by Shauna Hart
“Have the police found out who did it yet?” he asked, his brows furrowing together.
She opened the bag, sifting through the items. A black sweater, some hairspray and blush, a bottle of mineral water and a couple of books were all that was left of Ruby’s days here. She scanned the titles of the books. One was a gemstone dictionary; the other was a book on interpreting dreams. Finally, the last book was entitled, Change Your Destiny…Magically. Tears burned the backs of her eyes, but she refused to let them fall.
“I’m sorry, what did you say?” she replied, her voice shaking a little.
Lloyd shifted his weight uneasily. “Do the police have any suspects yet?”
She stared down at her sister’s belongings. There wasn’t much left of the two years Ruby had spent here. It was a sad pittance. “No, nothing yet,” she answered without meeting his eyes.
He watched her for a moment before saying, “Well, that’s all there was. Don't s’pose you’ll be wantin’ the stuff she had on layaway?”
He started to leave the room, but Jade stopped him. “Ruby had items on layaway?”
He nodded his head. “Always did. Had more on layaway than she ever bought.”
Jade grabbed the bag, crossing the few feet that separated them. “I’d like to see it if I could.”
He led her out to the front. “Be my guest. Zoë, show Ms. Monroe the stuff Ruby had on layaway.”
With that instruction, he disappeared through a side door. Zoë pulled out a box from beneath the counter, sorting through the small plastic bags inside. Jade walked over to stand before her, noticing how different she was from the girl who’d greeted her earlier. Her short brown hair bounced around her head in loose curls, her hazel eyes sparkling. She pulled a small bag out, placing it on the counter.
Jade looked through the pieces of jewelry. Her eyes traveled over Ruby’s selections: a gold bracelet with a green stone, long dangle earrings with stars, and a red cross. She picked up the cross, holding it up to the light to see it sparkle.
“Tiger’s Eye,” Zoë explained. “It’s a stone of protection—helps you to be strong through tough times, brings clarity.”
Clarity.
It was one of the things Jade was lacking at the moment.
“I’ll take all of it,” she proclaimed, pulling her wallet out of her purse.
“All of it? Are you sure?” Zoë confirmed, her surprise evident.
Jade smiled, giving her a quick nod. After Zoë rang up the purchase, she hesitated.
“Look…it’s just…Ruby and I were friends. I’m sorry about what happened to her.”
Lloyd loomed in the doorway, his presence as imposing as his manner. Jade leaned in so that he wouldn’t be able to overhear them.
“Would you have coffee with me? I’d really like to talk to you some more about Ruby,” she invited. If Zoë and Ruby were close, maybe she could provide some clues as to who Ruby was seeing.
Zoë glanced over at Lloyd warily, but Jade pressed on. “What do you say we meet tomorrow? Nine o’clock at Café du Monde?”
Zoë sighed heavily. “I’ll try.”
Jade walked back to the apartment, enjoying the evening breeze as it drifted through the city streets. She entered the apartment, taking a seat in the overstuffed chair for a moment as she tried to plan her next course of action. She searched through the papers, magazines and mail in the wicker basket on the table, only to be disappointed. Next she ransacked the kitchen, opening every drawer, every cabinet, but still nothing.
Her eyes were inevitably drawn to the very door she had been avoiding. Knowing that the answers she sought would only be found the hard way, she made her way down the hall. She stopped in front of the door, placing her fingers on the doorknob. It was cool to the touch, causing a chill to race up her spine.
Taking a deep breath, she pushed it open.
The pungent stench of chemicals filled her nostrils, making her nose crinkle as she entered the room. She could only imagine how many forensic tests had been performed in this room to uncover the truth. Unfortunately, they had yielded little to no results. The bed was completely stripped of everything, its headboard left barren and alone. A large painting hung above it. The swirls of red and black paint were decidedly erotic and violent.
This was where it had happened.
