The Curse Keepers Collection (91 page)

I panted with need, clinging to him.

His head lifted and he looked into my eyes, all the teasing gone. “Do you remember when I asked if you believed in destiny?
You
are my destiny, Ellie Lancaster. You.”

We made love again, slow and gentle, but with reverence as we explored each other’s bodies.

Afterward, sunlight crept through the drapes, and I rested my cheek on his chest.

His arm tightened around me. “Do you still think you’re broken?” he asked, sounding sleepy.

What David and I had shared was special, but if I were honest with myself, it wasn’t close to what I’d experienced with Collin. He and I had shared body and soul with each other—a once-in-a-lifetime experience. But we’d also shared deception and betrayal. Collin and I were fire and ice, love and hate. When you climb to soaring heights, the fall is much more deadly.

What I had with David was deeper and more meaningful, and yet . . . it was not quite enough. Collin was right. I’d never experience anything like the pure completeness I had felt when we were connected, but those moments had been fleeting, and our passion had come at a steep price that wasn’t worth it. The sad truth was that Collin couldn’t give me what I needed, because he couldn’t give
himself
what he needed.

I needed to make a choice and I needed to stand by it. David deserved the same commitment that he’d offered me. I knew that once I picked, I couldn’t go back.

I stared into the face of the man sleeping beside me and brushed the hair off his forehead. I knew in my heart he was perfect for me.

I leaned down and brushed a kiss on his lips, whispering. “I choose you.”

Then I laid my head on his chest and slept a dreamless sleep.

C
HAPTER
T
WENTY
-F
OUR

We only slept a few hours before I got up to make breakfast for the guests in the inn. With Myra gone, I couldn’t forget the real reason I was staying in the house.

I hung around the office and small kitchen of the inn, greeting guests and giving them directions and suggestions for sightseeing. David got up with me and hovered nearby for most of the morning. Normally, it would have felt claustrophobic, but after my real-life nightmares of the previous night, I was freaked out enough to not want to be alone. And I knew David wasn’t the hovering type. He was staying close to me because he knew I needed him.

I pushed him into the office and reached up to kiss him. “Thank you.”

A wicked gleam filled his eyes. “And what exactly are you thanking me
for
?”

I kissed him again and stepped back. “Everything.”

When the guests left for their day of sightseeing, David followed me upstairs to help me make the beds and clean the bathrooms.

“You don’t have to do this,” I said, tucking in a sheet. “You can go do something fun.”

“No. I’ve always been fascinated about the role of an innkeeper.”

I laughed. “An innkeeper, huh? You make me feel like I’m sixty.” I leaned over in the bathroom connected to the room and grabbed some damp towels off the floor, wincing as I stood.

“Ellie, you shouldn’t be bending over like that.”

“I’m fine. It doesn’t hurt or anything. It just stings.”

He took the towels from me. “Where do I put these?”

“The basket in the hall,” I said, turning on the water I’d need for cleaning.

He dumped them where I’d told him. “Want me to get started in the next room?”

“David, you don’t—”

“Ellie, let me help. The sooner we get done here, the faster we can get back to searching for your father’s notes.”

I nodded and then rushed out into the hall to give him a quick kiss. “Okay, as long as you don’t mind.”

He grinned against my lips. “Don’t you have a bathroom to clean?”

I lifted my eyebrows in mock surprise. “Oh, yeah.”

He disappeared into the other guest room and I returned to the bathroom I was cleaning, surprised to see that the mirror had already steamed up. I leaned over to crack open the window and gasped.

“
David.
”

He was through the doorway in seconds, worry on his face. “Are you okay?”

I pointed to the window. In the steam was the outline of a symbol. It was a four-pointed star. It looked weirdly familiar, but I couldn’t place it.

“How did that get there?” David asked, moving closer.

“I don’t know. When I came back, the window was steamed up and it was there.”

“Ellie, this symbol is on the plank.”

“Do you think it’s Ahone’s?”

