Ghost of Himself

by Pandora Pine

  “I’m a psychic, bon ami.” Onyx snickered. “I’m thinking of having a come see. I’ll bring the flash drive. It might not be safe to send the information online. Or Cope would have put in in a cloud or some fancy shit like dat.”

  “You’re coming to Salem?” Ten nibbled his bottom lip.

  “This Cajun boy’s never been out of Louisiana. I’m fitting to have a hell of a time. I’ll stay with you, Jude.” Onyx sounded like the matter was already settled.

  “Sorry, man. There’s not room at my place, what with Copeland staying with me, but there’s a lovely spare room here at Ten and Ronan’s. It’s even got an old record player in it with all kinds of 80’s vinyl that you’ll love.”

  “I’m there for sure now, Jude. I’ll see you plenty while I’m there. I’m looking forward to working with you.” What Onyx really meant was obvious in his flirty tone.

  “Call us back with your flight information, Onyx,” Ten said.

  “Will do, Tennyson. I have business to wrap up here, but I’ll be on this soon. Take care of my boy. He wouldn’t let me do that for him after the attack. I’m glad he’s giving me the chance now.”

  “We will,” Ten agreed.

  The phone beeped three times and Onyx was gone. Jude sighed, sinking his head into his hands. Knowing they had another ally in the battle to save Copeland was a good step forward, but they weren’t any closer to having a suspect or even a potential suspect. Who the hell knew when Onyx would get here with the flash drive. With the way southerners moved it could be days or a week before he got to Massachusetts.

  Jude was startled by Tennyson setting a hand on his own.

  “It won’t be that long, Jude.” Ten sounded sure of himself.

  “Shit, are you reading my mind?” It seemed he was so close to the line several times today. People shouldn’t be able to get that close to him. He’d mention this to Dempsey when he saw him later.

  Ten shook his head. “I can see where your mind is leading you. Onyx is just as worried about Cope as you are. It wouldn’t surprise me if he was here tomorrow.”

  Jude nodded. He could deal with waiting another day. That would give Cope more time to rest and would give him a chance to get Dempsey out to his condo to get the proper protection spells placed on it. Look at him, Jude Byrne working with a wizard to protect a witch. He’d come a long way.

  “When did you decide Cope was moving in with you?” Ronan was trying and failing to keep the smirk off his face.

  “When it sounded like Onyx was interested in sucking my brain out through my dick.” Jude rolled his eyes. He shouldn’t have said that out loud. Least of all to Ronan. He had a big mouth to rival his own.

  “Isn’t that your thing? How convenient would that be for you to have a man willing to do that staying in your spare bedroom? All you’d have to do is walk down the hall to get you some instead of cruising the bars and buying strangers drinks.”

  “Get bent, Ronan.” Jude got up from the table. He was heading toward the kitchen door when Ronan’s next words stopped him.

  “What the hell is your problem? All you ever do is fuck random men, Jude!” Ronan challenged.

  “If that was all I did, you would have been dead on the Hutchins’ dirty kitchen floor, remember?” Jude fingered the puckered bullet scar on his left shoulder. There was a second scar on his thigh. It was his quick thinking that has saved Ronan’s ass that day almost a year ago.

  Ronan’s blue eyes darkened, but he stayed silent. He seemed to be studying Jude. Maybe to determine if this little speech was true blue or a Jude playing the role of drama queen.

  “People change. You sure as fuck did. When you met Tennyson, you thought he was a fruitcake and that his gift was bullshit, remember? I don’t recall anyone throwing that back in your face when you changed your tune.” Jude sounded like a shrew throwing it back in Ronan’s face now. He didn’t much care. He was trying to change but it wasn’t doing him any good to have Ronan reminding him at every turn what a man-whore he used to be.

  Ronan stood up from the table. He stared at his husband for a few seconds before turning to look at Jude. “You’re right. I was the biggest skeptic there was. I put Tennyson through hell making him prove to me that his gifts were real, but then I was the one put through my paces proving right back that I believed him.” Ronan took a few steps forward until he was standing in front of Jude. “The only difference between the situation with Ten and you, is that I’ve always believed in you, Jude. If you say that you’re turning over a new leaf, then I’ll grow the hell up and keep my mouth shut.” Ronan slapped a hand on his shoulder.

