Grave Attraction (22 page)

After pressing a kiss to Marlena's lips, he stood and started for the door.

“I'll walk you out,” Ruby said.

Which meant he was about to get interrogated. Sure enough, as soon as the front door closed behind them, Ruby gripped his upper arm, stopping him from walking down the steps.

“All right, now tell me what's really going on.”

Adam gave her an innocent look. “I already told you—”

“No, you fed me a load of bullshit. Marlena helping Dmitri?” She scoffed. “Please. Everyone knows those two can barely stand the sight of each other. Now, are you going to tell me the truth, or do I have to pry it out of your girlfriend?”

Christ, he was too damn tired for this shit. He peered down at his shoes for a second or two, unable to think of a more plausible lie but unwilling to tell Ruby the truth. “It's complicated.”

“Isn't it always?”

Adam raked a hand through his hair as protective urges flashed through him. Part of him wanted to tell her to back off, but he knew that wouldn't go over well. But he also didn't want Ruby giving Marlena the third degree. His little shifter didn't know anything about Samuel, though it wouldn't take much for Ruby to figure out whom he'd been helping this week. “How often do I ask you for favors?”

“Aside from the one where I let a shifter bunk at my house?”

“Yeah.”

“Not very often. All in all, you're pretty low maintenance.”

“Well, I'm about to make up for lost time. I'll tell you everything as soon as I can, but right now I've got to keep radio silence, and I can't have you grilling Marlena. She's already been through enough.”

Those piercing green eyes stared at him for a few moments before she finally blinked and nodded. “All right. I'll let you off the hook. For now. But you'd better have answers for me tomorrow.”

“I will. I promise.”

“You better.”

 

Marlena followed Ruby down the short hallway and through the second door on the left. The room was small, with soft yellow walls and a queen-size bed, and she nearly wept at the sight.

“Thanks again for letting me stay here,” Marlena said as she sat on the edge of the bed and toed off her shoes. The pull of fatigue gnawed at her bones and made her limbs feel impossibly heavy.

“My pleasure. If you like, I can give you something to wear while your clothes run through the washer.”

Marlena glanced down, noticing for the first time in hours how her clothes were smudged with soot and reeked of smoke. “God, you must think I'm a slob.”

“After what you've been through? Don't be ridiculous.” Ruby sat on the bed and laid a hand over hers. The reaper's well-manicured fingernails were a stark contrast to Marlena's chewed stubs. “For what it's worth, I'm sorry about what happened to your daughter. I don't know Cassie all that well, but I've heard she's one hell of a woman. If there's anything I can do for you, just say the word.”

“Thank you.” Marlena thought of her daughter, kept alive by machines, and a ball of emotion lodged in her throat. All she wanted was to go back to the hospital and see Cassie, but exhaustion reared its ugly head and demanded she rest and recharge.

Ruby's mouth curved up on one side. “So. You and Adam, eh?”

“Is there a problem with that?”

“No, not at all. He's a good guy, and he deserves to be happy. I just hope you're as serious about this as he is.” There was a note of protectiveness in her soft Southern voice, along with genuine concern. But there was also something in the reaper's eyes, a familiarity that instantly aroused Marlena's territorial instincts.

“I am,” Marlena said. “He's my mate.”

Surprise flashed across Ruby's features before they returned to their casual state. “Does he know that?”

“He does.”

“In that case, congratulations.” The smile she gave reached all the way to her eyes. She stood and walked toward the door, her hand on the knob as she turned back to say one last thing before leaving. “The bathroom's across the hall. If you need towels, they're in the closet behind the door. I'll be back in a couple minutes with something for you to change into.”

After a long, hot shower, Marlena dressed in the T-shirt and shorts that Ruby had left for her on the bed and crawled beneath the covers. Before she knew it, she'd passed out cold, and it wasn't until a horn blared outside that she woke from the depths of her slumber.

Her eyes cracked open, and it took her a few moments to remember where she was and how she got there. The fire. The hospital. The memory of Cassie's battered body flashed through her mind, right along with an avalanche of what-ifs.

