According to the police reports, a homicide detective out of Bay County had found evidence linking Leanne’s disappearance to a Jane Doe that had washed up in the Choctawhatchee Bay some years back. DNA evidence had later confirmed her to be Cara Perez, Leanne’s childhood friend.
Michelle grabbed a pen and pad from her nightstand drawer and wrote down the agent’s name, along with the identity of Jane Doe, Utah Baines, and his sister, Leanne.
Fighting back a yawn, Michelle glanced at the clock. It was four in the morning. She’d been researching the ghost of Utah Baines for three hours.
She closed the laptop, set it on the nightstand along with the pen and paper, and rolled onto her side.
Hopefully she wouldn’t encounter any more company in the middle of the night.
Yeah, she’d go to sleep with the light on. Just in case…
* * * *
Michelle woke the next day to the feel of a tiny tongue licking her on the face.
She opened her eyes to peer at an overly hyper Peanut. “You need to go outside, boy?”
The little dog spun in a circle, whined some more, and then trotted to the foot of the mattress.
Throwing her feet over the side of the bed, Michelle sat up, pushed her hair back from her face, and glanced at the clock. It was five o’clock in the evening. She’d slept the entire day away.
“No wonder you’re so hyper, Peanut. You’ve probably been holding your bladder for hours. Let’s go.” She followed behind the little dog down the hall and through the kitchen.
For some reason, Peanut refused to use his puppy pad. He’d gone on it a handful of times when Michelle had to work and wasn’t home to let him out. But he definitely preferred to do his business outside.
“Go on.” She yawned, opening the door and watching the dog bound out to the fenced-in backyard.
She left the door cracked open for him and trailed back to her room to grab the list of names she’d made the night before.
Her cell phone buzzed from the pocket of her khakis that lay on her bedroom floor. She bent and fished it out.
Swiping her thumb across the screen, she saw a message from her good friend, Cassandra. “Miss you. Dinner tonight at Scruples?”
Michelle quickly typed out a reply. “Sounds good. I can be there by six thirty.”
“Awesome,” came Cassie’s quick response. “Malik will be joining us. Hope that’s okay?”
“Of course, it’s okay. See you then.” Michelle hadn’t seen Cassie and Malik since their wedding a few months ago. It would be nice to catch up with the newlyweds.
Tossing the phone onto the bed, Michelle strode to the closet to pick out something to wear.
Thoughts of Utah plagued her every step. She couldn’t shake the memory of his lips moving beneath hers, his hard, throbbing—
Peanut’s sudden barking jerked her back to the present.
Michelle hurried from the room and into the kitchen, pushing the back door open wider. “Come on, boy.”
The dog continued to bark at the side gate, signaling that someone had to be in the drive.
Leaving the door ajar, she moved into the living room and peered through the peephole.
“Mother? I didn’t hear you pull up,” Michelle announced, unlocking and opening the door.
Lani sent her daughter a warm smile and stepped inside. “I brought you some strawberries, fresh from the garden.”
Michelle gave her mother a kiss on the cheek, accepted the gift, and closed the door. “You didn’t have to bring these over here. I would have picked them up.”
Her mother softly smiled. “It’s all right. I needed to get out of the house for a minute anyway.”
Moving toward the kitchen, Michelle murmured. “Dad being an A-hole again?”
“Michelle,” her mother gently scolded. “You shouldn’t say things like that about your father. But yes, he is being crotchety today. He came home from work, prowling the house like a caged lion.”
Michelle opened the fridge and set the strawberries inside. “Maybe he got a visit from the same person that visited me last night.”
Her mother looked at her strangely. “What does that mean?”
With a sigh, Michelle closed the refrigerator door. “Do you remember a few years back when I told you about the girl in my room that disappeared after scaring me to death?”
“The spirit you saw,” Lani confirmed. “Yes, I remember.”
“Well, I saw another one last night.”
