Deadly Dozen: 12 Mysteries/Thrillers (265 page)

“Evie, what is it? Are you okay?” Joshua kept asking me over and over.

Anastasia morphed into a jaguar and her mouth opened wide … then wider still … until it was a large, black hole … grotesquely huge on her lithe body. She roared, and then, in a horrifying visual I will never forget, swallowed Lucas entirely. Pierre smiled. “See you in the Black Tier, Evie.” Then they disappeared.

And I passed out.

CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

I SPENT A NIGHT in the hospital being monitored. I had a couple of cracked ribs, a sprained ankle, and some ugly bruises. But I was alive. Dederick had, thankfully, been caught by the police and was now being charged with Nick’s murder, along with attempted murder and assault. Raquela, as his sidekick, received the same charges, but I’d been told she’d likely get off easier since the evidence seemed strong she hadn’t actually pulled the trigger on Nick that day in the bar. Nevertheless, the officers who came to take my statement assured me she’d be in jail for a very long time.

I felt horrible for Bradley, who had sent me a huge bouquet of roses and an apology. I didn’t expect to see him for a while, as I suspected he had a lot to work out.

I could also not stop thinking about Lucas. It appeared he’d been taken by Pierre and Anastasia to the Black Tier. I also knew he had found Hannah or at least knew what had happened to her. What I did not know was if I would ever see him again. And that hurt much worse than any of the physical pain I’d been through in the last twenty-four hours.

I finally made it back home, with a little help from Simone, who had Dwight pick me up at the hospital and transport me home. Both Simone and Dwight had been adamant about me staying at her place, but thankfully, Joshua stepped in and offered to temporarily move in to care for Cass and me.

One week later, Joshua walked into my bedroom where I was napping with Cass. She lay on the bed near my feet, her fur partially shaved where she’d been shot, and a red, puckered line of stitches etched across her side. Joshua bent down next to her and gently gave her the twice-daily dose of antibiotics. She loathed them, but she opened her mouth nevertheless and swallowed stoically. She lifted her head and licked his face when it was over. He laughed.

“You’re so good to her. You’re good to me, too. Thank you.” Joshua sat gently next to me on the bed. “I was thinking…” “Yes?”

He glanced down at his hands, looking momentarily uncomfortable. “I don’t know if it’s such a great idea … you here … alone.”

“I have Cass and Mac here, and now that Simone had that new alarm installed, well I feel a whole lot safer.”

He nodded thoughtfully. “True. But this is a big place, and you sometimes work late hours.” He rubbed his neck. “The thing is, my mom is leaving.”

Would miracles never cease? “Your mom’s leaving?”

“Yeah. She wants to try to get back into acting and thinks she has a better chance on Broadway. She’s leaving for New York in a week. Things between her and I have been … tense, and we both think some space would be a good thing. I don’t have a place right now, and you have that guesthouse.” He turned and smiled winningly. “I won’t bother you. Trust me, I will let you have your privacy. I would be there, though … just in case you needed me.”

So Becky was leaving. I knew she’d caused Roger’s death, but I also knew proving it was going to be next to impossible. And I wondered if she’d ever tell Joshua the real truth about his father, assuming it hadn’t been Nick. The only thing that made me feel somewhat better was I knew Becky would face a review. If not now, then at the end of her life, and she’d have to atone for her bad choices just like the rest of us when we died. Hopefully, as she went forward into her future, her good deeds would outweigh the bad ones.

“What do you think?” Joshua asked me.

I realized I’d been silent for too long. “That place is a mess,” I said, cautiously. “I’ve only been inside once and it was filthy. I can’t imagine anything works.”

He chuckled. “I worked for the Red Cross, remember? You can’t imagine the places I’ve slept. Part of the job requirement was that I was able to make repairs … not just to people but also to buildings, cars, you name it. I can fix that place up, no problem.”

He was a good salesman. “One problem though. I don’t own this place. I would have to talk to Simone.”

“I know. I already did.”

“What? Really?”

He nodded. “That girl really loves you. She stayed the entire night when you were at the hospital, in the chair next to your bed.”

I had a vague memory of someone being there. But I was so hopped up on pain killers, I could barely remember my own name let alone notice someone else in the room with me. “She was?”

“She was, and she was very worried. When I mentioned the guesthouse to her and how I could be of help, she said—”

“Wait!” I held up a hand. “Let me guess. It involved the “f” word.”

Joshua barked a laugh. “How did you know? Anyway, she called the guy who owns this place, and he didn’t have a problem with me moving in. I think, maybe, he’s hoping I might be able to make some repairs and upgrades to the property while I’m here.”

For a minute, I didn’t say anything. Joshua glanced down to scratch Mac who was purring loudly (the sneaky feline had crawled up onto Joshua’s lap seconds after he sat on the bed).

Honestly, I wasn’t sure about Joshua living here. I mean, I should have been happy my friends were concerned about me and wanted to be supportive. But what about my privacy and setting boundaries between Joshua and I? We were co-workers, after all. And there was his budding relationship with Simone. Then I remembered poor Cass nearly dead and me not too far behind.

“Yeah. Okay.” Cass lifted her head and looked at us both. “On one condition.” Cass closed her eyes.

“Sure. Name it.”

“We need to come up with a list of house and property rules. I mean, set some basic boundaries and figure out who takes care of what on the property.”

