by Kathy Love
“Do you think I’m crazy?” She had to ask, because she certainly felt like she was.
He shook his head. “No. I don’t.”
They were both silent for a few moments.
“I think you should lay down for a while.” He started tucking the covers tighter around her still shivering body, but she shook her head, sitting up.
“I can’t. I want our evening out.”
Maksim shook his head. “You are too shaken. I think you need to rest.”
She did feel drained, but she didn’t want to be here. She was too nervous. Too afraid it would happen again.
“Can we spend the night at your place?”
Maksim nodded. “Of course. Why don’t you get some things together and we’ll head over there now?” He offered her a comforting smile. “We’ll order in and watch a movie.”
She knew he was trying to act as normal as possible and she appreciated it. Still there was a look in his green eyes that she couldn’t read. Something guarded and distant.
Maybe he didn’t believe her quite as much as he would lead her to think. But she didn’t question it now. She wanted out of this place. She did not feel comfortable. Even the air seemed heavy with foreboding.
What did Kara want from her? Did she blame Jo for her death, too?
Maksim watched Jo get dressed and toss some clothing and other items into an overnight bag. She was seeing ghosts and he knew he’d done that to her. He was willing to bet money on that fact. There was always a consequence of entering a person’s mind and this was hers.
And that consequence was terrifying her. And putting her at risk. And the baby, too. Disgust tightened his throat, making it hard for him to breathe.
This was a firm reminder that he was a demon. Demons could never be good for a human. Demons weren’t good for anyone.
“Okay, I’m ready.” She offered him a tremulous smile and he felt like even more of a dick because he was trying to be strong for her. For the individual who did this to her. And for purely selfish reasons.
He wanted to shout out his own anger with himself, but just gritted his teeth and held out a hand to take the bag from her. She handed it to him, and then he followed her down the hall, not missing the way she skirted around the bathroom.
He ducked inside, turning off the shower he’d left on in his hurry to get her out of the freezing water.
When he got to the kitchen, he found her looking at the huge bouquet of flowers now forgotten on the counter. She fingered the petals of one of the large orange daisies.
She turned to look at him, her eyes misty. “You remembered they are my favorite.”
Somehow that bouquet seemed silly and inadequate now compared to what he’d done to her. How did he give her a gift to fix that? There wasn’t one.
“We have to bring them with us,” she said, gathering them up in her arms. She smiled again. “Thank you. I’m sorry I’ve ruined your hard work and special night.”
“You haven’t ruined anything,” he said, his voice adamant.
She smiled again, but he could tell she didn’t believe him. But how the hell did he tell her that it was he who ruined their night? It was he who hurt her. And brought all this pain over her lost sister back. In vivid ghostly detail.
“This is nice,” Jo said as they got out of the cab in front of one of the shotgun cottages that lined the street. “Although I wouldn’t have guessed these would be your colors.”
She smiled over her shoulder at him.
He raised an eyebrow at the cotton-candy colors of the siding and shutters. “Yeah, not my choice. This is my sister’s place.”
Jo looked back at the house. “Oh, I didn’t realize you were staying in her place.”
“Yes. I keep hoping she’ll return or someone will show up here who knows something. But so far I’m not having much luck with that.”
Jo watched him as he unlocked the front door, trying to read him. Over their past week together, she’d considered him an easy man to understand. But not tonight. It was as if something inside him had shut down.
Again, she wondered if he really believed her.
His sister’s home was nice. «Cheerful» was the first word that came to mind as she walked through the living room and kitchen as he brought her stuff to his bedroom. Obviously the guest room, if the size was any indication, since the queen-sized bed took up most of the space in the room.
Realizing he was staying in here, waiting for his sister to return, made her feel awful. And selfish. She hadn’t even asked him much about her.
“What does your sister do?”
“She’s a writer.”
He placed her stuff on the bed, then led her back to the living room.
“What does she write?”
“Mostly books on the paranormal. Demons in particular.” He studied her as he told her, seeming to be gauging her reaction, though she couldn’t tell why.
She wrapped her arms around herself, suppressing a chill. “I think I’ll pass on reading those for the time being.” She tried to soften her comment with a smile, but she still couldn’t tell what he was thinking. And it was getting very unnerving.
“How about we order in Chinese?” he said, heading to a pile of takeout menus tossed in a basket near the phone.
“That sounds great.”
Jo watched him sort through them. Something rubbed up against her ankles, making her jump and cry out.
Maksim spun toward her, dropping several of the menus to the ground. “What the hell?”
A cat rubbed up against Jo’s legs, and Jo was certain it was Erika’s cat, but it couldn’t be.
“What the hell?” Maksim repeated.
“Is this your sister’s cat?”
“No, I think it’s Erika and Vittorio’s cat. But how the hell did it get in here?”
His words caused a chill to return to her finally warmed skin.
“I must have left a window open somewhere,” he concluded, but his explanation for the cat’s appearance did little to soothe her.
“Why would it be Erika’s cat?” Jo asked, staring down at the animal like it was one of the demons Maksim’s sister wrote about in her books.
“I just think it is. It’s showed up here before. Or least I think it’s her cat.”
