“This is Sierra, how can I help you?”
“I’m so sorry to disturb you. It’s Oren McKee. We met this morning.”
“I remember. How can I help you? I’m in the middle of something important.” It came out sounding a little ruder than I’d intended.
“Sincere apologies, but I’ve just come across something that may be of some interest to you.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea to discuss this over the phone. For all we know the Council could have your phone bugged,” Oren answered.
I’d never thought of that, but it would explain why potential clients sometimes never bothered to call again. It didn’t, however, explain why Oren would even think to mention such a thing. “What are you suggesting?”
“That you meet me at the Bayview Cemetery this evening. At say, six o’clock?”
“Six o’clock? It’s still daylight—”
“What I have to show you doesn’t need the light of the moon.”
“I’m sorry, Oren, but I won’t be able to make it. I’ve already got something scheduled for tonight.”
“Well, can I be so bold as to ask you to reschedule? This matter really needs your attention, Sierra Fox.”
The way he said my name roused a shiver down my spine. I didn’t know if it was the slight Irish accent or just his tone, but he was able to do things with his voice men half his age could never do. I shook my head, catching Ebony’s gaze. There was a smirk on her lips. I swiveled the chair to face the wall and lowered my voice, “Can’t we meet tomorrow night?”
“I don’t know if this’ll be here tomorrow.”
Damn, damn, damn! My heart was pounding like crazy at the thought of having to miss yet another date with Jonathan—especially since tonight was going to be the night when we intended to take the next step in our relationship. How would he react if I called him to cancel? Would he still understand, or would he be so pissed off I’d never see him again?
“Can’t you call someone else to show this, whatever it is, to?” I had to at least try to get out of this. Jonathan, I want to spend tonight with Jonathan…
“It might be crucial to what we discussed this morning,” Oren insisted. Obviously he wasn’t going to back down.
“I can’t tonight—”
“Sierra, please, this is serious. I believe I might have found an answer to Burr’s problem.”
I sighed. Why did he have to make it sound so enticing, and as if he’d actually found something important? Damn my curiosity. “Okay, okay. I’ll see you then.”
“I’ll be waiting by the front gates.”
“Sure.” I hung up without a goodbye. An odd weight suddenly pressed down on my shoulders. I wasn’t looking forward to telling Jonathan.
Why the hell did I let a total stranger do this to me? This damn job could be such a pain in the ass sometimes. It wasn’t Sierra, the woman who wanted nothing more than to collapse into bed with Jonathan, who’d responded. No, Sierra the dumbass spook catcher was the one who’d agreed to meet Oren at the cemetery for something that could turn out to be a big old waste of time.
I held the receiver out to Ebony. She wrapped her fingers around it as my eyes blurred. For several seconds I felt alone in the office. I stared at the side wall, feeling so far away from everything, my mind felt fuzzy and heavy. What was so important Oren couldn’t wait until the next time we all met? These people were starting to intrude on my everyday life, and I wasn’t looking for a bunch of new friends to divide my already full schedule with.
A hot breath escaped me and I switched focus back to the topic at hand. Ebony was staring at me with curiosity burning deep in her eyes while Carleen looked down at her gloved hands.
“I’m sorry about that, Carleen. Now, where were we?” I said, swiveling back to face her.
She looked up, eyes rimmed red. “I think you were about to agree to take me on as a client.”
“Yes, we’ll definitely try to help you sort things out, but it may take some time. We’ve got several other clients who also require our attention, but in the meantime, I’ll get started on contacting other experts in the field of demonic things.”
“Thank you.”
“Please don’t thank us yet, because what we find may be something you were better off not knowing. I’ll have Ebony schedule a time with you, so we can stop by your house and take a look around. To inspect some of those totems your husband collected, that sort of thing.”
“No problem,” she said. Hope was already burning in her eyes.
“I’ve got just one more question for you. Did your husband ever tell you what happened to him, why his disappearance led to his death?” If he’d returned to her as a spirit, obviously something serious enough to get him killed had happened to Mr. Hocking.
Carleen shook her head.
I supposed it would’ve been too easy if she did know.
Chapter Eight
I took a deep breath. Pain spread throughout my chest, weighing heavily on my heart. This situation was affecting me worse than I thought it would. Something deep inside told me Jonathan would react differently this time.
It probably had something to do with the hundreds of other times I’d done this to him, especially after my performance this afternoon. I wished we’d raced upstairs and allowed every bit of inhibition to slip away from our minds and lives at that instant. A selfish thought because it would’ve saved me from this situation right now.
There was no point in standing on the street forever. I had to approach the situation head-on, so I took another deep breath, released it and pushed the door inward. The familiar bell above the door chimed as I took the first step into Jonathan’s bookstore, leaving behind the brightness of late afternoon. My eyes were forced to adjust to the sudden bleakness.
The store was old, built over a century ago when life in the city was different. In a time before cars, tall buildings and the Internet, and it still held a certain old-fashioned charm.
My stomach always felt a little lighter when I was in there. And it wasn’t just because of the man sitting on a stool behind the beaten, wooden counter. He stared at the computer screen with such concentration I almost hated to interrupt him. He’d stuck a pen behind his left ear.
