by Marie Harte
“What just happened to me?” he demanded. “I felt… Did you do that?”
She didn’t answer him, only shook her head, pleading with her eyes.
Alex looked to the girl and then back to Eve. “You don’t want her to know I’m here.”
Eve shook her head again and quickly turned away when the girl closed the fridge.
Alex stared at the back of her auburn head. She had somehow taken control of him and that was something he would not allow to happen again.
Despite the fact her daughter was in the room, Alex strode up behind Eve and leaned over her shoulder. “Don’t ever do that again or you’ll be sorry you did.”
He didn’t miss her shiver and satisfied, he turned, stepping back, unintentionally blocking the kid. Out of habit he instantly moved to the side as to avoid hitting her, the same instant she moved to avoid him.
Chapter Four
Miles slowly sipped his coffee as he studied the police reports.
Detective Cade Taylor remains in I.C.U at Memorial. Resident Doctor reports that, although Cade is in stable condition, there has been no sign of improvement. The severity of his injuries will in all likelihood result in a permanent state of vegetation. Detective Taylor’s wife, Mrs Justine Taylor, 30, was killed instantly. An autopsy was performed, cause of death resulting from impact of a moving vehicle. Her remains are currently located at Memorial, until such time as a family member steps forward to claim her body.
Unlike the first report filed three days before, this new report included the details of the autopsy. No mention of a pregnancy. Miles sighed. He had killed the wrong woman. And a cop. Shit. This complicated things. The locals would be raining down a shit storm until they locked someone away for trying to kill one of their own. He would have to walk a little softer until the investigation was over.
Gripping his hands behind his head, Miles remembered how the driver had fought to keep the truck on the road. He was the only one who knew the old-timer had been fighting a losing battle. As he had watched from a distance, Miles’d had full view of the accident, which was what it appeared to be—nothing more than an accident. Just like he had planned it.
* * * *
As Eve walked Noelle to the bus, the grey guy decided to tag along. Waving goodbye to Noelle, Eve felt him standing behind her. Of course she felt the stares of the other mothers too. At least that was normal. Standing next to a man that could possibly be…dead was not normal. Is he dead? Her stomach dropped, terrified at the thought. No, he can’t be dead. She didn’t see the dead.
“Why are those women staring at you?” he asked.
Ignoring him, Eve folded her arms over her stomach and marched back to the house. With a man, who could very well be dead, following her? Nope, definitely not normal. She wanted to run, get as far from him as possible and fast.
Eve ran up the steps, reached the door first, and opened it just enough for her to slip through, and then quickly shut it behind her. Holding it closed, she could see him standing on her porch watching her through the window in the door.
“You can’t stay here. Go back to your body.”
He cocked his head, studying her briefly, then slowly shook his head.
Eve rested her forehead against the door. “Please,” she moaned. “I can’t help you. Why won’t you listen?”
“Because you haven’t given me an acceptable answer.”
The answer came from behind her.
Startled, Eve whirled to face him and snapped. “What are you doing?” She was shaking from fear, anger and suddenly frustration. “Go. Go. Go. Go.”
She almost yelled the last ‘go’ and, embarrassed, stepped back from him.
Locking eyes with him, she waited for him to do something, but he just stared at her. No anger, no frustration, no amusement. It was getting kinda weird…and kinda scary. “What?” She threw her hands up. “Are you just going to stand there staring at me?”
This time he smiled. The pull of his lips was slow and she couldn’t help but stare back. The look, described in one word…sexy. No wait, I mean evil. No! Not sexy. What the hell. Not sexy. Just evil. Plain old evil.
“Yes,” he clarified. “I am, until you answer my question.”
Her shoulders slumped as she sighed. “I told you, I can’t help you.”
“That’s not the question I want an answer to. Why were those women staring at you? Do they know what you do?”
“Oh!” She hadn’t been expecting that and wasn’t quite sure if she should answer him, it was none of his business. But…if she did answer him, maybe he would disappear. She placed her hands on her hips. “Do they know if I’m a Physical Therapist? I have no idea and don’t care. And I have no idea why they stare, they just do. Now please go,” she asked politely. Maybe nice manners would help her cause. “I don’t have time for this. Go find someone else to help save that secretary.”
His eyes drifted over her face. “There is no one else, only you.”
Actually there was at least one other she knew about with the same ability, and she knew, that person would not appreciate any name-dropping, especially when this guy was the median.
“Please try to understand I…” She stopped when she heard a car pull into the driveway.
“Who’s that?”
Eve blinked and found him standing only an inch away from her, his gaze directed at the car parked outside of her house. His strength and power vibrated through her body, it caused her muscles to tingle and her stomach to clench. The intensity was so strong she had to take a step away from him. She wanted to take another when he looked down at her. She sucked in a breath. His eyes were glowing again. Like miniature blue lights.
“Evening.” His voice was low, just above a whisper. “Who is that?”
Opening her mouth didn’t make the words come out, she just gawked up at him. She couldn’t believe this was happening. Since when did medians have glowing eyes and when had she become such a coward?