Jo moved away from the black creature, who stared at her with those golden eyes she knew altogether too well.
“I think it is, too.” Another chill prickled her skin.
“I’m putting it out in the back courtyard. I’ll bring him back to Erika and Vittorio’s in the morning.” He scooped up the cat, who yowled indignantly.
Jo watched as he disappeared down the hallway. A few moments later he returned. She still stood in the middle of the room, her arms wrapped protectively around herself. Like that would guard her from the creepy vibe in the air.
“It’s been a weird night,” he said, shaking his head.
“Yes, it has,” Jo agreed. They stared at each other for a moment, then smiled.
“Let’s order Chinese and watch some stupid comedy,” Maksim suggested.
She nodded. “That sounds like a great plan.”
When Jo woke up with the sunshine streaming down onto the bed, the events of last night seemed far away. She and Maksim had watched a silly comedy starring Will Ferrell. They’d eaten lots of moo goo gai pan and szechwan. And then they had made love, which had been toe-curlingly wonderful as always.
Although Jo had to admit there had been an almost desperate quality to Maksim’s touch, which seemed weird to say, because Jo couldn’t exactly pinpoint what had made it seem that way. But that was the only way she could think to describe Maksim’s behavior.
She did feel calmer today. And today was her last day of mandatory relaxation. Tomorrow she could go back to work—just for the morning. It was Saturday, but she was going to go in and get caught up on e-mails and other odds and ends, so she’d be ready for a normal Monday.
She was looking forward to the work, even though the rest had
done her some good. Clearly it had not cured of her of her visions, but she did feel healthier, at least bodily anyway.
And she did feel hungry, plus she wondered where Maksim had gone. Then she remembered that he’d had to go in this morning to help Cherise. He’d be home at noon, then they would probably laze around reading, making love.
Oh yeah, her time off had spoiled her. Sighing, she rolled out of bed and padded to the kitchen. There wasn’t much in the fridge. Mostly old takeout. She opted for some of the pork fried rice, which she ate cold out of the container.
While she wolfed down her dubious breakfast, she wandered around the apartment. The Easter-egg color choices for the walls wouldn’t have been her first choice, but they oddly worked with the other decorating and furniture Maksim’s sister had.
She browsed her artwork. And her cool furnishings. Finally she reached a room Maksim hadn’t shown her last night. The room was clearly Ellina’s study. She had an ornately carved desk with a new computer set up on top. Stacks and stacks of papers littered the rest of the desk.
Bookshelves took up one whole wall. Many appeared to be research books, all of them mostly about the occult. Several shelves were filled with Ellina’s books, her name bold on each spine. And Maksim was right. Demons seemed to be her favorite subject matter. The Everyday Guild to Demons. Demon Do’s and Don’ts. Demons For Dummies.
Jo set down the Chinese food container on the edge of the desk and pulled one of the books off the shelf, flipping through it.
Identifying your demon. Demons’ names and their meanings. The Circles of Hell, Satan’s Subdivisions.
Jo shook her head, Maksim’s sister had some unusual interests. She continued to flip through the book until she reached the back cover.
Then she froze.
“Oh my God.”
Maksim knelt on a dirty linoleum floor with shoelaces in his hands, and a small child with a runny nose attached to them.
“Right,” he said, quickly finishing the task. Even double knotted them. Then he pulled a tissue out of his pants pocket and handed it to the little girl.
She took it, and mostly smeared the snot around her face, but Maksim accepted that as a start. For the first week she’d just wiped her nose on him.
The little girl darted off without so much as a thank-you.
You gotta love these little heathens. Although he didn’t feel nearly as disgusted by the little creatures and their pretty revolting habits.
Maksim stood and surveyed the room. The kids were broken up in groups of five doing what Cherise referred to as “free choice centers.” Which meant the kids got free playtime, moving between stations that were designed to get them to use different skills. One station was colors and sorting. Another was puzzles. Another was a kitchen area with fake food and a table. Yet another had books to play library, getting them familiar with letters and words. One was a store to play with numbers and money. Most of the stations had limited toys, but Cherise did her best. And the kids loved it.
He watched as the kids interacted, the room filled with noise, loud talking, laughter, some bickering, others singing. It was chaotic and overwhelming, but not in the same way it had been when he’d first offered himself up to this torture.
“The kids love you,” Cherise said, smiling at him approvingly as she came over to stand beside him.
“Well, they are great kids.” Did he have to sound so sincere?
Just then the little girl whose shoe he’d just tied came running back. She tugged on the pant leg of his jeans. He leaned down to her level.
“Thanks, Mister Mak’im for tying my shoes.” The little girl with a multitude of braids banded with multicolored ponytail holders gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before running off again to join the others.
He remained bent forward, a little taken aback by the child’s spontaneous show of affection. In fact, it took him several moments to even realize that it was snot that had made the quick kiss extra sloppy.
When he did, Cherise reached into her pocket and pulled out a tissue, holding it out to him, grinning. She was where he’d learned the tissue trick.
“See what I mean. You are adored.”
