Possession With Intent

A Bonjake FanFiction

By V.C. Turner

Chapter One

The Calling

Bonnie slowly turned the tattered, yellow pages of the Grimoire, being careful not to damage the delicate paper. It slid through her shaking fingers while she searched for the correct spell.

Based on where the book was hidden in Sheila Bennett's attic, she believed Grams never intended for her to find the deadly treasure.

It laid nestled at the bottom of a trunk full of random fabrics, and wrapped in a paisley green cloth.

Written mostly in Latin, the spells inside led her to believe that Sheila practiced more than just traditional magic. Shadier forces lurked within the book's pages. Darker magic existed - woven throughout the tapestry of her family.

After all the admonishment she received for trying her hand at Expression, Bonnie was shocked to see that she wasn't the first Bennett to dabble in morally questionable magic.

Grams had a secret.

Bonnie needed to learn it.

The spell book appeared to be ancient – its binding falling apart and but still secured by interlaced thread that dated back to the mid-1600s.

The words inside would lead her to something powerful and dangerous: two words that seemed synonymous with the Bennett blood flowing through Bonnie's veins.

The young witch refused to allow her excitement get away from her. She needed to hone her skills, and not become distracted by the history cradled in her palms.

This was important. She had a mission to complete after all.

Her quest began several weeks earlier.

She collected artifacts from all over Mystic Falls, although "collecting" wasn't the best word to use considering how the items came into her possession.

The police considered it breaking and entering, trespassing, and theft.

Bonnie felt differently.

She believed taking items that rightfully belonged to her family wasn't stealing. It was justice.

Her antics had become somewhat of a legend in her small town. They referred to her as the "Relic Rogue" in the local newspaper. She found that title amusing, if not a little ostentatious.

Couldn't they have called her Cat Woman instead?

Of course, the thief's identity remained unknown. She'd never been seen or photographed, thanks to a new cloaking spell taught to her by her cousin Lucy.

Creeping into houses at night had become easier over the past few weeks. She cast a spell to locate any Bennett artifacts within a 20-mile radius. There were 13 of them in the area, most of which were hidden in abandoned buildings. The rest were discovered in historic landmarks and other public places much harder to infiltrate.

She managed to bypass security systems and climb through windows to get what she needed.

The Mystic Falls Historical Society possessed the last item: an amber jewel surrounded by a silver casing. Located in the museum section of City Hall, it was the hardest artifact to retrieve.

It held the key to the channeling the dark magic she needed.

Bonnie refused to stop until it was in her hands.

Too much Bennett blood had been spilled already for her to make it this far. She had to keep going, no matter what the cost.

She'd spent years sacrificing herself for others. This time, she wanted to make sure that any sacrifice she made would be for her family.

There were very few Bennetts left in the world and only one remained within the borders of Mystic Falls.

That's why she had to call on them on this night. She planned on using a summoning spell to channel three of the most powerful Bennett witches in history: Qetsiyah, Emily, and Sheila Bennett.

Bonnie settled herself on a rug in the center of her living room with the book laid out in front of her. She'd moved into the apartment only a few weeks earlier and loved the independence that came along with having her own place. She could practice her magic and not feel self-conscious with Caroline or Elena in the room with her.

What she despised was the thinness of the walls. Although she lived next to fairly innocuous neighbors, she still felt guilty for any noise or sound she made – fearing that she'd hear a resounding knock at the door or a scream through the walls for her to be quiet.

Bonnie had never tried such a spell before, so she felt a bit uneasy about what might come next.

She closed her eyes and began to chant. The candles around the room ignited, as usual.

Then the windows flew open on their own, sending in a gush of wind that knocked over a glass lamp, shattering it into pieces.

Bonnie winced at the sharp sound, but kept going.

The room began to shake and furniture rose from the floor, crashing back down as if her apartment was near the epicenter of an earthquake.

"No, no!" she shouted to no one.

