Whisper Cape (5 page)

She hadn’t expected the cold brush-off.

That went well. What an ass. Hmmm ...
Addie shook her head at the thought, leaned against the side of the shed, and sighed. Glancing down at the camera in her hands, she remembered the reason why she was there and wandered toward the edge of the cliff, taking her bruised ego with her, only to discover the fog had rolled in.

“Jeez, so much for taking pictures today.”

The fog became thick around her, abrupt and so dense. With each breath, she tasted the minute particles of water penetrating her tongue, cool and salty. Barely able to see five feet ahead, the area appeared sinister, and every bone in her body trembled. She heard the waves crashing against the rocks below the cliffs, and the roar they made had her stepping backwards. She thought of the dead woman they’d found earlier and her heart pounded in her chest as a lump formed in her throat. The trail, now covered with fog, was only a memory and she ran, blindly, in the direction of her truck. When she reached it, she jumped in and locked the doors. Panting, she took a minute to calm herself before starting the truck. She glanced around and noticed the fog had dissipated almost as quickly as it had appeared. It was still cloudy, but at least she could see the road as she eased onto the highway.

Chapter 4

Cael walked back to the old abandoned shack he’d been leaning against for shelter from the wind when the woman had shown up. He’d been checking out a local map in search of a hotel close by when she came strolling over with a camera dangling from her wrist. She walked straight toward him, mumbling, recognition written all over her face. Man, questions about his instant disappearance were the last thing he needed.

Although, before he brushed her off, he took the time to notice the brown hair cascading around her shoulders and her long slender legs—legs that seemed to glide as she walked—the kind of legs a man would really enjoy having wrapped around him. Damn, when she started to approach him he’d panicked and disappeared into the thicket. What was he thinking? Now she’d probably be even more curious.

The dense fog scared her enough, he noted, and smiled. He’d watched with his heightened vision as she sprinted back to her truck. He could almost feel the scream welling in her lungs. Well, maybe he’d get lucky and never run into her again during this mission that was turning out to be the most important one of his life. His world was being threatened and the dead woman they’d found that morning just made his task more urgent.

He’d been a private investigator for the Sectorium for nearly three years now after his short stint with the New York Police Department. He had known from the time he was a small boy what he wanted to do—what he would do—when he grew up. Being a cop had been just a stepping-stone to his career with the organization.

He walked toward the road and thought about finding a place to stay. A hotel for a couple days would be fine, but considering they’d found the dead woman, it appeared as though he would most likely be here longer than just a couple of days. A house would be the only way he would feel comfortable and something with an alarm was imperative. So first thing tomorrow, he would search for a house. He looked forward to having a kitchen—he hated eating out all the time. He was a decent cook, and actually enjoyed it. Besides, from what he remembered, there weren’t too many great places to eat around here. The Cliff Hanger restaurant he’d noticed was most likely the only respectable place other than the small café in town.

He’d been here before, many times as a child and again as an adult. Whisper Cape was a small town and Cael enjoyed its welcoming spirit and wished he could visit more often. He thought of the woman again, her long slender legs and flowing brown hair. A reason to visit more often? Hmmm. The last thing he needed now was a beautiful female complicating his life, not that he wouldn’t enjoy the complication, especially with this one, but business first.

***

Addie worked nonstop through the dinner rush. She fingered the tip money in her pocket and smiled. It had been a good night so far and she was grateful, not only for the money, but for the distraction from worrying about the mystery man.

At half past eight, locals started trickling in. Being Saturday, she was in for a long night.

Addie saw Nick in the bar, taking advantage of his night off. A man filled with encouragement and good cheer, he'd helped Gerry train her as a bartender. Not exactly a young man, he'd never had any problems picking up the young pretty tourist women. With his charming gift of gab, Nick was an attractive man for someone Addie guessed to be about fifty. Despite a little gray at the temples and a few laugh lines at his eyes, he still qualified as a definite lady-killer. Tonight he'd managed to surround himself with a couple of blonde hotties, tourists, no doubt.

