His gaze dropped to my necklace, and he grinned. “A lighthouse.”
“It was a gift from Teddy.”
Chapter Seventeen
Warmth caressed my face as I snuggled into the body next to me.
The rise and fall of the chest beneath my hand was steady and sure. I slowly opened my eyes, trying to pierce through the veil of pain assaulting my head.
“Take it slow,” Hugh whispered from next to me. “Your sister got us drunk.”
That explained the head-pounding throbs and my need to turn away from the light.
“What time is it?” I swallowed hard, fighting the cotton in my mouth.
“I’m not sure. There isn’t a clock in this room,” he said, stroking my hair as if it were a habit he couldn’t turn off. “Good news is that the rain has stopped and the sun is out.”
I tried to turn toward the window and hissed, snugging back into the warmth of his body.
“We should get moving,” I said as if it would motivate me to actually pull away from him.
“Actually, I think this is your last stop. It’s time you got off the crazy train. I can handle it from here.”
I forced my eyes open, ignoring the bite in my head. I blinked my lazy lids open, adjusting to the light. “You don’t even have the ledger.”
“I found it last night,” he said as his gaze softened.
“How? Where? More importantly, why didn’t you tell me?” I asked, leaning upon my arm to stare down at him.
He picked up the lighthouse locket resting against my shirt and ran his finger over the design. “Teddy gave this to you.”
“Well, yeah,” I said, holding it out so I could stare down at it. “He said I was the light in the darkness.”
“You most definitely are,” Hugh said, resting his palm on my cheek. He rolled me to my back, then pressed his lips to mine in a slow and tender kiss. Pulling back, he touched the locket, and within seconds, a secret compartment I never even knew was there opened.
“What the…” I said, sitting up and taking the necklace off to get a better look. Removing the back had uncovered a rectangular USB port connection.
“My mother had one. She was a computer nerd,” Hugh said, rubbing his hand up and down my back in an intimate caress. “I didn’t realize you had one until I saw it last night.”
“The light in the darkness,” I whispered again, the words giving new meaning to what I’d thought was intimacy between Teddy and me.
I should have known that wasn’t the case.
“Victor and his guys are probably still looking for you,” I said as Hugh sat up next to me.
He continued the caress on my back. “I’m counting on it.”
I met the warmth of his gaze. “You’re hurt. You don’t know the area. I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
Hugh leaned in and kissed me, pressing me back against the pillow. He took his time, slow and sensual, and, just like the man was multifaceted, so was his seduction. I could feel it down to my core.
He gently pulled away. “When this is over, I’d like to take you out on a date.”
My eyes searched his, and my heart beat wildly in my chest. “When this is over, I’ll let you take me out on a date, if you live long enough.”
His lips twisted up at the corners. “Then it’s a date.”
He pulled away and climbed out of the bed, getting dressed. I couldn’t help but appreciate his hard body. Heat climbed into my cheeks as I pulled on my dried jeans.
Whap-whap-whap sounded from outside the window, and I peeled back the curtain, covering my eyes from the pain of the bright sun. A helicopter was landing in the middle of the cul-de-sac.
“What the…”
Hugh moved the curtain and grinned. “Looks like my ride is here.”
“How did you manage that?”
“Sheriff Weller had packed a satellite phone. I guess he uses it up in those woods he’s in charge of. I called my boss.”
I handed him the necklace. “How do you know you can trust him?”
“I just do,” Hugh said and pulled me in again for another kiss.
There was a knock on the door before Clark called out from the other side. “Your ride is here.”
“I’ll be out in a second,” Hugh called. His gaze searched mine. “I don’t blame Teddy for wanting to keep you all to himself.”
I didn’t want to respond to that. I didn’t know how. Teddy had known I was destined for his brother, and yet, he’d never said a word. My feelings for the man had morphed into highs and lows, like a roller coaster with no end. One minute I thought my ex had cared about me, heck, even trusted me, and the next I was swamped with fierce anger that he hadn’t trusted me enough to tell me the truth.
“The sooner we get Victor picked up, the less danger you’ll be in. Please wait on going back to your house until we track him down.”
I nodded. I wouldn’t be going home alone, no matter how much I’d want to go.
Hugh rubbed his thumb across my lips. “No frowning. I’m due for a vacation. I’ll be back before you know it, to collect on that date.”
He kissed me once more and then headed for the door. I watched through the window as he climbed onto the helicopter, and within minutes, he was gone.
Chapter Eighteen
“You want me to take him out?” Gwen asked from across the room. If James Bond had been a female secret agent, he would be my sister. Her tactics for life and love included having a gun within reach.
“I think he got hurt enough, don’t you?” I answered.
“I could always send one of my house guests to haunt his butt,” Faith offered. Her ability to see ghosts was just one of her many attributes. Not that I’d felt the need to resort to haunting by association.
“Maybe another time,” I answered.
“If you need me to, I can track him down,” Cassie offered to use her gift she’d used to always win at hide and seek.
“He knows where to find me,” I said, fighting back the sadness in my voice.
“I had a premonition….” my sister Nina started to say.
I held up my hands in surrender. “I’m fine, guys. I promise.”
