He stopped and leaned against the glass counter, running a finger through the bowl of stone Zuni fetishes she kept on the counter to entice her customers. “Nye, I’m sorry about last night. Something came up, and I—”
She stuck her tongue out at him and set down the deck on the purple velvet she had spread out in front of her. “You aren’t sorry about a damn thing. Why do you persist in this futile matchmaking game of yours?”
He straightened and put a hand over his heart, the picture of affected umbrage. “I’m shocked you would think that I would do that to you.”
It was the big cow eyes that gave him away. “Because I wasn’t conscious for the last five times you tried?” She crossed her arms and leaned against the stool she kept behind the counter for the days when she was truly busy. It was fun to tease him, because he was so happy with his fiancée, and he was doing his damnedest to give her the same thing.
He held out both hands, his face in a full-on pout. “Now, don’t be like that. That last time was just…bad. How was I supposed to know he had a pregnant girlfriend?”
She harrumphed and grabbed the duster from the counter behind her and set out to dust the store. “Not helping your case there, boss.”
His footsteps trailed behind her as she stopped at various displays and attended to them. “So how was last night? Was it the real deal?”
As irritated as she was with him, she wanted to continue bawling him out, but opted to go with the more peaceful change of topic. “Oh yeah. Easily, one of the best intelligent hauntings I’ve ever experienced.” Not to mention the smokin’ hot and surprisingly smart and sensitive company she’d had. In all, it was actually kinda spectacular, but she didn’t want to give him that satisfaction.
“Really. So have you sorted through the evidence and everything?” When he wasn’t busy on a case, Nigel served as her ad hoc assistant, helping her process the pictures, video and audio from her adventures and helping her with the in-depth historical research for the locations. He was damn good at ferreting out newspaper reports and family histories, and she was always grateful for his assistance.
Nahia shook her head and moved back behind the counter as soon as the entry bell rang again. “Not yet. Got video, audio and pictures to deal with still.” She didn’t want to tell him she hadn’t gotten to it the night before because she’d gone to dinner with Nico. It would only encourage him.
“Great! I’ll come by tonight after work. We’ll have some pasta, you can continue to bitch me out for trying to make you happy, it’ll be great!”
The way his green eyes lit up when he talked about helping her made the fact that she had to decline hurt more than it should have. “Actually…” she drew the word out because she really didn’t want to have to say what her plans where, but was running out of options, “I already have someone lined up to help me with that tonight.”
Nigel’s eyes got big and his brows made a break for his hairline, but he didn’t speak until the customer in the store paid for her items and left. “Do tell.”
Nahia sighed and dropped her chin to her chest. There was no way around it. “Nico is coming after he finishes his shift. He said he wanted to help me with it because of what all went down last night.”
Surprise immediately slid into speculation on his face as he leaned against the counter on his elbows. “‘What all went down?’ Oh, this I’ve gotta hear.”
She rolled her eyes and hopped up on the stool, crossing her legs daintily. “Nigel. It’s not like that. It was an intense hunt, very interactive.”
“Between you and Nico,” he supplied, waving his hand while his face remained the picture of innocence.
It was all she could do to hold back the irritated growl and the urge to smack him on general principle. “Between us and the entity. It spoke to us.”
Her best friend narrowed his eyes and looked askance at her. “Like on the tape, right? Like inaudible to most people, but picked up by the DAT and you, right?”
“Like you and me having this conversation right now. We heard it walking around downstairs, and so we followed the footsteps. Once we got upstairs, it spoke, and then it slammed a door. It was kinda crazy. I think Nico wants to help me research and go through the tapes because he’s trying to make sense of what happened. You sent him into the titty bar and told him he was going to the library. Jacked up his whole worldview.” She fixed him with her most disapproving and disappointed gaze, because she knew he would crumble pretty quickly.
