Spirits, Spells, and Wedding Bells

by Deanna Chase

  I didn’t hesitate. I immediately pulled my shirt over my head, then moved on to the button of my jeans as I made my way toward him.

  His green eyes glinted as he watched me. “You’re the most gorgeous thing I’ve ever seen.”

  “Yeah? Well, the view is about to get a lot more interesting.” I shoved my pants down and stepped out of them, leaving me in only my bra and underwear.

  “I could stare at you for hours.” He ran the tip of his finger over the lace of my waistband, making gooseflesh ripple over my skin.

  “I’m going to be awfully disappointed if all you do is stare,” I said, grabbing and yanking the towel away from him.

  “Oh, don’t you worry about that.” His gaze traveled the length of my body, heat and pure need flashing in his eyes. “I want you more than I’ve ever wanted anything.”

  I dropped my gaze and swallowed a gasp. Judging by the undeniable evidence of his excitement, he wasn’t lying. Licking my lips, I forced my eyes back to his and said, “I love you.”

  He reached behind me and freed me of my favorite bra. After skimming his fingers lightly over my breasts, his hands dropped to my waist. With his lips meeting mine, he pushed down the lace clinging to my hips.

  I stepped backward, leading us into the shower and the steam that engulfed us.

  Strong arms were wrapped around me when I woke a few hours later. After our shower, Julius and I had fallen into bed with our arms around each other. My heart and soul were both full but still weary. When I turned and placed a soft kiss on his lips, the wonderfully warm man pressed his solid body closer to mine, hugging me tightly.

  “I don’t want to wake up yet,” I mumbled, wishing time could stand still, that we could live in this quiet moment for forever.

  “You have to, love,” he whispered. “It’s almost time for me to go.”

  Pain sliced through my heart and I flipped over, staring into his troubled green eyes. “You can tell?”

  He nodded and brushed his lips over mine. “I get a faint tingling in my gut. It just started.”

  I cupped his cheeks with both my hands, gazing at him as if I were trying to memorize every detail of his handsome face. As if I had to. His image was already burned in my mind. “Have you seen Sam?”

  “Just for a few brief moments. She’s not exactly coherent yet.” He gave me a reassuring smile. “But try not to worry. I’ll get through to her and be home in time to meet you at the altar.”

  “You better,” I said, burying my face in his shoulder. “I have the perfect dress and…” Tears burned my eyes again. “Dammit. I don’t care about the dress. I just want you.”

  “I know, Pyper.” He kissed me softly on the top of the head right before he faded away, his body heat still surrounding me. I flopped over onto his side of the bed, soaking up the last remnants of him and trying not to think about what would happen if we couldn’t break Sam’s hold on Julius.

  My phone rang, disrupting the silence of my bedroom. I glanced up to see Sasha’s name flashing on the screen.

  “Tell me you have good news,” I said into the phone.

  “Unfortunately, I don’t. The Witches’ Council isn’t interested in taking over Charlie’s case. Since she isn’t a witch, they said they needed better evidence than what I brought them. They said that Bea tampered with the original file and that they couldn’t trust it.”

  I wanted to scream. “You mean they don’t trust her.”

  “Yeah. That’s pretty much it.” She let out a long-suffering sigh. “I’ll keep working on them, but it’s best if we assume this is going to stay with the NOPD for now.”

  “Those old hags,” I snarled. “They owe me and Jade. After this past year, they should be bending over backward to help us.”

  “They don’t bend over backward for anyone,” Sasha said, sounding as annoyed as I felt. “I bet you already know that though.”

  “Yeah,” I barked out. “I do. All right. I’ll let Bea know, and then Jade and I will get to work on tracking down Pamela and Kai.”

  “I’m going to order background checks on everyone and do some digging on my end. Call me with anything you find.”

  “You too,” I said and then ended the call.

  I glanced back at Julius’s side of the bed. “We’re going to solve this, babe. One way or another, I’m going to make sure you never leave my side again.”

