Whisper Cape (30 page)

She had to admit, she’d been relieved to learn Breena wasn’t Cael’s child, though she honestly wouldn’t have had any problem with it. She truly liked the little girl.

Chapter 29

Addison returned to the table as Jared came up behind her. “Would it be okay if I join you two? There doesn’t seem to be any other open seats in here tonight. It’s been a long day, and I could use a beer and some company.”

“Sure, have a seat.” Cael pushed the extra chair out with his foot.

Addison sat, the frown on her face turning into a forced smile directed at Jared. Cael felt a perverse bubble of confusion and unrepressed fear emanate from her mind and he wondered if it was the idea of children that had her upset. He wanted to talk more about it, but now with Jared here, the topic would have to wait.

“Thanks. Hey, did you guys hear about the third dead woman?”

Cael felt his eyes bulge as he stared at Jared. Addison's eyes were just as wide. “No, when did this happen?”

“They found her this afternoon, close to downtown. They said she died of a drug overdose and had most likely been out partying the night before and didn’t make it home before the drugs killed her.”

“Excuse me.” Cael got up and walked over to Whelan, determined to find out why Chief Thompson hadn’t notified him regarding this new death.

“Hello, there, Lieutenant. Remember me? We met this afternoon, Cael Sheridan, private investigator.”

“Right, I guess you heard about the new casualty.”

“Just heard. I thought Chief Thompson was going to call me if any new developments turned up.”

“Well, considering this incident is completely different from the others, I guess he decided it wasn’t worth bothering you about.”

“When are you two going to admit that these deaths are related? Now we have three dead women in less than a week. What are the odds, man?”

“You have a point there, but there’s nothing to substantiate a relationship between the three. We can’t find anything. As coincidental as it seems, we have nothing to go on. I’m sure the chief wouldn’t mind if you stopped by the station tomorrow; maybe between the three of us we can come up with something.”

“Good, I’ll be there.”

Cael sat down and sipped at his wine. Trying to tear his thoughts away from Eidolon’s newest victim, he listened while Jared talked about Darcy and her obsession with every other man except Jared. Poor bastard. Hell, he felt bad—Jared was hopelessly in love with a woman who didn’t give a rat’s ass whether or not he existed.

Cael glanced at Addison’s watch. It was getting late, and since he couldn’t identify Eidolon any more than he could tell how she really felt about him, he figured it was time to leave.

“Addison, we should go. It’s been a long day.”

“Right. Sorry, Jared, I’d love to stay and talk more, but Cael is right. It has been a long day and I’m exhausted. See you tomorrow.”

As they walked out, Cael noticed Darcy was now sitting with Whelan and thought,
too bad for Jared.

***

Lieutenant Whelan sat sipping a coke at the bar and Darcy's stomach did somersaults in anticipation of her upcoming date with him. It was so exciting, dating a cop. She was always excited whenever she went out with someone new, but this man had intrigued her far more than anyone else had since ... well, okay she had to admit it—Jared. He was being so annoying lately. Yes, there was love there once, a year ago. It was his fault; after all, he was the one who cheated and shattered her heart. She’d wanted to marry Jared, have kids with him, grow old with him, but she couldn’t forgive him—she had her pride.

Darcy sat next to Duane, but her eyes were on Jared at the next table, brooding like a brokenhearted dove. She tried to ignore him as she sat and listened to Duane tell her where he planned to take her for dinner Monday.

“There’s a little restaurant about seven miles north called Barney’s. It’s similar to this but without the great view. I thought it would be nice to go somewhere you didn’t work ... if that’s okay with you,” Duane said.

Darcy sat, staring at Jared.

“Darcy?” Duane tapped her on the shoulder.

“Huh ...?” she said, completely bewildered.

“Is that okay with you?”

“What?”

“Barney's.”

“Oh sure, I’ve been there, it’s nice.”

“Okay, I’ll pick you up at seven. We have reservations for seven-thirty.”

“Great, are you off duty yet? I’ll get you a beer.” She stood.

“No, I have the late shift tonight, which I should get back to. See you Monday night.”

