Текст книги "Something Witchy This Way Comes "

Автор книги: Veronica Blade

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Текущая страница: 14 (всего у книги 19 страниц)

Chapter Twenty-eight

Hayden

Chait couldn’t have known that Tessa belonged to me now, but I didn’t care whether or not he was innocent. He’d saved Tessa’s life, but I felt like he’d gone beyond and used it to his advantage.

I wanted to kill him.

He stood near the bushes outside Tessa’s bedroom, waiting to catch the body from the window as I shoved it through to him. He’d already moved his car into the driveway, so we could carry the lump of tarp-wrapped Rena to the wooden gate, then lug her several yards down the driveway and drop the murdering bitch into his trunk.

Holding one end of the load, I stopped. “I find it interesting how you pretended not to sense me when I got here,” I growled. “You knew I’d arrived but you didn’t bother telling Tessa. No, you kept holding her. Nice, Chait.”

“Why would I need to tell her that you were there? She could sense you as well as I could,” Chait scoffed. “Didn’t it occur to you that she might want you to catch us?”

I dropped my end of Rena and pounced, got him in a chokehold and pinned him to the ground.

“Hayden, what are you doing?” Tessa whispered as loudly as she could without alerting the neighbors.

That only pissed me off more. If I hadn’t been so distracted by fury, I would’ve known she’d come outside. I’d bet anything Chait had known. Again. Son of a bitch.

Tessa swatted my back. “Let him go.”

I did – reluctantly – and resumed my hold on Rena. In silence we dumped her in the trunk.

Chait closed it, then turned to face me. He blew out a breath and met my eyes. “It’s not his fault.” He switched to Tessa. “That was a crappy stunt I pulled. If someone was holding my girl like that, I would’ve tried to beat his ass too. Worse probably.” He rounded to the side of the car and opened the door.

“I wish you two would grow up.” Tessa lowered her voice to a whisper. “Hey, what do you do with the bodies? Do you cremate them?”

Chait scanned the area for eavesdroppers and spoke softly. “We don’t have contacts in any mortuaries in this area and our current house didn’t come with an incinerator. Can you believe it?” He snickered. “We can’t drop bodies off without someone calling the police. Even if we got around that somehow, we can’t allow autopsies. But we have an out-of-the-way spot where we bury everyone.”

“Why avoid an autopsy?” I asked. “Are we different inside or something?”

“Not in a freakish way, no. They’d notice the abnormal lack of disease and perfect organs though. In Rena’s case, they’d also discover the poison. Not good.”

“What would they have done with Zoe’s body? Same thing?” Tessa asked.

Losing her sister was awful and I felt bad for her, but Tessa’s growing obsession worried me. Rena had confessed, but we don’t know whether it really was over jealously or if someone gave the order. If Tessa insisted on prying further into Zoe’s death, it could mean her own.

But would I behave the same if I’d remembered a brother or sister and lost them? Probably.

Chait nodded. “Yeah, there’s a good chance they would’ve taken the body, did a switch or something. There’s always a way to get around the authorities. And that cemetery is the only place we dump ’em.”

 “I’m going with you,” she said. “I want to see this place.”

He put his hands up as if to say he hadn’t planned that. I believed him. It still sucked. Wait – why couldn’t I go with them?

I opened my mouth to speak and she turned to me. “Hey, huge favor? If I’m not back in an hour, will you pick up Bree? She’s only across the street. I’ll let them know you’re coming.” She took a deep breath and forged on before I formed an answer. “I feel like I never got a chance to say goodbye to Zoe. I’ll come back soon though. I’ll get Bree to bed and we’ll have the rest of the night to ourselves. Please?”

Let her go off with Chait? My instincts said no. But my other option was to refuse and look like a callous, jealous ass. “Sure. Call me when you get there, okay?”

Tessa stretched up on her tiptoes and draped her arms around my neck. She smiled and whispered, “Thank you.”