Jared had finished his shift for the night and sat down at the other end of the bar. She was glad for that. He was a nice guy, but more Darcy’s type than hers. Darcy always went for the rugged silent type, giving her the upper hand. She enjoyed wrapping men around her little finger.

Darcy and Jared dated each other in the past, and Addie wondered why they were no longer together. Anytime Addie asked Darcy about it, she’d clam up.

Glancing toward the end of the bar, Addie caught her aunt, Maia, staring at her. Addie smiled and waved and Maia waved back. Maia usually came in on Friday and Saturday nights to hang out with Gerry. Most times, she would assist behind the bar, wait tables, or anything else that needed attending, but tonight she just sat, looking worried as she listened to Chief Thompson and the new lieutenant.

Maia was her dad’s younger sister, fourteen years younger actually. She was a pretty woman with soft golden brown eyes that twinkled when she smiled. Some people said Addie resembled her aunt, but she thought she looked more like her mother. Then again, she had only seen pictures of her mother, who died during Addie’s birth.

Aunt Maia was the one who raised Addie. Maia had been just eleven years old when Addie’s grandparents died in a car accident, leaving Maia nowhere else to turn except to her older brother, whose wife just died a few months earlier, leaving him to care for a new baby girl. Addie thought of her dad and what a tragedy it must have been for him to lose his wife and his parents all in the same year. Maia was old enough to help care for Addie and as time passed, she became Addie’s sole care provider as her dad’s work often took him away for days at a time. Maia sacrificed most of her teenage years caring for Addie, giving up friends and boyfriends.

After twenty-something years of living back east, they moved back to Whisper Cape, where Addie had spent the early years of her childhood, and where her aunt and her dad had grown up.

Addie wondered why Maia was talking to the chief and his new lieutenant for so long. The chief, with his dark hair and dark eyes, seemed very serious as he tugged on his bushy mustache. Maybe the man she’d almost hit filed a complaint against her. She watched as the lieutenant got up, smiled as he said his goodbyes, and then left—but the chief remained. If he planned to arrest her, surely he’d have done so by now. But she still couldn’t shake the mystery man from her mind. The way he had vanished was so bizarre.

The night dragged on and Addie found herself glancing at her watch—several times.

She sighed, eleven o’clock. Two hours left—two very long hours. As she pulled the tap down to fill a glass with beer, the front door opened and the wind blasted through, hitting her in the face. Addie looked up and there
he
was.

A lump formed in her throat as she watched him walk straight to the little table in the back corner. She gulped, and then motioned to Darcy to join her.

As Darcy shimmied her way between two customers seated at the bar, Addie leaned closer and whispered, “There he is.”

“Who?” Darcy whispered back.

“The man I almost ran over this morning.”

“Where?”

“He’s over there at the corner table.”

Darcy looked over at the table. “Are you sure it’s him?”

“Yes, I’m sure, I saw him this afternoon by the cliffs when I went there to take pictures.”

“Well, it’s a good thing you missed him. You forgot to mention he was gorgeous. I wouldn’t mind running into him myself,” Darcy teased.

“No, please, don’t.”

“Okay, settle down. It’s nice to see you’re interested,” she laughed.

Addie tried to calm herself. Maybe he didn’t get a good look at her before he disappeared.

Addie placed a glass under the beer tap and filled it. As she turned around, her gaze met his.
This is it. My life is over.
She tore her eyes away and glanced to see Chief Thompson still talking with her aunt.

Addie turned to the man at the corner table again and this time their eyes held. She smiled at him, and like this afternoon, he didn’t smile back. Again, her ego took a dive. She turned to wipe up a spill, feigning disinterest. When she looked back in his direction, he still stared at her.

He was rather striking and rugged. His scowl added a warrior-edge to his face, sending a chill down her spine. Even with the frown, he was undeniably handsome.

