The Curse Breakers

by Denise Grover Swank

  “Okay.”

  “I’ll pick you up at your flat if that’s okay. Think of someplace that serves good seafood.”

  He smiled and his face lit up, making him look even more gorgeous than usual. If I were the swooning type of girl, I would have been in a heap on the floor. As it was, my stomach fluttered with anticipation.

  “Have a good day, Ellie.”

  “You too.” I watched him leave, wondering how he’d gotten the upper hand.

  After working on the main rooms at the inn, I left for my shift at Darrell’s.

  When I got there, I reviewed the daily specials and headed to the dining room to check on the flatware, hoping for an uneventful second day.

  Carly was standing behind the cash register counting money in the drawer, but she glanced up when I walked by. “Oh, Ellie. I forgot. I came in to work part of the dinner shift last night and a couple of guys were in here asking about you.”

  I froze in my tracks and tried to act nonchalant. “Really? What did they say?”

  She thumbed through a stack of bills, then put it in the drawer. “They asked if I knew a redheaded woman named Ellie.”

  “And what did you tell them?”

  “I asked if they knew you from the New Moon. I figured they were regulars of yours there.”

  “And . . . ?”

  Carly scrunched her nose and shrugged. “I told them you were working the lunch shift today.”

  Carly was right. They could have been regulars from the New Moon. I was probably overreacting. “What did they look like?”

  “A couple of beefy guys.”

  So much for my cockeyed optimism.

  Carly unlocked the doors and the sight of a police car pulling into the parking lot actually gave me comfort. Talk about a 180-degree change.

  A few customers trickled in and I kept a close watch on the door. Tom and his deputy friend weren’t there, and though Collin showed up, he was seated in a different section. I caught him watching me, but I did my best to ignore him. I considered telling him about Wapi’s visit and his information about Ukinim but decided to keep that to myself for now. Collin knew that animals were being killed. Did it really matter to him whether or not these particular deaths were sanctioned by Okeus?

  The usual swarm of worries and fears was still swirling through my head, with the added worry that Marino’s men had found me, so I was thankful I could concentrate on the lunch crowd and forget them for a while. I was starting to feel okay again when Tom came into the dining room wearing his police uniform. He looked like he was a man looking for something other than the seafood platter. Sure enough, his eyes searched the room and landed on me.

  Oh, shit.

  Collin, who had kept tabs on me throughout his lunch, watched as Tom strode toward me.

  “Ellie, I’d like to ask you a few questions.”

  I glanced down at the table I was serving. “Can this wait, Tom? I’m in the middle of something right now. My job.”

  “No.” His voice was firm. “We can either go outside to talk or we can go down to the station. Which would you prefer?”

  My face flushed with anger, but I stuffed it down. “I’m sorry,” I said to the customers at my table, who seemed touchingly concerned about me. What with their Outer Banks and “The Lost Colony Lives!” T-shirts, they were almost certainly tourists.

  Collin sat several tables away, in full eye- and earshot of our conversation. His complete attention was focused on me.

  “This is my ex-boyfriend Tom, and he seems to have lost his mind.” I tilted my head to the side and cast a glance at him. “We had a wild and crazy two weeks, but now he thinks he can dictate everything I do.” I turned to Tom, whose mouth had dropped open in shock. “I don’t care that you had my name tattooed on your ass, you don’t own me, Tom Helmsworth. Using your uniform to make me do whatever you want is abusing your power.” I winked at Collin. “Even if we had a wild night with those handcuffs.”

  Tom’s face turned crimson.

  Collin smirked, enjoying the show. Bastard.

  I leaned closer to the table. “If y’all will wait just a few minutes longer, I’ll get rid of him, and your drinks or dessert will be on me.”

  That seemed to appease them, even though I knew the comp was coming out of my tips. I shoved Tom’s arm. “We need to get this settled once and for all.”

