Spirits, Stilettos, and a Silver Bustier Read online

  “Perhaps.”

  “But why?”

  He frowned. “Why do you think? It was my job to protect Grace. I failed. It won’t happen again.”

  Well, that certainly had taken a bit of the wind from my sails. “So what am I? A makeup test?” The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them, and before he could smooth the shock from his face, I shook my head. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say that. Forget it. It was a stupid thing to say.”

  He clasped his hands together and stared straight ahead.

  “Julius, I—”

  “No. You’re right.” He turned back to me, his expression hard. “I am trying to make up for my past mistakes. That’s all there is to it. Imagining there’s more is a fool’s game. Our time together is temporary.”

  My heart sank and a chill claimed my body. I’d insulted him and managed to push him away with one stupid comment, all due to my own stupid insecurities. But he wasn’t wrong, was he? Even though he was here now, I had no idea how long he would be around.

  Then again, I had no idea how long I’d be around. Not with a killer on the loose targeting me.

  I placed my hand on his knee. “I am sorry.”

  He didn’t look at me. “There’s nothing to be sorry about.”

  Ouch. Talk about the cold shoulder. I leaned in and ran my fingers lightly through his hair. “Yes there is.”

  A visible tremor ran through him.

  “Listen, I think there are a few things you should know about me.”

  That got his attention. He turned his head and eyed me with curious suspicion. “What’s that? Are you a ghost or a zombie or something?”

  I chuckled. “No. But I do think I’m a little different than most girls.”

  His gaze ran the length of my body. The chill vanished, replaced by a heat that started deep in my belly. Damn, I wanted him. But more than that, I wanted to just be in his arms.

  “How so?” he asked, his voice gruffer than usual.

  I trailed my fingers from his hair to his neck, delighting in his rough stubble. “I don’t date normal guys.”

  His eyebrows shot up in surprise. “What do you mean?”

  I laughed, realizing how that must have sounded. “Just that I like the unusual. I’m intrigued by it. My last boyfriend was a ghost hunter, and if I’m honest, that’s what attracted me to him.”

  He narrowed his eyes. “And what exactly did this ghost hunter do? Carry a laser gun and aim it at giant marshmallows?”

  My eyes widened with surprise, and then I burst out laughing. “When did you see Ghostbusters?”

  His lips twitched and he smiled at me. “I may have caught it at one point or another while I was roaming the hotel.”

  I nodded, still chuckling. “I can’t believe how humorous I find that.”

  His smile widened at my obvious amusement. “Well? Does he have a metal container with every ghost who ever hit on you?”

  I shook my head. “No. All Ian ever did was record proof of activity. He would try some cleansing rituals if a ghost was wreaking havoc. But not usually. He was more of a researcher than a hunter.”

  “I see.” Julius kept staring at me, obviously waiting for me to go on.

  “Anyway, the point is he was unconventional. And I liked that. But more importantly, he liked the same about me. I’m not the typical girl. I own a café, and while I love it for various reasons, it’s not my life’s passion. Art is. I enjoy the unusual. It makes life fascinating and keeps me engaged.”

  Our eyes met and he studied me with such intensity I was frozen in the moment. My next words vanished as I got lost in him. I couldn’t ignore the magnetic pull. It drew me closer to him until our lips were inches apart.

  He lifted his hand and lightly caressed my cheek. I closed my eyes and reveled in the warmth of his gentle touch. My breath got caught in my throat as my pulse quickened, and suddenly nothing else mattered but kissing him, feeling his lips on mine and his arms around me as we—

  “Why?” Julius whispered.

  My eyes flew open and met his troubled onyx ones. “Why what?”

  “Why did you tell me that? About your ex.”

  “Because, Julius, you are the unusual. And I think you have no idea how much that excites me.” The words were out of my mouth before I could censor myself. But the way surprise lit his eyes, followed by intense desire, only fueled my boldness. “And I don’t care what you are or aren’t. You’re here. You’re real. And as far as I can tell, you’re everything I want.”