I leaned in and closed my eyes to lose myself in her. Our lips met and Chait cleared his throat, reminding me of his presence. I released her.

“I save her life and you get the kiss. So unfair.” He shook his head.

“Take good care of her.” I glared at him.

He suddenly looked very solemn. “I’ll call in the incident right away and arrange for someone to follow us.”

“Good.” I accompanied Tessa to the passenger side, brushed her lips with mine and closed the door once she was inside. I hated the way I felt, like I was losing her in a small way. It should have been me driving her.

“Hey.” She reached her arm out the window to hold my hand. “If you weren’t taking care of Bree, I wouldn’t be able to do this. Thank you.” She smiled. “See you soon.”

I silently cursed Chait and watched them drive away. Apologizing for his behavior only made him seem like the bigger man. Hell, he didn’t need that added boost – he’d rescued Tessa. My dislike of him was unjust. I resented him anyway.

Noting the time, I texted Tessa and reminded her to call the neighbors. I headed home since Bree didn’t have to be picked up for another hour.

At my house, I walked up the driveway and spotted my mom.

“Hi, honey.” Her face lit up like it always did when she saw me. She looked stunning in a dark purple dress and very high heels. “We were about to go out to dinner.”

I smiled back, realizing how much I’d missed her the last few days. “You look awesome.” Sam was probably taking her to a super expensive restaurant with her money.

She hugged me and whispered in my ear. “Sam’s in a particularly good mood. Might as well take advantage.”

Especially since his pleasant side showed itself so rarely. “You’re leaving now?” I squeezed her for a moment and released her.

“As soon as he comes out.”

Right. I’d successfully avoided him for days. I didn’t need to see inside his twisted head. “I have to go.”

Her face fell. “What’s the rush?”

“Hayden,” Sam called, hurrying toward us. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you about something.”

He didn’t need to talk – I got his pictures. He was thinking about getting another car and wanted to discuss horsepower. Sam had other things on his mind too. Things that if I ever had to repeat or even think about, I’d want to beat him senseless.

In a flash, I gripped him by his collar and dragged him toward the house. “Mom, come with us. You’ll want to see this.”

Sam struggled against my grip and though he had two inches on me, he couldn’t free himself. My new sorcerer strength couldn’t have been handier. I opened the side door and shoved him through.

“Hayden!” Mom yelled. Her heels clicked on the concrete path as she hurried after us. “What are you doing?”

“Mom, get the other door. Now.” I stopped outside Sam’s office.

“What has gotten into you?” She caught up with me and opened the door that led to Sam’s computer.

“You’re about to find out.” I pushed Sam past the doorway, his head banging into the frame. Then I tossed him in front of the nearest computer. “Log into your email.”

Sam’s eyes blazed with fury. “I will do no such thing.”

“Yes. You will.” I put my hand on his shoulder and spun his chair to face the monitor. “Don’t you think Mom should know about the women you’ve had on the side? Not that they were ever girlfriends. Wait. Does a stripper from Barely There count as a girlfriend? What if you spent one night with a prostitute? Does she count? We need to check out the history on your browser.”

“Sam,” my mom said, “is this true?”

He made a noise deep in his throat, his face scarlet. “Of course not. How could you believe something like that? Rachel, I love you. I’ve never cheated on you.”

My hands wrapped around his neck. “When you were at the Camel Motel last night, that wasn’t cheating?”

“W-How do you know about that?”

“What’s your password?” I asked, hands still around his throat. He didn’t need to tell me. I only needed him to think of it, picture the letters. “Big rack is your password? Why am I not surprised?” I held his shoulder down with one hand and typed with the other.

He freaked before I punched in the last letter. His arms flailed and his shoes banged into the desk leg as he tried to strike at me any way he could. I effortlessly dodged him.

“Who do you think you are?” he shrieked. “You worthless piece of—”

In a split second, I flattened him to the floor, my fists slamming into his face. “You stay away from my mother or I’ll tell her the rest.” I didn’t want to. I could hardly think about what he’d done, much less say it out loud.

