“They have people who can handle this. They have to, right? So, what if we just told them we have a revenant locked in the boathouse? We don’t have to say who we think it is. Do we?”
Wade considers for a few seconds. “I’m pretty sure it’s part of their job to figure it out. Then all that stuff I was just talking about gets even worse. Not only were we at the Mistwood Point cemetery when the others attacked—now this. Royally screwed comes to mind.”
“Why are they targeting us?” I ask, wishing there was an easy answer.
Wade shrugs. “God, I wish I knew.”
I sigh, shifting around to sit beside him. Tipping my head back to rest against the door, I lean into him and place my hand on his thigh. The beautiful, sexy moment between us has passed, but an absurd giggle escapes my lips.
I shoot Wade a sideways glance and stifle another laugh. “Well, nothing like being chased by a dead grandpa to kill the mood.”
He snickers, shifting himself forward into a crouching position, then stands up. “Right? We just can’t catch a break.” Wade extends his arm, offering a hand and helping me up. “Come on, let’s see if we can find any magical rules about revenants.”
“Like what kind?”
“Like, if they materialize out of ashes, do they keep their form once they’ve corporealized…or not?” he says, screwing up his face.
“Good point,” I say, taking off down the hallway. “Do you want to go back to the school? Or do you want to do it from here? There could be something in my Postmortem Communication classwork, or maybe even Advanced Life Energies.”
We turn the corner, heading back to my bedroom. Wade keeps his eyes trained on each window as we go past, as if he’s expecting the revenant to come bursting through at any moment.
“At this point, I don’t know,” he finally says. “If we do any research from here outside your lessons, we have a digital trail back to us. If we go to the school, there’s still a good chance it will come back to us if the feds search their databases for anything specific. We have to log in with our student IDs.”
“What if I try to summon Abigail again? Maybe if I can get her—”
Wade shakes his head. “I don’t think she’s willing to dish out information when I’m around. But I guess you can try.”
I stop walking to grab hold of his wrist. “What makes you say that?”
Wade narrows his gaze and bites his lower lip. “Just a feeling I get. She really only comes to you when I’m not around,” he says, shrugging. “But I could be wrong.”
There’s more to his hunch than he’s letting on. I can see it in his face. But I think back, trying to figure out if she’s ever been active when Wade’s been around. Nothing comes to me—at least, not where she’s been helpful. “Hmmm, you might be right.”
Wade shrugs and starts walking down the hall again. I follow quietly after, my mind whirling with the recent events. The revenant, the attack, everything Wade’s said about being suspected of this. Plus, this thing with Abigail. If it’s true, why would it be? She was with me, helping me to bring Cat back. But other than that, she’s never really been active unless I’m alone.
Stepping out in front, Wade opens the door to my bedroom, then moves back. “After you.”
I shoot him a wary smile, walking into my bedroom and heading over to my desk. “So what do you want to do? Look in my lessons first? Or do a search?”
Again, Wade’s phone sounds, but this time it’s like the Tardis has landed as his ringtone blares out. He shoots me a confused look, pulling his phone from his pocket and wiping it across his pant leg.
“Dammit, the screen’s cracked,” he mutters. “Guess that’ll teach me to leave it in my back pocket.”
“Yeah, because you never know when the undead will chase you around,” I nod, shooting him a sideways glance as I flip open my laptop.
“Shit,” Wade curses under his breath.
I spin around on my chair and quirk an eyebrow. “What now?”
He takes a seat on the edge of my bed. Gripping the phone tightly in his left hand, he shakes his head. Without a word, he holds his arm out and passes his phone to me.
Confused, I take it from him and look down. Playing on the screen is a close-up shot of Wade at the Mistwood Point cemetery—just as he pushed over the tombstone. I flinch as it lands on the revenant.
Beneath the video is an anonymous text message:
I know this sort of thing runs in your family. You don’t belong here. Get out of Windhaven and never come back. You’ve got until the end of the week or this video goes viral.
