Out of Sight (3 page)

T
apping on the door reached Sykes through the fugue state he adopted when he couldn’t sleep and didn’t want to be awake.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

“Sonovabitch, get lost,” he muttered and put a pillow over his face. “You don’t know I’m here, dammit.” He had deliberately come to his flat in the Court of Angels to spend the night because he rarely stayed there and if anyone was looking for him they would go to the St. Peter Street house.

Ward Bienville looking at Poppy as if she was his next meal had ruined Sykes’s night. He still couldn’t decide what to make of the announcement Ward had made or Poppy’s passive reaction.

He had to forget the whole incident.

Being close to family wasn’t so bad, not when it was by choice. He wanted to spend some time with Uncle Pascal and show the kind of interest in the antique shop here on Royal Street that Pascal expected.

There was something else that was getting more and
more overdue. Somewhere in the courtyard there was a special angel to be found. If the apparition of Jude was to be believed, that angel was more than important to the Millets and who knew how many others. Sykes had to get back to the search.

If the Embran stayed quiet, would Jude decide to take a rest, too.

Disappointment at that possibility didn’t feel so good to Sykes.

He bolted upright in the bed.

The front door was opening. Slowly, creaking inward by the inch, he heard the hinges complain.

“Get out,” he yelled. “Now.” He wasn’t himself. He never behaved like this. But to hell with it, he was only human—or mostly human.

He was all human. Sister Willow liked to pretend they were all not just human but “normal,” or she used to until Ben came along.

A grunt reached him, and a furious whisper.

Next came either a herd of small elephants or Winnie, Marley’s Boston terrier.

Sykes barely had time to haul a sheet over his naked body before Winnie launched herself onto the bed and ran over him with no regard for any tender parts.

With all four feet planted on his chest, she looked down into his face.

“Winnie! Come here!” Marley’s whisper was loud enough to rouse a paralytic drunk.

The dog’s round, black eyes stared into Sykes’s and she licked him from chin to brow.

“Come and get her,” Sykes shouted, wiping both hands over his face. “Yuck.”

“Are you decent?”

Sykes held still. “Yes,” he said through his teeth. “Get this beast off me.”

“How could you call her that?” Marley’s mass of red curls appeared around the door and her green eyes managed to look hurt enough to make Sykes ashamed of himself. “She loves you, Sykes. You should be grateful. Nobody else does, you nasty thing.”

With a sigh, he jerked his head off the mattress and kissed Winnie on her wrinkled brow. “Now, get off me. I can’t breathe. What are you doing here, Marley?” He worked his pillow back beneath his head. The dog curled up beside him.

As Poppy had said, pregnancy suited Marley. She had four months to go but was such a small woman it didn’t seem possible she could wait that long.

“I almost didn’t come in,” she said.

“I should have been so lucky.”

“Why are you so mean today? Don’t answer. I think I already know. Why would you be mad at Poppy because Ward Bienville made an off-the-wall comment about wishing she’d consider marrying him?”

“He didn’t actually say that.” Sykes sat up and tucked the sheet around his waist. He crossed his arms and looked away. “But that’s probably what he meant.”

“Is it okay if I sit down?”

“Oh, for crying out… Sit down, now.” He almost forgot his unclothed state and leaped from the bed. “Do you need to lie down?”

“Don’t be silly.” She sat on the edge of a straight-backed chair. “I’m just fine. I love being pregnant and I never felt better.”

“Good.” He blinked several times and looked hard at his sister. “Who told you what…how do you know about the party last night? Not that it was really a party.”

“It was a campaign kickoff,” Marley said. “That’s obvious. They have those at some sort of party, don’t they? Not that I’ve ever been to one.”

Sykes scrubbed at his eyes. “Where’s Gray? Won’t he be worried about you?”

“Gray left for his office two hours ago,” Marley said. “Why don’t you just tell me to leave, Sykes? You don’t have to be kind.” She gave a short laugh.

“Hell, I’m confused,” he said. “I don’t know what the…I don’t know what I’m feeling or why. This isn’t me. You know me. Mr. Cool.”

“You’ve got it,” Marley said. “The Ice Man.”

He scowled at her. “Okay. That’s it for the sensitivity session. I got a lousy night’s sleep. I need coffee.” He gave her a significant look. “If I’m allowed to get out of bed, that is.”