  His eyes closed as he let out a breath of frustration. “I can’t make any promises to you.”

  “I know.” Putting a tiny bit of pressure on his neck, I pulled him even closer until our lips were barely touching. “I want you anyway… even if it’s only for now.”

  “Pyper,” he said gruffly and cupped my cheeks. Our lips met, his soft but demanding. I melted into him, and as his tongue met mine, the world faded away… right up until the doorbell rang.

  “Dammit,” I muttered pulling away from him.

  But he tightened his grasp. “Not yet.” He bent his head and tasted me again, kissing me so thoroughly my head swam.

  Buzz buzz. Buzzzzz.

  I groaned. “That’s dinner. They aren’t going away.”

  He brushed a lock of hair out of my eyes, his fingers leaving a trail of tingles over my skin. “I’ll still be here.”

  “You better be.” I smiled at him as I hurried to the door. “Hold on. I’m coming.”

  Buzzzzz, buzzzz.

  “All right already.” I pressed the button, letting the delivery guy up. Only moments later, the knocking sounded on the door. I yanked it open and frowned. “Officers Dell and Brant, what can I do for you this evening?”

  Dell’s lips turned up into an evil, self-satisfied smile. “Ms. Rayne, you’re under arrest for the murder of Estelle R. Charles.”

  Chapter 16

  I sat at a metal table in a stark white room, with my hands handcuffed to the arms of the chair. Yanking on the cuffs, I glared at Dell. “Is this necessary?”

  “You’re charged with two counts of murder, Ms. Rayne. Do you really think we’re going to take it easy on you?”

  The cuffs dug into my wrists, and I bit back a wince, not willing to give her the satisfaction of knowing I was uncomfortable. The sadistic bitch. “That would be far too humane, I suppose.”

  “The minute you killed those women, you lost the right to my goodwill.”

  I clamped my mouth shut. No doubt my silence was only solidifying her belief of my guilt. But so far they hadn’t explained why they’d hauled me in, and the only thing I could think of was someone had spotted Jade and me at Ruby’s house. Since I had no explanation, I wasn’t giving her anything. “I already told you I want to call my lawyer.”

  Dell crossed her arms over her large chest. “You’ll get your chance as soon as you answer some questions.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “I know my rights, Officer.”

  “This is just routine, Pyper,” Brant said mildly and sat down across from me. He wore a friendly, almost conspiratorial smile. “Dell’s still a little prickly. I’ve already put in the request for your phone call.”

  I wasn’t buying his good-cop act. He was far too smart and was the one who seemed to see everything. “How about some coffee?” I asked.

  Dell met my gaze and smiled evilly as she shook her head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. We don’t know how long we’re going to be in here, and since I’m not in the mood to escort you to the john, I’d hate to have you piss yourself.”

  If she thought her taunts were going to tick me off, she was sadly mistaken. I didn’t even want whatever they were passing off as coffee in this place. I’d only wanted to fill the time. Instead of reacting, I kept my gaze trained on Brant and pretended the sour wo
man hadn’t said a word.

  Brant shook his head at his partner. “Now, Dell. That wasn’t exactly the impression we want to leave on Ms. Rayne, is it?”

  “Oh, shut up, Eric. You know I don’t give a shit what she thinks.” Dell turned her back on us and stormed out of the room.

  “Is she going to watch this interrogation from the room behind the mirror?” I asked just for something to say.

  Brant chuckled and shook his head. “That would be a nice feature, now wouldn’t it? Sadly, such luxuries have never been in our budget. No, she’s probably back at her desk figuring out if she can stick you with any other charges.”

  “No doubt.”

  Brant got up and smoothed his trousers. “Can I ask you something?”