When Duane left, Darcy walked over to Jared. She supposed it was time they tried to have a civilized conversation.

“Do you mind if I sit for a minute?”

“Sure.” He scrambled up and pulled out a chair for her. Jared seemed nervous. She had always loved that about him; somehow, it made her feel special, as though he felt it necessary to try harder to please her. In fact, Jared was actually the best lover by far she’d ever had. Of course, she actually hadn’t really had sex with any man other than Jared. But even thinking about men who seemed like they might be good lovers, she was sure Jared would win out over all of them, not that she would admit that to anyone—not even Addie. She wanted Jared to think she was having the time of her life, and the more men he thought she was sleeping with, the better.

“Look, I know this bothers you, about me going out with other guys, but you need to move on.”

Jared sipped his beer and looked her square in the eyes.

“I can’t, I still love you as much today as I did a year ago, hell, twenty years ago. I’ve always loved you and I always will. You need to get back at me for cheating on you. I get it. You go ahead, go out with other guys. When you finally get it out of your system, I’ll be here.”

Darcy sighed.
If things could only be that simple.
She left Jared to brood over his beer, wishing things had turned out differently for them.

***

After the usual routine of leaving the truck at the apartment, Cael and Addison returned to the rental house. He transported them directly to the bedroom, where he looked Addison up and down. The conversation about children would have to wait.

“As much as I love looking at you in this tight short skirt, I’ll need to remove it now, so I can find out exactly what Breena almost saw today.”

He unbuttoned her blouse and saw the new lace bra she had purchased. “Nice ... very nice, and very sexy.”

“You saw this earlier.”

“Only saw the panties, I didn’t notice this. I was busy.”

He cupped her breast and kissed her just above the lace of her bra. Then he took her mouth with his as her lips parted with acceptance. He wanted to take it very slowly.

He unfastened her skirt and it slipped down to the floor. Then he tugged at her panties and she pushed his hand away.

“Hold on, pal.” She stood there in just her bra, panties, and high heels.

“Have you seen yourself? You can’t ask me to wait, baby, that’s just too cruel.”

“Well, if you want to see what Breena nearly saw, you’ll need to let me take the lead.” She tugged his belt loose, unbuttoned his pants, and pushed them to the floor. Before removing the rest of her clothes, Addison knelt down and he let her take him on a heated erotic journey.

His body was on fire, his head was spinning, and his breathing heavy as he fought back the explosive urge to let go. She raised her head, grazing her tongue along his tip, glancing at him before taking him in again and he was unable to fight it anymore as his orgasm burst from him.

He scooped her up, placed her on the bed and straddled her. Covering her mouth with his, he fiddled with her bra as it snapped against the back of his hand.

“Ouch!” he said, lifting his head. “These things are lethal, why do you wear them?”

“To drive you crazy.” She laughed.

“I’m crazy enough about you, I don’t see the need.”

“Are you trying to say I have small breasts?”

“No, of course not, especially considering where your knee is.”

With a wicked curve to her lips, she jerked her knee up a bit.

“Watch it, or you’ll ruin the rest of the evening’s activities.” Then he took her breast in his mouth, released it. “They are perfect.”

After finally getting those panties down, his exploring fingers found her already wet and inviting. He covered her mouth once again, savoring her, then moved lower to place soft kisses against her neck as he plunged himself into her.

She let out a soft moan and whispered with heated breath. “I thought you would need to wait a few minutes.”

“No, it’s one of the perks of my abilities.”

“Mmmm ... I love your abilities.”

***

Cael's feet tingled against the cold sand as he ran along the edge of the water, Addison splashing him as she ran alongside laughing as he splashed her back. Suddenly something came out of the water and grabbed her, dragging her out to sea as she screamed for him. He awoke with a jolt and reached for her, but she wasn’t there.

Panic-stricken, he bolted out of bed and pulled his pants on, foregoing the boxers bunched in a pile on the floor next to his shoes. He teleported downstairs—first to the kitchen—she wasn’t there—then to the living room, but she wasn’t there either. Light from the full moon hovered over the horizon and filtered in through the living room window. The front door was wide open and he shouted for Addison as he ran through it in search of her.

