Everyone gasped.
Julian Littlemoon had put his hands on his wife. This was something they never thought they’d see.
“She has to go!” he raged. “She should die too!”
Then he threw the chair he’d been sitting in across the room. It crashed into a glass table, shattering it.
He spun to focus on Nyx. She began backing up to get away from him.
“You’re bad. You’re evil. You should pay!”
The room around them got cold.
They could see their breaths, and that meant one thing. They weren’t alone.
Beckett grabbed the holy water in his pocket and threw it on his boss before he really went over the edge. There was a horrible scream and then silence.
Everything went still.
Julian shook his head and looked around the room.
Nyx was crying.
Tori was on the ground.
And someone had wrecked the place.
“What happened?” he asked.
Tori struggled to get up. Her side was killing her, but she needed to pretend she was okay.
For Julian.
“Someone please tell me what happened? I think I blacked out. I lost time. Why are you on the floor, Victoria?”
They all knew the truth.
Tori spilled it to her husband.
“You were just body jumped by Evangeline. You flipped out, screamed at Nyx, and pushed me.”
He looked horrified.
“I did what?”
No one spoke. The king of freak outs was about to have a colossal one once that information sunk in.
She repeated it.
Julian couldn’t believe it.
“Tori, are you hurt?” he asked, moving toward her. She held out her hand and he took it.
“I’m okay. Not a scratch on me,” she offered, lying her ass off for her husband. He was a man on the edge, and this would push him over.
She knew it.
Julian pulled her into his body and held her. He couldn’t believe that he put his hands on his wife.
Jesus!
What kind of monster were they dealing with that it got perverse pleasure from something like this?
“I’m okay, Jules,” she offered.
He took a deep breath.
Not for Nyx.
For his wife.
“Well, that answered the question I was thinking about. I wondered how anyone could jump to their death. I figured my will to live would supersede, but it wouldn’t. I didn’t know what was happening. I definitely would have jumped.”
There was perverse laughter in the room, and they all pulled out holy water. Apparently, Evangeline was listening.
“I’m so sorry,” Nyx offered.
Tori sympathized with the woman, but they did learn one thing. There were cues it was about to happen. They didn’t know that with Lena, but they did now.
“Lena was pissed before she left, and that seems to be the common sign of possession,” Tori offered.
Well, that might come in handy. The next person who wigged out was getting doused.
There was a breeze in the room.
They all prepared for the worst.
“It’s Bethany,” Tori said, feeling the gentle kiss on her cheek where she’d hit her face on the floor. “Put away the water. She’s trying to communicate.”
They waited.
Tori closed her eyes and focused on the darkness. When she opened them, they were all staring at her.
“What?” Julian asked.
“Bethany, are you telling me that she can jump people who are easier to trigger?” she asked out loud.
‘Yes,’ came the whisper.
Tori focused on them all. “You have to stay calm. When we get angry, she has a way in.”
Julian knew he fit that bill. He worked very hard to keep his temper in check. There were a few times, like when he thought his wife had cheated on him before they were even engaged, that he’d lost total control. He couldn’t let that happen again.
He looked around the room.
“Who else has a temper besides me, and now isn’t the time to pretend?”
Justin raised his hand.
Claire raised hers.
Clarissa hers.
“Well, we all know what you Littlemoons have in common,” Tori said.
Clearly, they did.
“We have to assume that Evangeline goes after those who are going to be more susceptible.”
They all looked at Nyx.
“It’s not going to be only anger. It’s going to be all emotions. She can jump me when I’m scared. I get that a lot.”
Beau wanted to comfort her, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it.
“I’m sorry,” she offered. “I really am.”
When she moved toward Beau, he took a step away from her. They couldn’t leave that area, or he would have bolted. She knew it.
There was damage done.
Irreparable damage that would never heal.
“I have a case of holy water in my office drawer,” Julian admitted. “If anyone begins to get angry, they get doused. Damn dead things.”
“HEY!” Trey said, over the radio.
“Present dead excluded.”
“BETTER. BETHANY. AND. I. WILL. WATCH. YOUR. BACKS.”
Well, at least not all spirits were body jumping assholes.
There was a knock at the door, and Julian headed over to unlock it. Although it was barely seven in the morning, the bright light from the flashing lights made it seem like noon outside.
When Detective Arsen Woods entered the office, his partner behind him, they didn’t look happy.
Well, the partner more specifically.
“What is it with you people?” Jamie Bender asked. “You can’t seem to stay out of the limelight. Now you have employees jumping to escape your crazy. Congrats.”
Julian was getting angry.
Tori held up a bottle of holy water. While this time it wasn’t Evangeline, it still told him all he needed to know. She’d do it.
He cooled down.
Fast.
“We lost a part of our family, Detective. Maybe you can take the disdain down a notch?” Tori asked. “You know, practice those people skills you’re supposed to have as a cop. We got it. You have being a douchebag down to a science.”
