I didn’t look back.
I didn’t walk.
I ran.
Victoria hadn’t been wrong—the cemetery hadn’t been far away and running at full speed had me back at the front door lickety-split. I whisked the door open and hurried in. I kicked off my shoes, turned off my flashlight, and after I shut the door, I leaned over, hands on knees, and caught my breath.
When I wasn’t panting any longer, I straightened up and headed for the staircase. Before I reached the first step, Amelia strode out of the kitchen carrying a tray.
“Oh.” She froze, glanced at the front door, then started toward me again. “I was on my way to see you.” When she settled in front of me, her eyes brightened. “Did you go out and see my father?”
“No, I’m sorry,” I exhaled, continuing to settle the race of my heart. “Another ghost needed a quick favor.”
“Another ghost?” Her eyes widened before she shed the shock. “Guess it shouldn’t be so surprising someone else found you. Dane has told me quite a few ghosts reside at the house.”
I snorted. “Tell me about it.”
“Well, here.” She offered me the tray. “Gretchen told us you made a connection with Kipp. Wayde has said you can have the night to rest before you talk again. And I made you and Gretchen some cucumber sandwiches, since I thought you might be hungry.”
I accepted the small tray as the sweet smell from the dill weed made my stomach rumble. Amelia wasn’t hard to like. I hated that about her. Why couldn’t Dane have married a nasty wench? Making friends with his wife was not on the top of my priority list. “Thank you.”
Her blue eyes crinkled with her wide smile. “You’re quite welcome.” Without another word, and the kind smile still planted on her face, she turned and headed toward the kitchen, but I could have sworn she said something.
I frowned. “What was that?”
She glanced over her shoulder, eyebrows furrowed. “I didn’t say anything.”
“You weren’t just whispering?”
She laughed. “No.”
“Lord, I’m tired.” Honestly, now I was hearing things. I needed to go to bed, immediately. “Okay, thanks again for the sandwiches.”
“Of course.” She gave her warm smile. “Sleep well.”
I watched her fade into the kitchen and shook my head. Now I sounded like a total nut. Wonderful.
On my way up the staircase, the sandwiches smelled too good to deny. I gripped the tray in one hand and took a bite of a sandwich. The garlic mayo exploded in my mouth and a warm sensation sped through my body—excitement, no doubt, that I finally gave my body fuel.
I finished off one of the little sandwiches as I approached the bedroom door. There, I whisked the door open and discovered Gretchen, sitting on the corner of the bed in her very country-looking plaid pajamas, staring down at a white piece of paper. “Guess what?” I shut the door behind me. “I saw Nettie’s grave in an old cemetery near the forest.”
As I stepped farther into the room, she still hadn’t looked at me or away from the note. “What’s that?” At her non-response, I raised my voice. “Gretchen.”
She startled at my voice and snapped her head up. “Pardon?”
I chuckled, shaking my head at her. “Whatcha reading?” I approached her, yet stopped halfway. I hadn’t notice before, but her face was sheet white. “What’s wrong?”
She hesitated and worry raged in the depths of her eyes. “When I came back into the room, I found this note on the bed.” Her hand trembled, sending the paper to shake. “Here.”
I hesitantly approached her, keeping my gaze on her face and the concern there. I placed the tray of sandwiches next to her on the bed, and then I accepted the note and lowered my head to paper.
You’re not safe. Get out!
Chapter Thirteen
Loud voices stirred outside the bedroom and I snuggled into the pillow, staring at the sun beaming through the window. The front of my skull throbbed, as did behind my eyeballs—no doubt from my travels into the Netherworld. A slow ache slid over my body, reminding me I had done something completely unthinkable. Not only my trip into the ghost world, but I had sex with Kipp.
To my disappointment, I never returned to him in my dreams last night. In fact, I hadn’t dreamed at all, and my heart hurt a lot worse than my head. I wondered if there were Netherworld rules that prevented me from going there as much as I’d like. But at this point, who knew? I didn’t have a handbook of instructions, nor did I have anyone to ask.
