by Lyla Oweds
How could he still deny it? “There is something there! Damen says so too. Kasai saw it!”
“What’s this bit about medication?” Anthony pipped in, looking between us. “What does that have to do with Finn being wrong?”
Anger flared in Finn’s expression, but I replied first. “Finn was part of a plot to suppress my abilities. They gave me some kind of medication to do it and tried to convince me that the paranormal world was a lie.”
Anthony and Bryce both stiffened at my words and glared at Finn, who remained silent.
“Why would you suppress her abilities?” Anthony put a finger to his chin in contemplation.
In the meantime, Bryce’s eyes widened, and his eyes traced a line up my form. “What—”
“What’s going on here?” Damen’s sharp voice interrupted Bryce’s eye-judging. I glanced past Anthony, spotting Damen briskly walking down the hallway toward us.
His gaze zeroed in on me, and after a quick once-over, he pushed past Anthony and pulled me away from Finn. Then, completely ignoring the other three, he turned his back to them as he ran his fingers across my cheek.
“You were late and I had to send Kasai to look for you,” he said, eyeing my exposed arms. My heart skipped at the reminder, and suddenly, I was self-conscious about the bruises again. I pulled my sleeves down while Damen continued talking, touching the edges of my hair. “I was worried. Is everything okay?”
“Everything is fine. We were just asking Finn why someone might be on medication to suppress their abilities,” Anthony said as he watched Damen in expectation. “What do you think? You’re the psychologist. I’m sure you have a theory.”
Damen’s jaw tightened and his fingers stilled over my arm. However, when he turned to them, holding me to his side, his tone was calm. “There could be many reasons why, Anthony. We’ll let you know when we know. Out of curiosity, have you spoken to Julian today?”
Anthony raised his eyebrow. “Only for a moment. A situation came up this morning. But he did inform me about our newest family member. Why?”
While he spoke, Finn—I couldn’t help but notice—glared at Damen’s hand. Meanwhile, Bryce was still watching me in that unnerving, and somewhat annoying, manner.
Bryce had never looked at me with such… whatever before. Usually, he was condescending. But right now, he seemed to be excited about something. I didn’t like it when he looked happy.
I had to get away for a little while. I needed to regain my bearings so I could plot to squash that look off his face and put him back where he belonged.
“Damen.” I tugged on his sleeve, causing his attention to return to me. “Can we go? We’ll be late.”
Damen frowned. Clearly, he wanted to talk to Anthony, and probably Finn. However, I was betting on his professionalism. We had an appointment with Dr. Stephens. After a short pause, his duties won. “Fine.” His hand moved from my shoulders to grasp my hand. “We do have plans. Finn, I’ll talk to you later.”
There was an order in his voice, a particular tone I’d not heard him use before. And Finn, who had been pouting, tore his gaze from our hands.
“I don’t want to talk to you.” He narrowed his eyes at Damen. “I want to talk to Bianca.”
“That’s too bad. You’ve lost your chance,” Damen replied mildly, not surprised at Finn’s argument. “So now, unless Bianca says otherwise, you’ll only be talking to me.” Damen squeezed my hand. “It’s past time for you and I to have a little chat. But for now, feel lucky that we’re all busy with our investigation.”
Finn’s frown deepened. “What investigation? What are you talking about?”
“We’re working at Aine Hamway’s house,” Damen answered, releasing my hand to retrieve my dropped phone. He didn’t even glance at it before putting it into his pocket and returning to the same position we’d been in before. “Bianca’s been marked now, so we’ve no choice but to solve the case quickly.”
Anthony whistled, putting his hands into his pockets. “Wow, Finn, she’s marked. You really fucked up this time.”
“There can’t be anything strong enough there to do it!” Finn sounded aghast. “I sent Kiania, and she said nothing was there.”
“I don’t know why she’d say that, but it can cloak itself. So perhaps your timing was wrong and she was there during those moments. Besides, we’re not experts in that field. You should have listened to Bianca when she came to you,” Damen chastised. “The fact that things got so out of control is your fault.”
