This was testing his control.
He was close to losing it.
Yes, he told her they would handle the creepy cases they caught, but watching her resting on the bed, nearly as pale as death as she fought some invisible vision…
Well…it scared him.
What if she got trapped?
What if she never came back?
What if…?
When he couldn’t protect her, it made him feel helpless and like he was a failure.
Empty.
Useless.
He’d give anything to be able to carry her and their child through this. His wife was his everything.
Tucking a stray red hair behind her ear, he refused to move from her side. While she was under, he would remain with her.
It didn't matter how long.
He’d stay for eternity if need be.
As quickly as she’d gone under, she gasped for breath and sat up. Julian was never prepared for how hard she seemed to fight to get back to him. Instead of losing it, he was going to try something new. He was going to be calm.
“Hey. I missed you. How was your trip to Dead-ney Land?”
“Funny, Bethany said the same thing,” she admitted, “only she wasn’t nearly as amusing.”
Yeah, Julian didn't doubt it.
“How long was I out?”
Julian glanced over at the clock on their bed stand. “Almost thirty minutes. I figured you’d be back soon.”
“Why are you calm?”
Had he been drinking more wine while she was with Bethany?
“Are you drunk?”
Julian began laughing. “You want me raging around like a maniac? You don’t like when I freak out. I thought I’d try something new with this one. This is me, Mr. Cool.”
“No, I don’t, but this new Julian is a little scary.”
“You just spent a half an hour with a dead woman in your mind, and me being calm freaks you out? Really?” he teased, pulling her back down to rest in his arms. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
The second she made contact, he already felt a million times better. He’d gotten her back, and that’s all that mattered.
“Mmmmm, Jules,” she murmured, burrowing down into his arms. Finally, Tori felt at ease. Here was her sanctuary, and she’d never trade it for a million years.
“Did I miss anything?”
“Not really. The only thing that happened was your brother texted me. He wanted to know where we were, so I told him our room number. He might need to find us some night.”
“Good idea,” Tori replied. Honestly, she wasn’t really hearing him. She was distracted by Julian’s body against hers. There were few people, or things, in the world that could steal the very thought from her brain, but he was at the top of the list. The delicious weight of his body along hers was enough to get her heart pounding out of control.
And he knew it.
“Jules,” she whispered.
He couldn’t help himself. Lowering his mouth to his wife’s, he slowly kissed her. It was gentle, filled with heat, and spoke of his feelings for her. He only hoped it would cement her in the present with him. Julian didn't want her popping back to wherever it was that Bethany hung out.
Not now.
For that moment, she was his.
“I love being in your arms,” Tori whispered.
Yeah, he loved it too.
When they were pressed together like this, there was no way she couldn’t feel what lived in him.
It was impossible.
It oozed from him in wave after wave of heat.
Tori knew this was his way of comforting himself. There was no doubt in her mind that the thirty minutes had been hell for him. She knew her husband too well.
“I could do this all day,” he muttered into the kiss. “In fact, let’s try and see what happens.”
“Okay,” she offered, willing to put what she learned on the back burner. If her husband needed to roll around in bed, she was up for the challenge. When her hand slid down between them, stroking his erection beneath his jeans, he moaned.
“Victoria Rose, you undo me,” he admitted. “I will never get bored with the way that feels.”
Tori hoped she always would.
As his hands wandered beneath her shirt, she reveled in the amazing feeling of his rough hands against her flesh. “Julian. I love when you touch me.”
His name on her lips was enough to fire everything in him. He was just about to start stripping his feisty wife from her clothes when they heard footsteps.
They seemed out of place.
They were hurried, erratic, and like an elephant charging down the hall.
Suddenly, their door flew open, crashing against the wall, taking them both by surprise.
They must have forgotten to lock it when they came in.
Julian jumped, putting himself in front of his wife and child. When he saw who it was, he was pissed.
Then he noticed the blood.
“Beau?” Tori called, shocked at what had just happened.
“We have to talk,” he stated, closing the door behind him. When he pressed his body to it, trying to catch his breath, they stared at him.
“What happened?” she asked, climbing off the bed to check on him. To say that she was shocked would be an understatement. This was the last thing she thought she’d see.
Instead of answering, he grabbed her and hugged his sister against his chest. “Victoria, we have to get out of here, and fast! You’re not safe here.”
Julian was alarmed by what the man was saying. He wasn’t sure what had gone on, but this didn't seem like normal behavior for Beau. He was generally calm. Plus, if she was in danger, that wasn’t going to be an easy pill for him to swallow. That was his big freak out.
Tori tried to calm him, running her hands up and down his back. He wasn’t shaking, but his body was taut and tense.
Something had him worked up.
To freak out a soldier, it had to be huge.
