Grady nodded. “I figured you might hear him the first day we met.”
“In the elevator at the agency?”
He nodded again.
“So, are you going to introduce us?”
“Sure.” He shifted in his seat. “Karl Danes, officially meet Terra Vane.”
“Hi, Terra,” a voice said, one made for soothing or seducing, depending on his intention. His tone sounded deep, bold, and hearty. Just like his laugh. “It’s nice to meet you at last.”
“It’s nice to meet you, too,” I replied. “But it’s also great to know I’m not losing my mind. Where are you standing right now?”
“Behind Grady. I can’t stay long. I’m able to less and less of late. But I’m so glad I can stick around while you tell Grady about vampires.” Karl laughed again. “This has got to be the best day of my life. Or death.” His chuckle had me smiling.
Grady cringed. “He likes to annoy me.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t say that,” Karl replied. “But then again. Yeah. I do. I like it.”
I laughed. “Do you have a photograph of Karl?”
“Sure,” Grady reluctantly took his wallet out of his pocket and flipped it open. He drew out a picture and handed it to me.
“Wow.” I raised my eyebrows at the attractive black guy who stood slightly taller than Grady in the image. He and Grady looked as thick as thieves dressed in their combat gear. “I bet those lady spirits can’t get enough of you.”
Karl chuckled. “If only. I spend my spirit time keeping the ghosts away from Grady here. I figure I’ll awarded with a harem when I hit heaven.”
I smiled wide, handing the photo back to Grady. “I’m sure you will. But don’t fret. When you aren’t around to annoy Grady, I can do the job. Only I think I’ve broken him.”
Grady frowned. “You haven’t broken me.”
“Sure about that? You look like you’re ready to bolt.”
“I’m not… I’m just having trouble getting my head around it all. That’s all.”
“Come on, Grady,” I heard Karl say. “You know we’ve seen shit, man, things we can’t understand. And that’s when I was alive. Now I’m talking to you as a ghost. And I’m keeping many ghosts at bay who want to use your gift to find peace, to torment, or have closure. You’d have believed none of that before now.”
“And you know how close it took me to the edge of losing my mind,” Grady snapped.
“But you didn’t. You got over it. You adjusted. You can adjust to this, too.”
“Why don’t I call Kaleb?” I suggested. “Or Bernard. Give you the proof you need?”
“No,” Grady sighed. “Not yet okay? I believe you. I do. And I don’t blame you for telling me all this. I saw the demon with my own eyes. I saw how fast Kaleb moved. How strong he was. And, if I’m honest with myself, I saw his eyes flash amber when he worried over you. I also saw Bernard race so fast out of the car to catch you when that demon threw you across the forest, even if I didn’t want to admit it to myself.”
“So knowing all this has helped, yes? It’s made you feel better?”
“I’ve never felt so wrong in all my life,” he admitted. “But I think it’s because I need to choose who I want to be. I need to embrace one side of my life or the other.”
“You can’t outrun your gift.”
“No. I know that, but I can suppress it, and I’ve been doing so with Karl’s help. Only how much longer can I live in denial? How much longer can I keep Cassandra in the dark about my gift? And how much longer can I keep pretending I’m someone I’m not?” He rubbed his eyes, looking tired suddenly.
Hating seeing him this way, I reached over and patted his hand. “Take a leap. Or step away from the cliff. Your choice depends on which one you can live with more easily.”
“You’re right.” He gave my hand a squeeze, then drew away. Getting to his feet, he grabbed his jacket, and threw it on. “You said you’re going off the grid for a while?”
“Yeah. I don’t know how long for. Might only be for a day or so.”
“Where are you going?”
“Through the portal. We have a lead on someone or something attacking people in the shifter lands. An agent colleague of mine back home asked to speak to us discreetly. He wants us to use the push of the IET to get on their lands to investigate.” I shrugged. “Stupid politics exist over there, too. What can I say?”
He pondered, his scowl turning to a frown, to an inquisitive gaze. “Okay.” He nodded. “I’ll give you my answer when you return. How about that?”