Chapter 13
Prove It
“What in the hell?” I spit, unable to think of anything beyond the rage coursing through my body. I swear, I’m getting emotional whiplash just in the last half hour. “Who would do something like this? And why?”
“My sentiments exactly,” Wade says, standing up and running his hands through his dark locks. “See? What did I tell you? I knew shit was gonna hit the fan. It always does.”
“What do you think this has got to do with your family?” I say, handing Wade back his phone.
Wade shakes his head and raises his palms to the ceiling. “How in the hell do I know? Maybe they know about my dad being a suspect the last time this sort of thing happened? Or maybe they just think I’m not good enough to go to Windhaven Academy. I guess they’d be right…”
“Does this have anything to do with what Dominic said last semester?” I ask, my mind wheeling through a tornado of thoughts.
Wade drops his hands and his eyebrows turn up in the middle. “Dominic?”
“You know, the guy who keyed my car? When we were at the Bourbon Room he said something about how you shouldn’t be here, too…” My eyes widen and I cover my mouth. “Oh, God. You don’t think it’s him, do you?”
“Well, if it is, he’s gonna wish he’d chosen a different pastime,” Wade says, clenching his fists.
Standing up, I close my laptop. “Guess it’s a good thing I still have my coat on. Come on, let’s go.”
Bewilderment flashes through Wade’s features. ”Go? Go where?”
“We’re going to resolve this right now. We’re going to Dominic’s.”
I don’t wait for a response. Instead, I walk straight out the door and down the hallway. If Dominic is a part of this, so help me, I’ll hurt him. I just don’t understand why he’d have it in for Wade. Or why he’d want him out of town. None of this is making any sense. But one thing’s for sure—if it’s him, we’re going to get it out of him and tell him where to shove it.
Wade follows on my heels, but picks up speed so he can walk beside me. “What exactly are we going to say to him? Shouldn’t we think this through a little bit before we go marching over there?”
“No, I think we need to nail him down before he has any time to come up with excuses or alibis,” I say, shooting Wade a sideways glance as I fling open the front door.
Wade grabs hold of my right wrist, spinning me around to face him. “We need to be careful. What is this Dominic guy capable of? What powers does he have? I mean, he said something about being able to hear my thoughts that day—”
“Yeah, he’s a psychic,” I say, pressing my lips into a thin line. Suddenly, the idea doesn’t seem like the best of choices. What if he can read what happened between me and Colton last semester? Would he be willing to spill it if he picks up on it?
“Okay, is that all?” Wade says, narrowing his eyes.
I blink away the thoughts and shrug. “I think so? Honestly, I don’t really know a lot about him. I don’t overly pay attention to what other people are doing. I’m so wrapped up in my own chaos, you know?”
Wade sighs, running his hand over his lips. “Okay, that’s okay. At least that helps me to understand where he might be coming from.”
“Good, then let’s do this,” I say, leaning forward and giving him a kiss on his cheek. “We’ll get this sorted out.”
“Yeah, okay. But re
member, we gotta be careful. If the revenant escaped—”
I bound down the front steps before he has time to finish his sentence, racing over to Blue. I can’t live my life in fear, locked away in the manor. But at the same time, I’m not about to linger out in the open, either. Just in case.
Without another word, Wade gets into the passenger seat and buckles in. When I put the vehicle into drive, the wheels spin on the slushy driveway as I pull around the loop faster than I probably should. Wade doesn’t say a word, though. Instead, he sits with his arms crossed over his body and his eyebrows practically creating a crater on his forehead. Both of us eye the sides of the road as if something could jump out at any moment.
“It’s not far. He just lives down the road,” I say, cutting through the thick silence.
“Good. I don’t know how much suspense I can handle in one day,” Wade whispers.
I reach out, tugging at his sleeve, hoping he’ll release his hand from his arm. He turns to look at me and I hold my hand out, trying to shoot him a sincere smile. “Everything will be okay. You’re not going anywhere. I refuse to let you.”
