Malevolent

by S. Peters Davis

  Malevolent

  Kendra Spark Novel, Book 2

  By S. Peters-Davis

  EPUB 978-0-2286-0419-8

  Kindle 978-0-2286-0420-4

  WEB 978-0-2286-0421-1

  Amazon Print 978-0-2286-0422-8

  BWL Print 978-0-2286-0423-5

  Copyright 2018 by S. Peters-Davis

  Cover art by Michelle Lee

  All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher of this book.

  Dedication

  To Sharon, Jen, and Charlene, thank you for spending time with my story-stars and helping to shake their lives out perfectly. Donna, Leni, Robin, you’re all special sisters, most especially through the trying times this year. Donna C., thank goodness for you and all of your heart hugs. You too, Miss Sharon. To Kerry, Dawn, and Jackie, thank you for your unending support and love. My heart wells over with gratitude and appreciation…and love. Blessings to all.

  Chapter One

  Kendra

  “Kendra, we’re really sorry to hear about the loss of your friend, Jenna.” Lexi grabbed my hand and Denise grabbed the other. A blanket of somber covered the initial enthusiasm of our reunion and previous conversations on what happened while I was in D.C. My friends guided me down the lakeside porch steps of my cottage home and then stopped at ground level to view the sun setting over the treetops on the other side of the lake.

  Jenna stood in front of me, her spirit remaining earthbound. Earlier today I’d performed the ritual to keep her grounded here as long as she wanted to stay; the same one my Grandma Ellie had guided me through to keep her on the earth plane until she’d decided to join Grandpa in the light vortex. I silently thanked Grandma for her journal regarding the spirit world. The information within had suddenly become indispensable, especially her research of malevolent spirits that I still needed to read.

  “So, these two women are your Michigan friends?” Jenna made a pass around each one, eyeing them up and down. “Yeah, I can see how the three of you would become friends.” Didn’t know what that meant by her tone, good or bad, but I cared deeply for these women and they were always here to help me out whenever I needed emotional support or any kind of assistance, like taking care of my place whenever I traveled.

  “Tell us more about the FBI agent, Derek Knight.” Denise grinned and winked at Lexi. The women dropped my hands and smiled, both arching their brows.

  Bless my two Paradise Isle Lake neighbors. Denise lived just past the boat launch, and Lexi’s place was a few houses down from there. If I were to share my growing attraction to this man, it would be with these two. Without knowing my future calling, as Grandma Ellie so elegantly worded it, how was I to know which path I would follow, romance-suspense novel writing or FBI consulting? Or maybe that choice would be taken from me by the soul-sucker that marked Jenna’s and my soul as his. I had plenty to learn in that department.

  “Doesn’t his name remind you of one of Kendra’s romance book heroes?” Lexi repeated, “Derek Knight,” and as his name rolled out of her mouth an instant shiver of warmth pulsed along my veins. “Oh, my goodness, look at her, all dreamy-eyed.” She giggled.

  “Did someone just mention my name?” Derek stepped around the corner of the cottage.

  An instant tah-ting rang through my brain, seizing my heart with extra beats; something that happened every time I saw him. He wasn’t wearing a sling and I hoped he didn’t remember that I should be wearing one. Instead, he wore a soft cast on his left arm for the healing hairline crack in his wrist bone, caused by one of Vinnie Merretti’s henchmen. His short-sleeved teal-green shirt accentuated his corded arm muscles. The color blended into a relaxed casual-look with his khaki pants, something entirely different from his usual suit and tie special agent apparel.

  As our gazes met, my heart took a tumble and my face grew molten hot. His striking blue eyes appeared dark like deep turquoise. An avalanche of flutters erupted inside me as his dimpled smile swiped my breath away.

  Damn, he did look good. Too dang good. Even with the remnants of bruising around his eye and jaw from last week’s beating, it didn’t take away from his masculine handsomeness.

