He grinned as Avalon cuddled up in his lap and they shared some pizza.
“We interviewed the hooker, the guy in jail wouldn’t talk, and Laird handled the bar owner. I don’t know how that worked out. We haven’t talked to him.”
Avalon told them everything about the interview.
“You know this how?” Nate asked.
“I can reach their minds. They’re on their way out on a date,” she said, smiling.
“Maybe you should let them have some privacy,” Nate offered.
“I will.”
Nate believed her.
“What else did you guys find?” he asked, hoping there was something in the library archives that they could use.
Maura was trying to pay attention, but it was so hard. She was worried about her husband.
He’d been gone a long time.
She glanced over at the doorway, and still nothing. Where the hell was he?
Was he changing into someone else?
“I’ll be back. Avalon, you tell them, and I’m going to go find Luke. He’s MIA.”
“Okay,” she said excitedly. Avalon was really into the investigation part of their jobs.
Quickly, Maura headed out.
Avalon told them all about what they’d found. “There was nothing online for the historical society, so we still have to head there at some point, but we did find books to use at the library.”
Lucian handed her a copy of the book page.
Nate went to take it.
“Wait,” Lucian stated.
Nate watched Avalon.
“Let me,” she said, holding the paper in her hands as she used Lucian’s sight.
No one spoke.
They all knew how huge this was.
Avalon had never been taught anything. She’d lived her life locked in a room, and then the US Government did everything for her.
She was finally spreading her wings.
She was finally becoming herself.
‘It has been discovered that at the old Keane house, bodies were found in the wine cellar. They were mutilated, hearts removed, and deceased for weeks. When the authorities arrived, they couldn’t locate Sir Lawrence Keane anywhere about the property. He was not among the victims. Their murders are unsolved as is where the only suspect has gone.’
Nate stared at her.
His heart thumped in his chest. He couldn’t be prouder of his wife. She did something miraculous.
“You learned to read,” Nate said, the emotion coming out in his words.
“Lucian has been teaching me. I wanted to give you a present on the day we got married. I wanted you to hear me tell you a story for a change. This is my gift to you.”
He took her face in his palms and kissed her. “Avalon, that was the best present anyone could ever give me.”
Nate glanced over at Lucian. “Thank you for giving her that gift. It matters to me,” he said, as Avalon wiped the tear from his cheek.
“I’m proud of you,” he said.
Avalon beamed. “I’m proud of me. I can read and not use my hands.”
He hugged her.
There wasn’t a dry eye in there. They all knew how much that mattered to Avalon.
“Anyway, back to the grisly murder scenario,” Jagger said, trying not to be a weepy pussy. If there was one woman that melted him, beside his sister, it was Avalon.
“I’m a little freaked out that there was a slew of dead bodies in the wine cellar,” Bishop said. “Didn’t your parents check this shit out before buying the place?” she teased.
“Apparently, not. I can say I won’t be keeping this haunted house after we’re done with it,” he vowed. “I’m not big on women being burned in the yard or bodies in the wine cellar.”
They got that.
It was definitely creepy.
“So, what do we do next?” asked Avalon. “I’m new at this. I normally use my gift, but the killer isn’t in my reach yet.”
Nate wasn’t sure.
“We keep researching. The house seems to want us to figure this out. Sir Lawrence Keane seems to be the missing link. We need to find him.”
Bishop knew that wasn’t going to be easy. He’d been dead hundreds of years.
“Maybe we should ask the house,” she said, teasing them. “You know, since it made Lucian go all Lawrence before, and it made Avalon play the role of Maribel.”
No one liked that plan.
No one.
* * * O R A C L E * * *
Maura couldn’t find him.
What the hell was going on? He said he was going to change, and he wasn’t in their room.
Or a bathroom.
Or the kitchen.
When she headed back toward the living area, she noticed a door had been left open. She’d never seen it before, and it made her wonder what was going on.
Had he been exploring and found some new passage somewhere? That excited her.
Maura loved an adventure.
As she approached, she could hear her husband talking from downstairs in what looked to be the wine cellar. Who was he talking to?
That was the question.
Maura was curious.
So, she went down.
When she got down there, Luke was standing there in front of a wine rack, checking out the selection.
“Babe?” she asked.
He turned. “Hey! I wanted some wine with the pizza.”
She immediately relaxed.
That made sense. They often had wine on the couch after working all day.
“Oh, okay. Let’s pick one and get out of here. There are too many spider webs for my liking,” she teased.
He pulled out a bottle and ran his fingers over the label.
Maura moved closer.
“You look sexy tonight,” he said, grabbing her wrist.
Maura laughed as he pulled her against his body. “Mr. Mars, tell me you don’t want to fool around down here in this wine cellar.”
He grinned. “Aye, lass, I do,” he said with an Irish accent.
It made her giggle.