Addie glanced in the mirror behind her to check her appearance … nothing out of place. She smoothed her hair—tightening the elastic band holding it together in one long tail that draped between her shoulder blades—and bit her lips, hoping to elicit some color from them. She hated to admit it, but maybe Darcy was right and she could use a sexier wardrobe.

She watched as the man ordered a drink from Darcy and noticed a slight smile form on his lips as Darcy walked away with a smirk.

“I need a Screwdriver, a Bloody Mary, and a Guinness,” Darcy said as she placed her tray down in front of Addie’s station.

“What did you say to him?”

“Nothing, just asked him want he wanted.”

“Why would you do that? I asked you not to.” Addie frowned.

“Uh, it’s my job? He’s the Guinness.”

“Oh. Why were you smiling?”

Darcy shrugged. “He’s very polite.”

***

Cael sat at the only available table in the small restaurant. When he noticed the woman from this afternoon standing behind the bar, he wished there had been somewhere else to go, but this was a small town without many choices. All he could do now was try to enjoy his beer.

He found himself staring, and as he studied her more closely, he considered her slender features. A straight nose, large golden brown eyes, almost too large for her face, those lovely lips, and her hair, that silky brown hair—now pulled away from her face and hanging in a sleek trail down her back—he was unable to tear his eyes away from her.

“Complications,” he muttered.

His life style didn’t leave much room for relationships; even casual encounters were difficult. He was here for one reason only, to find Ristéard’s killer—who was most likely the same monster who slaughtered the woman they’d found that morning. Cael needed to find him before he murdered anyone else, and with any luck, he just might find the crystal and the sacred journal, both of which had been in Ristéard’s custody.

He continued to watch the woman behind the bar. It was almost impossible not to think about touching her. Hell, he was a man, and as a man, he bet she’d be dynamite in bed. One beer ... one beer only, he promised himself. A man’s entitled to one beer and so what if the view was gorgeous while he was drinking it, so much the better.

Chapter 5

Addie found it hard not to glance over at the guy seated at the corner table. She grimaced upon discovering his intimidating glare remained. Darcy delivered his beer, and he smiled at her but then turned his scowl back toward Addie.

“Polite?” she mumbled.

He sipped his beer, eyeing her over the rim. He looked dangerous—dangerous and sexy. Why did he continue to frown at her? She wished one of the many nautical items hanging around on the wall would fall on his head.
That would give him something to frown about—hmmm, if only …

Unable to take the scowl anymore, she turned to Gerry. “I’ll be back in five,” she said and sprinted to the restroom.

She sat in the stall with her face in her hands, irritation turning to anger. Why the hell did she care about him anyway? If he wanted to act like a pompous ass, well, she shouldn’t be bothered.

Regaining her composure, she stepped out from the stall and went to the sink, ran cold water over her hands and splashed some over her face. She dried her hands and the bathroom door opened. In walked her Aunt Maia.

“Here you are. You look stressed,” Maia said, putting her arm around Addie’s shoulder.

“No, I’m fine. Just a little tired.” Addie offered up a weak smile and hoped her aunt would accept her excuse.

“Yes, it has been busy tonight. Gerry told me you were late this morning. He also said something about you almost hitting a man on the road. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she lied.

“You must have been pretty frightened, especially on that highway. One wrong turn, and ... well, let’s not think about it.”

“Right, I’m trying not to.”

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have brought it up, but I was concerned about you, and I’m glad you’re okay.”

“You worry about me too much.”

“I know, but since I don’t have any kids of my own, you get all my attention—which reminds me, Chief Thompson was telling me about the woman they found. He’s not sure what killed her but thought it might have been a mountain lion. So, be sure to stay alert when you’re outside.”

“Mountain lions don’t usually come this close to the coast, do they?”

“I don’t think so, but whatever it was, just be aware, okay?”

“Okay.” Addie hesitated, and then went on, “Maia, don’t you think it sort of sounds familiar?”

“You mean the way your dad was killed?”