“I love you so much.” She told him that she was in love with him too. “I can hear the baby. I’ll be right back.”
He pulled on his jeans but didn’t button them up. She’d not realized how late it was, so she got into the bed and straightened up the blankets. She could hear him talking to Pip, saying that she had the most perfect timing. He told her that he loved her for that.
When the two of them came into the bedroom, not only had she been changed, but he had a fresh bottle with him as well. Handing her to Sasha, he pulled his pants off again, pulled on his boxers, and got into bed with them.
“I was thinking while I was changing her. What are we going to tell her about her birth? I don’t know if you were told this or not, but Holly pulled some strings and made it so both our names are on her birth certificate. I don’t know if she did that legally or not. I didn’t ask her.” Sasha said that Holly had told her. “Good. So, she’s a Bishop legally, and you’re not. We’re going to have to take care of that soon. How about tomorrow?”
“I don’t know. Marry you tomorrow, or work on paperwork for the new contract that I’ve been given by Gunner. I’m having Holly’s attorney take a look at it for me. I don’t want to be caught up in anything that is going to put me on the front page of the paper again. Mom did that to me, and I don’t want to have to go through that again.” He laughed when she did. “You arrange it, and I’ll be there. I really do need to spend more time working than I have been. It’s been really distracting with all the things going on here. Not just with the new baby and a home, but just having you here too. When do you start classes?”
“I’ve already been taking a few. Right now, I’m working on some of the credits that I get from working with Joe.” She asked him if his real name was Doctor Joe. “No, it’s actually Ronald Joseph. He likes being called a shorter form of it. Since no one would call him Ronald, he started referring to himself as Doc Joe. It’s stuck.”
“You’ll be a good vet. You seem to have a way with all kinds of animals and humans.” He told her that he wanted to be a vet because he could work with the shifters as well. “Oh, I never thought of that. I mean, I can see you doing that as well. Does Doc Joe do that?”
“No. I mean, he will work with a shifter if he needs to, but he doesn’t like to. I don’t know why. He’s not prejudiced of them or anything. He says that he’s afraid of something about them. I don’t know what it could be, but he is.” Sasha watched Chandler when he picked up Pip and burped her. She burped like an old man. “There’s my girl. Such a daddy’s little trooper.”
Sasha wanted to slap him, but he was just too cute right now. He was holding onto the baby like she was nothing more than a loaf of bread in his hand. Even after only a few days of having her here, they both were getting really good at not just holding her, which had scared them both to death at first, but changing her as well. Getting her buckled into a car seat was still a challenge for them, but they were getting the hang of it. The biggest challenge she’d ever had to face was putting the seat in the car in the first place.
It had taken them watching several videos on the computer to put it together. The cloth on the inside of it hadn’t been put in place when they purchased it. After getting that where they thought it belonged, they had to start all over with it because it was upside down. Then they had to put the sucker in the car.
She’d never cursed so much in her life. Sasha had broken not one nail but three, cut her hand on the seatbelt lock, as well as hit her head several times on the door frame as she was trying to get it in level by the leveler that came with it.
Chandler ended up in worse shape than she had, and had taken cursing to a new level. His cat seemed to be just as frustrated as they had been. Twice he’d tried to throw the car seat in the trash, and she had only just been able to stop him. He had broken a finger and also torn his pants and shirt. Chandler made her throw them away because every time she looked at them, she’d burst out laughing.
Car seat installation was not for the faint of heart. They decided that when they got it into the car, they weren’t going to show Raven or Sawyer how to install it. They were going to record every second of it and make sure that they showed it to everyone they knew. Sasha was just glad that there had been no one around when they’d been working on theirs. There was no telling how long they’d have to live with someone bringing it up.
“I’ve arranged everything. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather just go the short route to get married. We have a daughter, and we have a home, so getting married seems to be just a tad out of order.” She told him that she’d never been one of those little girls who dreamed of a big wedding. “Neither had Raven, thankfully—she has a lot of friends. Anyway, we’ll get to the courthouse at noon. They’re going to marry us on their lunch break so long as we provide food. I’ve already spoken to my mom, and she’s having the food brought in from the leap ladies club. They’re happy to have something to do, she told me.”
“My goodness, you have been busy, haven’t you? What else do you—?” She paused when she saw the ghost standing in their room. Chandler looked in the direction that she was looking and got out of bed after handing Pip to her. “Chandler, be careful.”
“I will. I’d rather do this with you nearby so that I can do it correctly. Tell me what I’m supposed to do.” Hailey appeared, but she stood by Chandler without saying anything. She could guide him through this, of that Sasha had no doubt. “Hailey, what’s going on here?”
“He isn’t sure what has happened to him.” Chandler only nodded. “He knows that something has come about, but he’s not sure what it is. He’s been murdered. That’s all I can tell you right now.”
“Hello.” The man looked up at him, and Sasha covered Pip’s face with the blanket. He had assuredly been murdered. “What can I do for you? Do you know where you are?”
“No.” Chandler asked the questions, as Hailey told him to ask them. “Do you see anything around where you came from? Are there people with you? What does the outside look like if you can see a window or a door?”
