Dead and Disorderly (Behind the Blue Line Series Book 2) (13 page)

Today with Nico had shown her a few things, more than she’d really wanted, if she was honest with herself. Nico would protect her in the face of untold danger, that was his nature, but instead of being put off, she actually felt cared for, and maybe even cherished. And not to put down Nigel, but they seemed to find more trouble together than he’d managed to get them out of, and that was just his nature, too.

Add to that Old Man McManus, as she’d come to think of him, and there was a lot to ponder. She grabbed two beers to be on the safe side before she returned to the couch. It was only reasonable. Mags had seen things, scary things. An argument over children, children who had no father, or at least, an unknown father, accusations of an affair the consequences of which echoed through time. The image she’d painted was disturbing as hell.

So far as her friend could tell, Mrs. McManus had slept with Aurelio, the gardener, and passed the children off as her husband’s, or at least, that was what McManus believed in his soul. Mags couldn’t tell why the marriage had unraveled; only that it did so in spectacular and extremely final fashion. “Bodies everywhere” had been the phrase used. The gardener with the hedge clippers, the wife in the shower, the children, Nahia didn’t want to know how they’d met their ends, because some things her mind just couldn’t un-see.

McManus had killed himself not long after the cops arrived. Someone had called them after hearing the screams of terror and pain coming from the whirlwind of destruction within the stone walls. His suicide, coupled with the egregious acts he’d committed immediately prior, were more than enough to shackle him to this mortal coil, his house now his eternal prison, his damnation in his high society digs.

There was a certain poetry to it, the idea of him being imprisoned there, but she knew there had to be more to her connection to the place. Her need to be there in the house, her sadness upon seeing its disrepair, those were unusual for her to experience, and she certainly didn’t know what to make of them. Mags’ comment that she knew Nahia had psychometric abilities only added to the list. She’d never touched anything before and seen its former life, been able to suss out information from merely the placement of her hands, and yet, damn.

How was she supposed to process that? Feel about that? Given her interaction with the public as a shopkeep, it seemed unreasonably intrusive to be privy to all their dirty laundry just because money changed hands. Those people were called therapists, not store owners. 

And then there was the tiny matter of endangering her friends. It was one thing for her to go into these places and see things, photograph things, hell, speak to things, but it was something else to take someone on the journey with her and expose them to things for which they were completely unprepared. She and Nigel had spent the rest of the post lunch conversation dissecting the experience, with her apologizing profusely for not realizing or communicating exactly how dangerous the situation would be. Why would she have thought it was powerful enough to throw furniture? She’d never had that happen before on a hunt, but would definitely be looking for it in the future.

Nigel, for his part, loved it, once he’d gotten over the initial stress of almost being crushed by a flying armoire. She was glad she hadn’t lost her hunting buddy to the mayhem, though Nico’s thoughts were still somewhat of a mystery to her. Especially with his relatively quick departure after lunch.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket, diverting the little attention she’d been paying to the show on aliens in pre-Colombian America. All her attention, however, was on the caller ID. “Nico, are you okay?”

“Yeah,” his voice sounded, rough, exhausted. “You remember me telling you about Mrs. I?”

“Oh dear!” she answered, her hand coming to her chest. She could only imagine something dreadful had happened to the little old lady he’d spoken of so fondly. “Is she—?”

“No!” he interrupted. “She’s fine. She didn’t eat today and passed out, hitting her head on the way down. She’s home now, resting. They called me because I have the lights and sirens, you know?”

Well, yeah. That made sense
. “And you obviously love her to pieces.” She could feel it in the way her spoke of her, the look of adoration on his face, the tone.

“I do, I just… I’m sorry I left like that.” The gruff apology in his baritone sent an unbidden thrill through her.

She stretched out on the couch, dangling her bottle of beer off the side from three fingers, “Don’t be. I’m glad she’s okay. You gotta take care of your family. I’d look at you funny if you didn’t.”

“Well, can’t have that now, can I?” His dark chuckle had her snuggling into the couch as the daylight from her window slowly faded. God, just hearing his voice did things to her, especially when he sounded like he did now, practically purring in his deep, rumbling growl. She pursed her lips and gave her front door a dirty look as an unexpected knock jarred her from her spot.

“You gonna get that?” His voice was soft, curiously so, giving it a quality that had her pondering setting her panties on fire.

“Eh, I suppose,” she groused. She set her half full bottle on the table and slowly made her way to the door. “It’s weird, though, because usually they buzz to be let in the building.”

“Very. Do I need to let you go?” She could hear him pouting.

