The Deepest Cut

by J. A. Templeton

  We hooked pinkies and pinky-sweared, and I felt like I was in fifth grade all over again.

  “A few months ago Cassandra and Johan started seeing each other. Just casually, but it grew serious pretty fast. He seemed to like her and she definitely liked him. He took her out, and well—she gave up her virginity, and then a few weeks later he drops her—just like that,” she said, snapping her fingers.

  “Back home we called those kinds of guys man-whores.”

  She laughed. “Johan is a man-whore. I mean, he can be a complete wanker, but he can be a nice guy too. The problem is he loses interest with a girl the minute he gets what he wants.”

  “Maybe one day he’ll find a girl who breaks his heart and then he’ll see how it feels.”

  “Yeah, that would be good for him.”

  Megan dropped the lipstick in her purse. “I

  know Cass comes across as sort of a bitch but now maybe you understand why she acts like she does.”

  “I do.”

  “He really hurt her, and despite how she can be sometimes, she didn’t deserve to be treated that way.”

  “Please tell her that this wasn’t a date,” I said, knowing the last thing I needed in my life was more drama.

  “I will. And I’ll be sure not to leave you and Johan alone.”

  “I really do need to get back early.”

  She laughed under her breath. “I’ll just tell Johan I have to babysit my little brother.”

  “Thanks, Megan. I appreciate it.”

  “No problem.” She bit her bottom lip.

  “Hey, there’s something I’ve been wanting to say. The night at the glen Shane mentioned that you lost your mum.”

  My stomach coiled. “Yeah, we did.”

  “I’m sorry, Riley. I’m sorry about opening my big mouth about the library books you checked out. It wasn’t anybody’s business, and I would have never said anything if I hadn’t of been pissed out of my mind the night of Milo’s party.”

  I nodded. “I appreciate the apology.”

  “If you ever want to talk about it, let me know. I lost my dad when I was four. I don’t really remember him all that much, but I know what it’s like to grow up with only one parent.” Megan scratched the back of her neck. “And my mom is really embarrassing.

  She works at the village pub and borrows my clothes all the time. I swear she thinks she’s still a teenager.”

  I was glad she was opening up to me, telling me things about her own life. “I’d like to meet your mom sometime.”

  “Hey you two, what the hell!” Milo said, popping his head into the bathroom, startling me, and making me wonder how long

  he’d been standing there. “The movie’s been over for a bloody hour.”

  Megan rolled her eyes.

  An old woman walked past Milo and shook her head.

  “Sorry,” Megan said, rushing toward him.

  “My mom called. I have to watch Liam this evening, so we have to get back.”

  “Ah, for feck’s sake, man. She’s always goin’ out and leavin’ you to watch the lil’

  shit,” Milo said, not at all hiding his disgust.

  “We can watch a DVD when we get back to my place,” Megan said, unapologetically.

  She kissed him on the cheek and he put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. “Just remember that I’m babysitting.”

  “Yeah right,” Milo said with a smirk.

  Johan walked out of the men’s bathroom, a strange expression on his face, making me wonder if he’d overheard Megan and me talking.

  On the drive home Johan kept sliding his hand on my thigh every time he shifted gears. Now that I knew the real story behind Johan and Cassandra, I was even more determined to let him know we wouldn’t be anything more than friends. I just needed the right opportunity to tell him, and in a car with two other people wasn’t the right time.

  I breathed a sigh of relief as we approached Braemar. Within seconds we’d be passing by the castle and as we rounded the bend, I could see the familiar red stones peeking through the trees.

  The painter’s car was in the driveway, the front door wide open. Johan followed my gaze. “My cousins will be back in a couple of weeks, and I’ll give you a tour, if you’d like.”

  My pulse skittered. “Your cousins?”

  “Yeah, my cousins are the MacKinnon’s.”

  Johan was actually related to Ian? I didn’t see that one coming. “That would be great. I—I’d love a tour,” I said excitedly

  before I realized my enthusiasm might be misinterpreted.

