“We’re on our way back down,” Aidan said. “We’re ready to go dark. Want to round up the troops?”
She was going to do that, but noticed on one of the monitors that Jeff had stopped by the building’s front door and was motioning someone to come inside. Probably Purs and Gery.
She couldn’t take her eyes from the monitor. “Yeah. We’ll get everyone together in the lobby.”
“Aidan out.”
She set the radio down and watched. Then Jeff looked at the camera, as if looking right at her. He smiled and shrugged.
Kal laughed as she shook her head.
The feed was silent, but she suspected he wasn’t speaking out loud anyway when he mouthed the words, “See, I told you so.”
* * * *
The old hotel did have some residual energy and one intelligent entity. It took Aidan and Purs working in tandem to coax the old cowboy’s spirit into materializing enough they could capture some EVPs and video with the FLIR camera.
Unlike Bobby Martinez, this spirit was well aware of his state and perfectly happy to stay there. He’d been a cantankerous man in life, and proved more so in death. Apparently he enjoyed scaring the crap out of visitors even though he couldn’t physically touch or harm them.
Jeff spent a lot of the investigation at base with Kal, where they silently exchanged smiles. A little before their first break of the night, Kal nudged him. “So what’re the Powerball numbers this weekend?”
He laughed and shook his head. “I’m telling you, it’s freaky. My problem is like you, I’d never had a serious relationship before Aidan. I don’t know what’s normal and what’s…demonic.” He laughed again. “Jeez, that sounds weird, doesn’t it?”
“What?”
“Using that word in a positive context.” He swapped out a DVD on one of the recording drives and labeled the old one with a marker. “If I’m feeling like this now, what’s it going to be like later?”
“Fun,” Kal said.
Jeff grinned. “Yeah. True dat.”
* * * *
Later, Kal was sitting alone at base, idly fingering her amulet. Every so often she swore she felt warm flashes from it. Maybe that was the answer to Jeff’s question. Maybe the talisman Jeff wore helped him tune in to Aidan, even if it wasn’t an amulet.
She closed her eyes and suddenly, her mind drifted to Ryan. The amulet definitely warmed in her hand as a swirl of images rapidly swept through her mind, unbidden, like the dreams she’d had during her honeymoon.
When she opened her eyes, Ryan was lounging against the far wall. Somehow his sudden appearance didn’t startle or surprise her.
“Hello, love.” It’d been over a week since she’d last seen him. Now that he was here, she’d be lying if she said she hadn’t missed his company.
“Hey. What are you doing here?”
He shrugged and pushed off from the wall, walked over and sat next to her. “I couldn’t sleep. I thought perhaps you could use some company.”
She studied him, her fingers still playing with the amulet around her neck. Her thoughts had been of just that, she wished she could talk to him, simply shoot the breeze.
“That’s plain…weird.”
“Weird how, love? That I felt like saying hi?”
She slowly shook her head. “That you showed up exactly when I was thinking…” Then it struck her. “Did I just summon you?”
He playfully smiled. “Was that your intention?”
Now she felt guilty. “Oh, man! I’m sorry, Ry. You weren’t asleep, were you?”
He gently patted the back of her hand. “No, I was awake, truly.”
What Ryan didn’t dare think about was that now his sleep patterns seemed tuned to hers. When he knew they were on a shoot, it was impossible for him to sleep. He found himself observing from a distance, sleeping only when she did.
Sharing her dreams.
Blissful torture.
A little while later, Aidan and Will walked into the base area. Will smiled and slapped Ryan on the shoulder before he leaned in and gave Kal a kiss. “What’re you doing up?” he asked Ryan.
Kal studied Aidan and Will. Will’s smile looked right, but there was a tension in his soul, a tightness to his voice that betrayed his sudden anxiety over seeing Ryan there.
Something passed between the three men. “Just stopped by to say hello, that’sall,” Ryan said. The way Ryan emphasized the last two words made the other men relax.
