Truth Is Found (7 page)

Tori lifted a brow. She was pretty sure it was the man’s big, fat wallet that called to Sheila, not that cue ball head of his.

“Won’t work,” she replied. “I don’t even drink coffee.”

There was a gasp as if she committed some cardinal sin.

Yeah, she wasn’t boozing with their unborn child in her womb. There were rules, and she followed them.

Hell!

She made her brother smoke outside, and then change his clothes before he came back into the apartment--and she loved him.

Wine, not so much.

No, it wasn’t happening. If this was going to be their only child, she wasn’t screwing it up. Her gene pool was sketchy at best.

Look at her mother.

Sheila gave up, instead turning her attention to the Native man before her. “It’s great to have you here,” she stated, smiling at Julian. “You look so familiar. Did we date? I think we had sex,” she stated.

He choked again on the wine, only this time it was out of fear. The last thing he needed was his pregnant wife on the warpath.

He wasn’t a fool.

Tori had to pound him on the back, and she didn't hold back.

“Shit!” he muttered, trying to regain his composure. “No, I know we didn't. My wife is the first non-Native that I’ve been with, and the last,” he added out of self-preservation.

Sheila winked at him. “If you say so, but you look so familiar.”

Daniel Nelms stepped in, not at all bothered by his wife’s flirting behavior. “You saw them on the news, sweetheart. The Littlemoons are celebrities.”

They both blanched.

Yeah, no they certainly weren’t or at least they never wanted to be.

“Ohhhhh! Now I remember! You saved those women who were being held in cages, and you solved a hundred year old murder mystery. It was the one where that teenage hussy seduced her boss and was killed. What a slut! It’s like a soap opera.”

From her peripheral, Tori saw the glass sliding toward the edge of the table. Immediately, she grabbed it before Bethany could shove it to the floor.

Apparently, she didn't like being called a hussy or slut. Who could blame her?

They all looked at Tori and how fast she moved.

“On second thought, I’ll have some red wine. Maybe you’re right about just a little,” she stated, covering her ass. The last thing they needed was a spirit getting pissy with the ditz. That would be hard to explain. In her head, she warned Bethany to knock it off.

She could hear her pouting.

Great.

Her gift was getting weirder by the day.

Julian stared at her like she was crazy. Certainly, she wasn’t going to drink, and he hated wine. Why would he want more?

Then she mouthed one word,
‘Bethany’
.

He totally got it.

Crap!

They needed to get this moving before something spooky started brewing in the entryway. He’d heard how Bethany distracted Jamie Montgomery, so Tori could save Christina and herself.

Why push their luck?

“Maybe you can show us to our rooms?” Julian asked. “We’d love to start looking around. You have such an amazing place,” he added for the sake of Mrs. Nelms. What Sheila didn't know wouldn’t hurt them. She didn't appear to be the sharpest tool in the shed.

“Absolutely! I’ll bring you up,” she offered. “Let me get one of the guys to get your bags. We don’t let our guest carry them, and we certainly won’t let our pregnant guests exert themselves.”

“Put them in the blue room, sweetheart.”

Sheila smiled. “That’s a great room!”

Julian knew why his wife wanted it. If it had things going bump in the night, of course she wanted to be in the thick of it.

When she rushed away, Daniel Nelms whispered, “If you need anything, here’s my private cell number. Just let me know, and I’ll take care of it. Keep me updated, okay?”

“Sure thing, sir. We’ll keep in touch as we nose around. When we find something, you’ll hear about it.”

“No place on the grounds is off limits. I’ll tell my staff that since you two are celebrities that you can go wherever.”

Again, they cringed.

“You do whatever it is you do to get this taken care of,” he stated.

“Are you sure?” Julian warned, thinking back to the damage they did at the Lamonts’ house.

They tore that place up.

“I want this solved, and I’m footing the bill. You dig up the vineyard if you need to, and that’s that.”

Well, at least they had carte blanche. They were probably lucky. There was no doubt they’d likely do that and so much more.

That made it easier.

When no one was looking, she dumped her wine in Julian’s glass. He tried not to laugh.

Before she could say anything, Sheila was back and had some man following her.

“This is Danny’s son, Romeo,” she stated. “He’s learning the ropes. He wants to follow in daddy’s footsteps.”

The man shook their hands. “Hey! I saw you on the…”

Tori cut him off. “We’re trying to hide from all the media. Someone recommended your vineyard as a good place to lay low. I hope you can help us relax and find some privacy.”

Julian loved his wife. She turned this all around, and even Daniel Nelms looked impressed.

“Absolutely,” Sheila said.

Romeo grabbed their bags. “I understand. We want you to be happy here,” he offered. “When you leave can you…?”

“We’ll write you a letter stating how amazing this place was, and you can use it to promote your vineyard.”

Romeo beamed. “That would be awesome!”

Tori knew they’d fall for it.

Apparently, Romeo was serious about the business. He and his father were a lot alike. They even looked similar.

Well, when his parents named them, they didn't see this one coming.

At all.

“Follow me,” she stated, leading them up the stairs and down a long hall toward a room. “I hope you have a good stay and join us for drinks tonight!”