  Johan beamed as he looked at me, his eyes all soft and dark. Oh God, I knew that look. I quickly glanced away. His cousins would be back in a couple of weeks, which meant I needed to seriously get on with finding that journal.

  As we passed by the cemetery, Laria appeared, right in front of the car. I put my hand up and held my breath. Johan swerved, nearly putting us through a fence before straightening the car out. He looked at me with wide eyes.

  “Sorry,” I blurted, embarrassed. “I thought I saw something run out in the road.”

  I looked in the side mirror and saw Laria still standing in the middle of the road, watching us, a satisfied smile on her face.

  Damn it, I’d reacted exactly as she’d wanted me to.

  “There wasn’t a bloody thing in the road,”

  Milo snickered in the backseat.

  Megan elbowed him and told him to shut up.

  “I’ll take you home last, okay?” Johan said, his expression saying exactly what he had in mind.

  I didn’t get a chance to respond because he drove right past the inn and turned toward Megan’s.

  We dropped both Megan and Milo off at her house.

  “Call me when you get home,” Megan said before stepping out of the car.

  “I will.”

  I swear Johan drove slower than the speed limit as he crept along the road toward the inn. “Did you have a nice time, Riley?”

  “I did. Thanks for driving us.” I was glad I’d paid my own way into the movie. That way no one could argue that this hadn’t been an actual date.

  “Maybe we can do it again soon.”

  “Maybe,” I said, wishing I had it in me to tell him how I felt. I just knew how guys could be, and I didn’t want Johan talking shit about me to his friends.

  He pulled into the driveway and put the car in park.

  “So…can I come in?” he asked, grabbing my hand and squeezing it tight.

  I reached for the door handle and that’s when I noticed someone watching us from the parlor window. My heart skipped when I saw dark hair and broad shoulders. Ian. I was so used to him coming at night that it surprised me to see him during the day.

  Johan followed my gaze to the window.

  “Is your dad home?”

  “No, he’s working.”

  Excited to see Ian, I opened the door.

  “Riley?” Johan sounded frustrated.

  “Sorry, my dad won’t allow me to have guys over when he’s not here.”

  “I won’t tell,” he said, a cocky smile curving his lips.

  “Miss Akin will though. Seriously, my dad is completely anal when it comes to guys being here when he’s gone. But I’m sure I’ll see you around.”

  “Why are you being so hot and cold with me?” he asked, irritation in his voice. “Was Megan talking shit about me?”

  Wow, he had gone from cocky and self-assured to suspicious and demanding in three seconds flat. “Megan didn’t say anything,” I said trying to pull my hand free.

  His fingers tightened around mine.

  “There are two sides to every story.”

  Spoken like a guy who had something to hide.

  I opened my mouth to tell him I really had to go when he leaned in and kissed me.

  His lips were hard against mine, and when his tongue slipped inside my mouth, I pulled

  away so fast I hit my head on the car window.

  I st
ared at him in disbelief. What the hell?

  “Sorry, I thought you…”

  He thought what, exactly? That I wanted his tongue down my throat?

  “Too soon?”

  Ya think? “Yeah,” I said, pushing open the car door. He finally let go of my hand.

  “Maybe we can go out again with Megan and Milo, so your dad doesn’t think it’s a date.”

  Ian was no longer at the window and I hoped he hadn’t left because of the kiss.

  “I gotta go. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

  Not waiting for his response, I rushed into the house. My heart slammed against my chest as I shut the front door and ran to the parlor, only to find Ian wasn’t there.

  I ran up the steps to my room to find it empty.

  “Damn it,” I said under my breath, mad that Ian had taken off before I’d had a chance to talk to him. I was so disappointed, I felt like crying.

  “He likes you.”

  Ian stood in the doorway to the bathroom, leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed over his chest. He was so beautiful, my heart skipped a beat.

  I nodded. “I guess.”

  “He kissed you.”

  “I didn’t want him to.”

  “Are you sure?” he said jokingly, but there was a slight edge to his voice.

