by Deanna Chase
I nodded and waited for her to continue.
She screwed her face up in concentration. “In the dreams I can feel myself being hit all over, but the brunt of it is my stomach and my face. My arms feel pinned down so I can’t defend myself. I feel the pain. I literally feel it so intensely, I think I must cry out in my sleep.”
I shivered as the hair stood up on my arms.
“When it’s over I feel empty. And bruised. Only, when I wake up, I’m not bruised at all. Then I think it’s just all in my mind, the pain, you know? “
“I think so.” Her experience was very much like my own dreams of Mr. Sexy, only most of the time he brought me pleasure. It wasn’t until recently that he’d brought physical pain, and it didn’t sound the same. Mine was more of an emotional hurt, not an actual beating.
I thought about what she said for a moment. “What happened tonight that sent Kane to get us?”
“Hey, where is he?” Pyper glanced around.
“I have no idea,” I blurted. “He came in raving about how we needed to help you. I took off and the rest of them stayed in my apartment.”
Pyper drew her eyebrows together and frowned. “That’s odd.” I thought so too, but didn’t respond. “Well,” she continued, “Kane and I were just sitting here talking and I felt so safe being here with him, I curled up and went to sleep. I haven’t been sleeping well lately.”
“I can imagine.” I felt a small twinge of guilt as I remembered actually enjoying Mr. Sexy in my dreams.
“I guess I thought with Kane here, things might be all right.” Her face paled. “But I was wrong. It was the worst attack yet. I woke up screaming and ran.”
She plucked at the couch cushion. “I guess I was disoriented and panicked. Kane started yelling at me to stop so he could help me. I froze. When he got to my side and put his arms around me, there was a light that flashed. Lightning, probably.” She squeezed her eyes closed and shuddered. “Then I suddenly started to burn from the inside out. I guess that’s when I passed out.” Her eyes fluttered open and found mine. “The next thing I knew, you were sitting next to me.”
“Oh my God, Pyper.” I squeezed her hand harder and said in a very small voice, “This is my fault. I’m sorry.”
“What? Your fault?” Her shock penetrated my defenses.
“I don’t know if it’s my fault exactly, but I’ve been having somewhat similar dreams. Maybe if I’d shared the extent of them we could have figured something out so this didn’t keep happening to you.”
“If I understand correctly, you’re having sex dreams. Those are nothing like mine.”
Her flat, cold stare made me flinch. “No, the content isn’t the same. You’re right.” I stopped, rubbed my eyes. “What I mean is, mine seem so real. They feel just as real as yours do. When I wake up I can still feel the effects of the lovemaking.” My face burned hot and I turned away, embarrassed.
“Okay, maybe, but what does that mean?”
“I know, or at least I think I know, that the person in my dreams is the same as the ghost in my apartment. What if the same ghost is invading both of our dreams?”
“If that is true, why would he torture me and have sex with you?” Her eyes narrowed, piercing me.
“I don’t know!” I threw my hands up. “How could I know? He’s been hurting me too, lately. And with the similarity, it could be a link.” I paused as my words triggered a thought. “You said this attack was the worst one yet, right?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“Kane was with you. The two times I was attacked, Kane was with me.”
We stared at each other until Pyper leaned back and in a low, controlled voice asked, “You think Kane has something to do with this?”
A thread of anger, combined with protectiveness, entered my consciousness. I rushed to reassure her. “No. I don’t. But maybe he’s a trigger for the ghost.”
“I’m sorry.” She moved to sit next to me. “You’re right that he could be a trigger, but the ghost hurts me when Kane isn’t around, too.”
“I know. It just seemed like too much of a coincidence.”
She nodded agreement then jumped to her feet. “I’m tired of being the victim. I wish there was something we could do. Like confront the bastard.”
“We can,” I said, surprising myself. “We can call him out like we did that first day in my apartment.”
“Now?”
“Yes.” I said in a firm voice, not feeling at all as confident as I sounded.
