by Marie Harte
“Please Eve. I’m strong enough, I can do it,” he urged quietly.
She gave in, praying she wouldn’t regret her decision. “I hope so.”
She moved to the chair on the opposite side of the room from the door and dragged it half way down the bed until she sat staring at Cade’s knees. Dropping her bag on the floor, she flipped open the top, pulled an old leather bound book from within and placed it on the bed.
Taking a deep breath she forced the fear out and the serenity in. She needed to be calm and in control, because if there was a dead soul nearby and they heard her fear while she was calling, it would be drawn to her. Gran said the dead fed on fear.
“Eve, we don’t have much time. Cade’s body has an expiry date.”
She repeated the deep breathing exercise, pushed all thoughts of Alex rushing her and Cade’s beaten body aside, and concentrated on merging soul with body.
Untying the leather straps, Eve opened the book and began turning the pages searching for the chant that would call to Alex. “Once I begin the calling—” She continued to turn the old paper as she spoke to Alex. “—every other soul, dead or otherwise will be drawn to it. There might be none or there could be many that answer it.” She pointed to the spot across from her on the other side of Cade’s body. “Stand there.”
Alex did as she asked. “Are you going to look at me?”
She ignored him and continued searching the book. “It’s always hard to find this poem. It was scribbled down in the outside margin. You’d think after years of studying this damn thing I’d know where it is,” she babbled.
“Eve will you please look at me.” He emphasised the ‘please’ with a tender push.
She raised her head as far as his stomach and he bent down the rest of the way. He locked his brilliant blues on her.
“You concentrate on merging me and I’ll take care of any problems.”
She jerked her head up and down.
“Eve”—His deep voice surrounded her name in warmth, and chased away her growing fear—“Everything is going to be okay.”
She nodded, blinking away the burning she felt in her eyes and scanning a few more pages, she caught sight of the small print. “I found it. Are you ready?” She looked up.
It was a stupid question. His face was void of all emotion, the muscles in his arms and chest flexed, his hands were clenched into fists and he was deeply focused. Oh, he was ready. He gave her a curt nod.
In the delicate yet smooth pitch Eve used on her patients, she began reciting the poem.
“Hear me.” The words were spoken in an endless flow of an awkward language. “Hear me call to you, Alex. Listen to my words and put your faith in me. I call to you.”
He had no idea what language she was speaking but understood every word.
“I call to you Alex. Allow me to unite body with soul so that both are whole. You are the essence of life. Bring your light and join with the strength of this body. Without your warmth the fire that is within will never be.”
Alex felt the feathery touch of Eve’s voice flow over him. Her words were drawing him closer when he suddenly felt the most foul, stomach-turning sensation. He blinked and it was gone.
Once more, he concentrated on Eve, peace washed over him again and he almost sighed. Eve had a beautiful, sultry voice. The way it brushed over his skin caused a need so deep he wanted nothing more than to bury himself in her body and get lost in her for days. He felt his lips curl up at the thought, when that vile sensation flooded him for a second time. His stomach tightened and he fought against the overwhelming nausea. The feeling was so strong, so…there was only one word that came to mind…evil. Something pure evil was near. It was so heavy and all consuming, that he was sure it would crush him if he allowed it to.
Fighting against the seductive pull of Eve’s voice, Alex peered over his shoulder in time to see a dark, muddy figure hovering in the door. There was no face or clear definition that resembled anything that used to be human, only black inky holes where eyes and a mouth might have been. It moved into the room and glided towards him.
Eve stopped her chant. “Oh no,” she breathed. “I feel it. Like the last time.”
The fear in her voice cut through his haze and he turned fully to face the soul.
He cocked his head to the side when it stopped. He shook his head. The soul screamed with rage. A deep accented, male voice pushed above the screams—“Ours, ours.”
Alex shook his head again. “Mine,” he growled. The word a clear cut warning.