Her stomach rolled at the thought of the scene the detectives had witnessed on that fateful day. As she looked around, she realized the room did not provide any more clues than the other rooms had. She had hoped for something, anything that could lead her in the right direction. She searched the drawers of the nightstand only to find nail polish and a few romance novels. It seemed that the cops took any evidence with them.
How was she going to find out who killed her sister?
Chapter 3
The next morning she sat at Café Du Monde, sipping hot chocolate as she watched people walk by. Most came here for the fabulous chicory coffee and beignets, but she found their hot chocolate to be the best-kept secret. Tourists sat all around her, planning their activities for the day while pigeons fought for every discarded crumb. The little tables were cluttered together tightly, and everyone who was lucky enough to have found one had incurred a few battle scars for the find. On any other occasion, she would’ve enjoyed the hustle and bustle of it all, but today she had only one thing on her mind.
Zoë.
She knew something.
Jade could feel it.
She couldn’t help but remember the first time she came here with Ruby. She had brought her here saying that she simply had to go. Then they’d spent the day wandering the streets of the French Quarter, stopping in all of the little boutiques. A smile touched her lips as she thought of the laughs they’d shared that day.
“Jade.” A voice brought her back to the present.
“Zoë. I’m so glad you could meet me.”
Zoë took a seat across from her, quickly ordering a coffee from the waitress.
“Me, too,” she replied, leaning over to put her purse on the ground by her feet.
For a few minutes, neither spoke. The awkwardness of encountering a stranger was setting in. “So, you and Ruby were friends?” Jade asked.
“Yes,” Zoë answered, refusing to make eye contact.
“Good friends?”
Zoë hesitated. “I guess.”
“The reason I wanted to meet you is that I need to find out some things about my sister.”
“What sort of things?” she inquired uneasily, taking a tentative sip from the cup the waitress placed before her.
“Who was she dating? Where did she like to hang out? Those kinds of things.”
Zoë shifted in her chair. “Why do you need to know those kinds of things? What I mean is…I thought the cops were investigating everything.”
“They are, but they have other priorities. I only have one…finding Ruby’s killer,” Jade announced firmly.
“Look, I’d love to help you,” Zoë said, scooping her purse up to leave.
Jade reached across the table to place a restraining hand on her arm. “Please, Zoë. Anything you can think of, anything you know would really help.”
A stricken look covered Zoë’s face for a moment and Jade felt sure she was close, but instead she murmured a quick, “I’m sorry,” and left.
Jade sat in stunned silence for a moment before walking across the street to Jackson Square. She weaved her way through the many artists and psychics that littered the courtyard. Following the narrow paths, she walked around the tourists who were lined up to watch the many antics of the street performers. The unsung talent of the Quarter.
She reached the apartment, falling onto the couch. No sooner had her head touched the pillow than she was asleep. Her dreams were violent and frightening. Someone was chasing her, but she couldn’t see his face. She ran faster and faster, but he just kept coming. Just as he was about to reach her, a knock on the door jolted her awake. She sat up, trying to get her bearings as another knock
sounded. Pulling herself off the couch, she crossed the room to pull the door open.
It was him.
The man she had dreaded seeing. The man she had hoped to avoid.
Clay Devlin.
“Did I wake you?”
Jade shot him a worried glance as she smoothed her hair. His blue eyes twinkled as they moved over her trim form, causing an unwelcome tingling to heat her body. His light brown hair was slightly ruffled, and his high cheekbones rose in mischief. He leaned in, his broad shoulders straining against the white dress shirt. The top two buttons hung open to reveal the curly brown hair on his chest. His dress pants were slightly wrinkled, probably from spending too much time in the car.
She hadn’t seen him in years, ever since…
“Yes, as a matter of fact you did,” she bit out, spinning around to begrudgingly allow him to enter behind her. She wasn’t ready to deal with him.
Not yet.
She returned to the couch, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. He came in, closing the door behind him.
