by Rose Pressey
Chapter Ten
My heart almost jumped out of my chest and a scream escaped my lips. I spun around and clutched my chest. Nicolas was standing behind me. I had been caught in the act. There was no way to explain why I’d been over there snooping around. I glanced down at the dresser. I had to think fast if there was any chance getting out of this dilemma. The copy of The Raven that I’d left for spooky effect was lying there.
I grabbed it and showed it to him. “I came to borrow this book. I hope you don’t mind.”
The expression on his face let me know that I wasn’t a good liar.
“Of course. Please take anything you need out of the room,” he said with a knowing grin.
“Thank you. I’m sorry to disturb you. I’ll just leave you alone.” I moved toward the door.
“Hallie,” Nicolas called out.
I stopped and turned around. When he said my name it made my heart do a little flip.
“I had to pick up a few necessities in town,” he offered, even though I hadn’t asked.
I supposed he was trying to ease into conversation after the incident earlier. Did that mean he planned on staying longer than expected? Well, there was only one way to find out. Why did I feel bad for asking? It was a legitimate question. After all, it was past checkout time and he hadn’t even paid me yet.
“Will you be staying an extra night?” I studied my shoes in order to avoid his penetrating gaze. Avoiding the desire to stare into his electric blue eyes was difficult though.
“Actually, I’m not sure how many nights I’ll need the room. Apparently, my car needs more serious attention than I’d realized. It may take a few days to repair the vehicle. I hope that’s okay. And I apologize that I haven’t paid you yet.” He pulled out his wallet and handed me a wad of bills. “Please take this and let me know if it isn’t enough. I’ll give you more as soon as I’m sure of how many nights I’ll need to stay.”
I glanced down at the bills. “This is more than enough.” I tried to hand back some of the cash.
He waved his hand and pushed it back. “Please. Keep it and add it to my bill. Like I said, I’m not sure how many nights I’ll be staying.”
Wow. Maybe I wasn’t so bad at this bed-and-breakfast thing after all. Well, maybe the breakfast part. But that was what they had bakeries for.
I debated on whether I should bring up what had happened at my mother’s store. It was beyond weird and he had to know that. I wanted to ask him about the conversation I’d overheard too. But it could be none of my business and perhaps I didn’t want to be involved. Should I wait to see if he mentioned it again? I’d let it go and see if he broached the topic again.
The sound of footsteps ascending the stairs caught our attention. Was it Liam? Or the ghost? I looked over my shoulder toward the hallway, then back at Nicolas. His facial expression tensed. I knew he was hoping it wasn’t Liam. But I was hoping it was. Did that make me crazy? I wanted to know as much about them as I could find out.
“I’d better check out my other guest.” I pointed over my shoulder.
Nicolas reached for my hand again and my heart skipped a beat. “When can I speak with you privately?”
“If you’d like to come downstairs later I can serve refreshments.” I motioned over my shoulder.
I was trying to remain professional, but did I sound too professional? Too aloof and indifferent? After all, I didn’t know this man.
He nodded and released my hand. I turned and walked out the door, without looking back. I needed to calm my speeding heartbeat.
I couldn’t deny my attraction to Nicolas, so I decided to remain quiet about his earlier warning and disagreement with Liam.
Liam was in the hallway when I came out of Nicolas’ room. The strangest look spread across his face when our eyes met. What did he think had happened? Sure, I’d been in a mysterious, handsome stranger’s room, but I wasn’t a lady of ill repute, as my mother would say.
“Is everything all right?” he asked with worry in his voice.
Why wouldn’t everything be okay? “Yes, it’s fine. I just came to retrieve a book.” I pointed at the hardback.
That sounded incredibly lame. He looked down at the book in my hand.
“The Raven. One of my favorites.” He flashed his dazzling smile.
How did I end up with two gorgeous men in my home?
“I enjoy Edgar Allan Poe too,” I answered softly.
“I’m sorry about earlier. Nicolas and I had words and we shouldn’t have involved you, especially at your mother’s store.” He crossed his arms in front of his muscular chest.
I shrugged. “Testosterone at work, I guess. How did you know it was my mother’s place?”
“You look just like her. The same caramel streaks in your golden hair and emerald specks in your green eyes.” He reached out and touched a lock of my hair and I sucked in a sharp breath.
How observant of him. “Are you sure you don’t know Mr. Marcos?” I asked.
Noise sounded from behind me. Nicolas stood at the threshold of his room’s door.
“If you’ll excuse me.” Liam stepped over to his room, walked inside and closed the door.
When I turned around, Nicolas had retreated into his room as well. I was left standing in the hallway wondering what had happened to my life. They were giving me a headache.
There was work to be done and I had to push thoughts of the men out of my mind. I needed food for my guests, although the thought of going to a bakery at this point was sounding more and more like a good idea. Annabelle had agreed to drive me for more groceries. I knew she didn’t want to shop for food, but she wanted more information about what was going on at LaVeau Manor. Having someone to confide in would be about the only thing to keep me sane at the moment. I had to tell her about what I’d overheard. She would freak out when she found out.