“Nah, I’m sure this won’t take long.” Nahia unbolted the door and opened it to find Nico, freshly showered, on her doorstep with a plain black t-shirt and a comfy-looking pair of jeans. His phone was pressed to his ear, a wicked grin dancing on his lips. “Brat,” she muttered as she slid her phone into the pocket of her jeans.

He was the picture of innocence with his shocked expression; the only thing giving him away was the mischief in his eyes. “I can go,” he offered, moving as though he intended to proceed back down the hall to the stairs.

She grabbed his wrist, stopping his departure cold. “Get in here, ya goof.” She tugged a little and he came with a show of feigned reluctance. It wasn’t until he walked past her into the apartment that she noticed the black leather duffle he carried with him. As soon as the latch fell into place, he flattened her against the door in a scorching repeat of the night before. His lips were demanding as they covered hers, his tongue twining with hers as his hand fisted in her hair, tilting her head back for a better angle.

He smelled like heaven, and she would have melted into a molten puddle at his feet if he hadn’t been pressed against her so tightly. His mouth burned a trail over her jaw and down her neck as his hands began their own exploration, moving from her waist to her back beneath the hem of her shirt, and sliding up to the clasp of her bra. Her shirt evaporated and his tongue lapped at her now-exposed collarbone. She tugged on his t-shirt, needing to feel the skin on skin contact, and he pulled back only long enough to rip it off and toss it in the same general direction as hers.

When he came back to kiss her again, Nahia was sandwiched between the cool wood of the door and the sizzling heat of Nico’s body. Her hands found purchase on his shoulder and belt, the only things tethering her from flying apart from the sensual onslaught. His kisses were relentless, drugging, and his hands…the man should teach a class. The teasing brush of his fingers across the stiff peak of her nipple drew a moan, before his hand descended further. Her jeans crumpled to the floor as soon as he touched the button.

The panties had been her favorite pair until he deposited their shreds on the floor next to them, and given the circumstances, she kinda preferred them there. His questing fingers found her clit immediately, rubbing in gentle, maddening circles, just enough to send waves of pleasure through her, but not quite enough to satisfy.

“Please,” she begged, her voice thick with desire. She’d never wanted anything as badly as she did in that moment. His eyes met hers as he withdrew his hand, bringing his fingers to his lips for his first taste of her. The erotic sight made her whimper and rest her head on his shoulder.

His dark little chuckle was merely a hot breath on her neck and ear, sending a cascade of tingles through her body. His lips burned against her skin, leaving a smoldering trail as they descended from her ear, down her neck. He paused briefly to lavish attention on her breasts, but only for a moment before continuing to his knees in front of her with her hands gripping his shoulders tightly. He nudged her legs a little further apart to make himself more comfortable. “Is this what you want?”

Her head fell back against the door as he nuzzled the soft skin of her trembling stomach. “No? Maybe this?” She dug her nails into his firm shoulders, as he leaned in close and laved his tongue over her hip bone. “No… I know what you want. Look at me, Ni.” He waited until he had her full attention before lowering his mouth to her hot and slippery sensitive flesh.

She did her best to hold his gaze as he teased and tasted her, drinking deeply of her essence. She found pleasure in the watching as well as the action, feeling the first sparks of her orgasm ignite deep in her belly. “Nico, I…” The back of her head impacted the door again as his growl in response to her plea vibrated through her. Her knees were shaking, and he reached his hands up to support her as he continued to torment her with his tongue. So close…so close…

When her release finally broke over her, her hips rose to meet each caress, a hand in his hair holding him to her as she rode each intense wave that shot through her. Finally she dragged him to his feet, her legs burning from the exertion and so very short of breath. Her eyes followed him as he dragged his thumb around the edge of his bottom lip, making sure he didn’t miss a drop.

Nahia wound her arms around his neck, pulling him close to run her chin along his jaw in sated bliss. “You okay?” Her voice was unsteady and breathy as she asked him, knowing the floor was not forgiving to the knees.

Nico raised his head with a dangerous gleam in his eyes as their gazes clashed. “I feel okay to you?” he growled as he hiked her knee up on his hip and ground against her, letting her feel just how okay he was right then. The rough brush of the denim against her hypersensitive flesh making her gasp and bite his neck.

“Rhetorical question.”

When they finally made it to bed, it was only due to sheer exhaustion. It had been a while since Nico had had door sex, and while it was still a damn good time, he just wasn’t a 21-year-old kid anymore.

