The Charlatan's Conquest

by Vivien Dean

  “Then Bella can do it.”

  The next oldest at seventeen. “And who’s going to watch Cami while you’re at work?” Cami was the second youngest at ten. With school not set to start for two more weeks, she would be left at home alone if Bella took the next shift at the hospital.

  “Dragging you here isn’t why I called—”

  “I know, but if I don’t do it, Dad’ll be exhausted by the time you get off and can take over. I’m coming,” he said in a tone she couldn’t refute. It was only a four-hour drive in the worst of traffic. He had plenty of time to return to the Weber house, pack a bag, and get to Philadelphia before Mariana woke up in the morning. The staff at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia knew him well enough by now not to give him a hard time about showing up outside of visiting hours.

  “What about your work?” she asked.

  He couldn’t look at Brody. “One of the advantages to computers, Mom. I can do it remotely. Nobody’s going to give me a hard time, and if they do, then that’s not a company I really want to work for, now is it?”

  She wasn’t going to win this debate, and she knew it. “We appreciate it, you know that, right?”

  He did, which made it even more imperative for him to go. “That’s what family does for each other,” he said, much more gently. “You taught me that.”

  “Let me know you got here, okay?”

  “Will do.”

  “I love you.”

  “Love you too, Mom.”

  When Cruz lowered his phone, Brody was right there, his touch light on Cruz’s arm. “Is she okay?”

  No name was necessary since they both knew who the call was about. “She’s back in the hospital.”

  “The cancer didn’t return, did it?”

  “No. It’s pneumonia. The dangerous kind. They warned us it was a possibility. Her immune system is shot because of all the treatments.”

  “And you’re going back tonight.”

  Cruz dared to meet Brody’s eyes, but Brody showed no recriminations in the way he looked up to Cruz. “I have to, but I don’t want you to think I’m bailing on you. I made you a promise. I won’t break it.”

  Brody’s hand fell away. “That didn’t even cross my mind.”

  “It should’ve. I’ll bet it’s the first thing your father asks me when I tell him I have to go to Philly for a couple days.”

  “He’ll understand. It’s not like he’s a tyrant.”

  “He still expects me to do the job he hired me for,” Cruz countered. “And I will. I might have to drive back and forth from here to Philly for a few days, but if that’s what it takes, I’ll do it.”

  “It won’t come to that.” Brody straightened, a new resolve in the set of his shoulders. “Dad can put up with the delay as long as there aren’t any more occurrences, so I’ll go back to Philadelphia too. No me, no ghosts. Problem solved.”

  “If we both leave, won’t he assume we’re sneaking off together?”

  Brody snorted. “Trust me. My sex life is the last thing Dad will consider.”

  THE first thing Loren said after hearing about the phone call was, “Well, of course you have to go back.” Cruz ignored Brody’s I told you so glance until Loren followed it up with, “When do you think you’ll get around to the evictions?”

  “Dad!”

  “As soon as possible,” Cruz cut in smoothly. “You wanted them gone within two weeks, and that’s still going to happen. I’ll know more specifically about my sister’s condition once I get the chance to talk to her doctors in the morning. I can give you a better timeline then.”

  As sympathetic as Loren seemed to Cruz’s personal problems, there was still fear in the way he kept looking around the room, like he expected ghosts to start breaking things any second. Before Brody could mention he was leaving as well—a detail Cruz was convinced would cast doubt on the veracity of his own excuse—a different idea popped into his head.

  “Why don’t you get away too?” he suggested. “Maybe visit family you haven’t seen in a while? It’ll keep you busy until I can return, and you won’t have to worry about your unwanted guests getting restless.”

  “I do have friends in the city who’ve been bugging me that they never see me anymore,” Loren mused.

  “See? Everybody wins.”

  “Ramona would probably appreciate the time off,” Brody chimed in. “She’s been as shaken up as you have, Dad.”

  Loren nodded. “Plus, you can get back to the lab. I know you’d rather be there.”

