A Demonic Bundle (56 page)

She shook her head, her wet hair brushing his chin. “The baby is fine.”

Relief filled him, even though he hadn’t believed that was the issue. She didn’t seem in pain—she was clearly terrified of something.

Setting her down on the bed, he pulled the comforter up to cover her. Still she shivered.

“What happened?” he asked again, sitting beside her, taking one of her hands in his. Her fingers felt like icicles against his palm.

She breathed in slowly through her nose. Then she met his eyes, fear and dread and worry all vivid in their dark depths.

“I just saw my sister. My dead sister.”

“Y
our sister?”

Jo expected Maksim to look at her as if she was mad. Clearly she was. She’d had hopes that wasn’t the case, but apparently that was not to be. She was nuts.

She nodded.

She waited for him to tell her she must be mistaken. That she had to be imagining things, which she still wanted desperately to believe, but knew she couldn’t. This time, like the last on the stairs, had just been too vivid.

“Has she appeared to you before?”

She gaped at him for a moment. Did he believe her? The phrasing of his sentence implied that. Not, has this happened before? Or could it just be a hallucination?

“Yes. I’ve seen images of her a few times. I think she was the one who left the footprints that I thought I saw that one night when I was so shaken. And most recently I saw her on the stairs at the bar. That’s why I fell.”

He nodded, and she couldn’t read his expression.

“Do you think I’m crazy?” She had to ask, because she certainly felt like she was.

He shook his head. “No. I don’t.”

They were both silent for a few moments.

“I think you should lay down for a while.” He started tucking the covers tighter around her still shivering body, but she shook her head, sitting up.

“I can’t. I want our evening out.”

Maksim shook his head. “You are too shaken. I think you need to rest.”

She did feel drained, but she didn’t want to be here. She was too nervous. Too afraid it would happen again.

“Can we spend the night at your place?”

Maksim nodded. “Of course. Why don’t you get some things together and we’ll head over there now?” He offered her a comforting smile. “We’ll order in and watch a movie.”

She knew he was trying to act as normal as possible and she appreciated it. Still there was a look in his green eyes that she couldn’t read. Something guarded and distant.

Maybe he didn’t believe her quite as much as he would lead her to think. But she didn’t question it now. She wanted out of this place. She did not feel comfortable. Even the air seemed heavy with foreboding.

What did Kara want from her? Did she blame Jo for her death, too?

Maksim watched Jo get dressed and toss some clothing and other items into an overnight bag. She was seeing ghosts and he knew he’d done that to her. He was willing to bet money on that fact. There was always a consequence of entering a person’s mind and this was hers.

And that consequence was terrifying her. And putting her at risk. And the baby, too. Disgust tightened his throat, making it hard for him to breathe.

This was a firm reminder that he was a demon. Demons could never be good for a human. Demons weren’t good for anyone.

“Okay, I’m ready.” She offered him a tremulous smile and he felt like even more of a dick because he was trying to be strong for her. For the individual who did this to her. And for purely selfish reasons.

He wanted to shout out his own anger with himself, but just gritted his teeth and held out a hand to take the bag from her. She handed it to him, and then he followed her down the hall, not missing the way she skirted around the bathroom.

He ducked inside, turning off the shower he’d left on in his hurry to get her out of the freezing water.

When he got to the kitchen, he found her looking at the huge bouquet of flowers now forgotten on the counter. She fingered the petals of one of the large orange daisies.

She turned to look at him, her eyes misty. “You remembered they are my favorite.”

Somehow that bouquet seemed silly and inadequate now compared to what he’d done to her. How did he give her a gift to fix that? There wasn’t one.

“We have to bring them with us,” she said, gathering them up in her arms. She smiled again. “Thank you. I’m sorry I’ve ruined your hard work and special night.”

“You haven’t ruined anything,” he said, his voice adamant.

She smiled again, but he could tell she didn’t believe him. But how the hell did he tell her that it was he who ruined their night? It was he who hurt her. And brought all this pain over her lost sister back. In vivid ghostly detail.

“This is nice,” Jo said as they got out of the cab in front of one of the shotgun cottages that lined the street. “Although I wouldn’t have guessed these would be your colors.”

She smiled over her shoulder at him.

He raised an eyebrow at the cotton-candy colors of the siding and shutters. “Yeah, not my choice. This is my sister’s place.”

Jo looked back at the house. “Oh, I didn’t realize you were staying in her place.”

“Yes. I keep hoping she’ll return or someone will show up here who knows something. But so far I’m not having much luck with that.”

Jo watched him as he unlocked the front door, trying to read him. Over their past week together, she’d considered him an easy man to understand. But not tonight. It was as if something inside him had shut down.

Again, she wondered if he really believed her.

His sister’s home was nice. “Cheerful” was the first word that came to mind as she walked through the living room and kitchen as he brought her stuff to his bedroom. Obviously the guest room, if the size was any indication, since the queen-sized bed took up most of the space in the room.

Realizing he was staying in here, waiting for his sister to return, made her feel awful. And selfish. She hadn’t even asked him much about her.

“What does your sister do?”

“She’s a writer.”

He placed her stuff on the bed, then led her back to the living room.

“What does she write?”

“Mostly books on the paranormal. Demons in particular.” He studied her as he told her, seeming to be gauging her reaction, though she couldn’t tell why.

She wrapped her arms around herself, suppressing a chill. “I think I’ll pass on reading those for the time being.” She tried to soften her comment with a smile, but she still couldn’t tell what he was thinking. And it was getting very unnerving.

“How about we order in Chinese?” he said, heading to a pile of takeout menus tossed in a basket near the phone.

“That sounds great.”

Jo watched him sort through them. Something rubbed up against her ankles, making her jump and cry out.