  “Did you see me pull away?”

  “No, I wanted to give you your privacy.”

  I wanted to tell him that no one else could make me feel the way he did. That no one could ever compare to him. But didn’t he know that? Couldn’t he read my thoughts?

  Or perhaps he could only read certain thoughts?

  The silence stretched out until I couldn’t take it. “Oh, guess what—Johan is related to the MacKinnon’s who live there now, and he’s offered to give me a tour.”

  “Don’t rely on Johan,” he said abruptly.

  I could read the jealousy on his face, in the way his jaw clenched. For some odd reason, the knowledge that he was jealous thrilled me. At least I knew my feelings weren’t one-sided.

  “He might just be our only way in…short of breaking in. I mean, maybe he can talk to his parents and get a key.”

  “We don’t need Johan’s help.” I clearly heard the jealousy in his voice this time, and saw irritation in his eyes.

  My stomach fluttered. “Then how do we get in?”

  “I can get in anytime I’d like, but you, on the other hand, require a bit more finesse.

  Let me work on it.”

  I didn’t think it could be too difficult for him to get me in, but maybe, like me, he wanted to wait awhile. Maybe––just maybe––he enjoyed my company as much as I enjoyed his.

  He looked at my neck, reached out, and lightly pulled the shirt down. Only a tiny bruise remained. “Laria’s going too far. This must stop.”

  “I’m not afraid of her, Ian.”

  He watched me closely, intently. “She is invading your dreams now?”

  I didn’t deny it. “I had a nightmare last night…and you were in it. Actually, you tried to kill me.”

  He frowned. “I would never hurt you, Riley. You know that, right?”

  I nodded. “I know. I trust you.”

  Slowly a smile tugged at his lips, and the old Ian returned. “Have you read anything in the books about protecting yourself against evil spirits?”

  I bent over my bed, reached for the stack of books I had hidden there. All the blood rushed to my head, and when I sat upright, I realized my shirt had ridden up and Ian stared at the skin I’d unwittingly flashed him.

  His gaze shifted slowly back to my face, and the blood in my veins turned hot at the heat in that stare.

  I looked down at the book and quickly flipped through to the pages I recalled reading earlier. “It says here that small stones and pebbles placed along the floor can ward off evil spirits.” I glanced up at him. “We can always go to the river. There are plenty of stones there.”

  We raced to the river and I picked up as many stones and pebbles as my jean and sweatshirt pockets could hold. The sun was slowly slipping behind the horizon when we entered the inn again.

  I unloaded the rocks the second I made it to my room, and Ian helped me place them around my bed and along the doorway and window frame. “I hope you know if Miss Akin walks in here, she’ll think I’m crazy.”

  “No, she won’t…she adores you,” he said with a smile that curled my toes.

  I stared at him, and I don’t know what came over me, but I took the steps that sep-arated us and I kissed him. I had meant for it only to be a chaste kiss, a “you-make-me-so-happy” kind of kiss, but it ended up being something completely altogether different.

  I sensed his surprise, but only for an instant. The next thing I knew, his arms came around me, crushing me to him. I sighed into his mouth and he smiled against my lips before he deepened the kiss, his tongue sliding against mine, silky soft.

  Exhilaration and need rushed through me as my hands flattened against his back. I could feel the play of muscle and sinew

  beneath my fingers. What I felt for Ian was real, and ironically he made me feel alive in a way I hadn’t been since my mom’s death.

  Ian pulled away the slightest bit, looking down at me, his blue eyes intense. “We’re playing with fire, Riley Williams.”

  “I don’t care.” And I didn’t care. I wanted Ian MacKinnon more than I’d ever wanted anything in my life.

  He opened his mouth to say something else, but I silenced him with another kiss.

  His long hair tickled my forearms, and as his hand moved down my back and settled on my hip, I moaned softly.

  Footsteps sounded on the staircase and I held my breath. Ian put me at arm’s length and started fading before my eyes.

