Perfect Storm Page 5

  “He’s one of Eden’s lovers,” Lawson answers for me. “He helped us free you from the cult.”

  “Oh,” Sky says. “I think I remember talking to him when I was drugged.”

  “This is Eli,” I introduce properly when he puts down a tray of coffee on the table.

  It smells strong. I don’t touch it, but Lawson grabs a mug. Apparently he takes it black.

  Sky talks to Eli when he sits down, thanking him for his part in her rescue. My thoughts swirl as I sit there, my gaze locking with Lawson’s. I decide I’m glad he’s here. I want him to teach me to read minds. I want to know what Cupid is thinking. I want real answers whenever he’s around.

  I can see why you’d want to know what’s on that asshole’s mind, but it’s not going to be easy.

  I smile back at him. Nothing worth doing ever is.

  It’s going to take nerves of steel to show my heart to the world. I don’t know how I’m going to do that when it’s breaking a little, when I’m grieving over the loss of Blake. I’m going to have to find a way.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Asher

  Dread fills me as I head into work early. I don’t bother with the suit today. It’s too warm. A plain shirt and dark pants will do. I roll the sleeves up on the walk over. It feels a little pathetic that I’m so twisted up over a school girl’s crush, but my plan is to make sure I get in before Ronnie so I can assess how she is and figure out what to do if she’s still behaving oddly.

  I sort out the workload when I get inside, planning to assign her tasks to keep her busy and out of my sight for most of the day. There’s not much else I can do.

  She walks in on time, smiles at me like usual and comes behind the counter to ditch her purse.

  “I think it’s even hotter today,” she tells me, as I wait tensed to find out if things are back to normal between us. At least she’s wearing something chaste rather than that sundress. That has to be a good sign.

  “It’s cooler in the stacks. You can do some rearranging in the historical section this morning.”

  She pulls a face. “Really?”

  “It needs done.”

  “Can’t you do it?” She looks like she’s ready to plead with me.

  “It’s your turn.” My usual response when Ronnie complains about being given a task she doesn’t want. I don’t mind the boring jobs, but I don’t want to get paranoid that she might decide to leave the desk to come help me or something. Worse, I don’t want to leave her alone with the computer. I deleted the history the last time. I don’t want to see more creepy sites in there. In fact I’m going to get a guy in to block access to anything not work related. Problem solved.

  “You’re so boring, Asher.” She rolls her eyes at me as she leaves, heading to her section.

  My shoulders relax. It’s a job that will keep her busy until break-time at the very least. If she spends time messing around on her phone, it might even last her entire shift. I hope her boyfriend likes to text. A week of this kind of avoidance and I might even be able to erase what happened from my mind altogether.

  I start looking for a local computer expert since the last one moved away a while back. Rapture is a sleepy place. Without Haleton nearby, it would be impossible to get anything done around here.

  My thoughts drift to Eden. I don’t want to think about her leaving, but I’m going to have to figure out how to cope with it. I’m not going to be alone in that, at least. Nick might be able to spend more time with her while she’s touring though. A stab of jealousy hits me when I realise that. He’s loaded. He has the clubs, but really, he doesn’t always have to be there for them to run smoothly.

  Eli will be in the same boat as me, I guess. Maybe we can be lonely together.

  Or maybe I can listen to Ronnie and have some fun of my own while Eden’s gone.

  A chill rushes through me. That thought wasn’t mine. I don’t know where it came from, but I know it wasn’t mine. I stand there, stock still as the clock ticks down minute after minute, trying to pull myself together. It had to be mine. I thought it. No-one can put thoughts in my head.

  At least, no-one mortal.

  “Shit.” I know what’s wrong. I hope.

  Either I’m going insane, or there’s a Goddess in town that we don’t know about. The latter makes me wonder. Diana isn’t a Goddess anymore. Logan said he took care of her mother. What does that leave?

  I get out my phone and send a quick message to Logan. I need to talk to him. See what I can rule out, before I freak Eden out with this news. I don’t know anything yet.

