a Touch of Intrigue

by L. j. Charles

  Annie rested her hands on her still-flat abdomen. “I think I’ll just refrain from touching them until we know exactly what’s on the other side of this maze.”

  “I’m with you on that decision. Connecting with the energy in this forest about brought me to my knees.

  She patted her stomach, then let her hands drop, loose at her sides. “You know where the entrance is?”

  “Not here.” I turned to the right. “This way I think, but I’m not nearly as skilled as Aukele in following energy trails, so it’s just a guess.”

  Letting earth energy guide me, I made tracks through the maze. The closer I got to the middle, the more my head pounded with the force of the protective field Aukele had placed around the property. He’d about buried it beneath layers and layers of ethereal fortification. I rubbed my temples to ease some of the pressure, then spun around to check on Annie. “Hey, you okay? It’s intense in here.”

  “I’m fine.” The tiny line between her eyebrows deepened. “What’s wrong?”

  Obviously she didn’t have a duplicate of my throbbing headache. “Head hurts.”

  “You’re pale.” She frowned. “And at the risk of repeating myself, I’m fine, having a rush of energy for the first time in weeks.”

  My brain slicked in with a loud snap. “You’re pregnant.”

  She nodded, her eyes turning wary. “Fact.”

  I motioned toward her abdomen. “It’s the baby. Embryos have a strong ethereal connection, and I’d bet your child is basking in the energy, giddy as hell to be playing with Aukele’s creation. Oh, damn. Another baby. I’m gonna be stuck saying flippydoodles and fudderbutter for years.”

  Annie grinned, then made a swishing motion with her hands. “Go. Maybe your headache will ease up when we reach the center of the maze.”

  It was a good observation, and I desperately needed relief from the pain, so I upped my pace to a light jog.

  Less than five minutes later we broke into a clearing, and I stumbled to a dead stop. “Holy…”

  “Uh-huh. I’m with you on that. It’s…exquisite.” Annie whispered the words, reverence threading through each one.

  I glanced at her, a brief reality check. Yes, we were both standing here. Yes, there was a house tucked into the landscape. Nope, I was wrong about that. “It’s not like a man made structure at all. More like a continuation of the environment.”

  Annie tilted her head to the side, considering. “Um-hmm. Like Frank Lloyd Wright collaborated with Mother Earth. I’ve never seen anything like it. There’s so much…respect for nature in the design.”

  I sidestepped to look at it from a different angle. Probably I should have just embraced the awesomeness and headed for the front door, but I needed time to take it in, to accept that it was going to be my home. It appeared to be a single story house, but I couldn’t see the back to affirm my guess. Three steps led to a wrap around porch that weaved in and out of the various trees and shrubs hugging the house.

  If I didn’t watch him, Pierce would start digging up the plants since they were the perfect cover for illegal entry. But it was highly improbable that anyone would be able to find the house in the first place, and I liked the landscaping a lot. “You think I can reason with Pierce about keeping the trees and shrubs?”

  “Unlikely, but it’s worth a shot.”

  “Yeah. It would ruin the effect to take them out. There’s a strange balance of safety and danger, of modern architecture and homespun comfort, of the past and the future that surrounds the house. And maybe of fear and hope. I can’t believe I’m going to live here.”

  Annie grinned. “You’ll miss having the ocean close by, but why wouldn’t you live here? Anyone would be thrilled to discover this kind of inheritance. Oh, but I forgot. You’re not exactly normal.”

  If she wasn’t pregnant, I’d have tried out a new jujitsu move on her—one guaranteed to lay her flat on the ground. “Close enough to normal that I have a lot of questions, and I’m thinking a visit from my grandfather is way past due.”

  “Are you going to try and find him?” There was a note of dark curiosity and worry in her question.

  I put her momma hormones to rest. “Not unless I have to. It works better if he initiates all visits, but if it takes more than a day or two for him to show up I’ll start tracking him.”

  Annie wrinkled her nose. “It’s not that the Kahuna is a bad guy, and I’d definitely want him on my side in a fight.”

  “But?” I held back a grin.