“I’d say that’s a plan.”
He half smiled. “Thank you for telling me.”
“Thank you for believing me.”
He nodded. “Yeah. I’ll see myself out.”
“Bye Terra,” Karl called out as Grady left.
“Bye Karl,” I replied, but I doubt he’d heard me. Grady had hurried out without looking back.
I stared at the empty doorway, hoping with everything inside me I’d done the right thing by telling him.
7
Mayra found me drowning my sorrows in caffeine not long after Grady had left.
“You okay?” she asked.
I looked up from my cup. “I’m fine.”
“Good.” She picked up my coffee and poured it down the sink.
“Hey!”
“I keep telling you to have this stuff in moderation. And you need fresh air more than you need the buzz.”
“I’ve just come out of the fresh air,” I reminded her.
“Then humor me. I need a walk around the grounds.”
Frustrated—I really wanted that coffee—I followed her out into the extensive gardens at the rear of the property.
Mayra hooked her arm through mine as we walked. “Head still spinning with all this, eh?”
“You can say that again.”
“And Grady now knows about us?”
“Yeah,” I sighed. “I think I’ve blown his mind.”
She chuckled. “He’ll be fine. He has a lot to process. And he has his friend with him.”
“Karl.”
“Yes. He has him to speak to if need be. And there’s nothing like opening a mind than having a best friend as a ghost.”
“True.” I smiled.
“Anyway, enough about Grady. Either he’s destined to be part of our team, or he isn’t. The choice is in his hands. But what I want to know is what’s going on with you and Kaleb?”
“You really think this is the time? I need to tell you all about what happened with Faraway.”
“We already know. Kaleb filled us in. And they’ve made a plan they want to run by you. But I wanted to pinch you first. So come on. Spill.”
I blushed, aware I wouldn’t get any peace until I relented. “Kaleb confessed he’s had feelings for me for a while. I kissed him. He kissed me back. A lot. But he doesn’t want to sleep with me.”
“What?”
“Not yet anyway. He wants us to have three dates to prove he’s into this for more than just sex.”
She laughed. “Why three dates?”
“Apparently, a girl shouldn’t put out until after the third date.” I smiled. “He saw it on a program and is now dangling it over my head. The asshole.”
“He’s hilarious. And I feel for you. But it’s sweet in a Kaleb kind of way.”
“Exactly what I thought. But making out is driving me insane. Now we’ve put our feelings on the table, it’s like a floodgate of emotion, and desperation to jump his bones has hit me hard. It’s killing me!”
Mayra laughed her ass off, trying to compose herself. “Sorry,” she snickered, but then sobered. “Oh, poor you. And poor Kaleb. He must be gnawing at the walls.”
“He’s handling it better than I am.”
“Then doesn’t that tell you something?”
“Like what?”
“About how much you mean to him.”
“I guess.” I blew the hair from my face as the breeze caressed us both. �
��But come on. We’ve known each other how long? The three-date rule, or any rule, shouldn’t apply. We’re two consenting adults, and it will hurt no one. Why wait?”
“It will be worth it. Let him do this for you.”
“I will,” I sighed. “I am. But it doesn’t stop me from becoming all frustrated though.”
“I get it. I’d be the same way. But there’s no rush. It’s all new for the two of you.”
“I think I’ve fallen in love with him.”
“What!” she shrieked.
“Sssh,” I hushed her. “Kaleb doesn’t know. And I don’t want him to know. But my damn heart doesn’t know how to put the brakes on. You know what he’s like.”
“I think he’ll be fine with it.”
“Hell no. Kaleb has never been in a serious relationship before and for a good reason. For years he’s vowed to sleep with almost every woman who crosses his path.”
“So he claims.”
“So I’ve seen.” She gave me a look. “I don’t mean I’ve literally seen. But I’ve seen them all over him. I’ve watched him leave the club with them. The bar. The restaurant. Damn. Even the agency. To think he’d want to give all that up for one woman.”