Perhaps it’d been a tease, and an even bigger mistake, to test the waters, so to speak. The loss of Kipp cut deep, even if seeing him again strengthened my motivation. That, I wanted for real, repeatedly, until I physically couldn’t handle any more. Which I suspected, by how much I longed for him, wouldn’t happen anytime soon. I doubted I could ever grow tired of Kipp’s touch.
Outside the bedroom door, the voices grew louder and closer, as did the hard stomps of feet. Turning onto my side, Gretchen gave me her sweet smile. Her hair in bed-head state, stuck up in complete disorder, and her eyes were glossy from sleep. “What’s going on?” she asked.
I shrugged against my pillow, fighting against both the throb in my head and the hollowness in my chest, and the scratchiness of my eyes from crying last night. “Yelling.”
She chuckled. “You don’t say?”
A sudden loud curse sounded on the other side of the bedroom door, and I shot up in bed, recognizing the voice. I instantly regretted it, too, since my head reminded me it hated me with a fierce throb.
Only a split second passed before the door whisked open and a blonde bombshell stormed into the room, her blue eyes blazing. “That’s it, you mother fuckers. I’ve had enough.”
I blinked at the sudden appearance of my best friend. “Caley?”
Before I had a chance to even process her arrival, Zach entered the room behind her, scanning the area as if he were looking for a gunfight. I pushed the blankets off me, pleased I had dressed in yoga pants and T-shirt, not my typical pajamas. “What—”
“You have visitors,” Dane grumbled.
I leaned to the side and peered around Zach to see Dane enter the bedroom. He settled just inside the doorway, with a thoroughly pissed-off Wayde in tow. I raised my hand to my temple and gave it a good rub to ease the deep throb. “Yes, I see that.”
Caley spun to face Wayde, arms folded, and spat, “Now piss off.”
Wayde glared and took a step toward her. His hard stomp against the hardwood floor echoed in the room. “Might I remind you this is my house?”
Zach closed in next to Caley with an edge to his blue eyes that promised death. “It’d be wise to back off, buddy.” Those two had a good stare down for a moment before Wayde jerked his head to me. “I gave you the night to recover, but my offer remains. Are you still in agreement over what we discussed?”
I continued to rub at my temple, which did seem to ease the ache some or maybe I became used to the pain since it dulled. A good thing, since I needed to think straight, considering Wayde acted weird. “Why are you talking so cryptically?”
He snorted, gesturing to Caley and Zach with a look that left something to be desired. “Do I need to answer that question?”
I looked between Caley, Zach, and Wayde, and immediately understood the problem. Heck, Wayde didn’t accept me, and I somewhat belonged. Zach and Caley weren’t only strangers to him, but they weren’t supernaturally gifted. “First, you should know that’s insanely prejudiced. But yes, I’m in agreement.”
At the sound of someone clearing their throat, I jerked my head toward the doorway and discovered Amelia. She glanced around at the old faces, plus the new ones, before she looked at Dane. “I heard yelling. Is everything all right?”
“Everything’s fine,” Dane bit off.
Amelia gave him a tight smile, then to me, she softened her expression and said, “When you’re ready, I’ve made breakfast.” She looked at Zach and Caley before her gaze returned to m
e. “Your friends can join us, if they’d like.”
My empty stomach clenched in excitement over the idea of food, especially since Amelia was a great cook and last night’s cucumber sandwiches had been delicious. “Thank you.”
Dane strode toward his wife and stopped at the doorway. He looked over his shoulder at Zach. “Keep your stay short.”
“Not a problem.” Zach’s eyes narrowed on the enemy. “So, you know, Tess is coming with me.”
“Actually,” I butted in before a fight erupted since worry creased Amelia’s face. I honestly hated to admit this. “I have to stay.” Zach looked at me as if I had seriously lost my mind—and maybe I had. “I need to be close to Alexander, in case he comes to find me.”
“Yes, you do,” Dane replied.
Clearly appeased, he left the bedroom, taking his wife with him.