This time, the screams of rage became stronger and the muddy figure, hovering inches off the floor, began to twist and coil in on itself. What looked like its attempt of an arm, separated from the rest of the figure and pointed at him. “Be ours. Be one.” The voice that rose above the screams was distinctively female this time. It pointed to Eve. “Kill.”
Eve shook, she couldn’t help it. She felt it—the dead soul—and not because the room was suddenly freezing, although Alex could have been the cause of that. She felt the rage and the hate and the complete and utter evil filling the room. She focused on Alex. The ring of light that surrounded him was a light blue and increasing in strength. His fists were clenched at his side and his legs were braced apart. She suddenly heard him growl, “Mine.”
She was right, it was a dead soul, it wanted the body and by his posture, it looked like Alex was blocking its way. Alex shook his head a second time and she almost jumped from the chair when the room began to vibrate. She grabbed Cade’s legs to help secure his body to the bed when a low menacing rumble swirled around them. This was scary. The vibrating in the room intensified and so did the growl. She realised then that Alex was the one responsible for both. In the blink of an eye Alex lashed out. “Both mine!” he roared and shot forward.
Her heart was in her throat and her entire body was shaking. The anger radiating off Alex was heart-stopping, she had never heard anything like it before. She hoped she never heard it again.
As fast as the room filled with evil, it emptied, taking the cold air with it. Alex turned to face her, fists squeezed tight and body rigid. She met his intense gaze just in time to see the last flickers of blue fade away. It was almost the same colour as the blue that surrounded him.
She swallowed hard and sat back on the chair.
“Finish it,”—his voice was low, rough, and not to be questioned—“time is running out.”
The command snapped her out of her stupor. Her hands shook as she reached for the book.
“I plead—” Her voice cracked and she cleared her throat and took a slow deep breath. She began again—“I plead to you Alex,” she spoke in Gaelic. The words rolled off her tongue in one long sentence. “Use your heat to warm this cold shell. Give it heart so that it may love. Give it emotions so that it may laugh and cry. Give it spirit so that it may fight and endure.” The light that surrounded Alex became even brighter as he bent over the body lying on the bed.
“Give it a conscience so that it may know the difference between right and wrong.” She took a breath. “I ask of you Alex. Allow this shell to shape a new identity. Guide it gently through the years with all the wisdom you have earned.”
For the last part of the poem she had to drop her voice and give him a command. What if he didn’t follow it? Alex is so stubborn. “I command you, Alex.” She put as much strength behind the words as she could. “Complete this union, fuse with flesh and bone and no longer will you dwell alone.”
The light that surrounded Alex lit up the room, so bright that she had to close her eyes from the glare. When it finally died down, she turned back expecting to see Alex standing there frowning down at her, but he was gone.
She slowly shifted her eyes to Cade’s body.
She scanned his face for signs of movement and then his body. Nothing. She wouldn’t know anything until Cade or rather Alex opened his eyes. That was if he could open his eyes.
The hand closest to her clenched the sheet and Eve shot t
o her feet, she scanned his face a second time and staggered back, her jaw dropping open. The scar that ran through Alex’s left brow appeared on Cade’s face. Next she saw Cade’s lighter hair darken to Alex’s black and then become light again. At the base of the bandages wrapped around Cade’s chest, a small scar the exact size and shape of a bullet wound appeared on the right side of his abdomen. Eve slid her eyes to his right shoulder—she felt her mouth drop open as a bullet scar appeared there as well.
Alex was filling Cade’s body, making it his own. She stumbled back when he opened his mouth and inhaled a deep breath. Cade’s thick arms rose and he rubbed at his face with his hands displaying the bottom half of Alex’s unit’s tattoo.
Eve took another step back, tripping over her bag and landed hard in the chair. The scraping of the metal chair caused Cade…Alex to jump. Eve froze like a deer caught in headlights but was jerked out of her trance when she heard loud voices in the hall. Reaching for her bag, she quickly jammed her book inside and was standing by the end of the bed when the nurse came around the curtain.
“What was that light?” she asked crossing to Cade’s body.