Nahia settled in against his side with her head on his chest and his arms wrapped around her. He could think of nothing more perfect than this moment. He absently pressed a kiss to the top of her head, eliciting a purr of contentment.

“I lied to my mother.” He hadn’t expected the words to come out of his mouth, but ever since he’d decided to call his mom from the car while en route to Nahia’s place instead of the long conversation he knew she’d want to have, the lie of omission was eating at him. He hadn’t lied to his mother since the second grade when he and his cousin Iggy snuck into Iggy’s older brother’s room and were caught looking at his pornos. That hadn’t worked out so well for him, and his ass clenched at the memory.

Nahia distracted him as she wriggled her cute little body around until she had her chin on his chest, looking at him with her big dark eyes. She looked like a dream in the darkness, an apparition of a succubus, and he was so, so ensnared. “Okay? What about?”

“I told her I was on my way back to see Mrs. Ianucci as an excuse to get her off the phone so I could come see you.” Even admitting to it tasted bad in his mouth.

Her eyes rounded and her mouth formed into a little ‘o’. “You didn’t want to tell her you were on your way to your booty call?”

She snickered, but her words stung. He needed to make sure she understood. “You’re not a booty call.”

Nahia blinked and all the humor drained out of her expression, leaving her looking thoughtful and serious. “You’re not, either.”

Hearing her say those words filled Nico with a joy he couldn’t describe. He tightened his arms around her and pulled her in closer to kiss her forehead gently. “Good.” After thinking about it for a moment, he added, “I’m not ashamed of you, either.” The very last thing he wanted was for her to think that he wouldn’t want her around his family; it just wasn’t time yet.

“I didn’t think you were.” She resituated herself so that her head was on his shoulder and her arm was strewn casually across her chest. “I talked to Mags about the situation today.”

He rhythmically dragged his fingers through her long black tresses, enjoying the curls as they clung to his fingers. It amused him that she thought of phantasms tossing furniture at them as merely a ‘situation’ and not a ‘big effin’ deal’. “What’d she say?”

“She said he’s dangerous, and we were damn lucky Old Man McManus didn’t have better aim. She believes we were dealing with an angry human spirit who killed a lot of people in that house before he did himself in, and now his soul is bound there.”

Because he had no reason not to trust her friend’s assessment, and listening to Nahia he knew she did, he could see only one solution. “We can’t go back there.” It pained him to say that, since he found himself more than a little in love with the old place and its old-world beauty, but it was way too risky for them to return.

Her whole body moved when she sighed, sounding sad and defeated. “I know. I just
hate
losing.” The way she said ‘hate’ sounded like a hiss, a threat, an indictment, and a conviction all at once. It was a lot of emotion thrown in to one word.

He pressed his lips to her hair until she settled back down. “You didn’t lose. You went there intent to find out what was up. You did that. You got evidence. Irrefutable evidence. Just because you couldn’t help him move on, doesn’t mean you’ve lost at all. It just means the journey ended sooner than you’d hoped.” It sounded reasonable, but he knew he, personally, would be unhappy with leaving a job incomplete, regardless of the circumstances, and suspected she was the same way.

“I guess so.” She sounded wholly unconvinced. They lay there in silence, lightly dozing for a while, his fingers in her hair and her fingers tracing soothing random patterns on his stomach. Finally, she rose up to her elbow and shoved her mass of hair behind her shoulder out of her face. “I’m hungry. You?”

He laughed and hugged her before rolling away to sit up in the bed. “You’re always hungry.”

“It’s a perk.”

After a late-night snack, Nahia invited Nico to spend the weekend with her. It felt comfortable to have him there at the house and also at the store. She went in to work on Sunday, mostly because she felt guilty for keeping Mags there on a Saturday, which was normally one of her busier days. He’d helped her do the weekly inventory, and she loved answering his million and one questions.

Once she’d found out about his psychology background, she’d been a little concerned, but he turned out to be one of the least judgmental people she’d ever met. His natural curiosity and easy acceptance of the more unconventional parts of her life went a long way toward sealing the deal for her. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to questioned, but she didn’t want to be antagonized and demeaned, and he never, ever did either. It was a refreshing change.

He called his mom that afternoon from the storage room, sitting on the stool she kept back there counting bottles of blessed water and boxes of medicinal tea with the phone wedged between his chin and shoulder. It made an adorable image, with his rolled up button down sleeves, jeans, clipboard, with a pen behind his ear. She snapped a picture on her phone because in these unguarded moments, he was absolutely the sexiest man she’d ever seen.

Her phone rang as she was turning the sign at the front door and sliding the locks. “Wellington’s Magical Apothecary. Sorry, we’re closed.”