Lani’s eyes lit with curiosity. “Was it the same girl?”
Michelle shook her head, leaned her hip against the counter for support, and filled her mother in on Utah’s appearance. She intentionally left out the part about her molesting him in her sleep.
“It is a gift that you have, my daughter. A gift that I have often longed for myself.”
Studying her mother’s face, Michelle asked, “How can you say it’s a gift to see ghosts? I’d rather not ever run across one again. Especially in the middle of the night. I just want to live a normal life. Not a life filled with the unknown and spirits haunting me.”
“You possess the White Buffalo totem, Michelle. The spirits you encounter in your life need help with something. They are lost. You hold the power to help them, to free them from what is holding them here.”
Michelle raised an eyebrow. “If that’s true, then what happened to the girl I saw before? I didn’t do anything to help her, other than scare her away with my screaming.”
“Perhaps she moved on to find another who could assist her. Someone more accepting of her presence.”
With a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach, Michelle leaned harder against the counter. “So, for the rest of my life, I’m to be visited by spirits who are trapped, unable to get the hell where they’re supposed to be going? Great. Just great.”
Lani reached up and cupped her daughter’s cheek. “You’re special, Michelle. Don’t think of it as a burden. Think of it as the gift that it is meant to be.”
Michelle hugged her mother’s neck, glancing at the clock hanging on the wall in front of her. “I have to get in the shower. I’m meeting Cassie for dinner at Scruples in an hour.”
Pulling back, Lani squeezed her daughter’s hands. “I’ll go and let you get ready. Remember what I said. Spirits who come to you seeking assistance are nothing to fear. You hold the power to help them. Use the gift that Yo He Waah gave you, and use it wisely.”
“You don’t have to go, Mom,” Michelle assured her, attempting to change the subject. “You are welcome to stay here or come to dinner with me.”
Her mother sent her a gentle smile. “I must get back anyhow. I have to go to the market on my way home. I just wanted to stop by and drop off the strawberries.”
“If you’re sure?”
Lani turned toward the living room. “I’m sure. I love you.”
“I love you too, Mom.”
Michelle followed her mother to the door, kissing her once more before she left.
Locking the door, Michelle trailed back to the kitchen to call Peanut inside, her gaze scanning the backyard for signs of her midnight visitor. But nothing moved on the wind save for the trees.
It was going to be a long night.
Chapter Seven
Utah prowled along the murky banks of Black Creek, fighting like hell to silence the insistent screaming inside his head.
He gritted his teeth, resisting the nausea that rolled through him. Even though he could never actually empty the contents of his ghostly stomach any more than he could stop the screams.
In fact, the only time his mind experienced relief was after he saved a life.
Utah would never understand how he managed to find the energy it took to drag someone from a burning building, an overturned car, or other accident. He only knew that he could.
Nothing else had ever stopped the tormented screams but saving a life. Until he’d met Michelle Collins. Not once had he heard the voices while in Michelle’s pr
esence.
He’d lain in her bed last night, feeling her hands touch his skin, her breath on his face. He’d inhaled her sweet scent in wonder. It was the first time he’d smelled anything other than smoke since his death. No other voices could be heard but Michelle’s.
Utah glanced down in disbelief as his shaft rose to life inside his pants. That made twice he’d had an erection within twenty-four hours.
I’m a spirit, Utah thought without humor. How in bloody hell do I have an erection?
He considered returning to Michelle’s home but quickly discarded the idea. The last thing he needed to do was grow an attachment to her or ruin her life by haunting her.
Yet the longer he stood there, thinking about her, the more desperate to see her he became.
Closing his eyes, he willed himself back to her house.
Utah stilled as she suddenly stepped outside, locked the door behind her, and strolled to her car.
His dead heart skipped a beat as he took in her attire. She wore a short white skirt that showed off her tanned legs and a pink flowy top.
Oblivious to his presence, she slid behind the wheel of her car and started the engine.
