Whisper Cape (23 page)

“Well, I don’t know what those responsibilities are yet, do I?”

He scowled at her, trying hard not to go to her, take her in his arms and tell her everything would be okay. He shook his head tersely. He knew she had a lot to learn, but he couldn’t turn soft now. He had to hold this mood steady, make her understand how wrong it was for them to continue playing at this game of love. She was too vulnerable and, fuck, so was he. Not being able to teleport while he was aroused scared the hell out of him.

“Well, please forgive my potentially-powerful ass if I’m not serious enough for you. This is all new to me. Unlike you, I didn’t have the advantage of growing up knowing I had special powers. Don’t think for one moment I don’t know the seriousness of this situation. This is my personality, pal. If you don’t like it, why the hell are you with me? This is how I deal with stress. If you can’t handle it, take a hike and you can shove this whole mess up your ass while you’re at it. I can take care of myself.”

Her voice was strong, determined, but he could see the hurt in her eyes and wanted to comfort her, hold her and tell her he was sorry for being a prick. But this is what had to be done. He had to be able to control his abilities, and around her, they seemed to get all mixed up.

“I need to get to work now, so would you please take me to my truck?”

“Yes, let’s go.”

“I don't suppose you'll be staying at the bar today.”

“No, I’m sure you’ll be fine. Remember, you have powers. For fucking sake, use them if you need to protect yourself.” He cringed to himself and didn't know if he would be able to keep this up long enough to make her hate him. If she hated him, it would be easier to keep their relationship platonic—easier for her to walk away. He didn't care about himself. He figured after today, he deserved to suffer the loss and wallow in misery for the rest of his life.

“I never said I needed you to protect me.”

“Right. So focus your energy on staying alive, not on me. I have better things to do, like find out where, and who or what Eidolon is. If we keep having sex all the time, we’re going to end up dead. I can’t keep hanging around, twenty-four/seven, having casual sex with you as if nothing’s wrong. It’s not as if we’re in love or anything. It’s over, Addison.”

Chapter 23

Addie's face was hot, and she wanted to cry, but not in front of him. She wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction of seeing her cry over him. She took a deep breath as he grabbed her by the arms. She held on to his waist and closed her eyes.

When they entered her apartment, he let her go and disappeared, leaving her standing alone without even saying goodbye.

It was over, just like that? He wasn’t in love with her, said he had better things to do. The words stung, and she fought back tears. Sure, she knew he had an obligation to the Sectorium and would do everything possible to protect her, but throwing the sex in her face was cruel. Was it just casual sex to him? She really thought she had meant more to him, and now it was over. She stood there stunned for several minutes, not caring whether she lived or died.

***

For a Saturday, the bar and grill didn't have many customers. Just as well, as far as Addie was concerned. She was in no mood to play nice with anybody today, her belligerent and rude behavior uncontrollable. Never before had she felt so used and betrayed.

“Damn it, Darcy. Why didn’t you just say what you wanted in the first place? Now you made me waste a perfectly good drink.”

“I did tell you. You weren’t listening. You have your head in the clouds today.”

“I do not. You need to speak more clearly and stop mumbling so a person can understand what it is you need.”

“It seems to me you’re the one who needs to pay closer attention to the orders and stop screwing them up. I don’t know what’s going on with you, but you’d better stop yelling at me, or you’re going to find yourself flat on your ass.”

“You’d better watch your own ass, it’s certainly big enough.”

Darcy's face turned red and she walked around the bar, hands fisted at her sides.

Jared stuck his head out from the kitchen. “What the …?”

Gerry grabbed Addie by the arm and pulled her out the back door, stopping Darcy in her tracks as Jared looked on with wide eyes.

“Darcy, watch the bar,” Gerry barked on their way out.

“Let go of me.” Addie squirmed to tug free.

Once outside Gerry let go of her arm. It was nippy outside and Addie leaned up against the wall, crossing her arms over her chest, her sleeves still rolled up from when she washed glasses. Gerry stood facing her, his arms folded across his chest, mimicking her. Addie kept her eyes on the ground.