The haze of guilt left her numb and lethargic, but she forced herself to get out of bed. How long had she been asleep? An hour? A day? She'd left her phone in the glove box of Adam's truck, so she couldn't check the time. Groggy, she padded to the window and peered through the blinds. The position of the sun indicated that it was midafternoon, which meant she'd been out for five or six hours.

Her pulse jumped. She needed to check on Cassie. God only knew what had happened to her daughter while she'd slept. Determined to leave, she'd made it halfway across the room before noticing her clothes neatly stacked on top of the dresser. In the back of her mind, she made a mental note to thank Ruby for taking care of her laundry.

Quickly, she changed and laced up her shoes. There wasn't anything wrong with the outfit Ruby loaned her; she just felt better wearing her own stuff. She opened the door and heard what sounded like the television playing in another room. She also smelled something delicious. Her stomach growled, reminding her of how long it had been since the last time she'd eaten.

Following the aroma, she walked down the hallway. When she reached the living room, she stopped short at the sight of a man sitting on the leather couch. He appeared to be in his early thirties, with short brown hair and a handsome face. The jeans he wore were turning white at the stress points, and his T-shirt was faded from wear. He held a bottle of water in one hand and the remote control in the other. The cat was lying beside him on the center cushion, its tail flicking every few seconds.

As if sensing her presence, the man looked in her direction.

“Hi, there,” he said, his voice friendly and warm. “I'm Jack, Ruby's husband.” His scent was human but had an odd tinge she couldn't quite pin down. It also struck her as vaguely familiar, but she couldn't remember where she'd encountered it before.

“Marlena. Nice to meet you.”

He set the bottle of water on the coffee table. “I'm sorry to hear about your daughter. I met her once, about three years ago. She helped me with a problem I was having.”

That might explain why she recognized him. “Oh? What kind of problem?”

“Well, at the time I thought I was cursed. Nothing could break it, so she referred me to a priestess in St. Angelique.”

Ah, now she remembered him, even though she'd never met him directly. He'd visited the house at least a half dozen times, which would explain why she recognized his scent. Cassie had racked her brain trying to break the dark magic, but even her strongest potions had failed. “Did you ever find a cure?”

“No, but I'm at peace with it now. That wouldn't have happened without Cassandra's help.” He gave her a genuine smile. “Are you hungry? There's stew in the crock pot. Help yourself. Bowls are in the top cabinet by the fridge.”

The mention of food made her stomach growl. “Thanks.”

The bowls were exactly where he'd said they'd be, but it took a few tries to find the right drawer for the silverware. She lifted the lid on the crock pot, and the smell of beef stew made her mouth water. She scooped out a few ladles and carried the bowl to the table.

The stew tasted even better than it smelled. She nearly inhaled the bowl before going back for seconds. While she ate, she heard one of the doors in the house open, followed by footsteps down the hallway. A few seconds later, Ruby walked into the living room and spoke with Jack in hushed tones.

She'd finished the stew and was washing the bowl when Ruby strolled into the kitchen.

“You don't have to clean that,” the reaper said. “Put it in the sink, I'll take care of it later.”

Marlena shook her head. “The least I can do is clean up after myself. Thanks for the food, and for washing my clothes.”

“Not a problem. But the credit for the stew goes to Jack.” Ruby opened the refrigerator door and pulled out a carton of orange juice. Instead of getting a glass from the cabinet, she took a drink straight out of the carton. “When I heard you get up, I called the hospital. Cassandra's condition is unchanged from this morning. Critical but stable.”

The tension eased—just a little—inside Marlena. “I appreciate you checking.”

Ruby nodded. “Do you want me to take you down there? Visiting hours end at six.”

Marlena glanced at the digital clock on the microwave over the stove. It was a little past three, giving her just a few hours to see her daughter. But if Ruby dropped her off at the hospital, she'd either have to wait for Adam to pick her up or take a taxi home.

“If you want, you can just drop me off at my apartment. It's closer, and then I can drive myself to the hospital.”

Ruby pressed her lips together, obviously unhappy with Marlena's request. “Sorry, hon, but I promised Adam I'd keep you safe. He'd have a fit if he knew I let you drive around town all by yourself.”

“I'll be fine. I do it all the time.”

