“Mattie!” Roman said, pulling her against his body. “Jesus! Are you okay?”
She nodded. “Thank you,” she whispered.
Okay, clearly, provoking Evangeline was a bad idea. Tori made a note to say NOTHING. She couldn’t risk her family.
Looking around, it was easy to see that the whole team was shaken.
“She’s going to try and pick us off one by one,” Julian stated. “We need something that’s going to stop that.”
The door to the elevator opened, and in rushed Nyx holding a box of charms she’d worked on in her shop.
“She was here. I could hear her in my head,” she stated. “Is everyone okay?”
Mattie didn’t look so shiny and happy. She didn’t even look at Nyx. Clearly, she wasn’t thrilled with the woman’s choices either.
“I’m sorry, Mattie,” she said, when she realized what had happened. The raw red handprint on the woman’s throat told her everything she needed to know.
“Don’t be sorry. Be productive,” Julian stated, trying to soothe ruffled feathers. “What do you have?” he asked.
Nyx dropped the box. Inside, there were all kinds of crystals on strings.
“They’re made with saltwater,” she stated. “I found them in my shop, and I had them blessed by a coven, a priest, and a Voodoo practitioner.”
“Will it work?” Roman asked. “I don’t want to watch my wife die,” he stated.
“I covered all of our bases. We can wear them, and that should keep her from doing her worst.”
‘Should’ didn’t really sound good to Julian or Tori. They gave each other the look.
“But we’re not sure?” Julian asked.
Okay, it was time to give them the bad news. “She won’t be able to choke you, but she can body jump if someone is pissed.”
Well, it was better than nothing.
“I say we go for it,” Julian stated.
Tori agreed. “Do it.”
Nyx began handing them out.
“Wear them, and don’t take them off. She’s not going to be happy.”
Tori could hear Bethany in her ear. The gentle whisper from the woman was barely audible to Tori, and that meant one thing.
They were trying to protect her.
“She’s already pissed. Trey just burned out trying to keep her off us. We have to find a way to slow her down.”
Nyx was aware.
“She’s going to have to be exorcized. That’s the only way to move a demon out of a place.”
Tori didn’t like the sound of that.
At all.
“How painful is that going to be?” she asked. “Would it just be better if we left the building? Will she stay here?”
Nyx knew what she did.
“She’ll follow wherever I go.”
Beau had been silent.
“Then maybe we should go, and you should stay. Then you can deal with the mess you made.”
That hurt.
Nyx felt the dagger to her heart with his words.
“Beau,” Julian stated.
“No, it’s true. She went behind our backs and brought this home with her. She should be the one who fixes it.”
Well, that said it all.
There was no love lost from her fiancé. If he was still that.
Nyx stared at him. “And you’ve never made a mistake?” she asked. “You’ve never done something you thought would be good, and it turned out to be a nightmare?”
She dropped the box. “I know what I did, and I’ll own it, Beau. I get it. I screwed up.”
He didn’t speak.
“You shouldn’t throw stones in glass houses, and since no one will point the finger at you, since YOU’RE family, and I’m not, let me point it out. YOU were told not to see your mother. You told me you were going to be home cooking, and you snuck out to meet her. Now you’re likely going to jail. You weren’t exactly the poster child for being honest!”
He got angry.
“You’re family, too,” Tori stated. “We aren’t leaving you here, Nyx. Beau is just angry.”
Well, he wasn’t alone.
“I get that I screwed up. I’ll pay for it, too, but I won’t be disparaged by Beau. At least I won’t be going to the chair!”
Ouch!
They all cringed.
The energy in the room sizzled around them.
Tori knew this was exactly what Evangeline wanted. She was making them fight. It was time to stop it.
Tori stepped in.
“Stop! If you get pissed, she’s body jumping you. That’s her plan. We can’t fight like this,” Tori ordered. “We have to be a family and act like one.”
“You’re right, Tori. We should act like a family. I’ll take a play from Beau’s playbook and avoid,” Nyx stated.
Nyx grabbed the empty box.
“I’ll be in my shop. I’m going to find a way to stop HER, and when I do, I’ll leave. If me being here is going to mean this every day, Beau, I’ll take the hint. You don’t have to tell me to beat it. Your actions say plenty.”
She headed for the elevator to get back to work.
When she was gone, Tori faced her brother. “She’s right. You screwed up, and so did she. You’re crucifying her out of anger, but she’d not doing that to you. When you were arrested, she fought to get you out.”
He sighed.
Julian agreed with his wife.
“She made a mistake, and so did you, Beau. If you’re going to start keeping score, you’re asking all of us to do the same thing. Is that what you really want?”
He looked around at the sea of faces. It was clear that no one wanted a war in their family.
He needed to do the right thing.
“I’m sorry. I’ll go talk to her. You’re all right.”
“You’re going to lose her,” Tori stated. “You’re risking a relationship because you’re pissed. You have to let it go, or her go. You need to decide.”
From the look on his face, she wasn’t sure if that was what he wanted, or if he was upset. Beau was hard to read.
“I’ll fix it.”