Nigel choked back a giggle and tried to maintain a serious expression. “That wasn’t my intention, really. I just thought you two would get along well, and I see I wasn’t wrong.”
“Not the point, boyo, and you know it. I’m gonna let this pass because it worked out well, as far as the hunt went, but next time, just come yourself and leave the matchmaking alone. Besides, there are easier ways to get me to bring a date to your wedding.” She joked, of course, because her best friend wasn’t like that, but she had to tease him a little since his fiancée was putting her in a flaming pink bridesmaid dress. “I ordered the dress by the way.”
“Imani’ll be pleased. This wedding planning thing is making her completely nuts.” His cell phone buzzed in his pocket and he picked it up to look at the screen. “Besides, you and Nico would look great walking down the aisle together.”
She had no problem imagining her friend’s suggestion. Her in the loud pink dress and him in the dashing tuxedo, it was a pleasant fiction to indulge. As much as she felt a connection to the handsome detective, that kind of distraction could only go badly in the long run. Dating normal people only underscored and highlighted how little she fit into that category. “And I told you to settle down with that shit.”
Nigel nodded in understanding, looking appropriately contrite, and came around the counter to hug her. “I gotta run. I have to meet the juvenile prosecutor over some stuff. Call me!”
She kissed his cheek and then waved him out the door. It was still early in the day and the store would be empty for a while, at least until lunch, so she returned to her original goal of throwing a tarot spread.
After shuffling the deck one last time, she pulled off the first of the three cards she would draw. The Empress, in the upright position. She chuckled softly, since the card indicated a woman or feminine energy, mystery, intuition and higher powers. Nahia looked around the store for a moment, taking in her esoteric inventory. Yeah, that card was definitely her. The next card she pulled was the King of Swords.
Nahia glared heavenward. “Really?” The King of Swords was definitely not what she’d expected, but wasn’t exactly surprising. He represented a man, a strong, intelligent, just man. Clear-thinking, honest, and armed, that was Nico to a ‘T’. Apparently the cards were feeling especially accurate today. She now dreaded picking up the third and final card.
The bell over the door saved her and she spent the next half an hour with a miniature rush on herbal tea and scented candles. Every few minutes, though, she found herself staring at the deck in suspicion. When she was finally alone again, she grabbed a bottle of water from the mini-fridge she kept in the office and then returned to deal with the tarot. She refused to be fearful of a simple deck of cards.
Sitting down on the stool, she steeled herself and grabbed the top card, the last one in the spread. With more trepidation than she’d ever admit to, she turned it over and hung her head. Apparently all the fates were laughing hysterically, right at her. She set the card down and sighed, deeply. The Lovers, in the upright position, it didn’t get much clearer than that. “Of course.”
With the last of his errant runaways returned to their parents, Nico found he had not terribly much to do at work. That was a good thing, since he had barely slept since he’d parted company with Nahia. She was…he shook his head and laughed at himself, since he was still unable to think of a word that fully encompassed the force of nature that was Nahia.
Between her and the events of the previous night, his brain hadn’t
slowed down enough to even look at sleep, much less engage in it. Between racing down her curves and trying to figure out what the hell was going on with the disembodied voice, his mind was exhausted.
He sighed, his lips automatically smiling at the mere thought of her. She was unconventionally stunning, and there was nothing more he could say about it. The way her jeans clung to her ass, her legs, her…he wasn’t objectifying a woman he barely knew, really, Nico chastised himself. He was just so struck by her, and not just her looks. Her intellect, her quirky personality, it was all so different and captivated, and now he was mooning like a twelve-year-old boy. Great.
Looking over his excruciatingly organized desk, he decided to bite the bullet. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know, at least in the in-depth concrete way, what happened at that house. The whole idea of it was creepy and disturbing. The scientific side of him was inordinately curious about the origin of the voice last night, and the slamming door. He wasn’t one to necessarily believe in ghosts in the first place, having had no such experience before, and now… Hell, now he didn’t know what to believe. Was it a ghost? Maybe. Could she communicate with them? Given last night’s performance, probably. Could she really help this restless soul? He had no freakin’ clue.
