Tempting the Light: Legends and Myths Police Squad (L.A.M.P.S. Book 1) (22 page)

He cleared his dry throat. “Yeah it was. First my parents accused me of making up stories, and I was investigated by the police.”

“Wow. That’s harsh. Did they ever find your brother?”

“Yes. They found him dead at the bottom of a cliff. They said Forest, that was my brother’s name, fell, but I knew what I saw. I tore up those woods searching for the ape-man when I got older. Every once in a while I go back, but I can’t find any evidence that a Bigfoot still lives in the forest. According to our surveillance, they move around. You know, migrate.”

“That had to devastate you. To lose a brother and be accused of something you didn’t do must have been tough for such a young kid.” She ran her finger along his bare stomach.

He laid his hand on top of hers. “Yeah. It was. But it made me strong. After I got out of the Army, I put together a Cryptid team. When the government found out, they contacted me for this position. By the way, you can’t tell anyone or I’ll have to kill you.” He said the last sentence like it was a joke. He would hate to have Abby get hauled in for running her mouth.

“Oh don’t worry. No one would believe me if I did. Which I won’t.” She leaned over and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek.

His soul finally felt inner peace with Abby in his arms. He never wanted to let her go. She fit perfect, and smelled so good. Like cherries and sunshine. He loved the way she snuggled into his side. Being a mere sheriff and quitting L.A.M.P.S loomed as a big adjustment, but he couldn’t bear to let her go. Even though it had only been a month, he knew they belonged together forever.

He chuckled to himself when he thought about having little curly brown haired kids running around the back yard. “Um, Abby? Did you ever think about having kids?”

“Oh my gosh. Did the condom break?” She jumped out of the bed and paced back and forth at a frantic speed.

He chuckled. She amused him to no ends. “No. Nothing like that. I just was curious on your feelings about kids.” He couldn’t believe he’d asked her that, and patted the bed for her to lay back down.

She hesitated and stared at him like he was the one that grew a horse head and wings. Then she shook her head in disbelief. “Yes, eventually. Not right now though. You know with the curse and everything I can’t think of the future.”

The curse bothered him, too. If they didn’t get it lifted this month, he’d have to take her in to be watched. Of course he would stay with her and not let them harm one hair on her cute little head.

“We’ll get it removed.” He wanted to give her hope and reassure himself. Failure would not be acceptable.

“I read in the journal that it’s dangerous.”

“That’s why I’ll be there to help. We’ll do this together.”

Chapter 33

Abby prepared all week for the night of the full moon. She had everything the list called for. She’d read and re-read the spell so many times she had it memorized. But still, she was more nervous than a mouse in a room filled with a thousand hungry cats.

Pepper went with Abby to ‘Blazing Broomsticks’ to return the book and gather supplies.

“The diary warned that the genies are very dangerous and if the spell isn’t performed just right, things could go wrong very fast,” she said to Pepper. Her past history didn’t rule in her favor, and if the spell could backfire, it probably would. Still, she refused to give up—she intended to break her curse. But she needed to give Pepper the chance to back out.

“Ha. I’m not afraid of the big-bad-tampon-genie. I’m still going. You can’t talk me out of it.” Pepper sniffed a cypress eucalyptus incense stick and put it back in the box.

Figuring out a way to ditch River and Pepper would take some serious planning.

“Hey. Where are you today?” Pepper asked. Her blue eyes studied Abby.

Shoot. She needed to stop thinking so hard and pay attention to which candles she picked out. “Sorry. I have a lot on my mind.”

“Well, get what you need and let’s get out of here. This place is giving me the willies.”

They picked up the candles, more salt, and a ceremonial knife. River had found a natural spring and brought her back a milk jug full. They had two Tupperware containers, not the cheap crappy kind, the good kind. One was bigger than the other, so after they locked the genie in the smaller one, they could put the container in the other and duct tape it shut. Better to be safe than have to deal with a pissed off genie. She thought about throwing a tampon in there just to punish him, but hadn’t decided yet.

