by Susan Hayes
She took a seat across from him, and when his eyes met hers, the pain he saw there made him wish there was something a lot stronger than coffee in his mug. He’d left because it was the right thing to do. Why couldn’t she see that? He had failed her last night. It had been his hands that had hurt her while he had been controlled by someone else. Thoughts of what could have happened if he hadn’t gotten control back had kept him awake and on edge for the rest of the night.
Jase took a seat next to Michelle, and Sinjin found himself gritting his teeth as she turned to smile at his friend as though nothing at all was wrong, all the hurt she’d allowed him to see vanishing as she turned away from him.
“We’re just waiting for Anya to arrive, and then we can start.” Remington’s voice filled the office, drawing all eyes to him. “But before she gets here, I want to explain a bit about who and what she is.” He fidgeted in his chair, a surprising show of nerves from a man who had often been accused of having ice water in his veins. “Anya Anwyl is a psychic, a clairvoyant to be exact. Her credentials are extensive and impressive. She has helped police all over the country locate missing persons and solve cold case murders. Paladin has employed her several times, with a 100 percent success rate. So, no snickering, bad jokes, and none of your usual smart-ass remarks, Waters, or I’ll have you guarding penguins in Antarctica before the end of the week.”
Jase raised his hand. “What about good jokes? I tell a great knock-knock—”
“No.” Remington glowered at the blond pilot. “Behave yourself, just for a change of pace.”
“That’s the problem with being management. You have to give up your sense of humor,” Jase muttered as he lounged back into his chair.
The mood in the room shifted a half second before a soft knock sounded on the office door. It was as though a gentle thrum of energy lightened the air itself, like the sun had come out to shine after a long storm.
“Come in, Anya,” Remington called out.
Sinjin’s curiosity was high as he turned to watch the arrival of the woman Geoff Remington, a noted skeptic, believed was an actual psychic.
“Hello, Geoff.” Anya’s voice was gentle, but somehow her words carried to every corner of the office. She was a tiny thing, no more than five foot two. Her hair was dark red, with a lock of pure white that started just behind her left temple and flowed through the red strands, making it seem even darker by contrast. She was wearing a long, flowing outfit that had more colors than he could count, and as she walked into the room, Sinjin swore he heard bells ringing. The reason became obvious a moment later when he glanced down and realized that she was wearing a pair of delicate anklets with tiny silver bells attached. A second later, he had to swallow back a chuckle as he saw she wasn’t wearing any shoes. This is Remington’s psychic? No wonder he’d warned them not to snicker.
“You must be Michelle,” Anya turned to her and offered Michelle a smile. Then she went completely still, and her eyes stared off into space, unfocused. “Oh, I see,” she murmured a moment later and then glanced over at Sinjin with a knowing look before turning her attention back to Michelle. “It’ll work out, my dear, trust me. All that you have been through has prepared you for what is still to come, but I see better things coming for you, very soon.”
Her bottle-green eyes fell back to Sinjin, and she shook her head. “And you, stop feeling guilty for things that were not your fault. This isn’t over yet, not for any of you.” She seemed to come back to herself then, and her rueful laughter filled the room. “Forgive me being so forthright. It’s a bit of an occupational hazard. When I see things, I am often compelled to say something, even when I likely shouldn’t.”
“What, no fortune-telling for me?” Jase pouted.
Anya glanced at him, and her eyes widened in surprise. “In your case, I think it would be best if I stayed quiet. Your destiny hasn’t found you quite yet, but it will, soon. And I promise you’ll be quite happy when she does.”
“She?” Jase leaned forward, and Sin groaned as he recognized full flirtation mode kicking in. “Is she a blonde? A brunette? A redhead? Are you sure it isn’t a redhead?”
“Waters, I warned you.” Remington’s voice tone was close to a growl as he stood and offered Anya his seat, taking up a standing position by her shoulder.
“Sorry, sir,” Jase apologized, looking anything but repentant.
