“We can do that.” Isaac moved around the counter.
“That’s alright, we have no problem making them.” Asher moved around the other side and took the butter knife from Savannah.
She smiled as they continued to say they could make their own. “Alright, alright.” She gave up the butter knife and walked around the counter. “I’ll go get the kids.” Savannah left.
“Zeke?” Asher got his attention. “This might make us late for dinner tonight. That okay with you?”
“Yeah,” he muttered.
The guys started making sandwiches quickly. But they weren’t fast enough. The little girls ran into the kitchen giggling. They climbed up on the stools across from the boys.
“I want tuna,” Ami announced. Isaac grinned.
“I want tomato,” Caroline joined in. Asher chuckled.
“You’ll have lunch meat and like it, young ladies,” Savannah said as she walked back in. The girls groaned.
Asher smiled down at Ami. “We have turkey and ham, which would you like?”
Ami’s face scrunched up as she thought about it. “Um, ham, please.”
The guys started making the girls’ sandwiches. When Emilia and Juan came in, they made theirs too.
“If you squirt mustard on me one more time...” Zeke growled at Isaac sending the little girls into giggles. Isaac just grinned as he finished the last sandwich and passed it to Juan.
“Thanks,” Juan muttered.
“Thank you,” Caroline managed around a mouthful of sandwich.
“Yeah, thanks!” Ami added once her bite was gone.
Emilia took her sandwich from Asher, her cheeks darkening. The kids went to sit at the table while we finished our own sandwiches.
The twins and Asher went to the table to eat with the kids. Zeke stood across the island while Miles sat beside me.
My gaze was on Juan when I asked. “How’s he doing?”
“Louis says he’s doing better than he did at his age.” Savannah sighed. “That being said, he has nightmares. Nose bleeds are happening every time he’s off our property.”
“How often is that?” I set my sandwich back on my plate, my appetite gone.
She met my eyes. “Well, if it wasn’t summer already, he’d be on home school.”
“Damn.”
She nodded as she turned back to watch Juan. “It’s getting pretty bad out there. And I can’t even see what’s around.”
“Have the Templars ever offered to help?” I asked carefully.
She huffed. “No, and we’re keeping them as far away as possible.”
“Why?” I asked, stunned. “Some of them were jerks but most of them were okay.”
She shook her head. “There’s something wrong in the Templar order lately.”
“How so?”
“They’ve changed,” she began. “We used to be on friendly terms. Uma and Louis would help out when they needed some magic user back up. They worked as a team. Until one day they said policies had changed. They weren’t allowed to call for back up anymore.”
“That’s strange,” I said, my mind working. “In Boulder they practically blackmailed me to join.”
Savannah’s eyes unfocused. “That is odd.” Her eyes focused on me again. “It doesn’t really matter now, they’ve moved out of the city.”
“What?” That couldn’t be right, they were supposed to be stationed in every major city...
“They abandoned their station here,” she said. “They just left one day.”
What the hell was going on?
* * *
After lunch, we joined the kids and Savannah in the backyard. The kids went swimming or played on the jungle gym while everyone talked.
All afternoon, I found myself watching Juan. He seemed like a normal, happy kid. He wasn’t looking over his shoulder the way I did at his age. He wasn’t scared, or in pain all the time. It was stunning difference. Was it like this all the time? Could it really be this way with Necromancy? Normal....
I was in my head most of the afternoon. I was outside alone, sitting in the shade and watching the afternoon light bounce off the water when Zeke came outside.
He sat down on the chaise beside mine. “You okay?”
I nodded, my gaze still unfocused on the water.
“Lexie?”
I blinked and turned to him. “I’m just thinking.”
“About?” He shifted, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees.
“All this.” I gestured around the backyard. “Can a Necromancer really have a normal family life?”
He looked around the yard. “It seems Louis has managed it.” He looked around the yard. “Though it is a bit more Homes and Gardens than I can take.”