  “Sure. I can’t guarantee I’ll answer.” I strummed my fingers on the arm of the chair, once again lamenting that there wasn’t a clock in this room. It unnerved me that I had no idea how long I’d been there. After they’d brought me in, Dell had secured me to the chair, then left, leaving me alone for what seemed like forever. Except with nothing to do but sit there, I really couldn’t say if I’d been there one hour or five.

  “How did you get into body painting?”

  “What?” Surprise rippled through me. Why the heck did he want to know that?

  His eyes softened and he smiled sheepishly. “I’m interested in learning about it. I’ve been told I might have a little bit of talent for the arts, but I don’t want to be just another painter at Jackson Square.”

  I bristled at his usage of “just another painter.” He was probably just another douche bucket who wanted to know about body painting so that he could have a good reason to touch naked women. “I took a special effects class while I was in college. One of the assignments was body painting.”

  “Interesting.” He rubbed his jaw. “And you spend a lot of time with your models now?”

  The fact that he hadn’t asked more specifics about the technical end of body painting told me everything I needed to know. He had no interest in the craft whatsoever.

  I said nothing.

  “Ms. Rayne?”

  “Yes?”

  “Did I say something to anger you?”

  “No.” I leaned back into the chair and stared him in the eye.

  He straightened. “You don’t want to talk about your body painting? I know all about your opening at the end of the week. If you could answer some questions, we might be able to clear up this misunderstanding. Dell thinks she has a lock on this, but we all know it’s up to the DA. Right now, I gotta be honest. I don’t think anything’s going to stick.”

  “That’s nice to hear.” My tone was neutral, dismissive.

  He sighed. “You don’t trust me.”

  I blinked once. “Officer Brant, I asked for my lawyer hours ago. So far I haven’t been given my phone call, water, a restroom break, or even any rational reason as to why I’ve been hauled in here. At this point, I think I’ll exercise my right to remain silent.”

  Brant frowned. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

  I stared straight ahead, pretending he wasn’t there.

  “So I guess you’re not going to tell me why you killed those two women?”

  No. I wasn’t going to rise to the bait. He wanted to gauge my reaction in some hope of confirming or denying their suspicions. It wasn’t happening. I didn’t even flinch.

  “Or why you blew up Ruby’s house earlier today?”

  So they did know Jade and I had been there. Or at least that I had been there. A sudden fear that Jade had been arrested made sweat break out on my neck. Surely they hadn’t connected her. Even if they had, she could’ve used magic to get herself out of it, right? She better have. Otherwise Kane would likely go ballistic and end up locked up too, trying to get us both out.

  “I fear you’re not going to fare well without cooperating, Ms. Rayne. You know we can keep you here for up to seventy-two hours before we officially have to do anything. I bet being cuffed to that chair is already getting uncomfortable.”

  That insufferable bastard. I knew he’d just been playing good cop earlier. Even now his tone was reasonable, as if he were the adult and I were the petulant child. Well, he could eff off. Whatever they had in store for me, I could take it. I’d suffered worse at the hands of a vengeful ghost… and I’d survived. I’d survive this too.

  Brant plowed through another dozen offensive questions, and when it became clear I was done, he left the small room without any explanation as to what would happen next.

  No one came in for what must have been hours. At one point I dozed off with my head resting on the table. And when I woke up, my neck was screaming in protest.

  “Son of a biscuit,” I said and then swore when I realized I couldn’t move. I lay there, trying desperately to think of anything but the pain threatening to consume me. The dull ache moved from my neck to my head, creating a monster of a headache.

  Then all I could think about was what type of curse I was going to ask Jade to levy on Brant and Dell. Hair loss? Weight gain? Impotence? Irritable bowel syndrome? Yes, that was it IBS. And a chocolate allergy.

  The door flew open and slammed against the wall with a loud thunk. “You’re in luck, Rayne. You’re being moved to a cell.”

  It was Dell, and she was entirely too pleased. Her cheeks were rosy with something close to delight.

  “I want my lawyer. Now.” My head was still on the table, seriously undermining my demand.