Her whole body stiffened at the response, “Even for your mother?”

Nahia pushed on the door to test the lock and then turned around to head into the back of the store. “Never for you. What’s up? How are you and Pop? How’s Aruba?”

“Aruba’s fine, warm, sunny, full of sand.” She could tell her mother was circling a subject, trying to figure out how to broach it. This usually went badly for her.

“So what’s going on?” She closed the register and looked around the room to make sure everything was as it should be before she closed for the night.

A deep voice in the background of the call asked an indistinct question, and her mother covered the phone briefly to answer. “Sorry about that, your father is scheduling a massage. Or horseback riding, or… something, I don’t know. Anyway, my psychic ninja mommy powers told me to call because you wanted to talk.”

That was an ongoing joke between them stemming from her childhood, because somehow, some way, her mother always knew where she was, whom she was with, and what she was doing. It was disturbing, and more than a little freaky, and led Nahia to believe that her mother might be the person from whom she’d inherited her gifts. On more than one occasion, though, her mother’s seeming prescience was due less to psychic powers and more to Nahia’s choice of running buddy.  “I see. And would your psychic ninja mommy powers be named Mrs. Gooch?”

“Nooo!” Though her tone as she drew out the word said exactly the opposite. “I just…well, see, Nigel and Imani were over for dinner with his parents the night before we left, and Cheryl asked about you and he mentioned…”

Jesus, this was a game of ‘telephone’. “Nothing that won’t wait until you get back.” She was going to kill Nigel. Talk about selling her out wholesale, and he was supposed to be her best friend!

“Are you sure? He said it was a guy from his office. Is he a detective? Is he nice?”

The man in question came up from the back and tapped her lightly on her shoulder, his eyes asking if she was ready. She held up a finger and he kissed it. “He,” she took her finger and pressed it against his lips to ensure his silence, “is fine and a conversation we’ll have as soon as you two get back. Okay? Safe travels, I love you both.” Nico crossed his arms and leaned against the counter next to her, watching her with unveiled interest.

Her mother laughed at her obvious attempt to prematurely end the phone call. “Okay, baby. We love you, too. Look forward to meeting your mystery man, too.”

“Right on, ma. Love you.” Nahia hung up the phone with a wry grin. Telling them she loved them instead of goodbye always felt right to her. It was final, but in a way it seemed less grim.

When she looked over at him, he had his hand pressed to his mouth to stifle his laughter. “Your parents are well?” he asked in a light, high pitched tone that suggested the laughter might be winning.

She nodded and grabbed her keys, leading them out the back of the store, killing lights as she went. “Thirtieth wedding anniversary cruise that they left for the day before yesterday, and she calls me to ask about you.” His cheeks flushed, and he looked simultaneously flattered and mortified. Taking his hand as she set the alarm and locked the door, she grinned up at him. “Take me home, mystery man.”

He gave her a wary look for a moment before smiling back. “Gladly.”

Monday found Nico alone in his own bed, which was quite the pity, in his estimation. He’d spent the evening with Nahia, leaving her bed shortly after midnight to return to his own, because of this preexisting condition he called ‘work’. The entire weekend had been a pleasant diversion, but normal was a nice change of pace.

He showed up to work early, beating Nigel by half an hour, and began clearing out his email and checking his roster of runaways. It was always nice to come back to more than one recovery turned in, because that was one less that he had to hunt down. By the time Nigel made it to his desk, laden down with coffee, snacks, and notebooks, the day had settled into a nice, brisk rhythm. Nico was never sure what all his friend had going on that required him to travel like a pack animal, but he didn’t bring it up because something told him he was better off not knowing.

As his watch neared 4:00, he was looking forward to getting out the door and over to the store to hang out with Nahia, with the eventual promise of a nice dinner at his place. They’d spent the weekend at hers, so it seemed only fair. But then the tone on the radio grated like a loud scratch on a record, vaporizing any plans he might have been making. “Attention all units, special attention cars Downtown Zone 40, person with a gun at 308 South New Jersey, Mastriani Produce. White female, pink shirt, has a pink gun on another female and is waving it around inside the warehouse. More to follow…”

Nigel’s eyes met his from across the room as they simultaneously reached to shut down their computers. “You think it’s a good one?”

Nico rose and grabbed his suit jacket from the back of his chair, tossing it over his arm as he reached for the rest of his accoutrements. “Got a feeling about this one.” He slid his holstered pistol on his belt, resolutely ignoring the look his partner gave him.