For some reason, Grandma Winters had up and decided to teach Willow how to drive on her last visit to Savannah. It was strange. Grandma Winters had always visited us twice a year, staying for two weeks at a time. And she only ever concerned herself with helping us grow our elemental gifts. She’d never been the cookies and bedtime-story type of grandma, or the type to teach us anything about the world. I wasn’t complaining, though. Knowing how to drive gave us all more freedom, something our mother had always frowned upon. Freedom to her equaled danger.
I couldn’t wait to soak my bones in the salty Bay water. It was my happy place. So, as my sisters set up their towels, I headed for a swim.
The water was warm, like bath water, and the blazing sun set the surface on fire with silver sparkles. It called to me and I felt my power surge in response. Nothing made my heart sing more. I relaxed, feeling my body sink into it, letting it wash over my head. When my toes hit the bottom, I opened my eyes. Home. That’s what it felt like. Coming home.
I kept still and let the sand settle back to the bottom where I’d disturbed it. The water cleared. Tiny waves came from me and I sent them in a lazy circle, speeding them up until a small cyclical tornado spun in front of me. It felt safe to practice here, beneath the surface, out of sight of the rest of the world. If no one can see, it didn’t really happen, right?
As I dispersed the tiny tornado and prepared to send it spinning the other way, a shape caught my eye. A dark shadow that seemed to be heading straight for me like a torpedo. My heart skipped.
A shark? Surely not this close to shore. Plus it was moving too fast.
I backpedaled instinctively as it quickly closed in on me. Sand kicked up by my feet clouded the water. I strained to see through it. Something was there in a flash. A face in front of me. I screamed bubbles and threw up my arm, closing my eyes. When I felt nothing attack, I dared to open my eyes.
Nothing.
Spinning around, I searched the water. My lungs ached for air. A small fish swam by. Launching myself upwards, I breached the surface and took a huge breath, shaking.
What in heaven’s name was that?
I scrambled out of the water on legs heavy with fear and hurried back to the safety of my sisters. I kept shooting glances behind me to make sure I wasn’t being followed.
Willow turned toward me as I collapsed in the sand. “Darwin, what’s wrong? You look white as a ghost.”
Mallory pushed herself up on one elbow and watched me. She got powered up by the sunlight, so her eyes were an almost fluorescent green. “Did something happen?”
I nodded. It was all I could manage until my heart stopped racing enough for me to breathe and talk at the same time. “Something came at me. In the water.”
After I’d tried to explain the short but terrifying experience, Mallory asked, “So, do you think it was like a vision?”
I shook my head. “No. It was too real.” I squeezed my eyes shut and, despite not wanting to, I forced myself to relive the moments under water. “I … there was long hair. A face. I…” I opened my eyes. “I think it was a woman. But that’s not possible, right?”
“A woman who came out of nowhere and disappeared just as quickly? Doesn’t seem possible,” Willow said skeptically. She sifted the sand through her fingers. I knew she was comforting herself. “Are you sure it wasn’t just a stingray or maybe a manatee?”
The more I focused, the more I was sure. It was definitely a woman and something felt familiar about her. I met Willow’s gaze and held it. “No. I know I sound completely off my rocker, but it was definitely a woman.”
She shaded her eyes, scanning the water. “Okay. I believe you. Maybe this has something to do with the threat Zach warned us about.”
Startled, I glanced out at the water. Its surface was a calm, light blue beneath the cloudless sky. But what was below the surface? Could it really be hiding a threat? “I guess it’s time I had a talk with him.”
“Darwin,” Willow said, touching my arm. I turned my attention to her. She had that serious mouth-pinched expression that I remembered well from growing up. “I know I said you had the right to decide if you’d use your magick or not, but if this threat isn’t human, you have to be able to defend yourself. You have to practice. It’s time.”
My spirit deflated like a punctured balloon. She was right, of course. I would have to practice, even though embracing the world of magick would mean actively building the wall higher between me and Will. A moan escaped me. Why did life have to be so complicated?