I chuckled. “Yeah, it’s a little unreal that these families actually exist. Even without Necromancy.”
We were quiet for a couple of minutes.
“Lexie, I think we should have that talk,” he said in his almost soft voice.
My stomach knotted while my pulse picked up. “We probably should.”
His shoulders were tense as he sighed. “You know I’m not good with this shit.”
“Yeah, I know.” I sat up and moved to the edge of the chaise across from him. “I’m not great with it either.”
He glanced over his shoulder at the back door before turning back to me. He slowly reached out and took my fingers in his. “You know how I feel about you.”
“I think so,” I said in a quiet voice. My gaze stayed on our fingers. “Do you know how I feel about you?”
“Yeah, I think I do.” His callouses were rough against my fingers. “I want to be with you, Baby.”
My heart jumped into my throat as I met his eyes. “I feel the same way but... something has changed.” I swallowed hard. “Someone else likes me.”
His eyes narrowed at me. “What?”
I licked my lips. “Someone else likes me, one of our friends.” And I liked them back, all of them. I needed to say it. Keeping it from him or any of them wasn’t right. I opened my mouth but nothing came out.
“One of our friends likes you?” he asked carefully.
My chest ached as I nodded.
“Who?” His voice was low, and even more gravelly than usual.
I dropped my gaze to our hands. “I’m not going to answer that. You know I won’t.”
“Did they ask you out?” he asked, his voice strained.
I nodded.
His eyes ran over me then back to meet my eyes. “What… did you say yes?”
I shook my head. “I told him someone else liked me too. And that I didn’t want to hurt anyone.”
He pulled his fingers away from mine and ran them through his hair. “I... I need to take a walk.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what…” I croaked through a tight throat.
“Lexie.” His voice was hard as I met his gaze. “It’s really important for me to take a walk.”
I nodded. He turned and walked away, my chest burned as I watched him leave out the backyard gate.
The back door to the house opened. Savannah stuck her head outside. “Lexie, he’s awake.”
Sighing, I got to my feet and went inside.
The guys were in the living room with the kids, playing. Except Asher. His eyes met mine as soon as I walked by the doorway. In that moment I hated his hearing. I hated that he listened to our private conversation. Hated that he knew how Zeke reacted. I couldn’t even look at him as I walked by and followed Savannah up the stairs to the second floor. Savannah opened the first door on the left.
Their bedroom was nice. An antique four-poster bed and dresser. The shades were drawn and only a small lamp threw the room into twilight.
Louis was dressed in pjs and lying against a mound of pillows. He looked pale as hell, with deep bags under his eyes. He gave me a halfhearted grin. “Worse than shit?”
I grinned back. “Yeah, you look worse than shit.”
He chuckled silently. “Tho
ught so.”
“Do the bottom of your feet hurt?” I asked, wondering if burnout was the same for everyone.
He nodded. “I’ve never understood why.”
“Me neither, always seemed just like an extra way to fuck us over,” I admitted.
“Thank you. For getting the ghost out, for getting me home,” he said.
“No problem,” I said. “Though, you might want to rethink getting the ward tattoo.”
“Uma is asking me to think about it after our meeting yesterday,” he sighed and met my gaze. “But I don’t know. I have enough brain damage as it is.”
“The tattoo saved my life.” I sat at the end of the bed, with my back against the post. “Crossing the dead, and the increase in souls... I was starting to show symptoms.”
“How bad was it?” he asked.
“My nose bleeds got worse, I’d get tired in the afternoon and I couldn’t seem to get enough sleep at night. It sucked.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah.” I took a breath. “I was really lucky to meet the gargoyles when I did.”
“Since then, no nosebleeds, no headaches?”
I shook my head. “I’ve never felt so normal.”
He eyed me. “What’s involved with making this link?”
“It hurts a lot,” I warned him then explained how I reached my center. Then I explained how to link with the Veil.