It was no use. To Gerry, she was an open book. He read her moods better than anyone did. After all, they worked side-by-side most every day. There was an unspoken mutual respect and admiration between them.

“What the hell’s the matter with you, Addie?”

“Nothing.”

“You’ve been jumping down everyone’s throat all morning. This isn’t like you. What’s going on?”

“It’s really none of your business.”

“Bollocks. Don’t give me any bloody bullshit. The man you’re seeing, Cael, did he do something to you? Did he hurt you then?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” she said, her arms still crossed and her eyes cast down toward the ground.

“Oh, I think you’d better or ...”

She looked up. “Or what, Gerry? You think just because I work for you I have to do everything you tell me to do, or maybe because you’re
fucking
my aunt you have the right to pry into my personal business? Well, you don’t. I don’t have to tell you anything.”

Addie hadn’t meant to be so crude and spiteful but she’d had enough of people telling her what to do. She was unable to shake off the sting of Cael's words and had given up on controlling her anger when lashing out at everyone seemed easier. If she softened, she’d break down and she refused to permit herself that luxury right now. It took less effort to stay hard and angry.

Gerry lowered his head and scrunched his eyes closed as he squeezed the bridge of his nose. Addie knew the gesture, knew the signs of the man gaining his composure before he said something he might regret.

“No, not when you keep it outside of work, but when you start bringing your personal issues to work with you—throwing out insults to customers and other employees—that’s when I get involved. And no, I don’t think I have the right to pry into your personal business, I just happen to care about you ... and if he’s done anything to hurt you then, aye, I make it my business.”

She turned to walk back in, snubbing everything he’d just said.

Gerry grabbed her arm again, holding her back. “Addie, you will not ignore me. If you don’t want to talk about it, fine. Just look me in the eye and tell me he hasn’t hurt you.”

His eyes searched hers; knowing he already knew the truth, but unable to face it herself, she lied. “He hasn’t.”

He stood holding her arms—eyes steady on hers for a long, intense moment before he said anything—and she hoped he didn't detect the tears welling in her eyes.

“Okay then,” he said with a tenderness she hadn’t expected. “I want you to take the rest of the day off. I’ll get Maia or Nick in to cover for you tonight.”

“But, I ...” and then she broke. Tears flooded down her cheeks. “Oh God, I didn’t want to cry, I can’t cry. I need to be strong.” Her arms went up to her head as she fell against Gerry and sobbed.

“There, now.” He gently stroked her head then lifted her arms. “What the fuck is this? Did he do this? He’ll pay for this, he’ll be sorry he hurt you.”

Gerry’s voice cooed in her ears as she wept. She was absorbed in her own anguish, not paying much attention to what he was saying. She swiped her tears with the back of her hand. “I apologize; I appreciate your concern. I’m sorry I’ve been so hard to get along with today.”

“Ahhh... I’m sorry, too, Addie. I should have realized what kind of man he was right from the beginning. Bart’s nephew or not, that son of a bitch won’t get away with this.”

“Okay, I guess I
should
take the rest of the day off. It’ll probably be better for everyone.”

“Good, you look exhausted.”

She forced a smile, but her heart ached. Cael’s last words still rang loud in her ears.
“I can’t keep hanging around, twenty-four/seven, having casual sex with you. It’s not as if we’re in love or anything. It’s over, Addison.”

What would she do without him? Where should she go? If she left the bar now, how would she let Cael know where she was? Did he even care? They never bothered to exchange cell numbers—since up to now he was always with her. She wasn’t sure where she should go. If she drove to his house, Eidolon might follow and know where she’d been hiding. If she went home, he might follow her there. God, she was pathetic. Maybe Cael was right. She was depending on him too much. She had powers; she would use them if she needed to.

Then it dawned on her. She would drive downtown to the stores where other people were. She’d be safe there, even pick up a few new outfits while she was at it. After being with Cael, she wanted to take better care of her appearance, but then if Cael was serious about ending it, what did her appearance matter, anyway? Well, she’d do it for herself. Obviously, he had been in it just for the sex and after this was all over, he would go back to New York and forget all about her.