  Jude blinked a couple of times. The look in Ronan’s eyes was sincere. The hand on his shoulder was solid. He dug the fingernails of his left hand into his palm. It hurt, which meant he was definitely awake. Jude looked over his shoulder at Tennyson.

  “You broke him. He’s all yours now.” Ten laughed.

  “Thanks, Ronan. That means a lot coming from you.” Jude took half a step closer. “If you’re fucking with me though, I’ll gut you where you stand.” His fiery eyes glittered with amusement.

  “Understood.” Ronan started to laugh.

  “I’m gonna grab a nap.” Jude shook his head. He’d barely slept a wink all night. “Dixie, my little pixie? Naptime!” He heard a sharp bark from the living room. “Excuse me, boys. My true love awaits.”

  “You know she snores like a sailor on a three-day bender, right?” Ronan laughed.

  “Ditto, Ronan!” Jude called back from the living room. The tiny dog was the only creature he could stand to share a bed with. He couldn’t help wondering if this turning over a new leaf thing was going to change that at some point.

  9

  Copeland

  Jude Byrne’s townhouse was nothing at all like Cope was expecting. He’d had this idea of it being all frat boy chic with mismatched pieces of furniture and a giant wooden spool as his coffee table. Instead, his living room was done in dark leather with metal tables. It was a very sophisticated look for a man whose favorite word was fuck.

  He supposed the bigger surprise was Jude announcing after his nap that they were moving out of Tennyson and Ronan’s house and into his own. While he’d been napping, Jude had invited Dempsey McMillan over so the charms and wards that had been placed on Ten’s house could be placed on Jude’s. Cope wasn’t one hundred percent sure what it was, but there was some other kind of magick protecting this space. He hadn’t quite worked up the courage to ask his host about it yet.

  The townhouse was three stories. A garage level where Jude parked his 1969 black Ford Thunderbird. The first floor was the main living area with a large living room, dining room and kitchen. Upstairs were three bedrooms and two bathrooms. The third bedroom was Jude’s office. The door was locked, but that didn’t stop Copeland from being able to see inside the space.

  There was a desk with a sleek laptop. A cabinet with files rested against the opposite wall. The thing that interested Cope most about the room was the framed picture that sat near the computer. Try as he might, he couldn’t pull the image into focus.

  “Stop snooping!” Jude ordered from the bedroom door.

  “I’m not snooping. Why do you think I’m snooping?” Shit, not only had Jude busted him, but he’d scared the hell out of him too. He didn’t do so well with people coming up from behind him.

  Jude raised an eyebrow. He took three steps into the room stopping with only an inch separating them. “I’ve been working with Tennyson and his psychic friends network for almost a year now. I know when they’re snooping. They get this far-off look in their eyes and then look guilty as fuck when I call them out on it. You’re wearing that look now.”

  “Fine, I was snooping. Your office door is locked. There’s a picture on your desk and I wanted to see what it was. I can’t get a clear image of it. Happy?” When in doubt, go with the truth. He had a feeling that would work with a man like Jude Byrne.

  Jude frowned.

  He most de
finitely did not look happy. Cope couldn’t figure out if he was going to stomp out of the room or punch him in the face.

  “I keep the room locked in case I’m a mark for the men I bring home.” Jude looked uncomfortable saying those words out loud.

  Copeland thought back to what the rest of the house looked like. The walls were bare. There was nothing he’d seen that showed one tiny hint of Jude’s personality. No favorite color or seasonal color palette to decorate with. No art or inspirational box sign proclaiming, “It is what it is.” No travel mementos. The house was well appointed, but sterile. No one who walked through the door would get to know anything about the man who lived here. Copeland couldn’t help thinking that one sentence told him more about Jude than anything he’d said about himself so far. “I’m sorry I was snooping.”