“Of course, you are. You’re a Bennett. When men fall into our lives, they never know what they have until we shove them in the right direction,” Gwen said.
“Unless, of course, you greet them at the door with a gun shoved in their face,” Max said from the kitchen.
“It was that moment you fell in love with me,” Gwen hollered through my living room.
“Of course, it is,” Max said with a chuckle.
“Well, I can tell you that he’s not dead,” Mercy offered.
Her ability required touching a picture or something personal of the targeted person. Neither of which I had. “And how do you know that?”
She grinned and picked up the remote to turn the television up. Hugh was dressed in a suit, standing next to the director of the FBI. In the corner of the news report, it showed financial books and bank statements, and in another corner, it had a newsfeed of Victor, a prison guard, and a lawyer in handcuffs being escorted into jail. Hugh had found the moles and had gotten them arrested too.
“Looks like it all worked out,” Keaton said as he and the other guys walked into the room. He kissed Faith and smiled at her like a man in love.
Keaton gestured to our table full of wedding favors. “You know we could always just go to the courthouse. Get married and skip right to the honeymoon.”
“Not if you want to live to enjoy the honeymoon,” Gwen said from across the room. Of course, we all knew she was teasing…most of the time.
I’d reverted back to sleeping at night, kind of in the hope that I might run into Hugh. Only now, every time I fell asleep and my spirit took a little field trip, it was to find Hugh wide-awake, never asleep.
I’d given up wondering if he was going to return. I picked up my glass of wine and sipped, enjoying the feeling of being around my sisters and th
e people I loved. Maybe I’d been keeping myself guarded for too long, from the people who mattered most.
“Grams would kill you if you eloped,” I said, watching Faith and Keaton drift into their own little world.
“Might be worth it if it gets a rise out of her. She hasn’t been the same since Gwen had to hunt down the guy that swindled her money,” Cassie said.
“Our very own FBI Special Agent Fillpot will be at the wedding.” Gwen gave an evil grin. “I’m sure Grams will have a few choice words to share.”
“That’s one show I don’t intend to miss,” I said.
Within the hour, I’d walked each sister, and the men they loved, out of my door with promises that I’d be on time the next day for the wedding. I had every intention of keeping that promise.
* * *
I stared at my sister as they put on her veil. She was stunning and beautiful and nervous, and I loved my sisters more than words could say. There was a camaraderie between us. I’d felt it growing up, but felt it even more now that we were older. The lace wedding dress was perfect. The gown fit Faith’s personality better than anything we could have picked for her.
Keaton was a lucky guy, and he knew it, judging by the note he’d sent into the church dressing room and the single white rose that accompanied it.
The air in the room created goosebumps on my arms. Faith glanced over her shoulder to the empty corner and spoke in hushed tones. Her ghostly house guests were present.
“I guess your live-in ghosts didn’t want to miss it either,” I said as Faith lifted her gaze to me. I glanced into the corner for context.
“Of course, they wouldn’t. They’re both here.”
There was a knock on the door, and I pulled it open. It took me a minute to realize the woman I was staring at wasn’t my dead sister, Talia, but a descendant of the other Bennett line we’d found. She was a dead ringer for my sister; they could have been twins.
“I hope you don’t mind,” Clara Bennett sauntered into the room. She smiled as she glanced around at everyone. “So, this is what it’s like to have sisters.”
“What are you doing here?” Mercy asked, pulling the woman in for a hug.
“My brothers and I have a gift for the bride. I offered to deliver it personally.” She crossed the room and handed a card to Faith, only Faith didn’t have an opportunity to open it because Gwen snatched it out of her hand.
She pointed to an emblem of a spiral looking sun. “I’ve seen this before.”
Clara’s lips twisted into a smile. “I’m sure you have. Our cousin Mike probably mentioned it.”
“Yeah, he did, and then Fillpot had it too.”
Clara’s smile slipped. “Did he?”
Gwen nodded. “It’s supposed to be some type of healing shaman symbol isn’t it?”
“You could say it has a way of healing a person’s spirit.” Clara’s smile grew.
“Well, don’t be rude.” Faith took the envelope back and pulled the card out.
Her eyes glazed over, and she had this faraway look, like she’d been transported to another place or time. Her chest fell and rose like she was being chased.
“Faith…” I held out my hand, only for Clara to shake her head.
“It’s nothing that will hurt her. I promise,” Clara whispered.
Faith rested her hand over her chest and grabbed the nearest chair. Tears gathered in her eyes.
“I thought you said it wouldn’t hurt her,” I growled.
“It didn’t hurt,” Faith said as a tear slipped free. “How did you do that?”
“It’s a Bennett family secret and probably one of the main reasons Fillpot was searching for me.” Clara beamed. “It’s a small token we can offer to mend the ties between our family lines.”
“Let me see,” Gwen said, about to pluck the card from Faith’s hands.
“I don’t know if it will work for you,” Faith said, as though almost hesitant for Gwen to see it.
“It will,” Clara clarified. “It will work for all of you. I’ll leave you guys to it. I’m going to go grab a seat.”
Clara left, and I watched my other sisters fall into the same trance. The same tears formed, and the look on their faces was one not of confusion but love.
