The Grey Tier

by Michele Scott

  “Looks like this guy had a real thing for you, Miss Preston.”

  “Oh my. I mean, I don’t know what to say.” I was beyond creeped out.

  “And you weren’t aware?”

  “No! Not at all.” The whole thing was very troubling. Jackson had been following me, watching me, taking pictures of me. But why?

  The other cop who had been given Simone’s information came back.

  “Story checks out. I just spoke with Simone and she says they had dinner at her place. But get this, some weirdo in Venice says Simone stormed into a Mexican joint tonight and rescued a girl who was tied up in the owner’s office. Even better, our people discovered a money laundering shop set up in the restaurant. They arrested the owner as he was getting out of his car out back. Some dude named George Hernandez. He was with another dude. Pietro SanGiacomo. Looks like they could have been in cahoots together on the dirty money business.”

  “Any sign of said kidnapped victim and Simone?”

  The other cop shook his head . . . and then they shared a laugh. “Hell of a story, right? Probably someone who works for her and thought it might make a good publicity stunt. Celebrities.” He eyed me.

  I shrugged. So, George went to get Pietro to kill me. Did that mean he had killed Nick? “Like I said, we had dinner at her place. Simone hates the paparazzi and wouldn’t be caught dead at a restaurant with less than four stars.”

  He nodded, “Right.”

  I tried not to be too obvious when I let out a sigh of relief.

  The two officers moved to the other side of the room to consult with a third, more official looking fellow. I watched, waited, caught Joshua’s eye, and mustered a weak smile.

  A few minutes later the lead officer came back.

  “Thank you for your time, Miss Preston. We’re almost finished up here and we’ll be out of your hair soon. But from what the detectives can tell, we think Mr. Owens was stalking you. We don’t know how he slipped and fell into the pool, but we assume he probably wasn’t paying attention, hit his head on the edge, and drowned. That’s for the coroner to figure out. We did find some medication in Mr. Owens’ bag for a bi-polar condition. There’s a good chance he might have been off his meds, and that contributed to his erratic behavior. In any case, we appreciate your cooperation, and there’s a chance we’ll need to speak further with you in the next day or so. Anyway, I’ll be in touch.”

  I nodded, trying to process all this new information about Jackson. Bi-polar disorder? Now I didn’t know if I should feel sorry for the guy or just be glad he wouldn’t be stalking me anymore. “You don’t think it was foul play?”

  “Can’t be sure, but from what we’ve assessed so far, it doesn’t appear to be. To start with, we found only one set of tracks out there.”

  “Thank you again for all your help. Can I go see my friend now?”

  For the first time that night, the officer seemed sympathetic. “Sure. You must be pretty tired after all this.”

  I found Joshua and he wrapped his arms around me.

  “Oh, Evie, I am so sorry. Are you okay?”

  I was about as far from okay as someone could possibly get. But I didn’t think this was the time or the place to tell that to Joshua. “I’ll be fine. I’m just so . . . wow. I mean, Jackson was stalking me and they think he died accidentally.”

  “Are you serious? That’s just insane. I’m so glad you are okay.”

  I looked up at him to thank him when something caught my eye.

  No.

  Someone.

  It was Lucas, about three feet behind us, his arms crossed and an unhappy expression on his face.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  “WHAT WAS I SUPPOSED to do?” I asked, not for the first time that night. “I called and called! It’s not like I can reach you by phone!”

  Lucas paced back and forth on my bedroom’s hardwood floor. Cass’ dark eyes followed his every move.

  “Are you seeing that guy? Is he a boyfriend or something?”

  I crossed my arms over my chest, having lost pretty much all patience with Lucas at this point. “No. I’m not. He’s a friend. I told you that!”

  “The way he was holding and looking at you, I would say he wants more than friendship.”