Mallory scooted closer and wrapped her arm around my shoulder. I could smell the heat emanating from her skin. It chased away the cold chill the woman’s ghostly attack had left me with. Dropping my head onto her shoulder, I glared at the water.
Whatever that was about, the assailant had accomplished one thing. She’d stripped away my sense of security by attacking me in the one place I’d always felt safe.
*****
After running home to let the dogs out, I’d left Willow and Mallory to go shopping without me. It was time to see a jinn about a warning.
As I pulled my VW Beetle around the circle drive in front of the gray stucco buildings of Golf Gate Estates, I kept my thoughts focused on meeting up with my sisters later for dinner.
Happy thoughts, Darwin. Happy thoughts.
Otherwise, I was afraid I would chicken out of what I was about to do. Which was knock on the end unit door marked 457 where Zach Faraday now resided.
My hand was poised to knock when the door flew open and Zach stood before me, all tense muscle and eyes blazing.
“Darwin.” His relief was palpable.
I felt that relief wash over me as a soft, silky wave. Despite myself, I was touched by his obvious concern.
“Please, come in. Are you all right?”
“Right as rain.” I stepped into the overly air-conditioned room. It was like an icebox. “I’d hate to have your electric bill,” I mumbled, rubbing my bare arms and taking in the room.
All his mother’s things were still in place—the thick burgundy curtains with tassels adorning the windows; the gold chandelier and spun gold tapestry hanging on the forest green wall, the photos on the fireplace mantle. Even the crystal ball still sat on the coffee table, though Zach had told me he himself doesn’t scry. I would’ve thought he’d turned this place into a bachelor pad by now.
As I took a seat on the cream velour sofa, I caught the scent of jasmine and memories flooded back.
His mother, Rose Faraday, had been a gypsy fortune teller. She’d been Lucky’s original owner, which is how Mallory ended up with the cat. We’d solved Rose’s murder together last year—me, Zach and Mallory—and Zach had played a big part in saving mine and Mallory’s life in the end.
It looked like he still wasn’t ready to let his mother go. Or maybe he just hadn’t had time for a garage sale yet, what with all the time he spent stalking me.
“I didn’t even get a chance to knock.” I didn’t mean it to, but it came out like an accusation. “Were you expecting me?”
He lowered himself next to me, angled his body in my direction and rested a thick, muscular arm on the back of the sofa. “I was just on my way out. I sensed you were in danger.”
My eyes narrowed.
He could sense I was in danger? Were we that connected?
I fought the urge to scoot back away from him. His body held a palpable amount of heat and power, and it was making it hard for me to think straight. I didn’t want to appear rude, though, especially since I was here to get information from him. I stayed where I was … in the danger zone. “Do you know why I’m here?”
He held my gaze then let his attention fall to my mouth. “Having trouble sleeping?”
My heart kicked up in a flutter of betrayal. My cheeks burned. We’d talk about him invading my dreams later. I crossed my arms like a shield in front of me. “I’m here because of the warning you gave my sister, for us to be careful. What did you mean by that?”
> His dark eyes met mine once again. They were a pool of exotic mystery, so easy to get lost in.
He took a deep breath and then mercifully moved his attention to his mother’s crystal ball on the coffee table. He still wasn’t looking at me when he asked, “How much do you know about your father?”
“My father?” Anxiety tightened a knot in my chest. “Not much. Just that he’s imprisoned for breaking some kind of rule … that magick and mortals aren’t supposed to mix. That is if he’s even still alive and our mother isn’t just telling us some insane story to hide the fact that he’s not … you know … alive.” A lifetime of frustration on the subject made me open up to him without a second thought. “Mom won’t tell us anything except how they fell in love when she was seventeen, and Father moved her to his family’s mansion in Savannah after she got pregnant with me. Do you know more about him?” I tried to keep the hope out of my voice but I wasn’t successful.
Zach tilted his head and then turned fully towards me. He enfolded my hand between his own large, warm ones. It was effortless and for some reason, I didn’t mind even though I should have. He closed his eyes and I felt the light vibration begin.