Anger over her own cowardice rose quickly when the question popped into her head. She was not a coward. This was her home, not his, she would not allow this…this…soul with beautiful, glowing eyes to scare her.
“That is my first patient of the day.” She reclaimed her original spot.
Raising dark eyebrows, he looked down his nose at her. It was the look of someone used to getting their own way.
“Who is he?”
“That’s none of your business.” She moved to the door.
“Make it my business.”
“Why? It’s not like he can see you. What difference does it make?”
How could Alex explain his need for control to this woman? She had no concept of the man he was. The years spent training with the military had sharpened his mind and strengthened his body. Yet, it was the years he’d spent with the Guardian Project that had developed his natural desire for control. Controlling all aspects of the world around him was a simple fact of living and dying. That control had also saved many lives. But she wouldn’t know that, no one would.
Alex inhaled slowly, struggling to find patience he wasn’t sure he had.
Eve brushed past him as she moved to the door. He knew he wouldn’t feel her touch, yet he felt…something when she passed.
She turned as she reached the door. “Go. Please,” she implored again. The look on her face caused him to frown. Not because she had recited those words, yet again, to him but because he was actually considering giving her what she wanted and leaving her alone. He wished he could give her that, but he wouldn’t.
Besides, he didn’t like it when people lied to him and she was lying. She was capable of putting him back into his body—he read it on her face, in the movement of her hands and body.
The Guardian Project had spent long hours and millions of dollars teaching their soldiers how to read and interrupt body language. After all, if the people he hunted were on his kill list, they’d been good enough to avoid traditional police and military forces and he had to be better
in order to stop them. So it was easy for him to recognise Eve’s fear and anxiety, just as it was easy for him to recognise when she was lying.
Though he didn’t like the lying he could handle it, now the fear…that was unusual for him to deal with. Never in his life had a woman been so afraid of him. That fear puzzled him. Deep in his gut he knew there was more—she wasn’t telling him the whole truth. Shit she wasn’t really telling him anything. It didn’t matter—he would not walk away just because Eve was scared. He would not let Miles kill Jillian. She and her baby would live.
He shook his head. “No.”
She closed her eyes and drew a deep breath. “I won’t help you.”
“Yes you will.” He took a step closer to her. “And I’m going to haunt you until you give me what I want.”
“Haunt me.” Her eyes grew wide as a shiver shook her from head to toe.
“Mmm.” He winked. “I’m not leaving your side until you put me back in my body.”
Heavy footsteps echoed on the front porch.
“No,” she whispered, her eyebrows pressed together. “I won’t help you.”
“Yes. You. Will.” Then, nodding towards the door. “Want me to get that?”
Chapter Five
Plastering a smile on her face, Eve threw the door open and greeted Sergeant Dave Mills. Dave had been coming to see her for weeks, the time he had spent with her had done wonders for him and not just for his injured leg. Dave’s overall wellbeing had improved since his first appointment with her—although she could see that today wasn’t a good day for him.
Eve stopped next to the door to her studio and waited for Dave to enter. The man in grey suddenly stood directly behind Dave, watching her. She did her best to ignore him and focused on Dave. “Are you coming in?” When he didn’t answer she spanned the small distance between them and, using the gift God had given her, Eve began Dave’s treatment in her front hall.
“Would you like me to take your coat?” Eve asked, using her voice to soothe Dave.
The man studied her with a deep frown, then shook his head.
“Okay,” Eve began, keeping her words in the same light tone. “Why don’t we sit here and you can tell me what’s going on.” She paused briefly, but knew she would have to keep talking, if she wanted him relaxed enough so he would tell her what was going on. “Or we can go into my office where the chairs are more comfy, or into the studio and I can give that leg a look-see and a nice massage?”
The long-winded sentence worked, he expelled a long breath. “You talk a lot.”
Eve hid her relief in a smile and rolled her eyes. “Like I haven’t heard that one before.”
Dave was feeling better but he needed more, so she kept her voice at the same level.
“You do talk a lot.” The median commented. “And your voice is different again.” There was an underlying warning to his words. “Why?”
Ignoring the comment, Eve urged Dave into the studio. “Come on.”
He followed her in and she shut the door quickly before the median could enter. She wasn’t about to be courteous to him—if he wanted into this room he could bloody well float through the damn wall.
Turning to Dave, she heard a deep chuckle from behind her. “Closing the door isn’t going to stop me.” The words were spoken next to her ear in a low amused tone. The median’s enjoyment at the situation pissed her off, but not as much as the fact that she couldn’t answer him back.
Eve looked at Dave and did the only thing she could do with an annoying median, she ignored him. “Okay, soldier drop’em and have a seat.”
Dave did as she asked, then looked seriously at her. “I hope you weren’t offended by what I said in the hallway?”
Eve focused on massaging what was left of his calf muscle. “Of course not.” The wound had healed but the scars still looked red and sensitive.
“I like how you talk, I find it very comforting. Whenever I have a shitty day, I come here and listen to you talking about Noelle or whatever else and it has a way of calming me down and I feel better.” He wrinkled up his nose. “I always dread talking to women about emotional stuff, but not you.”