He was going to go out the front to meet Nyx at her shop. There, they could have a quiet conversation. When he got to the door, something wasn’t right.
“Uh, we have something happening outside,” he offered.
The whole team moved toward the front door to stare out the tinted windows.
The media was swarming. Beau was right. Something was stirring them up. Tori and Julian prayed it wasn’t another person committing suicide.
“It’s not the detective showing up,” Julian stated. The direction was wrong. He would have pulled into the parking lot, and this commotion was across the street.
It appeared that they had found something else that made their dead little hearts happy.
Tori couldn’t imagine what that would be.
Then she saw it.
As the crowd parted, mostly due to the large Native man shoving them out of the way, a familiar face appeared in the middle of the storm.
“Elizabeth,” Tori stated in disbelief. “I can’t freaking believe it.”
“Elizabeth who?” Mattie asked.
“You’re about to meet the FBI’s golden child,” Roman whispered. “She’s got the Midas touch. Every case she handles is magically solved.”
Tori knew it was so much more than that. She knew how brutal each one was to her best friend’s soul.
Elizabeth bled for her career.
Literally.
The pink casted arm was proof.
“What’s Tex doing here?” Justin asked.
They all looked at him.
“I didn’t call her. You told me not to do it. I wouldn’t piss her, or you, off,” he said, raising his hand. “I swear.”
Then what the hell?
They watched her head their way. She was in her beat up jeans, her cowboy boots, mirrored shades, and on her hip there was her badge and gun.
It looked like E
lizabeth was back at the FBI, and it was rolling into Delta Falls.
As she crossed the parking lot, the woman looked thinner and worn down, but Tori was so happy to see her.
Pushing open the door, Tori let her and Callen into the building to save them from the chaos outside.
“Elizabeth!”
“I hear y’all have some dead woman and a mystery on your hands. Got some room for two more on your team?” she drawled.
Tori hugged her and held on.
“I got you, Tor,” she whispered in her ear. “Friends don’t let friends go under.”
Tori stared into her best friend’s eyes. “Lyzee, we have one hell of a shit mess going on here.”
Then she kissed her on the mouth.
Callen laughed when Julian began sputtering.
“Really, Victoria? On the lips?”
“She deserves it.”
Then she kissed Callen too.
When he went to make a comment, Elizabeth socked him in the gut with her cast.
“My wife is back, and she’s on duty,” he muttered.
Hell yeah, she was.
Here was the distraction she needed.
“How bad is it?” Elizabeth asked her friend.
Tori stopped celebrating. “I’m going to lose my brother. He’s going under, and I can’t save him alone.”
Elizabeth held her hand. “Girl, please. Have some faith in my skills. I’ve pulled some bacon out of the frying pan before.”
And that was what gave Tori hope.
Chapter Eleven
T ori had never been so happy to see someone in her whole freaking life. If Elizabeth was here, then some of the weight could come off her shoulders. Her best friend was accustomed to dealing with things like this, and Elizabeth would know where to start.
They had the mother of all investigators by their side, and surely, Beau was going to be saved.
This was a miracle.
Yes, they found the lost, but Shelby…she had taken Tori down at the knees. It rattled her cage, and she wasn’t focused.
The cavalry had arrived, and there were brighter days ahead. Here was the proof.
“We are so happy to see you,” Julian said, giving Elizabeth a hug, and then Callen.
“Hey, Jules, nice business you have here. Need my assistance?”
He smiled. “Oh, you could say that. Who called you?” he asked. Tori had specifically told everyone not to do it, and Justin swore it wasn’t him.
Whoever called was getting a damn raise. They needed all the help they could get, and a battered Elizabeth was still a force to reckon with—in his books.
“My lips are sealed, but if you need a hint, it starts with-CHRI—and ends in—STINA,” she teased.
Yep.
She was getting a better office too. In fact, Christina could have his and Tori’s if she wanted it.
“How about you introduce me to the players, so I can catch up?” Elizabeth asked.
Then she focused on Justin.
“Except for my Marine friend. He and I go way back, right?” she asked.
He snorted. “Tex, you’re one scary broad.”
Vivian elbowed him. “Justin!”
Elizabeth laughed. “It’s okay. You must be his missus. I’m Elizabeth.”
Vivian gawked at her.
Oh, she knew who she was.
If you were in law enforcement, and you watched the news, then you knew that this woman handled the crazies. She was like the FBI’s attack dog. If someone did a crime, she was called in to find whodunit.
Everyone she knew idolized the path this woman had blazed for them all. She was an icon.
“I’m Vivian, and, yes, he’s mine.”
“I don’t know whether to congratulate you or say I’m sorry,” she teased.
Justin pointed at her. “That’s not nice! I’m your favorite Marine!”
She laughed.
It felt good to hear it.
“Well, you’re a Marine, soldier, but I have bad news. You have some competition as of late.”
Yeah, he was in good company with Major Maura Gaines-Mars, or Captain Jagger Armstrong. She couldn’t help it. They tickled her fancy, and they amused the hell out of her.
“Cheating on me with other Marines. Ouch.”