“What the heck is going on with you three?”
They looked at Kal. “What?” they all parroted.
“Don’t give me that. The three of you have been up to something. Or holding something back.” She tried to fight the nasty feeling in her gut, the instinctive unsettled gnawing that told her it was something bad.
Really bad.
Ryan glanced at the other two. Kal sensed another silent communication.
“Oh, heck no! Stop it! If you’re going to do that, say it out loud. Quit using the mental crap to keep things from me.” She nervously fingered her amulet. She’d found herself doing that a lot since Ryan gave it to her. It soothed her in a way she didn’t understand and refused to question.
Ryan quietly spoke. “Love, it’s nothing you need concern yourself about, right? It’s business for The Firm. I promise if there is ever a time you need to know what’s going on, we will bring you into the loop. To needlessly weigh you down with minutiae, frankly, it’s a waste of your time and energy.”
She studied their faces. “You’re sure that’s all?” she finally asked.
All three men nodded.
“You guys promise you’ll tell me if something bad’s going to happen?”
“Of course we do,” Ryan assured her.
Jeff walked in, pulled up short with a frown. “What’s going on?”
Kal would have sworn she heard Ryan mentally swear. “Nothing’s going on! Had I known my appearance would alarm you all so much I would have stayed home.”
Ryan remained at base with Kal and Jeff, while Will and Aidan went back to film some more.
“So why are my Spidey senses tingling, Ryan?” she asked. “If my super duper soul mate something’s wrong radar isn’t right, why do I get the feeling you guys are holding back on us?”
“Yeah,” Jeff agreed. “I’m not even a soul mate and I can feel it.”
Kal sensed Ryan clamped down on a hysterically funny thought. “Loves, I’ve only had Will back in the saddle, as it were, for a couple of months. Believe me, before he took his hiatus from The Firm, he was quite a busy man.” He pointedly looked at Kal. “And you had a lot of things going on in your life until recently. I did not wish to distract him or Aidan any more than absolutely necessary because you needed them more than I did. There will be plenty of occasions where I utilize their services. You must admit, they’ve had a rather easy go of it for quite a while now.”
A chill washed through her. “So what you’re saying is that it’s starting to get serious?”
He looked exasperated, but somehow it felt like acting to her, like he was trying to distract her. Her amulet flared with warmth in her hand.
“Kal, I’m saying that they have jobs to do. Not usually dangerous jobs, but it’s necessary to communicate information to them that they must have. Think of The Firm as Homeland Security for things that most humans aren’t privy to, right? Just because I must converse with them does not mean there are nefarious plans afoot.”
She exchanged a look with Jeff. If she wasn’t mistaken, he didn’t believe Ryan any more than she did.
Three hours later they wrapped the shoot. Ryan took off, leaving Kal and Jeff alone at base.
“Total bullshit?” he asked.
She nodded. “Yep.”
He helped her break down and pack the base equipment. “Why?”
“I don’t know. You can bet your bippy I plan on finding out.”
* * * *
Ryan made himself scarce during the rest of their trip. He stopped by a few t
imes, usually to speak to Will or Aidan. He dodged her questions with the efficiency of an NHL goalie blocking shots.
About two weeks after their return from the trip, Kal had enough. She was alone at the office one evening. “Ryan, vado tu appareo.”
He immediately appeared. “What’s wrong?”
She pointed to Aidan’s unoccupied chair. “Sit. You and me are gonna have a little chat.”
Carefully eyeing her, he did.
“What the heck is going on?”
She felt his mental barrier slide into place. “Again, love, this is not something you need to concern yourself with.”
“Jeff and I both agree you’re holding something back.”
Ryan mentally swore, his mind racing for answers. Finally, a possible solution. He closed his eyes and threw his head back to stare at the ceiling. “I must have complete and utter faith in you, do you understand me?”
“I won’t run my mouth, if that’s what you mean.”
“That’s what I mean.”
“Spill it.”
