Ghost of Himself

by Pandora Pine

  Dempsey shot Jude an incredulous look. “I’ll start with the house first.” He leaned closer to Cope. “Do you want me to throw in an impotence incantation? It’s no problem you know.” Dempsey grinned.

  Cope shook his head. “I think it would be better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it in his case.” His smile faded as Dempsey turned away. He watched with fascination as the wizard went through his paces, calming his mind before he began to chant. He couldn’t help feeling heartsick watching Dempsey work.

  “Are you okay?” Jude muttered.

  It would take a lot more than a few careless words from Jude to hurt him, but Cope had a feeling that’s not what the P.I. was asking him. “I miss working. I miss magick.” Copeland shrugged. It was all he was willing to say at the moment.

  It had been two long years since he’d had to give it all up. He missed it like he would an arm that had to be amputated after an accident.

  Jude looked surprised at Copeland’s answer. “What do you mean you miss it? Did you give it all up cold turkey?”

  Cope nodded. “I figured it had to be that way. Just like the Witness Protection Program. If I was going to successfully hide from Deacon, then I had to leave everything behind from my old life in New Orleans. My job had to be the first thing to go. I couldn’t do readings of any kind, not even over the phone or through an internet site. Same went for any kind of magickal work, because he would be able to trace me with the right kind of people working on his side. I couldn’t contact any of my friends or family. I even went so far as giving up Chinese food because Deacon knew it was my favorite and people at the local take-out place might recognize me.” These years without his favorite things and people had been hell, but he was alive.

  Jude studied the psychic-witch for a few silent minutes as if he were placing himself in Copeland’s shoes. “I can’t imagine what that must have been like for you.”

  “One day I was living my life. Getting coffee at my favorite place on Rue Decatur, seeing my clients, casting spells, and the next, I was bleeding to death on the floor of my shop.” Cope shook his head, hoping to knock that still raw image out of his sight. “When I woke up in my hospital bed, Onyx was sitting in the room with me. He asked me what I remembered and then he let me know there hadn’t been any arrests in my case. There hadn’t even been any leads.”

  “How was that possible?” Jude reached out to take Cope’s hand.

  Cope was shocked by the comforting touch. Tennyson and the others had told him over lunch that Jude wasn’t the demonstrative type and that he shouldn’t be offended by the P.I.’s standoffish nature. It’s just who Jude was. The man didn’t seem to be acting like that at the moment. Cope gave his hand a squeeze.

  “Deacon had been wearing gloves the morning he attacked me. I was a bit of a neat freak. Every night before I closed the shop, I wiped it down. All of the counters and the common areas got cleaned, so there were no fingerprints or DNA aside from my own.”

  “Jesus, Copeland.” Jude shook his head.

  “Once I was clearheaded enough, I was interviewed by the police. I told them the whole story about my relationship with Deacon. I turned over my phone so they could recover all the evidence of him stalking me. They still hadn’t found him a few days later when I was released from the hospital.” That had been a terrifying moment for him, leaving the safety of the hospital and not knowing if Deacon was going to return to finish the job he started.

  “What did you do then?”

  “I put my money to work for me.” Cope grimaced. What he’d done next had saved his life, but two years later it still left a bad taste in his mouth. “I arranged for a series of cars to show up at the house in the middle of the night. All of them went in different directions. They all made multiple stops at different locations with the people in them getting out and switching to different cars.”

  “Holy shit.” Jude let out a low whistle. “That’s one hell of a diversion tactic.”

  “You’re telling me. I found men who looked like me. I paid decoys, Jude, to put their lives on the line to live out this charade for two weeks so that I could run in the night like a coward.”

  “You weren’t a coward, Copeland. You were doing whatever it took to save your life.” Jude reached for Cope’s other hand. “All that mattered was surviving, and that’s what you did.”