The doors of her kitchen cabinets flew open, sending several ceramic cups into the living room and crashing into the wall. One of the broken shards hit her on the cheek, leaving a painful cut in her skin.

Bonnie stopped the spell and every levitating object in her apartment came crashing down at once.

She covered her eyes and waited for a resounding knock on her door.

Ten minutes.

Officer Jake Riley had less than ten minutes remaining on his shift before heading home and slipping into his cold and slightly unforgiving bed. The damned thing offered very little in the means of comfort and since he'd been sleeping alone for years, it offered even less in the form of warmth.

Still, he needed the rest.

He'd spent days working on a new case for the department: A string of thefts that appeared to have no pattern; only to Jake - they did.

The items taken were all antiques, made of silver or gold, and stolen just before the break of dawn. The victims of the robberies had nothing common at all – at least that's the way it appeared on the surface.

In reality, Jake knew there was something more to it.

He'd taken on the case because he enjoyed a good mystery.

The items had little value other than the ability to be melted down into their base elements and sold, however no one had taken them to into pawn stores or jewelry shops since the thefts began a few weeks ago.

The dark brown accordion file folder sat on his passenger seat. The edges grew worn from him opening and closing the thing over and over again since the thefts began. He patted it gently, as if to say to the thief: "I'm coming after you."

Crime happened so infrequently in Mystic Falls. That's what he liked about it. The peacefulness of the small town drew him there from his previous posting in Atlanta, Georgia.

The other officers in the department had put the case aside, opting to focus on other matters, but Jake couldn't let it go so he promised himself he'd study it at home when he had time.

Officer Riley's final call of the night came over the radio at 11:50 p.m. He was given the task of investigating a noise complaint that happened to be en route to his house.

He pulled into the parking lot of a small apartment complex located on Baker Street. Only a handful of apartments were housed in the building, so finding the culprit would be relatively easy.

An elderly woman met him at the front door and immediately pointed upstairs to the apartment above her.

She wore a pink and white housecoat and a frown on her face.

"It's that girl upstairs," she accused, "Making all kinds of racket like there's a fight."

Great! Jake thought. His minor noise complaint escalated to domestic abuse. He considered calling for backup as he ascended the stairs, but changed his mind as he rose the steps to the silent second floor.

"Car 47 – Dispatch; 10-23 at Noise Complaint, Baker Street," he said into his radio.

"10-4 Car 47. Do you need assistance?" the dispatcher answered.

"Car 47 – Dispatch: stand by," he responded, walking up to the door of 2A and listening for additional noises.

He heard muffled sounds, but no screaming or signs of domestic violence, so he knocked.

"Mystic Falls Police Department," his authoritative voice boomed.

A set of small footsteps shuffled toward the door before he heard the deadbolt disengage.

Jake didn't know what to expect, but he kept his hand one hand on his nightstick just in case the woman in question needed protection from an attacker.

The door opened after a few seconds and the professionalism he'd built up over the past few years in law enforcement began to fall away.

Jake stared at the beautiful woman standing in front of him.

Her caramel skin glowed in the candlelight that illuminated her apartment. Lush waves of dark hair cascaded onto her shoulders and he wondered what it would feel like just to run his hands through them.

Jake watched as she drew her full bottom lip into her delicious mouth and bit down in it.

Jake never wanted to be a lip so badly in his life.

Her mouth moved into a perfect "O" shape, and she must have said something but he'd been too distracted to hear.

Thankfully she repeated it.

"Yes, officer?" she asked.

Jake thought the lovely noisemaker had no idea that her soft voice shook him to his core.

He finally found pulled himself together after a few merciful seconds.

"Hello, Miss Bennett," he began, "I'm, um – I'm officer Riley. I'm sorry do this, but I was called because of the noise."

"I see," she said, biting her lip again, "I'm so sorry, officer."

"One of your neighbors said they heard crashing sounds – glass breaking, some swearing and yelling," he continued.