  I rolled my eyes in exasperation. “Really, Lucas? Is that all you have to say to me tonight? Because, newsflash: A dead man was found in my swimming pool, a man who’d apparently been stalking me for the last few weeks. And by the way, I wouldn’t have had to call Joshua if you’d simply shown up when I needed you in the first place!”

  Lucas stopped pacing and frowned, his voice calmer. “I tried to come as quickly as I could. But it’s not as easy as simply hopping into a car and driving over. Sometimes, it takes time.”

  And then he moved next to me in the blink of an eye. “But I’m here now,” he said, looking intently into my face.

  All the anger in the room vanished, leaving behind tension of an entirely different sort. He stepped back from me and made a large sweeping motion around us with his arms. Suddenly, we were encapsulated in a giant bubble of color. Lucas moved towards me again and kept moving until the backs of my legs hit the bed behind me.

  “I’m here now,” Lucas repeated, this time in a husky voice that sent adrenaline running through me.

  And then we were on the bed, surrounded by the softly glowing bubble.

  Cass whined and slunk out of the room.

  The lights in the room clicked off and the small cluster of candles on my vanity popped into flame. We stared at one another for a long moment. I was on my back with his weight pressing me firmly into the mattress. And then his hands began to unbutton my blouse, with the deftness of someone who’d done this many, many times before.

  “Lucas, what are . . .” His mouth moved slowly downwards, and he began dropping kisses along my neck, and then my chest, until arriving at the top of my bra.

  “Shhh, Evie. No questions.”

  He reached his hands behind me making short work of my bra. And then he began kissing my breasts, slowly, gently. It was heavenly . . . and deliciously sinful, all at once.

  Lucas continued to kiss his way further down my exposed torso, past my ribcage, over my stomach, to my hips, and then, after helping me wriggle out of my jeans and underpants, his hot mouth was between my legs doing incredible things. The bubble around us brightened into a full blaze of hot pink. I tried to grab the top of his head to pull him up, but he wouldn’t budge. Eventually, I realized he was exactly where I wanted him. And then, I simply stopped thinking at all.

  A few delicious minutes later, Lucas eased his way back up my body and brought a finger to my lips, our mouths only inches apart. I closed my eyes and inhaled. He smelled . . . fantastic. Deep and wild, like a male . . . but with an underlying note of something sweet . . . vanilla? Cinnamon? And then he placed his mouth over mine and all thought flew out of my head.

  I’d read some of the romances my mom kept at her salon. They always described how kisses tasted . . . like honey or nectar . . . blah, blah, blah. Not this kiss. Lucas tasted . . . pure and sweet and salty. It was enduring and all encompassing.

  Lucas stood up then and the tips of his fingers began to emit a pale, pinkish glow. He waved his hands around us, creating another large bubble. The rosy glow spread across the bed and above us. Lucas closed the circle and repeated the movement. In a few seconds, the large bubble’s colors intensified. My curiosity piqued, I reached out to touch the softly curving walls.

  “Luster,” he said.

  “Luster?” I stared up into his beautiful eyes.

  “It’s a form of protection . . . and privacy. No being on any tier can see us, feel us, know us, or be with us in this moment. We are utterly invisible and safe for a period of time.”

  “I hope it’s a long time,” I said breathlessly.

  “Not long enough,” he responded. Then his hand reached around to the small of my back and he pulled me up close to him. There was nothing soft
and ethereal about Lucas now. His fingers traveled to my hips. I shuddered.

  He bent his head down and kissed my mouth again. My breath caught in my throat. Lucas was, quite simply, a work of art. I had never thought a man’s body all that special. I mean, I love a nice body—you know—six pack abs, nice muscle, shapely legs, etc. But I’ve never been rendered speechless at the sight of a nude male.

  And then along came Lucas.

  I’m embarrassed to say I gawked like a school girl. Lucas laughed and dropped back to his knees, crawling slowly, slowly over my body. The way he stared at me, like he wanted to eat me up, kicked my senses into overdrive.