  She twitched. “But the way he appears and disappears out of nowhere is unsettling.”

  “It’s downright annoying.” I drew in a long breath, and the sweet scent of plumeria filled my senses. “Okay. I’m going in. No. Wait. We should walk the perimeter first, right?”

  Hands on hips, Annie surveyed the house and property. “It’s always best to know your surroundings as thoroughly as possible, but it would take a Houdini type to find their way through that maze.”

  Fear ghosted over my skin. “Yeah. Which makes it all the more important to research all possible exits. Anyone who made it through would be a formidable adversary.”

  Annie nodded. “Good reasoning.”

  I didn’t get many compliments from my team. Adam, Whitney, Pierce, and of course Annie, were tough teachers and rarely cut me any slack, but the timing of her positive reinforcement was right on. Some of the weight lifted from my chest, and we took off at a slow jog to check out my newfound inheritance.

  Anticipation welled around my heart. My parents had walked this ground. And me. I’d probably played here as a child. I stopped, and bent to touch the earth. Waves of memory hovered on the surface of my mind before the pain took over, shooting from my neck into my head. “Damn it all to hell and back.” I dug my knuckles into the knot of pain, hoping for some relief.

  Annie shoved my hand away, and ran the tips of her fingers over the spot. “You haven’t seen a doctor about this yet, have you? There’s sort of a bump near your shoulder blade, and I think you should get it checked out.”

  I winced, guilt taking over as the pain eased. “Making an appointment hasn’t reached the top of my to-do list yet.” I stood, dislodging Annie’s hand from my neck. I didn’t like anyone to touch that spot. Ever. “The pain doesn’t happen very often, and honestly I keep forgetting about it because there’s been so much other stuff going on.”

  Her lips were tight. “It just hit the top of your to-do list, and we both know some good medics from my time at Tripler. In fact, I’ll make the appointment for you.”

  Her phone was already in her hand. I wrenched it free from her grasp and hit the off button. “No. This is something I have to do, and I’m absolutely positive a military health care facility is the wrong place to go.”

  Pale green eyes pinned me with unspoken questions.

  I handed her phone back. “It’s a gut feeling. I don’t think this is a medical issue, it’s more…wrong than that. I’ve thought about it a lot, and I’m sure the pain is connected to my memories, or lack thereof.”

  “I’ll buy that,” she said. “I’m even willing to scratch seeing an MD off your to-to list, but I’m replacing it with a promise that you’ll talk to Kahuna Aukele about it.”

  I’d thought about doing just that. A lot. It gave me hives. “His knowledge is scary.” I waved my hand in an arc that took in the surrounding property. “Plus he’s subversive. He kept this from me. And much as I love and respect him, I’m simply not willing to trust him with whatever is triggering the pain in my neck. Besides, you said it earlier. He’s unsettling, and this thing going on with me doesn’t need any kahuna mysticism added to it.”

  Annie frowned. “But isn’t that exactly why he’s the best person to talk to? He has the ability to understand the unusual, and if it weren’t for his sharing his vast healing knowledge with you I’d be dead now.”

  My sigh weighed a ton. “I hate it when you’re right about something I don’t want to do. How about I promise to give it
serious thought?”

  “I’ll give you twenty-four hours.” Her tone carried the bite of a threat.

  Still, it was enough of a reprieve to have me breathing easier. “I’ll take it. And now can we get on with exploring this gorgeous land?”

  Annie motioned me forward. “What did you expect your fingers to discover when you touched the ground?”

  “Memories. I hoped I could connect with my early childhood.” It rankled that my ESP fingers had failed to produce an image when I needed it, and a tight knot of discomfort lodged under my ribs. If my fingers weren’t working normally, it probably meant there was something I wasn’t supposed to know about. It took another five minutes before impatience took over. “Nothing feels off out here. Let’s go inside the house.”

  Annie scanned the path ahead of us, then quirked an eyebrow. “I’m good with that plan. Besides, I really want to see what the inside is like.”