When I was done, he was shaking his head. “I think I’m too old for this shit.”
I snorted. “If you helped, we’d get the balance back faster.”
He licked his lips. “I need to think about it some more.”
“Talk to your wives?” I teased.
He nodded. “You’re not wrong.”
I finally asked what I wanted to ask him since I found out he had kids. “Why did you decide to have kids?” It sounded bad the way I said it but his lips lifted into a wry half grin.
“I mean... I can’t imagine passing this on,” I added.
“I couldn’t either and I grew up in a family that knew all about it,” he admitted. “But as life happens, this thing takes a lot from you.”
I nodded. Normality, relationships, hell, even your life. Nothing was safe from it.
His eyes met mine. “But how much are you willing to let it take?”
I blinked at him. “What do you mean?”
“Necromancy will only take what you let it. Anything else, you can find a way to make it work,” he explained.
I had never thought about it that way before. Was he right? Did I let Necromancy take things from me? I struggled to wrap my head around it. “I’ll think about that later.”
He grinned. “You have some years before you have to make the decision.”
“Good point,” I chuckled.
We talked for a little longer before I left him to get some rest. When I got back downstairs, Zeke was back in the living room with a blank face. Everyone said good night, and thanked Savannah for having us. The kids said goodbye and we headed back to the hotel.
* * *
I walked out onto the balcony as the sun started to set. Ethan was sitting on the patio couch, writing something in a notebook. I tried to peek over his shoulder as I sat down next to him.
He flipped the notebook over before I ever got a chance. “Hey, Beautiful.”
“What are you working on?” I asked, curling my knees under me.
He closed his notebook and set it down out of my reach. “Just a… side project.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Do I get to see it?”
He grinned. “Maybe.” He looked over his shoulder through the window into the living room. “Where are the guys?”
I slipped my sandals off. “They went to pick up some dinner and bring it back.”
His eyes ran over me. “You didn’t want to go?”
I shook my head. “Nope. I’m going dancing with Miles tonight, I figured I’d stay off my feet for a bit.”
Ethan twirled his rings. “Wait here.” He got up and headed inside taking his notebook with him. I stretched out on the couch and relaxed.
It wasn’t long before he came out with his guitar case. “I’ve got something for you.”
I sat up as my stomach knotted. Whenever Ethan brought his guitar case with him it meant only one thing, singing practice.
I was glaring at the guitar case Ethan was opening. I took a breath and shifted to sit with my feet on the floor.
Ethan looked up at me, his grin fading. “Lexie…”
“There’s no point in practicing, Ethan,” I said, my heart sinking. “My voice hasn’t improved in months.”
Ethan grinned as he took a couple of sheets of paper out of the case along with his guitar. He handed me the music sheets then moved to sit on the coffee table in front of me. “I think you’ll like this.”
“This isn’t a good idea,” I muttered as I kept my gaze on the papers in my hand.
“Come on, Beautiful,” he said gently as he shifted the guitar on his leg so he could lean closer. “I wrote this for you. It should be in your range.”
My eyes shot to his. “You wrote this?”
His cheeks darkened on his tan face. “Yeah, and it should fit your new voice perfectly.”
I looked away from him and chewed on the corner of my lip. How could I say no to that? I really wanted to but… he wrote it. I just didn’t want to hear my voice straining to reach a high note. Not again.
“Lexie…” His low smoky voice had me turning back to him. His eyes were warm as they met mine.
“I haven’t sung in months,” I reminded him.
“I know. But try for me. Please?”
Heart aching, I nodded.
He sent me a reassuring smile as he strummed the first few notes. I focused on the music in front of me.
The song was beautiful. It was about crashing and burning only to rise again from the wreckage. The lyrics made my eyes burn as he played the guitar. My voice went with the music, never straining, always in my range. My new singing voice was raspy, sexy even. And my voice never cracked. By the time Ethan played the last notes, tears were running down my cheeks. He set the guitar aside and wiped my face. I lifted my eyes to his. Then I was in his arms, my face buried in the crook of his neck. He held me tight as I pressed into him.