“My home. I was at my home when someone came into the room with me.” Hailey had Chandler ask if he knew who it was. “My brother. He came into my bedroom like he owned the place.”
Anger spilled off the man. He was remembering more of being shot three times in the head. Most of his face was missing. Sasha could see that the man had suffered badly. Thinking that the shots to the head were where the last of the bullets had entered him, she noticed that he had defensive wounds on his arms and chest. Angry ghosts were strong and unpredictable.
“I can help you if you will tell me where it is you came from.” The man said that he had it now. He was going to kill his brother. “No. You do that, and you’ll be sent away forever. To a place that you’ll never talk, see, or interact with anyone again. Tell me where you are.”
“No.”
When he lashed out at Chandler, his cat took his body. The man, nothing more than a specter, screamed and fell backward. He couldn’t be hurt, but in his mind, a large white tiger was leaping at him, and it scared him badly enough that he calmed down.
Chapter 7
Hanging up the phone, he looked at Sasha. She was still laughing at him, and he wanted to strangle her. He wouldn’t, of course, but he still didn’t think that having his boxers trapped around his legs when he shifted was all that humorous. He might have hurt himself.
“Are you finished?” She nodded, then laughed again. “I cannot wait to change you so that you can mess up, and I can have a good time at your expense.”
“You should have seen it from where I was. There is this large white tiger flying through the air at a ghost. Your tiger had the legs of his boxers tangled up around his hind legs like he was wearing some kind of leggings. Then, if that wasn’t funny enough, him trying to kick them free while being so cool about it nearly had me falling off the bed. I
wish I had had my phone out. That would have been something to use as our family Christmas card this year.” He told her that he didn’t like her right now. “Yes, you do. I’m telling you right now that I will never see you shift again without having myself a little giggle. What did Sawyer say about the man?”
“He still has some contacts at the station house, and he’s making sure that they’re aware that it might be a homicide.” Sasha asked him if the bullet holes would be a giveaway. “Yes, but you can’t just say that and not have questions asked of you. They’d think…. Well, maybe not, but they might have to wonder why he knew all about it. I doubt they will because you’ve been working with them, but who knows. People can be very strange when shit like this happens in their house.”
“I guess that is a police term. By the way, your mom is going to take care of Pip for us while we take a little time away from things around here. Also, I’ve sort of gotten us a few days without ghosts coming around. Hailey is spreading the word about it now.” He asked her if she thought that was going to work. “I don’t know. I’ve never asked before. However, if we have sex like we did all night last night, I might be joining the dead.”
He was still smiling about what she’d said when she left him there. He was still going over class requirements and had been able to take off about sixty hours of classes on his own. When Doc Joe looked them over to assess what he’d done for him, maybe he’d have a few more hours under his belt. Even with what he had done himself and what he’d already taken, he was nearly two years finished with his six-year projected timeline.
We’re at the house. The wife and the brother are gone. I don’t suppose you might have heard where they are. Chandler told him that he had no idea. I didn’t think so, but that’s fine. We’ll find them. Also, there was a lot of paperwork lying about. And you might not have figured this out with the man talking to you, but the house was set on a timer to blow at six tonight. I believe that is why there is so much evidence lying around. They didn’t figure anyone would be looking for the man until after the house blew, and all that would have gone up with the house. I’m sure that they were planning for this to happen while they were gone with a very strong alibi. I have no idea how they expected the body to have bullets in it when we found him. People are stupid—you know that, don’t you?
I have begun to realize that, yes. Are you going to be able to be at the courthouse at noon for us? Sawyer said that he’d not miss it for the world. Molly is ready to be her bridesmaid. I heard the two of them, Sasha and her, talking this morning about what she was wearing. You have yourself a great kid there, Sawyer.
She’s amazing. Her skills are getting better daily, as well. Just last night, she showed us that she can dress herself with a thought. Who would have thought that just a drop or two of my blood would have done so much for her? Chandler said that she was alive, and that was all that mattered. I couldn’t agree more on that one.
Also, Sawyer, I know that I’ve said this to you before, but I really can’t thank you enough for your help with the house. With everything. The house that you helped Sasha buy that her mother lived in was nice for her. It gave her some leverage that she needed.
Her mom is going away for a very long time. She knows that, doesn’t she? Chandler said that she was glad for it. As for the house and stuff, don’t sweat it, Chandler. Raven said that she wanted all her family to be safe and happy. Having a home of my own? I’ve never felt so secure in my life. Even growing up at home with all of us, we were never really safe there. I mean, the roof or some other disaster was just a nice strong storm from us losing it all. Mom and Dad are looking at smaller homes now. I hope they want to build something on the land. I think they’ll love that better.
They were telling me that they don’t want Raven to do anything for them. That she might need her money for a rainy day. And this is what got me the hardest. They said that they don’t have a lot of years left, and we shouldn’t be bothering with them. I nearly sobbed when she said that to me. Sawyer said it would have hit him hard as well. What is that supposed to mean? I mean, I know that they’re getting older, but hell, they could go for another fifty years or so. I don’t want to think about losing them, Sawyer. I mean, they’re all we have.