“Shhhh, it’s okay,” she said, still trapped in his arms. He was holding onto her so tight, she could barely breathe. Just as quickly as he grabbed her, he set her free to stare into her eyes.
That one act stole her breath. It reminded her of Trey, and the way he always looked at her. It never ceased to stagger her that she had another brother.
She had a second chance.
“We have to get out of here. I’m not kidding. This is the last place you need to be. It’s dangerous here.”
“What happened?” she asked, taking his face in her palms. “What happened to you? You’re bleeding,” she said, noticing the scratches down his arms and the nicks in his face and neck.
He told her everything that had happened.
Beau left nothing out.
It began with the conversation he overheard and the malevolent laughter that followed. Then he told her about his apron untying as he watched, and how the glass started exploding around him.
She stared at him but it wasn’t with the look he expected. Why wasn’t she surprised?
This had to be shocking.
Right?
“Who did you tell?” Julian asked.
“I didn't have to tell anyone. As soon as it started, Mr. Nelms was there, and he looked just as freaked out. He saw the tail end of the glass popping. Luckily for me, he saw it happen, or they would think I was insane. No one would believe this.”
Oh, Tori believed it.
In fact, she wasn’t shocked.
“It’s going to be fine, Beau. Take a deep breath and relax. I promise that we’re safe.”
He shook his head. “We have to get out of here. This place is haunted.” Beau didn't get why they were so calm about this. He’d just been assaulted by something they couldn’t see. That meant they were all in danger.
“We’ll be fine,” she reassured.
He didn't buy it.
How the hell did you fight what you couldn’t see?
“I know that we
have a little bit of a ghost problem. There are three dead girls here, and I have to find them in order to set them free.”
Julian’s eyes went big. They looked like two full moons, only punctuate with golden brown flecks.
Tori braced for it.
There was no doubt it was going to happen.
That’s when it happened.
The glasses weren’t the only things that exploded.
Julian Littlemoon was right behind them, and he was going to be a far bigger issue than some stirred up spirits.
He was pissed.
* * * L i t t l e m o o n * * *
Across Town
Shopping For Fate
In her shop, she paced, picking up the various crystals as she attempted to find peace. All day, it had eluded her. No matter what she did, what she said, or how much she promised, there was no silence.
What she wanted was for the noises in her head to stop. He was screaming in her brain like a drill sergeant. There were orders, pleading, and then profanity. It was like he was trapped in the moment, and until he got his message out, he’d be angry.
That hurt her the most.
His anger was eating away at her.
Toss in that there was that overwhelming sense of hopelessness, and Nyx was a mess. She didn't know if she wanted to rage around the room, or slip into the melancholy until she could never get out.
It was hard on her.
It was painful.
She needed him to stop.
No matter what she did, he wasn’t listening. The more she told him no and that she had no intention to help him, the harder it was to get free from his voice. It began as begging, but now it was shouting.
He was so angry.
Determined.
Resolute.
Nyx knew it wasn’t going to end well. She could feel it all the way to her soul.
“I can’t go there!” she shouted back, her hands braced on the side of her head over her ears, trying to find some break from the barrage.
The angry diatribe continued, filling her head with a buzzing that just wouldn’t go away. There was no way she could do this for the rest of her life.
He was destroying her.
Little by little, he was breaking her.
“I can’t help you. I don’t know what you want. I need you to go away! I order you away!”
She heard his words as they echoed over and over in her brain. There was no doubt what he wanted, and Nyx was helpless to say no. He controlled her.
He was stealing her sanity.
“Please stop,” she begged, tears filling her eyes. “Please leave me alone. I don’t know what you want me to do. You’re killing me!”
The shouting suddenly stopped.
The anger abated enough that she could open her eyes again.
In her ear, as if he was standing beside her, he whispered to her.
She understood.
“Fine. I’ll do it,” she replied.
It made him happy.
“I’ll do it for you, but then you have to promise to move on. You have to cross to the other side. You don’t belong here,” she stated. “The longer you stay, the angrier you’ll become.”
The voice agreed.
He made his promise.
“Are you sure you want me to do this? Are you sure you want me to tell them you’re here? Once I do, I can’t undo it. If they don’t expect it, this could change their lives forever.”
The glass on her counter popped, shattering apart, and the lights around them flickered.
Well, that answered her question.
“Fine. What do you want me to tell him?”
She listened because she had no choice.
For the time being, Nyx was prisoner to the voice in her head. It belonged to the angry soldier, and she had to obey. This wasn’t the first time her body was held prisoner to some angry spirit.
But it would be the last.
Once she was free, she was going to silence it once and for all. She wanted it to end.
She needed it to end.
Nyx refused to live her life like this, being someone’s message service from the other side. There was no doubt in her mind that this man wouldn’t go in peace.
He’d died horribly, and she was wise enough to know that he was going to stick around, despite his promise.
She had to escape him.