It traveled up my arm and into my body, pulling me closer to him and away from the physical world, until I could feel our heartbeats sync, feel his deep inhales in my own chest, feel myself falling into him. My free hand reached out and rested on his chest. I felt myself doing it but was powerless to stop it. It was the only thing I wanted, the only thing I needed in the world at that moment. To feel his heartbeat beneath my palm. The beat than ran through both of us in sync making us one body. There was nothing but that bliss of connection. I lost track of time.
When my eyes finally fluttered open, they met Zach’s. His held a touch of surprise but also raw passion so fierce it knocked me back into my own orbit. I jerked my hand away and his tattoo, which had been burning red beneath my touch, ceased to glow through his white t-shirt.
I ripped my other hand from his grip and scrambled up on shaking legs. “I have to go.”
Tears pricked my eyes as I bumped into furniture in my quest to escape and then fumbled to unlock the door.
Oh heavens, just let me get out. Please.
“Darwin.” Zach’s voice came from directly behind me.
I refused to turn around. I couldn’t. I didn’t trust myself. “Please open the door,” I whispered.
Heat radiated from his chest as he moved closer behind me. Tears blurred my vision. His hand appeared and turned the knob. Before he let go, he tried once more. “I have to tell you what I know. It’s important.”
I would do anything to learn about my father. Anything except betray Will. If I stayed any longer, that’s exactly what I’d do. “Later,” I whispered. “Let me go.”
“As you wish.” His hand withdrew from the lock. The heat withdrew from my back, leaving me with a sense of cold loss as I stepped back out into the balmy air of the real world.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Since Sylvia was technically on her honeymoon for the week—though probably actually curled up on the sofa watching chick flicks with her cousins and eating ice-cream for breakfast—Mallory had come in to help me out at Darwin’s Pet Boutique.
The snowbirds had abandoned St. Pete in May when the humidity moved back in, but we still had enough local clientele to stay afloat. And of course, Monday morning didn’t get its feet under it until Frankie Maslow, one of my best and most eccentric friends, showed up with a box of pastries and the morning paper.
“Good morning,” Frankie said as I unlocked the door and let her and her two Chihuahuas, Itty and Bitty, into the boutique.
She gave me a hug with the arm that wasn’t cradling a box of … what was that? Cinnamon buns, from the mouth-watering scent drifting from the pink box, which Goldie was now sniffing with interest.
“How’s our Sylvia? Have you heard from her?” Frankie asked with concern.
I shrugged. “She wouldn’t answer her phone yesterday, but she did text me late last night and just said she’s alive but doesn’t feel like talking.” I nudged Goldie out of the way so Frankie could set the box down on our tea table by the front window.
“Morning, Frankie.” Mallory appeared from the back grooming room with Petey cradled in her arms. She was wearing Sylvia’s water-proof apron over her mint-green maxi dress, and her hair was pulled up in a messy bun atop her head. “I smell cinnamon buns.”
“Yes you do. Oh, sweet puppies in heaven! Who in the world do you have there?” Frankie’s two plump Chihuahuas, dressed in pink and blue t-shirts respectively, were at her heels as she held out her hands with a grin. “Let me see that baby!”
“This is Petey, all fresh and smelling much better.” Mallory handed him over and smirked at me. “It was like bathing a hamster.”
Frankie rubbed her nose against Petey’s and then laughed as he tried to chew on hers. Itty and Bitty scratched at her leopard print leggings, not happy their mom was giving another member of their tribe attention. “Feisty little guy. Where’d he come from?” She bent down to let her dogs sniff Petey.
“Actually, he came from Peter Vanek’s place,” I said. “The puppy didn’t have a name yet, so we named him Petey in remembrance.”
“Ouch.” She stood back up. “Poor little guy lost his daddy?”
I slid into a wicker chair, the cushion already warmed by the morning sun pouring through the window, and helped myself to a gooey cinnamon bun. “Peter wasn’t planning on keeping him. He was trying to find him a home. I don’t think it’ll be too hard, but if you know anybody that’d be a good fit, send ‘em my way.”