  When Jade didn’t answer my soft knock on her door, I used my key to let myself into her and Kane’s shotgun double. Ever since Juliet arrived, I’d been letting myself in and out of their home so that I didn’t accidentally wake up a sleeping baby. Walking softly, I moved toward the second bedroom and poked my head in, finding Jade in the rocking chair, Juliet sleeping in her arms.

  “Hi,” Jade whispered. She had a serene smile and glowed with joy.

  My poor heart stuttered in my chest as both love and jealousy slammed into me. I absolutely was over-the-moon happy for my friend. She deserved this, her happily-ever-after. And I hated that the green-eyed monster had slithered its way into me. I couldn’t stop it, no matter how much I wanted to. Didn’t I deserve the same joy? Married to Julius with a child of my own who would grow up with Juliet?

  Maybe I didn’t, my traitorous mind offered.

  “What’s wrong?” Jade asked, rising and laying the baby in her crib.

  “Nothing.” I let out a choked laugh. “Everything.”

  She kissed the baby’s head, walked over to me, and hugged me so fiercely it was almost hard to breathe. “We’ll get him back. I promise you.”

  “I know.” But the truth was, no one knew what would happen. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to block out images of what my life might look like without Julius.

  “No. You don’t. You’re sad and guilty and terrified all at the same time.” Jade placed her sure hand over my heart. “It’s okay to be all those things, you know. I can’t imagine how hard it is to watch me with Juliet right now.”

  “Of course you can,” I said with a forced smile. “Don’t tell me you can’t feel it.”

  Her expression turned sympathetic. “All right. I can sort of. You’re masking it quite a bit though I think.”

  “Am I?” I glanced away, uneasy with this conversation. “I am happy for you, Jade. Please know that. I don’t want to take any joy from you. That would shatter me. It’s just hard right now.”

  “I know that too, sweetie. I can feel the love radiating from you.” She squeezed my hand and took a step back. Grabbing the baby monitor, she gestured to the door. “Let’s talk in the kitchen.”

  Once there, she immediately pulled out an entire cheesecake from the fridge.

  “We need to refuel.” She winked at me. While she cut two generous portions, I made a pot of coffee.

  Once we were seated at the table, our cheesecake and coffee in front of us, I filled Jade in on what happened with Bea and the Witches’ Council. Then I added, “Our next plan of action is to find Pamela and Kai.”

  Jade glanced at the clock. “It’s getting late. Should we do that in the morning?”

  I followed her gaze and had to bite back a chuckle. Since when was eight in the evening late, especially if we were looking for people in their early twenties?

  She must’ve sensed my humor because she laughed and rolled her eyes. “I know. I’m such a mom already.”

  “It’s fine,” I said. “But if you recall, Kai works at the Pink Table. I’m going to go by there tonight to check him out. We can look for Pamela tomorrow.”

  “Oh no,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m not letting you go without me.” Jade stood abruptly and started moving toward the hallway.

  “You’re not seriously considering bringing a baby to that place? It’s going to be far too loud and—”

  “No, Pyper. I’m going to wake up Kane and let him know we need to run out. Now eat your cheesecake. You’re looking too thin. I’ll be right back.” Her long strawberry blond hair swayed gently as she hurried into the hall.

/>   I glanced down at myself, wondering if I’d lost weight. If I had, my wedding dress wouldn’t fit. That was going to be a problem… if I needed it, that is.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “I’m too old for this,” Jade whined as she wobbled on her high heels just outside the Pink Table.

  “No. You’re too tired for this. Because I’m ready to paint this town red. Or pink.” I pumped my eyebrows as I read the sign over the door. But a moment later, I yawned so hard it brought tears to my eyes.

  She huffed. “Right.”

  “It’s been a long day,” I insisted. But I’d had a nap. The stress must’ve been getting to me. “Never mind. Let’s go show these kids how this is done.” I smoothed my short skirt, tugged down the sparkly tank top, and pushed the door open.

  The place was packed, and it took a little effort to push our way up to the bar. But once we were there, a tall blond bartender looked past the group of rowdy frat boys chanting about downing shots and smiled at me. “What can I get for you, sugar?”