“Sorry. Why didn’t you tell me you were in town?”
“I didn’t realize I had to issue a press release,” she retorted with a huff of aggravation.
“And I didn’t realize I was on the same level as the press,” he returned, his frustration beginning to show. He towered over her, causing her head to fall back to hold his gaze.
“It didn’t occur to me to notify you when I arrived,” she informed him briskly.
He took a seat in the chair to her left. “I’m sure it didn’t,” he agreed. His eyes met hers. “I’m sorry I didn’t come to the funeral.”
She quickly looked away, not wanting to remember how much it hurt to bury her sister. “It’s okay,” she replied, her tone shaky.
He shook his head solemnly. “No, it’s not. I wanted to be there, but I wasn’t sure I would be welcome. And I didn’t want to make the day any worse for you than it already was.”
His admission startled her.
“Thank you,” she mustered.
He took a deep breath before forging ahead. “So, why are you here? I could’ve packed Ruby’s things for you. You didn’t have to come.”
His eyes scanned the room, and he shifted in his seat uncomfortably. She could sense his discomfort at being here. She didn’t blame him. She felt the same way.
“I should be the one to do it.”
“Because I’m not family?”
Standing up, she walked into the kitchen in an effort to put some distance between them. “Because I have to find out what happened to my sister,” she admitted.
He walked across the room to join her. “What exactly does that mean?”
“It means that I’m not going to rest until I find the bastard who did this.”
“Jade, don’t get involved. The police can handle things,” he reasoned.
“The police are no closer to finding Ruby’s killer than they were the day she died. Besides, they have their hands full in this city,” she scoffed.
“Jade, be sensible. Leave the investigating to the professionals,” he commanded.
When she didn’t answer him, he came closer, his body almost touching hers.
“Jade,” he prodded.
She inhaled the scent of his cologne. A quick glance down told her that her nipples were already responding to his nearness. She had to get away from him—quickly.
“Okay,” she lied. “Okay, I won’t get involved.”
Her eyes met his briefly before looking away. His stare lingered a minute too long. “Good. Maybe we could have dinner tonight?”
His suggestion caught her off guard, but she quickly recovered. “Okay, I have a few things to do today. Why don’t you pick me up at about seven o’clock?”
The boyish smile he offered made her heart flutter uncomfortably. She didn’t want to remember how those lips felt against hers. As she watched him leave, she wondered if her gamble would pay off. Being alone with him could be dangerous. She found that out a long time ago. They had been planning Ruby’s surprise birthday party…
* * * *
For weeks, Jade and Clay made preparations for the party. Finally, the day came, and they were feverishly working to finish decorating the hall.
“Ruby’s going to love all of this,” Jade marveled aloud, sitting on the floor to admire their handiwork.
“She better, after all the work we’ve done. You know, you could make a fortune planning parties,” he joked as he finished hanging the last of the streamers. With his final task completed, he joined her on the floor.
“I have to admit I was a little intimidated by the way you handled the caterer. I was beginning to think he was going to offer to pay us,” he laughed, leaning back on one arm.
“Well, he shouldn’t have tried to raise the price,” she reasoned, rolling her eyes.
“I was starting to think I was going to have to step in to protect him. I think if you even blinked in his direction, he would have gladly given you his house and his family,” he chided.
She leaned back on her elbows. “Okay, so I was ruthless!” she admitted ruefully, tilting her head to the side.
He chuckled, turning to look at her. “I’m not complaining. You were wonderful. You’re going to make a hell of a real-estate agent.”
The sincerity in his tone touched something deep inside her. Their eyes met and held for a few moments. An involuntary sigh escaped her parted lips. He heard the sound and its silent plea, and he responded. His head began to descend toward hers.
In that second, that breath of a moment, she didn’t want to think about right or wrong. She no longer wanted to weigh the outcome of every choice she made. All she knew was that if she didn’t feel his lips against hers soon, she would die.