All I wanted to do was run to him and hold on tight. I didn’t want to have to cancel our date so I could meet some old guy at the cemetery.
I stopped my approach when I heard his voice. I hadn’t even realized he was on the phone. But he was clutching his mobile close to his ear.
“I told you I’d take care of this my own way,” he said. He stopped to listen for a moment, closing his eyes as he listened. “No, no. You don’t need to interfere just yet—”
I took light steps towards him, heart pounding harder the closer I got.
Who was he talking to? He sounded pissed, which wasn’t a great mood to find him in. Not when I was about to cancel our date.
“Just back off, Troy,” he scowled. “I know what I’m doing. She’s going to be totally mine soon enough.”
My attempt at surprising him was foiled when he suddenly looked up with a frown. The dark look in his eyes was something I hadn’t seen before, but a wide smile brightened his face.
“Sierra, I’ll just be a second.” He held his left hand up, index finger pointed upwards. “I have to go.” He disconnected without another word, pulling off his glasses. “Hey, you’re early.”
“I know.” I tried to recapture the warm glow I’d felt upon first seeing him, but something about the conversation I’d interrupted made me feel uneasy. Who had he been talking to, and more importantly, what was it about? “Sorry to interrupt your call.”
His smile vanished for just a second. “It’s no big deal. I’m hoping to buy another occult statue. She’s a real beauty. Hey, is something wrong, has something happened?”
I shook my head. At least it explained what “she” he’d been referring to. For some reason, it had sounded
so ominous. But hearing he was after some strange statue made sense—he had a bunch of them in his apartment.
“Sierra, what’s going on?”
Tears were creeping in behind my eyes. If I didn’t make this quick, I was going to cry and look like an even bigger idiot. I really wanted to be with him tonight but my desire would go unquenched. This was getting harder and harder to deal with. I was afraid one of these days I would just explode, maybe wind up doing something stupid because of the unsatisfied heat coursing through my veins. A person could only take so much craving. It had been way too long since the last time I…
“I’m sorry, Jonathan.” I paused to clear the lump in my throat. “I’m going to have to cancel.”
“Cancel what? Tonight—is that what you mean?” The glimmer of happiness in his eyes dimmed. His frown was instant, though he tried to hide it by running a hand through his dark hair.
I nodded. “I’m so sorry. Something’s come up.”
Jonathan turned back to his computer. The length of counter between us seemed like a barricade now.
My heart plummeted to my feet when he placed the glasses back on his face.
“I’m really sorry, it’s just—”
“Something more important came up. I know the drill.”
“No, it’s not like that. This isn’t more important than you. Jonathan, you know I don’t have a regular job. I need to go check something. Maybe after I’m done I can come over to your place and we can—”
“Don’t bother, I won’t be there.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked, taking a step closer, lowering my hands onto the worn counter.
“It means I’ll still be here, working late. I might as well catch up on the things I was going to shove aside for you tonight. Look, don’t worry about it. We’ll catch up another time.” He placed his hand over the mouse.
I reached over and placed mine on top. The warmth of his skin vibrated into my palm and raced up my arm. Why was he so warm? “Please don’t be angry. You have no idea how much I would rather be with you than where I’m going.”
Jonathan’s eyes locked with mine. “So cancel.”
The need to cancel was itching inside my head, but I couldn’t. I was curious. There was too much going on at the moment for me to ignore a potential answer to what Grandpa first stirred up. “I can’t.”
He moved his hand away.
“I’m not doing this to hurt you.”
“You never do, Sierra, but somehow it always happens,” Jonathan whispered, eyes still glaring into mine. “I thought you were serious this afternoon, about us finally being together, totally alone. No job, no nosey ghosts. I honestly believed that for one night, just one night, you were willing to put me before everything else.” He looked away. “I guess I was wrong.”
“I was serious, and still am. Just because I have to cancel right now doesn’t mean we have to cancel the entire night.”
“Don’t even try, please. I know the routine. You say you won’t be long and before I realize it I’m falling asleep on the couch in front of the TV feeling like an ass for waiting around for a woman who’s never going to have time for me.” Jonathan’s tone was sharp and angry. He’d never gotten angry before. “Tell me…is your fear of commitment just with me?”
I was shocked, my pulse drumming against my temples. “Fear of commitment? I don’t have a fear of commitment.” What had prompted him to say something so ridiculous?
“Not when it comes to anything else but me, it seems.”
I took a deep breath to try to calm myself down. “Look, Jonathan, I’m really sorry about doing this to you again. I’m sorry for every single time I’ve done it, but please remember I waited around for you when you took off halfway around the world for three months.”
His face darkened. “Right, so that’s how you really feel. I committed to the trip before we even met. It was an essential expedition.”
“I don’t want to know the details and I’m not trying to make you feel bad, it’s just that sometimes other things get in the way. I don’t want to feel guilty every time something comes up in my life that needs immediate attention.”
He looked enraged. Color spotted the top of his cheeks when he said, “You know, this isn’t even about sex anymore.”