  Other than I had a thought I didn’t like. That doesn’t make it alien, Asher. The voice of common sense makes me squirm in my skin. I know it doesn’t. But I’ve had thoughts that made me question my morals before. Usually angry thoughts about my bitchy ex. Thoughts I’d never act on, but that had popped into my head when I was pissed at something she’d done. This felt different.

  I only want Eden. She’s all I’ve ever wanted. No other woman could ever compare.

  I wait for the alien voice in my head to refute this absolute. My stomach churns. I don’t like this, but there’s nothing more I can do than wait. For it to happen again, or for Logan to get back to me. I know this is going to drive me out of my mind. I try calling Logan. He doesn’t answer. I’m going to have to go to Diana’s house. I doubt he’ll be happy to see me. Tough shit.

  If there’s another destructive force in Rapture, Eden needs to know about it.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Eden

  “Is something wrong?” Sky asks once we’re out of earshot of the guys. I guess now I know why she asked for coffee and then insisted on helping me make it. I glance over at the guys, trying to pull myself together before I answer her question.

  Lawson and Eli seem a lot friendlier now than they had been before. I guess it helps with bonding to be in a near-death situation together. Probably helps more that Eli knows things he didn’t before we went to L.A. I look at Sky and wonder if she knows.

  I shake my head. “My... doctor was killed this morning. I’m just having a hard time processing it. This place isn’t L.A. That kind of thing doesn’t happen here.”

  “Do you want to come home?” She sounds sympathetic, but she doesn’t get it. She can’t. I have no way of explaining that Blake was supposed to be one of my lovers. If Lawson had told her about Gods and Goddesses, they would have filled us in already. Lawson has been inside my head. He knows Eli is in the loop.

  “This is my home now, Sky.”

  “Is it safe?” She raises an eyebrow. “Because you have security now and if someone you know got murdered...”

  “It’s as safe as anywhere else.” I know that now. It doesn’t matter where I go. I’m a Goddess of Love, and that’s never going to be an easy job. There will always be dark forces out there, and they will always gravitate toward me. There’s no getting around that.

  She blows out a breath. “Well, we’re going to stick around for a couple of days if you’ll have us. Before we get back to L.A. to get moving on all the contract stuff for the tour.”

  The tour. “When is it supposed to go on the road?”

  “About a month, so that means we need to be ready now to do all the promo shit for it.” She shrugs. “It’s a filler tour. Everything was all booked up for some big rock act making a comeback and then the lead singer got sick. He’s going to be okay, but they can’t do the tour now.”

  “That’s really fast.” I’m not sure I’m ready for it. Much as I’d like to be.

  She nods. “Kinda.”

  It’s strange standing in the kitchen talking to her like this. She hasn’t even mentioned drinking alcohol once. She hasn’t touched her coffee either, but I’m guessing that’s because it was just a ruse to get the chance to speak to me alone.

  “How’s it going with Lawson?” I wonder if it’s a touchy subject. She hated me needling her about Cain. That brings up another line of questioning I’m curious about but sure as
hell not going to ask. If the band are touring, has she fired Kira? Even if she isn’t into Cain now, she doesn’t forgive and forget easily.

  She smiles slowly. “He’s just... He’s kind of perfect, you know?”

  I don’t need to touch her to know she’s in love. She’s radiant, her voice soft when she talks about him. It warms my heart to see her like this.

  “I’m so happy for you two.” As reckless as Lawson was when he dragged me to L.A. to help save her, he’d been willing to do whatever it took to get her out of her worst nightmare. He would have died for her. She couldn’t have found a more perfect guy.

  She flushes a little and rolls her eyes. “Whatever, Edie. It’s not like we’re getting married.”

  Maybe not right now, but I have a feeling this is it for her. He’s her One. I’m so pleased, I don’t even complain at her use of my most hated nickname.