She studied me for a long moment and gave a quick nod.
I moved to the middle of the living room. Pyper joined me and clasped my hand in hers.
“I think we should both call him at the same time. Do you have a name you refer to him as?” I asked.
“Mr. Evil,” she said in a matter-of-fact tone.
I couldn’t help it. I burst out laughing.
“What?” She frowned.
“You’ll see,” I said trying to contain myself. “On three, then.” With a nod from Pyper, I counted backwards from three.
On one I called out, “Mr. Sexy,” just as Pyper called, “Mr. Evil.”
Pyper turned her head toward me and grinned briefly. Another flash of lightning shone through the uncovered window. Pyper flinched, tightening her grip on my hand. Her face went chalk white. Her terror rippled through me as if it were my own. “No, please don’t,” she whispered.
I turned my head frantically from side to side, seeing nothing.
She shook violently.
Panicked, I yelled out “Mr. Sexy! Stop this right now. Do you hear me? I need you to stop this!” I concentrated hard on gathering as much energy as I could from my being. A tight ball formed in my stomach. It grew rapidly like an inflating balloon. When I mentally pushed the force from myself the lights flickered off and on, off and on. The tea tray vibrated on the coffee table, and a dark shadow appeared right in front of the two of us. A light breeze tickled my skin and ruffled my hair.
And suddenly there was Mr. Sexy, standing in full view in front of us. He looked at me, turned around and put his arms out wide. The flickering and shaking stopped, and all that was left was a light tickling breeze.
Trembling, I turned to Pyper. I felt the tension run out of her and her death grip loosen. But she didn’t let go. The color returned to her face, and a rush of gratitude and relief oozed from her into my awareness.
“It’s all right now.” I stared at my ghost and reached my hand out, slow and tentative. The air felt hot and thick, even though I could hear the air conditioner blowing just over our heads.
The ghost lowered his arms, turned back to face me and just as my hand was about to reach his outstretched one, the door flew open with a bang. He vanished into a dark shadow and disappeared. “Damn it!”
Kane, Ian and John barged into the room. Equipment filled their hands and hung from straps around their necks.
Kane shot me a weary glance as he strode toward Pyper.
“Where have you been all this time?” I asked.
“Dealing with your ghost.” He stopped in front of Pyper. “Are you okay?”
“I think so.” She turned to me. “Thank you, Jade.” Her arms wrapped around me. She hugged me hard and whispered, “I’ll be right back.” She moved toward her bedroom. I thought I saw a single tear roll down her cheek.
I watched her disappear through the door then turned on Kane. “What the hell are you talking about? The ghost was here.”
Kane raised his eyebrows and Ian’s eyes went wide. “At least for a little while, anyway.”
Ian didn’t question me. He said something softly to John, and the two of them went about setting up equipment around the room.
I grabbed Kane’s arm. “What did you mean? What happened after I left?”
“What happened here?” he said at the same time.
“You first,” I said, poking him in the ribs. “It must have been something compelling to keep you away when Pyper was passed out on the floor.”
“Passed out?” His voice rose and he turned in the direction of Pyper’s room. “She was screaming just like you did last night. I couldn’t get her to come out of it. I thought—”
“She’s all right.” My heart squeezed with his pain. “What happened?”
Kane led me to the couch and tugged me down to sit next to him. “When you left, I followed you.”
“No—”
“Yes. I did. At least, I tried to.”
My eyebrows pinched together, causing a wrinkle just above my nose.
He reached his hand out to smooth it. “Don’t do that. You’ll give yourself a headache.”
I frowned, in no mood to be teased. “Go on.”
“I was right behind you when you left. You ran out the door. I turned to follow you, only Ian yelled for me to stop and I hesitated. Both of them, Ian and John, went crazy taking pictures.” He shook his head. “I thought they’d gone mad. I couldn’t see anything, so I turned to follow you. Only…well, when I tried to go out the door, it was blocked somehow.”
