Lure of Obsession (The Muse Chronicles Book 1)

by Lisa Kessler

  He’d be patient. Learn her routines and plot his course accordingly.

  Her death would be poetic and beautiful, just like she was. He’d see to that.

  Melanie Jacoby got into her car and drove away. He noted the time and tossed his binoculars on the passenger seat to follow her. Soon they’d meet face-to-face. Very soon.

  Mel left her purse in Callie’s guestroom and tried not to notice it had been two days since she’d watched Nate drive away. No phone calls, or texts, or drive-bys. Nothing.

  And she might’ve had chocolate for lunch. Nothing but chocolate.

  “Enough,” she grumbled under her breath. She popped her shoes off and headed out to find Callie. Being alone made it too easy to wallow. Seriously, she’d known this guy for a week, and had only met him because her friend died at the bottom of their steps.

  Not exactly the chick flick meet-cute to sweep a girl off her feet.

  But she wasn’t like other girls. In a twisted way, tragedy was the trail to her heart. And somehow Nate Malone had navigated that path.

  And he was already gone.

  Callie was on the phone when Mel entered the kitchen. She smiled and waved as she chattered, and Mel picked up an orange and started peeling. She had forty more term papers to read and grade, but she couldn’t focus right now. They could wait an hour.

  Callie hung up and leaned on the counter beside her. “The security company finished installing the cameras at the theater. They’ll be monitoring them, but they’re e-mailing me a link so we can spy remotely, too.”

  Mel chuckled. “Other than pigeons getting busy, I’m not sure what there will be to spy on. Whoever planted the explosives isn’t going to come back. Not now that the police are looking for them.”

  “You don’t know that. They could be desperate.”

  Mel smirked. “You’re the psychologist here. If these wackos are part of a Kronos cult or something, they’re probably intelligent, right? Kronos isn’t exactly well-known anymore. They’d need to research. And if they think attacking the theater and us will punish Zeus, then they’re misguided, but not stupid. It makes sense on paper. But no way would they risk coming back and getting put in jail. They’ll try another tactic.”

  Callie raised her eyebrows and nodded slowly. “Look who’s becoming a profiler. I’m impressed.”

  Mel buffed her nails on her shirt. “I accept tips.” She sobered. “Flip side? They succeeded with Nia. I’d assume they’ll be gunning for another one of us. If Nate’s right and they have a list of the LLC owners, we could all be wearing targets on our backs.”

  “At least you have a Guardian.”

  Mel focused on her orange. “Not sure I still do.”

  Callie sighed. “Still no word?”

  “Nope.” Mel popped a piece in her mouth. “Giving him space doesn’t seem to be working.”

  Callie came closer and clasped her shoulder. “Don’t let that muse take over. You’re doing the right thing. He’ll get in touch when he’s ready. You’ll see.”

  “I shouldn’t even care. I’ve enjoyed an exciting one-night stand before.”

  “This was more.”

  “It was to me.” Mel pressed her lips together and nodded slowly. “I’m an idiot.”

  Callie went into the kitchen. “You’re not an idiot. You’re a romantic. Big difference.”

  “Pfft. More like a glutton for punishment.”

  Callie grinned. “No wonder you’re hooked on this detective. You two are probably a match made in heaven.”

  Mel rolled her eyes. “The gods have a sick sense of humor.”

  John’s meeting with Belkin Oil had turned up another dead end. No Lewis Gold on payroll. No way to prove they were involved.

  Nate rubbed his forehead. “We need to bring the dockworker back in. See if we can get a physical description of this ‘Lewis Gold’. He’s our only lead right now.”

  John nodded. “I’ll get a sketch artist in with him and see if we can find this guy.” He paused. “You okay?”

  Nate dropped his hand to the desk. “Yeah.” He tipped his chair back, lowering his voice. “I’m visiting Maggie’s class tomorrow.”

  He raised a brow. “What for? Someone picking on her? I thought this was a better school.”