“I don't care. I'm not letting you out of my sight until Adam comes for you.” Ruby's accent thickened, making it clear she had no intention of breaking her word.

Inside, Marlena bristled at the thought of having a glorified babysitter. She was a four-hundred-year-old shifter, for Pete's sake. She knew how to take care of herself. But deep down she knew Ruby was watching out for her safety at Adam's request, so she swallowed back her need for independence.

“In that case, I'd appreciate a ride to the hospital.”

“You got it, sugar. I'll send Adam a text letting him know where we're going.” Ruby pulled out her phone and started typing. As her fingers danced over the screen, she called out, “Honey, we're going to the hospital. You coming?”

“Yeah,” Jack replied from his spot on the couch. “Give me a minute to put on my shoes.”

A shifter, a reaper, and a cursed human walk into a hospital. It sounded like the beginning of a bad joke in search of a punch line. She only hoped the joke wasn't at her expense when they reached the intensive care unit.

T
here had been no improvement in her daughter's condition, and Marlena's nerves were shot to hell.

While she was gone, they'd placed Cassie in a medically induced coma to reduce the possibility of complications stemming from the injuries to her head. The breathing tube was still in her throat, and yet another IV had been inserted in her arm, this one pumping nutrients into her bloodstream. The bruising on her face had darkened to purple, while her lips were almost twice their normal size.

Marlena sat in the chair beside the bed, barely blinking as she watched the steady rise and fall of her daughter's chest. The machine to her right monitored Cassie's vitals, beeping every couple seconds.

From time to time, Ruby or Jack came in to see if she needed anything. Once, she asked for a cup of coffee, but otherwise she told them she was fine.

This couldn't be happening. It had to be a dream. Yet no matter how many times she squeezed her eyes shut, every time she opened them she still saw Cassie lying in the bed, barely alive.

A little more than an hour had passed when a pair of male orderlies entered the room, informing her that they needed to take Cassie to the fourth floor for another round of tests. No, Marlena couldn't accompany her daughter, and no, they didn't know how long the tests would take, but they didn't think Cassie would be returned to her room until after visiting hours were over.

With a heavy heart, Marlena exited the room, and she watched with a sense of complete helplessness as the orderlies wheeled Cassie's bed out of the room and into the nearby service elevator. As the stainless steel doors slid shut, she felt Ruby's hand lightly touch her shoulder.

“Are you hungry?” The reaper's voice sounded soft with compassion, her accent barely noticeable. “We can pick something up on the way back to the house.”

“No, thanks.” If she ate anything, she doubted she'd be able to keep it down. “Have you heard from Adam?”

“No, not yet, but he probably didn't get back to his house until noon. He hasn't answered my text, so I'm guessing he's still asleep.”

Made sense. After going nonstop for a day and a half, the man needed time to recharge. And yet a part of her wanted him, needed him near to comfort her and tell her everything was going to be all right. He'd come to mean so much to her in such a short period of time. Even in the middle of all this chaos, just having him around lifted her spirits.

Down the hall, the main elevator doors slid open, and Adam stepped out into the lobby. Dark circles shadowed his eyes, but they were lighter than they had been before. He'd changed into fresh jeans and a gray Henley shirt with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows. His hair was wet, like he'd recently gotten out of the shower, and he was freshly shaved. As soon as he saw her, his face lit up, and he bridged the short distance between them.

“God, I missed you.” He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close, and the masculine scent of him acted like a balm on her soul.

“I missed you too.” Warmed by his tenderness, she melted against him, going soft against his hard muscles. She could feel the rise and fall of his rib cage with every breath he took.

“How's Cassie doing?”

“About the same. They took her downstairs for more tests.”

He made a sound low in his throat. “And when was the last time you ate?”

“She had some stew at the house,” Ruby answered for her. “But that was a couple hours ago.”

Adam pulled back far enough to see her face. “In that case, let's get you some food.”

“No, I'm fine. I—”

“Marlena.” The tone of his voice left no room for argument. “Stew's the only thing you've eaten in a day. Cassie would want you to keep up your strength.”

Her eyes narrowed. “That's a cheap ploy to get me to agree.”