He sat up and tried to keep amusement off his face. If he could divert her to an alternate path, it would distract her. Lately, this one fact had admittedly been his sole source of amusement. “It’s about Jeff and Aidan.”
Her face paled. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong.” He wrung his hands together. “You must, absolutely must promise not to say—”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. Super-secret. Got it.”
“Has Aidan mentioned anything about making Jeff his soul mate?”
“Oh, Ry, please tell me Jeff’s okay.”
“Of course he is. Answer my question.”
“Doofalicious worries about it every day. He’s trying to talk himself into it.”
Ryan reached over and touched her wrist as he stared into her eyes.
Please let this work. “It’s not a concern he needs to have. However, he doesn’t know that.”
She looked confused, then a huge smile broke out. “No. Way.”
Ryan breathed a huge sigh of relief. Hook, line, and sinker. “Way. He doesn’t realize it.”
She laughed, long and hearty. When she finally composed herself, she shook her head. “That’s it? That’s the secret?”
“You know Aidan. You know how upset he’ll be at himself, regardless of the good outcome, that he unintentionally did this.”
Her expression grew somber. “Yeah, you’re right. So why is this a secret again?”
“I’m hoping that once he ‘makes up his mind,’ so to speak, that he’ll simply think he’s doing it and then make Jeff his soul mate. It won’t hurt his feelings or ego that way.”
She threw her arms around Ryan and hugged him, surprising him. “Dang it, you’re a good guy, you know that?”
“Why’s that love?”
She finally sat back. “Jeff asked me about that while we were out west.” She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “You love Aidan enough to try to spare his feelings.”
“He’s my soul brother. I love him. I always have. Him and Will, you know that.”
She nodded. “That’s it? That’s the secret? Really?”
“Yes. No letting the cat out, right?”
“I promise.”
He leaned in for one more hug before returning home.
Kal sat back and fingered her amulet, contemplating. Something about Ryan’s explanation didn’t totally soothe her.
But as she thought about the situation, a smile crept through. It was funny. Ryan was right, Aidan would be upset if he knew he did it accidentally.
She turned to her computer, where the screensaver had popped up. A picture of the whole gang—her, Will, Aidan, Jeff, Purs, Gery, and Ryan.
No wonder she’d felt the way she had about Jeff recently.
Her smile broadened. Hell’s bells, Aidan would poop a brick if he knew. Kal laughed and shut down her computer. “Aidan, appareo.” Will was on a job, but Aidan had taken the evening off to spend with Jeff.
He appeared, wearing red silk Hello Kitty boxers.
She couldn’t suppress her laugh at those.
He put his hands on his hips. “All right, you call me and you’re laughing? Hey, at least I’m dressed.” He looked down his nose at her with a playful scowl. “What did you want, sugar?”
“Sorry.” She snickered. “Can you run me home? Will brought me in today.”
He rolled his eyes, but she recognized that look. “I thought you wanted something serious.” He grabbed her hand and a second later, they were at her condo.
“All right?”
She hugged him tightly, hiding her smile against his bare chest. “Yeah, thank you. Tell Jeff I said hi, and sorry I interrupted.”
“Aw, we were just playing Halo,” he said with a laugh. “We’re like a regular married couple some nights, you know.”
Kal felt the howl of laughter threatening. She quickly released him. “Well, thanks again. Good night.”
“Okay. See you in the morning, sweet cheeks.”
Aidan returned home and swore he heard Kal roaring with laughter as he disappeared.
Jeff had paused the game and was in the kitchen making a snack. “That was quick,” he said when Aidan reappeared.
“She just needed a ride home.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I think she was laughing at my boxers.”
Jeff snickered. “Well, I mean, really.” He pointed. “Hello Kitty?”
“They were on sale,” he grumbled.
Jeff snagged an arm around Aidan’s waist. “I didn’t say I didn’t like them. Don’t sulk. Your face gets all pouty.” He kissed Aidan on the back of the neck.
“Keep that up, we won’t get back to the game.”