“Blocked? With what?”
He shrugged. “I have no idea. I couldn’t see anything except you turning the corner at the end of the stairway. I called out. Didn’t you hear me?”
“No, I didn’t. How could the door be blocked by nothing?”
“You’ve got me. Ian said it was the ghost’s energy keeping us trapped in the room. It was hot, like fire. I could get right up next to it and feel nothing, but as soon as I tried to go through I’d burn.”
I gasped. “How did you get out?”
“Right after the lightning struck, the doorway turned bright orange then dissipated into thousands of tiny particles and flew down the stairs.”
My heart started hammering again. “Then what did you do?”
“Came here, obviously.” He took my hand and held it lightly in his own.
“Here.” My voice was weak and my head swam. “You said it broke right after the lightning?”
He nodded.
“Shit.” My skin went cold and the gooseflesh came back. “I called him. That’s why he left.” My voice shook. “Well, we both did, actually.” I tilted my head toward Pyper’s room.
Kane’s face turned red. I could see him try to control his anger. “Why would you do that on your own? One or both of you could have been seriously hurt.”
I threw my hands up in frustration. “Because we’re both sick of being out of control. I guess I figured if we called him, we might have the upper hand.”
“And did you?” He looked skeptical.
“In the end, yes I did.” I smiled with satisfaction and filled the three of them in on what happened.
When I finished, Ian stopped his frantic recording of my account, put his notebook down and looked at me thoughtfully. “What?” I asked.
“I was just thinking about the timetable of events. It seems we were encountering something in your apartment at the same time something was going on with Pyper when Kane came to get us.”
“Can a ghost be in two places at once?” It seemed unlikely to me.
Ian scratched his chin, pursed his lips and said, “Not that I know of. At least, I’ve never heard of such a thing. But if it’s the same ghost—”
I cut him off. “It is. I saw him materialize in front of me. I recognized him.”
“I know, I heard. What I was going to say is, if the same ghost has connected with both of you, I wonder if he can be in one person’s mind, while physically somewhere else. Like in Pyper’s mind, while interacting with you in your apartment. That would take a lot of energy. More than I’ve ever encountered.”
Kane and I started asking questions at the same time. Then a movement caught my eye. I glanced up to see Pyper, emerging from her room. She’d changed into tiny black hot-pants and a large gray sweatshirt.
“What the hell are you wearing?” I asked in disbelief. “You’re not going to work at the club after all of that, are you?”
She rolled her eyes. “What am I supposed to do? Sit around here and waste my life waiting for more abuse?”
“Make her not go,” I demanded, turning to Kane. “She’s in no shape to be dealing with the club. Take her home or out to eat or something, but do not let her go to work.”
He patted my hand like a father would his daughter. “Of course I won’t let her work. Pyper, are you insane?”
“I hear that’s up for debate.” She flipped her pink hair over her shoulder and headed for the door.
Kane leaped up from the couch, scooting in front of her. He folded his arms over his chest and stared her down. “Charlie’s there. She’s got it covered.”
Pyper narrowed her eyes, pointed her finger and walked right up to him. “You cannot keep handing everything off to Charlie, Kane. It isn’t right.” She stabbed him in the chest. “That girl deserves a raise and a promotion based on how much you take advantage of her.”
“Done,” he said.
Pyper took a step back, clearly not ready for that. “You gave her a raise and a promotion?”
“Not yet. But I’ve been planning to.”
“Oh.” Pyper backed off. “But you better give her a bonus or something for time already served.”
Kane looked up, as if to ask God for help, or patience. “Fine. Just stay here until we’re ready to go.” He strode off toward his part-time room.
“Go? Go where?” She turned in his direction and found John staring at her ass, camera pointed and ready. “Jesus, just take the damn picture already.” She stripped off her sweatshirt, revealing a black lace push-up bra, and posed, sticking her ass right in John’s face.
