A distant look clouded his eyes. “I’m still not sure what I saw.”
Juliet stood and grasped his hand. She drew some of his pain to herself so it would ease him. She breathed through the first wave until she could control it. “It doesn’t matter. The men responsible for Tanner’s death are dead. Neither of us has to worry about them again.”
“But the person who hired them is still out there.”
Something about him reminded her so much of Tanner in that moment that her eyes clouded with tears, and she had to look away to maintain her composure. “Detective Robinson will get them. You’ve given him a lead. I could tell from the way he looked when he left your room. He’s very determined to find who’s responsible and see justice done.”
“Good.” He seemed to relax a little more. “The other detective was close to retirement and didn’t seem all that interested.”
“Detective Howard passed it on to the right man. Detective Robinson is the right one.” She gave his hand a squeeze. “You need to rest. The more rest you get, the faster you’ll heal.” Juliet closed her eyes for a moment and drew upon the natural power around her. Some of it came from the other people in the building. She was careful to block that off. Most filtered into her from the natural life force of air, water, earth, and from the fire she found in the natural sunlight spilling into the room next to his bed. She siphoned some from the electricity slithering through the room. “Why don’t you close your eyes and rest?” She touched his cheek briefly and his lashes fluttered. She waited a moment until he settled into slumber.
She first set protective wards around the room, then turned her attention to Samuel. Careful not to touch his skin, she held her hand just above his shoulder and directed the healing into the bruised tissue. She didn’t have to raise the fabric of his hospital gown to tell how much of his body the injuries covered. The hungry tug upon the force spilling from her directed it. She was the conduit, Mother Nature the doctor.
His body relaxed more as his tissues mended, the pain from the bruises eased. The door opened behind her just as she reached Samuel’s knee. She stepped back from the bed, her hand dropping away.
Chase’s attention slid from her to Samuel. He came all the way into the room. “What are you doing?” he whispered.
“Nothing. He fell asleep talking to me. We should leave.” She collected her purse from the chair next to the bed and strode toward him.
Chase didn’t move back as she expect, but stood intractable and determined, blocking the door. He laid a hand on her shoulder.
“I can feel the power in the room, Juliet. It’s like static electricity.”
Damn. She should have known. He’d experienced it before, so of course he’d recognize it. She reached out and made a twisting movement, gathering the residual power to her. It washed over her and nestled into her body, the sensation comforting.
Chase’s mouth took on a stubborn look as he gripped her upper arm, his fingers curled around the limb firmly, but not tight enough to hurt. He guided her down the hall to the elevator. She was reminded of how he’d done the same thing the first night they met, when he clasped her arm as if he expected her to attempt an escape.
He spoke to the police officer standing at the desk with a cup of coffee. “We’re leaving. Sparks will be here at five to relieve you.”
“Thank you, sir.” The man handed the empty cup to one of the nurses to throw away and wandered back down the hall.
“I don’t know how much protection he’ll be against witchcraft, but it’s better than nothing.”
“I’ve placed protection wards on the room. As long as Samuel remains inside he’ll be fine. They have no reason to go after him. He was just at the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“Like his brother?”
Juliet stiffened at the unexpected slap.
He removed his hand, and she shifted away from him in the elevator. She was relieved when two more people got on the elevator and stood between them.
Why did she feel this tug of attraction toward him when he could so effortlessly punch at her with his suspicions and hurt her? Why was she a target for this every time something happened?
The elevator door opened and she rifled through her bag one-handed until she found the car keys. Once outside in the parking lot she tossed them at Chase with no warning and he snagged them out of the air with quick reflexes, but shot her a scowl. She got into the passenger side of the car and he caught the door before she could close it.
“We should check out the car before we leave the parking lot.”
“I placed wards around it. If anyone had touched it they’d either be lying on the parking lot writhing in pain from the shock, or the alarm would have gone off.”
He stared at the palm holding the door open and jerked it back. She slammed the door shut and fastened her seat belt. Let him be afraid of what she could do. He deserved it. She was tired of trying to pass for something she wasn’t. She’d let him into her life much further than she had any other man, and he was still sniping at her and blaming her for what someone else had done.
She folded her arms against her when he got into the car. She snagged her bag and pulled it onto her lap for something to do with her hands so he wouldn’t know she was feeling defensive.
She hadn’t done anything wrong. It wasn’t her fault someone had hired Abbott and Porter to kill her.
She was finally starting to believe it. But the pain of Tanner’s loss was still just as sharp.
Chase got in the car but didn’t attempt to put on his seat belt or start it. “What were you doing with Samuel Newton?” he asked, his demeanor less angry.
“I was easing his pain.”
His head came up and he looked at her. “Healing him?”
“Yes.”
“Your voice is better just since this morning,” he observed.
“A side benefit of channeling so much energy.”
He reached for the scarf around her neck. She forced herself to remain passive as he untied it. His fingertips glided over her skin with feathery lightness. Would his touch be so gentle while making love? Her pulse leapt against it.