Callen laughed.
Elizabeth glanced over. “Speaking of favorite men,” she said, trying not to flinch. “This is Callen James. He’s my husband.”
“I hear you have two,” Vivian stated. “That has to be one hell of an adventure.”
Vivian’s words were like an arrow to the heart.
Tori squeezed her hand. While she, Julian, and Christina knew the details, the rest of the team…not so much.
Elizabeth plastered on the fake smile.
“I do, Ethan is in DC. He’s playing Director of the FBI in Gabe’s absence. He sends his love.”
She assumed, but that was the polite thing to say.
Tori jumped in and did the rest of the introductions to keep from anymore awkward moments for Elizabeth. From the look of her, she was barely holding on, and they needed her.
“This is Roman and Mattie Remington.”
She shook their hands. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she offered. “Tori has spoken highly of both of you.”
“Thanks,” Roman stated.
Elizabeth noticed the raw red handprint on the woman’s neck, but she didn’t go there. If it was pertinent, they’d clue her in later.
“You already know Claire—Julian’s sister. Well, this is her husband, Beckett.”
Elizabeth hugged the other Littlemoon, and then she held out her hand for Beckett.
When he returned his, encased in leather, Elizabeth lifted a brow in question.
He got that a lot.
“It’s a little early to be wearing gloves, isn’t it?” she asked.
He smiled, but didn’t elaborate. From that response, he could tell that Elizabeth wasn’t privy to some of the common practices at ‘Littlemoon Investigations’.
Tori continued, “You remember Kane.”
Hell yeah, she did.
He gave her a giant bear hug and whispered in her ear. “I’m sorry.”
It brought tears to her eyes.
She covered it with the greeting so no one realized why she was weepy.
“I’ve missed you and your genius wife. Where is she, and where is that little Native snuggle bug you made?” she asked.
Kane hugged Callen too.
“Once Chrissy knows you’re here, she’s definitely going to pop in to catch up, and there will be some Milo on board too.”
She couldn’t wait.
Native babies captivated her heart. It was all that hair and pudgy cheeks.
Tori directed her down the line and made the introductions.
She didn’t need to do it. From the family resemblance, and the ramrod stiff military stance, she already knew who it was.
Elizabeth stood in front of Beau. “Soldier, I hear you have one hell of a mess.”
He absolutely did. “Yeah, that’s me. Beau the mess.”
She crossed her arms over her chest at the tone in his voice. While she’d normally kick the shit out of anyone having a pity party, she wouldn’t go there.
Why?
She was having her own.
Besides, now it was about helping Tori.
When her phone chimed, she ignored it. Granted, she was dying to see what Ethan had sent back, but she knew they needed to get some shit done.
And fast.
“That’s it for the team,” Julian stated. “Nyx is in her shop whipping up some…stuff…and Lennox and Everhart Rose are on their honeymoon. You’re looking at the core of our investigators. I hope you can work with them.”
It was a good team, and she knew it. Elizabeth had worked with Kane, Tori, and Julian, she’d researched Claire, and Beckett, so she was good with what she’d learned. She’d take soldiers and cops as backup any day—especially if they were recom
mended by Julian and Victoria Littlemoon.
Toss in a soldier or two, and they had a rounded group to start the investigation.
She hoped.
“Time, I hear, is running out.”
Tori told her everything to bring her up to speed. She spilled her guts about Beau getting caught up in the mess, and how they were running out of time.
Elizabeth listened, and Callen made notes.
It was like any other case.
Only this one was a necessity for the Littlemoons, and Elizabeth. She was trying to save them, and her sanity in one shot.
“What’s with the flowers and Voodoo doll?” Elizabeth asked, as she moved around the space to check it out. It was the first time she’d gotten to Delta Falls to visit her extended family.
Not friends.
Family.
“Is someone dabbling in some woo-woo shit?” she asked, picking up the dead rose on the desk.
This was Tori’s big fear.
Part of the reason she didn’t want Elizabeth there was because as soon as she arrived, and began working the case, she might find out the truth.
They were a bunch of psychics.
Oh, she knew what response that was going to get too. Elizabeth didn’t buy into that BS, and before Bethany, she didn’t either.
Now…
It was all different.
With Elizabeth’s arrival, she’d have to tell her about it at some point. It wasn’t like they’d get that lucky and Evangeline wouldn’t make an appearance.
Or Bethany.
Or Trey.
Or Shelby.
Christ!
She didn’t even know if Lena was floating around. At this point, it was anyone’s game.
This was a moment she feared, so she went with the basic explanation.
“We had a death. Lena, our secretary, jumped to her death from the building across the street,” Tori admitted.
She left it at that, even though the whole team was staring at her, as they waited for her to clue the two visitors in on the details.
Yeah, she couldn’t do it.
Not yet.
She was on the verge of losing her brother, their business, and the people she loved. She couldn’t risk her best friend too.
Nope.
Elizabeth didn’t miss a beat.
“I’m so sorry to hear that,” she offered. “I know it’s hard to lose the people you love.”
Kiss of Souls Page 22