“Did it work?”

“Maybe.”

“Good.” He kissed the tip of her nose before shifting his gaze to Ruby and Jack. “Thanks for your help today. I owe you one.”

“Pleasure's ours,” Jack replied, and he sounded like he meant it. He looped one arm around Ruby's waist and rested his hand on her hip. “Do you want us to hang around and give you a call when they bring Cassandra back to her room?”

“No, it's okay, you've already done enough. I've got the hospital's number in my phone so we can call and check on her condition.”

“Well, if you change your mind, let us know. We're only a few miles away.”

Ruby came over and gave them both a hug. “You take care of yourselves, you hear?”

“We will,” Adam said. “Thanks again for everything.”

Marlena watched as the pair walked down the hall and stepped into the elevator. When the doors slid shut, she turned to face Adam. “If you want, we can get something from the cafeteria downstairs. Their coffee wasn't so bad—”

“No. We're getting real food from a real restaurant. Now what are you in the mood for? Greek? Tex-Mex? Sushi?”

She wrinkled her nose. “Ugh. No sushi. I suppose Tex-Mex would work.”

“You got it. I know just the place.”

He took her to a hole-in-the-wall restaurant not far from the hospital that looked like it was about to be condemned but made the best fajitas she'd ever tasted. Considering her appetite, that was quite an accomplishment.

“Can we stop by Cassie's house?” Marlena asked after they'd eaten and the waitress dropped off the check. “I want to see if I can salvage anything.”

She reached for the check, but Adam got to it first. He pulled a few bills out of his wallet and placed them on the table along with the check.

“Between the fire and the water, I doubt there's going to be anything worth saving.”

“I know, but I'd still like to look just in case.”

He hesitated before answering. “All right. We'll go, but on one condition.”

Oh, boy. Here we go.
“What's that?”

“I want you to stay at my house tonight. It's safer than your apartment.” He stretched one hand across the table and laced his fingers with hers. “Will you do that for me?”

When he looked at her with such genuine concern, how could she possibly say no? “Okay, but I'll need to get some things from my place. Deal?”

“Deal.”

A short drive later, Adam parked his truck on the street in front of the ruins of Cassie's once-beautiful home. Marlena thought she'd braced herself for the sight, but the reality surpassed her worst nightmare.

The house was a burned-out, broken shell. Only a small section of roof near the fireplace remained, and parts of the adjacent walls were still standing. Everything else was burned to ash, and the stench of smoke fouled the air. Outside, the lawn was a wet, soggy mess from the water and fire retardant foam used to douse the flames. And with storm clouds gathering overhead, it was about to get even soggier.

Adam cut the truck's engine. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

She nodded, unable to push the words past her lips. Swallowing back the rage and grief, Marlena unfastened her seat belt and climbed out of the truck. She paused for a moment to scent the air, reassured when she found no trace of Jeremiah Brentwood or his accomplice. Shoulders squared, she walked across the muddy front yard, past the blackened stalks of what used to be bushes, and ducked under the yellow caution tape.

In her mind, she could still see the way it looked before the fire. The kitchen where Cassie created her potions and the dining room where they ate with the twins. The living room where they used to watch movies and talk for hours. The couch in front of the fireplace where she used to curl up and read books.

Gone. All gone. While the woman who'd been Marlena's main reason for living clung to life by the skin of her teeth. She prayed for Cassie to fully recover, but in her heart she knew the odds were stacked against the witch.

Shit, no holding it back now. Every time she thought she'd run out of tears, she rediscovered the well had no bottom. Her vision blurred, and a sob tore from her throat. It felt like someone had reached into her body and carved her heart from her chest. She closed her eyes and let the tears fall, her chest heaving and her whole body shaking as she gave herself to the pain that always came when she thought of her daughter dying. She knew all about the agony of losing someone close, and she hated that it might happen again.

Adam gathered her into his arms, pulling her snugly against the warmth of his body.

“Don't worry. We'll get through this.”

She sobbed harder, leaning into the comfort he offered, pressing her face against his strong chest while he murmured words too low to make out. Eventually, her tears subsided, but he didn't let her go. She sniffed, easing back far enough to peer up into his face.