Maksim looked back to the kids, wondering why on earth they would like him so much. He certainly hadn’t like them for much of the time he’d been here. But somewhere along the way that had changed.
He accepted the tissue and wiped his cheek, still watching the odd little creatures intermingling in front of him. What odd beings.
“Why would they like me so much?” he couldn’t help himself from asking.
“Because you help them and listen to them and keep them safe when they often don’t get any of that outside these walls.”
Maksim frowned, considering them again. Really? This was the best their lives got? His gaze picked out Damon. He still wore that silly «E» necklace, valuing the gaudy thing like a family heirloom. Maksim supposed in his life it was.
And how would he be as a father? Could he really offer his child anything better? Self-centered, excessive, indulgent, ruled solely by his own wants and desires. Yeah, he’d be a great dad.
Then he thought of Jo. Look what he’d done to her. She was terrified, seeing her dead sister. She’d fallen down a flight of stairs and could have lost her baby. All because of his selfishness.
And to top that off, he was a demon. Last night, he’d made love to her, because yet again, he couldn’t deny himself. But he’d realized it was the last time. He was going to let her go. He was no better than Jackson Johnson. He couldn’t really offer her a life she deserved.
And the truth was, he loved her. He wanted her, but he was going to do the first unselfish thing of his life. He was going to let her go. She could never accept what he was, and he didn’t want her to accept it, she deserved better.
He had to let her go.
CHAPTER 29
Jo stared at the picture in the back of her book. That was her! That black-haired woman with the pale eyes. She was seeing Maksim’s sister. Jo’s first thought was that she needed to tell him. But then her excitement vanished. If she was seeing Ellina, then she must be dead.
How could she tell Maksim that?
She stared at the picture again. But that was definitely her. Just then, she heard a noise at the study window. Jo started as Erika’s cat hopped up onto a flowerbox outside the glass. He pawed the window.
Ellina and that cat. Jo hadn’t ever seen one without the other. Again she toyed with the idea that somehow Maksim’s sister and the black cat were one and the same.
You’re nuts, she informed herself. But then she was seeing her dead sister. So why couldn’t her boyfriend’s sibling be a cat? Nothing was out of the realm of possibility at this point.
Jo set aside the book and crossed to the window. The cat batted a paw against the glass again, the action distinctly impatient.
Jo unlocked the window and struggled to push it up, the old and swollen wood not making it easy. Finally she raised it enough for the cat to slip inside.
“Are you Maksim’s sister?” she asked the golden-eyed feline, then felt decidedly stupid. But the cat meowed, making her consider the animal understood.
“How can I help you?” Again this behavior was going to get her committed, but she had to know.
The cat meowed again.
Then the feeling in the room seemed to shift. The same feeling she’d experienced in Erika’s apartment. The air snapped with electrical current. The hair on her arms stood on end, and she felt like the air was somehow closing in on her.
She waited, trying to stay calm.
Then it happened. The woman appeared. Ellina appeared, standing next to her desk. She smiled at Jo, and Jo instantly felt calmer. Even though she was seeing something she shouldn’t be.
“Ellina?”
The woman nodded, relief clear on her face.
“Are you dead?”
She shook her head.
“Are you in the cat?”
Ell
ina pulled an almost comical face, then nodded.
Jo felt another rush of relief. Maksim’s sister wasn’t dead. She was just stuck in a cat. Wow, that was beyond weird.
“How can I help you?”
Ellina glided across the room and pointed at a book on the shelves. Jo followed her, keeping a little distance between them. After all, could you ever really trust a spirit or whatever trapped in an animal?
Jo wasn’t sure. But she followed Ellina’s ghostly finger. She pointed at a book entitled The Tricks and Trade of Being A Demon. Jo carefully moved forward to pull it off the shelf.
She found the index, reading through the topics.
“Possession. Inciting lust. Transporting souls to Hell. Stealing souls. Placing souls into inanimate objects.”
Ellina waved her hands, gesturing for Jo to continue.
“Placing souls into other living beings.”
Ellina clapped, although it made no sound.
Jo smiled at her excitement. At least she seemed to be a good-natured trapped soul.
“Page 139.” Jo flipped through the pages, finding the excerpt they needed to rescue Ellina. She read it aloud, fumbling through a lot of Latin and finally getting to the main point.
“This says you need a demon to do this spell or curse or whatever. And you need one to reverse it, too.”
Ellina nodded, rapidly. Then she mouthed something.
Jo frowned, not understanding. “Again?”
Ellina mouthed the word again, and Jo said what she thought she saw. “Maksim?”
Ellina nodded.
“Maksim knows a demon?” Okay, this was getting weirder by the minute. And if she was making all this up, Jo realized she had one hell of an imagination.
Ellina shook her head.
“Maksim—is a demon?”
Ellina’s eyes widened and she nodded. Jo grinned, glad she’d guessed right so quickly, then her smiled disappeared.
“Maksim is a demon?”
Ellina gave her a pained look and nodded again.
Great, she’d managed to go from a relationship with a married man to a demon. What was next? A vampire?
“Okay,” Jo said, deciding if she was going to be crazy she might as well give it her all, “I’ll go get Maksim. You stay here.”
