Haven of Nightmares (Littlemoon Investigations Book 5) (43 page)

“Tori, don’t do it.”

She glanced over at the three people in the room. “Can you wait for me out there? We need to have a talk.”

They scurried out.

Gratefully.

Before she could speak, Julian was already stirred up. “You can’t let anything happen to our child, Victoria. I love her. Veronica is a part of me. I can’t fall into that void that Justin fell into, and right now, I’m on the edge looking in.”

She felt bad about it, but he was out of control. That wasn’t like Julian. He was damn good at his job. He was steady, and he was generally in control.

“Listen to you. You don’t know that she’s going to get hurt. I know what I can handle, Julian. You don’t trust me.”

“You’re right. I don’t. I found out you’re hiding things. That’s bad in my book. All I do know is that you’re being selfish.”

She stared at him.

“To who, Julian? To the two people who committed suicide and are now not at rest? Or how about to the nine girls who have to be set free? Am I being selfish to want to help them?”

He opened his mouth and was cut off.

Tori moved closer and poked her finger in his chest. “How about Elbert Barber? How am I being selfish by wanting to get them all justice?”

“You’re putting others over your family. Family comes first! That’s our code.”

“Are you asking me to choose?” she asked, horrified that he would even imply that.

Julian was out of control. He wanted to say no.

“Yes, I think am.”

She stared at him.

It was said, and it could never be taken back, and he knew it.

“This time, Tori, I’m asking you to pick us. If you loved me, and our child, you’d not risk her.”

The words stung.

It was her biggest fear, and he was using it as a weapon. Julian knew that she feared being just like Shelby Christensen, and he was accusing her of it.

Well, that was a low blow.

“If I loved you? When you drove away from me at FBI West, I put your heart first, Julian. I wasn’t fit to love, and I was more worried about you.”

He remembered that pain of losing her.

It was coming again.

“When I went into the VA, I was gone for weeks. Not once did you come for me. I had to leave you a dog tag as a message of goodbye. You were the selfish one, Julian. You didn’t fight. You left and thought you’d teach me a lesson. Well, I’m not a child. I won’t turn my back on anyone one who needs me because you threaten me.”

He was pissed.

“You told me you didn’t love me. I left because you made a choice.”

“You made me choose. You shoved it down my throat, and I chose your wellbeing over mine. I’m not selfish, Julian. I’m being a mother. I’m going to keep my child safe, I’m going to raise her to be independent, and I’m going to show her that she’s not owned by anyone. She’s going to find love, and be his equal. I’ve never been yours. You had me followed, you called me a liar, and horrible things. You’ve told me I’m selfish.”

He did all those things.

“I didn’t deserve them. When Veronica marries one day, she’ll learn what love is, and that she needs to trust and be trusted. You won’t teach her those lessons. You’ll be the example of what not to do.”

It was like she slapped him.

“I will be raising my daughter too.”

“I’m sure you will. Unlike you, I won’t tell her you’re flawed, broken, or selfish. I may think it, but I’ll respect you enough to have your back—like I always did.”

“I won’t watch you channel these horrible things. I can’t watch you or her die. You can’t ask me to do it, Tori. I love you too much.”

She stared at him. “If you loved me at all, you’d realize what was wrong with that statement, Julian.”

“Don’t do it, Victoria. Don’t do it.”

It was too late.

“I see that you’ve made your choice. I don’t need you to have my back. I’ll take care of myself.”

He wanted to touch her. “Victoria.”

“It’s too late, Julian.”

She headed toward the door.

“So you’re really going to do it. If she dies, that’s it. Our family is over.”

That hurt her.

She thought she was his family too.

“You know what, Julian? I know what Bethany meant when she told me there’d be no more kids. It wasn’t because I couldn’t have them. It was because of this. After seeing how you’ve behaved, I don’t want any more. It’s not a medical issue from here on out. It’s a you issue. You’re a horrible partner.”

With that, she was gone, the door slamming behind her.

His heart pounded in his chest.

Was she right?

He always assumed she was broken, and that’s why they wouldn’t have more.

Was this what fate had planned?

Was it the destruction of his marriage, happiness, and life?

Did he cause this? Was his anger to blame in this whole mess?

The radio came to life.

“Go. After. Her. Don’t. Be. A. Fool. Fight!”

He went to the door. The entire time, he hoped he wasn’t too late, but then he hoped he was. Julian didn’t know what to say to her, and he was afraid of what he’d do next.

He’d screwed this up.

When he opened the door, he got his wish. She was gone.

It was too late.

Instead of going after Tori, he simply closed it.

Fate had screwed with him, and he’d fallen for it.

Again.

Chapter Twenty-Four

She was raw inside and out. Tori Littlemoon hated fighting with her husband. Rarely did it happen, but when it did, it was never pretty. Passion was never a problem for them.