“But…” Finn’s reply trailed off. He actually appeared to have no idea what to say.
Then Bryce decided it would be a good time for him to interject. “That’s the other thing. There’s an ill-intending spirit hovering about, and no one got me?” His disapproving gaze trained on Damen. “This is not procedure. I need to know these—”
“This is shared on an as-needed basis only. Brayden has already done some research on our request.” Damen shrugged him off, not seeming to care that Bryce was offended.
It was glorious.
“You asked Brayden to research Gloria Protean and the Dark Creek Pack. That’s the only thing you’ve came to us about,” Bryce refuted. “You can’t just—”
“We don’t need your help.” Damen rolled his eyes. “But if you’re offering, you can send Brayden to us. Some of his knowledge might be useful for Bianca.”
My pulse, which had been echoing in my ears, skipped. I focused on Damen, who watched Bryce with a harsh expression. And it was the animosity between them which gave me hope.
Because Brayden… What if he was just like Bryce?
“I am going to work with her! You can’t skip me. I have first priority.” Bryce glanced at me. “She obviously has some skill. It would be a waste to—”
“You can’t do that!” This time it was Finn who interrupted Bryce, stepping between us with his arms outstretched. “You don’t understand. None of you do. You can’t train her. Not right now. She needs to go back on her medication! She’s my friend, will you just let me handle it? Don’t you all have better things to do with your time?”
“She doesn’t seem to think she’s your friend.” Anthony nodded toward me. But this time, all amusement had fled his expression. “And you shouldn’t be medicating people, Finn. You’re not even remotely qualified. What’s next, a virgin sacrifice to boost your abilities? I can’t allow you to do that. I take my new role very seriously.”
“What new role, you moron? What is it that you keep going on about?” Finn snapped. “And, for your information, I’m not the one medicating her. But she’s mine to keep safe.”
Anthony’s brow furrowed. “Then who would—”
“We’re leaving.” Damen stepped forward, gently tugging me after him. “We can figure out the rest later, but we’re on a time crunch. Aine returns this weekend, and we know how she feels about exorcisms. If that’s how we need to finish this, then it needs to be done before she objects. It’s better to ask forgiveness than for permission.”
Finn’s eyes widened, as did Bryce’s.
“You’re thinking of exorcism?” Finn sounded shocked. “I can’t believe it’s serious enough to—”
“If it’s serious enough for you to consider, why are you waiting?” Bryce’s eyes flashed as he gestured toward me. “And why is she still there? You should be doing this on your own, or with me. You shouldn’t have been using her as bait.”
I’d been simply following the conversation, but Bryce’s declaration made my heart skip painfully. First, he wanted to teach me, and now he was trying to take my job. Besides, the ghosts would probably hate him anyway. I couldn’t trust him to be nice to the poor girl mixed in all of this.
“I’m not leaving,” I cut in. “There’s an innocent girl there, too, and I am going to stay until she’s safe. She needs me.”
I pulled away from Damen and pointed at Bryce, who watched me with a look of forced patience. “And I don’t need your help—”
“In any ca
se, we can’t exorcise anything until Brayden and Titus finish their research. We don’t have nearly enough information.” Damen grabbed my hand. I glanced at him, but he was watching Bryce. “We don’t want any failed attempts.” Damen paused a moment, then frowned. “And we’re not using her as bait. I’m actually insulted you’d think such a thing.” He brushed off the disgusted look Bryce shot him. Then, ignoring the others, he lowered his face toward mine as his hands gripped my elbows. “Baby girl, do you mind if we show them your leg?”
I blinked at Damen, confused about the sudden topic change, before I realized his intentions.
I’d worn a ruffled skirt today, paired with knee-high socks. Days later, the mark on my leg remained too noticeable to simply wear tights. It no longer hurt. Miles had created something to mask the symptoms. But the guys told me it would probably not heal until the spirit itself was taken care of.
But why did he want to show them?
“Finn needs to know how badly he messed things up,” Damen whispered in my ear. My eyes darted to Finn, who was watching Damen with suspicion. “And there’s a lot he needs to answer for. But first, we need answers from him, and that requires cooperation.”
