Cross Your Heart: A Broken Heart Novel

by Michele Bardsley

  “Where’s the skull?” asked Patsy. “Maybe the ghost switched vessels.”

  “They can do that?” Tez frowned.

  “They can do just about anything they damned near want.” Patsy rolled her eyes. “Mostly, they’re a pain in the ass.”

  “It’s in the kitchen.” I scooted forward, but Tez put his hand on my arm.

  “I’ll get it.”

  After he left, Patsy’s gaze met mine. “Why the hell was he out in the woods?”

  Damian explained that Tez had infiltrated the magical and technological protections surrounding the town due to the temporary tattoo—apparently issued by the alpha Calphon.

  “He requested a few for visiting family,” said Patsy. “He failed to tell me he was inviting strangers on in.”

  “I get the impression that the were-cats are interested in Tez for assimilation into their community,” I said.

  “What? Like the Borg?” Patsy snorted a laugh.

  Damian seemed less than thrilled with the idea of Tez becoming a permanent part of Broken Heart. “You certain you trust him? What if he attacked you and convinced you it was someone else? It was raining, Leibling, and you weren’t yourself.”

  “I saw the jaguar on the path,” I insisted. “In front of me. Then something hit me from behind and he jumped over me to intervene.”

  “He says he was the jaguar,” said Damian. “That does not mean that he was.”

  I looked at Damian. Maybe he was just exercising caution or maybe he was just being stubborn. “He discarded his clothes, woke me up, carried me through the rain, and tucked me into bed because he meant me harm? Why not finish the job and leave me for the sun?”

  Damian couldn’t argue with my logic. He glanced at Patsy.

  “We don’t know his purpose,” she said. “I’d feel better if we saw him shift. At least we’d know for sure he was parakind.”

  “You think Calphon didn’t check him out before he sent Tez the tattoo?” I asked. “C’mon. Obviously they wanted him to come here. Maybe we should be worried about the alpha’s motivations.”

  “Motivations for what?” asked Damian. He sounded both confused and annoyed about my suggestion that Calphon had ulterior motives. Well, what did we really know about the were-cats? They rarely interacted with other people in town. In fact, meeting Tawny and Serri today was the first time I’d ever met any of them. Maybe Tez should be worried about why they wanted him to hang around. I wasn’t sure how I felt about my own circuitous thought processes. Why was I so determined to defend Tez? I didn’t know. But I was firmly in his corner, and that was that.

  Tez chose that moment to enter the room, carrying the hatbox. Oh, I knew the reason he’d left. He’d been eavesdropping. What better way to get information than to leave the room and see who talks behind your back? It wasn’t even a tactic confined to policemen. Gossips at cocktail parties did the same thing. We hadn’t been circumspect at all in our dissection of his motives or character, which was exactly what he was hoping for.

  He put the hatbox on the coffee table and resumed his seat between me and Damian. He looked at me, and winked.

  It seemed he was unconcerned about what anyone thought about him, and despite all our ruminations, he had yet to confirm why he’d taken Calphon up on the invitation to visit, or if he planned to petition for residency.

  Gabriel leaned forward and plucked off the lid. He carefully removed the skull and looked it over. I wasn’t sure what information he was gleaning from it, if anything at all. He glanced at his wife. She flicked an annoyed look at him and gave a somewhat imperious gesture that I translated as Give it to Damian, you peon.

  I was shocked at her behavior. I’d never seen her treat Gabriel in such a manner. I peeked at Eva, who was staring at Patsy much the same way I was. Suddenly, Eva stood and went to Lorcan. He immediately put his arm around her shoulders and she clung to him, pressing her face against his shoulder. The tension between the two of them eased, although Patsy didn’t notice the silent makeup between Eva and Lorcan.

  Damian’s examination of the skull was cursory. He handed it to Patsy and she stared at the sockets. “I got nothing. Can you show us where you found the grave? Maybe I’ll pick up something there.”

  We all stood up and trooped out of the living room.