Anya drew a small bag from her purse and gently poured the contents out onto Remington’s desk, revealing five identical glass vials, all strung with a simple black cord. “I spoke to my friend Tristan before I came here. He has experience with this sort of thing, and I have followed his instructions carefully. He’s provided us with the means to accomplish our task. The first thing we all must do is to wear one of these, starting right now.”
She demonstrated by slipping the cord over her head so that the vial sat around her neck like a pendant. “You, too.” She glanced back at Remington and handed him one of the vials. “And don’t try to tell me you don’t need to. Trust me, you do. Just be thankful it’s nothing more than purified sea salt and essence of lavender.” Her tone turned droll. “They were all out of bat wings and adders’ forks at the local shop.”
They all dutifully took one of the vials and did as instructed, everyone carefully avoiding looking at Remington as he put his on with a look of utter distaste.
“These should protect each of you from Robert’s influence. So long as you are wearing it, he won’t be able to inhabit your body. It should also slow him down if he tries a physical attack, though I’m not sure how long it will hold him off. He’s far more powerful than your normal ghost.”
“Sea salt and flowers are ghost repellents? Does this mean we’re not going to get to use proton packs?” Jase picked up his vial and looked at it with disappointment. “Flower power seems a bit tame considering what’s going on.”
“They were all out of proton packs, too, sorry,” Anya joked. “Please believe me, this may seem simple, but it will work. Dealing with ghosts and the spirit world is an ancient art, and thus the ancient ways are the most effective. Geoff has given me the transcript of your debriefing, along with Sinjin’s notes on his experience a few hours ago. From what I have read, I believe your ghost is quite real, and furthermore he could only have gotten this powerful by making a deal with dark powers. His suicide, the change in his will, all of it was part of his plan.”
Anger coursed through Sinjin at the idea that Robert had been so driven to hurt and control Michelle that he’d given up his life and possibly his soul to continue tormenting her even after she’d escaped him. The man was more twisted than he’d ever imagined.
“Can you make this stop? Can you free Michelle from this son of a bitch?” he asked. God knows he wanted to believe this odd woman could do it.
“I believe we can, yes.”
“And this?” He touched the vial around his neck. “This will make sure I can’t hurt her again? So he can’t use me to get to her?”
Anya nodded. “Absolutely. Though I’m not sure why you think you’re capable of hurting Michelle. You aren’t you know, not at all. You’re her soul’s match. Robert can’t claim her because she’s supposed to be with you.” Her gaze slid from Sinjin to Remington for the barest of seconds before dropping to her hands. “Or are you another one who is bound and determined to ignore their destiny?”
Michelle startled and sat up, her eyes bouncing from Anya to him and back again. “He’s my soul mate?”
“Of course he is. You think all that chemistry sizzling between you is the product of only a few days? Would you have been willing to die for anyone else if they’d been the one in the lake yesterday?” Anya made an elegant gesture, interweaving her fingers and locking them together. “You’ve lived and loved each other for lifetimes already.”
Sinjin shook his head, Jase frowned, and even Remington looked pained as the three men looked at each other, then at the two women. “Can’t we just get rid of Casper the unfriendly ex and
deal with the rest of this later?” Sin asked. He was all for fixing Michelle’s problem so he could start trying to undo some of the hurt he’d caused her. But he’d be damned if he was going to start sharing his feelings and discussing soul mates and destiny, especially with Remington and Jase in the room.
“All right, I see I’ve disturbed all of your male sensibilities.” Anya laughed and winked at Michelle. “We’ll talk about this later.”
“You bet we will.” Michelle looked pointedly at Sinjin, and he caught the warning flash of determination in her eyes. Somehow he knew that look, though he’d never seen it on her face before. Deep in his heart, he knew it didn’t bode well for his status as a bachelor.
“Geoff, we’re going to need a private area, one without carpets, at least twenty feet across.” Anya threw her hands out wide, indicating a need for space. “We’re going to build a ghost trap, gentlemen. It’s time for Mr. Robert Tanner to leave this plane of existence and answer for what he’s done.”