“I can’t wait for you to get rid of that curse so I can have the old Abby back.” Pepper smirked and tickled her in the stomach.

She pushed Pepper’s hands away and placed the bag of candles in the back of the truck. “Do you think all my bad luck will change? In the journal it said that it could, if the genie had caused it.”

“Of course I think it will.” Pepper shot her a smile filled with hope and reassurance.

“I wish I could end the curse once and for all. If I have a granddaughter she’ll have to go through everything I did.” She wouldn’t stop searching for a way to end the curse on the family for good.

“Didn’t River say he would look into it?”

“He did. He has his Eastern Team digging into their entire library looking for a final cure. So far they haven’t been successful.”

“I bet he finds one.”

She only hoped.

“What’s going on with you and Ottar?” Abby asked as they sat in the truck.

“Nothing. Why?” Her tone indicated something was going on.

She gave Pepper a skeptical look. “I haven’t seen him around these past few days.”

“River said he was with the Gnome at the Eastern Headquarters. He assured me Ottar would be back to repair my dinosaur. The guy is so annoying,” Pepper said and shook her head.

“Mmm hmm,” Abby said in a teasing way.

“What?”

“You like him.”

“You’re wrong. He annoys me and makes me want to punch him in his thick throat sometimes. Did you know he snores really loud? I walked by the barn one morning when he was watching for the Gnome, and I could hear him loud and clear, sawing lumber. That would drive me absolutely crazy.” She threw her arms in the air.

“So you’re thinking about sleeping with him?”

“Oh gosh no. He’s a Neanderthal. Shoot and ask questions later. You know he shot a rabbit in my yard and cooked it over the bonfire one night? One of my poor rabbits had to give his life so that barbarian could eat. I would have gone to the store and bought him a steak if I knew he had been that hungry.”

“Did you tell him you were vegan?”

“Yes, but the dumbass asked if that was like being a pagan. He said he’d fix it. When I asked how. He said, he would find a rabbit in the forest and let it go in my yard. I told him not to bother. The last thing I need is for him to disrupt another bunny family.”

Abby shook her head. Either those two would kill each other or hook up. She had a feeling either way it would end up disastrous. Pepper was pretty adamant about her animals and the rights of farm animals. She wished she could have heard Pepper giving Ottar an ass peeling for harming one of her wild rabbits. The guy probably didn’t know what hit him. Even though he was a tough guy, Pepper could turn into a pit viper when she was pissed. Ottar had the habit of taking Pepper to her extreme limits. She thought maybe there had been a spark between Pepper and Ottar, but it looked like she’d been wrong.

They pulled into their driveway.

“Did you decide where we are going to perform the spell tonight?” Pepper poked her in the shoulder.

Yes, she did, but she wasn’t going to tell them the real place. “How about near the cave where the Gnome hid the treasure?”

Pepper tapped her chin with her finger. “Yeah, that could work. You know, those guys owe you big time for finding the Gnome and his hideout. It would have taken them forever to figure it out.”

They walked into the house.

Abby blew out a loud breath. “Yeah, me the superhero.”

“You need a cape.” Pepper grinned a happy grin like she hadn’t a care in the world, which made Abby wonder what really was going on in the blond head of hers.

“Just call me Super Jersey Devil Girl.” Abby jumped around like a winged crusader.

“Maybe you shouldn’t remove the curse. You could help River and Ottar hunt monsters.”

“Are you crazy? I have no control over what I do when I’m that beast. These past two times I behaved, but I might not in the future. What if I hurt someone, or even eat them? River would have to haul me into the secret hideout so they could probe me. The only reason why I’m not locked up now is because he convinced the agency it was a curse and assured them it would be removed tonight.” She laid the bag of candles on the kitchen table.

“You know, I’ll kind of miss that Jersey Devil.” Pepper loved to tease her.

“I won’t.” Never.

The knock on the back door interrupted them. River and Hercules waited for Pepper to let them in.

Abby’s heart felt like it grew two inches and her rib cage shrunk five when she saw him standing at the door. She still couldn’t believe he claimed to love her. His blond hair moved slightly under his hat in the breeze.