"Again, I apologize," Bonnie added.

Jake did a quick scan of the room before speaking again.

"Can I ask what's going on?"

The woman shifted her weight from side to side, blinking up at him innocently with a pair of hypnotic green eyes.

Her small stature didn't detract from the power she seemed to wield within her tiny form. He had no doubt that if he stayed in her presence much longer, she'd find a way to steal his heart.

Jake's police-issued black boots felt like they were made of lead, anchoring him to the hardwood flooring outside of her doorway.

"I was moving some things around, and, well, I ended up breaking and dropping more than I moved," the beauty said.

He read her lie easily, so he attempted the subtle approach to getting into the apartment.

"Oh, you're not in any trouble, but I'd like to come in and take a look around to make sure everything is okay," he said.

She blinked up at him innocently, yet he knew she hid something behind her door.

She looked behind her and turned back toward him.

"I'm fine, really," she said, looking frightened – but not afraid of the officer standing at her door.

Jake considered the possibility that she might be a victim of abuse. A small knot formed on her cheek and she appeared nervous at allowing him into her apartment. He would need probable cause to go further.

"Look," he said in a low voice, "If anyone's hurting you, I'll handle it."

"No one else is here, officer. Really, I'm fine," she pointed out, holding onto the door for dear life.

A large shadow moved along the floor about 20 feet behind her. A loud crash soon followed, and Jake pushed himself into the apartment with his gun drawn.

He stalked through the dwelling, searching through each room despite the protests of young Miss Bennett.

She was terrified.

He needed to know why.

After searching each room, he holstered his gun and radioed the "All Clear" to Dispatch.

Certain he'd seen something, Jake continued his interrogation.

"Miss Bennett, I'm going to need you to tell me what's really going on," he asserted, avoiding her eyes in case she was able to distract him again.

"Nothing, really," she pleaded.

Jake scanned the room again. He'd heard the stories about Mystic Falls before arriving in the small, country town. Strange disappearances. Unexplained deaths ruled as animal attacks. Ghosts that could interact with the living.

Just stories, he thought. None of it could possibly be true.

Yet he'd seen something: a shadow or presence that could not be explained, and I didn't look human. There were no sounds of running footsteps and no other exits from which someone could escape.

Jake tilted his head, regarding her with skepticism. The clock perched on the wall confirmed that he was now off duty, but his police instincts ignored that fact.

"Miss Bennett, I saw something move behind you," he pointed out.

She jumped at his words, blinking fast with confusion lurking behind those emerald irises.

She sucked in a shaky breath and answered him.

"I don't know what you mean," she added, looking around the room.

Jake didn't believe her, but he felt he she needed to trust him first.

The dark figure he'd seen wasn't his imagination. He didn't feel tired enough to hallucinate a creature lurking in the shadows of Mystic Falls. Some evil stalked her.

Bonnie Bennett held the key.

"You do, but you won't tell me yet. I can protect you if you need it Miss Bennett," he asserted.

"I don't need protection, officer. Also, don't say Miss Bennett," she smiled up at him, "I'm Bonnie."

"Well, don't call me officer," he added, "I'm off duty right now. I'm Jake. I don't plan on arresting you for anything. I just want the truth."

He reached forward and touched the emerging wound on her face.

Embarrassed that he'd acted on impulse, Jake pulled his hand back quickly.

"I'm fine," she said, blushing.

"You're bleeding," he added, "Where's your first aid kit?"

Bonnie stared up at him with a sheepish smile. She hesitated for a moment, displaying a guilty look on her beautiful face.

"I don't have one," she pointed out.

Jake knew he had a first aid kit in a duffle bag in the back of the patrol car. He asked himself it his desire to help her was personal or professional.

She'd been hurt. It didn't matter. Professional or personal, Jake still wanted to help her.

She needed him.

He needed answers.

"I'll be right back," he told her.