Utah willed himself into the back seat, unable to bear watching her leave. He’d sit back there all night if that’s what it took to be near her.
Her scent floated around inside the car, alluring in its sweetness.
He could only stare at her face in the rearview mirror and breathe her in. She was the most intoxicating female he’d ever encountered.
She reached up and turned on the stereo, scanning the different stations before stopping on an old Rick Springfield song.
Utah’s lips twitched. He hadn’t heard that song since before his death.
Michelle backed out of the drive and drove slowly along her street until reaching the main road.
She obviously hadn’t sensed his presence in the car, else she would have never done what he knew she was about to do.
Turning up the music, Michelle tapped her fingers against the steering wheel and belted out the next line of “Jessie’s Girl.”
It was all Utah could do not to laugh. Yet the longer he listened to her sing, the more he realized she had a voice as beautiful as the rest of her.
She sang the entire rest of the song, word for word, thumping her fingers on the wheel to the beat.
Utah hadn’t enjoyed himself this much for as long as he could remember.
A couple minutes later, Michelle turned off the main road and pulled into a parking space in front of Scruples.
She switched off the car, opened the door, and got out.
Utah followed, staying close as she strode up the steps and entered the nice establishment. He wondered why he’d never eaten there when he’d been alive.
The hostess looked up from behind a small counter as the door closed behind Michelle. “Good evening, miss. Will you be dining alone?”
“I’m meeting friends,” Michelle pointed out with a smile. She glanced around, apparently searching for her dinner dates. “There they are.”
With a nod, the hostess returned her smile. “Enjoy your evening.”
“Thank you.” Michelle turned toward her right and made a beeline for a pretty blonde across the room, sitting with a dark-haired man whose gaze seemed to look right through Michelle and straight at Utah.
Come to think of it, the blonde’s eyes were locked on to Utah as well.
Utah faltered, slowing his steps until he stopped in the center of the room.
They saw him. The couple at the table could see him.
The dark-haired gentleman slowly got to his feet, greeted Michelle, and then skirted the table to saunter in Utah’s direction.
“Outside,” the stranger demanded in a low tone as he strode past Utah.
Utah turned and followed, more curious than anything as to how the man knew he was there.
“You can see me?” Utah rushed out the second the dark-haired gentleman exited the restaurant and stopped on the sidewalk.
The stranger didn’t answer. Instead, he jerked his chin toward the corner of the building.
Without question, Utah trailed behind him to the back of the establishment.
“Who are you and why are you following Michelle?” the stranger hissed immediately in Utah’s face.
Utah instantly realized the stranger wasn’t human. He had no idea how he knew—he only knew that he did.
Instead of answering him, Utah threw back a question of his own. “What are you?”
The stranger’s lips peeled back over his fangs. He gripped Utah by the shirt, yanking him in close. “Your worst nightmare.”
“You’re a vampire,” Utah breathed in awe. “I thought vampires were a myth.”
The stranger narrowed his eyes. “Do I look like a fucking myth to you?”
That pissed Utah off. He jerked free of the vampire’s hold, but didn’t back up an inch. “What does it matter to you why I’m here?”
“Cherokee happens to be a friend of mine,” the vampire snarled, his fangs right back in Utah’s face. “She might not know you’re there, but I do,” he emphasized with a shove. “And I have no problem sending you back to hell where you came from.”
The blonde that had been seated next to Mr. Fang Face suddenly stepped around the corner. “What the hell is going on here, Malik?”
Malik kept his gaze locked on Utah. “Just warning Casper here to stay away from Michelle.”
The pretty blonde cocked her head to the side. “Have you bothered asking him why he’s following her in the first place?”
The one known as Malik folded his arms over his chest. “I was getting to that.”
“Mmm-hmm,” the blonde muttered sarcastically. “Sure you were.”
She then turned to face Utah. “I apologize for my husband’s behavior. He’s very overprotective at times. I, on the other hand, will allow you to explain yourself before ripping into you. So, start talking.”