“The bruising has faded. It’s not completely gone, but it’s fading,” he observed. He laid the scarf in her lap. “You did more than CPR on Tanner, didn’t you?”
Sharp pain rose up to slice at her, regret and grief blending to make her throat ache. “I tried to save him, but the EMTs arrived before I finished.” Tears ran down her face. “Once they were working on him—they wouldn’t let me touch him.” She pressed the scarf to her face as tears flowed. “He died on the way to the hospital.”
“Did you do the same to Samuel when you were attacked?”
“Yes. He had internal injuries, a concussion. When he started to wake up, I had to stop. So I dialed 911 and EMS came to get us.”
“Jesus,” Chase hissed. He braced his elbow on the steering wheel and cradled his forehead in his hand. “I’m sorry, Juliet. I opened the door and felt all that power circling the room.” He shook his head.
“It can be as gentle as a whisper or as fierce as a bomb, but there’s a price to pay each time it’s used. If you use it for good, the price is lower. If you use it for evil, it’s cumulative and can turn on you. I’ve heard it can drive you mad. Nature has its own checks and balances. If it didn’t, you’d be getting a call every few minutes about a fire, a flood, or what have you.”
“I don’t find that very comforting, honey. The possibility of things like that happening behind my back—disturbs me.”
Honey? Honey? He could take his honey and stuff it. “You weren’t getting those calls, were you?”
“No. Not until Porter and Abbott were killed.”
“The imbalance she’s created will boomerang back to her threefold. We all pay eventually.”
“Like the spiders you dumped on her last night?”
She shrugged. “We just helped the process along a little.”
He raised a brow.
“We are allowed to defend ourselves. What did you want us to do? Sit there and wait to be chewed up? We sent a message: leave us alone or reap the whirlwind.” She looked out the side window, back toward the hospital. “You can drop me at the library and keep the car. I’ll catch a ride with Juliet and Caleb later.”
He started the vehicle and backed out of the parking lot. “I wasn’t saying you weren’t supposed to defend yourself.”
When he looked in her direction she stared at him hard.
“My badge and gun are useless against this. How do you expect me to feel, when I’ve been entrusted with enforcing the law and protecting the citizens of Superstition, and suddenly find there’s a whole subculture here I can’t even begin to identify, let alone protect? None of my training will stand up to what you three women can do.”
“It doesn’t need to. There are members of your force who have the ability to deal with things like this. All you have to do is ask for help.”
“I’m not handing over my case to anyone.”
“I didn’t say you had to. You might want to find out who they are and ask them to work with you.”
“And how do you suggest I do that?”
“When I make the phone calls, I’ll put out feelers about people in the department who might be able to help.”
His fingers tightened around the steering wheel, his masculine features set in a scowl of frustration. With his jaw shadowed by stubble, he looked dangerous.
She had shed her craving for bad boys a while back when she gave up pot, cigarettes, and a few other things she didn’t want to think about. She’d been trapped in a senseless quest to either feel normal emotions like other people or dull the pain from the past.
But now, for the very first time, she was tempted by real attraction. And it scared her to death. He was unapologetically all man. No beta tendencies with him. And that was probably why they were butting heads every time they spent more than ten minutes together. They both needed to be in control. Him because he was used to it, and her because she was afraid to allow anyone to have power over her ever again.
“Tanner’s death wasn’t my fault. I did everything I could to save him. Don’t ever try to use it to hurt me again, Chase.”
He heaved a sigh and brushed a hand over his jaw. “I won’t. But from here on in you’re straight up with me about everything, Juliet. Even the witchy stuff.”
She studied him for a long time. Would he be able to control his instinct to push? She doubted it. But she could trust him to try to discover the truth. She extended her hand. “Deal.”
Chapter 25
As she looked out over the library’s main floor from the second floor landing, Miranda evaluated her morning with as much objectivity as she could. She and Caleb had actually flirted and been playful, and she’d felt like a normal woman with the man she loved. They’d made love. As if they’d been made for each other. He’d been inside her, and she hadn’t felt sick or afraid. For one brief, glorious moment she’d been happy—truly, fantastically happy.
And then Clay Maddox had once again stolen it from them. No. She was responsible. She should have guessed how Caleb might misconstrue her reaction when he mentioned her stepfather the night before. Of course he needed to push to understand what had held her back for so long. She only prayed he’d accept what she told him and not keep digging.
Miranda turned back to her office. Juliet lounged on the small sofa against one wall reading some information she’d printed off the computer earlier. Now she held a pencil gripped in her hand and was busily scribbling something on one of the sheets. There was an inherent grace in her pose, with her legs tucked up on the cushions and her hair draped over one shoulder. Her sister was more vibrant and passionate. She recognized in herself the need to be more introspective. They were mirror images of each other physically, and complete opposites emotionally.
Juliet struggled so to put her life back together, and come so far just in the last year.
“Because I work here, and you’re my immediate family, the college has a policy that I can donate the free classes I earn each semester to a family member if I don’t use them myself. You’d have to pay for your own books, but the tuition would be free.”