Cassie handed me the card, and it was then that I understood why they’d reacted as they had.
Chapter Nineteen
My vision blurred, and I blinked. I was no longer in the dressing room with my sisters. I no longer held the card clenched in my hand. I was in a meadow filled with yellow flowers.
Standing in front of me was my baby sister, Talia.
Only she wasn’t young like she’d been when she died. She looked grownup. She looked our age.
“Honor.” Talia said my name, and tears filled my eyes.
“This isn’t real, but God, I want it to be,” I whispered.
“It is real. I’ve been watching you and the others grow. I’ve been with you the entire time.”
A tear slipped down my cheek, and my heart raced.
“How?”
“It doesn’t matter. What matters is that I love you guys and miss you so very much, but I’m where I need to be.”
“Talia.”
She wiped her thumb across my face, banishing my tear. “You’re going to be okay. You know that, right?”
“Sure,” I answered, and within seconds, Teddy appeared next to her.
I didn’t pretend I was strong enough to stand. I fell to my knees.
“Oh, Lizzie Lou,” he said, his face softening. “I’m sorry for everything I’ve done and the pain I’ve caused you.”
“Teddy?” I swallowed hard.
“Hugh is the man for you. He always has been. I was selfish to keep you to myself, knowing the truth, but I loved you, Lizzie. I will always love you. It’s time for you to let go and live.”
I swallowed around the lump in my throat, unable to speak.
“He’s right, Honor. Your destiny awaits, and I can’t wait to have a front-row seat to the fireworks,” Talia said, leaning into me and pulling me tight. She whispered into my ear. “I have it on good authority that he actually is your Mr. Right.”
My eyes shot open, and I found each of my sisters holding out a tissue in my direction.
I dabbed at my tears, trying to salvage my makeup as the others did the same.
“How…”
They shrugged.
“It doesn’t matter how. It only matters that it happened,” Faith said through her teary-eyed smile.
The wedding went off without a hitch. My sister was a married woman, and I had a feeling it wouldn’t be long before the others joined that club.
I was seated next to Clara, watching the others on the dance floor.
“So, how did you do it?”
“Does it matter?” she asked.
“It’s the emblem with intention,” Fillpot announced, sitting down on the other side of her. “It’s one of her many tricks.”
Clara sipped her champagne, not denying or agreeing.
“It’s why I showed it to your sister Gwen when we first met,” Fillpot said.
“You mean when you set a trap for my sister?” I asked.
A smile splayed on Fillpot’s face. “If there was another way, I would have taken it. Unfortunately, there wasn’t. And your grandmother did get all of her money back with interest. No harm, no foul.”
I sipped my champagne before I spoke. “If you believe that, then you don’t know us Bennetts at all.”
“Clara, if I can a word in private,” Fillpot said and gestured toward the double doors that led to the hallway.
“You don’t have to.” I said to Clara before giving a pained smile to Fillpot. “He isn’t your keeper.”
As soon as the words left my mouth, I felt like it was a lie.
“It’s fine,” she said, rising to her feet. Her black silk dress shimmied down her body. “We’ve played this song and dance for years.”
Before she walked off, sh
e leaned down and whispered, “Don’t be too hard on him. He was fighting himself on whether he was betraying his brother because he wants you too.”
I looked up to find Hugh crossing the room, his gaze glued on me. The suit was made for him. He looked debonair and scrumptious and everything I shouldn’t want.
Clara rested her hand on my shoulder. “Have fun.”
My stomach flipped and flopped and did all of those girly things I didn’t want it to do. It had been three weeks since he’d left with few words. Three weeks since I couldn’t even find him in the astral state.
He sat down, holding my gaze.
“I looked for you in my astral state. I changed my sleeping pattern for you…” The words slipped free before I could rein them in. “Only you weren’t there.”
“Honor, I’m sorry.”
I shook my head and rose from my chair. “You missed your window.”
I walked across the dance floor to the doors and the garden beyond. My sisters each watched as if reading the situation to intervene.
I didn’t need to look back to know he’d followed me.
The night was quiet. The sky was full of stars, and I could feel Hugh’s heat gaze at my back. His soft words against my ear. “I don’t know how to do this. I don’t know how to be a good brother to Teddy and date you.”
I dropped my gaze to the stone beneath my feet. I couldn’t tell him that I’d seen Teddy. He wouldn’t believe me. I also wasn’t going to hold his hand while he figured things out. I wanted him to know without a shadow of a doubt that I was the girl for him. Second-guessing would only break my already fragile heart.
“It’s fine,” I said, turning in place and taking a step back to put more distance between us. “I get it.”
“I don’t think you do,” Hugh said, wrapping an arm around my waist and pulling me closer, holding me firmly against his body. “I didn’t expect to fall for my brother’s girl, but I did, and I’m not ready to let you go.”
I dropped my gaze to his chest. He crooked his finger and gently eased my chin up to meet his gaze. “I’m sorry I didn’t call, but as for your astral state, I don’t know why we didn’t connect. I changed my sleeping habits so that we’d be asleep at the same time.”
Train Wreck: Bennett Dynasty Book 6 Page 7