Chapter 11
It had taken the men a while to organize up a suitable space, and Michelle had used the time to get to know Anya better. They had talked over breakfast in a quiet corner of the cafeteria. Jase had escorted them to their table, explaining that if they showed their visitor IDs, they wouldn’t be charged. He’d promised to come back in an hour or so, and then left the two women in peace. Sin hadn’t stayed a single second after the meeting had ended. He’d left so quickly there hadn’t been any chance for them to talk. It had hurt her deeply that he’d not even bothered to ask how she was doing. It didn’t seem fair that just as she had finally decided to stop running, Sinjin seemed to be the one bolting. They had gone from strangers to lovers, and now they were heading back toward being strangers again. This isn’t how she wanted things. She missed his presence in her life more than she would have imagined possible after such a short time.
Anya seemed to understand her distress and kept the conversation light, talking about some of the cases she had helped to solve and the antics of her pair of Siamese cats. By the time they had done breaking fast, Michelle felt as though she’d made another friend. She was thankful for the warm, positive energy that surrounded Anya and helped keep her own dark thoughts at bay.
“I think you should get some sleep while you can,” Anya told her as Michelle tried to stifle a yawn, the third one to strike since they’d sat down. “Makeup can hide the physical evidence, but I can sense how tired you are. You’re going to need all your strength to face your men later today.”
“My men? I don’t think either of them are mine, Anya. I left one, and the other one is doing his best to leave me.”
The other woman’s laughter was rich and warm as she took Michelle’s hand and squeezed it gently. “He’s just being stubborn, that’s all. Both of them are. Not that it will change anything. Destiny will have its way eventually. It always does. Sinjin is a man used to making the world obey him, not the other way around. It’s why he carries so much guilt. He takes on the blame for things that were never his responsibility in the first place. You’ll help him learn to let it go, when the time comes. And Robert, well, he’s broken the laws of the planes, and he will have to answer for those choices, very soon.”
“What do you think he did to make all this happen?”
“Tristan tells me there’s any number of spells Robert might actually have performed, but they all have similar outcomes. He struck a bargain with something evil. Some sort of deal that gives him the ability to control at least some of the elements. He’s already demonstrated control over air and water. He’s something more than a ghost, and less than a demonic force, though we have no doubt that is eventually what he is destined to become. There’s only one price the Darkness would accept in exchange. He’s given them his soul.”
“There are really demons out there?” Michelle found herself holding onto the talisman Anya had given her, her hand suddenly shaking.
“The world is full of wonders, and terrors. I’m sorry your introduction to the supernatural was one tainted by the dark side. There’s so much more to it than you’ve seen. But we’ll talk about that another time.” Anya’s fingers squeezed her hand once more, and a wave of warmth spread up Michelle’s arm and through her body. “You’ll be safe with that talisman on, so why don’t you get some rest and I’ll put the others to work getting things ready.”
“I think that sounds like a good idea.” She nodded, suddenly feeling incredibly tired. “Must be the food. I’m really ready for a nap now.”
“Must be,” Anya murmured and stood, helping her to her feet. “Oh look, there’s Jase now. He can navigate us back through this maze to your room so you can rest.”
* * * *
Michelle didn’t really remember the trip back to her room, or falling into bed, but when she woke it was only several hours later, and yet she felt like she’d slept for a week. “I think that sneaky Anya put some sort of whammy on me,” she grumbled as she got to her feet and checked her watch again. “I swear I wasn’t that tired until she touched my hand, and then boom! Lights out for Michelle.”
It was hard to resent whatever strange influence Anya may have had when the results spoke for themselves. She felt like herself again. The jittering edginess of a caffeine buzz had been replaced with an actual, sustainable sense of energy. Uncertain what the afternoon’s events would bring, she changed into jeans and a jersey knit shirt, tucking the salt-filled talisman under the fabric, against her skin. She pulled her hair back into a simple French braid and was just sliding an elastic into place to secure it when a triple knock sounded on the door.