When I peeked out the front door, Annabelle was sitting in her blue Honda, motioning for me to come out.
“I see that your guests are still here,” she said when I slipped into the car.
“My cooking didn’t scare them away after all,’ I said around a laugh.
As she pulled onto the road, I studied the scenery out the passenger window, trying to figure out the best way to tell her. I tapped my fingers against the leather seat absentmindedly.
“Is something on your mind?” she asked, glancing over.
Finally, I mustered up enough nerve to explain what had happened.
After describing the whole mystifying scene, Annabelle said, “So he just burst in to the store?”
I nodded. “Yeah, it was straight out of a soap opera. I asked them to leave.”
“Your mother must have freaked out.” Annabelle said, steering around a curve.
“Surprisingly, she didn’t say much.” I paused for a moment, measuring my thoughts. “She did mention that there was an odd feeling of magic around.”
“What do you think about that?” Annabelle asked.
“I’m not sure what to think.” Apprehension gnawed at me.
I knew this was the moment when I had to tell Annabelle about what I’d heard. I had to get someone’s opinion.
“There was one thing I didn’t mention.” I tried to keep my tone casual.
“Oh no. Do I need to pull over? How bad is it?” She glanced at me with wide eyes.
“Well, it’s probably nothing.” I waved off her concern.
“Tell me. You’re scaring me.” Her voice raised a level.
“When I listened in on their conversation at breakfast I heard some things,” I said.
Her eyes widened. “Like what?”
“Well, Liam told Nicolas that he couldn’t believe he was there, which was completely odd,” I said.
Annabelle snorted. “Yeah, you could say that.”
“Anyway, then Nicolas said something but it was mostly muffled, probably because he was farthest away from the wall. I only made out two words.” I paused as their convers
ation replayed in my mind.
“You’re driving me crazy. What were the two words? Please tell me the words weren’t murder and women.” She motioned for me to hurry with one hand while steering with the other.
I chuckled. “No. He said ‘Underworld’ and ‘Mara.’”
“Underworld? What the heck is that? Is that some kind of sex slavery thing?” Annabelle asked.
“What? Come on. They look like perfectly nice gentleman. They couldn’t do that, right?”
She raised an eyebrow. “Anything is possible.”
I snorted. “Anyway, maybe that wasn’t what he said at all. Like I said, it was muffled.”
After a quick trip to the grocery store, we pulled into my driveway and Annabelle cut the engine when we stopped in front of the house. Walls of trees flanked both sides of the property all the way down to the river. Soft moonlight cast an eerie glow over the landscape, making the whole place look like a scene from Dracula. I knew even the outside of the place gave Annabelle the creeps. The sensation of being watched was undeniable, so I couldn’t say that I blamed her.
“Do you want to stay with me tonight? We could watch old Cary Grant movies and eat popcorn,” I said with hope in my voice.
“I have a better idea. Why don’t you come back to my place and we’ll watch the movies?” Annabelle said.
I contemplated the thought. “No, I can’t do that. I have guests.”
“You can just let them have the place,” she said as she peered up at the manor.
“Don’t be silly. I can’t do that. Can I? No, no. I can’t.” I waved off the thought. “Listen, I’ll be fine. I promise to call you if anything happens.”
“You’ll call me if you need anything?” she repeated for reassurance.
“I promise,” I said, making an imaginary cross mark over my chest.
The house remained silent when I entered through the front door. I expected guests to make some level of noise. Their silence was odd. But as I stepped across the living room floor, the sound of footsteps creaked the floorboards above my head. At least I knew they were really still in the house.
Once the groceries were put away, I made my way to my room on the second floor. What were the guys doing up there? I’d heard walking around and Liam’s car was in the driveway, so I knew he was there. But I hadn’t seen Nicolas, so I wasn’t sure what he was doing. Liam could have killed him for all I knew.
My bedroom had a large mahogany bed in the middle of the room placed against the far wall. The walls were covered in a cream color. I’d thought of painting the room in a soft yellow or taupe soon. Aunt Maddy had a gorgeous deep purple velvet chaise in one of the other bedrooms, so I’d dragged it across the hall to use in my room. To the left of the door was a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf where I displayed my small collection of witch figurines along with my large book collection. The white down comforter on the bed called my name.
After soaking in the bath, I slipped into my favorite plaid pajamas and fell onto the bed. The cat curled up at the end of the bed and immediately closed his eyes. Apparently he wasn’t worried about my mysterious guests.
I was exhausted from my lack of sleep the night before. My worries would have to wait until tomorrow. Right now I needed to give my mind a break. The house was eerily still and I fell asleep within minutes of my head hitting the pillow. The quiet wouldn’t last for long.