Wade snickers, but reaches for my hand, sliding his palm against mine. “Yeah, well, at this point, I don’t know that it’s up to us. I mean, hell, it’s like the entire universe really doesn’t want me here.”
“Well, that’s a bit dramatic,” I say, snickering under my breath.
Wade glances down to his knees and says sarcastically, “But is it though?” Turning his head, he looks out the window.
“Is there something you’re not telling me?” I ask. “Is there anyone else that doesn’t want you here?”
Taking a deep breath, Wade bites down on the side of his cheek.
“Wade?” I press.
“I don’t know. Maybe?” he finally says.
My eyes widen as I flip the turn signal to turn down Dominic’s drive. “Maybe? You don’t know?”
“No, I don’t. I mean, I don’t think they’d have enough pull to do something like this.”
“Who?” I say, putting the vehicle into park in front of Dominic’s large, white manor.
Wade’s tongue skirts across his lower lips and he tips his head to the house. “Let’s check this first. Like you said, we don’t want to eliminate the element of surprise. Come on.”
This time, it’s Wade who makes a quick exit, leaving me scrambling after him.
Before we even make it to the door, Dominic steps outside. His white-blond hair and outfit are disheveled, like he just crawled out of bed.
“Dominic, we—” I begin, but he raises a hand, cutting me off.
“Autumn, between the two of you, there is no need to even open your mouth. God, I could hear you coming a mile away. Literally,” he says, taking a deep breath and rolling his eyes.
“I’m sorry, are we interrupting your sleep time?” Wade says, his jaw hardening as he steps into Dominic’s space.
Dom’s light eyebrow arches high. He presses all five fingertips in his right hand against Wade’s chest, gently pushing him back a step. “Actually, you’re just lucky I put clothes back on. I was a bit…” he looks over his shoulder, “preoccupied. Maybe you should try it. Might take this edge off.”
“Stop playing games with us. If you can hear our thoughts, you know why we’re here. What do you know?” Wade growls, his silver eyes darkening as his eyebrows press down.
“All I’m saying is you need to get laid.”
Wade steps forward, grabbing Dominic by the front of his shirt, lifting him up to his tiptoes. “Answer the goddamn question.”
Dominic clutches at Wade’s hands as he struggles to maintain his own balance.
“Wade,” I warn, placing my hands on his left arm.
Refusing to look at me, the lines on his jaw harden, but he lets Dom drop back to his own footing.
“It wasn’t me. Whatever it is that’s got your tidy whities in a twist, it wasn’t me. Like I said, I was a bit busy with Natasha,” he says, shifting his gaze from Wade to me and back again.
“Prove it,” Wade says, his expression hardening. He releases his grip on Dominic’s shirt, thrusting him back a bit.
“How? Bring her out here in her birthday suit? I’m sure that’ll go down well with—” he points a finger my direction.
“Don’t care. Prove to me you’re not a lying weasel,” Wade says through clenched teeth. “My life is on the line here and I don’t take it lightly.”
Dominic rolls his eyes and sighs. “So dramatic.”
Wade reaches out for Dominic, who sidesteps his clutches.
“Fine, fine,” Dom says, straightening his shirt and glancing my direction. His gaze turns from a passing look to one of concentration. After a moment his eyebrows tighten and his jaw slacks open. “You have a what in your boathouse?”
“It’s not a what,” Wade says. “It’s a who. Now, get the girl.”
“God, all right. Come on,” Dominic says, shooting me another surprised look before opening the door and letting us inside. “She’s not going to like this.”
“I couldn’t honestly care less,” Wade says, his voice low.
Dominic leads us through a large entryway by the standard of any normal house, but it’s still about half the size of the one at my house. The inside isn’t at all what I expected. Rather than being immaculate, like the way he typically dresses for school, there are aspects of the home that look like they need some extensive work done. While the house is spacious and has some beautiful elements to the internal architecture, like intricate crown molding and woodwork, it’s as though its been left to its own devices for far too long. Parts of the plaster on the walls is discoloring or flaking off, especially in the high parts of the ceilings.