  The words were tossed off casually, without obvious malice, but Cruz saw them land with an efficiency only a loved one could manage. Brody shoved his hands into his armpits, his favorite defensive posture, and braced his feet, though at least his eyes remained clear and steady.

  “There’s always work to be done,” Brody agreed. “But I’m coming back as soon as Cruz is ready to do the evictions.”

  “I thought you trusted him now.”

  “Why can’t I want to be here for you?”

  This was the same way he’d reacted to Etienne’s remarks, almost angry in the face of confrontation. Now that Cruz had a better understanding of Brody and Loren’s relationship, how Brody felt like he was all alone, his resistance to any threat to his tight grip on his world made more sense. It was remarkable he hadn’t displayed any of it on their date. Whether that was because he trusted Cruz in his inner sanctum or because the issue of the ghosts never came up, Cruz couldn’t be sure. But what he did know was that it wouldn’t do any of them any good to have to deal with it now.

  “I appreciate your support on this,” he told Loren. “Like I told Brody earlier, I follow through on my commitments. I won’t let you down.” He smiled. “Besides, it might help us out if the ghosts stew in their own juices for a little while. Let them relax in our absence. They could be easier to evict if we surprise them.”

  Loren chuckled. “Get ’em while they’re down. I like the way you think.”

  Cruz and Brody left him there, making a phone call, and climbed the stairs together. When they reached Cruz’s room, Cruz stopped Brody from continuing down the hall by catching his fingers.

  “Do you want to meet Mariana?” he asked.

  He didn’t expect his query to surprise Brody, but the widening of his eyes was proof Brody was caught off-guard. Almost as quickly, however, he relaxed again, his gaze darkening back to its familiar melancholy. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  “You’re not intruding. Visitors always make a difference. And I won’t suggest we’re dating, if that makes you uncomfortable. I’ll tell her we’re friends.”

  “It’s not that.” Brody curled his hand more tightly around Cruz’s. “I’m not willing to put her at even more risk with my presence. There’s no telling what could happen, especially since we did so well losing the ghosts for our date tonight.”

  Shame surged through him. “God, I didn’t even think of that.”

  “Why should you? I’m the one who has to live with them. You should be focusing on your sister, anyway.” Brody edged closer, his hesitance slowing time down around them. “The fact that you even asked means more than enough,” he added softly.

  Now was not the right time to satisfy the desires Cruz had banked all evening. But with Brody standing so close, and the naked emotions gleaming there on his face for anyone to see, Cruz couldn’t resist.

  The kiss was soft, as careful as Cruz could make it. He didn’t demand more than the warm touch of lips to lips. No exploration. No growing hunger. Nothing that wasn’t about the fulfilled promise of their hours together and the potential for those to come. He dallied for seconds longer than he would’ve on a doorstep or in a darkened corner, luxuriating in the welcome Brody offered, the heat they both shared.

  When he pulled back, Brody stopped him with a firm hand at his nape. He gently tugged so Cruz’s forehead rested on his.

  “When this is all done,” Brody murmured, “I would love the chance to take you out a
gain.”

  Cruz closed his eyes and concentrated on breathing in Brody’s head-swimming scent. “Shouldn’t I be doing the asking since I’m making you take credit for tonight?”

  “I don’t care about credit. I’d rather not wait and risk losing what we might have here.”

  Knowing he wasn’t the only one who felt it meant more than he thought Brody realized. “We’re definitely having a second date.” He tilted his head to brush a kiss across Brody’s temple. “I should probably get packed. The sooner I’m on the road, the better.”

  Brody’s fingertips dragged along his skin as he slowly let Cruz go. Cruz felt the weight of his touch long after they were in separate cars, driving down a nearly abandoned I-81, hurtling back toward lives that had already been irrevocably changed.

  Chapter Ten

  THOUGH they weren’t expecting him back for a couple of days, Brody went in to the lab as soon as he hit Philadelphia. He’d offered to take Cruz out for an early breakfast, but Cruz turned him down, albeit gently.