“Hey, sleeping beauty, you’re on deck.” It was Jase’s voice, not Sin’s, and Michelle sighed in disappointment. Anya may believe he was her soul mate, but Sin was clearly not ready to face that possibility.
“I should have stuck to my plan to avoid men for the rest of my life. It was a good plan,” she muttered under her breath as she walked gingerly over to the door and greeted Jase with a smile. “Sleeping Beauty reporting for duty, sir.”
“Come along then. You can check out what we’ve been up to while you were out cold. Remington is having an attack of the screaming heebie-jeebies over what’s been done to parts of his nice, orderly building.”
They headed to the elevator, and Jase gave her a conspiratorial wink as the doors closed. “Check this out.” He grinned like a little boy who had discovered an unguarded cookie jar and pressed four of the buttons at the same time. He held them down for a three-count before releasing them again. Immediately a soft chime sounded and the elevator began to rise, but the floor counter still indicated they hadn’t moved. “This building has secured levels, all hush-hush secret-squirrel stuff. I had no idea until today. Of course, now I know I’m not allowed to tell anyone else, but it’s still damn cool.”
“Boys and their toys.” Michelle just laughed. “None of you ever really grow up.”
“Nope, never.”
The elevator started to slow to a stop, and he turned to look at her, his expression suddenly serious. “This isn’t going to be easy, Michelle. All fun and games aside, you’re one brave woman, and I’m honored I can help you face this. We all are. Sin’s worried about you, so if he snarls or acts like a bear with a sore paw, it’s just because it’s the only way us poor, emotionally closed-off guys know how to express our feelings, okay?”
“I’ll try to remember that.” A warm surge of sisterly affection filled her, and she leaned in to press a light kiss to Jase’s cheek as the elevator doors opened. “I’m glad you’re part of this.”
“Nice of you to finally join us.” Sin’s voice greeted them, his eyes glowing with barely checked emotions, none of them warm or the slightest bit fuzzy.
Shit. Sin had seen her kiss Jase. It didn’t matter that she and Jase knew it was just a friendly gesture of thanks. From the look on Sin’s face, he thought it was something else entirely. She opened her mouth, intending to explain, but instead of an apology, she surprise
d herself by going on the attack.
“Don’t you get all cranky with me, Sinjin Heath! You’re the one who walked out on me, remember?” She stepped out of the elevator and into Sin’s space, her finger poking him in the chest to emphasize her words. “If I want to kiss Jase, or Remington, or even Anya, that’s my decision, because you left! I didn’t want you to, but you did, and now you’re just going to have to suck it up!” She tipped her head up so she could meet his eyes, and her next words stuck in her throat as she saw the heat and desire burning in those dark depths.
“You’re not kissing anyone but me, ever again,” he ground out as his lips crashed down on hers and she felt his arms wrap around her, crushing her to him. “No one but me. Ever.”
Anger flared, shimmered, and then morphed into a blaze of need that left her weak-kneed and struggling to breathe. Held too tightly to move much, she still managed to somehow get her arms around Sin’s waist, her hands spanning his broad back. His tongue danced over her lower lip, and she opened her mouth to his, welcoming his possession of her body. Time stopped, and there was nothing but the two of them, entwined and needing each other. Finally a soft cough roused them both.
“Hate to break up this touching moment, but we’re expected down the hall.” Jase clearly couldn’t keep the laughter out of his voice. “And if you two keep that up any longer, I’m afraid you’ll set off the sprinkler system and ruin all our hard work.”
Sin kissed her one last time and then lifted his head with a reluctant sigh. “We’re not done talking about this.”
“I wasn’t aware we were talking at all.” She hugged him and then eased herself out of his arms, her entire body singing with a heady rush of happiness mixed with a healthy dose of lust.