“That’s because I’m a fantastic therapist and a wonderful human being,” she teased, then saw him grimace when she ran her thumb over a tender area. “Still sore here eh?”
He gave her one nod, then flared his nostrils.
They were quiet for some time as Eve worked on his calf and once she had moved down to his foot, she levelled her voice and asked. “What’s going on Dave?”
Sighing Dave laid back, covered his face with a big muscled arm. “I saw his wife last night.”
“That must have been uncomfortable.” Eve watched him from the end of the table. She needed to keep him calm while he talked about his friend’s widow. “How did she handle it?”
“She cried when she saw me…”
“And?”
“She hugged me, and said she was happy I was back home.”
“So…it went better than you thought it would?”
“Yah. It still fucked me up though. I keep thinking about him and how he died.”
“Dave,” Eve began. The faint musical pitch was barely audible and had taken her years to perfect, but it would help heal the pain Dave felt. Not the pain from his injury but the pain that was lodged deep in his soul. When that pain was healed, he would feel better or at the very least, it would help him come to terms with the loss of his friend. “It’s okay to remember your friend and you are going to think about the day he died. It’s only natural. I used to think about my mom’s death all the time. Then I had Noelle and, as time passed, the memory faded and my life went on. A screaming baby has a way of snapping you back to the land of the living.”
Dave pushed up on his elbows and looked at her. “So you’re saying I need a screaming baby?”
She chuckled. “No, smart ass. I’m saying you need someone to help you through this.”
Dave’s gaze dropped away from hers, his brows wrinkling together. “Deb wants me over for dinner. She’ll want to talk about Jeff.”
“Of course she will,” Eve agreed. “But isn’t sharing it with her better than keeping it to yourself? You both have a chance to lean on each other for support. Who better to understand what you are feeling than her?”
Alex stood behind Eve, listening to the conversation. It didn’t take a genius to realise that this soldier had lost his friend in the same incident in which he had been wounded. He seemed to be still coming to terms with it, which, no doubt, would take some time but Eve was helping, Alex could see that. The sergeant had been in bad shape when he’d first arrived, the anger clear on his face when he had turned towards the house. It was that look that’d had Alex demanding that Eve tell him who this man was. His apprehension was unwarranted, however. Eve and her short one-sided conversation had soothed away the anger. In seconds, Dave had been feeling better and had admitted as much.
Alex wasn’t a fool, it wasn’t her advice that was helping this man it was her voice. It was hard to catch because it was so subtle, but he had heard it. The lilt was almost feathery, a musical brush to the skin. The different range and tone for each word had a calming effect not just on the sergeant, but him too. It was the same sensation he felt in her kitchen earlier when her daughter was there.
A sudden realisation had Alex turning to Eve. She hadn’t been trying to calm him this morning. She had been using that musical lilt on her daughter. Was she trying to keep the kid calm while he was in the room? He remembered the love on Eve’s face when her daughter walked into the room. No, it wasn’t a one-time thing—it was a natural response and probably a habit. He focused on her, studied her. No fake smiles, no nervous movements, no avoiding eye contact, Eve was what she appeared to be…a person that cared.
She heals the body and the soul. Alex remembered the words. When one is brought to her broken, not only does she heal the body but the soul as well. Alex watched as she joked with the soldier and worked
on his torn up leg. She was a healer. The blonde was right.
He shouldn’t torment her when she was helping this man. And he was tormenting her. She was doing her best to ignore him but he saw her eyes swing over his way occasionally. He should respect this soldier and leave the room, letting Eve to do her job in peace, but he wouldn’t.
Alex spent the remainder of the day watching Eve with her three other patients. He stood on the opposite side of the room so she could see him and he had a clear view of her face. Every so often, he would comment on something she said, and would grin to himself when she gritted her teeth and carried on with her task.
Her last patient of the day was a young infantry private. He had damage to both knees and one ankle, leading Alex to believe that the private belonged to a jump unit and had injured himself in a practice jump. As Eve worked on the soldier, she spoke in the same calming voice she had used with her other patients, except this time the patient looked at her as more than just a therapist, he was looking at her as a woman. Before he could stop himself Alex inched closer and taunted her. “Stop teasing him already and put a smile on his face.” Her nostrils flared. Alex fought to contain his laugh as he continued. “Come on Eve, do your part for our young warriors.” He stood up, satisfied when she closed her eyes and sighed loud enough for the kid to hear.
“Is everything okay Eve?” the private asked.
Eve opened her eyes and smiled sweetly at him. “Yup. I just have an annoying buzzing in my ear and it will stop once it realises I will not help it.”
The kid blinked, confused over her bizarre statement. Alex laughed.
By the end of the appointment she was pissed off and showed it the moment the young private drove away.
“Really?” She slammed the heavy front door. “Do you have to be so tacky?”
Alex raised an eyebrow.
“Don’t look at me like you don’t know what I’m talking about.” She huffed and turned, stomping into her office. Smiling, Alex had to follow her. Apparently, he had got on her nerves more than he thought. A few more days like this and he’d be back in his body.