“For one woman he’s been waiting for all these years?”
“You don’t know that.”
“I have eyes. And neither of you know what’s down the road. Just enjoy it. Enjoy being together.”
“I am. I will. But with you, I can…”
“Tell me everything. Bare all?”
“In the metaphorical sense, yes.”
She gently squeezed my arm in comfort. “I know you’ve got a lot going on aside from the people we hunt. With all this happening to your gift and after what Lauz told you, ending things with Cole, and now being with Kaleb in this way, it’s a lot to take in. If you press pause, doubt may settle. But you can be still. Take a moment. See the beauty in all that’s happened of late.”
“Beauty?”
“You’ve escaped death many times, for one. That means you have a purpose here. Your gift is evolving, allowing you to grow into your full potential, and you’ve laid to rest the chemistry and feelings between you and Cole—both of you swerving out of harm’s way before things got too destructive to your career and your heart. Then you found your guy. The one waiting in the wings. You found one another.”
“But…”
“But nothing. No doubts remember?”
“Fine.” I rolled my eyes but smiled all the same. “I guess everything is happening for a reason then, eh?”
“Yes. Yes, it is.”
“And now we’re heading out to the shifter lands.”
“Not me, I’m afraid.”
I stopped in my tracks.
“Bernard and Kaleb will tell you more,” she reassured me. “Now come on. Let’s go back inside.” She kissed my cheek. “And know I’m always here for you. Always.”
When I entered the den, I snottily said to Kaleb, “You still leading the IET I take it?”
Libby wasn’t far from him, her hand resting beside his as he spread out the map. Her long, dark hickory hair woven with caramel, spilled between them, her black orbs often flitting in his direction—eyes barely passable as human. She’d donned a red dress, one that clung to every curve and pushed up her olive toned cleavage in Kaleb’s direction. Oblivious, he chatted away to Bernard on his other side while Zax tapped away on the computer.
Kaleb smiled when he saw me, a smile that almost stopped me in my tracks. He didn’t move his hand resting next to Libby’s though. But why should he? He was doing nothing wrong. And I vowed to him I wouldn’t be a jealous ass. Damn it!
Libby threw me a knowing look and sidled closer to Kaleb. Any closer and she’d be rubbing up against him. I gnawed at my lip. But with Kaleb looking at me with such welcome on his face I couldn’t even throw my frustration at him. He also didn’t bite back at my shitty attitude.
“You know I’ll happily return the helm of the IET to you.” He winked. “But why don’t you get down from your high horse and come hear us out? Hopefully, you’ll agree with the plan.”
Taking a seat, I reluctantly huffed. “Fine. So, what’s the plan?”
“I’m not coming with you to the shifter lands,” Bernard told me, and I frowned. Mayra isn’t going. Now Bernard isn’t?
“Why not?” I glared at Kaleb. He put his hands up in defense.
“Not my decision.” He thrust a thumb in Libby’s direction. “Libby wants to take Dolly’s necklace back to her family.”
The mention of the Earth fairy, Dolly Lin—the sweet woman who had come over as part of our team and who’d recently got killed in action—made me stiffen. “What?”
“Look.” Libby crossed her arms, ready on the defensive. “I don’t relish being among a bunch of stinking wolves.” She rubbed Kaleb’s arm. “I don’t mean you, sweetie.” She looked back at me, and I refrained from poking her damn eyes out. “And it’s bothering me, not returning the necklace, and not giving Dolly’s message to her kin. So, if you, your highness, are in agreement, I’d like to take both the necklace and deliver the message to her family.” Pain flooded her eyes for a mere second. “I can’t fully let her go until I’ve done that.”
Empathy welled in me at her grief. Even if I didn’t understand Libby—or the way she drove me insane with her petty insults and need to make me jealous by treating Kaleb like a rubbing post—I got her grief. And out of everyone, Libby had been closest to Dolly.