Dominic shoots me a sideways glance and I swear his face flushes. But he remains silent as he walks up the large flight of stairs to the right, and takes a quick turn, following the upper landing around to the left.
“Hey, babe—it’s me. Can you make sure you’re covered up?” Dominic says, peering through the doorway as he opens it a crack.
There’s a shuffle inside, but a woman’s voice filters out into the hallway. “What’s going on, Dom? Everything okay?”
Dominic nods his head, opening the door enough so we can see inside. “Yeah, I just gotta—”
Wade steps forward, pushing his way past Dominic. Surprised by his forcefulness, I follow after him, stopping just inside the door. A blond girl I’ve never seen before sits in the middle of a large four-poster bed, clutching red satin sheets to her chest. Her eyes are the size of big blue pools as she looks from us back to Dominic.
“Satisfied?” Dominic hisses, stepping back out into the hallway and flagging us to come out.
Wade shoots an apologetic glance at the woman, “S-sorry to bother you.” He diverts his eyes and walks out the way he came.
I turn to the woman and wave awkwardly. “Sorry for the interruption.”
She blinks wildly but doesn’t say a word.
Following after both of the guys, I make sure to close the door on my way out.
“Well, that was an experience,” I say, lifting my eyebrows and crossing my arms.
“Now, if you don’t mind, I’d love for the two of you to get the hell out of my house,” Dominic says, stepping aside and pointing at the stairs.
Wade hangs his head in defeat, but only gets a few steps before he turns back to Dominic. “If it’s not you, then who the hell is doing this? You’re psychic, right? Can you help us?”
“My abilities don’t work like that, man. It’s not a magic trick, for fucksake. Ask Autumn. I don’t always get all the information,” Dominic says, jabbing a thumb my direction.
Wade looks my direction, but I hold both hands up. “Don’t bring me into this. I barely know how my powers work.”
“Can you try?” Wade pleads. “Someone is raising the dead and now they’re threatening me.”
“Look, I’ll see what I can do. But not now,” Dominic says
, placing a hand on his door handle. “I have company.”
“I don’t have much time,” Wade begins.
Dominic opens the door to his bedroom and takes a step inside. “Kinda not my problem.” Without another word, he closes the door.
“Dammit,” Wade curses under his breath, glancing in my direction. “Sorry about all of this, Autumn. After what you said, I was so sure…”
I shake my head, reaching for his hand. “No, it’s my fault. I’m the one who brought up Dominic. Come on, let’s get out of here. We need to come up with another plan.”
Wade’s lips press into a thin line and he nods.
Without another word, I walk for the stairs, refusing to let go of Wade’s hand. Together we exit Dominic’s house, stepping down the icy steps and onto the driveway. The driveway, I now notice, has barely been snowplowed. Wade hops into the passenger seat and slams the door.
Lowering my head in defeat, I walk around to the driver’s side. When I reach the door, I glance back at Dominic’s house.
If it’s not him, then who?
Sighing to myself, I open the driver’s side door and slide inside. “So, what next? What do we do?” I say, closing the door and turning to face him. I’m a bundle of raw nerves, so I can’t even fathom how he must be feeling right now.
Wade’s jaw clenches and he shrugs. “What can I do? I have a dead grandpa trapped in your boathouse that I need to do something with pretty damn fast. And now, someone wants me to leave or he’ll basically end me. I’m pretty much stuck between a rock and a fucking mountain.”
Chapter 14
Confessions
If we can’t figure out who sent the text to Wade, does that mean he’ll leave Windhaven behind? Could he really do that, even if he’s innocent?
Taking a deep breath, I can’t help but wish my own powers were tied more to telepathy and not necromancy or talking to the dead. At least then, maybe I could do some good. Instead, I feel so useless.
“Autumn, before we head back to your place, I think we need to go to the police,” Wade finally says, cutting through the pregnant silence.
The Windhaven Witches Omnibus Edition : Complete Paranormal Suspense Series, Books 1-4 Page 34