  “Anyway, I’d rather talk about you and your growing stable of lovers,” she says, a more familiar wicked smile lighting up her face. She glances over at Eli. “He’s the third guy you’re seeing, right? Or is it the fourth?”

  “Third.” I feel myself flush and I wonder when I’ll stop feeling so damned self-conscious about having more than one man in my life.

  She gives a low whistle. “Girl, you must be insatiable.”

  I’m not even going to argue.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Logan

  The deputy who comes to tell me Diana’s death has been ruled a suicide narrows his eyes when he speaks. His hard stare is nothing short of suspicious. Yeah, she didn’t kill herself, but you’re looking at the wrong suspect, asshole. Fuck off before you make me snap your stupid neck. Just like...

  My thoughts stick on a bloodied carpet. On the knife I brought from Diana’s kitchen to end his life. Crimson droplets fall, one by one onto that carpet, before I wipe the knife on my T-shirt and hide the blade under my waistband. Oh, wait, that’s right. I didn’t snap his neck. I slit his throat.

  “Your phone is ringing,” the asshole cop tells me, raising his eyebrows as if he expects a response to this asinine statement.

  “Are we done here?” I’m ready to slam the door in his face, but I think about that damned Sheriff and stop myself. I don’t need to be locked up right now. I just got the all clear to leave town. I need to haul my ass back to work before I do something fucked up. I mean, before I do something even more fucked up than killing a stranger for no reason.

  “For now.” He smiles nastily.

  Prick. I wait for him to retreat. Assaulting an officer isn’t the way to go here. Getting the hell out of town is what needs to happen right now. I’ll go crazy if I have to stick around here for another second. He gets into his car and I realise the damned phone is still ringing.

  I shut the door and lean against it as I remove the phone from my pocket. Asher. Again. Take the hint, asshole. I end the call and turn the damned thing off before I put it back into my pocket.

  It’s time to get out of this shithole of a town. I go into the bedroom and start pulling my stuff together. Just being in here makes me want to curl up into ball and wait for death. I can smell her perfume as if she just misted the air. If I close my eyes I can imagine she isn’t gone.

  It’s a dangerous move but I lay down and I know I’m not getting back up when I do. Her scent surrounds me and everything else goes away. I sink into dreams of her soft lips on mine. She’s in my arms again and I never want to let her go.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Asher

  “Can I leave early?” Ronnie’s question makes me instantly suspicious as she approaches the front desk when I’m just getting ready to leave for my lunch break, to go talk to Logan since he’s blatantly ignoring my calls.

  “How early?”

  She shrugs, gazing longingly at the computer before she bites down on her red-painted bottom lip and stares back up at me. “Like instead of going for my break?”

  “What’s the emergency?”

  She rolls her eyes. “I’m out of my head bored back there.” She motions toward the history section and pulls a face.

  I blow out a breath I didn’t realise I was holding. Every now and then she’ll decide her job is boring and she starts asking to go home early. She’s back to acting like herself.

  “So I’ll give you another job.” I don’t know what yet, but I can’t let her take a half day for no reason. It’s not like I’m hard on her. If I go too easy she walks all over me, I learned that the hard way when she first took this job. Maybe that’s all that yesterday was about. It’s looking like Eden might have been right about that, which is a huge relief.

  “Whatever,” she mutters, sitting down behind the counter.

  I just know she’s going to look up weird sites again. I shake the thought from my head. If she’s trying to freak me out, it’s not going to work. I’m onto her plan now. “I need to go out. I’ll be back in an hour or less.”

  She shrugs. “Take longer. See if I care.”

  I leave before she can change her mind. I can’t blame her for being bored, not really. Rapture is hardly party central. A girl her age would be better off living in Haleton.

  I drive to Diana’s, too wound up to waste time walking. The sooner I can figure out what’s going on, the better. If I can sort this out without Eden ever needing to know, all the better. She’s had more than enough to deal with lately.