Kaleb’s words from the night before, about Libby hanging onto to him because of not having anyone in the house to turn to, stirred the guilt within me.
“You can’t go into the Fey Lands alone,” I told her, planning on giving her the necklace. If left up to me, with all the drama hitting us of late, then I’d have no clue when Dolly’s family would hear of her parting words and love for them.
“That’s where I come in,” Bernard said. He smiled when I glanced over. “You’ve already seen what happens when vampires and shifters come together. And that’s with me not even stepping onto the shifter lands. I think it’s best I don’t come and rock the boat. I can go with Libby instead.”
“All right.” I nodded reluctantly, getting it, but not liking it. “Then why isn’t Mayra coming?”
At that, Mayra sat down next to me. “Because wolves don’t like witches much either. And I can stay back here with Zax. Help man the data we collect from the local enforcement agencies in case another escaped prisoner crops up. And I can continue working on my magic at the same time.” She patted my arm. “We can also be here if Grady needs to reach out.”
“So that would leave…”
“Me and you, baby,” Kaleb said, throwing a wink my way. “Just the two of us venturing into the shifter lands, alone.”
“Seriously?”
“Thanks.” His face fell. Libby stroked his arm and cooed over him.
“Knock it off,” I told her. To Kaleb, I said, “I don’t mean it like that. It’s great we’re going in together. But just the two of us? Really?”
“You’re human,” he replied, “and, no offense, but you won’t be a threat to them, even as a psychic. I won’t either, because I’m a shifter, and because I know Brent. Anyone else might cause ripples we don’t need.”
“And if we need help?”
“I’ve got the answer to that,” Zax replied. “I’ve got a code I can load into the program that runs on the watch comms we wear on Portiside. You all brought them over with you, right?”
I nodded.
“Good,” he continued, “then take those with you. If you need us, all one of you needs to do is go to the edge of the shifter lands where the signal should work. It’s doubtful they will do so once you enter Totem Talamh though.”
“They’ll work through the portal but not on the shifter lands?”
“I can use the cell towers over here to tap the signal into. I can’t do that when you’re out in the sticks of the shifter or Fey lands. So
far, I can only program it into an open channel. If you need to contact us, be brief. Or use code. We can come up with a code word.”
“How about hot sauce?” Kaleb suggested.
“Hot sauce?” I smiled.
“Yeah. Like, I want fries with hot sauce.”
“I was thinking something more like a name,” Zax suggested. “As in, ‘I think it’s time to feed Doris’ leading people to think we’re referring to a cat or something.”
Exasperated, Kaleb said, “Who has a cat called Doris?”
“I don’t know,” Zax shrugged. “I like it.”
“Let him have Doris,” I urged Kaleb. “He programmed the comms to work.”
“Doris?” Kaleb sighed in defeat. “Fine. But if anyone overhears…”
“Then we can say we got a cat called Doris,” Zax said with a grin.
Laughter flooded the room—the laughter we needed right at that moment.
“So it looks like we’re going to the shifter lands,” I said to Kaleb.
“Looks like.”
I turned to Bernard. “You’ll need a guide if you’re going into the Fey Lands.”
“I can hire one in the city.”
“I have the transmission code of one of the best. But he’s a pain in the ass.”
“Don’t worry about him,” Libby replied. “One look from me, and he’ll be putty in my hands.”
“Trust me. One look at you and it will be game over for Govad Terrell.”
“On that, we agree.”
“Only because he’d sleep with anything with a pulse.”
She glared at me. And I smiled, glad I’d won one at last.
8
After making the arrangements, all of us went our separate ways.
I went to my room and threw a few of my belongings into a bag, including my agency issued Pulsar weapon that Kaleb had encouraged me to pack. Who knew what awaited us on the other end?
Once done, I went to say my goodbyes to Zax, Mayra, and Bernard, while avoiding Libby.
Kaleb told me he would meet me outside after he’d packed. I found him leaning casually against the house, his bag at his feet.
Death Be Shifted (The Terra Vane Series Book 6) Page 5