After checking on the local places, like Nightshades, Otto's Oddities, the Havoc Hotel then cruising past the bars--Rage, The Eighth and O'Malley's, Lilly headed out to check the Farm-to-Market roads around town before her shift ended at seven.

"Unit 1315 Spellfire." Her call to Terri Torarcane, the night dispatcher. She glanced at the dashboard clock. "It's oh-six-fifteen. Think I'll head over to Wiley Road and see if anyone is stupid enough to be drag racing this time of the night."

"Nice catch on that burglary, 1315. Junior is pitching a fit in his cell. Says it wasn't him. I think 318 is about ready to hog-tie him and stuff a dirty sock in his mouth." The dispatcher's chuckle came out softly through the radio mic. "The deputy informed the suspect that if you caught him, he was guilty and going to jail. Period. Junior shut up right fast."

"That man definitely has a way with words. And if that doesn't convince a person to get quiet, one of those dead-in-the-night stares from a vampire deputy would put a shiver down anyone's back."

"You headed for FM 601, Lilly?"

"10-4."

"Be careful. Even after Marissa put that hex on the road, kids sometimes try dragging anyway. A few still don't believe lightening will strike at eighty miles an hour." The voice hummed a bit as if the dispatcher were thinking aloud. "Have any idea how many car engines got flamed before those kids got the message?" Full laughter floated out through the radio now.

"Too many for my taste. None of those kids were hurt, of course. That's not the way Marissa set it up, but there were several that got mighty singed." Lilly pulled the Crown Victoria patrol car to a halt at a stop sign. "I'll talk to you later, Dispatch. Oh," she paused for effect. "Say hi to Diz for me." At the other end of the airwaves, Lilly heard a choking sound as if the woman didn't know exactly how to respond. "1315 out." She signed off to the unusual sound of silence.

Terri Toracane always had something to say ... unless a person mentioned Diz--Merratodiz--one of Spellfire's Shadow People. Diz wanted to marry Terri so badly a person could sense it immediately. She tried to ignore him, poor guy. Lilly loved giving the night dispatcher, a card-carrying certified witch, a hard time about her admirer.

As her car rolled quietly down the backcountry road, she thanked the powers-that-be that someone finally came up with a way to stop the kids from trying to kill themselves. Several years earlier, a few of the Spellfire boys got together on the three-mile straight stretch of FM 601 to test their cars for speed by drag racing. After two boys were seriously injured, the Town Council asked for paranormal help. They called upon Marissa Gael with her ability to produce lightening and her gypsy ways of sneakiness to cast a curse. Now when any car hit eighty miles an hour, lightening swooped down without warning and fried the engine. That stopped the kids cold. No one had the money to replace engines time after time though Gak, the gremlin who owned the local garage, had no objections to the money each engine repair brought in.

A yawn caught Lilly off-guard. Riding patrol most of the night--well, except for the paperwork she did after booking Junior--bored her. Chasing after him was as much exercise as she'd gotten in the last few days. She really needed some down time so she could have a nice long run through the back forest area where she wouldn't bother anyone.

Resigned to finishing her shift in silence and boredom, Lilly pulled her car over to the side of the road where TXDOT--Texas Department of Transportation--threw out some spare asphalt the summer before. Parked behind some bushes, just off the road, she could watch for anyone speeding down the lonely road in the pre-dawn light.

Ah, now this is the life! Jordan Granger daydreamed as he drove down FM 601. With no deadline for arriving in the town called Spellfire, nevertheless he drove far too fast. He barely noticed the speedometer creeping faster and faster. Seventy miles per hour. Seventy-four. Seventy-six.

What he did notice eventually were the red, blue and white lights flashing in his rear view mirror.

Dang, where'd he come from? He glanced down to see that his speedometer registered almost eighty miles an hour Holy shit! His foot eased off the gas pedal and gently tapped the brake pedal as he looked for a good place to pull over. Coming out of his private world of make-believe, Jordan knew he was about to get his first speeding ticket. At last he found a flat safe spot to pull over and stopped. The patrol car pulled up behind him, but no one got out immediately.

Checking out my car tags, he thought as he dug in his wallet for his driver's license and insurance card. With both in hand, he watched in the rear view mirror as the deputy got out of the car and headed to the back of his. At the end of the car, the man paused then eased up to the driver's side back door before speaking.

"Step out of the car, please."

Wow, a woman cop. Jordan's first thought. Man, is she big! His second thought. Ho-ly shit! His third and last coherent thought.

At the exact moment Jordan Granger looked up into the amber eyes of the Sheriff's deputy, he fell in love. Hard and fast. Forever and ever. He opened the door, stepped out carefully--he was in love but not stupid. Fast moves around law enforcement officers often landed said fast mover up against the car--hard. So he eased out. His senses absorbed her into his body, and he knew if they never met again, he'd always remember her.

Built like a lady wrestler, long, hard looking, muscled and heavy, the deputy had the face of an angel. Jordan was lost--gone beyond lust into the world of love.

"License and insurance registration please."