“Okay. Boundaries are good.”

His head was still bent down looking at the top of Mac’s head but I could tell he was smiling.

“And this is a trial thing. Two months. My mother gives her new hairdressers two months at her shop and if it doesn’t work, if the hairdresser can’t curl hair right or add an extension correctly, that’s it.”

Joshua smiled mischievously. “Pretty sure I can’t do either of those things.”

I rolled my eyes. “You know what I mean.” I grimaced. “And you can’t fire me if I kick you out!”

“Wouldn’t that be weird, though? I mean, if I did something that warranted an eviction … why would you want to continue working with me?”

I sighed. “Good point, but all the same. Deal?”

He reached out to shake my hand, grinning broadly. “Deal.”

CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE

THREE DAYS LATER and still no Lucas. Kane Richards left a couple of messages about my coming to New York. I had not returned his calls. I still wasn’t feeling great. But more importantly, I was deeply concerned about the vision I’d had when I shook Kane’s hand. I had to find out who the evil dream guy was and how much of a threat he posed. I knew, sooner or later, I needed to make a decision about going to New York. I just wasn’t ready yet.

I’d also begun having second thoughts about allowing Joshua to move into the guesthouse. The place gave me a bad feeling. I kept mulling over the photo of Creepy Dream Guy in the guesthouse bedroom and how Cass had been very reluctant to even step foot on the front porch. And then I recalled Lucas telling me about portals and how they could be found just about anywhere.

I stopped breathing as a sharp pain hit my stomach.

I knew where the portal was.

I grabbed my crutches and hobbled down to the guesthouse. A U-Haul was parked in front.

I stormed through the front door. Simone stood there in short shorts and a tight tank top. Her hair was pulled back and her face bare of makeup. She was stacking dishes.

“Evie!” she squealed. “How the fuck are you?”

“Um, uh, what are you doing here?”

“Duh!” Her eyes widened. “I’m helping Joshua move in. I am so happy he’ll be here for you. Oh God, is he hot, or what!? I would love to hit that,” she said lowering her voice. “I’m working on it.” She winked at me. “And when you get better, I am taking you over to meet the Sony guys. I told them we needed to reschedule. But I promise.”

I closed my eyes and counted to three. “Where is Joshua?”

“In the truck.”

“Okay. Um, it’s nice you’re helping out.”

She came over and hugged me. “It’s nice to see you on your feet. And look at me! No makeup! Hurry up and get better.”

I think she meant it. In fact, I know she did. All of it. “You look great.” And I meant it too. She did.

“I kind of like the au naturel thing, but I need you. I do!” she whined.

“I’ll be back in no time. I need to go talk to Joshua now, though.” I hobbled back outside to the U-Haul. I found him unloading a box.

“Um, hey.”

Joshua turned, his brows furrowed in concern. “Evie! What are you doing out of bed? You need to be resting. I told you to call my cell if you needed me.”

“I know, but I had to talk to you. Face to face.”

“Okay.” He wiped the sweat off his forehead and waited patiently.

“You can’t move in here.” Yes, I felt like an ass.

He laughed.

“No. I mean it.”

The smile dropped off his face. “What? Why? It’s not because of Garbo, is it? You said I could bring her.”

This wasn’t going to be easy. “Oh my gosh, no! I love dogs. You know that.” I eyed Garbo sunning herself on the front porch. “It’s just … I don’t know. There’s something about this place, something … not right.”

He frowned and set the box on the ground, placing his hands on his hips and shaking his head. “We have a deal. Sixty day trial.” He shot me a pleading look, “I have nowhere else to go.”

“Go to Simone’s,” I snapped, instantly regretting it.

His head popped up and he glared at me. “Is
that
what this is about? She’s being helpful. I can use all the friends I can get right now.” He looked me up and down, his eyes lingering on my crutches. “You could too, for that matter.”

I felt like a complete loser and didn’t know what to say for a minute. I gave it one last try, “I’m sorry. Look, I’m tired and still recovering. But I keep feeling like you moving into this place is a mistake. It’s not that I don’t want you here … it’s just—”

He interrupted me, clearly having lost patience with the conversation. “We have a sixty day contract. If you want to kick me out when it’s up, then fine. But can I get all my ducks in a row first?”

I nodded. Defeated in more ways than one. “Yes, of course.”

I turned on my crutches and headed back to the main house. When I got to the top, I looked back down at the cottage. Simone came out and gave Joshua a hug and then grabbed another box, albeit a small one, out of the back of the truck. He looked up at that moment and caught my eyes. I mustered a smile. He turned away and headed back into the house.

I went inside my house and plopped on the couch next to Cass. I sighed heavily, “The only way I am ever going to find out what happened to Hannah is to find a way through that portal.”

Cass lifted her head and then started to lick my hand.

And the only way I was ever going to see Lucas again and possibly save him from living an eternity in the Black Tier was to find a way there. But I had no clue how that was going to happen. Lucas had been my teacher. He’d taught me all I knew about the tiers, the portals, and consequences …
everything
. I closed my eyes. Two words came to mind.

Guardian angel.

That was the answer. I knew it. I had to find out who my guardian angel was. Once I did, I was positive that I would have the answers I needed.

The answers that would lead me back to Lucas.