to a low table located in the center of the triquetre, they had drawn earlier with chalk on the floor, and placed candles next to the metal bowl. She lit them one at a time and placed them on the three leafs. Outside, the sun was setting, giving way to the moon.

"Are you sure you want to do this? Maybe there's another way?"

"I have to... I'm tired of this creature from hell killing innocent people." She took a deep breath and picked up the dagger that was also on the table. She put her hand over the bowl and stuck the blade into one of her fingers. There were a few drops of blood in the potion.

"Cum hauritque tenebras lucem, et de duabus animabus merge in unus."

(When the light engulfs the darkness, the two souls will merge into one.)

An unfamiliar room appeared before Becky's eyes. There was a cork board on one of the walls, and on it were pictures of all the people Freddie had killed. He had carefully planned each murder. In the center of the board was a photograph of a woman Rebecca knew ... Mercedese's ... an FBI agent and Colby's ex-fiancee. Freddie grew bolder with each sacrifice. He felt untouchable. Becky came out of her trance, shock and horror on her face. She was silent and just stared...

"Bex, what did you see? "asked Ashley, concerned.

"Mercedes..." she said, more like a barely audible whisper.

"Who?" Ashley was confused at this moment. Becky quickly got up and left the room. " Bex " Ashley shouted after her, but Becky continued on her way, paying no attention to her. The redhead went into the next room, turned on the laptop, and started looking for something. "Do you want to explain what's going on?" Again no answer.

"Here it is." a sheet came out the printer, and Ashley picked it up. She looked at it and saw a picture of a beautiful woman with blue hair.

"Who is she?"

"Mercedes, the next victim."

"What's the plan?"

"Follow me ." The two women went back to the closet. Becky pulled a pendulum out of one of the drawers and a map of the city, which she laid on the floor. She took the photo from Ashley's hand and pushed it through the candle flame. The photograph was still in one hand, and in the other the pendulum quickly found out where the Mercedes was. "Let's go."

...

While Ashley was driving her car, she noticed a change in her friend's behavior. Becky squeezed her eyes shut and breathed hard, her face paler than usual.

"Is everything all right, Bex?" Ashley looked at her quickly, then focused on the road again.

"Yes, just keep driving."Her eyes were still tightly closed in a desperate attempt to stop seeing how Freddie was slowly and painfully killing Luke a few weeks ago. She didn't know what was going on, or what in the ritual went wrong to survive this torture. Minutes seemed like hours. The pain, which she thought had lessened, was restored even more. It was as if someone was tearing her soul.

To get into the condominium, where Mercedez lived , turned out to be easier than they imagined. The guard was asleep in his cabin, and they crept past him. They went inside and began reading the nameplates on the doors.

"It's here." Ashley said and pointed to one of the doors "And how do we get in now?"

"It's easy."Becky waved her hand, and the door opened wide. Both nodded and entered cautiously. Each of them had a bottle of decoction in her hand and a dagger hidden in a case at her waist. They entered one of the rooms, and the view was shocking. Mercedez' body lay lifeless in the center of the pentagram. The walls were decorated with blood runes. Becky's eyes filled with tears ... from grief or rage, and she couldn't tell.

"I'll check the other rooms."Ashley left the room, leaving Becky alone. Suddenly, a man with blood-red eyes teleported in front of her-Freddie. He clapped ironically, and there was a cynical smile on his face.

"Did you really think you were going to perform a spiritual connection ritual and I wouldn't feel it? Stupid witch."

"Did you do this?"

"If you're talking about the performance I gave you when you came here, yes it was me?" Anger and rage took over every cell of the body, clutching the little glass bottle in her hand behind her back. Freddie went to her in one quick movement and cut her arm with a knife. Becky felt the steel blade pierce her skin just below the shoulder and screamed in pain. The bottle fell to the ground and broke into thousands of pieces. "You're lucky..." he smiled again. "... if I kill you now, I will die, too. But this wound will remain a memory of never doing magic if you don't know the consequences. He disappeared just as he had appeared. Ashley came running from the next room.

"Bex..." she took her arm and examined her wound. "We need to get you to the hospital."

"No." Becky shook her head. "We can't explain to them what happened. You have a first-aid kit, you will wash the wound and bandage it."

"The wound looks deep, Bex. Please, at least let's go to my neighbor Adam, he's a nurse and won't ask any questions."

"If you trust him, we'll go."

...

At the same time in Joe's apartment.

"Will we talk about what happened today, or will you remain silent for the rest of your life?" Lacey said angry and grabbed the remote from Joe's hand to turn off the TV.

"Hey, I watched this match."

"You didn't answer my question." Lacey was determined to clear things up between her and Joe once and for all.

"What do you want to hear, Lacey? That kiss was a mistake." Joe got up from the sofa where he had been sitting up to that moment and turned around. Lacey took his hand and forced him to look at her again.

"Look in my eyes and say it!" Joe tried to speak, but nothing came out of his mouth. "You can't, because you also know that this kiss was something else, but not a mistake. I've seen it in your eyes for the past few months.

"You're my best friend's sister."

"So what?"

"You don't understand. There are things men don't do. We don't sleep with ex-girlfriends, much less his sisters."

"Why? You want it, and I want it. We're both adults here, Joe. We can be held accountable for our actions."

"Look... " before she kissed him. Joe deceded to took control and bit her lower lip. Layce moaned and he slip his tongue in her mouth. Their tongue danced together for few minutes. They pulled away to took a breath and look into each others eyes. She opened her mouth to say something, but he placed a finger on her lips. "Shhhh... let's just enjoy this moment." He began to suck on her neck, her hands roamed through his hair. And then the phone rang. He was about to stand up when she stopped him.

"Don't go. They can wait."

Colby's POV

I went into the condominium, where Mercedes lived to return her an earring that I found fallen between the cushions of the couch. I went up to her floor and found her door open, which surprised me. I entered slowly and looked around. Everything seemed normal until I entered the living room. The view was terrifying. The walls were painted with the same markings as the previous crime scene, and Mercedez' body was almost unrecognizable. I got down on my knees and began to cry. In recent years, my relationship with Mercedez has not been good, but I loved this woman. I spent incredible moments with her and never wanted anything like this to happen to her. Today she asked me to forgive her, and now she's dead. What did she do to deserve this fate? My breath has stopped in my throat, and I feel as if someone is piercing my heart. This time He's gone too far, it's personal. I don't care what it costs, but I'll put him in jail. I picked up the phone and called Joe. Why doesn't he answer? I hung up and dialed Natty, telling her to send everyone here.

...

We were almost done looking at the crime scene when Joe finally arrived.

"Colby, what are you doing here?" he asked in Surprise.

"The investigation against me is over. I'm back in charge of this team. You'd know if you answered your damn phone." I screamed and went out. I got into my car and drove aimlessly. Then I realized there was only one place I wanted to be.

I rang the doorbell and I waited. As I was about to leave, Rebecca opened the door.

"Colby, what brings you here so late?" she was wearing a hoodie, which seemed a little strange.

"I didn't know where else to go."

"Come in."

Words:1976

Hi lovelies, it's been a long time from my last post here. But I think you already knows that I publish a chapter only when I'm inspired and I like what I wrote. I can't help I'm a perfectionist. I hope like this chapter too. Please voted and comments. I want to hear your opinion about this chapter and Joe and Lacey relationship.

Love you all.