Maksim spun toward her, dropping several of the menus to the ground. “What the hell?”

A cat rubbed up against Jo’s legs, and Jo was certain it was Erika’s cat, but it couldn’t be.

“What the hell?” Maksim repeated.

“Is this your sister’s cat?”

“No, I think it’s Erika and Vittorio’s cat. But how the hell did it get in here?”

His words caused a chill to return to her finally warmed skin.

“I must have left a window open somewhere,” he concluded, but his explanation for the cat’s appearance did little to soothe her.

“Why would it be Erika’s cat?” Jo asked, staring down at the animal like it was one of the demons Maksim’s sister wrote about in her books.

“I just think it is. It’s showed up here before. Or least I think it’s her cat.”

Jo moved away from the black creature, who stared at her with those golden eyes she knew altogether too well.

“I think it is, too.” Another chill prickled her skin.

“I’m putting it out in the back courtyard. I’ll bring him back to Erika and Vittorio’s in the morning.” He scooped up the cat, who yowled indignantly.

Jo watched as he disappeared down the hallway. A few moments later he returned. She still stood in the middle of the room, her arms wrapped protectively around herself. Like that would guard her from the creepy vibe in the air.

“It’s been a weird night,” he said, shaking his head.

“Yes, it has,” Jo agreed. They stared at each other for a moment, then smiled.

“Let’s order Chinese and watch some stupid comedy,” Maksim suggested.

She nodded. “That sounds like a great plan.”

When Jo woke up with the sunshine streaming down onto the bed, the events of last night seemed far away. She and Maksim had watched a silly comedy starring Will Ferrell. They’d eaten lots of moo goo gai pan and szechwan. And then they had made love, which had been toe-curlingly wonderful as always.

Although Jo had to admit there had been an almost desperate quality to Maksim’s touch, which seemed weird to say, because Jo couldn’t exactly pinpoint what had made it seem that way. But that was the only way she could think to describe Maksim’s behavior.

She did feel calmer today. And today was her last day of mandatory relaxation. Tomorrow she could go back to work—just for the morning. It was Saturday, but she was going to go in and get caught up on e-mails and other odds and ends, so she’d be ready for a normal Monday.

She was looking forward to the work, even though the rest had done her some good. Clearly it had not cured of her of her visions, but she did feel healthier, at least bodily anyway.

And she did feel hungry, plus she wondered where Maksim had gone. Then she remembered that he’d had to go in this morning to help Cherise. He’d be home at noon, then they would probably laze around reading, making love.

Oh yeah, her time off had spoiled her. Sighing, she rolled out of bed and padded to the kitchen. There wasn’t much in the fridge. Mostly old takeout. She opted for some of the pork fried rice, which she ate cold out of the container.

While she wolfed down her dubious breakfast, she wandered around the apartment. The Easter-egg color choices for the walls wouldn’t have been her first choice, but they oddly worked with the other decorating and furniture Maksim’s sister had.

She browsed her artwork. And her cool furnishings. Finally she reached a room Maksim hadn’t shown her last night. The room was clearly Ellina’s study. She had an ornately carved desk with a new computer set up on top. Stacks and stacks of papers littered the rest of the desk.

Bookshelves took up one whole wall. Many appeared to be research books, all of them mostly about the occult. Several shelves were filled with Ellina’s books, her name bold on each spine. And Maksim was right. Demons seemed to be her favorite subject matter.
The Everyday Guild to Demons. Demon Do’s and Don’ts. Demons For Dummies.

Jo set down the Chinese food container on the edge of the desk and pulled one of the books off the shelf, flipping through it.

Identifying your demon. Demons’ names and their meanings. The Circles of Hell, Satan’s Subdivisions.

Jo shook her head, Maksim’s sister had some unusual interests. She continued to flip through the book until she reached the back cover.

Then she froze.

“Oh my God.”

Maksim knelt on a dirty linoleum floor with shoelaces in his hands, and a small child with a runny nose attached to them.

“Right,” he said, quickly finishing the task. Even double knotted them. Then he pulled a tissue out of his pants pocket and handed it to the little girl.

She took it, and mostly smeared the snot around her face, but Maksim accepted that as a start. For the first week she’d just wiped her nose on him.

The little girl darted off without so much as a thank-you.

You gotta love these little heathens.
Although he didn’t feel nearly as disgusted by the little creatures and their pretty revolting habits.

Maksim stood and surveyed the room. The kids were broken up in groups of five doing what Cherise referred to as “free choice centers.” Which meant the kids got free playtime, moving between stations that were designed to get them to use different skills. One station was colors and sorting. Another was puzzles. Another was a kitchen area with fake food and a table. Yet another had books to play library, getting them familiar with letters and words. One was a store to play with numbers and money. Most of the stations had limited toys, but Cherise did her best. And the kids loved it.

He watched as the kids interacted, the room filled with noise, loud talking, laughter, some bickering, others singing. It was chaotic and overwhelming, but not in the same way it had been when he’d first offered himself up to this torture.

“The kids love you,” Cherise said, smiling at him approvingly as she came over to stand beside him.

“Well, they are great kids.” Did he have to sound so sincere?

Just then the little girl whose shoe he’d just tied came running back. She tugged on the pant leg of his jeans. He leaned down to her level.

“Thanks, Mister Mak’im for tying my shoes.” The little girl with a multitude of braids banded with multicolored ponytail holders gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before running off again to join the others.

He remained bent forward, a little taken aback by the child’s spontaneous show of affection. In fact, it took him several moments to even realize that it was snot that had made the quick kiss extra sloppy.

When he did, Cherise reached into her pocket and pulled out a tissue, holding it out to him, grinning. She was where he’d learned the tissue trick.