A stricken expression came over Marley’s face. She put a finger to her lips and came to prop herself on the edge of his bed. “Poppy’s out there,” she whispered in
his ear. “I don’t know what’s going on and you don’t have to tell me but you’d better not be rotten to her if you don’t want Ben on your tail.”

Poppy was out there? “What the hell are you talking about?” he muttered.

“She’s already been to St. Peter Street. She came to me because she thought I could help find you—maybe. Why would you be angry at
her
over what Ward Bienville said?”

“I’m not mad.”

“Yes, you are. I can see it.”

He looked around the plain old room with its built-in, painted cupboards and slightly crooked wooden floors. This was a very old building and he liked it here. He would probably be here every night if the whole curse business hadn’t turned him into an angry man. “You think you know me so well,” he told her. “Sykes is the even one. He accepts anything. Rub his nose in it and he just breaks out a new box of tissues.”

“What?” Marley’s face screwed up with confusion. “What are you talking about?”

“Forget it. Just get rid of Poppy and let me get on with my day. I’ve got a lot to do.”

“Poppy said you’re working on something new.”

Now he really stared at Marley. He never discussed his work. “That’s all I told her,” he said.

“Sykes, will you tell me why you’re so angry? I’d tell you if something was wrong with me.”

For an instant he considered it. Then he shook his
head. “Nothing.” This wasn’t something he could share with anyone. He’d supposedly made his peace with being as good as disinherited over the color of his hair and eyes. If he started bellyaching now he’d feel small. “Why would Poppy come to you?”

“She told you we’ve become good friends.”

“Good friends who made sure I didn’t know about it.”

Marley pressed her lips together. She pulled Winnie close beside her. “Poppy didn’t think you’d like it. And before you ask, no, I don’t know why. She’s a really wonderful person but she’s hurting. I think it’s something to do with Ben but she won’t tell me.” She squinted at him. “Now I think it’s something to do with you, too.”

“Marley?” Poppy spoke from the hall. “Where did you go?”

Sykes looked at the ceiling. “She’s been standing out there all this time. I’m being tested, but I don’t know why. I’ve lived a good life. I’m a good man and I deserve better.”

“You’re not and you don’t.” She turned toward the door. “In here, Poppy. Come on in.”

“Marley!”

“She’s got brothers. She must have seen them in bed before.”

“I am
not
her brother.”

Poppy stepped through the doorway and stopped, her eyes popping wide open. “Oh, I’m sorry.”

“Nah,” Sykes said. “You don’t have to be. Come on in. Everyone else does.” He deliberately sat a little taller in the bed and let the sheet fall lower around his hips.

Poppy straightened her own shoulders. A white T-shirt and very tight jeans looked wonderful on her. The long hair that had whipped about her shoulders the night before hung down her back in a single braid and she wore no makeup. He liked her just the way she was. In fact he liked her any way she wanted to be.

“This was a stupid idea,” she said. “I felt terrible last night. Like you must have thought I lied to you…” her voice trailed off and they stared at each other. They must both be thinking that she had lied before.

“Will Poppy be safe if I leave her with you,” Marley said, going slightly pink. “I’m not trying to be cute, but Uncle Pascal’s on the warpath. I don’t want him to find out there’s some kind of intrigue with you two. And Nick Montrachet says there’s something he doesn’t believe, whatever that means. I need to get back to him.”

“You’re close to Nick, too?” Sykes shook his head. “Just how big is your circle of close friends?”

She pushed her chin forward. “I keep up with people I’ve known all my life,” she said. “My circle of friends is the same as it’s always been. You’re the one who decided to become a loner. A bad-tempered loner. We’ll talk later.”

Marley put Winnie down and left with the dog at her heel.

“You don’t want visitors,” Poppy said, backing up. She shook her head. “You surely don’t want to see me. I just felt so badly after I saw you leave last night.”

“You’ve got something to say to me,” Sykes said and didn’t like his own tone. “Sit down and talk.” He inclined his head to the chair Marley had vacated.

Poppy glanced at the chair but remained standing. She looked Sykes over and quickly averted her eyes.

He suppressed a smile. They surely weren’t children anymore.

“Last night you asked if I knew why you’d been invited to Ward’s party. You said you thought you were there as a potential financial backer and I agreed. You asked if I was, too, and I didn’t deny it. I wasn’t lying, I just couldn’t think of anything else to say.”