  I was completely lost in his touch—his hands, his lips, they were everywhere, leaving a searing trail of heat from my mouth to my belly and beyond. The second he entered me . . . I felt my body ride wave after wave with him until the surrounding luster pulsed brighter and brighter and then seemed to burst out of us both in an explosion of deep fuchsia and purple. Then I allowed myself to fade into it, over and over again.

  I don’t know how long we made love. I do know when we were lying in each other’s arms afterwards, Lucas lost some of his clarity. I couldn’t see him as clearly and vibrantly as I had before, and the luster had lightened significantly.

  “Why are you so much lighter now?” I finally asked.

  “I allowed the feelings the Black Tier wanted me to feel get in the way. When I saw you being held by Joshua, my anger, jealousy, frustration—all took hold. Then, we made love, and again—a very human act—all of that diminished my vibration.”

  “Is it permanent?” I asked, afraid I had caused this change in him.

  “No. But I will have to rest for a period.”

  “How will you do that?”

  “I have to go through the portal and find space.”

  “Find space, like outer space?”

  “No. Just simple space.”

  I propped myself up on one elbow, trying hard to understand what he meant. “Is it empty space?”

  “It’s nothing. I go there and there is nothing to distract me . . . nothing for me to do . . . but to be and to rest.”

  “No one else is there?”

  “No. The space was created by the White Tier for this reason, for spirits to refocus and refresh themselves.”

  “I take it that no spirits from the Black Tier can go there.”

  He shook his head. “No, it’s only open to grey and white spirits.”

  “Tell me, how do I find you again? I mean, like tonight . . . is there a way I can get you to hear me more quickly?”

  He kissed the top of my head. “I am sorry about tonight. I was on another tier, and I didn’t hear you until just before I arrived.” He dropped his head back onto the pillow with a frustrated sigh. “Usually, I make sure someone else is available for you—someone like Bob or Janis, who can come when you call. But today, well, I didn’t and that was my mistake.”

  “What were you doing on another tier?”

  He smiled. “I’ll let you know when I can.”

  “I get tired of your secrets.” I sighed, flopping my own head back down on the bed.

  “I know. So when I am on another tier, it’s very hard for me to sense you and it can take a while to reach me. If I have another spirit on watch, then they can help you and locate me a lot faster.”

  “Can I ask you, what’s it like to be there?”

  He turned his head towards me. “To be dead?”

  I nodded.

  “It’s fascinating, actually. When you’re born here, as a living human, you’re born knowing certain things right off the bat. Things you don’t even have to think about. You know how to breathe. Your heart knows how to beat. When I arrived there, I immediately understood what a portal was. I didn’t know the laws around them, but I knew I had come through one and that they existed. I knew intrinsically about the various tiers. I knew the only tier one could not come back from without special intervention was the Black.”

  “Explain, please.” I began making small circles on his chest, just below his collar bone.

  “Okay. I am going to use you as an example though.”

  I cringed. “I hate when you do that.”

  “I know, but I have my reasons.”

  “Fine.” I batted my eyelashes. “Use me.”

  “I plan to.” He laughed, his voice deepening a shade, and then grew serious. “But first, the thing with the Black Tier and the no return policy. In most instances, a spirit cannot return from there. It’s a permanent situation.”

  I blew out a puff of air. “Eternity.”

  “Eternity,” he repeated. “But remember, every human has free choice. You can choose to go one way or the other. Fact is, each of us is born carrying some darkness and some light inside of us. But some are born with more of one than the other.”

  “That doesn’t seem fair.”

  “Well, on the surface, yeah, it seems like a raw deal. But I can tell you, the universe works hard to stay in balance, and everything really does happen for a reason.”

  “What reason is there to give a newborn baby less of a fighting chance to be a good person, a happy person? Who makes the rules?”