Could she forget him? She didn’t want to; no man could ever make her feel as wonderful as Cael had.

She drove the short ten minutes up the coast to the little shops in the neighboring downtown area and parked her truck on the street. With a heavy weight in her chest, she found it difficult to get excited about shopping.
Perhaps if she found something sexy she could...

Who was she kidding? Cael was adamant about them not having that type of relationship.

She’d been downtown a few times before, but until now never with the intent of actually buying clothes. Maybe she would just do some window-shopping.

Walking along the charming cobblestoned sidewalk, she noticed a variety of little boutiques on both sides of the street, stretching a span of about two blocks. There were antique shops, art galleries, clothing stores, gift shops, even a little pastry shop—all the usual tourist places. It was a small town with no traffic signals or gaudy business signs. She stopped for a few seconds to admire an attractive little garden tucked in between two buildings. A man and woman sat on a bench throwing an occasional crumb from a muffin they shared out to a bunch of hungry little birds. They looked happy and in love. She turned away from them as the vision made her think of Cael.

She walked across the street, glancing in each window as she passed. She stopped at one of the dress shops, focusing on a few of the items when an ominous awareness came over her, as if someone was watching her. Addie looked over her shoulder, but didn’t see anyone suspicious. She walked past a café and considered stopping for a cup of coffee and maybe a muffin. Her stomach was in knots from all the arguing, and she thought it might be a good idea to put something in it. She ordered coffee and a banana nut muffin and sat for a long while thinking about Cael. She stared blankly into space, crumbling the muffin into tiny pieces, scattering them around the plate. She glanced down at it and realized she hadn’t taken one bite. She pushed it away, finished the coffee, and left.

***

Cael kicked the wall outside the police station. It was an old building and the force of his foot caused the stucco to crack. He felt horrible about fighting with Addison. He’d wanted to hold her and take back the casual sex remark when he saw the anguish on her face. Why would she think he didn’t like her personality? It hadn’t been about that and he hated the way he had treated her. The argument had just been a necessary ruse to facilitate an end to the physical side of their relationship and his piss-poor lack of judgment. “Yeah, mission accomplished, fuck-head.”

He had to make her understand how important her role was. They couldn’t let their emotions interfere. He wasn’t sure if she was in love with him or not, but he was certainly on his way to falling in love with her. One thing he was right about was the sex, though. They needed to stop or they just might end up dead. Discovering his ability to teleport had disappeared while he was aroused was staggering. He had no idea before, since he’d never tried it. The revelation scared the hell out of him. If Eidolon ever attacked when they were having sex, he would kill them both. He wasn’t sure about Addison’s powers. They were so new to her—she hadn’t even begun to realize her strengths. He hated ending things with her, but it was over, done with. She’d probably never want to talk to him again anyway, after this morning.

Chief Thompson sat behind a wide desk cluttered with piles of files and pictures of the two dead women scattered in front of him. A black mug with an insignia of the police department sat half empty in the middle of it all.

Cael walked in and the chief looked up.

“Detective, glad you stopped by. We've identified the two women, the first as Lisa White and the second as Karen Strung—both from Portland.”

Cael studied the photographs and knew immediately why Eidolon had chosen them as his victims.

“They look alike.”
Similar to Addison
.

“Yes, I agree.”

“Since they resemble each other, it could be murder.”

“Hmmm … I don't see any other connection between the two. One woman, slain by a wild animal and left mutilated in a field, the other washed up on the beach after having plummeted a hundred feet to the rocks below—most likely a suicide. I don't think either one of the women were murdered.”

“Will you keep me informed of any new developments?”

“Will do.”

Cael kept his knowledge of Eidolon to himself. Divulging that information would only result in the Chief doubting his sanity, and it could risk exposing the Sectorium. The message was loud and clear, though. Eidolon was targeting these women because they looked like Addison. Cael was certain Eidolon hoped to scare her enough into revealing the whereabouts of the crystal and the book when he captured her. Cael had to make sure he never got the chance.