Luke put the wine bottle down, and then began molesting his wife. His hand slid into the front of her cargo pants, and he already found her wet and ready for him.
“I missed you,” he said, his mouth taking hers. “Let’s have some fast sex, eat pizza, and then later more sex in our room,” he said, strumming her clit.
Maura came from that touch, and he swallowed her moan of pleasure.
Her husband had magic fingers.
Here was the proof.
“Okay, fast sex, pizza, and then you take your time. I miss being worshipped.”
He yanked open her pants and tugged them down. Picking her up, he dropped her onto a pile of crates so he could kneel in front of her.
“That’s not fast…”
His mouth stopped her from saying more.
Maura leaned back as he teased, tormented, and devoured her. She moaned his name as he nipped her.
“Lucas,” she whispered, her hands buried in his hair.
Luke couldn’t get enough. He’d been compelled to take his wife. He wanted to tease her to delirium as she begged him to take her.
When he bit her on the clit, she came again, this time her body bucking against his mouth.
“I need more,” he said, pulling open his jeans and standing in front of her.
“Yes, babe, yes,” she said, as his face morphed into a man dying to take his woman.
There was tension around his eyes, his mouth, and in his fingers as he held her body still.
“I want to fuck you.”
She couldn’t move as he had her pinned against the crates. Luke was practically on top of her, and he was getting ready to…
He drove into her, burying himself in the wetness.
That’s when he began pummeling her body, fucking her as hard as he could.
The crates rattled.
Her breath came out in gasps and pleas.
He muttered
filth beneath his breath.
All through it, Maura felt off. This felt wrong. She held on for the ride.
Her gut was warning her.
Luke, while enthusiastic, was never rough. He must really be out of control.
“The way to a man’s heart is to keep his belly full, and his balls empty,” he whispered in her ear, as he jackhammered himself into her body.
Only, Maura had chills.
“The Irish accent isn’t funny during sex,” she said, trying to get him to take it easy.
He was hurting her.
God!
For the first time, ever, she wasn’t enjoying his touch. Luke was bruising her whole body.
His laughter in her ear creeped her out.
“Luke, knock it off,” she said, trying to push him off her to get free.
When his hands went around her neck, and he began to squeeze, her heart began thumping.
“I put my seed in you, and you gave me a child. That child is my prize, you whore,” he hissed in her ear as he forced her legs to stay apart. “You’re a slut! Polly is my treasure!”
Maura couldn’t move.
She couldn’t breathe.
Her husband was out of control. His hands were squeezing the life from her as he buried his dick in her body.
“Lucas, help me,” she whispered, trying to get through to him. When his body shuddered, and he exploded in her in a wave of wet heat, he collapsed onto her.
Maura couldn’t breathe.
Her husband had just…raped her.
Or something had.
When he lifted his head, he didn’t look right. That’s when Maura saw it.
The knife in his hand. He brought it down, trying to hit her heart. She blocked it with her free hand, taking the shot to her arm.
When he moved, she grabbed the bottle of wine, and slammed it into his head.
He fell from her body, and she stared at the aftermath.
Maura pulled up her pants, yanked the knife from her arm, and stumbled up the stairs crying.
She was trying to be strong, but it was hard.
She was scared.
When she stumbled into the living room, Jagger was the first one on his feet.
“Jesus! Maura! What happened?” he asked, heading toward her.
She went into his body. “Luke attacked me in the wine cellar. I had to knock him out.”
Nate and Lucian rushed out of the room as Jagger and Roxy helped Maura to the couch.
She was a mess.
“Please tell me I didn’t kill him,” she whispered. “I had no choice,” she said, over and over again. “I had no choice!”
Jagger held her against his body as Roxy checked out her arm.
“It’s okay, Maura. We have you,” he said, cradling her against him. She was shaking, and he’d never seen her like this.
It was unnerving.
Suddenly, the room got cold.
Avalon stood in front of them. “Get Lucian,” she whispered, her voice sounding just as chilly as the air around them.
“We’re not alone,” she stated.
Then Oracle did her thing.
She protected her family from the dead.
Again.
* * * O R A C L E * * *
The Bog
When they pulled up to the pub, she was having a damn good time. He’d driven her through the streets of Adare, and when he saw a woman selling flowers, he bought her a red rose.
It was his way of showing her this wasn’t just a date.
This was about her and him.
As they drove off, he could see her smiling and smelling the flower repeatedly from the mirror.
Yeah, he was smitten.
“Are you hungry?” he asked, helping her off the bike.
“I am,” she said. “Colcannon happens to be my favorite. I wish I could try some of the other things, but they have meat in them.”
“Why don’t you eat meat?” he asked, taking her hand in his as they walked into the pub.
“I love animals. I feel bad about eating them. I’ll eat fish once in a while.”
“Fish are animals.”
“Fish are ugly.”