“That’s a bad thing?”
Aidan grinned. “No, I guess not.”
* * * *
Kal managed to bring her howls of laughter under control. She still snickered occasionally, between her new knowledge and Aidan’s boxers. One of these days she’d ask Jeff to let her look in Aidan’s dresser so she could see them all.
She walked into the kitchen and decided on a salad instead of leftovers. She pulled out the fixings she needed and found a cutting board, put the tomato on it.
The butcher’s knife wasn’t in the block. She opened the dishwasher, found it, and grabbed it.
She noticed when she straightened that her amulet suddenly felt hot against her skin. When she turned to the counter, where the tomato sat on the cutting board, a strange sensation washed over her.
Kal wasn’t standing in the kitchen anymore. Correction, not her kitchen. Someone else’s, but…it felt like her kitchen even though it looked nothing like the one at the condo. And it wasn’t almost nine at night anymore, it looked like afternoon from the way sunlight poured into the living room windows.
She tightly gripped the knife in her hand as she watched the four…things materialize in her living room.
Her heart racing, she threw herself backwards against the fridge and closed her eyes, hoping they hadn’t seen her.
One of the things spoke. “We know you’re here, woman. We don’t want you, we want your mate.”
Kal kept her eyes squeezed shut, her fingers tight around the knife’s handle. She ducked down.
She would never give Will up to whatever these were.
“AnnaBelinda!” it hoarsely screamed. “We know you’re here! We will find you.” She heard its heavy boots on her floor, closing in.
There was no escape from the kitchen, the only way out through the living room. Desperately, Kal opened her eyes and looked around, there were no other weapons she could reach other than the one she held in her hand.
When the things appeared in the doorway, she skittered backwards across the kitchen. As a last resort there was one she’d call to, but she would not endanger her husband. Her soul mate.
Never.
They’d have to kill her first before she’d allow harm to come to him.
<
br /> When the creature reached for her, she struck out with the blade, slicing his arm but not doing much damage to his tough, leathery skin. It’d been eons since she’d had to fight and her reflexes felt slow and dull.
With a roar the thing grabbed her, ripping the blade out of her hand and pulling her to her feet. Kal couldn’t tell her own feelings from the dream as the thing tightly gripped her, the rough skin of his forearm coarse across her throat as he threatened to strangle her.
“Call him, soul mate,” he growled in her ear. “Call him now, out loud, or you die.” He drew his sword and held it against her flesh.
Tears running down her face, she closed her eyes again and used his old name, hoping it would buy her some time and spare her mate. “Amiago, appareo!”
The things looked at her, then turned a moment later. When the thing who held her realized he’d been deceived, he struck.
Her world went black.
* * * *
Kal came to screaming, huddled in the corner of her kitchen. Ryan knelt in front of her. Unable to speak, when she realized it was him she cried again and threw herself into the safety of his arms.
“Shh, love. You’re safe.” Kal was vaguely aware of his lips pressed against the top of her head as his arms tightly encircled her. “It’s all right, I’ve got you. I’m here.”
She could still feel the press of the thing’s arm against her skin, the sharpness of the blade as it…
“What’s happening to me?” Her entire body shook. “Was it a dream?”
“Shhh. It’s all right. It was just a bad dream, love.” He scooped her into his arms and carried her out to her sofa, humming the familiar, soothing tune while holding her until she quieted and stopped trembling. When he finally got her attention, he tightly gripped her hands and forced her to look him in the eye.
“Love,” he whispered, “you fell asleep on the couch.”
Kal’s eyes went wide. “I fell asleep?”
He nodded. “It was only a dream. You called to me in your sleep, and I came. It was just a bad dream, love. Go back to sleep and dream happy things now.”
“I was making dinner.”
“You were asleep.”
Kal felt her mind slipping, swirling, now totally unsure. She could have sworn she was making a salad…
She didn’t want to revisit that horrible vision or dream—
Hell's Bells Page 25