  “I’m going to pick up bagels and stop at the house first. I’ll want to take a shower before I head over to the hospital.”

  And that had been that. Brody had yearned to ask permission to call, but Cruz was so distracted with worry for his sister, he felt like an asshole for even mentioning it. They parted ways outside the house, and Brody followed him all the way to Philadelphia.

  After the lonely drive, his eyes were gritty and his back stiff. A shower would work wonders, but the idea of walking into his empty house left him hollow. Because it wouldn’t truly be empty, now would it? All the incidents he’d chalked up to coincidence, teenage malice, or his own neurological damage were the acts of his supernatural squatters. His presence was their earthly home, regardless of whether he wanted them there or not. Now that he knew that, it was impossible to fully relax when he wasn’t preoccupied with something else.

  So work it was.

  The parking lot was deserted when he pulled in just before five. Only the front security guard and one or two custodial staff would be in at this hour, but he stuck to his routine and parked in the third spot in the second row, like it was any other normal day.

  Normal. Had his life ever been normal? He’d had a glimpse of what it could be last night with Cruz, and it had been glorious. Even the call from Cruz’s mother was a dose of reality he would welcome, given the chance. Mariana’s illness was hardly a small matter, but it was tangible and, more importantly, treatable. He could predict within certain parameters how she would be taken care of, how the course of her pneumonia might run. It was infinitely better than shadows who refused to acknowledge him directly and treated him like a stuffed toy they could bat around at their whim.

  He scrubbed a hand over his face as he jogged to the front door. Jesus, how pathetic was he that he was grateful for Cruz’s family problems as a viable escape from his own?

  The doors were still locked. When Brody knocked on the glass, Frankie, the security guard, looked up from the Sudoku puzzle he was always working on. His eyes widened in surprise, but he reached to buzz Brody in.

  “You’re here earlier than usual,” Frankie commented when Brody entered.

  “I’m making up for slacking and taking yesterday off,” Brody replied.

  Frankie’s thick brows shot up again. “You had a day off? You sick or something?”

  “Had to go see my dad.”

  “Man, must be serious. I hope he’s okay.”

  The notion that Brody could only take time out of his work schedule if his father was on death’s door would’ve gone unnoticed any other time. Today, however, it rankled, even though it was a fair enough conclusion considering Brody’s job performance.

  “He’ll be fine.” He headed toward the elevators before he said something sharp he might regret later. Frankie was a good guy. He didn’t need Brody’s ill temper to ruin the end of his shift. “See you later.”

  Two hours later, his mood hadn’t improved. None of the data he’d requested to be collated in his absence had been taken care of, and he found three different slides categorized incorrectly. It wasn’t the ghosts’ fault either, since they’d been too busy bothering him in Binghamton. No, this was pure human error, specifically one bullish undergrad who was only helping out in the lab because his grandfather was a big donor. Brody had wanted to fire him long ago, but politics made it impossible. This ammunition would help, but it still wasn’t quite enough.

  At the first sound of voices entering the lab, he retreated to his office and locked the door. He needed solitude, for both his sake and theirs. From the sound of it, nobody even registered the fact that he was in. Their laughter and camaraderie, though muffled, filtered through his door to deepen the lonely ache that had settled in his bones.

  His life was unspooled. Until two days ago, he’d been driven, focused, content with the isolation his research naturally created because he’d believed he was working toward something.

  Now he wasn’t. The answer he’d found to the biggest question of his existence was simpler than he’d expected and far more ominous in its implications. No amount of research into neural patterns would get rid of them, because there was no physical them to banish in the first place.