She got what had him worried, but he wasn’t seeing her side of it. For now, she had to focus.

They had people to help.

When she left the office, she found the detective and her two employees waiting.

“Tori.”

“It’s okay,” she stated, as they headed to a place where the media wouldn’t be watching them. That’s the last thing she needed at this point.

When they were behind the building, she pointed at the detective. “You need the bodies, so you’re going to have to play an active role in this.”

“What do I have to do?”

“Don’t let me fall, okay? I’m already in enough trouble for doing this. I don’t need to hurt Veronica.”

He softened at the strain in her voice. “I get it. Don’t worry. I won’t let you fall.”

She wished her husband could say the same thing.

Only, he didn’t, and that would have to wait until later. Tori was about to do something dangerous.

Closing her eyes, she called to Bethany. She was putting her faith in her too. They were a team, and she trusted the two spirits.

She had to.

There was no one else.

“Okay, Bethany. Earn your free rent in my head and find me the dead girls.”

Tori could feel the spirits whipping around her. Whatever Bethany was doing, it was definitely working. Then, before she could speak, or think, something chilly washed over her body. For that brief second, she felt like someone plunged her into a pool of cold water.

As she struggled to get her breath, Tori’s mind went blank. Then, she lost her bearings.

She was nowhere.

She was gone.

She was possessed.

Detective Rose watched her waver. As he went to grab Tori, to keep his promise, she opened her eyes.

Are you okay?

She didn’t speak.

In fact, she tipped her head to the side and stared around her as if she was lost.

“Are you the police?” she asked.

It was her voice but it didn’t quite sound like her.

Hart was confused, but he opted to go along with it. “Yes.”

“Have you come for us?”

It must be one of the dead girls. It was weird how Tori could do this, but he kept up the act. He only hoped this wasn’t going to blow up in his face.

“I have come for you. Who are you?”

“Yida. My name is Yida, and I’m cold. I really want my mom and dad. Can you take me to them?”

“Yes, if you help me find you.”

“Am I dead?”

He glanced over at Roman, and he shrugged. Apparently, this was new to him too.

“I think so. I need to find your body to figure out who did this to you. Do you know where you are?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Are Anissa and Christie with you?”

“Yes. We’re side by side. We’re three peas in the dirty, dirty pod.”

He wondered if that was his clue.

It had to be, so he went with it.

“Are you in the dirt?”

She nodded. “I feel worms.”

Glancing over at Mattie, Tori moved closer to her. Immediately, Roman stepped in front of his fiancée to protect her from the ghost in Tori.

“You’re dead too. I’ve seen you on this side.”

“No, she’s alive,” Roman stated.

Yida, controlling Tori’s body, shook her head. “No, I’ve seen her. She’s dead. Only, she looks younger here.”

“You’ve seen my sister. That’s my sister, Devora.”

“Oh. She is here too. We’re all here. None of us can escape. This is our hell.”

They glanced at Tori, and there was perspiration on her brow and blood on her face. Her nose was dripping, and while she may look peaceful on the outside, there was no doubt she was fighting for her life.

They needed to speed this up.

Tori wasn’t going to be able to keep this up for very long.

“Take us to your body,” Hart said.

Tori began walking away. “I smell roses. Where are the roses?” she asked, looking around. “I don’t know my way in the dark.”

Roman pointed toward the citadel. “This way.”

She walked through the trees, and when she tripped, Hart grabbed her by the arm.

Then he let her go.

“Jesus! She’s ice cold. That can’t be good for her or the baby,” he whispered.

“We have to do this fast,” Roman stated. “Tori won’t be able to hold out much longer. We can’t let her get hurt.”

He agreed.

As they approached the citadel, Tori stopped.

“Here. I’m right here.”

Hart dropped down and began moving the mulch away with his hand. The sun was almost gone, and Roman was shining his phone’s light onto the ground.

When fingers appeared, he stopped.

“We found them.”

Standing, he touched Tori. “We’ll get you home.”

“He killed us. It’s scary here.”

“It was definitely a man?” Hart asked.

She nodded.

More blood dripped.

“He was chanting something.”

He pulled off his blazer and tucked it around Tori’s shoulders to try and keep her warm.

“What was he saying?”

“There was so much blood. I could smell it. It was all of our blood.”

“Yida, come one. What was he saying?”

She faced him.

Tori’s eyes were oddly empty.

It freaked him out.

            
 
‘Find me love. Keep her here. Bind us together no matter where. Make us one, til death do us part. She’s to be mine—one whole heart.’

“That sounds ominous,” Roman stated, holding Mattie close.

“It sounds like a love spell,” she said. “That would explain the herbs and pentagram. Nyx may have been right. We’re dealing with a spell.”

This was all too weird for Hart.

He liked his cases straight forward.

“Is Elbert around too?” Roman asked. He knew Tori wanted to ask him questions.