“I’m…” Eve’s voice cracked again. “I’m not sure. I was next door here, finishing—”
The nurse cut her off. “Mr Taylor?” she called out forcing his arms down. “Detective Taylor can you hear me?”
Eve stood and stared in horrified amazement when Cade…Alex opened his eyes. They weren’t Cade’s brown as she was expecting, they were blue, they were Alex’s blue. So it was easy for her to see them clear across the room, he lifted his head and pushed up on his elbows ignoring the nurse’s protest. He was trying to look at her, she could see him moving his head but the nurse kept blocking his view and he finally pushed her out of the way.
He stared at her for a moment, then a slow easy smile claimed his face. It was a triumphant smile and she waited for him to say ‘told yah’. He didn’t, but he did seem happy to see her.
Her heart jumped and she felt a nervous laugh build up inside her. She didn’t know what to do. She was shocked and thrilled that Alex had been able to merge with Cade’s body. That he had been powerful enough to ward off the dead soul and still heal Cade’s wounds. It was so nice to see him in a body even though it wasn’t his, he was solid now. He could touch…her heart jumped again…and be touched. On that same note, she was terrified that Alex was able to pull it off and merge with Cade’s body. The man had confessed to her that his job entailed eliminating people who were a danger to society. He had killed many, many people. And she had helped him merge into a body, setting him free.
She took another step back. The smile dropped from his mouth as he studied her. A startled voice came from behind her and she jumped, turning in time to see a second nurse enter the room and rush over to the bed, checking the pulse of the body Alex now claimed.
Eve automatically stepped back as more people entered the small room, and did so again even when the flow of people stopped.
This was insane. Not five minutes ago she was concerned he would vanish from her life and not look back. Now she was concerned that he knew who she was. Still, she wanted to go to him, tell him how relieved she was that he was okay. But she was afraid of who and what he was. The conflicting emotions were too much, she turned and glanced over at the door, she needed to get away.
As the nurses fussed over him, Alex watched her quietly, his head cocked slightly to the side.
She backed away again angling herself towards the door. This was too much. Fear was now the only driving force. She froze to the spot when his face went dark. He slowly shook his head, a warning in his eyes.
Oh my God, he knows. Eve swallowed the hard lump of fear in her throat and turned away. That fear drove her hard and she walked faster than ever before. Her heart pounded nervously in her ears when the elevator took a lifetime to stop on her floor. She rushed in almost knocking down an elderly lady and turned expecting to see Alex walking down the hall towards her.
Chapter Fifteen
Alex fought the nurses when they tried to hold him down. He wasn’t a fool, he knew he wasn’t up to chasing Eve down the hall, he just wanted out of bed, so he could see.
It took a bit of effort but he finally swung his legs over the side and stood. His legs felt a little shaky and the tubes in his arms pulled at the skin as he dragged the IV stand with him to the window. He hoped he was on the right side of the building. He also hoped he wasn’t too late. Because he knew it would happen, and he needed to see it firsthand so when the time came he could give her a detailed description.
Bracing his hand against the window for support Alex breathed when he saw Eve’s car still parked across the street from the hospital. Then he saw her, she began crossing the street, as traffic sped by. She was being reckless, which meant she was scared. She didn’t care what the risks were, she just wanted to get away. He sucked in his breath when a white, two door hatchback nearly ran into her. She reached her car and flung open the door, getting a loud honk from a blue minivan that passed by. There was a brief pause and then her black sedan took off, cutting two cars off in the process.
Alex moved back to the bed, gaining approving nods from the nurses in the room. As he allowed the tubes in his arms to be adjusted he smiled to himself. Eve did the one thing that he told her not to do if she didn’t want to see him again—Eve jaywalked. His smiled deepened. Scared or not, the reason didn’t matter Eve would receive her punishment and he would enjoy every sweaty minute of it.
* * * *
From the main lobby of the hospital, Miles had watched as Eve Sinclair had darted across the busy street and opened her car door. He had waited in the lobby in the hope she would pass through. He wanted to talk to her again, see if he could get more background on her before he dug into her life—it would make his task that much faster if she could give him more places to look.