  We hustled back to the house, our excitement so tangible it filled the air around us. There wasn’t a moment of hesitation until I reached for the doorknob, jerked my hand back, and scrubbed my palm against my thigh. “No lock, but it’s radiating energy.”

  “Something you’re very familiar with so why the panic?”

  A finger of trepidation slithered along my spine. “A bigger question is why doesn’t the lack of an insert-key-here slot bother you? You’re a cop. Well, sort of a cop, and considering your security system, you should be all about the need for keys.”

  Déjà vu was scrambling my brains. This scene was too reminiscent of the witchy wards I’d slammed into when I faced the woman who murdered my parents, and yes, it unnerved me. More than I wanted to admit, even to myself.

  Annie’s squint clearly labeled me a basket case.

  “Okay. The deal is I’m not comfortable with energetic wards. I’ve been studying them, and all sorts of other witchy things, but—”

  “Before you even started to study witchcraft, you were able to unravel those kind of locks with your healing gifts.” Annie sighed. “I’m not seeing the problem here. Aukele probably created this as a safeguard, not that a lock, any lock, is needed since, at the risk of repeating myself, no one who isn’t supposed to be here could get through the maze.”

  She had a point. I curled my hand around the doorknob and turned. The door swung open with the barest whisper of sound, and I sucked in some air. Surely the easy-open was proof we were welcome here.

  Annie’s hand clamped around my arm. Hard. “Someone is in there.”

  TWO

  ADRENALINE FLASHED. I BACK-STEPPED, then shot Annie a silent question.

  She eased in front of me, slipping a Sig .380 from her shoulder bag. Two could play this game. I carried an identical weapon, and it was in my hand before Annie nudged the door open.

  An empty foyer greeted us, but there was a palpable presence clinging to the air. One I recognized. “Pierce.” Damn it. I hated when my voice shook.

  Annie didn’t so much as glance at me, nor did she stow her Sig, but continued moving forward, clearing the hallway and into the great room like the professional she was.

  I followed, but had slipped my weapon into my messenger bag. I’d done some dumb things, but I wasn’t about to add pointing a gun at Tynan Pierce to the list. That would not only be a stupid thing to do, but hell, I loved the man, and shooting him would seriously interfere with the activities I had planned for us.

  He was sitting in the middle of a white leather sofa, arms draped along the back, legs spread, and a “gotcha” grin aimed right at me. Broad shoulders. Muscular thighs. A burst of tight, hot desire hit me in the gut.

  “Took you long enough, Everly Gray.” Pierce’s words were casual, but the heat in his gaze rippled under my skin. Way too hot. Spots danced in front of me.

  Annie’s “Ahem,” interrupted the awareness flashing between Pierce and me. She calmly dropped her Sig into her shoulder bag. “It would have been a kill shot.”

  Pierce’s attention settled on Annie. “Yes.” With a single, fluid motion he stood and held his arms out. “But since your IQ outweighs your training, come here.”

  What? A hug? What in the ever-lovin’ freaking hell was going on here? Sure Annie and Pierce had hugged before, not often, but it had happened. Maybe once. Max, twice. Never like this though. I backed away to get a better perspective on the situation. Jealousy? No, definitely not. Confusion? Of course, because wasn’t he supposed to hug me first? And then there was the doubt that crept in around my heart, smothering my ability to breathe—until he winked at me over Annie’s shoulder.

  “Congratulations on the pregnancy, A.J.”

  She backed out of their hug. “Sean has a big mouth.”

  “I stopped by the firehouse. He couldn’t stop grinning.” Pierce rocked back on his heels. Bare feet. Sexy bare feet.

  “We just found out for sure last night. I’m contending with the beginnings of morning sickness, so my grins are slightly askew.” She beamed. “Sean sounded happy, then?”

  It was a lame question excused only by pregnancy hormones, but I understood her underlying fear. After Maddie’s birth no one thought she’d be able to conceive and carry another child, and this had to be stirring all kinds of emotion for both Annie and Sean.

  Pierce didn’t comment. His attention was riveted on me.

  Right on cue my hormones stepped up to the plate. I dropped my shoulder, slid my messenger bag to the floor, took three steps and a flying leap. I landed exactly as planned—in Pierce’s arms with my legs wrapped firmly around his waist.