  Jude’s head tilted to the side. “You have every right to make sure that you’re going to be safe here. There are guns in that room. There’s another one in my nightstand.”

  “The house is also protected in other ways.” Cope wasn’t going to come right out and ask Jude about the magick he was sensing but a little fishing expedition never hurt anything.

  Nodding, Jude sank into the armchair in the far corner of the room. “I’m not used to sharing what I do or why I do it with anyone, but since it directly affects you…”

  It was easy to see his host was struggling with sharing. Cope sat at the end of the bed and quietly waited for Jude to get his thoughts in order.

  “While you were napping, we spoke to Onyx Kerr. He never looked at the information that was on the flash drive.” Jude looked shocked by that bit of news.

  “That doesn’t surprise me. He’s a good friend, but not the type to pry into my business. Did he send an uploaded copy of the drive to Ronan?”

  Jude shook his head no. “He’s coming to Salem and bringing it with him.”

  Cope felt his mouth drop open. “Onyx is coming here? You’re shitting me! He’s never left the state of Louisiana. I don’t think he’s been outside of Orleans Parish since we were allowed to come back after the flood waters of Katrina subsided.”

  “He told us the same thing, but he seemed hellbent on coming up here to help you.”

  “What else was he hellbent on?”

  Jude’s golden-hazel eyes narrowed on Copeland. “Are you reading me?”

  “No.” Cope shook his head. “There’s something odd in your eyes that wasn’t there before you started talking about Onyx. Couple that with the fact that you just up and moved us to your house. I connected the dots and assumed that the two things are related. What’s got you on edge besides Onyx?”

  Jude leaned forward. His elbows were resting on his knees. It looked to Cope like the P.I. was staring at his bare feet. “Several times today it seemed like people were reading me. No one should be able to do that.”

  There was an awful lot of information in that sentence right there. “Correct me if I’m wrong here, but you’re not the sharing type, are you?”

  Jude did the last thing Cope expected and burst out laughing. “That obvious, huh?”

  Cope nodded. “You’ve started doing more of it lately though.”

  Jude’s sunny smile faded. He simply nodded.

  “I’m thinking that’s why you’re feeling like people are reading you. You’ve taken down a brick or two in your walls and now people can peek over them. You’re not exactly cuddly yet, but they’re getting closer to the real you than I imagine anyone’s been in a good long time. How close is my dart to the bullseye?”

  “Dead fucking center,” Jude muttered, shaking his head. “Onyx was flirting with me over the phone. I’m trying to step back from being that guy. Plus, I want you where I can watch over you. I figured it would be easier to let him stay with Ten and Ronan and keep you here with me.”

  Damn, that sounded pretty sincere to Copeland. “First off, Onyx flirts with everyone. Secondly, Onyx fucks everyone.” Cope shrugged. He guessed he was throwing in a bit of his own history there. Oh well, give a little, get a little, as his Mama used to say. “I’m glad we’re here. Not that I didn’t like it at Tennyson and Ronan’s, but you’re more comfortable in your own home.”

  “It’s the only place I can really be myself. Ten and Ronan are probably the best friends I’ve ever had, but I still can’t totally be myself with them.”

  Cope had a feeling that was what Jude was going to say. He looked around the room. The queen-sized bed was plush. He could feel the sheets were high quality, as was the chair Jude was sitting in. There was a huge flat-screen television mounted to the wall over Jude’s head and Cope had no doubt it got every channel imaginable. The only thing this room didn’t have was personality. The floor was hardwood with light beige throw rugs that matched the beige coverlet on the bed. Fifty shades of beige. A smile curled Cope’s lips.

  “What’s so funny?” Jude eyed his houseguest curiously.

  “I was just thinking this room had no personality.”

  Jude shook his head. “Well, that’s where I have to disagree with you.” He stood up and walked to the door.

  “Oh yeah?” Cope had to hear this.

  “It’s got you in it. You’re the most personality this entire house has ever had in it.” Jude turned to walk out the door. “I’ll take you to meet with the rest of the guys at West Side Magick tomorrow. Sweet dreams.” With that, Jude was gone.