Utah could only stare, slack mouthed. “You’re like him.” He nodded in Malik’s direction.
“I have fangs, yes. But that’s where the similarities end,” she finished, sending her husband a wink.
Utah decided he liked Michelle’s friend. “May I ask who you are?”
“I’m Cassandra,” she immediately answered. “But most everyone calls me Cassie. And that giant of a nightmare ready to rip out your intestines is my husband, Malik.”
Glancing toward Malik, Utah briefly nodded before returning his attention to Cassie. “My name is Utah Baines. I mean Michelle no harm. You have my word. She—”
“Your word means nothing to us,” Malik interrupted, his eyes glowing in the darkness.
Cassie’s hands went to her hips, and she sent her husband an exasperated look. “Would you let him finish, love? I’m kind of curious to see what he has to say.”
Utah blew out an exasperated sigh. “I originally met Michelle via telephone. I’d called the 911 line a few months back about a house fire.”
Cassie touched him on the arm. “Wait a minute. That was you? You called 911 and told them about seeing a blonde leaving the house with a dark-haired gentleman?”
“How did you know about that?” Utah inquired, more than a little surprised.
Malik answered for her. “Because she was the blonde you saw leaving that house, asshole. Why would you call 911 about a house fire if you’re a ghost?”
Utah had had just about enough of Malik’s mouth. He stepped in close to the vampire’s face. “Because, that’s what I do, moron. I save lives. Being dead doesn’t change who you are inside. You should know that, vampire. The only difference between you and me is you need blood to survive, and I don’t. We’re both dead.”
“He’s not here to hurt Cherokee,” Cassie informed Malik, pushing her hands between the two of them. “Let’s not make a problem where one doesn’t exist.”
Relaxing his stance, Utah sent Cassie an apologetic look. “I’m sorry about that. And you’r
e right. I’m not here to hurt your friend. I honestly can’t tell you why I am here. I only know that Michelle’s the one person who has been able to see me, aside from you two. And I need to find out why.”
Holding up a hand when Cassie would have spoken, Utah asked, “Why did you refer to Michelle as Cherokee?”
“It’s a nickname I gave her back in grade school. She has quite a bit of Cherokee blood in her veins. And it smells divine, let me tell you. I never realized how divine until recently.”
Utah sent her a blank look.
Cassie laughed. “Don’t mind me. I’m recently turned. All blood smells like ambrosia to me. Cherokee’s maybe a little sweeter than most, but you get the idea.”
“Speaking of,” Malik whispered, his gaze glued to the sidewalk. “She just stepped outside.”
Chapter Eight
Michelle wandered out onto the sidewalk in search of Cassandra and Malik.
Malik had excused himself immediately after Michelle’s arrival, citing he’d left his wallet in the car.
A few minutes later, Cassandra had gone to check on him, only neither had returned.
Turning left, Michelle trailed off toward the back of the building. She could have sworn she heard voices coming from behind the restaurant.
She turned the corner in time to see Cassie enfolded in Malik’s arms, kissing him as if her life depended on it.
Michelle cleared her throat, her lips twitching in humor. “I hate to interrupt such a touching moment, but the waitress is ready to take our order.”
The two lovebirds broke apart as if caught making out in their parents’ car.
Cassie spoke first. “This is what you get for accepting a dinner invitation from a pair of newlyweds. Let’s go eat.”
Turning toward the sidewalk, Michelle glanced back at Malik before focusing her attention on the pretty blonde walking alongside her. “How is married life, or do I even need to ask?”
Cassie grinned. “We are obvious, I know. But wow, it’s amazing, Cherokee. Definitely one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.”
Michelle’s heart swelled with happiness for her friend. She knew all too well the kind of life Cassie had endured before meeting Malik. “You deserve it, you know.”
Fully Engulfed: BBW Paranormal Romance (Scruples Book 3) Page 4