I sighed, guessing this meant I couldn’t break Finn’s nose.
This sucked. If Julian was here, he would have destroyed Finn’s face. He even promised me earlier!
“You can punch him later,” Damen said. “Once this is over. But first, I’m more concerned about the spirit that’s been targeting you.”
My heart sank, and I knew Damen had a good point.
“Fine.” I stepped back, preparing to just push down my sock. But before I could start, Damen was already on his knee beside me.
My face warmed at this sudden development. “Um…”
“Here,” he said, guiding my hand to his shoulder. “Hold on to me. I told you, I’ll take care of you, baby girl.”
Anthony scoffed in the background, while Bryce and Finn looked on with irritated expressions.
My face heated. Why, out of every possible moment, would Damen choose now to flirt? And he was doing it in front of Finn! I wanted to die.
Finn’s irritated look melted into anger as Damen braced my foot against the inside of his thigh and elaborately rolled down my sock. Meanwhile, Bryce’s expression had taken on a disturbed tint.
But it was Anthony who broke the silence. Before Damen revealed the mark around my calf, he said, “You’re going to be that obvious?”
“I’ve no idea what you’re talking about,” Damen replied calmly as he resumed exposing the bottom of my leg. “But as you can clearly see, she’s been marked. Even if she leaves now, it’ll find her.”
“Wow.” Anthony leaned closer, examining my leg. Bryce and Finn weren’t far behind, also studying the mark. “That’s a powerful claim too. I can’t believe you missed this.”
Finn was pale. “I… I didn’t know.”
How dare he act surprised. I had told him from the beginning. “Because you didn’t listen!”
His eyes met mine and his lips thinned. “Don’t worry, I’m going to—”
“You aren’t going to do anything,” Damen snapped, cutting off Finn’s intentions. He rolled my sock back up and touched my leg, guiding me to return to my own feet. He stood, brushing off his thighs before he held my hand once again. “Anthony, keep Finn with you. And Finn, you’re to stay put until I reach out to you. You’ve got some explaining to do, but I have other priorities at the moment.”
Finn started toward us, his eyes blazing. “You can’t make me—”
His protest was cut off as Anthony moved from his lazy stance to grab Finn’s arm. “Sorry,” he said in response to Finn’s angry gaze. “I’ve now got two who have given me these orders. Julian asked me this morning.”
“What about me? What should I do?” Bryce frowned while he touched his tie. “I could go with you?” he added hopefully, looking at me.
“No,” Damen said, studying him. “This is for Bianca and me to do.” His shoulders slumped before he continued, “But we could use Brayden’s assistance. And you and I are in agreement…”
My eyebrow lifted as I watched Damen in disbelief, but he wasn’t looking at me.
I couldn’t believe this.
“Excellent!” Bryce dropped his arm with a grin, looking as if he’d won something important. “We’ll stop by tonight.”
No!
“Damen!” I tugged on his sleeve. How could he have betrayed me? We were supposed to be united in our hatred. “What—”
“Shhh, baby girl.” Damen put his finger to my lips and leaned close to my ear. “Trust me. We’ll discuss it later.”
Trust him? He had invited the enemy into my temporary lair! How would we be able to accomplish anything with Bryce there?
But then my eyes widened—his intentions suddenly clear.
Yes, tonight. It was the perfect plan. Us four, alone with Bryce… and Brayden. But Brayden probably wasn’t all that much anyway.
Damen hated Bryce. We were going to lure him into Professor Hamway’s house, away from public view, in order to exact our revenge. Under the cloak of darkness, there would be no stopping us. And no one would suspect if Bryce vanished forever in a haunted house.
Damen was brilliant! I couldn’t believe how in-sync we were with each other.
“Yes, I look forward to seeing you tonight.” I met Bryce’s cocky stare as Damen led me past the others. “I can’t wait!”
Bryce’s mouth dipped, and the excitement dimmed from his eyes. But he continued to watch me. No longer was there a condescending glimmer in his gaze. No smugness from his almost-attractive face.