He scowled.
There was his answer.
“I don’t like any of you,” Jamie offered. “I know you’re protecting a killer, and we are going to prove it. Just you wait and see.”
The air around them stirred.
Tori knew they needed to get the man out of there. If Evangeline was poaching bodies to do her wicked deeds, he needed to be on his merry way. This man was a powder keg with a lit fuse.
“Are any of us under arrest?” Tori asked.
He glared at her.
“Well, are we?” she repeated.
“No.”
“Then you should go. Now! You have no reason to be here harassing us.”
The man headed toward the door.
“I’ll be right out, Jamie,” Arsen offered. “I want to get their secretary’s contact information.”
“Better you than me. They’re assholes.”
When the man had finally gone, Arsen spoke quickly. “We pulled the security on the building. Miss Lexington was alone up there. I have a copy for you.”
He tossed it to Julian.
“You may want to get that to your attorney’s office, and have them secure that Beau was with all of you. I can tell where my partner is leading with this one.”
They knew he was throwing them a huge bone.
“I have to meet with my bosses today. I need to do the dance. If you’re going out, try to not make a scene and double up.”
Yeah, that had been the plan.
“If you get in trouble, it’s only going to make it a million times harder for me,” he stated. “You’re already all over the news.”
Oh, they co
uld only imagine.
Arsen wasn’t the only one throwing down ultimatums. Julian had one or two of his own too.
“Don’t say a word about anything you saw yesterday at the motel!” he ordered.
The man laughed. “I’m not insane. No one would believe me if I said the Littlemoons are running a two-person psychic show.”
Vivian raised her hand.
“Three,” she said.
He’d forgotten they’d mentioned her gift. “Stop. I want to live in a world where a cop is a cop, not a psychic.”
“Good luck,” Julian offered.
“And you’re one, too, right?” he asked, pointing at Nyx.
“Yes, I am.”
He shook his head. “Life was so much easier a week ago.”
Yeah, he was preaching to the choir.
“Just stay out of the media spotlight!” he ordered. “One mess at a time.”
They were trying to stay under the radar, but unfortunately, that was easier said than done.
“What are your plans?” Arsen asked, as he got ready to head out.
“Tori and I are going to start on the list, and Justin and Kane are going to go to the motel and try and get something out of the desk clerk. Maybe he saw something.”
He laughed. “Been there, but good luck. People hate cops. You might get lucky.”
Yeah, they might.
“I’m going to go up to bed,” Beau stated. “Tori, can I stay at your place?” he asked. “I can’t go home. I’d rather make out with a scorpion.”
Nyx’s eyes filled with tears.
She was losing him.
Here was her proof.
“Sure, Beau, you can.” Tori offered. “Nyx can join you…” she began, only to be cut off.
“NO,” he said. “I need to be alone. I have to reevaluate a lot in my life. I’ve been on a downward spiral for weeks now, and something has to give.”
Her heart hurt.
She didn’t doubt he meant since he’d crossed her path. She was like that unlucky black cat. Nyx was cursed from the day she was born.
“It’s okay,” she said, trying not to cry. “I’ll help Roman and Mattie. I can do research. I can also find a way to keep Evangeline off us.”
“Who is Evangeline?” the detective asked, looking around in confusion.
“Do you have a temper?” Tori asked. “Be honest.”
“No. I’m pretty laid back. Look at the crazy I’m dealing with now.”
He had a point.
They’d told him plenty, and the man didn’t even freak out. He was likely safe.
Still…
“Well, here’s the abridged version. Evangeline is a demon, and she’s haunting this building. She’s why Lena jumped, and she can possess people without their permission.”
He stared at her.
“Uh, that sounds horrible.”
Oh, he had no freaking idea.
“It’s probably the worst news we could get at this point,” Tori offered. “We have two cases going at once. How to find the killer, and how to find the demon ghost.”
He shook his head. His life was getting weird, and he needed to put some space between himself and the Littlemoons.
Before yesterday, he didn’t think about spirits. Now he was seeing them, and trying to avoid getting jumped.
It was crazy.
“I need a drink, and I don’t mean coffee,” he stated, pulling open the door to meet up with his partner.
“Stay out of trouble,” he warned.
Oh, they would try.
When he was gone, Beau headed out. The team divided up, and it was just Tori, Julian, and Nyx.
“I really screwed up.”
“Oh, Nyx, why did you do this?” she asked. “You hurt my brother.”
It put her in the middle of a fight she didn’t have time for, and that wasn’t a good thing.
“I’m sorry, Tori.”
She believed her.
“Fix this,” she ordered. “You need to find a way to contain Evangeline. This is your thing.”
“I will.”
Tori hoped so.
She held out her hand, and Julian took it. It was time to get this started. They needed to save Beau.