Running downstairs, he passed the woman who filed the complaint. She was quick to thank him for telling "that little girl upstairs to turn down the racket."

There was a tone in the woman's voice he didn't appreciate; an underlying current of hate he sensed dripping from the woman's voice.

Once he returned to the building, Jake made certain to stomp loudly up the stairs back to Bonnie's apartment.

An expression of caution still played across her face, but she allowed him to sit her on her center kitchen island so he could clean her up.

A warm tingling sensation flowed down his right hand when he touched her face.

"I've heard stories about this town," he noted, opening up his bag and pulling out his kit.

"What kind of stories?" she asked.

"Ghost stories. Vampire stories… witch stories," he noted, waiting for her reaction.

He got what he wanted when she pulled back a few inches and blinked at him when he used the word "witch."

"Do you believe in that sort of thing?"

"The supernatural?" he asked, "I think I do. Why? Do you have something to tell me?"

"Oh, no. Nothing …it's just that, it's pretty unbelievable – the existence of such, creatures," Bonnie stated.

She bit her lip again.

"Do you always do that when you're nervous?" Jake asked.

Bonnie placed her fingers to her lips, and then brought them down slowly. He watched the motion with curiosity, wondering what kissing her would be like.

Yep. Completely unprofessional.

"I'm not nervous," she insisted.

Jake gave her a look of disbelief while he swabbed away the blood with an alcohol wipe and applied a small bandage on her cut.

"Does it hurt?" he asked.

Bonnie shook her head.

What he did next surprised them both.

Jake stroked Bonnie's cheek with the back of his hand. It was a long, intimate gesture that lasted longer than necessary; especially when dealing with a woman he'd just met. He couldn't explain it other than the fact that at that moment, he had to touch her.

Since meeting Officer Jake Riley less than 20 minutes earlier, Bonnie battled the incessant urge to run into his arms and have him hold her all night. For some reason, he made her feel safe; and not the kind of safe that usually comes from feeling relief that the cavalry is coming to the rescue.

No. This was different. He was different and she couldn't understand why. He wasn't a witch. She would have sensed that. He didn't seem supernatural at all, other than being incredibly handsome and insatiably curious.

His six foot frame towered over her. His black hair was cut short and a thin beard decorated his perfect cheekbones and chin.

Officer Jake's blue-grey eyes also held a certain familiarity she found intriguing.

They'd never met.

Or had they?

Bonnie looked down at the hand stroking her face, but didn't pull away. She had every reason to, but she couldn't will herself to even attempt the movement.

Suddenly, Jake pulled his hand away as if his touch shocked him.

"I'm – I'm so sorry about that," he said, "I shouldn't have done that, Miss Bennett."

Jake appeared guilty, as if he'd committed a sin and needed to repent quickly.

Bonnie shook her head.

"I said call me Bonnie, and it's fine," she responded quietly, "I'm not going to

arrest you for it."

She punctuated her statement with the batting of her emerald eyes, although she had little experience with flirting.

It must have worked. Jake smiled down at her. It was a genuine, sexy smile that threatened to melt away the walls of ice she'd built up around her heart.

"Look, I don't need to know all your secrets. I just want to know what I'm up against," Jake added.

Bonnie debated telling him. Bringing him into her world could be dangerous for them both, yet the darkness she may have unleashed could turn out to be just as deadly.

"Some secrets need to be kept…and others, need to be brought to light," she said.

Bonnie took his hand and placed it on top of her own with his palm facing up. She looked in his eyes and closed his hand. When she opened it, a small flame rose up out of his palm.

Jake jumped back, shaking his hand in a helpless attempt to put out the fire. Bonnie bit back a chuckle before grabbing him and chanting a small spell to extinguish the flame.

He backed up against the counter.

"What the hell was that?" he asked, already knowing her answer.

"Magic," Bonnie admitted.

"You're – You're a – witch?"

Bonnie nodded.