His lips met hers briefly, tentatively. She sensed he would soon pull away, and a part of her rebelled. Her head turned to the side as her tongue stole a forbidden taste. That was all the encouragement he needed. His tongue ventured into her mouth, teasing, stroking, searching out every hidden spot. His hand came up to stroke her cheek, her neck. She returned his kiss beat for beat, her hands coming up to cradle his head, not allowing any room for reason to intrude.
His body followed hers down to the floor, covering her fully. The weight of his erection pressed into the cleft between her thighs, making her sigh into his mouth. God, she wanted him. She wanted to feel him moving inside of her. When his mouth blazed a trail down her throat, covering her nipple through her shirt, she moaned in ecstasy.
The sound of someone clearing his throat caused them both to jump apart. “I’m sorry. I just wanted to let you know that everything is ready,” the caterer informed them before scurrying out of the room.
Jade quickly got to her feet, refusing to look at him for fear something inside her would break. “I should go check on the food,” she stammered as she rushed out of the room. She heard him call after her, but she didn’t dare look back.
She couldn’t.
No words could erase what they had just done.
When the time for the party arrived, she wasn’t sure how she would make it through the night.
What if Ruby found out?
What if he told her what they had done?
She should wear a scarlet ‘K’ for kissing on her shirt as punishment. If she weren't so upset, she would realize how ironic it was. She, who had always been so levelheaded and true, had become the jezebel sister. She wanted to crawl into a pit and die of shame. She was throwing a surprise party for a sister she had just betrayed.
His eyes met hers across the crowded room.
“Surprise!” the crowd bellowed.
Jade did her best to busy herself throughout the festivities, under the guise of checking on the arrangements. Finally, after realizing that she was being avoided, Ruby cornered her.
“Hey! It’s my party and you haven’t spent ten minutes with me,” she complained.
Jade smiled, wrapping her in a warm hug. “I’m sorry, you’re right.
I’ll stop now.”
Miraculously, Ruby didn’t seem to notice the tension that seemed to envelop the two people closest to her. When Ruby threw her arms around Clay after blowing out the candles to give him a long, passionate kiss, Jade wished she could crawl into a hole and disappear. She tried to look away, but inside, her heart ached. She tried to reason with herself that this was the way it should be, but she couldn’t stop trembling.
After a couple hours of festivities, Ruby pulled her aside. “I need to talk to you,” she whispered, leading her into a side room.
She knows.
The words replayed over and over again in Jade’s head as she followed her sister into a small room on the right. “What is it?” Jade asked.
“I just talked to Clay.”
Jade’s heartbeat went into overdrive.
He told her! She couldn’t believe it.
Was he insane?
“What is it, Ruby?”
“He wants me to come to New Orleans with him. Can you believe it? Apparently his company, WebTech, offered him the job a few days ago. He’s going to be manager of the whole design department. Can you imagine me in New Orleans? I’m so excited I could burst!”
Jade felt the bottom of her stomach drop to the floor. “That’s wonderful,” she replied, her entire body numb as realization began to sink in.
Two weeks later, her sister boarded a plane to Louisiana, and Jade began the arduous task of accepting the fact that the only man who had ever made her feel reckless was the one man she could never have.
Up until now, she had done a good job of accepting exactly that. Now, everything had changed. Now, she needed answers about Ruby’s life.
And unfortunately, he was the only informant who was willing.
Chapter 4
Clay picked her up at exactly seven o’ clock, wearing a white polo shirt and khaki pants. His eyes traveled over her, taking in the black sundress she wore with strappy sandals. Heat pooled in forbidden places.
“We should get going,” he muttered, leading her out onto the street.
The Court of Two Sisters was ablaze with light when they entered. Clay quickly led her to a table in the courtyard. Tree branches decorated with lights created a twinkling canopy overhead. After taking a seat, she took the menu from the waiter.