  Tom looked like I’d whacked him upside the head as he stumbled toward the back door. Carly stood staring at me bug-eyed from behind the cash register as I followed Tom outside.

  “I’ll be right back.” I offered her a sweet smile, but I had serious doubts I’d be invited back to Darrell’s Restaurant, either as a waitress or a customer, if the police kept questioning me while I was working.

  The hot, humid air seemed to finally restore Tom to his senses after I shoved him through the back door. As he regained his footing, Collin’s parked truck caught my eye.

  “You can’t do that, Ellie!”

  I put my hands on my hips. “Seems like I just did.”

  “You know what I mean! You made me look like a fool!”

  “And how do you think you made me look? All those people think I’m a criminal! My tips will suck.”

  “There are bigger things at stake here than your tips.” Tom gave his head a hard shake and leaned against the Dumpster.

  “What’s so important it can’t wait the two hours until my shift ends?”

  “We found a dead body!”

  Why would Tom specifically search me out and tell me about finding a dead body? Then it hit me. “Myra.” I stumbled backward and clutched my chest. My head felt light and my knees began to buckle.

  Tom’s eyes flew open and his anger faded. “No. God, Ellie I’m sorry. It wasn’t Myra.” He saw my face and added. “Or Claire.”

  “I need to sit down.”

  To my surprise, Tom grabbed my upper arm and led me to the curb. I crouched down and put my head between my upright knees, taking several deep breaths until my head cleared.

  “You’re right. I should have handled this better, but I know you’re hiding things, and I’m frustrated that you won’t tell me what you know. If I knew what in the hell was going on, I might have a chance to stop it.”

  More like what had been loosed from hell. “You can’t stop it,” I mumbled and then closed my eyes. Now what on earth had possessed me to say that?

  “Why not, Ellie?”

  I sat up. “What made the colony reappear?”

  He shuddered in surprise as he searched for a ready answer. “It was uncovered by a storm.”

  “That’s bullshit and you know it. That storm was nothing compared to the storms we usually have. Hell, Hurricane Irene caused more damage than that pathetic storm.”

  His shoulders tensed. “That’s the official answer.”

  “And what’s the unofficial answer?” I was genuinely curious.

  He looked out into the parking lot. “We don’t know.” Tom’s face tensed, and he turned to me with a determined look in his eyes. “But I think you do.”

  I rolled my eyes with a groan. “I’m not rehashing this conversation. Ask me what you came to ask.”

  He turned serious. “Someone found the body of a young woman this morning, close to the marshes by the condos a little south of here.”

  A metallic taste coated my tongue and the screams from my nightmare echoed in my head. I fought a wave of nausea as I waited for what he was going to say, preparing myself not to react. “And?”

  “Her abdomen was ripped open and her heart was removed, just like with those dogs.”

  “Wow. Have you called Animal Control yet?”

  “Goddamn it, Ellie!”

  I stood and looked up at him, balling my fists. “What do you want me to say? How did I become the resident expert in all things peculiar?”

  “You are putting people’s lives at risk by not telling me what you know!”

  A dark sedan pulled into a parking space at the back corner o
f the restaurant. Two guys got out and I immediately recognized one of them. They were Marino’s men. He and his now-dead partner had tried to abduct me before. They were pretty gutsy to pursue me in a restaurant with several police cars parked out front. Or desperate, which was always a bad sign.

  It was time to play my temporary solution to two problems card.

  I stood and turned to Tom. “You’re right. I got mixed up in some kind of trouble. I’m scared and don’t know what to do.”

  His eyes widened in surprise at my sudden change in attitude. “Okay . . .” He gave his head a slight shake. “I can protect you, Ellie. Tell me what’s going on.”

  “I’d love to give you a full statement, but while we were standing here talking, your two suspects just parked over there.” I pointed to their car.

  Tom’s jaw tightened. “If this is some kind of joke—”

  “It’s not! I swear!” I grabbed his arm. “The inn was hit pretty hard by the hurricane a few months ago and we lost business. I was desperate for money, so I took a pair of silver candlesticks to Buxton. I hocked them there.”