“That’s not necessary, Hayden,” my mom said, her steely voice cutting into the visuals I had of Sam’s escapades. “Let him go.”

My gaze shot to her. “But, Mom, I—”

“Let him go,” she said loud enough and with enough authority to make me obey.

I released him, my fingers twitching as he stood up and wiped at the blood on his face. If she let him stay, I didn’t know what I’d do.

“Sam,” my mom said slowly, hands on her hips. “Listen to me carefully. After you wash up, I want you to pack your bags and leave.”

“Baby, he’s lying. He set me up. You’ve gotta believe me.”

“For years, I’ve put up with your insults. Let’s not forget the physical abuse.” Her voice vibrated dangerously as she stepped closer to him, her eyes narrowed to slits. “I was about to leave a few years ago, but you stopped hitting me. I stayed because, for once in my life, I wanted to make a marriage work. I wanted to believe you were worth it, that I hadn’t made the biggest mistake of my life. So you had another chance.” She shook her head, chin quivering. “Wrong again.”

“Rachel, you’re everything to me. I love you. I’d never hurt you. I swear.” He dropped to his knees in front of her, groping for her hands.

“Is that why you stole money from her company?” I asked him, then turned to her. “Proof is on his hard drive.”

She stepped back and took a deep breath. “You have one hour to gather your belongings. I’m cutting you off from all financial support and if you try to get anything from me, I’ll turn you in for embezzlement. You should be able to live off the stolen money until you find a job.”

“I already have a job.” His face reddened again, fists balled. “You can’t do this. It wasn’t me.”

She scoffed. “It all makes sense now. No wonder you spent months examining the books and couldn’t figure out where the money went. You were the one who stole it. After tonight, I never want to see you again. If I do, next time I won’t ask Hayden to stop.”

Chapter Twenty-nine

Tessa

David and Jason stood guard while a woman and another guy shoveled dirt at lightning speed several plots away – preparing Rena’s final resting place. David hadn’t even flinched when we’d told him what happened, as though he never doubted our word for a moment.

I tried not to think about the body in the tarp or that it had traveled with me in the trunk the last half hour. Thankfully, Rena would remain here and only Chait and I would be in the car for the trip back.

My mind drifted to Zoe. According to Chait, she should’ve been around there somewhere.

He must have read my mind. “There are some older graves over there and there.” Chait indicated two spots in two different directions, both about twenty yards beyond Rena’s body. “I’ll wait here.”

On my way to the first burial spot, I texted Hayden to confirm that he would pick up Bree in about thirty minutes. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Rena’s new home already half way dug.

I continued on and stopped in front of several headstones that lined a small section near some brush. Without looking, I knew which belonged to Zoe. The space around the left headstone pulled me in. I sensed an odd energy. Not like someone was actually there – by now, I knew the difference. This was a faded version, as though only her memory lingered, a bit of her essence maybe.

“Zoe, it’s Tessa. I’m sorry we didn’t have more time together. But I remember you now. I remember everything about you, every moment we had together. And I miss you… so much.” A tear trickled over my cheek and I turned again to check on Chait and the others. They had finished and looked ready to go. “Goodbye, Zoe,” I whispered, then turned and headed back to the car, my throat aching.

“Are you okay?” Chait asked.

I nodded and got in the car, then took a moment for some slow deep breaths. “It’s funny. Even though Rena’s motives had been vile, she opened my eyes to Zoe. And Rena’s death brought me back to her.”

Chait nodded and briefly touched my hand. “So back at your house, did Rena say anything else?”

“No. Just that she killed Zoe. Jealousy over David.”

His head snapped to me. “First your sister, then you. I can’t figure out how she thought she’d get away with it. How could Rena not expect to answer to the rest of us?”