  His brilliant blue gaze took me in as he checked out my cleavage. It was flattering, considering I was probably ten years older than him, but other than boosting my ego, I had no interest in the young man.

  I leaned in and said, “Two Turbo Dogs please.”

  He nodded and went to work, pouring our drinks from the tap.

  Jade laughed and turned to lean against the bar as she scanned the club.

  “What?” I asked as I waited for our beers.

  “You’ve still got it. That’s all.” She winked at me then added, “This will be my first beer since I gave birth. Good thing I pumped earlier, otherwise I’d have a very unhappy girl when all she got was formula. She’s not a fan.”

  I shook my head and hid a laugh as the young coed beside Jade gave her a horrified glance. I was guessing the young woman wasn’t interested in the realities of motherhood. Good. At least she’d have more incentive to be safe if she hooked up later.

  With our beers in hand, we stood together, taking in the scene. The club was packed with full tables while music blared over the sound system. The stage at the back of the room was empty, but there was a microphone set up off to the right, indicating something would be starting soon.

  “Do you see Kai anywhere?” Jade asked me.

  I shook my head. Of course, I’d only seen him on the security footage earlier that day and the video hadn’t exactly given me a clear shot of him. I glanced over my shoulder at the three bartenders behind us. None of them looked like the dark-haired dude in the video. Nor did any of them wear name tags. All the waitstaff on the floor were women.

  There wasn’t anyone that could possibly be Kai. “Maybe he isn’t working tonight.” My shoulders started to sag with defeat. We didn’t have time to keep coming back to this place until he showed up. Maybe I could sweet-talk my bartender admirer into giving me the other man’s address. I was just about to turn around and get my flirt on when the lights over the crowd dimmed and a woman wearing a silver-sequined dress teetered out on impossibly high heels.

  “Good evening, everyone!” she called into the microphone. “I hope you’re all having a fantastic evening.”

  The crowd cheered.

  “Good, that’s very good,” she said, grinning. “We’re about to turn up the heat in here. So ditch those jackets and order more drinks, because this next show is pure fire. It’s so good Vegas came calling, and tonight is his second-to-last show before he leaves for Sin City. Give it up for Kai Pandemonium!”

  Jade and I shared a startled look. Kai was a performer?

  The built young man I’d seen on the security video ran out onto the stage, and then, to my surprise, the petite blonde from the video followed him, dressed in a red sequined leotard.

  “Give a warm welcome to the lovely Bindy,” Kai called, waving at his sequined sidekick. The crowd cheered for her, but as soon as the music started they calmed down, and instantly everyone was transfixed.

  “That’s the Kai you saw in the video?” Jade asked me.

  “Yes,” I said, remembering that Jade hadn’t seen the security footage at Bea’s and didn’t know what he looked like. “And I’d swear that Bindy is Pamela.”

  Jade and I stood there in silence as we watched Kai perform a high-energy routine where he danced around Bindy and his clothes changed from a suit to jeans and a T-shirt to slacks and a button-down and then back to a suit, all with just a flick of his wrist. Without missing a beat, he guided Bindy into a glass silo that had appeared out of nowhere and snapped his fingers. A curtain encircled the silo for a moment, then disappeared, leaving the silo empty with Bindy nowhere to be found.

  The music intensified, and at the crescendo, he threw a baton in the air just as Bindy dropped from the ceiling, grabbed the bar, and floated to the stage, all without visible wires. The show continued on, with items appearing and disappearing at will and Bindy flickering from one portion of the stage to another, all while Kai conducted the pandemonium with snaps of his fingers and flicks of his wrists. By the time the show was over, the crowd was on their feet, cheering wildly for Bindy and Kai.

  Jade leaned over and whispered in my ear. “He has powerful magic.”

  “Come on,” I said and pulled her out of the club out onto Frenchmen Street. “I can’t believe Kai is a freakin’ illusionist.” Shaking my head, I paced. “Seems pretty obvious that he was the one who doctored the camera, doesn’t it?”