“We’ll be there,” Julian promised. “We can’t wait to mingle.”

“It’s not formal, but you should dress up a little,” stated the woman, clearly alluding to who needed a wardrobe fix up.

Tori wasn’t surprised.

Julian took her hand and kissed her knuckles. “We’ll be there with bells on.”

“And heels,” Tori stated. “I just love walking around in heels. They make me feel like a woman. Forget the baby I’m .growing. I need heels.”

Julian detected the sarcasm, but Sheila didn’t.

“Excellent! See you then!”

With that, the door closed.

“What the hell, Tori?” Julian asked trying not to laugh. He was holding two glasses of nearly finished wine in his hands, and he was feeling it. Skipping breakfast and binge drinking didn't go hand in hand.

“I figured you were going to need those.”

“Why?”

The curtains behind her began waving in the breeze. She didn't think it was all Bethany. Tori could feel them watching, and it creeped even her out.

“Wait! What do you mean by that?” he asked.

“I’m going to need to check out for a little bit,” she muttered as the sensation rolled through her.

“Honey, are you okay?” he asked, getting worried.

It had been a while since she’d done this, and frankly, he didn't miss it. Dropping the glasses on the desk, he moved to her side.

“Is Bethany here?” he asked.

Tori could hear the music playing in her head. She could fight it, or she could go speak to the woman. It looked like now was the time.

“We’re definitely not alone,” she stated.

He looked around.

“Be right back,” she muttered, allowing it to take over her body.

Then she felt like she was falling.

Julian caught her as she began to drop. Swinging her up in his arms, he carried her over to the bed and placed her on the soft mattress.

Tori was already gone, and the only thing Julian could think about was how much he hated this.

To his core.

    
               
* * *
  L   i   t   t   l  e  m  o  o  n  * * *

Beau was washing dishes in the prep room when he could hear people talking outside the door. It was the big blonde woman on her cell phone. The conversation was apparently one sided.

Carefully and quietly, he shut off the water, wiped his hands, and moved toward the door.

As he stood there eavesdropping, he listened to the woman talking, and it was a telling conversation--
if he did say so himself.

“I can’t meet you tonight,” she said.

There was a pause.

“We have guests arriving. You know that,” she added.

More silence.

“I want you too,” she whispered, her voice barely over a hiss. “You know you’re the only man who gets me off. I know! It’s just for sex. I get it.”

Beau rolled his eyes.

“I’ll see what I can do,” she finally said. “Okay?”

He started back to the sink and the stack of glasses. It appeared that Pearlie wasn’t the only piranha in the winery pool. This woman was making a date.

It appeared to be a booty call of sorts.

As he made it back to the counter, he returned to his task at hand. He was curious, and when Cordell returned to the room, he had to know.

“There’s this woman,” he began, describing her.

“That’s Pearlie’s step-mother. She’s the boss’s wife. I’d keep your distance if you want your job.”

He looked appalled. “No, I’m not interested. I just saw her and was curious. I didn't get to meet her on the tour. She seems way too intense.”

“Well, she’ll eat you up and spit you out,” Cordell teased. “She makes Pearlie look like a saint--if you know what I mean. You’d think there was a contest between the two of them to see who could bag more dicks.”

Well, that said it all.

Cordell grabbed the tray of glasses. “Wow! You did a good job,” he stated. “There’s not a spot on them! The boss loves when the glasses look like this. You have a gift.”

Beau laughed.

What he had was years of working in the military. If you did it half-assed, you were on latrine duty.

No one wanted that, so it was perfect the first time.

“Thanks.”

“I hope you stick around for a long time,” Cordell added.

“Why?”

“I hate doing glasses.”

The two men laughed.

When Cordell walked out, Beau finished his work. As he was washing and rinsing the dishes, he felt a breeze across his neck. It tickled his flesh, just subtly letting him know something was there.

He’d heard the men at the agency talk, and it looked like he was having his first run in with a spirit.

Where were his sister and Julian when he needed them?

Beau was nervous.

Looking around, there were no windows, so his initial suspicions had to be right.

Then he heard children laughing.

His heart began pounding in his chest. There was no way there would be kids running free in a winery.

Right?

Standing very still, he felt someone touch him. It was light and on his arm. It was like a finger was tracing some of the lines in the ink.

He was afraid to move.

It was when the apron ties around his waist began moving, like someone was pulling on them that his breathing became erratic.

That’s when he saw it.

His breath was visible in the once warm dishwashing room.

He didn't move. Instead, he watched the dissipating puff of breath float up into the air.

Chills crisscrossed his body as more fingers found the flesh on his arms. This was worse than Pearlie pawing at him.

As one sleeve slid up, revealing the tattoo there, he heard more laughter.

What the hell?

There was a tug at his waist. Beau glanced down at the mesmerizing sway of the apron strings.

Then they stopped.

Slowly, they slid out of the knots and the black apron fell around his feet.

Holy shit!

Something had untied his apron.

There was more laughing.

“Who’s there?” he whispered, trying to see something in front of him, but there wasn’t anyone around. Beau had to be imagining things, right?

He didn't just see an invisible force untie his apron, did he?

As he went to move, there was more laughter, and then pain as something slid down his arm.