  “What does that have to do with—”

  “Listen to me! The guy I hocked them to mistook me for someone else and he thinks I’m involved with some crime deal. Those guys in that car”—I jabbed my finger in its direction—“They’re after me. They tried to kidnap me down in Morehead City and I barely got away. Somehow they tracked me here. I think they’re inside looking for me right now.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?”

  “I was embarrassed. I thought I could handle it on my own.”

  “Could they somehow be responsible for the dog mutilations and the murder this morning?”

  I hated to lie, so I came up with a half-truth. “I think they like to intimidate, and you have to admit it’s intimidating. They’ve been searching for me for weeks. I bet they were trying to flush me out.”

  Tom pressed the radio attached to his shoulder and called for backup. Given that there were other officers in the restaurant, it seemed unnecessary. All he needed to do to get help was holler through the back door. He turned his attention on me. “What do they look like?”

  I saw movement at the side of the building. The guys were opening their car doors. I nodded in their direction. “You can see for yourself.”

  Tom’s head jerked up. After taking a moment to study them, he pushed me toward the door. “Go inside, Ellie.”

  “Tom, be careful.” I said, hoping he took me seriously. “These guys don’t mess around.”

  “Go inside,” he barked, moving toward the car.

  I opened the back door like I was about to go inside, then dashed behind the Dumpster while Tom had his back to me.

  The guys were climbing into the car, their gazes fixed on Tom. His hand rested on his gun. “I’d like to ask you a few questions.”

  The passenger’s gaze shifted to me and his eyes lit up with recognition. I could tell he wanted to come after me, and I was terrified he’d gun Tom down to do it. But after giving Tom another quick glance, he got inside the vehicle, slamming his door shut as the car jerked backward.

  Tom pulled his gun from its holster and pointed it at the moving car. “Stop!”

  The sedan tore out of the parking lot, tires squealing.

  Tom ran around the corner as several sirens filled the air, coming from the front parking lot.

  “You sure know how to stir up trouble,” Collin said from behind me.

  Startled, I spun around to face him. “What are you doing back here?”

  “Checking on you. I wasn’t sure if Officer Fife was going to arrest you or not.” He gazed across the parking lot. “I’m not sure whether telling him about your suitors was a good idea. There’s a good chance you’ve just exponentially increased the danger you’re in.”

  “Not if Tom and the other officers catch them.”

  “There’s always more on their heels, Ellie.” He sounded tired, like he knew from experience.

  I closed my eyes. I suspected he was right.

  Collin grabbed my arm. “Come on.”

  I jerked out of his hold. “Why would I go anywhere with you?”

  “Ellie, you’re in real danger. Don’t you get that?”

  “The police can protect me.”

  He snorted. “And can they protect you from the thing that killed that woman last night?”

  He had a point.

  Collin’s hand slipped into mine so easily and naturally that I actually let him pull me halfway across the parking lot to his truck. “Wait. Where are we going?”

  “I’m going to hide you. We’re going to my boat.” He opened the passenger door.

  I dug my feet into the ground. “For how long?”

  “Indefinitely.”

  “What? No!”

  Collin pushed me against the side of the truck, pressing his body into mine. My legs barely held me up. “Ellie, how many times do I have to apologize? I’m sorry, okay? Do you know how many times I’ve apologized in my life? I could count them on one hand, and most of them have been to you.” His hand slid up my neck, digging into my hair, and my traitorous body leaned into him. His mouth hovered over mine, and I could tell he was trying to resist me as much as I was trying to resist him. We were supposed to be fleeing, not making out.

  “I can’t.”

  “Why? I can’t stand here and watch you get hurt. Or worse.”

  “I have a date.” I didn’t mean to say it like that, but it was the first thing that came to mind.

  Collin’s hand stiffened in my hair. “You what?”