  “Do you want your coat, Elizabeth?” asked Tez. He grabbed his leather jacket hanging from the newel post on the staircase and slipped it on.

  “No, thank you. I’m fine.”

  He nodded, and we followed the others through the front door. I led the gang around the house and into the woods. The storm had left the path muddy and littered with debris. I watched Gabriel try to help Patsy over a tangle of felled branches, but his wife jerked away from his touch. Something was terribly wrong between the two of them—and my stomach hurt to think they might be having marital woes.

  Lorcan and Eva were at the rear of the group, so I couldn’t draw my friends aside and inquire about Patsy’s obvious ire with Gabriel. For now, I had to focus on finding the grave and discovering why I was having visions of murder. Obviously, we’d stirred something up—and it had started with the little box that Patsy had uncovered at the Silverstone mansion.

  I think it was the small whispering voice of the other Elizabeth that led me once again to the spot where I uncovered her. We gathered around the mucky hole. I was amazed at how much I managed to dig with just my hands, determination, and a little vampire strength.

  We all examined the protruding bones.

  “You’re sure she was murdered?” Patsy asked.

  “Yes.” I felt an overwhelming sadness. “We should rebury her.”

  “We should find her killer,” added Tez.

  “Patsy, tell Elizabeth about the secret room,” said Eva. She shared a look with her husband and grabbed his hand. Lorcan’s silver eyes held trepidation.

  Patsy rounded the grave and stood next to me. “It’s what I wanted to show you,” she said. “You know we finished up all the renovations last year. We didn’t mess around much with the attic.”

  “I suggested we create a playroom for the kids,” said Gabriel. He’d joined us, careful to stay away from Patsy, as if he were used to her being prickly. “I wish I hadn’t.”

  “Well, if wishes were horses, then beggars would ride for free,” said Patsy. She tossed a look of hurt in Gabriel’s direction and then spun around and marched toward the path.

  “What happened, Gabriel?” I asked.

  He shook his head and then turned to follow his wife. A few seconds later, we heard their raised voices.

  “Do you feel up to visiting the mansion?” asked Eva. She looked uncomfortable. “You really should see what they found. Patsy and Gabriel have spent the last four days in that awful place. Yesterday, she asked Lorcan and me to come by and catalog the items.”

  I was curious about this room and its obviously disturbing contents.

  “I’ll stay,” said Damian, “and get a crew out here to remove the rest of our mystery woman. We’ll take her to Dr. Michaels. Maybe he can tell us a few things.”

  “Thank you, Damian,” I said, smiling. “We’ll head over to the mansion.”

  Patsy and Gabriel’s bickering continued, fading as they followed the path out of the forest. What had broken their once-solid faith in each other’s love?

  I looked at Tez, my self-appointed bodyguard, and he nodded. “Let’s go check out the secrets in the attic, Ellie.”

  Chapter 6

  I invited Eva and Lorcan to ride with us to the mansion. Tez didn’t offer to drive, so much as assume that he would. I let him take the lead because I understood he felt the need to control something about the situation. I think it had occurred to him that he couldn’t truly protect me, not from an unseen entity. I couldn’t protect myself. I couldn’t run away, couldn’t fight this thing off. I was scared, but determined to figure out a way to save myself.

  As for what Tez planned to do, or what he might think about what was hap
pening . . . oh, I just didn’t know. I certainly didn’t understand his somewhat possessive behavior. It wasn’t his responsibility to take care of me. And if a very, very small part of myself reveled in someone wanting to take care of me . . . well, I would simply have to remember that I could take care of myself.

  Lorcan had the ability to magically transport himself and his wife. By “transport,” I mean he could dissemble their atoms, and reassemble wherever he liked. Most ancient vampires had this power. However, neither he nor Eva protested the less convenient method of travel. It was a good thing, too, since they’d driven in with Gabriel and Patsy. The Mercedes, as well as its two arguing occupants, was gone when we came up the path.

  I was grateful when Tez offered to procure the skull and the jewelry box. I hated not being comfortable in my own home, and I certainly didn’t appreciate the grime of fear clinging to me.