I covered my mouth to hide the laughter bubbling up. John’s face went beet-red as he stood, staring.
“Hurry up. I’m freezing.” Pyper reached around, snapping her fingers in front of his eyes a few times.
John quickly snapped the picture, then retreated to Ian, who made no effort to hide his laughter on the other side of the room.
Kane cleared his throat and gestured to Pyper. “If you want to put some more clothes on, the three of us—” he nodded, indicating me, “—should get some food.” His tone of voice made it more of an order than a statement.
“What’s wrong with my outfit?” Pyper cooed from the chair.
Kane rolled his eyes, and I shrugged.
“Oh, all right.” She bounced off to her bedroom, clearly feeling more like herself.
“Would you mind if we stayed to do more readings?” Ian asked.
“Fine,” Kane answered. “Stay as long as you like. The girls can stay at my place.”
Kane glanced at me in question. Despite my earlier concerns that he might be a link with the pain the ghost was causing, I nodded in agreement. I wasn’t up for an argument, nor did I want to be alone.
Chapter 14
With a promise from Ian he’d call sometime the next day, we left in search of food. An hour later we sat at Kane’s table with takeout from the Gumbo Shop. The conversation was nonexistent, as the three of us sat pretending to be absorbed in our meals. Letting out a barely audible sigh, Pyper picked up her plate and carried it into the living room, where she curled up in the overstuffed chair. I wanted to do the same but decided she might like a bit of time to herself.
I looked up to find Kane watching me intently. I gave him a weak smile and asked, “Wine?”
Without saying a word he rose, grabbed a bottle of red and two glasses from his wine rack. A small pop sounded, causing Pyper to look our way. Kane held the bottle up in question, but she shook her head and went back to moving the etouffee around on her plate. After handing me a full glass, Kane set the bottle on the table, sat down next to me and focused on my face as he sipped.
“Thank you.” I raised my glass slightly.
He gave me a small nod, still staring.
The heat rose to my face as I examined the blackened swordfish on my plate. It was one of my favorites, but it sat untouched. “Stop,” I said in a low voice.
“Stop what?”
Whipping my head up, I looked him straight in the eye. “You know damn well what. Stop staring at me like that.”
“Am I making you nervous?”
“No.”
“If you say so.”
I glared at him.
Kane scooted closer, bringing his face mere inches from mine. “I wanted to get your attention.”
“There are easier ways.”
He shrugged. “This was a pretty low-level effort for me.”
My eyes slanted. “Now that you have my attention…”
“I just wanted you to know. What we started last night and this morning isn’t over.” He brought his face so close, I could almost feel the smooth silk of his lips.
I jerked back. “No? I don’t think that’s for you to say.”
“I do. I know there’s something different about you. I just don’t know what yet.”
A chill ran up my spine. “You mean, apart from my ghost-attracting abilities?”
He took his time before he spoke. “No, Jade. This isn’t about your ghost. I can sense your energy. I don’t know how to explain it, but even if I can’t see you, I always know when you’re around.”
The statement couldn’t have surprised me more. It hit me hard as if he’d punched me in the gut. “You do? How?” Mortified, I gnawed on my lower lip, suddenly very interested in my hands now lying in my lap.
I risked a glance, catching his eye.
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I just feel it. Probably the same way you feel me while I’m dreamwalking.”
“Does this happen with anyone else? Can you sense Pyper?”
“No. I’ve never experienced this before. It’s something special about you.”
I stood up and carried my dishes to the sink. How could I possibly tell him about my own abilities? I knew my invasion of his privacy was just as bad as his dreamwalking, but I’d told myself I didn’t do it on purpose. Of course he’d said he didn’t either, he just didn’t do anything to stop it. Well, neither had I. Worse, I hadn’t even wanted to, until this morning when things got too intense. My stomach knotted, making me glad I hadn’t eaten much.
Overcome with emotion, my eyes filled. I blinked rapidly, trying to keep the tears at bay.