  Cope nodded. “I dyed my hair brunette in some shitty truck stop bathroom in Mobile, Alabama. Then I switched to a Tommy Bahama shirt and fucking cargo shorts in Pensacola.” Cope shuddered at the thought of dressing like some Chicago businessman on vacation in the Sunshine State. “Then the car looped around for the nearly six-hundred-mile trip to Galveston on I-10. All I had was time to look out the window and mourn for the life that I’d built for myself that was now gone.” Cope ducked his head. He felt those old emotions swamping over him, threatening to pull him under.

  At that exact moment, Cope felt Jude drop his hands. This must be exactly what Ten, Carson, and the rest of them had been talking about with Jude being emotionally unavailable. He shouldn’t be surprised. They were practically strangers anyway. Jude didn’t owe him anything. The fact that he was letting Cope stay here while he sorted his own shit out was good enough for him.

  It was a complete shock a second later when the larger man pulled Cope into a hug. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that,” Jude whispered.

  Cope wrapped his arms loosely around Jude’s lower back. He was afraid holding the cagey man too tightly might freak him out and send him running. Copeland wasn’t even sure he should say anything, too afraid he’d break the spell Jude had somehow woven between them.

  “We’re going to find and stop whoever is doing this to you and then you’ll be free. You’ll be able to go back to your old life and friends in New Orleans or start fresh here in Salem. The sky will be the limit for you, Cope. Look at all the friends you’ve made already and you’ve only been here for three days.” Jude’s breath blew warm against Copeland’s ear.

  Jude’s words were like a balm on his aching heart. Copeland could almost believe all of those things were possible. “Maybe,” he whispered back. It was all he could give right now. A man in his position, stalked, forced into exile from his own life, and now attacked by some nameless, faceless enemy had no right to hope for a brighter tomorrow.

  “No maybes about it. Together, you and I can do anything, Copeland. I promise.” Jude pulled back to look the psychic in the eyes.

  Cope was stunned by the determination he saw in Jude’s fiery orbs. He could almost believe what Jude was saying was possible. “Jude, I-”

  “The house is all set, guys. I’m ready to start on Cope,” Dempsey called as he hustled down the stairs. “Oh, damn! Am I interrupting something?”

  Both men startled apart as if they’d been caught doing something they shouldn’t have been doing. “No,” Cope shook his head. “I was feeling sorry for myself and Jude was trying to buck me up.”

  Dempsey raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Our Jude is good at fucking people up…and down, if the rumors are true.”

  “He said buck him up. Not fuck him up. Clean out your ears, Dempsey.” Jude wore a sour look on his face. “Listen, do you need me for this little performance?”

  “No, I just need to say a few words and then it’s done.” Dempsey eyed Jude curiously.

  “Good, I need to run out for something. I’ll be back in fifteen minutes. Are you going to be okay without me for that long?” He was staring at Dempsey, even though his words were directed at Cope.

  Cope nodded. “I’ll be fine.”

  Jude silently grabbed his keys from the hall table and was out the door without a word of goodbye.

  “Well, that was interesting.” Dempsey snorted. “I think that’s the first time I’ve seen him voluntarily hug someone. Unless you were the one who grabbed him?”

  “No,” Copeland sighed. “He hugged me.” Cope had pictured Jude as a skittish colt in his mind who’d just fi
nally trusted him enough to eat oats out his hand. Dempsey barging into the room had sent Jude bolting back toward the barn.

  “Are you ready for me to take the protection spell off of you?”

  Cope took a deep breath. He’d gotten used to feeling better over these last few days. There hadn’t been anymore migraines and his body didn’t feel like he’d gone ten rounds with Conor McGregor the night before. His anxiety over when he’d get the next headache or start feeling like shit again had also been blessedly absent. It wasn’t going to be easy knowing that once Dempsey said the words, all of those things could come flooding back at any moment. But this was what had to be done in order to stop these attacks for good. Copeland could do this. He was strong enough to fight this fight and win. “I’m ready.”

  14

  Jude

  It was pretty shitty of him to run out of the house like he’d done when Dempsey caught him hugging Copeland. He could hug anyone he damn well wanted to hug. It was a free country.