  His reaction was enough for me to push on with my deception. He deserved it and more. “A professor of Native American studies is here working at the colony site. He’s offered to help me.”

  His expressionless face barely registered my words, but a slight tic in the corner of his eye gave him away. “Help you how?”

  “Help me send this thing away.”

  “What thing?”

  “Ukinim.”

  He leaned back, moving his hands onto the truck, one on either side of my body. “What the hell is a Ukinim?”

  “Are you serious? You really don’t know?”

  His blank face answered my question.

  “It’s the badger spirit that’s mutilating animals and eating their hearts. And apparently, now humans.”

  “Is this something he’s told you?”

  “No, it’s something Wapi told me.”

  His head jerked up and his eyes narrowed. “Why would Wapi tell you any of this? Why would he care?”

  “Because Ukinim doesn’t think Okeus’s rules apply to him, which makes me fair game. Okeus isn’t happy that I might not be around for his big surprise. Wapi was delivering a message warning me to be careful.”

  The color drained from his face. “Why didn’t you come to me?” He had the nerve to sound accusatory.

  “Because it happened last night. What would you have done, anyway?”

  “Protect you!”

  My anger flared white hot. “You gave up that duty when you betrayed me.”

  “Bullshit, Ellie. I told you the night before the ceremony that you would be my responsibility no matter what happened.” Collin grabbed my wrist and shoved me toward the open door. “You’re coming with me.”

  I jerked out of his grasp. “The hell I am!”

  “For Christ’s sake! Grow up, Ellie! How much of your tattoo is left?”

  I didn’t answer him.

  “Have you found Ahone’s mark yet?”

  “No.” And it burned a hole in my gut to admit that I hadn’t.

  “Your professor boyfriend doesn’t know it? Then what good is he?”

  “He’s trying to find it for me. Which is more than you’re doing.”

  His eyes narrowed. “Trying to find it. And what if he doesn’t?”

  “You know what.”

  Rage filled his eyes. “If you think I’m going to stand back and watch you g
et killed, then you’re delusional. You need a new mark, and I’ll tie you down if I have to and put a new one on your back myself.”

  “Like hell you will!”

  His mouth found mine and I lost myself in him, which is undoubtedly what he had planned. He pushed me through the open door, lifting me up onto the seat, my legs straddling his waist.

  “God, Ellie,” he groaned. “How can you fight this?”

  His mouth claimed mine before I could answer, and I found myself wondering the same thing.

  His hand skimmed up my back, underneath my shirt. “We have to go,” he said, but he didn’t pull away.

  “Collin.” No one had ever felt as right as he did.

  He was right. Our connection was more remarkable than anything I’d ever experienced. I was sure I would never find it with anyone else.

  But I couldn’t trust him.

  I started to cry, my heart breaking all over again.

  Collin pulled back, worry in his eyes. “What’s wrong?”

  I pushed him away from me. “I have to go.”

  He slid his hands down my back and up my arms, gripping my biceps gently. “Don’t go, Ellie. I need you.” There was a wistfulness in his voice I’d never heard before.

  “I need you too.” I looked into his eyes, my tears making his face blurry. “But it’s not enough.”

  I expected him to get angry, but he leaned his forehead against mine. “I know,” he whispered. He wiped a tear that had fallen down my cheek and pulled me to his chest, burying his face into my neck. “I just don’t know how to live without you.”

  My throat clogged with tears. I couldn’t stay here with him another moment. I pushed his shoulders again, and he released me this time, helping me down from the seat.

  He grabbed my left hand, putting it on his chest, and I looked up into his face, searching for proof that I should stay. That this time I could trust him. But all I saw was hopelessness.

  I gently pulled my hand from his and walked toward the back door of the restaurant.

  Collin’s truck started and pulled out of the parking lot.

  My heart left with him.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Tom showed up a couple of hours later as I was finishing my shift. The look of defeat on his face told me everything I needed to know.