Then they needed to save themselves.
This wasn’t going to be easy.
At all.
And she knew it to her soul.
* * * L i t t l e m o o n * * *
Across Town
The news was playing on the television, and the reporters were discussing the Littlemoons and what had happened.
Apparently, someone had committed suicide in their office.
That was good news.
For him.
Hopefully, it would slow them down, throw them off their game, and make them quit.
The last thing he needed was them trying to find him.
Yes, he’d killed Shelby Christensen, but she had deserved it.
The woman was a snake.
She was greedy.
She was sick.
She was a bitch.
There was no way she was going to play him, and if he could just stay ahead of them, he’d be fine.
Yes, he’d killed her.
And he was going to get away with it.
He’d bet on it.
Chapter Eight
Sumass Motel
I t had been a while since Justin had been out working a case. Normally, he and Vivian handled all the divorce assignments where people were creeping around on their loved ones, and they had to catch them on a camera.
Don’t get him wrong.
He loved sitting in a ride all day with his sexy Vivian. Her gorgeous violet eyes, the sweet smile, and the little ones growing in her belly made his heart skip.
“So, you’re having babies,” Kane said, as he parked their ride in the dive motel parking lot.
“Yeah, we are.”
“Are you excited?” he asked.
This was a tough subject since Vivian had lost a baby already. No one was really talking about it, since it was awkward.
“Yeah, we are. I’m going to make the nurseries amazing. I can’t help but hope for one of each. A little girl to spoil, and a boy to take hunting.”
“Girls hunt.”
He laughed. “I’m aware. Claire was a better hunter than Julian and myself growing up. I just want a princess to spoil. I really need daddy’s little girl.”
“I’m happy for you.”
“Are you?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Kane asked, staring at him.
“No one talks about it.”
Kane went with the truth. “We’re afraid bringing up these babies will remind you of what you lost. No one wants to make Vivian, or you, sad.”
That made sense.
“It doesn’t upset us anymore because I’m getting that baby back. Vivian and I really believe that our first child wasn’t ready for the world yet, and we needed to wait. This pregnancy is that moment. Our lost angel is coming back to us, and we’re going to make the most of it.”
Kane patted him on the back. “I’m happy for you. I’m sorry if not talking made you think otherwise,” he offered. “None of us wanted to give you that impression.”
Justin glanced over at the man. “I am struggling. I want to be happy today, but my heart hurts for Lena. She was basically murdered, and we didn’t protect her. I’m pissed at Nyx. This was something that could have been prevented.”
He was aware.
“Brother, we believe they stay with us and watch over us. Lena is here, and hopefully, she’s not angry. We don’t need her pulling pranks on you from the afterlife.”
He laughed and wiped his eyes. “Yeah, I wouldn’t be surprised.”
“Know what would have pleased her?”
“What?”
“If we solved this one for her, and she didn’t die in vain.”
He had a point.
“Let’s get this done for Lena. I want to get back to my w
ife. I hate leaving her alone—especially with Evangeline running amuck in our office.”
Kane agreed there.
“I’m glad Chrissy is home with our son.”
He didn’t blame him.
The two men hopped out of the ride and headed for the run-down motel. They knew there was media following, but there was nothing they could do to stop it. They weren’t able to sneak out, and they weren’t able to lose them on the drive over there. They were pretty sure there was speculation why they were showing up at the location Shelby was murdered.
Oh well.
They had a job to do.
At the door, Kane pulled it open and watched his partner’s back as he entered.
“Hey! Do you two need a room?” the man asked from behind the desk.
Justin stared at him and then Kane, and then him again. “Are you insane? We’re two guys. Why would you go there?”
“We get that a lot here. There’s a condom vending machine over there and I think there was a ‘gay for pay’ movie filmed in room six. That one is available if you’re interested.”
Justin stared at him.
“I’m a Marine.”
“So a ‘gay for pay’ military flick. I’m sure the next people will be thrilled. Clean up your mess,” he said in uninterested tones. “If you break it, stain it, or destroy it, you bought it.”
He pointed to a sign over his head.
It, indeed, said just that.
This place was a sinkhole leading to Hell.
Kane moved toward the man, towering over the guy. “Hey!” The big man used his bulk to intimidate.
“What?”
“We have questions. You’ll have answers,” he said, “or the only stain will be you on the carpet.”
The man looked up and swallowed. “Okay.”
“Name?” Justin asked.
“David Harmon.”
“Who was here the night Shelby Christensen was murdered?” he asked.
“Me.”
“What did you see or hear?”
The man shrugged as he never looked away from the Native giant. “Nothing. There was no screaming, no shouting, or anything else. I was watching a game, manning the desk, and no one came in or out of my office all night. The next thing I know, there are cop cars, a man being led out in handcuffs, and that’s it. I’m as shocked as everyone else.”
Kiss of Souls Page 16