Nothing like the way he normally looked at me.
Something had changed, and now I felt like a terrible person. Like I was bullying someone unfortunate. The heart had been removed from our rivalry. “I mean, I guess it’s okay.”
Damen shot me a curious look, but I shook my head. I couldn’t explain my change of plans even if I’d wanted.
Chapter Seven
Bianca
Property
“Mr. Damen, Miss Bianca, you’re late.” Dr. Stephens sat next to the window, his elbows on the table. After his greeting, he rested his chin on his hand while he continued to watch our approach.
Damen had brought me to Colette’s restaurant again. During the ride over, he’d been quiet. Almost as if he was considering something important. But his thoughts remained unreadable on his mercurial face. For someone who was so… chatty, sometimes it was difficult to determine what he was thinking.
But even if his thoughts were elsewhere, his manners continued to be on point. He remained ever the gentleman: opening the car door for me, giving me his arm as we walked. And now, leading me to my seat. If it wasn’t for Dr. Stephens’s presence and the curious way his gaze landed on my hand on Damen’s arm, this almost felt like a date.
Perhaps now I’d finally get to eat.
“Sorry.” Damen pulled out my seat. “We had an incident with Finn.”
“Say no more. I understand completely. Anything with that boy is an incident.” Dr. Stephens rolled his eyes, appeased.
But a breath later, he seemed to change his mind. And as Damen moved to take his own seat, Dr. Stephens put his arm down and leaned forward. He gestured toward the coffee pot and some mugs waiting by our seat. Though his face was stoic, his eyes gleamed with interest. “Actually, no,” he said in a low voice. “You should probably tell me. I need to know.”
“You might have been gone less than a week, but we’ve got a lot to catch up on.” Damen positioned himself close to me, far closer than necessary. Not that I was complaining.
However, as Dr. Stephens glanced between the two of us a second time, an unspoken question in his eyes. Damen’s proximity had not gone unnoticed.
Thankfully, he didn’t address it, even if he studied me with barely concealed concern. The echo of the first warning he’d given me echoed through my mind. He had been afraid I’
d have my heart broken.
What a sweet man.
Strange, and somewhat unsettling. But he really seemed to care.
I had a feeling he’d understand our relationship once I explained it to him. And I probably should, later. I didn’t want him to worry.
“Finn is the least of our concerns.” Damen folded his arms on the table. “Have you heard about Caleb?”
“Have I heard…?” Dr. Stephens’s attention returned to Damen, derision lacing his tone. “What kind of idiot do you take me for? He hasn’t left me alone since my return. It’s extremely annoying. I much preferred him the other way.”
Damen tilted his head. “He’s here? Good. That’ll make things easier.”
“Who is…” I started to ask, but my question was answered before I could finish my sentence.
“It’s about time you’ve arrived.” Mr. Weaver popped into view, hovering above the seat beside Dr. Stephens. “We’ve been wasting away waiting for you. Have you been dallying about while the mystery behind my demise remains unsettled? You aren’t very good detectives.”
It was as I had suspected, and I fought the urge to groan. Why did it have to be him?
Mr. Weaver nodded toward Damen. “And that boy needs to learn how to assert himself. When in a proper relationship, a man must—”
“Oh, shut up.” Dr. Stephens was hiding his face in his hands. “No one is in a relationship, not that you’d know much about proper etiquette, considering your unconventionalism. And nobody wants to hear your nonsensical ranting. Also, for the record, you’re not the one who has been wasting away waiting. You’re dead.”
“My body is, in fact, decaying.” Mr. Weaver glared at the other man. “That’s what happens to a dead body. So I’m right. Why haven’t you cried yet?”
“I want to cry, but for an entirely different reason.” Dr Stephens pinched the bridge of his nose. “Caleb—”
“You can see ghosts?” I interrupted, staring at the two of them.
When I’d first met the man, I’d been afraid he would lock me away for my admission. He hadn’t even hinted that he was the same. Instead, he’d remained silent and sent an innocent young woman into a dastardly forest all by herself.