  Regardless, it was still a shitty thing to do, especially when Dempsey was there to remove the magick that was protecting Copeland from being attacked. Sighing, Jude stopped the car at a red light. This little drive had given him time to sort through everything that Cope had told him while Dempsey had been removing the wards from his house.

  He still had a hard time believing there had been magick spells on his house. Only thirteen when a witch killed his father, Jude had sworn a vendetta against all witches in his teenaged mind. He’d known it was juvenile, but that hate had only grown stronger as the years had unfolded, making him bitter and intractable at times.

  Never in his wildest dreams had he ever imagined himself landing in Salem, Massachusetts, the self-proclaimed Witch City. Everywhere he went were banners with witches on broomsticks. Businesses used the word “witch” in their names. Then there was the Salem Witch Museum, Witch Tours, and Witch Walks.

  It had been overwhelming for him at first, visiting Tennyson and Ronan during the course of the Hutchins investigation. Then he’d been shot and ended up living with the couple while he convalesced. Thanks to Ten and Ronan and their levelheaded thinking, his stance on witches had softened with time. The proof of that was his working with Callum Churchill and the other members of the Salem Witches to figure out who was hunting and killing them earlier this year. Now, here he was with Dempsey putting wards on his house and with a witch living under his roof. He’d hugged a witch tonight of his own free will.

  It felt good.

  Jude sighed again as he pulled the Thunderbird into his driveway. His early life might have been shit, but living with his grandfather had mostly made up for the trauma of those early years. Still and all, when he turned eighteen, he’d been ready to get the hell off the reservation and start a life of his own.

  It hadn’t always been easy being that young and fending for himself, but at least that life had been his own to live. Grabbing the bags from the passenger seat, he got out of the car and headed into the house.

  The lights were on downstairs, but there was no sign of Copeland. Setting the bags down, he raced upstairs. “Cope?” Jude roared. Jesus, what if the fucker who was attacking him was already back at it while he’d cut and run because it had been awkward for Dempsey to have seen them hugging each other?

  Reaching the top of the stairs, Jude ran to Copeland’s closed bedroom door. He pounded on the wood. “Copeland?”

  The door swung open and a startled Cope, dressed in yoga pants and a plain black tee, was staring at Jude like he’d lost his mind. “What’s wrong?”

  “Are you okay? I didn’t see you downstairs and I was afraid that…” Jude sucked in a deep breath. He was gasping for breath like he’d run a marathon.

  “You were afraid the attacks had started again?” Cope’s voice was gentle, as if he didn’t want Jude to be embarrassed by his worry over him.

  “Yeah, that thought crossed my mind, along with what an asshole I was for leaving you alone here after Dempsey left you defenseless.”

  “I’m not an invalid, Jude.” Cope’s top lip cured into a snarl.

  Shit, he hadn’t meant to sound like he thought Cope was completely incapable of taking care of himself. “You’ve been alone for two years, fighting this battle as an army of one. From this moment forward, I want you to know that we’re fighting together as an army of two.” Jude looked down at his feet. “I, uh, got stuff for ice cream sundaes, if you’re in the mood.” He turned and headed back for the stairs.

  When he reached the first floor, he grabbed the grocery bags and brought them into the kitchen. Ice cream always made him feel better. He had no idea what flavor Cope liked, so he got three of his favorites: cookies and cream, rocky road, and strawberry. There had to be something in the mix Cope liked.

  “Holy God, did you buy out the entire ice cream aisle?” Cope asked as Jude was unpacking the second bag which had been filled with toppings and a box of cone bowls.

  “Just about.” Jude grinned. “I didn’t know what you liked, so I got a bit of everything.” Jude held up the hot fudge, which was his favorite. When he had a bad day he could eat that stuff right out of the jar. “Then there’s caramel, marshmallow, and whipped cream. I also got rainbow sprinkles.”

  “I’ll have all of it in one of those cone bowls with scoops of rocky road and cookies and cream.” Cope’s eyes were glowing.

  Jude bit back a retort that he wasn’t the witch’s maid. “Coming right up.” He was actually looking forward to making dessert for Copeland, who’d taken a seat at the table.