“I’ll wait in the living room for you.” Wayde strode toward the doorway before he turned to me. “Come see me before you eat.” He looked at Zach with a frown, then flicked his hard stare onto me. “Alone.”
After the door slammed shut behind him, Zach scoffed. “Fucking pricks.”
I happened to agree with him, but my chance to say as much vanished as Caley stomped toward me. Her hands on her hips covered a very cute mauve silk blouse and jeans. “Enough about them—you've become a real bitch, do you know that?”
My mouth parted to respond her when her eyes lowered into slits. “You hang up on me when all I am is so fucking concerned for you? Then you turn off your phone so I can’t call back.” Her eyebrows rose. “Is that how best friends act?”
“Err…sorry,” I murmured, unsure what to say.
“You should be.” Her chin lifted, then she glared at Gretchen. “All this magical crap is grating on her. Don’t you see it?” She turned to me again, her voice rose to a near shriek. “Listen, I get you want Kipp back, but he wouldn’t want this for you. He wouldn’t want you to be this unhappy.”
“Caley.” Zach sighed and ran a hand through his stylish blond hair, his clear blue eyes displaying his frustration. “Stop.”
She sent a harsh scowl his way and her voice dropped to a wicked sneer. “Don’t tell me to stop.” She lifted an eyebrow. “Unless you’d like to join Kipp?”
He frowned, shifting on his feet. Caley might resemble a sweet Barbie doll, but her looks were deceiving. She had enough strength in that slender body, matched with a quick mouth and a smart head, to drop kick a man with a few sentences.
While Zach and Caley had been a couple for a bit now—something that continued to surprise me since Caley tended to drift—Zach still, and would always, have his hands full.
By the looks of it, Caley had been pushed too far. It actually astonished me this cutthroat moment hadn’t happened sooner. Zach had seemed to rein her in slightly and I’d noticed a subtle calmer edge to her, but clearly, Caley was now out in full force.
When Zach remained quiet—smart guy—Caley turned to me. “Do you remember what you used to be like? You used to laugh and smile, all the time, even with these annoying ghosts around you.” She waved her hands around the room as if ghosts were present, which none were. “We had fun and lived normal lives, regardless of how fucking crazy your life was. But now…” She threw her hands up in frustration. “You’re not even the same person anymore. What kind of friend would I be if I sat around, allowing this to continue?”
I sighed. “Caley, I can’t—”
She took another few steps toward me, closing in on the bed, her eyes narrowing, dark and stormy. “Don’t even say to me you can’t get out of this now because I won’t have it.” She stomped her foot in classic Caley fashion. “You love Kipp, I get that. But if he loved you as much, he wouldn’t want this for you—”
“I’ve seen him.”
Caley huffed, once again, throwing her hands up. “Well, thank the fucking stars. Now this can end. You can go back to being the perfectly happy ghost lovin’ fool you’ve been.”
I cringed and knew the long, drawn-out conversation I had wanted to avoid was now upon me. Worse, I realized I should’ve had it last night when she wasn’t pissed. Getting the current wound up Caley to see reason wouldn’t come easily. “Kipp’s not here.”
“What do you mean, he’s not here?” Caley glanced around as if searching out a ghost, even if that was ridiculous because she couldn’t see one. “Where is he?”
“In the Netherworld.” As her lips parted to no doubt cut me off, I raised my hand. “Yes, I realize this is going to be totally insane to process, but I did go there and saw him last night. But before we get into that and calm the jets a minute, Caley…” I looked at Zach, who remained at the doorway. “Why are you here?”
His eyebrow arched. “You call me and say you’re staying in a house that might, or might not, also have the person responsible for Alexander’s death here, too. Did you honestly think I wouldn’t come?”
My heart did a little pitter-patter, though now I realized his search for a gunfight earlier had been because he thought the killer might be in this house with me. “Okay, well that’s nice and thank you, but…” I slid my gaze over to Caley, whose glare remained. “You didn’t come alone?”
“Of course he didn’t come alone.” Caley snorted, flicking her long locks over her shoulder. “Do you think I’d let him leave me behind while you are in danger and surrounded by people who don’t care about you?”