  “Nothing like that. It’s bring-your-parent-to-class month. She asked me if I’d come since…”

  “Her dad is in jail.”

  Nate nodded slowly. “And her mom is dead.”

  John shook his head. “You were cleared on that whole deal, Malone. Let it go.”

  He stared up at his partner, and other than Mel, his only friend—if he could even call Mel a friend. “Being cleared of wrongdoing doesn’t bring her mother back.”

  “Neither will going to her class.”

  “She can’t be the only one who doesn’t have anyone to share. I won’t let that happen.”

  “What about her foster parents?”

  Nate sighed. “She asked me, John. How can I tell her no?”

  John rubbed his chin. “You’re in way too deep on this one.”

  “I know.” He sighed, focusing on his desk. “But I’m all she has left.”

  Nate finished the paperwork in the stacking file on his desk and left the station. He headed right for the beach. Ever since Mel had slept over at his place, his mind was jumbled, his heart hurt, and he couldn’t get her out of his head. He’d lost count of how many times he’d picked up his cell phone to call, but he hadn’t done it. He’d told her secrets he never wanted anyone to know, and he had no clue how to get back on level ground with her.

  What if she thought less of him now? If there was a trace of pity in her eyes, he’d vomit. So rather than risk it, he’d been trying to push her out of his thoughts.

  But his goddamn shoulder burned again. “Fuck it.”

  He tugged his cell from his pocket and stared at her number. What if she saw his name and ignored the call? He opted for a text. No chance of voice mail, or worse, having her answer with sympathy in her smoky voice.

  Hey Mel. I’m a hell of a Guardian. You have every right to hate me, but if by some crazy chance you don’t…text me back.

  He put the phone away and pulled in a long, slow breath of the ocean air. The waves always gave him a sense of calm, reminded him that his problems were small in comparison. And no matter how hard the waves crashed, they always came back to try again.

  His phone buzzed.

  He took it out again, and a smile tugged at his lips.

  Crazy chance was all it said.

  He placed a heavy finger on her name, and the phone rang.

  “Long time, no see. Well, not really a long time,” Mel said with a small laugh. “Felt long, though.”

  “Too long.” He swallowed the lump in his throat, staring at the water. “Sorry. It’s not you, I just…”

  “Let’s not do this on the phone.” Her keys jingled in the background. “I forgot something at school, and I was on my way over to grab it. Want to meet me there?”

  “Yeah.” He nodded. “I’ll be right there.”

  “Perfect. See you soon.” She hung up, and he glanced at the screen.

  They talked for less than two minutes, but in that time, he didn’t catch a trace of pity or judgment. She was just Mel. And dammit, he missed her. His muse.

  He got up from the bench and jogged to his car. There was a dark voice inside him that warned him, shouting for him to cut all ties, telling him he’d stop missing her eventually. But he placated the fear with the promise that this wasn’t a relationship. He didn’t need her. He was her Guardian. Nothing more.

  When he rolled up at the high school and got out of the car, dread crawled up his spine. It was quiet and something seemed…off. He scanned the parking lot. Mel’s car was the only other vehicle nearby. Under the faint yellow of the streetlights, everything was washed into a dreamlike monotone.

  But nothing moved. Nothing he could see, at least.

  He drew his weapon—trustin
g his gut—and ventured deeper into the shadows of the central open-air lunch area. He made his way down the dimly lit hallways toward Mel’s English building. Crystal City High was an outdoor campus with about twenty structures on the property. Plenty of places to hide.

  Did she seriously come down here alone?

  Maybe he was overreacting, but his instincts were on high alert. He came around the final corner to the hallway leading to Mel’s English class.

  Someone was at the other end in a black hooded robe.

  “Police. Freeze!” Nate shouted.

  The stranger sprinted the other way.

  “Dammit.” Nate took off after him, but halfway down the hall, Mel opened her door.

  “Nate?”

  “Stay inside. Lock the door.” He didn’t look back.