  We piled into Tez’s Honda. He followed my directions to the main road. It wasn’t as though it was particularly complicated to get to the Silverstone mansion, but I plugged Patsy’s address into his GPS anyway. I wanted to talk to my friends and not worry about giving directions to Tez. After we were on our way, I turned in my seat and looked at Eva.

  “What on earth is going on with Gabriel and Patsy?”

  Eva slanted a look at Lorcan, who held his wife’s hand tightly.

  “I don’t know,” she said. “They’ve been fighting nonstop.”

  “About what? I’ve never seen Patsy so . . . vitriolic. Especially not toward her husband.”

  Eva bit her lower lip and shook her head. “It’s strange. Lorcan and I had a fight on the way over here. I felt so angry. And now, I can’t remember why.”

  “I can’t, either, Eva.” He kissed his wife’s knuckles. “We’ve been cataloging the items in the secret room,” offered Lorcan in his soft Irish brogue. “There’s a darkness there, sure enough. An’ I think it’s affectin’ the queen and her consort. Not that she’ll listen to us.”

  “She thinks Gabriel cheated on her,” said Eva.

  Shock ricocheted through me. I gaped at her. “He would never do that, even if it were possible.”

  “Whaddaya mean?” asked Tez.

  “I told you, remember? Bound vampire mates literally can’t be with anyone else,” I said.

  “Turn left at Main Street, you delicious man. Mmm. Nice hands. I loooove how you grip that big . . . strong . . . steering wheel.”

  “That’s the voice of your GPS?” I asked Tez. “She sounds like a porn star.”

  “Jenna Jameson,” he admitted. He glanced at me, grinning. Did nothing embarrass the man?

  “Jenna who?” I asked primly.

  “Jameson,” offered Eva from the backseat.

  I switched my gaze to her. Had she the ability, I suspected she would blush. She cleared her throat. “What?” she asked. “She writes books, too. Hey, as a librarian I don’t judge. First amendment and all that.”

  “Of course, a stóirín.” Lorcan had a manly grin on his face, which matched Tez’s.

  I rolled my eyes.

  “A friend of mine uploaded her voice as a joke,” said Tez.

  “An’ how many accidents have you been in since Jenna’s been givin’ the directions?” asked Lorcan.

  “Just some near misses.”

  “Your turn is coming, and if you keep driving like this, I will be, too. Go left, baby. Yeah, just like that. Oh . . . oh . . . oooooh.”

  I reached toward the dash and pressed the OFF button. The GPS powered down, and I glared at Tez. “Just follow this road. It leads straight to the driveway of the mansion. You can’t miss it.”

  “Spoilsport.”

  For the first time since I was age eleven, I had the insane urge to stick out my tongue. Tez looked far too satisfied with himself, and that damnable humor lurked in his hazel eyes. Most disturbing of all, I found myself . . . um, turned on by the wicked possibilities. My sexual experiences had been rather limited, and I’d had none at all since my Turning. Oh, dear. I really was sexually repressed.

  “Shall we get back to the subject at hand?” I asked. “Why would Patsy believe Gabriel cheated on her?”

  “We don’t know. Patsy and reason parted company,” said Lorcan, grimacing. “She’s certain he’s been sleepin’ with other women.”

  “He’s been relegated to a guest room.” Eva glanced at her husband. “Every day, Patsy seems to get angrier.”

  “And Gabriel?” I asked.

  “Completely at his wit’s end.”

  Unnerved, I turned back around and looked out the passenger window. The idea of Patsy being out of control was a scary concept. She held seven out of eight vampire Family powers, along with the ability to shape-shift into a wolf. What if her anger went beyond Gabriel? She was capable of leveling the entire town and everyone in it.

  I wasn’t looking forward to seeing the secret room—not if something within it held the power to poison the minds of whoever got close. Still, we didn’t really know what was going on. Patsy’s odd behavior might be related to any number of things.

  Yet, I couldn’t dismiss the obvious explanation, not when I’d had such terrible experiences with the silver box. Something had tried to kill me—and until we figured out what was going on, I wasn’t safe.