  “Oh, my, my, look what the cat’s dragged in.” Jenna snickered, but only I heard her. “He just couldn’t stay away from you, Sparky.” The pet name from Jenna snapped me out of my goofy Derek-trance.

  “What are you doing here, Mr. Cracked Ribs and Shot Arm?” A name I’d called him from the injuries he’d sustained during the last case.

  He chuckled, glancing toward my friends as he walked to us and then his gaze settled on me. “I’ve missed you.” His arm draped across my shoulders. He drew my body into his side, leaned down, and kissed my forehead.

  My eyes closed automatically. I sank into the moment, a bit mixed-up from the deep-level intensity of it.

  “So, are you packed and ready to head out?”

  I snapped open my lids, eyes wide. A deep sigh escaped as I bit my lower lip. “I actually haven’t had time to unpack or finish the research from my grandmother’s journal.” I’d just arrived home from spending two days in California with my new publisher, Knixton House, and my agent, Clara Jones, setting up our contract agreement and working out a schedule with their publicist.

  “Hey you two, we’re going to head out and let you catch up. Sounds like there’s another trip in the works.” Denise winked at me. “Just let us know what you need us to do when you leave.” She stepped over and gave me a hug. Lexi did the same.

  “Thank you both for stopping by, and for all that you did to take care of my place.” I gave them another hug. “You ladies have my house key, so I’ll text both of you on what’s up when my schedule shakes out.”

  They shook Derek’s hand. “Take care of our girl.” Denise giggled. “We know she’s not used to the big city.” My friends made a speedy exit, chatting to each other around the side of the house and down the road until only the awakening sounds of night prevailed.

  Derek held me tight against his side while we stood in silence. The heat of his body made the mid-June balmy early-evening air seem extra chilly.

  “Holy smokin’ hot moment. Kiss the man and get it over with so he can become animated again. He’s statue-still for heaven’s sake. Breathe some life into him.” Jenna stared at Derek then at me, shaking her head. “That man is head over heels, Sparky. What have you done to him?” With that, she shimmered out of sight.

  I pushed away, enough to face him. “You should have given me a heads up so I’d be ready when you arrived. Are you hungry? Something to drink maybe?”

  “We can eat and drink on the flight back if you want?” He guided me up the steps of the porch and through the entry door to my living room. His gaze found my suitcase and carry-on bag sitting beside my bedroom doorway. “You said you weren’t packed.”

  “I said that I hadn’t unpacked.”

  He scanned the open area of my living space and kitchen, tension in his jaw relaxed. The table and chairs I used for dining or writing stood next to the picture window. Three empty wine glasses and an empty bottle of chardonnay gave away how I’d spent the last couple of hours with my friends. He stopped in front of the window and stared out. “What a view.”

  Where has the day gone? The last hint of sun marked the sky with streaks of orange, purple, and red. I grabbed the glasses, rinsed them, and set them in the sink.

  “Jackson was in hopes I could speed things along for you and get you back to D.C.” His smile disappeared, brows furrowi
ng as he turned toward me. “There was a dead Hispanic girl found along a beach in North Carolina. She isn’t the first discovered on shore; another was found two weeks ago. The task force has been called in on it because there’s reason to believe these two girls might be related to the container of girls discovered before you left D.C.”

  I’d gone to the scene of the semi-truck accident, but the dead driver’s spirit had departed before I arrived. The Hispanic girls in the sealed container were all taken to a hospital then released to the care of an FBI-sanctioned agency for wayward or abused children before I’d flown out of D.C. The driver had Vinny Merretti’s business card, an indicator that Vinny was most likely involved somehow in the abduction of the girls.

  “I understand why the FBI would consider the girls related to Vinny because of his business card, but why think there’s any relationship between the dead girls and the container of girls?”

  “Apparently, one of the girls recognized a picture of the latest victim as her sister,” Derek said. “The girls were taken during a summer school outing from a small village in South America. We won’t send them back until they are completely recovered. All of them were dangerously dehydrated and most of them also had dysentery.”