He spotted her across the plush grass by the edge of the cliff. Relieved first, he quickly became concerned at the sight of her; completely naked, Addison was talking to someone—no, arguing with someone—but Cael didn’t see anyone.

“Addison?”

Panic returned when she didn’t respond. “What the fuck ...?”

He walked toward her and as he got close, he heard a low growl come from the left of him, stopping Cael in his tracks. He turned his head to see large fangs protruding from the slavering mouth of a gigantic black beast. It appeared to be a dog or a wolf and it stood hunched, hackles at attention, ready to pounce. He reached for his gun. “Fuck.” His gun was in the house. He could teleport to get it, but that would leave Addison out here alone with this ... this thing. He glanced back at Addison. She didn’t seem to hear the growl as she was still conversing with someone invisible.
Is she talking to her dad or did she walk out here in her sleep?

“Addison!”

The dog crouched closer to her.

“Addison!” She still didn’t respond. “Sweet Jesus.” Raking his hands through his hair, he tried to think. Addison fell to her knees clutching her stomach and he realized she wasn’t sleeping.

He had to act quickly. If the beast reached her before he could get there to teleport them, he risked taking it back inside with them. But what else could he do when his gun was inside?

“Oh, fuck, what the hell.”

He flashed to her just as the dog latched on to his pants leg. He wrapped his arms around Addison and all three materialized inside. As he scrambled for his gun, the beast sank its fangs into his calf. Cael yelled at the searing pain that erupted in his leg and fell to the floor.

“Cael!” Addison yelled, finally freed from the spell.

Sparks flashed from her hands, hitting the animal as its fangs clamped down a second time over Cael’s thigh. It continued gnashing and growling. She sent out another bolt of fiery streaks as the creature turned toward her, snarling and snapping through the foam that dripped from its jowls. She covered her mouth and nose to diminish the stench of its breath with one hand and sent out spark after spark with the other as the creature advanced. Finally, the beast yelped and fell to the floor, whimpering, transformed to nothing more than a poor wounded dog that slinked out the door.

Addison rushed over to Cael. “Oh God, it bit you.”

“Twice. Who the hell were you talking to?”

“I don’t know ... something was inside my head.” Her voice trembled as she placed her hands over Cael’s wounds. He was losing a lot of blood.

Cael caught a glimpse of the front door swaying back and forth in the cool ocean breeze. “Hurry, close the door before it comes back.”

Addison stumbled to the door, slammed it shut and then turned the dead bolt. She grabbed up Cael’s shirt from the sofa and shrugged it on before kneeling by his side. Pressing her hands on his wounds, her eyes glassed over as she entered into some sort of trance again and chanted.
“Vis curatio vox secundum arts, Vis curatio vox secundum arts, Vis curatio vox secundum arts.”

Cael's leg itched as the skin around the wounds began to close. He laid his head back and closed his eyes, listening to her chant.

After a few minutes, he groaned and slowly opened his eyes. She got up, went directly to the liquor cabinet, and took out a bottle of Jameson’s whiskey. She came back over, sat behind him, and placed his head in her lap.

“Addison, I don’t think I need that, the bites weren’t very deep.” She poured a small amount in a glass, ignoring his protest, and he realized it wasn’t for him but for her as she downed the contents in one quick motion.

She had one arm wrapped around him as she stroked his hair with her free hand. He started to move.

“Shhh, lay still.”

“Hmmm ... okay ... I could stay in your arms like this forever.”

“Yeah, you’re becoming an expert at recovering from injuries because of me.”

God, he hated that she felt she was the cause of all this. “No, baby, not because of you. Eidolon wants the crystal and the book so he can change the world. He needs our powers to do it. He wants to expose our secrets and he believes by doing so, he can change the way people think, but in the end, he’ll only succeed in destroying himself and us. He wants to kill me just as much as he wants to kill you. But he also knows without us, he'll never find the journal or the crystal.”

“But he knows you’re here to protect me, and thinks I possess the book and crystal. He doesn’t need you alive.”