“I’d arranged to meet with Frank and Lila today. We met at the park and Boris was there. Rena accused me of joining them. That’s what she would’ve told all of you. How I was a traitor.”

“Boris, huh?” He frowned at the road ahead. “Even if you’d requested an audience, normally he would’ve said no. What makes you special?”

“Thanks a lot, Chait.” I tried my best to sound sarcastic.

“No, I already know you’re amazing.” He chuckled. “I think every guy in town agrees. What I mean is that Boris doesn’t meet with recruits. There’s something else about you that prompted the meeting, something we need to find out. Knowledge is power. I want to know what he knows.”

“I wish I knew how to figure that out.”

“We have a library crammed with old books on sorcerers, vampires, werewolves and anything else you can think of. But getting you inside our house without Boris finding out is going to be a challenge. If he thinks you’ve joined us, you’ve got a problem.”

I grinned. “Actually, he and I came to an understanding.”

Chapter Thirty

Hayden

I spied my soon-to-be-ex-step-dad from my spot in the hallway and watched as he threw clothes and books in boxes and suitcases. “Sam, give me your keys.”

His eyes darted to me, looking hunted. Then he turned the keys over with trembling hands.

“Are any of the cars in his name?” I asked my mom.

“Only the Porsche.”

“Should he keep it?”

She shrugged. “Legally, it belongs to him.”

“You’re never coming back here. If you can’t fit all your stuff in that car, you can leave the rest outside the gate and make another trip. Not promising it’ll be there after tomorrow morning though.” I separated the Porsche key from the rest and tossed it to him. “The computer stays.”

I bolted into his office where the computer was exactly the way we left it. After punching in the last letter of his password, I logged in and typed a new password, then closed and locked the door. If he had personal items in that room, I’d have them shipped. For now, it was off limits until I copied the files on his hard drive. Mom would need anything incriminating in case Sam sued for alimony. “Mom, I have to go, but I’m not leaving you alone with him.”

She waved it off. “I’ll be fine. He knows you’ll hurt him if he tries anything.”

“Give me a break, Mom. If I’m not around, how can I stop him?” I’d take her with me, but didn’t want Sam destroying the place while we were gone. I moved to the intercom and called our security guy. “Can you come to the main house, please?”

* * * *

“Midget, are you hungry?”

“Can I have some ice cream?” Bree batted her eyelashes.

I chuckled. “I don’t know. Let’s see what Tessa says when she gets here.”

The door flew open and Tessa came in laughing with Chait. A pang of envy sliced at my gut. It irked me that Chait had her all to himself for over an hour – obviously having the time of his life – while I trudged through the perverted images from Sam’s head.

At least my mom was finally free of the creep. It was worth it.

I met Tessa at the door and gave her a kiss.

“Nice to see you again,” she told my mom, probably wondering why my mom was hanging out at her house.

“We had a little problem with Sam and I didn’t want to leave her there.” I sent her the less disgusting pictures I’d plucked from Sam’s mind.

“Oh.” Tessa’s brows rose. “You guys had a fight?”

“You could say that.” Mom’s gaze fell to the floor.

“I’m sorry. You’re welcome to stay as long as you like. It’s the least I can do, since you guys picked up Bree.” She squeezed my hand.

“Actually, we should get back and make sure Sam leaves.” It pained me to leave Tessa alone with Chait again. Worse, I’d have to ask him to stay with her. “Can you stick around a little while longer?”

Chait’s eyes sparkled and the corners of his mouth twitched. “I’d be more than happy to help out.”

Blowing out a breath, I fixed him with a glare. “I’d appreciate that. Remember, one day, I’ll pay you back… for everything.”

Chait nodded and smiled as the double meaning registered.

I wanted to beat the smug look off his face. Another time. “Mom, we should get going.”

“Nice seeing you again.” My mom waved and I escorted her out.

She was pensive on the way home. I couldn’t blame her. She’d just discovered her entire marriage was a lie. When we returned to the house, Sam was gone. Mom tried to act casual, like the Sam situation didn’t affect her. But she stuck close to me as I inspected the windows and doors to make sure they were locked.