  “Oh my gosh, that must have been terrible for the girl who recognized her dead sister. When was this last victim found?” The sooner I arrived at a fresh crime scene, the better chance I had of connecting with the spirit of the deceased. Probabilities of communicating with the young were much greater as they never seemed to be in a hurry to leave the earth plane. I hurried over to my suitcase and rolled it into my room, placing it on the bed.

  Derek leaned against the bedroom doorframe. “Some early beach joggers found her this morning. We couldn’t leave her at the crime scene, so we flew her to our morgue in D.C.”

  I opened the luggage and pulled out my used clothing, replacing everything with fresh items. Adding my grandmother’s journal, I tossed in a few substances and objects from her supply boxes I might require for defeating malevolent spirits. I closed the case and snapped the locks.

  “You aren’t wearing your sling for your mending collarbone?” Derek’s breath warmed the side of my face as he leaned into me, moving me aside.

  “I wore it all weekend, but am not in any pain, so took it off.” I gave his arm a shove. “Like you did. Why use one hand when you can use two, right?”

  He chuckled. “You got me.”

  I expected him to grab the suitcase. Instead, his arms wrapped around my waist. His spicy-wood scent filled the air around me as he drew my body into his. I rose on my toes to meet his gaze, and his lips gently touched mine, turning into a crush of passion that sent sparks of pleasure to every part of me. His moan slipped between my lips followed by the tip of his tongue. A tremor quaked downward, to the bottom of my belly, his lips trembled as our breaths meshed.

  Vanilla sweetened the air, indicating Jenna was back. “Good grief, Sparky. You’re steaming up the windows.”

  I opened my eyes. Jenna stood beside us. With a regretful groan and shaken with emotions, I pressed my palms to Derek’s chest to gain some distance. A distance I should have been compelled to follow for a working relationship. Our kiss hinted at something greater, and I wasn’t ready to dive that deep. At least, not yet. “Jenna thinks we’re steaming up the windows.”

  Derek sighed. “Jenna, your timing is impeccable. Or, rather it stinks.” He looked around the room as if attempting to hone in on where she might be standing. Our communication improved ten-fold with Derek’s knowledge and acceptance of Jenna’s spirit still being earthbound.

  I pointed. “She’s beside you.”

  He shook his head, face flushed, as he took a deep man-breath. “I’ll get this loaded in the car while you finish packing your carry-on.” He lifted the suitcase off the bed and instead of allowing it to roll on its wheels, he carried it outside.

  I looked at Jenna. “We’re headed back to D.C. Two dead Hispanic girls were found on a North Carolina beach, one washed up two weeks ago and another this morning. FBI task force called in to investigate. They believe it’s related to the container truck of girls found on Friday…or was that Saturday?”

  “I know Merretti has something to do with this. Let’s go prove it.” Jenna sashayed to the bedroom window facing the roadside of the house, where Derek loaded the suitcase. “Told you he’d get animated if you kissed him. You two are sexy together, you know that?” Her belly laugh echoed in the room, even after she shimmered out of sight. Hearing her after she’d disappeared was a new ability, something to ask her about.

  I shuffled through my carry-on, discarded a few things I didn’t need and added new items I might want. Not knowing the length of time I’d be staying in D.C. made packing a bit difficult, plus the fact I needed to include my laptop and notebooks for novel writing. I committed to a new series of books and the first one was due the end of August, but the publicist wanted the cover and blurb at least a month earlier. Not an easy feat when I hadn’t even started character sketches or plotting.

  “Is this it then?” Derek slung the strap of the laptop storage bag over his shoulder, along with my carry-on. “Is Jenna still here?”

  “No, she’s gone.” I looked around, thinking of anything I might have missed, but my mind kept skittering between Derek, the new case, Jenna, and my writing commitments.