Juliet raised her brows. “You’re not interested in working toward your doctorate?”
“There isn’t a doctoral program here. I’d have to go to summer school or commute to UK on the weekends. An independent study might be an option or online classes. Right now I’m not ready to take on anything more.”
“I’ll think about it.”
Encouraged, yet trying to keep her excitement under control, Miranda asked, “What would your focus of study be?”
“If I said social work, you’d go all warm and fuzzy on me, but I’m more interested in business.”
She couldn’t really picture Juliet behind a computer working as a CPA, but running a business might be an option. “Sounds good. If you decide to try it, I can help you get up-to-date for the entrance exam.”
Juliet smiled. “Thanks, sis.”
Miranda sat down in a chair across from her. “I’ve been thinking about how we could—”
Juliet cleared her throat, her gaze cutting to someone behind Miranda. She turned to look behind her. Susan stood, waif-thin and pale, in the doorway. In contrast, her hair hung a vibrant black down her shoulders and stood out like ink against her skin. “Ms. Ward called and said she was having some issues with her car but she’d be here ASAP.”
“Thank you, Susan. Do you need me to come out and help at the front desk?”
“No, thanks. Mary Janet and I can handle things until she comes in.”
“Buzz me here in my office if that changes and you need me.”
“Yes, ma’am.” The girl’s gaze focused on the drawing in Juliet’s hand. “That looks a lot like a Sasha Carlton character.”
“Sasha Carlton?” Juliet repeated. “You know what this is?”
“It looks like one of her shadow demons from the graphic novel, Twist in Time.”
Excitement brought Miranda to her feet. “Do we have a copy of it here in the library, Susan?”
“Several. I can get one off the shelves for you if they’re not all checked out. They’re very popular among the art students.”
“I’d like to see a copy if one is in.”
“Sure.” Susan darted away in the direction of the south corner of the floor where the art texts were stored.
Juliet came to join her at the door. “I’ve never heard of anyone being able to create an imaginary creature to kill someone.”
“I haven’t either. But if they’ve patterned it after this book, they may have inadvertently built in the same weaknesses as the one in the book.”
“And what if they don’t have a weakness?”
“Authors always build in strengths and weaknesses to their characters. It gives the characters something to overcome to increase the conflict. The shadows can’t appear without the artificial light. I want to know what the spiders’ weaknesses might be.”
Susan was back with a large, rectangular coffee table sized book. She handed it to Miranda. “Thank you, Susan. We’ve been looking for information about this for a few days.”
“Glad I could help.” The girl’s wan face lit up with a smile.
“Are you into the characters?” Juliet asked.
“Yeah. I’ve read all her books. The graphic novels were patterned after them, but are separate stories.”
Juliet smiled. “Why don’t you come in and tell us about them? I was planning something of my own, but I don’t want to infringe on another author or illustrator’s idea.”
Susan glanced in Miranda’s direction. “They might need me downstairs.”
“I’ll get one of the other work-study students to cover the desk for you while you help us out, Susan. We’re both eager to hear your perspective on this.” Miranda left the office in search of one of the other students to sub for Susan for a while. F
or the first time she felt like they might have an opportunity to level the playing field.
Forty-five minutes later, Miranda sent Susan on her way. The young woman had provided a wealth of information about the author, the books, and the graphic novel’s characters.
“She needs to eat more,” Juliet said softly.
“She and I have had several conversations on that subject. I think she has a boyfriend with whom she shares an apartment. He must get the bulk of things.”
Juliet’s brows crimped. “Not a good situation.”
“No.” Miranda sighed her discontent. “I’ve approached her several times and offered to help.”
“You can offer, but it’s up to her to make the change, Miranda.” Juliet stared through the open office door after Susan. “Her name is Susan, but she’s definitely not our Suzette. She doesn’t look like someone who would hook up with Samuel Newton. And she’s not a witch. Whoever is doing this is a witch, very powerful, and is fixated on the creatures in these books.”
“I’ve given Chase all the background info on the student employees, contracted employees and fellow faculty. Maybe he’ll find something I couldn’t. In the meantime, I’m going to look up all the students and faculty who have checked out the graphic novels.”
“That will be hundreds. From what she told us they’re extremely popular.”
“I know, but it might give us a list to compare to others.”
“Chase has the info on the employees at the bar. He’s looking hard at one of the bartenders who works with me. I’m certain I saw him outside the police station before the spider attack on the car. Samuel’s psycho girlfriend had a brother named Justin.”
“That sounds promising. If he’s on the checkout list, we have a tie-in with this idea. Why don’t you call Chase and update him on what we’ve discovered?”
Juliet laid aside the papers she’d taken notes on and reached for her cell phone.
* * *
There had to be some record of Clay Maddox once he’d left Superstition. He couldn’t have just disappeared. Unless he’d left the country or was living under an alias. After what he’d done to Juliet and Mandy, he very well might have done both.
Deep Within The Shadows (The Superstition Series Book 1) Page 19