  I only hesitate once I’m there, sitting outside that house. It’s going to make me sound unbelievably paranoid if I tell Logan why I’ve been calling him all day. I had a strange thought that I don’t think belonged to me. Seriously, Asher? If I tell him that, he’ll look at me like I’m crazy. When it comes right down to it, I don’t care about looking stupid. There’s too much at stake to laugh this off.

  Gods and Goddesses can get into the heads of humans. They can make us do things we wouldn’t. If there’s the smallest chance that a destructive force was behind that alien thought, I need to find out what’s going on. So I get out of the car.

  The house looks dark, the shades all drawn. Something feels a little off. Not that Diana wouldn’t stay indoors with her shades drawn, typically. She’s never been highly sociable. I can’t put my finger on it, so I don’t let the strange feeling bother me. I knock on the door and attempt to listen for any signs of life. There’s definitely someone home. I hear a door close, but no footsteps trudge in my direction.

  Am I really surprised? Logan’s been ignoring my calls. Did I expect him to be any more likely to put up with my presence in person? I wonder if he’s pissed that I didn’t have time to help him with Diana’s mother. Or just indifferent now that he doesn’t need anything from me.

  I’d put money on the former. His hot tempered nature would make the latter impossible.

  “I know you’re in there,” I call out, knocking again. “I need to talk to you.”

  I don’t know who I’m calling for really. Either of them will do. Diana knew more about Goddess matters than Logan anyway. I just doubted she’d be willing to dish out the details for me, but who knew? If that woman could actually fall in love, anything must be possible.

  “Come on,” I mutter under my breath, getting my phone out.

  The door is yanked open suddenly and I suck in a breath as Logan levels his angry stare at me. Oh yeah, he’s been ignoring me because he’s pissed.

  “What the hell do you want?”

  “I need help.”

  “You fucked off when I needed help.” He scowls, but doesn’t slam the door in my face so I’m taking it as a win. “So why should I care?”

  “Well, you killed me. Twice.”

  “You want to go for third time lucky?”

  “Ha ha,” I say, hoping it was a joke though his expression makes me wonder. “I believe there may be a destructive forces God or Goddess in town. I wanted to check with you what happened exactly with Diana’s mother?”

  A strange thing happens. All of the anger melts out of his expression. Wi
thout it, I can see the heartache he’s drowning in. An instinct placed in me by Eden’s Goddess light makes me reach out to him. I gaze at my glowing fingers as I touch his arm. He flinches but doesn’t push me away.

  Then I know what happened here. Diana is dead. I feel his grief flood through me, heavy and relentless. At the same time, Eden’s healing light seeps into his skin, soothing some of that ache.

  “It wasn’t your fault.” I feel the truth in my words even if I don’t fully understand them. She killed herself. He’s blaming himself and I’m not sure why.

  “I shouldn’t have left.” He sounds pained. “I should have seen something was wrong.”

  His guilt is palpable. He believes he could have saved her.

  “You need to stop blaming yourself.” It won’t bring her back, but nothing will. I feel the surge of light fade when I no longer know how to help him. The woman he loved is dead. Nothing can fix that.

  He blinks slowly as I move back. “What was that?”

  “It’s... a side effect of being saved by Eden.”

  “All I got were headaches.”

  When he was saved by Diana. “I’m sorry—”

  “I don’t need your pity.” His expression tightens. “I’m done with this Goddess shit. I’ll be leaving... after the funeral.”

  His voice becomes strained on those last three words. For a second, I don’t know what to say. He’s broken. He can’t help me. So why do I feel so desperate to have his co-operation? I remember what brought me here, and clear my throat to get on with it.

  “I came here because something planted a destructive thought in my head. That means there’s a threat to Eden in this town right now.”

  He frowns. “A destructive thought?”

  “They can get into your head—”

  “I know that. What kind of thought?” He crosses his arms. He’s not going to let this go.

  I groan inwardly. I don’t want to tell him it was a thought about cheating on Eden. Seems kind of pathetic, knowing what he’s been through. “A dark one.”