Unfortunately, he’d never got the opportunity. From the moment she had shot from the elevator, she’d pretty much flown through the lobby and out the main doors. There was no question she had been scared, but of what or who? It wasn’t him. He had hid in plain sight blending in with the crowds of people walking around. Curious, he had waited a few minutes to see if she was being followed and frowned when no one had come looking for her. What the hell had had her so scared?
His cell vibrated and he checked the number before answering it.
“Mike?”
“Got a positive return on the BMW.”
“Wait one,” he ordered into the phone and quickly moved out of the building and onto the sidewalk. “Go.” He walked down the street blending into the surrounding crowds.
“Caught on security cam eleven days ago.”
“Location?”
“Milley’s Eats. I sent the coordinates to your GPS.”
Watching for cars as he crossed the road, he inquired, “You’re sure it was ours?”
“Same colour, four-door, Wild Rose plates.” Miles didn’t expect Mike to rattle off the plate number, if this call was being scanned the people listening wouldn’t get much info. “It’s yours.”
“See the occupant?” Reaching his car he unlocked the door and slide inside.
“Nope, only the tail end of the car.” There was a pause. “How’s Ace, any progress?”
“No.” He tried to sound disheartened, but was getting tired of keeping up the appearance of a worried friend and partner. “Still the same.”
“Fuck.” Mike the unit Adviser, as he was called, sighed sadly. “I’ll contact you with any new Intel.”
“Roger.” Miles hung up the phone and reached for his GPS. The co-ordinates were flashing on the screen. He tapped the display to activate the search.
As he waited he started the car and pulled out of the parking lot. “Destination found,” the GPS announced. He grabbed the handheld unit and scowled. Guess he was taking a drive to Montcalm.
* * * *
Even though the drive to Memorial Hospital had taken ov
er an hour—thanks to her delaying tactics—Eve was able to make it back to the house in half that time. Once back home she had only enough time to throw her purse on the counter, before she had to meet Noelle at her bus. Noelle was the most important part of her life. She came before everything, medians, patients, and even Alex. However, that fear of Alex following her was still twisting her stomach, growing stronger when she thought about Noelle. Would Alex hurt Noelle, or use her like before for some reason? If something was to happen to Noelle, she’d be lost. Her sweet, beautiful child was her saving grace, which she proved again by keeping Eve busy with stories from school. If it was any other night, the endless chatter would have driven her crazy, but tonight she was thankful for the distraction, as short as it was.
Once Noelle was in bed, she raced downstairs and locked all the windows and doors and set the alarm. Grabbing a knife from the butcher block and a rolling pin from the drawer, she headed to her office to finish her notes on the patients at Memorial. She pulled up the first chart and began to write her notes, finishing off with personal comments on each patient.
When Alex’s phony file came up she stopped in mid thought and just stared at his name. After everything that had happened today, how could she forget that she had faked his appointment on her schedule? The whole idea, was for her paperwork, patient files, and schedule she brought into the hospital to look valid. Of course everything was valid except the file on Alex. She blinked and focused on the screen. Alex had told her what to type into his file, and she knew it was all the truth because she couldn’t go into east wing with false information.
She knew his real name, which was Alex Hunter. He had told her his real date of birth, his height, weight,hair and eye colour, even the city he had been born in.
Leaning forward, Eve rested her chin in her hands. What was she going to do? She knew so much about him, information that he said not many people knew. She blinked and stared at Alex’s name on the screen. She knew personal information about a killer who had been trained by the government. And now he was in the body of a dead cop! If she went for help, the cops would believe one of their own, before they’d believe a crazy woman who claimed to merge souls. Oh yah! She couldn’t forget about Miles, another killer, who was probably right now checking to see if she was legitimate. If he found out she wasn’t legit, she almost certainly would have problems with him, and she hoped it would only be the cancellation of her contract with the government. “Oh my God,” she groaned. “I’m so screwed.”