"I'm one of the last of the Bennett line. Most of my family died fighting against the evil – both supernatural and human – that has haunted this town for generations," she explained, "We fight. We win sometimes. We lose sometimes. We die most of the time."

Jake looked puzzled, but she could tell he wanted to know more. She watched him swallow hard, ingesting what she was saying.

"Why do you do it? Risk your life fighting evil?" he asked earnestly.

Bonnie considered his question for a moment.

"Probably the same reason you do it," she asserted.

"It's my job," he said.

"You could quit," she smiled up at him.

"No, I don't think I could," Jake responded.

"Why?" she asked.

"I guess you could say, it's a calling. I'm supposed to do the right thing," he answered, his voice low. He probably didn't mean for his tone to sound sexy, nevertheless, but to Bonnie, it did.

She withheld her shudder.

"I suppose mine is a calling too," she pointed out, "I just wish I wasn't alone in all this."

Jake walked back up to the counter to stand in front of her again. He placed a hand on each side of her and looked her into her eyes.

"You're not alone, Bonnie," Jake told her.

She turned from him; not wanting him to see the emerging blush on her cheeks. He gently cupped her chin and turned her face toward him again.

"You are not alone," he repeated.

Bonnie felt something warmer than just the sensation of his body heat so close to her own.

"I know. I know. This is your profession after all," she added, still not looking directly at him.

She felt her heart dance beneath her skin and tried to calm it as best she could. Being attracted to a stranger could prove deadly in a town like Mystic Falls.

Jake lightly touched the bandage on her cheek, then leaned in as if to give her a kiss. He stopped before his lips touched her skin, then pulled away slowly as if realizing his mistake.

Bonnie felt certain her heart stopped for longer than it should have; enough to make her feel weak from the moment.

Jake closed his eyes and backed away from the counter.

"I'm so sorry," he said, "I had no right to do that."

Bonnie bit her lip, then realized he'd been right: she did bite her lip when she became nervous.

"It's fine," she reassured him.

"No, no it's not," his voice filled with guilt and a bit of regret, "That was completely unprofessional."

"And you can't allow yourself to be unprofessional?" she asked.

Jake waited a second before answering her.

"Well, no. At least not while I'm still in uniform," Jake pointed out.

A moment of uncomfortable silence passed between them as Bonnie chose her next words carefully. A battle raged inside her between the good reliable girl and the emerging woman that wanted to test the limits of... everything.

The woman won.

"So, then, take it off," she flirted, biting her lip again. Damn that habit, she thought to herself.

Jake's nervous chuckle and coy smile told her he'd considered her request, but forced himself to reject it.

"I think we both know I can't do that," he said, but he didn't back away from her like she expected.

He turned and looked around the room again before facing her.

"What was that thing?" he asked, turning back into a somber tone.

"I don't know yet," she answered, "I need to do some investigating first."

Jake nodded as if he'd already accepted that the world he knew no longer existed.

He backed away from the counter, stuffed the first aid kit into his duffel bag, and zipped it closed before looking at her.

"Is there any way I can help you? I don't really like leaving you here – like this," Jake stated. His posture more relaxed as he leaned against the kitchen wall.

Bonnie wanted him to stay, but she had no right to ask anything of him; especially since they'd just met. She felt close to him, but that familiarity could easily be explained away by her desire to attach herself to another caring human being.

"Jake, I don't see how you can help me do anything other than clean up this mess of an apartment," she said.

He smiled at her, then removed his gun belt and grabbed the broom leaning against the wall next to the refrigerator.

Bonnie hopped off the counter and pulled the broom from his hands.

"I was joking," she pointed out.

She walked into the living room after grabbing the dustpan. She began cleaning and picking up debris from around the room, being careful not to cut herself a second time on the small pieces glass and porcelain.

Jake joined her. As he started to kneel down, she stopped him.

"You're off duty," she smiled, "Don't you have any off duty clothes?"

He stood up, grabbed his bag and motioned toward her bathroom.