She handed the squirming black and brown ball of fur back to Mallory and came over to join me at the tea table. Itty and Bitty settled in beneath her feet and Goldie sprawled out with a loud sigh, watching us with hopeful eyes for any sign we were willing to share a cinnamon bun.
“Sure will,” Frankie said, pouring herself a cup of hot tea. “I still can’t believe Sylvia’s luck. For her photographer to have a heart attack right before her wedding.” She shook her head. “Her mother was not a happy camper. Though I couldn’t really understand what all the fuss was about since they weren’t speaking English. I mean, couldn’t Sylvia just’ve had her guests take cell phone pictures and get on with the wedding?”
I shook some Iron Goddess Oolong tea into my diffuser and sank it into the hot water in my cup. “Well, Sylvia called off the wedding because her mother thinks Peter’s death was a sign from God they shouldn’t get married. And that their marriage would be cursed if they went through with it. Sylvia won’t get married without her mother’s blessing.”
“Yikes.” Frankie shook her head. “Poor Sylvia … and Landon.”
“I know. The thing is, though, Will doesn’t think it was a heart attack. He suspects foul play since none of Peter’s cameras were found at his house. They didn’t just grow legs and walk out the door themselves, right? Someone had to have stolen them.”
“Interesting.” Frankie’s penciled-on eyebrows rose beneath her freshly dyed red hair as she pulled a bite-sized piece of sticky heaven off a roll and popped it into her mouth.
Mallory was unlocking the door with one hand, cradling Petey with the other. “I’m gonna take him out one more time before I put him in the pen.”
I nodded. “Thanks. Make sure you give him a treat as soon as he goes potty.”
We’d made sort of a doggie play pen with gates for Petey behind the counter so we didn’t have to leave him in the crate upstairs while we worked today. Willow had plans to spend the afternoon with Kimi and Jade, some friends she’d made when she’d visited me a few months ago.
I turned back to Frankie. “Anyway, if we can prove Peter was actually murdered, Sylvia and Landon could still get married. We just have to prove it by Sunday.”
“Ah, now I understand why she asked me to get their rooms extended. You think Will can figure out what happened in a week?”
I wrapped my hands
around my tea cup and nodded. “If anyone can, it’s Will. And of course, I’ll help him however I can. He’s actually open to me helping, if you can believe it.”
She eyed me skeptically as she chewed. Then after she swallowed, she pointed a ruby-ring-clad index finger at me. “You better not put yourself in danger again, Darwin. After all, you’ve got Goldie to think about now. She’s already lost one momma.”
We both glanced down at my golden retriever, who raised her head hopefully and panted at us with sparkling eyes.
Goldie had been a show dog. After her owner had been killed, I ended up adopting her. She had a scar now, so she couldn’t show anymore, which was fine with me. But, Frankie was right. She didn’t deserve to go through that again. I’d have to be careful.
Giving in, I broke a piece of my cinnamon bun off and tossed it to her. She had trained me well in the five months I’d had her. “That’s all you get.” I laughed as she licked her muzzle and sat up with ears tilted forward. “All done, moocher.”
Frankie opened the paper with a sharp snap. “All right, let’s see what other mischief happened over the weekend in this crazy town.”
Sipping my tea, I watched out the window as Mallory made her way back across the street toward us with Petey. I glanced over at the clock as she came back in. About that time.
“You can just leave it unlocked, Mal.”
Charlie walked in behind her. She looked more like herself in a gray newsboy hat turned backwards, a black halter top, which showed off her full sleeve of tattoos, and white skinny jeans.
“Oh, hey, Charlie. What are you doin’ here?”
“Just thought I’d stop by and see if you need any help today. And see if there’s any news about Pete?”
“That’s sweet of you, but I think I’m good. Mallory’s helping me out. And as far as Peter goes no news yet, but I can tell you Will’s thinking it may not have been a heart attack. He’s gonna try to get the autopsy pushed up.”
For Pete's Sake Page 5