“It’s not my business.”

“No, it’s not.” Her chin rose. “But I’m telling you anyway. The last thing I expected was that speech about me from Ward. I’m not going to pretend I don’t like him. I do, but it’s not like that at all. We are friends. Nothing more.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. You always were horrible to me. When you weren’t around, Ben was my best friend, but when you were there you made him just as unpleasant as you are. I made a mistake and I’ve apologized for it. I can’t keep on apologizing.”

“No. Shouldn’t think so. That could get boring for both of us.”

“Okay, thanks for letting me set things straight.”

“You don’t have a thing going on with Ward? He’d be a good catch for you.”

She turned to him and her lips parted. The flash in her eyes was pure fury. “What is that supposed to mean? He’d be a good catch for me. Maybe I’d be a good catch for him, too.”

“Would you mind giving me a chance to get up, Poppy.”

“Don’t bother, I’m leaving. Thanks for listening.”

Sheesh.
“I don’t like the group Ward hangs out with.” He had wanted something—anything—to say, but not that.

Poppy frowned at him.

“Forget I said that. It’s none of my business.”

“So you keep saying, Sykes. Nothing about me is any of your business, but you’ve got plenty to say. Seriously, if you know something I don’t, please tell me.”

He finally kept his mouth shut.

Poppy took her bottom lip in her teeth and stared at Sykes as if she were trying to see inside his head.

Good luck, lady.

She started to say something but stopped herself and started toward the door. Once more she halted, turned back and pulled the chair close to the side of his bed.

He tilted his head to one side. A shower and shave would feel good. A quick look around the room and he located his tux in a heap on the floor. This was great.
There was nothing like feeling you were at a major disadvantage.

“I need your help,” Poppy said. She leaned close enough for him to smell her soap—something citrusy that he liked a lot. “I’m running a risk talking to you about it, but I don’t have anyone else to ask.”

“You’ve got your brothers and your friend, Marley.”

“Shape up,” she snapped. “Liam and Ethan would try to stop me and they’d make such a racket that Ben would come roaring back into town. I don’t want that. Marley’s five months pregnant and doesn’t need extra stress. Now, are you going to keep on being a jerk?”

“Probably, but you’ve got my attention.”

She gave a slight and completely disarming smile. “I bet you know how sexy you look sitting in that bed wearing nothing but a white sheet. And not very much of the sheet.” Poppy cleared her throat. “That was way out of line.” But she didn’t look contrite—smug was closer to the truth.

“You look pretty sexy yourself. There’s nothing like a pair of beautiful breasts with hard nipples filling out a T-shirt—unless the T-shirt happens to be wet.”

She tried to frown but failed. “Now we’ve got that out of the way. Concentrate. You know I’m aura sensitive.”

He shrugged. Aura sensitives were a dime a dozen.

“I knew you’d react like that. Do you realize I can read brain waves? I see their patterns and I know what they mean.”

His expression changed. “Since when?”

“Always. I never discussed it because I’ve been working on getting things right for as long as I can remember. Don’t worry, I can’t read yours.”

“Paranormals don’t exhibit brain patterns,” he said indifferently.

“That’s right. To my eternal disappointment. But I’ve decided it’s time for me to put my talent to work.”

“Any change in the telepathic skills?”

She turned her mouth down. “I can still hear what any of you want me to hear but I can’t send out a word.”

“Bummer.”

“That’s putting it kindly.”

He thought a moment. “You may be blocking yourself. It would be worth looking into.”

“You hate me, don’t you?”

He knew why she thought so, but hadn’t expected her to say it. “Some mistakes take a long time to get over—if you ever can. Let’s leave it at that. We’re both grown-ups. Finish what you’re trying to tell me.”

“I didn’t go looking for Ward. He and his buddies came into Fortunes. Ward seemed interested in me and kept coming back.”

“He’s more than interested in you.”

“That makes it harder,” she said. “I don’t want to hurt anyone. But he can be my open door to the kinds of people I don’t usually deal with. We’re all—the Millets, the Montrachets, the dePalmas and others—we aren’t part of the social scene. Some people think we are but we keep our distance and our own counsel.
Everywhere the Embran have shown up has been where the money and pedigrees are in New Orleans.”