“Sweetheart, I’ll be fine. Even if he got past the gate, he’s not getting through the alarm. I changed the code and asked security to send over a couple more guys. Go back to Tessa and make sure that young man doesn’t take your place.”

“You caught that, huh?”

“Yes.” She patted my cheek. “Goodnight.”

She’d be fine with the added security measures. I turned to go, then faced her again and scooped her up into a bear hug. “Things will be better now. I love you, Mom.”

She sniffed and pushed me away, her eyes glistening. “Go get the girl.”

When I pulled up in front of Tessa’s, I heard them laughing. Now would be a good time not to have super-good hearing. I walked inside without knocking and Tessa met me with a kiss and an angelic smile that made me whimper inside for wanting her. “Hey,” I said.

“Hayden.” Bree hugged my hips. “You’re back. Are you going to read me a story? You said you would.”

“Yeah, Tessa’s dying to read with us.” I wasn’t about to leave Tessa alone with the girlfriend thief again.

Bree planted a hand on her hip. “I get Tessa almost every day. Tonight, I only want you.”

Tessa suppressed a giggle. “I think she wants some alone time with you.”

If I couldn’t watch over Tessa, I didn’t want her left alone. I eyed Chait.

“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of things while you’re gone.” He grinned.

I sighed and ruffled Bree’s hair. “Okay, let’s go pick out a book.”

Twenty minutes later, Bree was asleep. As soon as I appeared in the doorway, Chait stood. “You two had quite a night,” he said. “Rest up and we’ll meet again tomorrow.”

Tessa led him out, then turned and wilted against the door. In a flash, I was holding her and she melted against me. “You’re shaking,” I said, holding her tighter.

“That wasn’t exactly a relaxing evening, what with Rena trying to murder me.” Her voice came out muffled against my chest. “I just want to not think about her staring at me, dead.”

“Maybe I can help with that.” I pressed her into her into the door and fastened my mouth to hers.

By the time she pushed me away, I’d lost track of how long we’d been kissing. Her lids were half closed and a contented smile played on her lips. “We’d better stop. Besides kissing, what do you want to do the rest of the night?” she asked.

Our entire evening had been blown to hell. “I was going to take you somewhere, but that didn’t work out. I picked up a movie earlier though as a plan B.”

“I’m so sorry. If I hadn’t gone to the cemetery with Chait—”

“You mean if Rena hadn’t tried to kill you? Don’t worry. We can go out another time. Tonight...” I held up the video I’d dropped on the counter earlier. “He’s your favorite actor, right? Hope you haven’t already seen this.”

“That’s a chick flick. You sure you want to go there? And how did you know I liked him?”

I grinned. “My secret.” She had his picture in her school locker. But I looked smarter if she didn’t know that I’d seen it.

* * * *

“Wow. That movie was powerful stuff.” Sarcasm dripped from my tongue.

She punched me in the shoulder and laughed. “I don’t know why you rented it.”

I rubbed my shoulder, wondering if she knew her own strength. Did witches get as strong as warlocks or were they weaker than men, like normal people? “Because I thought you’d like it.”

“I did.” She met my eyes. “I like you.”

“Then I’ll rent you a girly movie every night.”

“I’d rather have you.” Her fingertips caressed my cheek.

“Good. Let’s go to bed.” I stood and pulled her up, then kissed her. She melted against my chest and a fire blazed through me. I wanted to undress her right there and didn’t care if her five-year-old sister walked in. Or her parents.

But I’d made a promise.

I led Tessa to her bedroom, then gently pushed her to the bed. Leaning over, I kissed her again, my hands cupping her face. “Goodnight,” I said and backed away.

“You’re not staying?” Her brows rose, eyes wide.

I looked to the ceiling as if God were there and could help me. “Not if you want me to keep my promise.”