I was surprised at the comment. When had it been about sex? I opened my mouth to snap back the question but he cut in.
“Spare me the explanation, Sierra. Just go.”
“What’re you saying, Jonathan?” The tears were too close now.
He looked me right in the eye. A cold harshness I’d never seen inside his gorgeous dark eyes slapped me with an invisible force of accusation. “Just go do your thing.”
I was stunned to the spot and stood there for several minutes while he returned to whatever he’d been doing before I ruined his day.
Anger boiled inside me, threatening to consume my very soul as I drove down familiar streets. Everything seemed rigid and harder than I remembered. The lines of the suburban houses were stark, almost as if they were all outlined with dark, black markers, like a craft project. The grass was several shades lighter, outdone by the shiny glow of concrete and tar at every corner. The late-evening sun reflected against unfriendly surfaces making them uglier, a superior orb dipping into the horizon to mark the end of another day. Scents of family life were replaced with heavy exhausts from the cars ahead all battling peak-hour traffic in a rush to get home.
Everything seemed highlighted with bitterness.
At least, it was in my world. Tears of frustration had already dried on my cheeks.
I’d been feeling so guilty, so upset about having to cancel my rendezvous, and Jonathan decided to answer my unspoken plea for understanding with nothing but harshness. I’d never seen him angry before. My days of taking him for granted were over. Had I convinced myself he would put up with anything I had to dish out? I was angry at myself, but for the mention of sex, I was angry with him.
Waiting several months for him to return from Europe never bothered me. Aside from the fact I missed him and was eager to get to know him better. It happened early in our relationship, just after I rejected every advance he made towards a sexual relationship. I stopped his hand if it climbed too far up my thigh, or moved it to my shoulder when it got too close to my breasts. I just didn’t want to rush things. Just because we were consenting adults didn’t mean we had to jump in the sack first chance we got.
At least, that’s how I’d approached it.
Jonathan was always sweet about it. Kissing and cuddling seemed enough at the beginning. Then after his trip, when he came back bronze and muscular with an air of confidence he hadn’t exuded before, I was so taken by him that the physical side of things progressed. I forgot about the shambled relationships of my past where sex had been the only factor gelling us together.
I didn’t want him to be another one of those men. I didn’t want us to end up sitting in silence because there was nothing worth talking about unless we took our clothes off. I’d done that too many times and it got me nowhere.
Besides, my last real relationship—if you could call it that—ended years ago. The jerk took advantage of me in so many ways that celibacy proved a safer and saner option for a while.
But Jonathan was different. We connected on so many levels, not just the physical. At least that’s what I’d thought. And now here we were, back to square one.
I could still feel the heat of desire burn for Jonathan. I wanted him more than ever. I was sick of waiting and needed my craving to be fulfilled. But now I wasn’t even sure we’d see each other again.
“I’m so in love with you, Sierra,” Jonathan had whispered in my ear the week before. He’d kissed me with so much tenderness I wasn’t able to provide an answer back. He left me breathless.
That’s the effect he had on me, and no one had ever managed to do that before. Well, except for angry spooks trying to suffocate me as a way of escape.
“Damn!
” I smacked the steering wheel several times. I was already parked outside the cemetery. It seemed like my angry thoughts had made the drive over quicker than I’d expected. Sitting in the car wasn’t going to achieve anything but a hot sweat, which was already building under my T-shirt.
Oren McKee stood just inside the tall, wrought iron gates of the Bayview Cemetery.
I checked my watch.
From what I could remember, the cemetery locked up at six. It was now quarter to six.
I was parked several car spaces behind a black 4WD I assumed was his. I hoped this vehicle hid my whale of a car as I stalled, but doubted it. Besides, feeling like an idiot was the least of my worries. I was still a little pissed at the old man. It was his fault I was sitting inside my hot car instead of ending my too-long run as a celibate woman.
I pulled the keys out of the ignition, opened the door and climbed out in one swift motion. I slammed the door, securing the lock.
Oren lifted his hand and waved. I ignored him.
A soft breeze cooled my sweaty back but didn’t help the cotton already stuck to my skin. By the time I stood in front of Oren, composure had settled back into my system. I wasn’t going to let this man think otherwise. After all, he was still a stranger.
“So, what was so important it couldn’t wait?” I asked, sounding bitter.
“I’m sorry if I ruined your plans for the evening but something peculiar is going on inside the cemetery,” Oren said, bowing his head a little. “I’m glad you finally decided to step out of your car.”
I shrugged. “And there was no one else you could report this to? I mean, we only just met and you’re already trying to buddy up?”
Oren’s cool blue eyes were searching mine, the edges wrinkled as a small smile spread along his thin lips. “I like you, Sierra. There’s a certain something you have. Something not many other people seem to possess these days.”
“And what would that be?” I shifted my stance, dropping the car keys into my pocket.
“I can’t pinpoint it, a certain old-fashioned spark that died a long time ago. Besides, I’ve had my eye on you for a while now. We’re not strangers like you think we are.” His eyes were still pinning mine.
A Patch of Darkness Page 9