“Thank you,” I said, my voice thick. I pulled back a little and looked up at him as I wiped my cheeks.
His eyes were warm as they met mine. “Always.” His voice was soft and smoky. My heart leapt in my chest. He slowly tucked a stray hair behind my ear, his fingers trailed down the side of my neck. My skin hummed as those chocolate eyes met mine. Spicy cologne filled my senses. He came closer, his fingers trailed to the back of my neck. My eyes closed automatically as his lips brushed mine. My breath hitched a second before his lips crushed mine. He kissed me, his mouth taking mine before I could open my lips. His kiss was hard and fast. Sweeping every thought away and throwing them across the room. My arms went around his neck as I pressed against him. His arm tightened around me as his fingers moved in to my hair. His grip tightened in my hair at the base of my neck, pulling on my scalp. Sparks shot down my nerves. I made a small half pain, half pleasure noise while he kissed me as if he were drowning and I was the last air he’d ever breath. There was nothing else but him, his touch, his kiss, his fingers tight in my hair. Just when I was lost, his fingers loosened, his kiss grew gentler. He kissed me softly one more time before easing back to look at me, both of us breathing hard.
My brain was in a dense fog. When I met his eyes, it hit me. My fingers went to my swollen lips. “What did we just do? Shit.”
He smirked down at me as he pulled back even more. “Lexie, I remember the Veil.”
My heart dropped, my throat tightened. “What?”
He tucked a stray hair behind my ear. “I remember kissing you in the Veil.”
“Since when?” I breathed.
He cringed. “Since always.”
My lungs tightened. Oh God
… oh no… shit! “Why… why didn’t you say anything?”
He leaned forward, his hands going to the outside of my thighs just above my knees. “Why didn’t you?”
“Scared shitless. You?” I quipped.
He sighed. “I tried the other night when we were walking around Frenchmen Street.”
My heart raced in my chest as I tried to process what this meant. He remembered. “Oh God…” I groaned, burying my face in my hands. Everything was closing in, all my lies, all my mistakes… It was all going to come to light. I took deep breaths and tried to think. Of what? A way to not tell everyone what’s going on? A way not to hurt everyone? That time was long past and now I was standing on ground that was swiftly crumbling under my feet.
“Lexie?” Ethan said. “Did you hear me?”
I dropped my hands and tried to focus. “No, what?”
“I said, I want to give us a chance,” he repeated. Of course he did, because he was a great guy, wonderful, sexy, they all were. And I was drowning.
“I-I-I need some time.” What the hell else was I going to say? I really, really needed to figure out what I was going to say to them. Because, it had become blazingly obvious, I needed to tell them. All of them. Oh, fuck.
The suite door opened. “Hey, we’ve brought dinner.” Asher called. Ethan winked at me then got to his feet and headed inside. I scooted back onto the couch and stared out at across the building rooftops. How the hell was I going to tell them?
Chapter 11
July 14th, Saturday Evening
After Zeke said that all he wanted to do tonight was get a nap, Miles asked him if he’d mind if we went out dancing. Zeke eyed him before saying he didn’t care. He disappeared into his room while Miles brought me a box and told me to get dressed. Now I was standing in my bathroom with my heart in my throat.
“Um, Miles, are you sure about this?” I asked as I looked in the mirror. The dress was beautiful. The Latin dancing dress was form fitting from the halter top, down to my hips. At my hips it dropped straight down to just below my knees on one side. The skirt hem was slightly ruffled and asymmetrical and rose to about mid-thigh. The ruffled hem from the left met the right hem, showing only the top of one knee. And only when I moved. The dress was black silk, and hugged my body everywhere a salsa dancing dress should. I did love the dress, I just wasn’t used to showing this much skin outside of a swimsuit.
Secrets From the Grave Page 17