  “You’ll get your chance.” She stood behind me and as she squatted down, she snarled. “Make one wrong move and your pretty face will never be the same again.”

  I wanted to snarl back. But that would only cause more problems. I imagined Jade cursing her with adult acne and held back a snicker.

  The snick of the cuff releasing nearly made me cry with relief, but before I had a chance to move my arm, she twisted it behind my back and recuffed it.

  A sharp pain shot up my arm and I let out an oomph as I jerked involuntarily.

  She pulled up on my arm, forcing a cry from me. “I said don’t move.”

  I had a strong urge to correct her. She hadn’t said that at all. Her exact words were “one wrong move.” The sadistic wench.

  When she repeated the process with my other arm, I was ready for her and managed not to move, despite her best efforts. If she’d tightened the cuffs any more, they’d be slitting my wrists.

  “Does that hurt?” she asked, her lips inches from my ear.

  I ignored her.

  “I said does that hurt?” She pushed me forward, knocking me to my knees. “Clumsy whore. Get up.”

  Without the use of my hands and considering the fact my neck was practically immobile, getting to my feet was easier said than done. But thankfully a clerk rounded the corner at that exact moment and Dell backed off as she said, “Tripped over her own feet.”

  “That seems to happen a lot.” Her tone was matter-of-fact, but there was compassion in her eyes as she watched me. Her gaze flickered briefly to Dell, and I swear I saw a shadow of disapproval. There was no missing the message. She wanted me to know I wasn’t an isolated case. I’d suspected as much but appreciated having it confirmed. For some reason it gave me a much-needed shot of strength.

  I finally got to my feet and put my shoulders back, ready for the next round of Abuse the Prisoner until She Breaks.

  ***

  I spent the rest of the night in a dank cell by myself. It was little improvement from the interrogation room. There was a small bench, a sink, and a toilet. Nothing else. At least my cuffs had been taken off. My wrists still burned from where the skin had been rubbed raw, and my neck was so stiff I had to turn my shoulders just to look around.

  Not that I was interested in taking in the scenery. All I wanted to do was close my eyes and wake up to find the whole situation had b
een a nightmare. I spent the morning drifting in and out of consciousness until I heard the cell door rattle.

  “Get up. You’ve been released.”

  I jerked awake, sure I was hallucinating. My eyes were blurry and my body was so fatigued anything was possible at that point.

  “Did you hear me, Rayne? You’re out of here.”

  I rubbed at my eyes, noting the older male officer with salt-and-pepper hair wasn’t one I’d seen before. Good. If it had been one of my abusers, I might have lost it.

  I shuffled in front of the officer, barely believing it when they handed me my manila envelope of personal items. They really were letting me go. No paperwork. No conditions. For whatever reason, they weren’t charging me. Lack of evidence and the fact I hadn’t confessed anything was the likely explanation.

  “Go out that door,” a female clerk said.

  “Hmm?” I was still standing in front of the clerk, holding my envelope.

  “The exit.” She pointed behind me. “It’s that way.”

  “Oh, right.” I turned around and was vaguely surprised the door wasn’t locked. I stepped through and stopped just over the threshold, blinking. There were people everywhere. Flashes of light and chatter assaulted my deprived state.

  Then the door slammed behind me and I jumped, my heart racing triple time.

  “Pyper! Thank the goddess!” Jade was standing two feet to my left, her red eyes swollen and about a quarter of her hair falling out of a haphazard bun. She closed the distance between us and wrapped me into a bone-crushing hug.

  I hugged her back and said, “Get me the hell out of here.”

  “You got it.” She tugged me by the hand out the front door.

  At least a dozen photographers were camped out in front of the police station. Camera flashes blinded me as I heard, “Pyper, Ms. Rayne. Over here. Will you sue? Why do you think they denied your right to council? Why’d they drop the charges?”

  “What the hell is going on?” I yelled to Jade over the barrage of questions being launched at me.