There was no choice. Nothing could silence the angry shouts in his mind.
Nothing…
This life wasn’t worth it anymore.
Her curse was driving her absolutely insane.
Life was killing her.
So, she had to make the ultimate choice.
She chose death.
* * * L i t t l e m o o n * * *
When he heard what she said, he lost it.
So much for staying calm and accepting their fate. The last thing Julian wanted to hear was that there were dead ghosts trying to get his wife to help them.
AGAIN.
Obviously, they were dangerous.
Beau was scratched up and scared. To his knowledge, Casper the friendly ghost wouldn’t cross that line.
No, these were some angry spirits, and now the woman he loved was smack dab in the middle of it.
AGAIN.
This was too much, even for him.
New leaf, his ass…this wasn’t happening.
“No!”
Tori sat calmly on the bed. “Julian, you need to cool down. You’re stirring up the room, and they’re all around us. Negative feeds negative.”
He stared at her as if he didn't recognize the woman before him. That worried Tori. She didn't want him to run from their marriage because of her ‘gift’. It wasn’t like she asked for it. Fate was passing out burdens, and she was tagged.
“They’re here?”
Tori simply nodded. From her peripheral, she could see shadows spinning around her on both sides. They were there, and she didn't doubt that they understood him. The energy in the room was reacting to her husband’s anger.
“Please calm down,” she reiterated, keeping her own self-calm.
Julian didn't think he could. If there was one thing he hated, it was surprises.
Well, this was the mother of them all.
“We did this twice now, Tori. When it was Bethany, we set her free, and she never left. What if we start gaining a following? What’s to keep these ghosts from latching on and following us to our home? God knows it could happen. You’re like the pied piper of dead. When’s it going to stop? How many more tagalongs can we fit in our life?”
She stared at him. “Julian, I…”
He cut her off. “Bethany and this whole thing is a pain in my ass!”
The air changed, and while he couldn’t feel it, she could. Tori was just about to warn him when…
Julian gasped.
“OUCH!” He jumped and spun around. “She just pinched me on the ass! I was just assaulted by your spook!”
It was hard not to laugh. Tori knew he was angry, but really, this was pretty damn amusing.
Julian searched for her in the room. “Where are you?”
The curtains whipped around, despite there not being any breeze.
He focused on them. “Hands off! My ass is not for your entertainment!”
Tori snickered. “Well, you did just insult her, so she wanted you to know she hears everything you say.”
Julian moved angrily toward his wife.
Beau didn’t hesitate. He didn't know the man well enough, but he knew he needed to protect his sister if Julian was over the edge.
Gently, she placed her hand on her brother’s arm. “He would never hurt me,” she reassured before Julian could lose it.
She closed the gap between them, taking his hand in hers. “We owe them this much. Someone took their lives, Jules. What if it was our child? What if one of us was trapped in that world, and no one would help set us free?”
He looked horrified. “Bite your tongue, Victoria!�
�
Tori went into his arms and hugged him. “We got our little one because of this. I owe a debt, and I always pay them off. It’s the soldier’s code, Jules. Even if I have to save everyone who comes to us, I will. My word means something, and so does yours.”
Julian loathed that she had a very valid point.
He dropped his forehead to hers and sighed. “For how long, honey? When will this end?”
She kissed him. “We keep going forward until it’s over. I can’t give you a date, Jules. All I know is that we have a job to do. We find things that are lost, right?”
He knew where this was heading. “I wasn’t being literal or referring to dead people when I put it on the sign, honey. I think you know that.”
Tori grinned. “We have to find them. They’re getting angry, and that’s why they’re lashing out. Imagine if you were trapped, lost, and scared. Then you found that one person who could hear you. What would you do to be heard?”
Julian understood what she was saying. If it were him in that position, he’d do just about anything.
“My spirit guide promised to keep me safe. I believe Bethany. She’s never lied to us, and she’s always had my back, even when you weren’t by my side.”
His wife had a point, but he was still skeptical. “Spirit guide, huh?”
“You’re Native. I hear your family discuss how they are guided by the dead all the time. Clarissa still puts out a plate for your father at holidays.”
She had another point.
“Yes, she does.”
“How is this different? You talk to your dead, and I talk to mine. We have to adjust and not let this freak us out.”
Beau watched silently, taking it all in. This had to be the oddest conversation he ever heard, and if it hadn’t been between his sister and Julian, he would have questioned their sanity.
Julian knew she was right.
“How do I know you’re telling me everything?” he asked. “You tend to not tell me things that freak me out. If I agree to this, I want to be kept in the loop.”
Yeah, she did, and this was exactly why.
“If you need to know the truth, ask her.”
He lifted a brow and stared into those stormy eyes that he loved so much. “How am I supposed to do that, Victoria Rose? Whip out my handy dandy Ouija board?”
Truth Is Found Page 8