  He stared at his blank monitor. Where was his motivation? He should be knee-deep in emails, catching up on stacked-up correspondence. But the thought of the drudgery of filtering out the spam, replying to corporate shills, and playing nice with alumni about their idiot progeny left him colder than any encounter with the ghosts. His nature was not to sit back and do nothing when confronted with a problem he could solve, and yet that was what he faced in Cruz’s absence. Never in a million years would he begrudge Cruz’s need to be there for his family, but he had no idea how to absolve himself from responsibility when it was his dilemma in the first place.

  Then it hit him. Etienne had the information he needed. While Cruz was busy with his sister, Brody could be getting everything ready, both for his father’s fake evictions and his own real ones. He only needed the information Etienne had in order to do it.

  The prospect didn’t excite him, though. Etienne might be Cruz’s best friend, but every impression he’d given so far had been negative. Giving Cruz a hard time about helping Brody. Not believing Brody was on the up-and-up. Being a smart aleck to the nth degree when they’d barely even met.

  But Etienne was Cruz’s best friend, and if Brody wanted to seriously consider spending time with Cruz after he’d done his best with the ghosts, he would have to find some way to get along with him. Perhaps his best bet right now would be to find a détente with Etienne, and then, once they were on better terms, find out what exactly he could do to prepare ahead of Cruz’s involvement.

  If nothing else, apologizing for their rough start wasn’t a bad way to score some points with Cruz.

  He had Etienne’s last name, but finding a phone number for him was harder than he expected. Nothing was listed in any sort of directory, nor did the name generate much more than an untouched Facebook profile online. While Cruz would have the number, Brody wasn’t about to bother him at the hospital. That left his father, so he called and prayed he could pass it off as a casual request.

  “Didn’t I just talk to you a few hours ago?” Loren joked after they’d said hello.

  Brody leaned back in his chair and stretched out his legs. “I thought I’d check in and see if you’d made it to Manhattan yet.”

  “Not yet. I’m finishing up some correspondence first.”

  “Wait.” The wheels squeaked from how hard he sat up. “You’re still at the house?”

  Loren chuckled. “I do live here, you know. Just because a few ghosts have decided to move in temporarily doesn’t make it less my home.”

  “But you don’t know when Cruz can get back.”

  “It’s been quiet since he did those sweeps. I think he might’ve scared them into hiding for a few days. Long enough for me to get the first decent night’s sleep I’ve had in a we
ek, at least.”

  That counted for something, and it wasn’t like Loren was in any actual danger now that Brody was back in Philadelphia.

  Brody sagged again in his seat. “I’m sorry I gave you a hard time about him. He’s a good man.”

  “One of these days, you’ll have some faith in your old man’s judgment.”

  “How does he stack up to that first guy you hired?”

  “You mean Etienne? Cruz isn’t as knowledgeable, but you know that. This isn’t his full-time job.”

  “I didn’t mean like that. I’m just trying to understand why you kept bringing the first guy back if he wasn’t giving you the answers you wanted.”

  “Because Etienne’s the best. Even Cruz said so.”

  “So you liked him.”

  “Sure. Very personable. He was adamant about not wanting to take my money too. He kept insisting it would be stealing if he did.”

  That didn’t sound like someone who would accept such a generous payday for what he considered a nonjob. “What changed his mind?”

  “We agreed this would be the last attempt. I don’t know why the ghosts always went quiet when he came around the first two times, but you saw for yourself what happened when Cruz showed up. Chaos.”

  “You’re not suggesting they’re more scared of Etienne.”

  “No, of course not,” Loren said with a laugh. “Though it does beg the question, what was so different with Cruz being around?”

  Those were the first words out of his father’s mouth that probed the possibility of linking the ghosts to Brody. “Do you have any ideas?” he asked carefully.

  “You’re the scientist. You tell me.”

  He shouldn’t be surprised Loren wasn’t making the connection. Loren probably didn’t even remember the source of Brody’s problems after his mother’s death. If he did, he would’ve come to Brody instead of hiring ghost hunters to resolve his issues.

  But Loren’s blunt talk sparked a different train of thought, one that was actually useful rather than more recriminations regarding his relationship with his father.