  The small smile that had been toying with Cope’s lips blossomed. He disagreed with Jude. The man had plenty of personality of his own, if he’d just be brave enough to let more of it shine.

  10

  Jude

  Living with another man wasn’t what Jude expected at all. Technically, he wasn’t living with Copeland in the same way that Tennyson and Ronan lived together, but having another man in his house, sleeping under his roof, was a major adjustment. Just the fact that he survived the night and managed to sleep was a fucking miracle.

  After he’d said goodnight to Copeland last night, he’d gone back to his room. A few minutes later, he’d heard the shower come on in the guest bathroom and then heard Cope singing. Jude had actually gone across the hallway to press an ear to the door to listen to Cope. The song had been Fly Me to the Moon. Unbelievably, he sounded a bit like Frank Sinatra. If Old Blue Eyes had been southern.

  Once Cope’s shower was over, Jude had heard him go back into his room and turn the television on. It had sounded like he was watching CNN. The only reason he didn’t know for sure was that once he knew Copeland was in bed for the night, he’d started falling asleep himself. Unbelievably, he trusted his house guest enough to sleep with him under the same roof.

  He was going to need to share that little piece of intel with someone at some point in the future. Walker Harmon had become something of a confidant for him of late. They’d gotten to know each other while they’d been researching curse-breaking spells.

  Walker’s then fiancé, now husband, Hunter Conroy, had been cursed into a stone gargoyle by a powerful warlock and they’d all been trying to find a way to reverse the curse. Walker had taken some time out from that research to speak with Jude about making changes to his life if he wasn’t happy with one-night stands.

  It was that little pep talk courtesy of the ER doc that had Jude on this current path. Now, he was sharing more of himself and had a man sleeping under his roof. What the hell was next? A kitten? Maybe shopping for Copeland’s favorite food at the supermarket? Well, the man did need to eat. He was nothing but skin and bones.

  Shaking his head, Jude opened his own bedroom door. He’d told Copeland they were going to West Side Magick this morning. What he hadn’t told him was that they were getting breakfast next door at West Side Sweets. He rapped a hand on Cope’s door.

  “Who is it?” Cope called from the other side of the door.

  “Who is it? I’m the only other fucking person who lives here, Copeland!” Jude shouted.

  “I know that. I was kidding.” Cope’s left eyebrow was raised when he
opened the door. “I’m ready to go when you are.” He left the room and headed for the stairs.

  Shit, he was a huge dick, but that was par for the course. Jude caught a look inside the spare room. It was just as spotless as it had been the night before, only now there seemed to be some personal touches Cope had laid out in the room. Interesting. It only took his new roommate twelve hours to make himself at home. Jude had been living in this house for six months and he hadn’t managed to accomplish the same thing.

  When he got downstairs, he found Copeland waiting for him. Grabbing his keys, they were out the door. “I’m sorry I snapped at you,” Jude muttered.

  “It’s fine. I didn’t peg you as one of those types who doesn’t have a personality until he’s had coffee. I gave you a pass yesterday since you sat in front of my door while I slept, but I can see the truth of the matter now. I’m the same way.” Cope climbed into the passenger seat of the Thunderbird and shut the door with a slam.

  Jude gritted his teeth. Ronan would have completely lost his shit if someone slammed the door to the Mustang like Copeland had just done. It was a heavy door and Cope probably figured it needed a lot of force to shut it tight. Maybe he’d mention later that Copeland needed to be a bit gentler with his baby.

  “Who all am I going to meet?” Cope asked, shaking Jude out of his own head.

  “Well, it’s kind of an interesting story.”

  Cope turned from the window to face Jude. “I’m all ears.”

  “West Side Magick was founded in the 1980s by Bertha Craig. She had two sons named Carson and Cole. She passed away a few years ago from breast cancer and left the shop to her sons as her legacy, even though neither of them had any psychic abilities at all.”

  “That’s odd. I thought you said we were going to meet all of the psychics at West Side Magick.”