Her face fell. I froze, pondering the ramifications of staying and giving her what she obviously wanted. But what if she regretted it in the morning? Getting sex wasn’t worth losing her, especially with Chait close by to pick up the pieces. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

As I lay on the sofa, alone, my thoughts drifted to Tessa. Fear rippled through me at the thought of screwing things up with her. Knowing she could wake up any second and realize I wasn’t good enough for her haunted me.

Damn it. I couldn’t imagine my life without Tessa in it.

I loved her.

* * * *

Tessa jumped on top of me smelling of peppermint lips and vanilla hair.

“Mm…” Her hands snaked under my t-shirt. “You look yummy in your sleep.”

I chuckled, dodging her hands and feeling slightly violated, but amused. She kissed my neck and worked her way across to my temple, her tongue whispering at my ear. As she sucked my earlobe between her teeth, my hands found her butt. My body burned for hers. Was she crazy – mauling me first thing in the morning? Apparently, she didn’t understand male morning physiology. A thick blanket between us prevented her from discovering that kind of evil, but if she didn’t stop soon…

 “What are you guys doing?” Bree asked.

Tessa leaped off me. “Nothing, cutie. We were… playing.”

Bree grimaced. “It looked like you were kissing.”

Tessa giggled nervously, then checked her watch and disappeared. She made herself scarce while we all got ready to go. Just as we dropped off Bree at her school, Fawn texted Tessa and requested that we stop by before class.

“Hey,” Tessa and I said in unison as we entered the principal’s office.

“Good morning.” Fawn closed the door. “Boris has requested your presence for dinner tonight.”

Tessa looked at me and shrugged. “We can cancel with Chait, right?”

Hell no. I wanted to avoid Boris way more than I wanted to avoid Chait. “Yeah, sure. What time does Boris want us?”

“Six o’clock work for you?” the principal asked.

“Tessa, don’t you have to work tonight?” I asked, hoping she’d say yes.

“Oh.” She examined her fingernails, biting her lip. “I quit.”

“When was this?” I stared, shocked that she didn’t think that might be something worth telling me.

“I called my boss Saturday night before the party. I knew he did the schedule Sunday and I didn’t want him to plan for me.”

That didn’t explain why she hadn’t told me. Or why she quit.

Linton cleared his throat. “You two can work that out later. Shall I tell Boris that you’d be delighted?”

“Yes, please. Thank you,” Tessa answered.

“Lila and Frank,” I said, switching from Fawn to the principal, “are your real names, right? Mind if we use those? It’s less confusing.”

“Sure,” Fawn replied. “What happened last night? I understand they lost someone.”

“Yes,” Tessa answered. “Rena had been watching us at the park yesterday. She freaked over Boris being there. Apparently, he doesn’t usually take an interest in anyone so new. Why did he want to meet us?”

“He already told you. He’s curious why both you and your sister are witches.” Frank tapped the desk impatiently. “What happened with Rena?”

“A better question,” I interjected, “is why weren’t you guys there to protect Tessa? If it weren’t for Boris showing up at our meeting, Rena would’ve never attacked. If you’re going to put her in danger, make sure you’re there to clean up the mess.”

Frank’s eye twitched and he made as if to rise. He didn’t like me. Too bad.

“Take it easy.” Lila put a restraining arm on Frank. “Rena must have been a Blocker. And a damn good one. We didn’t sense anyone until Chait arrived. You must be worth a lot to them. Otherwise, why would they kill one of their own to save you?”

“Maybe it didn’t have anything to do with me. I think it was more a matter of Rena crossing the line.” Tessa shrugged. “Why would Boris make a special trip to see me? And I’m guessing he doesn’t live around here.”

“You have no idea why Boris would go out of his way for you?” Frank asked. He probably couldn’t figure out what his boss was up to any more than we could.

“I guess none of us do,” Tessa replied.

“We should ask Boris.” I smiled. “Over dinner tonight.”