  He should’ve looked.

  As he rounded the corner, he caught a glimpse of the robed figure disappearing around the corner of the gymnasium. He pushed his legs harder, praying he was in better shape than the wacko in the robe.

  An engine started on the street.

  His lungs ached, but the extra dose of adrenaline kicked in. He couldn’t outrun a car, but if he got lucky, he could slow it down. He stopped running, lined up his sights, and aimed for the vehicle. Five shots. One connected with glass, two with metal. And then the silver Honda Accord was gone.

  “Fuck!” he yelled, holstering his gun. He spun around and almost plowed right into Mel. “What are you doing out here? I told you to lock the door.”

  “You didn’t have backup.”

  He blinked. “And I still don’t. Do you have a weapon?”

  Mel held up her phone. “I was ready to call 9-1-1.”

  “You could have done that from the room.”

  She crossed her arms. “I wouldn’t have known if you needed me to call if I was hiding in my classroom.”

  He raked his hand through his hair, grinding his teeth to keep from saying something he couldn’t take back later. He grabbed her biceps, trying to make her understand. “If something happened to you…”

  He let go of her, pacing in a circle. “Jesus, Mel. If you’re going to make me believe I’m some kind of Guardian, you have to let me do my job. I can’t protect you if you don’t listen to me when I tell you to fucking hide.”

  She put a fist on her hip, jutting it to the side. “You don’t know me well yet, so I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt, but if you seriously expect me to hide while you chase after homicidal lunatics without any backup, then you have sorely underestimated me.”

  “You don’t understand.” He shook his head. “Forget it. Let’s see if he left anything behind.”

  She didn’t move.

  He groaned. “What?”

  “I’m waiting for you to help me understand.”

  He pulled in a slow breath. “I’m not doing this now. Either come with me willingly or I’ll pick you up and carry you.”

  Her jaw dropped. “You’re not serious.”

  “As a hurricane.” He took a step toward her, bending his knees in preparation.

  “Fine.” She walked past him. Fast.

  Good. She might be pissed at him, but she was alive.

  When he rounded the corner of her building, he stopped. He raised his hand, feeling like a damned idiot, but without a plate number, he had nothing to lose. Except some pride. He rolled his eyes and groaned before finally pressing his hand to the wall.

  Light burst through his head. The robed man’s face was hidden behind another gold mask of Kronos. Nate struggled to slow his breathing, to search out details before it vanished. The man carried a silver cylinder, and liquid sloshed inside it as he approached Mel’s door.

  And then it all faded.

  Mel rushed over. “Are you okay? Was it a vision?”

  He nodded slowly, regaining his equilibrium. “He had a container full of some kind of liquid, but I didn’t see it when he ran from me.”

  “Do you think he dropped it?” She turned on the flashlight app on her phone and started retracing their steps.

  “I don’t know. It ended before I could see. He saw me and took off.” He watched the beam of light on the ground. “Wait. Move it over to your right again.”

  That direction she followed without question. He congratulated himself for not pointing it out. “There. Hold it right there.” He squatted down and frowned. “It’s a thermos.”

  He pulled out his phone and hit John’s number. “Yeah, it’s me. I need you out here at the high school with a forensic team. I think Ms. Jacoby was right all along. Someone murdered her roommate, and she’s next on the list.”

  He straightened up, leaving the thermos on the ground. “John will bring gloves. We’ll dust for prints and have the contents tested.”

  Mel heaved a sigh. “Should we wait in my classroom?”

  “Sure.” He followed her in and left the door propped open so John could find him. “What was so important you had to come to this poorly lit campus alone at night?”

  She chuckled. “You make it sound like a bad decision.”

  He smiled and kept his obviously correct opinion to himself.

  She held up two journals. “My term papers were finished, and I started grading the short stories tonight. But I realized two of them must have missed my bag when I was stuffing them in.”

  Her idea of important and his were very different things.