  A satisfied grunt escaped my man’s luscious mouth, and the flutter of his warm breath against my cheek was almost my undoing. Tiny beads of sweat broke out on my back. Lips. His lips. I wanted them on mine. Craved them. I tilted my head and focused on my goal, only to be sidetracked when he nipped the vulnerable spot beneath my ear. His words came rough and gravelly against my neck. “We have company, Belisama.”

  I bit down on my raging desire to strip his clothes off, turned my head away from the sweetness of his mouth, and glared at Annie.

  Her laughter was a like a rush of cool water. “You’ll have to hold off on coming-home sex until I see the rest of this house. No way am I leaving without the grand tour, so Pierce, you might as well put her down and explain how you found your way through the maze.”

  Good question. I probably would have thought of asking it myself after he gave me a few mind-blowing, and way overdue orgasms. Pierce released his hold on my butt cheeks, and then slid me down the front of his body leaving every one of my nerve endings on high alert. And leaving no doubt that his hunger for me equaled mine for him.

  He laced his fingers with mine. I shivered. There was something about the way he held my hand that fired a spark of trepidation deep into my core. I wasn’t going to like his answer to Annie’s question. Not one little bit.

  Still holding my hand, he tugged me close to his side and his eyebrows twitched. How was that even possible? I nudged his arm with my chin. “Just answer the question.” Patience had never been a strong part of my personality.

  “You’re not gonna like it, Hot Shot.”

  “Got that.” I did a quick scan of his aura, searching for a clue to prepare myself for whatever he said, but there was nothing that stood out from the usual gold and silver strands woven through the reds and purples. Wait a minute. That purple was richer, deeper than usual, and the vibration had upped a notch.

  His chest filled with an inhalation, the movement mesmerizing. Get a grip, Everly. Serious stuff now, sex later.

  “I’ve been studying with Kahuna Aukele.” Pierce set me away from him, looking deep into my eyes. “This is important to me, Everly. To us. I want to understand your gifts, and this was the only way to learn about them short of being born to it.”

  My brain did a short-circuit into hurt, then holy-hell awe that he cared that much about our relationship, and finally popped back into normal functioning mode. “But you were born to it. Your Circle
of Nine vision is proof of that.”

  He opened his mouth. I held up my hand. “Don’t even try and deny it. I saw it with my own eyes when we were in Ireland. You could see things no normal person ever does.” I paused for a quick breath and slight change of subject. “Why didn’t you tell me about Aukele?”

  “I wanted to surprise you.” It was a statement that sounded suspiciously like a question.

  I shook my head.

  He pushed out a sigh. “The odds were in favor of failure.”

  My heart stuttered. I cradled his cheek in my hand, stretched to tiptoes, and kissed him with a rush of love that was tightly condensed into a gentle brush of my lips against his.

  Silence stretched between us, both of us breathing in the moment, sharing the depth of our love for each other. It was in that sacred space I learned the most profound communication happens without words. The knowledge left me with an indefinable joy and weak knees.

  Annie shifted position, and I jolted back to mute awareness. When I made an attempt to create words, they came out a garbled, incoherent mess that I shrugged off. No point trying to force lucid thoughts from a hormone soaked brain.

  Pierce had the good sense to keep his mouth shut, but a fine tremor ran through his arms, the shivers an exact match with my own quivering muscles.

  Annie shifted her position again, then waved her hand in the general direction of the hallway. “I’m just going to take a quick self-guided tour, then let myself out when I’ve satisfied my curiosity. Won’t be around more than a few more minutes.” Her lips twitched, tightly controlled, in what surely would have been a huge grin before she disappeared down a hallway.

  Discomfort slipped into Pierce’s energy field, and it demanded my full attention. I brushed my fingertips over his lips, caught the wariness, and looked deeper for the reason behind the change. “What is it really?”

  His eyes dilated to soft black. “I’ve watched a lot of crazy situations explode into murder, some of it around you. Psychic gifts can turn on a person.”