At war with his scientific side was his more philosophical side. Should he really be looking into this? Did he believe helping her would accomplish anything? He couldn’t deny the creepy feelings he’d had in the place, which had only intensified as they’d gone upstairs. Honestly, he’d half-expected them to find the walls completely drenched in blood or something equally visually traumatic, and had been relieved to find the place merely dusty. But setting the spirit free? He still wasn’t entirely sold.
Still, Nico found himself sifting through property records and police reports in hopes of bringing some info with him when he met up with Nahia later on that evening. He didn’t want to disappoint her, that much both sides of his personality could agree on readily. The fact that she’d agreed to his offer of help was impressive enough, since she was obviously not used to working with rookies in the field, but the thought of coming to her empty-handed was just unconscionable.
It was a long afternoon, filled with police and newspaper reports of lurid tales of murder, familial intrigue, and mayhem, and while he wasn’t entirely surprised given the house’s age and overall feel when he’d been there, he knew it would make Nahia happy. He was just grabbing his suit jacket to go when his phone went off, and the information he received had him cursing the gods. In addition to his spot in missing persons, he served another, equally important function within the police department: that of a negotiator.
Highly skilled due to his Master’s in Psychology, and specially trained, when subjects were barricaded inside their houses or hostages taken, and SWAT needed assistance securing a peaceful and bloodshed-free outcome to the situation, he was one of the people called to respond. Especially when he was the on-call for it. Dammit.
His regret was palpable, and the folder full of information would have to wait. Nico dialed Nahia’s number as he walked out to his car.
“Well hello, Detective.”
Her voice scrambled his brains. It was like shaking an Etch-A-Sketch and all cogent thought left his head when he heard it. She wasn’t trying to be sexy or purr seductively, of that he was damn near certain, but the effect was the same. “Um… Yeah, hi, Nahia. About tonight, I can’t make it.”
“Oh, okay then. Change your mind?” Her immediate acceptance of his bad news didn’t mask the disappointment in her voice.
He hit the siren as he pulled out of the lot, heading to his designated staging area for the SWAT callout. “Not at all.” His eyes fell briefly to the folder in the passenger seat of the Nissan. “Something came up.”
Her little giggle before she answered was just too cute. Nico frowned at himself in the rearview mirror; he was just this side of fawning. “From the siren in the background, I’d say so. Give me a call when you’re done. If I’m up, I’ll answer. Sound good?”
Nahia’s suggestion that he call her in the middle of the night with the possibility of her being in bed spun out an entire fantasy in his head in a matter of seconds. “Sounds perfect.”
When she hung up the phone, Nahia actively fought against the wave of disappointment. As much as she told herself it was because it was a delay in her research for the mansion, she knew it was really because she’d wanted to see Nico. She’d been thinking about him all day, much to her dismay and annoyance. Well, actually, much to her curiosity and mild arousal, but that was where the annoyance came in.
Why, oh why, did people who were in a relationship insist on thrusting all their single friends together? There was a happiness and peace that came from being alone, at least for her. She liked relying on herself and being the sole purveyor of her own happiness. Not that she was celibate, she just never saw the need to keep them around for very long. It worked out well for all involved.
Nahia sighed as she locked the front door and turned the sign to ‘Closed’. Nothing left for her to do but her weekend cleansing of the business. She wasn’t a practicing witch anymore. Hadn’t really been in several years. She kept the holy days, and some useful rituals for both personal and professional use, but for the most part, it was just part of the store she ran and the life she’d led.
In a cabinet under the register, she kept a box with sacred markings and seals, in which she kept her implements for keeping the store free from…well, everything. Ghost hunting came with risks, including the possibility of taking things back with her that she didn’t want or appreciate, and she had no way to tell what her customers were up to, so it was best to keep the protective gear on hand and to cleanse liberally, weekly.