  “Where did you go?” Cope asked carefully.

  Jude popped the hot fudge into the microwave and pressed the start button. He wasn’t used to anyone questioning his comings and goings. Cope wasn’t asking like one of his lovers trying to keep him on a leash. Jude could tell it was a curious question. “I just drove to the supermarket. I don’t know what you’ve heard about me, but I like to keep my private life private. What Dempsey saw…” Christ, Jude had no idea how to continue that sentence, never mind how to end it.

  “What Dempsey saw was one friend comforting another.” There was no give in Copeland’s voice. No margin for error. “After you left, he told me what it was like for him when he first moved to Salem after he helped Hunter break his curse.”

  Jude looked up from the ice cream he’d been scooping. Dempsey, for as closed as the wizard was, had never said where it was he’d even come from when he decided to stay in Salem. “He seemed like he fit in here pretty seamlessly.”

  Cope shook his head no. “It was easier for him to fit in here because of you.”

  “Me?” Surely Jude had misheard Copeland. He dumped some hot fudge onto the ice cream, sprayed whipped cream, and dashed sprinkles on top before adding a spoon and setting the bowl in front of Copeland.

  “Yes, you,” Cope confirmed. “Dempsey said after you’d stopped flirting with him, you’d become a solid friend. You helped him fit into life here in town and got him settled into Hunter’s house after he moved in with Walker. He counts you as one of his best friends, which was why he didn’t hesitate to answer your call to help me.”

  Instead of looking up at his house guest, Jude kept his eyes focused on his ice cream. All he’d done for Dempsey was take him out to lunch and show him the best grocery store to shop at. They’d talked a lot too, once he’d realized that they’d make better friends than lovers, thanks to a little pep talk courtesy of Walker. Dumping caramel sauce on his dish, Jude joined Copeland at the table. “I guess you never know what kind of difference you make in someone’s life.”

  “I suppose not.” Cope shrugged.

  “What you said earlier got me thinking.” His chest hurt just saying those words out loud. It wasn’t like Jude to open up with his own thoughts and feelings like this, unless he was working a case, and then it was all business.

  Cope smiled curiously. “What did I say?”

  “About having a life one day and waking up in a hospital the next. I can
’t imagine what that must have been like to have to walk away from everything and everyone you knew and loved.” Jude didn’t know how he would have reacted if he’d been faced with a similar situation.

  “I was a coward, Jude. I took the money my mother left me and used some of it to hide, rather than face the danger.” Cope ducked his head. A faint blush stained his cheeks.

  “Bullshit,” Jude challenged. “What you did was the most courageous thing I’ve ever heard.”

  Cope’s face crumpled into something between a grimace and disbelief. “How is tucking tail and running courageous? Look at me now. I’m just a ghost of myself.”

  “You did what you needed to do to survive. You had this life that you spent years building. It was comfortable. You had a business that was thriving and a beautiful home. Instead of staying and waiting for the next attack, you kept yourself safe until the police caught the asshole who dared to take what was yours. You had no way of knowing this guy would disappear.”

  “Aren’t you going to ask me about that? How I didn’t know that was going to happen?” Cope’s spoon clattered against the glass bowl.

  Jude shook his head. The skeptical man he was before he’d met Tennyson and Ronan would have been all over that, but not the man sitting at the table tonight. “I know psychics are notoriously bad at being able to read themselves and that you went through trauma, Cope.”

  Cope’s eyes narrowed on Jude. “I don’t know what’s next for me. Even if we find and stop whoever is behind these psychic attacks, Deacon is still out there.”

  Jude had been thinking the same thing. “You said to me the other day that you don’t think past today. Why don’t we keep doing that, but with one exception?”

  “What’s the exception?” Cope sounded intrigued by Jude’s proposal.

  “That you’re staying here with me for the duration, even if it takes a week or a year to sort you out. You have a place to call home. My number one priority right now is making sure you’re safe and what better way to do that than with you under my roof?”