  “It still could be Pamela,” Jade countered. “We can’t rule her out until we meet with her.”

  “But she left before Kai that night. If she doctored the evidence, it means they were working together, and it still makes Kai the prime suspect.”

  “True.” Jade rubbed at her eyes and tried to hide a yawn. “So, what are we gonna do? Barge into his dressing room and demand answers?”

  “Nope. We’re going to follow him home and then pay him a visit tomorrow.”

  The club was on a corner, so I walked down the side street and eyed the gate that clearly led to the back of the building. Jade followed.

  “I’ll watch this door. You watch the front.”

  She gave me a sharp nod.

  Less than twenty minutes later, I had my heels in my hands and was running back to Jade.

  “He’s leaving,” I said to her as I pulled her to the car. “Let’s go.”

  She took one look at my bare feet, wrinkled her nose, and then kicked her own shoes off before running after me. Within moments we were barreling down the street after a bright yellow Camaro, headed to midtown.

  Kai lived in a run-down shotgun, not unlike Sam’s. After he turned in his driveway, I pulled over and turned the lights out, waiting to see what he would do. But to our disappointment, he didn’t do anything other than climb out of the car and disappear into the house. Ten minutes after he arrived, he killed the lights and the windows went dark. He hadn’t had any visitors or used any magic other than when he’d been on stage.

  “Time to go home?” Jade asked me.

  I nodded. “We’ll come back tomorrow and see if we can find anything useful.”

  “Breaking and entering again?” she asked, but there was no judgment there. No admonishment. She and I both knew rules would need to be bent if we wanted to get to the bottom of Sam’s murder.

  “We do what we have to, right?”

  Chapter Seventeen

  I woke in the middle of the night to murmuring voices. I lay on my side of the bed with Stella curled up next to me and Stanley at my feet, idly listening for the familiar banter of Bo and Julius, the two men in my life.

  “She’s been weepy, J,” Bo said. “I’m worried about her.”

  My eyes flew open, and I winced at the bright light shining through my cracked-open door.

  “What do you mean, weepy?” Julius asked.

  “Exactly the way it sounds. She keeps tearing up and then turning away as if I won’t notice. It’s not like her.”

  I’d never heard my brother sound so
concerned about me. Had I been crying that much? I’d teared up a few times, but—

  “I think she might be depressed,” Bo added.

  “I’m not depressed,” I called from the bed, angry now. The last thing I wanted was my brother and my fiancé discussing my mental health. “When your fiancé ends up a ghost two weeks before your wedding, let’s see how you deal with it.”

  The door swung open and Julius appeared in the doorway. The light behind him left his face in shadows, but I didn’t miss his chuckle. “That’s my feisty girl.”

  “I’m not depressed,” I said again. “I’m just stressed.”

  Bo appeared behind Julius. “Well, what was I supposed to think? You haven’t said anything more to me than one-word answers ever since Julius was hit with that spell.”

  I sat up in the bed, pulling Stella to me, and bit down on my lower lip. He was right. As Julius moved into the room, I glanced at Bo and said, “I’m sorry. It’s just that it’s hard to be here in the apartment, not knowing when or if Julius will show up.”

  Julius sucked in a sharp breath while Bo gave me a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry, Pyper,” Bo said. “That’s… rough.”

  “I’m sorry too. I didn’t mean to make you worry.”

  He followed, gave me a kiss on the cheek, and turned to Julius. “I’m going back to bed. Take care of my sister, okay?”

  “Always,” Julius said.

  Stella jumped from the bed, with Stanley right behind her, and both followed Bo out the door, leaving me and Julius alone. He wasted no time stripping out of his jeans and T-shirt and then climbed into the bed, wrapping his arms around me with his chest pressed against my back.

  “I miss you, babe,” he said softly and kissed the back of my neck.

  A shiver ran through me from his gentle touch. “I miss you too.”

  We talked quietly into the night as I filled him in on our progress. He murmured reassurances that everything would work out. And when I woke the next morning, alone, I was more determined than ever to find Sam’s killer.