She went to each window, anointing it with an oil blend she’d whipped up herself and checking the imperceptible seals she’d written on each sill, making sure they were visible and intact. Then she anointed the doorways and marked them as well, leaving the thresholds and kickplates for last. She had just returned to pick up her chalk when her cell phone rang in her pocket.
One look at the screen and she was confused. “I thought you had something to do.”
“They just disregarded me. How are you? Are you still at the store? How do you feel about pizza and beer?” She could hear the road flying past him as he drove, what sounded like a spirited discussion of the Yankees offense on the radio in the background.
“Um…yeah! I’m good. I’m still here.” The call and subsequent barrage of questions left her a bit stunned.
He chuckled softly and turned down the radio. “And the pizza?”
Nahia cringed at herself. She was acting like this was her first date. “Um, yeah. Sounds good.” She couldn’t stop saying ‘um!’ What was wrong with her?
“Great. What do you want on your pizza?”
The first thing that came to her lips was ‘um’, but she fought it off valiantly. “Pepperoni’s fine.” It was difficult to screw up pepperoni pizza, not impossible, but the odds were long. Anything more complicated increased the risk, and most people from regular pizzerias had no idea what a heart of palm was, much less how to cook with it.
“Well, you’re easy!” he said on a laugh as the car engine died.
“And I think you don’t know me well enough to make such a sweeping generalization!” she responded immediately, sending them both into giggles. “Okay, well, when you’re done, come on by. I’ll be here. Park in back and I’ll let you in the door off the alley.”
“I’m refraining from making a comment about ‘back door action’.” She could tell he was still tickled and feeling as silly as she was.
“Yeah, that’s probably for the best. I don’t know you well enough for that yet, either.” When she looked down and found herself twirling the end of her braid between her fingers, she started. She was, apparently, in full-on sixteen-year-old-girl mode.
“I’ll take heart that you inserted ‘yet’ into that sentence and see you i
n a few.”
Nahia said her goodbyes and scrubbed a hand down her face as she dropped her head in shame. This was going to a long damn night.
Nico checked the numbers on the door before he kicked it instead of knocking. Her store was easy to find from the front, much more difficult when cruising up the alley. He had just juggled the folder with his findings, pizza, and six-pack of longnecks to one hand to knock properly when the door popped open.
In the back of his mind, Nico had somewhat convinced himself she was not that breathtaking, and his reaction to her was merely due to adrenaline and heightened circumstances. Seeing her now, though, proved that part of his brain was an idiot. Her hair was still braided, and even the streak of white chalk on her cheek couldn’t diminish the radiance of her smile and sparkling eyes. Today she was in a close fitting Pink Floyd t-shirt from Dark Side of the Moon, and another pair of jeans that were old enough to work full-time. What was curious, though, were the bare feet with silver-painted toenails he saw peeking out from beneath their hem.
“Bare feet?” He couldn’t imagine working a full day without shoes, but then, it wasn’t his shop and they weren’t his rules.
She shrugged and let him pass into the back storage area. “You caught me finishing up for the day. Just little odds and ends.”
After she closed and locked the door behind him, he noticed the cavernous feel of the room, with a single fluorescent light overhead and boxes labeled and stacked high, making her nearness that much more evident. She smelled like heaven, a mix of oranges and maybe jasmine, and if his hands hadn’t been full, he would have validated his theory about the softness of her hair. He also saw the chalk on her face matched that on her palms, the floor just inside the threshold of the door, and a random palm print on the back of her thigh. “You got an ant problem or something?”
She tilted her head with her eyes narrowed until he looked at her hands and at the door, then she blinked and smiled nervously. “Oh, yeah, not so much. Chalk is good for keeping lots of things out besides ants.”
Dead and Disorderly (Behind the Blue Line Series Book 2) Page 3