  “Don’t you dare leave,” I whispered at the same time a knock sounded at my bedroom door. It had to be Miss Akin checking in.

  Her timing sucked.

  “Tomorrow,” Ian said, kissing me one last time, and before I could beg him to stay, he was gone.

  Chapter 19

  I woke to the sound of scratching.

  Exhausted, I kept my eyes closed, rolled over onto my back, and pulled the comforter tighter around my body. Unfortunately, it didn’t keep the frigid cold air from creeping under the blankets.

  I know what that cold meant. I had a visitor, and I had a feeling I knew who it was.

  With heart pumping like crazy, I slowly opened my eyes and I wish I hadn’t. Laria stared down at me, her dark eyes piercing, and her smile malicious.

  My breath lodged in my throat.

  “You wanted to know about witches and ghosts…and now you will.” Her voice was low, eerie, a sound that terrified me as much as the circumstances I now found myself in.

  “Tell me, is it as wonderful as you imagined, or have you had enough?”

  What the hell was she talking about?

  Her head tilted in that odd, unnatural way that made my skin crawl. I knew she did it to freak me out and it was working, but I didn’t let on. At least I hope she couldn’t see behind my false bravado…that was slipping by the second.

  “But you do, and you should know better than to get involved in matters that are none of your business.” She lifted her hand, flicked her fingers, and I was abruptly jerked from my bed and sliding across the floor. I couldn’t stop—not by putting out my feet or hands. I was like a puppet on a string, and her laughter vibrated in my ears as I hit the wall with a bang.

  It was a horrible sensation—like being in concrete and having no power over your own limbs.

  Several more movements of her hands and I was sliding up the wall, my back stuck to the wall like I was a magnet on a refriger-ator door.

  Who knew a ghost could have such power; physical power—the power to do real harm.

  My feet left the floor and I slid higher and higher. If I fell from this height, it would hurt. I might even snap a bone or two, including my neck. Maybe that was her intention all along—to kill me.

&
nbsp; Laria watched me with an amused smile, and although I tried my best to hide my fear, it was impossible. I could hear my heart hammer in my ears, and no doubt she could too.

  “Leave me alone, Laria.”

  “I can’t hear you,” she sang in an eerie disembodied voice.

  I tried to pull away from the wall, but it was no use. She lifted her hands and I slid further up the wall until I was on the ceiling, my hair hanging down around me.

  Unable to look at her, I closed my eyes and thought one word.

  Ian.

  I bit my lip to keep from screaming as I slid across the ceiling. When I finally hit the opposite wall, I tweaked my hand hard. I didn’t have time to think about the pain though, because I started sliding across the ceiling again, this time barely missing the light fixture. I could feel the heat of it though.

  I considered yelling out, but Shane was spending the night with Richie, and Miss Akin slept in the guest room at the opposite end of the house with her fan on high. White noise put her to sleep, and kept her asleep, she had commented more than once. She would never hear me. Plus, I didn’t want to give Laria the satisfaction.

  “Riley, open your eyes,” she said, her voice coming from nearby—as though she was right next to me.

  I didn’t want to open my eyes to see if she was beside me, hanging upside down. That’s

  one image I wouldn’t be able to get out of my head.

  I felt an icy hand on my shoulder, sliding up toward my neck. “Open your eyes,” she whispered, her breath cold in my ear.

  Ian, I need your help.

  I began to move again, and this time I was thrust hard against the far wall, and then I began sliding downward, face first. My hair touched the floor, and I put my hands out in case she dropped me on my head, but a second later I was sliding back up the wall, toward the ceiling again. I felt the cool draft from the window and wondered for a horri-fying moment if she’d thrust me out the window and hurdling to my death.

  I thought of the books I’d read about the paranormal, hoping to recall any of the books that might help me. Suddenly a phrase popped into my head. “You have no power over me,” I said with conviction.

  “Do you think words or stones can stop me?” she said, sarcasm lacing her voice. “You are a fool if you think so. You are facing someone with a power far greater than your own. You will never be able to control me.