He laughed, not expecting that response. “You really are practical,” he teased.
“I try. It makes life easier.”
As they entered the loud pub, he led her to the back where the diners ate their meals.
At his customary table, there was some candles and flowers.
It made him smile. Good old Sean, trying to help him woo the girl. He owed him for that.
“Oh, look,” she said, checking out the ambiance. “You planned a romantic date.”
“Do you like romance?” he asked, helping her into her side of the cozy booth.
“I love it. What girl doesn’t like it? If she says she doesn’t, she’s lying.”
“I say we enjoy our date, and maybe later we can take a ride to the hills. There’s some pretty stars out tonight,” he offered.
“I’d love that.”
He would too.
For the first time, he wanted to be romantic. Laird wanted to pull out all the stops.
For Brianna, he wanted to be a better man.
As they sat, he was still holding her hand. Maybe it was to show possessiveness, or that it was calming.
Laird felt damn good.
“Do you mind?” he asked. “Touching you helps keep my mind calm,” he offered.
“I don’t mind at all.”
He saw Jenny heading his way.
“We’ll have the colcannon, and two glasses of red wine,” he offered.
She took his order, and stared at the woman he was with. Jenny couldn’t believe he’d bring a woman here when she’d made her intentions crystal clear.
He was going to be hers.
That had been her plan the last three years as she waited to turn eighteen.
She made notes.
“Are you new in town?” she asked, “I haven’t seen you around.”
“I’ve been here almost a year.”
“Aye, an American.”
She rolled her eyes.
“Jenny, just bring the food,” Laird said. He didn’t like the way the woman was giving Brianna a look. This was why he was worried about coming there.
Jenny had a nasty streak when she was instigated. Sean let her be the bouncer—and with good reason.
“She seems…nice,” Brianna stated.
“She’s been trying to get me to date her for about three years,” he said, being honest.
“She looks like she’s twelve,” Brianna offered.
“Yeah, well, she’s barely a day over eighteen, and I don’t like children,” he said.
“What do you like?” she asked, her hand still in his.
“Before you? I liked my job. Now I’m all kinds of confused, and I don’t know what to do about it.”
She touched his cheek. “What do you want to do about it?” she asked.
“I want to spend my days holding you and kissing you, even though I’ve just met you.”
She moved closer. “I’m free now,” she offered.
He grinned wickedly. “That you are, Brianna. That you are,” he said, pulling her mouth to his. The kiss was heated, warm, and filled with need.
Laird held nothing back.
As her fingers roamed through his hair, his did the same, setting that red braid free.
When they broke apart, he smiled at her. “Thank God you kissed me earlier. I wasn’t worried now either. I think I love your practicality.”
She laughed.
“I am glad I can be of help,” she offered.
When he looked up, Jenny was heading his way. She was carrying two glasses of wine. “My brother said to give you the bottle so you can get lucky with the American.”
He stared at her.
“She looks frigid. I don’t doubt you’ll need it!”
“Jenny!”
She dropped the glasses onto the table and l
eft the bottle behind.
“Well, I hope I don’t meet her in a dark alley,” Brianna teased. “I think she’d kick my ass.”
He sighed. “Maybe we should go elsewhere. It’s our first official date.”
“Will there be more?” she asked.
He blinked, trying to figure out a delicate way of putting it. Laird didn’t want to just date her.
He wanted her.
As his.
“What’s troubling you?” she asked, touching his face.
This was bad.
He was about to open his mouth.
“When I saw you yesterday in the street…”
She waited.
“I realized something.”
“What is it, Laird?” she asked, using his name.
Nothing in his life had ever sounded so sweet. This was going to either blow up in his face, or matter.
He just wasn’t sure which.
“When I saw you, I knew something.”
“What?” she asked.
Laird took a deep breath.
“I knew you were the one I was meant to be with for the rest of my life. I just knew here,” he said, touching his chest.
Brianna opened her mouth.
At that very moment, Jenny returned with their dinner, and slid it onto the table. It hit the wine bottle, knocking it over onto Brianna’s lap. It poured all over her jeans.
She gasped.
Jenny smiled. “Oh, that’s too damn bad.”
And Laird knew his life was one giant mess.
Here was the proof.
Chapter Thirteen
Graymoor
T hey had one hell of a mess on their hands. As Avalon stood in the middle of the room, she did her thing, making sure that she protected her family. It didn’t talk long for Lucian to get to her side, and once they were hand in hand, the cold began leaving.
It abated.
“What the hell is going on?” Nate asked, as he helped Luke into the room. The man’s head was cut, and he was bleeding profusely from his scalp.
“I’ve never experienced anything like this,” Avalon admitted. “While the dead are always around, they’re never this angry around me.”
Well, someone was pissed.
Oracle Haunting (The Phoenix Files Book 4) Page 24