And there, in the depths of his deep brown eyes, she saw concern and affection, but she also saw her future. She loved this man, trusted him with everything, and he'd never dare to betray her. A part of her would always mourn the loss of Christopher, but it was time for her to let go of the past and make room in her heart for the future. The knowledge rocked her to the core and left her momentarily speechless.

Adam leaned forward, pressed a kiss against her forehead. “Come on. We better start searching before the rain starts.”

As he released her from his embrace, Marlena's focus snapped back to the unpleasant task at hand. He was right. Already, she'd felt a few drops of rain, and the sky rumbled with the promise of more. Daylight was giving way to dusk, and they probably had only an hour at best to search for items not destroyed by the fire.

Carefully, they poked through the ruins of the house. It seemed surreal to see so many memories reduced to blackened blobs. She found a few salvageable items mixed with the soot—a ceramic dog figurine Cassie kept by the mantel, a bronze candleholder, and several pieces of silverware. But the rest of it was a total loss, too charred or waterlogged to be of use to anyone.

As they turned to leave, she remembered something and froze in her tracks.

“What is it?” Adam asked, his gaze darting around as if searching for signs of danger.

“There's one more thing I need to check.” She turned around and strode to the part of the house where the living room used to be. Her eyes stung as she walked past the remains of the couch where they'd found Cassie unconscious and near death. Ignoring the catch in her throat, she continued, testing the warped floorboards with her feet until she found the one she was looking for. She went down on one knee and pried the board up.

There it was, the fire safe Cassie had installed years ago when the house was remodeled. Originally, she'd planned on putting it upstairs, but the security consultant had persuaded her to encase a larger model in the concrete foundation instead.

“What's in it?” Adam asked as he knelt beside her.

“I don't know. Guess we'll find out in a minute.” She retrieved her phone from her back pocket and pulled up the combination for the safe. After she entered the last number, the lock disengaged, and she tugged the heavy metal door open.

Inside was Cassie's passport, an envelope full of cash, some of the witch's favorite pieces of jewelry, three leather-bound journals containing her notes on the craft, and an old photo album.

“I'd wondered what happened to this,” Marlena said as she held the album up to the light. She cracked open the yellowed pages, and tears filled her eyes at the sight of so many memories. Cassie at eight, wearing pigtails and a sailor dress while sitting on Santa's lap. At fifteen, with her long, wavy hair pulled back in a high ponytail and tied with a scarf. Each flip of the page triggered a flood of fond memories from another time in her life.

“We moved the year before she entered high school,” Marlena said as she flipped to a picture of Cassie during her senior year. The young witch had switched out the ponytail for a big bouffant that was back-combed to within an inch of its life. “She was getting to the age where people wouldn't believe she was my daughter.”

Not to mention, they didn't look anything alike. Sooner or later, someone would have started asking questions, and in her experience it was better to leave before it happened. But try explaining that to a fourteen-year-old girl who didn't want to say good-bye to her friends. The little witch had been furious with her, not speaking to Marlena for over a month after the move.

When the dust settled, Cassie no longer called her “Mama” in public, opting for “Aunt Marley” until she graduated and went away to college.

Marlena closed the album, and the smell of old paper tickled her nose. As she stood to leave, she caught the faint scent of something foreign in the air. She froze. The hair on her arms stood on end and all of her senses went on high alert.

“What is it?”

She held one finger in the air. “I don't know. Give me a minute.”

She closed her eyes, inhaled deeply, and drew the scent into her lungs. In all her years, she'd never smelled anything like it. Not human, and it wasn't a shifter. Try as she might, she couldn't pin down what kind of creature it came from, which surprised her, considering how many different beings she'd encountered over the course of her life. This one felt ancient and immensely powerful, with an underpinning of malevolence that sent a shiver straight down her spine.

Following the scent, she picked a path through the debris until she reached what used to be the base of the stairwell. She crouched, using her bare hands to sift through the sodden mess covering the floor.

There, just beneath the charred remains of a paperback novel, was a fist-sized clump of dark hair. With the fading light, it was hard to make out the exact color, but the texture was coarse like the hair on a horse's tail.