“Now wait a minute,” Gretchen countered in a tight voice. “That’s not true. I care about her.”
As those two played the stare of death, I sighed and could’ve kissed Zach when he cut through the tension and said, “She was coming whether I came or not, so why fight it?”
Seeing Caley’s firm stance and Zach’s knowing look, this couldn’t be undone. Caley needed answers and I sympathized with that need—I wanted them, too. “Okay, Caley. Sit down.” I pointed at her. “Gretchen is one of the good guys so stop glaring at her.”
Caley took a seat on the bed in front of me and her scowl slowly melted away. “Zach told me about what’s happened so far. I mean, I get it all, Tess. But come on, when is enough, enough?”
Trapped in my best friend’s gaze, I allowed all my heartache to pour into my expression. Instantly, her hands wrapped around mine, and her features softened. “It won’t ever be enough?”
I shook my head slowly. “Being here is the only way for me to get him back. So, please, let’s move past that. I’m not leaving until Kipp is safely back in his body. Whatever I have to do, no matter how shitty is, I’ll do it.”
She looked at Zach, her expression became tender, and this was the reason I loved Caley. She could be overbearing and sometimes wildly ridiculous, but when it came right down to it, she had my back. She’d never judged me or disbelieved in my abilities. Perhaps she hated the danger it put me in, but she was right—if she loved me, how could she be okay with this all? If the roles were reversed, I doubted I’d be either.
After a long exhale, she turned to me and her voice softened. “Do you honestly believe this is going to work?”
I glanced down to our held hands above the bedspread and considered the question. It didn’t even take a second to realize deep down the answer remained clear. “It has to work.” I lifted my gaze to her. “I can’t even consider it failing.”
She studied me for a moment with sad eyes, and then to Gretchen she asked, “Do you believe she won’t get killed doing this? Twice now, she’s nearly died.”
Gretchen shifted on the bed, sitting cross-legged next to me in her plaid pajamas. “I won’t answer that question.”
Caley’s glare returned. “Why?”
“Because you’re trapping me,” Gretchen replied, cool and collected. “I’ll do whatever I can to help Tess see this through. But I won’t be responsible if something bad happens to her.”
“She’s right.” I gave Caley a hard look. “Cut Gretchen a break. I’m doing this. Not her. She’s been nothing but kind and helpful to me.”
Zach stepped in toward Caley with a furrow to his brow. Guilt instantly consumed me. I’d been so wrapped up in myself and in Kipp, I hadn’t realized what this was doing to her.
Twice now, I had almost died. Caley and I were as close as sisters were and that bond was unbreakable. Now I saw her anger came from fear, but one truth remained. “I can’t lose Kipp either.”
A tear slid down Caley’s cheek. “I know.” She wiped at her face. “I just hate this. All of it.”
“Me, too.” Sadly, knowing that changed nothing and I couldn’t make her any promises to when it would all end; this mess wouldn’t magically go away.
“All right, you’ve got that out of your system, Caley.” Zach sat in next to her on the bed, tucking her into his side, and his intense blue eyes zeroed in on me. “Tell me again what you’ve got so far. I’ll do what I can to help you both, ensuring neither of you lose anything.”
Chapter Fourteen
After I told Caley and Zach about the recent events, even how Kipp implied Dane’s involvement and of my interaction with Kipp in the Netherworld, minus the juicy bits, both of them looked a little stunned. Not missing a step, I finished up with the freaky note from last night.
Once Zach held the ability to blink again, he grabbed the piece of paper off the nightstand and he read the handwritten note. “You have no idea who left it?” At the shake of my head, his lips thinned. “Why would someone write you a note and not just tell you? It doesn’t make sense.”
“No, it doesn’t,” I muttered in agreement. Which had been exactly what Gretchen and I concluded last night. “The craziest part is it had to be someone who’s staying at the house. There’s no other way someone would get into the bedroom without being detected.” I rubbed my eyes. “It is slightly amusing that the people who might be suspects, also might be the very same people trying to help me.”
Mystically Bound (Frostbite, Book Three) Page 9