“Come on in.” Pepper held the door for them.

Hercules pulled on his leash, his feet slipping and his nails clicking along on the floor.

“Hi, ladies.” River put a box of donuts on the table before leaning over to kiss Abby.

Abby made the kiss last and snuck her tongue in his mouth. She pulled away and eyed the box. “Thanks for the donuts. Are you trying to get me fat?”

“A few donuts could never make you fat, honey.” He wrapped his arm around her waist.

“So how’s things on the Gnome front?” Pepper opened the box and looked at the different color frosted donuts. “Any vegan donuts in here?”

“There’s a vegan muffin. I think its blueberry,” River said.

“I knew I liked this guy.” She retrieved the muffin and set it on a plate before popping it in the microwave. “They taste better warmed up.” The buttons beeped when she pressed them.

“Are you ready for your big night tonight?” River pulled her closer to him.

“I think so.”

He cleared his throat. “Would you mind if I read the journal? I just want to make sure we haven’t over looked anything.”

Of course he wanted to double check everything. She would do the same if things were reversed. “Here it is. Please don’t lose it.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it. If it makes you feel better, I can look at it here.”

“No, that’s okay. I trust you.” She held out the leather book to him.

“Thanks, sweetheart.”

She would have to get used to hearing those endearments toward her. She had never had anyone call her that. Abby decided she liked it.

“Sure thing, snuggy-poo.” She’d made up her own pet name for him.

“Oh barf. You guys are making me sick. Get a room.” Pepper picked up her muffin from the microwave and walked down the hallway.

“Is everything okay?” River tucked a curl behind her ear and stroked the side of her face.

“Yeah. I guess I’m nervous about tonight. You know if we blow this that genie is going to be pissed.” She shuddered at the thought of what he could do to River.

“We can handle it if we do this together.” His big hands covered both of hers. “Don’t get any screw-brained ideas.”

Damn, he knew her better than she thought. But that was his job, to be one step ahead of everyone. She’d never be able to sneak out and perform the spell on her own.

River looked at Abby and thought about how she was worried about him and Pepper. If he knew Abby like he thought he did, he guessed she planned on ditching them tonight. With her luck lately something could go wrong. He wanted to make damn sure it didn’t. He took the journal and opened it to the page Abby bookmarked.

“This is similar to the spell you and Pepper performed the other night. Except you have to summon the genie first.”

“Yeah. I saw that. According to the book, genies are like demons. Have you ever come across one before?”

“I’ve never dealt with one before. Demons aren’t my specialty. The Paranormal branch of L.A.M.P.S. deals with Demons, ghosts, and poltergeists.” It made him a little nervous. He inquired to all the other branches of the agency about genies, but no one else had encountered them before, not even the paranormal guys.

“Great.”

“After tonight you’re going to be free.” Free to be his, and that sent pulses throughout his body. Shoot he was already getting hard. He couldn’t get over how she sent him into a sexual frenzy.

“I hope we can do this.” Abby picked up Kazoo when the pup entered the room.

Hercules spun and knocked a chair over with excitement. Apparently, he was fond of the little guy too.

“Easy boy. You have to be careful.”

Abby laughed and set Kazoo back down. He ran up and danced on his hind legs in front of the big dog.

“He doesn’t realize how small he is.”

He grabbed a donut out of the box. “I’ll have to get used to eating a lot of these if I’m going to be a real sheriff.” The sugary maple frosting made his taste buds happy.

Abby patted him on the stomach. “I don’t think you’ll have a problem with that.”

“Okay, we meet tonight. I’ll come and pick you and Pepper up around ten. We want everything ready to go at midnight.”

Abby tightened her lips.

“Don’t worry. Nothing will go wrong.”

River could see the doubt in her expression, but more in her eyes.

“I promise.” He kissed her chocolate frosted lips. “Come on, Hercules. We have a lot of studying to do today.”

After tonight he could start his future with Abby.

If nothing went wrong when they summoned the genie.