  She must’ve read the confusion on his face because she shook her head. “You’re not a writer, are you? Once you finish something, even a short story, and give it to another person to read, the panic kicks in. A story is like a tiny piece of your soul, and you give it away.”

  “Okay…” He still didn’t see the urgent need to collect the lost journals before morning.

  “Some of these kids will be worried all night that their story was stupid or bad or boring, and if I give them a lame excuse like ‘I forgot to bring it home,’ it’ll make that horrible pit of uncertainty last another twenty-four hours. They’ll second-guess themselves, and some of them may never risk sharing their writing with anyone again.”

  He stared at her for a moment, unable to string words together to describe this woman. “You have no regrets, do you?”

  “About?”

  “Tonight. Coming here.”

  “No. I’d do it again.” She started to smile. “But next time I’ll probably bring Callie’s croquet mallet.”

  “Your students are really lucky to have you in their lives.” He meant it. Every word. She cared enough about inspiring them to write that she’d come to this campus at night. On her own time. When she knew she was in personal danger.

  He didn’t like it, but he could damn well respect it.

  “I try.” Mel lifted her dark eyes to meet his. “These kids are the future. I’d love for some of them to be writers. We need more good stories. Words are magic.”

  He closed the distance between them and kissed her, his fingers threading through her hair. She moaned into his mouth, her tongue tangling slowly with his. If magic had a taste, it was Mel.

  Sirens blared in the distance. He broke the kiss, a little breathless. “I came here tonight to apologize for not calling.”

  “Does it come with a caveat that you’ll try to communicate better?”

  He chuckled. “Yeah.”

  A car door slammed outside, but she didn’t move. “Why?”

  “Why what?”

  “Why are you willing to communicate better now? What’s changed?” Mel took a step back.

  He frowned, unsure what to say.

  She sighed. “I know I told you it didn’t have to be a relationship, that I could just be your muse, but when you backed off…” She brushed her hair back from her face. “It really hurt, and I realized I’m not sure I can do this. If you’re going to be more than my Guardian, then I need to know we’ll be there for each other.” She swallowed and added. “I want all of you.”

  John stepped through the threshold. “Hey,
Malone. Can you show the team the container?”

  Nate didn’t take his eyes off of Mel. “Be right there.” When his partner walked away, he lowered his voice. “I don’t know if I have that to give.”

  She nodded slowly, but the sadness in her eyes made him ache to take his words back. This was exactly why relationships were a bad idea. They only led to pain.

  “Thanks for being honest with me.” Mel swiped the student journals from the desk. “I’ll be more careful in the future. I appreciate you helping me tonight.”

  And with that she walked out the door. Nate blew out a breath and glared at the empty doorway. That was it? He didn’t fucking think so.

  He stormed out the door after her, but John intercepted him with the leader of the forensic team. “The container?”

  “Yeah.” He took them over to the thermos. “Dust for prints before you open it.” He grabbed John’s arm. “I’ll be right back.”

  His partner sighed. “Let this one go, Malone.”

  “That would be easier.” He glanced down the hallway. “But I can’t. Not like this.”

  “Shit.”

  “Exactly.” Nate jogged down the hall, calling over his shoulder. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

  CHAPTER 11

  Mel yanked open her car door, drying her cheek with one angry swipe and getting in. This wasn’t a tragedy. This was cutting her losses. But the muse inside her kept churning her emotions, feeding on it.

  They had one hot night together, and he saved her life and her theater. Okay, so Nate also believed her when no one else did.

  But he wouldn’t be the last, she tried to convince herself as she got into the car. Somehow that thought didn’t make her feel any better, though.

  A large hand grabbed the top of her door before she could yank it closed. She looked up into Nate’s eyes. The yellow lights over the parking lot stole the bright-green color, but they didn’t stand a chance of dimming the intensity.

  “We’re not finished.” A muscle in his cheek clenched.

  She raised her chin. “I guess we’ll just have to disagree on that.”