I know what you mean. I’m going to have Raven talk to them. Holly too. I think she might be a little older than them, so who knows if she can talk some sense into them. If nothing else, it might make them think of the time they have left and not say that anymore. Chandler said that he didn’t want them pissed off. No. Neither do I. But I do want them to start living while they have time. I’m not going to let them sit back and wait for death to take them. That would be more heartbreaking than for them to die too soon, don’t you think?
I agree.
After asking him to let him know if he heard anything else, they closed the connection. Chandler still had about two hours before he had to head to the courthouse, and he wanted to make sure that everything that he’d gotten was in place.
After making two phone calls, he thought that while a courthouse marriage would be quicker, that didn’t mean that he had to skimp on things. And this, he’d paid for on his own. The cleaning of the ring that he’d found for Sasha secondhand was done. He had flowers put in place for her and Molly to hold. Also, he’d hired the local art teacher to take some pictures of the day for them. All in all, he thought that he’d done a good job. Mostly thanks to his mom helping him.
Smiling, he was closing down his computer when a news flash came across the news app that he had. It said that there was a police chase on Route Forty that was in progress. Pulling up the feed, Chandler watched as two cruisers chased after a little sedan that looked like it was going to crash with every turn it took.
“I was thinking about—what is that you’re watching?” He moved so that Sasha could watch too. “I’ve seen that car before. I think that’s my brother’s. I thought that he was in jail.”
“I’ll ask Sawyer. He might know about it.”
When he reached out to his brother, he told him what he was watching and who he thought it might be. Sawyer told him that he’d get back with him. Ten minutes later, he was calling him on the phone. Chandler put the phone on speaker so that Sasha could hear it too.
“He was in custody as of eight this morning. They found the body of the officer in the hall of the cells and put out an all-points for him. So far, we have two dead officers and a stolen cruiser. The cruiser is still missing, as is one more officer. Female. They’re worried for her safety too.” Chandler asked him how he’d gotten armed. “I don’t know that right now. The officer in the hallway was still armed. He was killed when Zack stabbed him in the chest with a butter knife. They’re looking into how he got it now. Also, the other officer has his service weapon but not his ankle weapon. All cops—all that I worked with anyway—always have a secondary. Hang on a moment.”
“Are they fearing that Zack might rape the female officer? He can’t. I mean, he can’t have an erection. The only reason that I know is because he had an accident about five years ago, and it caused some major damage to his groin. Not only did they have to remove one of his testicles, but a portion of the second one. He can’t get it up.”
Telling that to Sawyer when he came back on the line, he thanked him for the information, but he told them that not all rapes were just body to body. Chandler could see that Sasha was confused for a moment. Then when it hit her what he was saying, her face paled. He held her hand while she sat on the desk with him, still watching the camera in the sky keep up with her brother’s car.
They were both listening to Sawyer tell them what else he knew about the situation. Then, just in a blink of an eye, it was done. The car that Zack was driving tried to make a left turn too sharply onto another back road when it simply went airborne. As it rolled over and over, Chandler watched as things flew out of the car as it hit another car, an electrical pole, as well as several bushe
s. When it came to a landing on the yard of a home that he’d driven by a hundred times, he watched with his breath held to see if anyone got out. Nothing seemed to move for what felt like hours. Then the police cruisers arrived.
“They just told me about the accident. Are you watching it still?” Chandler said that he and Sasha both were watching it. “The police just confirmed to me that he’s dead. Sadly, so is the officer. She was buckled in while Zack was ejected from the car before it stopped. I’m so sorry, Sasha. My heart breaks for you.”
Instead of saying anything, she left Chandler there. He told Sawyer what she’d done, and he suggested that he give her a minute. Watching this unfold was like having a bad dream. Chandler might not have ever met the younger man, but he was related to him through Sasha.
When she returned a few minutes later, she was followed by Zack himself. The man had wasted no time at all in coming for his sister to help him.
“I don’t have the ability to make you alive, you fucking moron. You’re dead. What the hell did you expect to happen when you escaped from jail and went on a high speed race across the state with troopers behind you? Did you think they’d just say, ‘Wow, he’s going really fast, let’s not bother with him’? You fucking shit. You’re dead, deal with it. Or not. I could care less. Now I have to go tell Mom what her precious baby boy did, and how now he’s dead because he doesn’t have one brain cell left. By the looks of you, I’d say that was about right. What the hell were you thinking?”
“I was thinking that I didn’t want to go to fucking jail. You said you were able to talk to ghosts. Okay, I believe you now. So, since I’m your brother, you can work some of your boozy juice on me and make me alive.” She asked him what boozy juice was, and Chandler had to laugh. Zack really was an idiot. “It’s whatever it takes for you to make me alive. You can do it special like for me, right? I’m your brother.”
Chandler: Bishop’s Snowy Leap – Paranormal Tiger Shifter Romance (Bishop's Snowy Leap Book 2) Page 9