“She’s coming,” stated Yida through Tori’s body.

“Who?”

They didn’t need an answer.

The wave of angry energy told them all they needed to know.

Then…

Tori screamed.

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

He paced the office like a caged tiger.

Nothing in the world was worse than waiting to find out if someone you loved was going to be okay.

His heart was pounding a mile a minute, and he needed to calm down. If he didn’t, he was going to have a massive heart attack.

This was killing him.

Just as he went to sit, he heard it.

There was a blood-curdling scream, and he knew who it came from.

It was Tori.

Despite it all, he had to go.

Julian vaulted the couch and raced for the door. All the way out of the building, he was forced to listen to his wife wail in agony.

As he headed toward the citadel, he saw them in the distance. Tori was standing.

She was okay.

As he reached them, and she turned, his stomach dropped.

She was covered in blood.

To make it worse, it was hers. It dripped from her nose, down her face and to her chin.

It was all over her shirt and Hart’s blazer.

Julian knew she wasn’t okay.

Her eyes were hollow.

As he slid to a stop, nearly vomiting at what he saw, Tori pointed at Mattie.

“She killed him. She has to die.”

Mattie backed up.

“She slept with him and ruined him. My life ended the day she touched my husband.”

They all knew who it was. It looked like vengeful Betty was back, and she was ready for round two.

Julian tried to place himself in front of his wife.

If she saw him…

Yeah, she’d likely deck him. Still, he had to try. Tori needed him, and in the end, that’s all that mattered. He watched her wipe her nose with her left hand, and blood coated her wedding bands.

      Til death do they part.

It popped into his head, and he wasn’t sure if someone had placed it there, or it was because he and Tori were at a stalemate. Either way, he had an idea.

Immediately, Julian glanced over at Mattie. “Tell her you’re sorry, Devora!”

Roman stared at him as if Julian had lost his mind. What good was going to come of this?

Julian had figured it out. This spirit could be stopped, but she was looking for something.

It was the basic requirements of any relationship.

Forgiveness, peace, and love were the only way. He’d ignored them before, but now he understood. As a unit, they could pull this off.

Mattie tried to figure it out.

Then, she got it.

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Remington. It just happened, and I made a huge mistake. I shouldn’t have touched your husband.”

Roman tried to keep his body in front of Mattie, but she had moved closer to Tori.

Now Julian and he both had a great deal to lose.

Their women were in serious jeopardy. One from the wrath of the dead woman, and the other from the possession of her very angry spirit.

Everything hung in the balance.

Tori moved closer, and her hands were clenched like vicious claws. She appeared to want to strangle Mattie. As soon as she reached for her, Mattie faced the danger head on.

“I love your son. I made a horrible mistake all those years ago. I need you to forgive me so Roman and I can be happy.”

Her hands went to Mattie’s throat.

Everyone there could tell that Tori was fighting to stop herself. Her hands were shaking, and she had lines crisscrossing her brow.

Roman had to do something. Tori was squeezing the life out of Mattie. He just couldn’t pull her off. It might hurt her.

Shit!

Then he, too, got it.

This was his mother, so he needed to remind her of that.

“Mom, please stop. I love you, and I need you to stop this. You can’t hurt her.”

She hesitated, but her hands stayed on Mattie’s throat. Tori’s head turned, and her blank gaze was locked onto his.

“Mom, you weren’t always like this. You used to love life and this school. You have to stop. Look at what it’s making you into. You took your life, and now you’re hurting people. That’s not you.”

“He hurt me. She hurt me. I was left alone.”

There was more blood.

Tori was beginning to shiver as her body fought to stay alive.

“Mom, I love you, and I know I’m not your favorite like Rylee, but I still needed you. Please forgive Devora, for me. I’ve forgiven her. I want to move on, Mom. I need you to help me.”

She let her go and focused on Roman.

“I always loved you, Roman.”

“You left me, Mom. When I needed you, you chose death over me.”

She lifted her hand and touched his cheek. The blood slowed down, and the pain eased from Tori’s face.

It was working.

“I didn’t leave you, Roman. I didn’t take those pills by myself. I would never have left you. We were all that was left.”

When she dropped the bomb, everyone looked around at each other. Did Betty Remington just admit that she’d been murdered?

“You didn’t commit suicide?” he asked incredulously.

He didn’t move away as she approached him. When she rested her head on his shoulder, Roman held her.

If not for his mother, to help Tori stay warm. She was giving him a gift.

One last talk with his mother.

She rested her head on his shoulder. “No, baby, I was taken. I would have stayed suffering for you, Roman. You’re my son. I didn’t love Rylee more.”

“Who killed you, Mom?” he asked, holding Tori’s body against his. He couldn’t believe what was happening. As he held her, everyone moved closer. He could feel Mattie’s hand on his lower back.