"Mind if I?" he asked.

Bonnie nodded.

A few minutes later, he emerged wearing a grey muscle shirt and a pair of black gym shorts. She looked him up and down, appreciating the results of his police training.

Jake soon busied himself with moving furniture back into place and picking up trash while she swept up the remainder of the glass.

Once they were finished, they plopped down on the sofa like old friends.

Bonnie watched him in the candlelight. Her new friend was a mystery that needed to be unraveled, yet something else lurked beneath the surface of his chiseled jaw and full lips. Her desire to tell him all of her secrets made her wonder if he had some magical power allowing him to compel witches. He turned to face her and gave her a smirk that made her hot in long forgotten places.

She drew her legs up to her chest, feeling exposed under his gaze. He'd turned her into a live wire, stripped bare by his words and brief touch; a touch she wanted to feel again and again.

"Cold?" he asked, noticing her near fetal position on the couch. She nodded and he pulled a blue and white quilt from the back of the sofa, then wrapped it around her.

"What was the spell you were working on? You know, the noisy one," he asked.

"It was a summoning spell," she admitted, "I was trying to raise someone I loved."

The look of shock on his face was almost humorous. She bit back a chuckle.

"Raise them from the – the dead?" he asked, swallowing uncomfortably.

"Yeah, something like that," she answered, "Well, exactly that."

"Bringing back the dead. Wouldn't something like that be dangerous?" he asked with a hint of warning in his voice as he looked around again.

"It can be," she responded, meekly.

Jake appeared to consider her words.

"Do you want me to stick around – help keep an eye on things?" he offered.

"Jake, you don't have to stay," she said, "There's nothing you can do for me."

"I can do this," he said softly, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her to his chest.

His warmth nearly overwhelmed her, but she refused to move. She missed the contact and she sensed, he did as well. She didn't understand how someone so handsome could seem so lonely.

"I'll go if that's what you want," Jake told her.

His soulful stare into her eyes didn't help her decision-making process.

"It's not, but we don't know each other and I don't want to drag you into this," said Bonnie.

Jake lifted her chin and looked in her eyes.

"You're not dragging me into anything," Jake insisted.

She furrowed her brow, wondering why he would care.

"Why do you want to help me? A little while ago, I was a 'perp' you were going to arrest," she asked, trying not to appear too defensive.

"I never wanted to arrest you Bonnie," Jake said.

"Then what do you want?" Bonnie asked, watching his eyes to fall briefly to her lips then back up again.

"No comment," he answered with a smile. He looked away from her and toward the open living room window.

A warm breeze swept through the room and bringing with it the scent of fresh flowers from a nearby garden.

"Well, you can at least tell me why your heart is beating so fast. I mean – it's not like you're chasing anyone right now," she flirted.

He tilted his head slightly.

"Technically, I am," he answered, still holding her and being a gentleman about it.

Bonnie blushed.

"Jake, just tell me," she continued, "What do you want to do?"

He took a deep breath before giving her his answer.

"Well, if I'm going to be honest: I wanted to kiss you from the moment you opened that door. But after hearing everything about you, about all of this, I just want to keep you safe," he confessed.

"Understood," she whispered.

Bonnie sighed- not in relief, but in slight disappointment.

A disappointment that vanished the instant he pulled her into his lap.

"I'll save the kissing for another time," Jake added, brushing her hair behind her ear and giving her a smile that made her feel like fainting.

"What if I just stayed until you fell asleep?" he asked.

"Make it all night, and you've got a deal," Bonnie suggested.

Jake scooted into a more comfortable position for the both of them and held her tight.

"Deal," he said back.

Bonnie nodded and placed her head on his shoulder. His steady breathing began to rock her to sleep … in the arms of a man she barely knew, but somehow desperately needed.

Still, in spite of her comfort, she had to admit one truth to herself: something evil had crossed over into Mystic Falls. She wondered if either of them was strong enough to stop it.