  Derek’s brows drew inward as he eyed my face. “You haven’t caught up on your sleep, have you?” He grabbed my upper arm to lead me along.

  “Not really. Have you?” I clicked off lights and locked the lakeside door as we made our way out the driveway entry. His fingers remained around my arm as he guided me to the SUV, reminding me of all the times we were together in D.C. and North Carolina.

  He opened the passenger door. “I’ve slept, but probably not enough. Climb in while I set this in the back.”

  I settled in the seat and sent a quick text off to Denise and Lexi, telling them I was leaving and not sure when I’d be back. I asked if they would mind doing what they did last week for me. I sent another one off to Sharon, my writing accountability partner. I’d sent her the details of my contract with Knixton, so she had a good idea of how pinched for time I would be if this case took too long.

  Derek started the vehicle and headed toward the main road. “We’re booked on a flight to D.C. There may be a few other agents on the plane, not more than ten people, so you should be able to catch a couple hours of sleep.”

  Like I would get any sleep with Derek sitting next to me. Being near him seemed more of a challenge, deflecting his magnetic draw. I wondered if being away from him had something to do with it like absence makes the heart grow fonder.

  Chapter Two

  Derek

  Kendra cringed, half-covering her eyes with spread fingers. “Deer!”

  A deer shot across the road in front of the SUV. I slowed, and another followed. “Love the nature in this state.” I clicked on the bright lights.

  She relaxed back into the seat, her slender forearms crossed over her lap. “I thought we’d be flying out of Detroit.”

  “Some agents are flying back to D.C., including you and me, from Grand Rapids. Less time than driving all the way to Detroit.” From my periphery, I caught her eyeing me. A rush of heat coursed through me, inflating parts that I couldn’t seem to control. Focus on something else. “I didn’t learn much about you from Jenna before I first met you, and the conversations we had that night at my place, well…do you remember much of them?” I’d missed Kendra more than I cared to admit. If I were being honest, she’d worked her way into my heart in less than a week, amid cracking a tough case. I glanced at her. She had turned her body in my direction inside the seatbelt.

  “Yeah, I remember some of it, like your telling me the backstory behind Dillon Cauls and Ted Delany, the FBI agent killers. I don’t recall you sharing anything about your family.” She folded a leg under her, making my fingers itch to touch her.

  I squas
hed the notion of reaching a hand over to rub her thigh. Too soon for that kind of play. “Okay, so you’d like to know a little about me…hmmm. My mom runs a bakery and café in Southern Indiana, a family business from her parents, and Dad is a retired electrician. I have three brothers, Harry Jr., Connor, and Randy. Before you ask, I’m the youngest, and of course, was the easiest to raise.”

  She laughed a light tinkly tone that gripped at the inside of my chest. “So, you grew up in a small town in Southern Indiana, sort of like me in a small town in Southwest Michigan. I have one younger sister, Rachel, and Jenna, who was always like a sister to me. And to be honest, I think my parents had it easiest with me, too.”

  “Did you ever marry?” I couldn’t resist asking.

  “No. Had one lengthy relationship a couple years ago, but it seemed more of a companionship sort of thing. Someone to see a movie or go to dinner with…not really a romance, maybe a once-in-a-while booty-call. What is referred to as friends with benefits, which is something that always had made me feel uncomfortable, so I ended it.”

  That surprised me, not about her ending the booty-call relationship, but her not having a man full of love and passion exclusively for her. Where did that thought come from?

  I turned into the Grand Rapids Airport and pulled through the gate to a private parking area. “We’re here.” I pointed toward a plane with its running lights on and engines warming. “And that must be our flight to D.C.”

  * * *

  Kendra

  I awakened as the plane touched down in D.C. Guess I could fall asleep beside Derek after all.

  His fingers intertwined mine and squeezed. “We’re here.” His gaze searched mine. “We should stop at the morgue if you feel up to it.”