  No one was.

  The Mercedes was parked askew in front of the mansion, and the door was wide open. Tez was the first out of the car, gun drawn. Lorcan was right behind him; Eva and I followed. We paused by the door and peered inside. The foyer was empty. It was quiet, too, and I found the lack of noise disturbing. The mansion was usually a beehive of activity. Patsy had workers for the house and the yard; housekeepers, babysitters, and assistants were always on hand. There were nearly always Consortium and Council members about, too, usually bothering the queen with some all-fire-important situations that needed queenly attention. I did not envy Patsy’s life. I wasn’t sure how much fun following the dictates of prophecy and destiny would be. No one liked to believe they didn’t have control of their own lives.

  “Where is everyone?” I asked.

  “Patsy told the help to go on vacation for the week. The only people she allows in the mansion are MaryBeth and the children.”

  So, Patsy had been isolating herself and her family. Just another symptom of her strange and disturbing behavior.

  “You’re not going to say something stupid like, Wait here—are you?” I asked Tez.

  He glanced over his shoulder. “Hell, no, princess.”

  “I’ll go first,” said Lorcan.

  Tez nodded. I liked that Tez didn’t feel the need to assert his authority. It said something about a man willing to assess a situation and do what was best, rather than letting a testosterone-fueled ego get in the way of good judgment.

  Lorcan darted inside, and Tez followed. Eva and I crept through the doorway. Lorcan and Tez swept through the area, assessing everything in sight. I paused by the stairs; Eva stayed with me, her gaze echoing the worry I felt. The hair on the back of my neck stood up. I looked at Eva and whispered, “You feel that?”

  She nodded. “The air feels electrified.”

  We heard a crash, then a scream.

  “Upstairs,” I said.

  Lorcan disappeared in a flurry of gold sparkles. The rest of us had to make do with climbing the stairs. At the far end of the hallway were the double doors that led to Patsy and Gabriel’s bedroom. They were slightly open; it was obvious the ruckus was coming from their room.

  We all ran. As a shifter, Tez easily kept up with our vampire speed. We all burst through the door.

  “Oh, my God!” I cried.

  Lorcan stood between the bloodied, prone body of Gabriel on the floor and a raging, dagger-wielding Patsy pacing nearby.

  “He tried to kill me!” she screamed. Blood spattered her clothing. Hands shaking, she tossed the dagger to the floor. It fell end over end, landing near Lorcan’s shoe. He picked it up by the bejeweled handle and grimaced.

  Pat
sy was muttering now and pulling at her hair, which was streaked with something sticky and black. “That cheating bastard tried to kill me. But I got him first. Got him real good.”

  Lorcan and Eva looked at each other and I realized they were using their vampire-mate telepathy. Tez joined me, stepping slightly in front, his gun readied. I doubted his bullets would do much to stop the queen if she decided to attack us.

  While Patsy settled into frantic mutters, Eva glided across the room. Apparently, she and Lorcan had come up with a plan. At least I hoped that was the case. Tension knotted my belly. I didn’t know what to do or how I could help. I hated to feel so helpless.

  “Calm down, Patsy.” Eva’s voice was low and tranquil; the glamour’s power hummed through me.

  Patsy immediately stilled and raised her confused gaze to Eva. I hadn’t been sure Eva’s powers would work on our friend. Patsy was the most powerful vampire-lycanthrope in the world; before now, she’d been too levelheaded and down-to-earth for anyone to worry about her going mad with power. Or just going mad. I wondered what kind of universe, or god or goddess, would hand over so much responsibility and sovereignty to just one person. What was the purpose? It must be tremendously difficult to carry such a huge burden alone.

  Maybe Patsy’s behavior had nothing to do with the odd room or its nefarious contents. Perhaps the queen had just snapped.

  “I want you to stand here, take a deep breath, and clear your mind. You’re safe and comfortable. In fact, you feel tired . . . don’t you, Patsy?”

  The queen nodded, her gaze straying toward the huge four-poster bed that dominated the space.