  Lucas chuckled. “Well, that’s the big question, isn’t it, Love? Who indeed?” He reached over and grabbed my hand on his chest, squeezing it gently. “Just know this doesn’t mean those who are born into the Grey Tier—those who have, as you called it, the raw deal are not automatically transferred to the Black Tier at the moment of death. They just have extra work to do in the Grey to get to the White. And then there are those with vibrations like yours . . .” I lifted my head and looked at him. “Your spirit can wind up in the Black if you’re, well, tempted. Seduced.”

  “Really? Well, what do you call this?” I laughed, gesturing at the bed, and our naked limbs intertwined beneath the sheets.

  Lucas barked out a laugh. “Good point.” His smile faded. “But listen to me, because this is important.” He propped himself up on his side, giving me a long, serious look. “A seducer can come in any form. They are all around you. They make you see things in a different way, they make you feel things in a different way, they make you want things in a different way.”

  “Like you.”

  He didn’t respond immediately. “I guess, yes, like me. But I am not a seducer. It is not my goal to lead you into the Black Tier.”

  “How will they try to tempt me? I’m a pretty balanced, down to earth gal . . . I’m not easily swayed by good looks and money.”

  Lucas turned his head to plant a quick kiss on my cheek. “And that’s what I like about you. But let’s think for a minute. What do you love? What do you love more than anything in the world?”

  I glanced up to the ceiling above, thinking. “Cass. My mom. My dad. Even Mac.” I was a little bit afraid to say, you.

  He nodded solemnly. “Yes. And the Black Tier could use all of them and then some. But what is your passion?”

  “Music,” I said without any hesitation at all.

  “Ah.” He tickled me under my chin. “Exactly.”

  “But how? How would they use my music?”

  “A couple of ways really. And when one tactic doesn’t work, they’ll try something else until it works. Let’s say you played one of your songs at Nick’s. You know, a song you wrote from the heart, one you feel really speaks to your soul.”

  “Oh, I can think of a few of those.”

  He nodded. “Okay, so let’s say you’re up there singing and playing this song and when you’re finished, no one claps. Or maybe people even get up and leave while you’re performing. And then someone with a review blog says Nick’s would be an awesome dive bar if it weren’t for the bad music.”

  I grimaced. “Ouch! That would hurt.”

  “And that’s the exact response the Black Tier would be looking for. If you start to find pain in something that brings you so much joy, it leaves you open to their influence. Some less resilient people would simply give u
p. Give up their passion because of what others say, think, and feel.”

  “I could never do that.”

  “It happens all the time, though. You’re stronger than that. But there are many out there who aren’t, and that is exactly what the Black Tier wants. They feed off of unhappiness, off misery and depression and anger, and especially fear. You start giving up your joy, how can you spread joy to others? It might even diminish your gift to heal.”

  “Well, if that would never work on me, what else could?”

  “Seduction. And if I were a betting man, I think that is exactly what the Black Tier would use on you. Remember, they could make you feel strong desires, and when humans want things, it can change them, and not always for the better. Your ego takes hold, and when the ego takes over, your vibration loses power.” He shook his head and let out a deep sigh. “That’s what happened to me. But fortunately, the Bodha saw enough good left to allow me to stay here in the Grey. And now, with you . . .”

  “With me? What?” I was all ears.

  “Well, I’ll have an opportunity to shift tiers. If I handle this correctly.”

  “What do you mean handle this correctly?” I was beginning to feel less like Lucas’ romantic interest and more like his project again. “Do you mean me? This situation?”

  He glanced away. “In a sense.”

  “And . . . wait a minute. You’ll have the opportunity to shift tiers? Does that mean when your project is finished, you’ll just move on? Poof? And I won’t see you anymore?” If I could, I would have hit him with my pillow. Suddenly I realized how exposed I was on the bed and I wrapped the sheet tighter around me.

  Lucas turned and grabbed me gently. “Evie, you should know you’re more than a project to me.” He let his eyes roam over my body, the bed, the luster shimmering around us. “This isn’t exactly a perk I throw in to sweeten the deal.” He smiled wryly.