He shook his head in amazement. “I don’t know. It could be.”

“Could be isn’t good enough. I
need
to know. I can’t just tattoo some random symbol on my back.” I ran my uninjured hand through my hair and turned toward him. “I’m sorry. I’m not upset with you. I’m pissed at Ahone. Why does he have to be so damned illusive? Why can’t he just say, ‘Here’s my symbol’?”

“I don’t know. I keep wondering why Okeus’s symbol is still known but not Ahone’s. It could be because the people offered regular sacrifices to Okeus and pretty much ignored Ahone. They rarely gave him thought, so why record his name? Or perhaps Ahone’s name is like the ancient Hebrew name for God, and only the priests knew how to pronounce it. God’s name was considered too reverent to be spoken by just anyone.”

“Hopefully Daddy will have recorded it somewhere. If we can find any of his other notes.”

“We will.”

He sounded more certain than I was.

“Tonight I think we should sleep in your apartment,” he said. “Last night was the first time you dreamed since you started sleeping with the dream catcher. But I’m going to sleep with you so I can check on you and make sure you’re okay.”

I bumped his shoulder. “You just want a reason not to sleep on the sofa.”

He laughed. “That’s right. You caught me. I seduced you only so that I could have a mattress.” He pushed me against the wall and leaned over to kiss me.

I wrapped my arm around his neck, closing my eyes as I let myself be sucked into the moment. It struck me—
this
was what I’d been looking for before Collin showed up and shattered my life. I wasn’t in love David, but I was
falling
in love with him. Even this early, it was easy to see he was
the one
—the guy I’d been waiting to show up and fill my life, the guy who could give me the love and happiness my parents had shared. Sighing with momentary contentment, I pushed him away. “As romantic as making out in a guest’s dirty bathroom is, I’m afraid I need to get back to work.”

“You are a very cruel woman, Ellie Lancaster.”

“And you are easily distracted, Dr. Preston. Now go make a bed.” I gave his arm a playful push.

After he stole another kiss and headed into the other room, I found myself staring at the fading symbol again.

With the two of us working, we finished within an hour. David insisted on carrying the dirty linen to the laundry room and starting the wash. When I protested, he mock scowled. “I’m a bachelor, Ellie. I’ve lived alone since I was eighteen. I know how to do laundry.”

“Okay . . . ” Was I really going to fight him over him doing the laundry?

“Now that we have this symbol, I’m going to e-mail a few colleagues to find out if they’ve ever seen it. I doubt we’ll get confirmation, but we might be able to eliminate it if they recognize it as something else.”

“Okay, how about I order a pizza? The best place in town doesn’t offer delivery, but I’ll go pick it up while you’re sending your e-mails.”

Worry filled his eyes. “Do you want me to go with you?”

“No, I’ll be fine. It’s daylight.” Although I wasn’t sure how much longer that would give me security.

“Okay. Be careful.”

He headed for the front porch with his laptop, and I called in the order, realizing as I did that my car was back at my apartment. I grabbed my purse and walked the two blocks home. My arm throbbed after using it all morning, reminding me that it still needed butterfly bandages. I had a box in my bathroom, so I figured I could run upstairs and grab them.

When I reached my front porch, I knew something was off. The symbols on my door were smudged, and that
never
happened. Fear squeezed my lungs. Had Tom arrested Collin?

But when I unlocked the door and pushed it open, I realized what was really going on. One of Marino’s men—the one who’d tried to kidnap me in Morehead City—sat in my overstuffed chair with a handgun on his lap. The box that held Daddy’s remaining watches was out on the coffee table.

“Ellie Lancaster, you’re a hard woman to find.”

Oh, shit
. I froze in the doorway, my hand still on the doorknob.

“Come on in, Ellie. We need to have a little chat.”

I hesitated. “I’m not feeling very chatty today.” I started to take a step back.

He lifted the gun and pointed it at me. “Don’t underestimate my willingness to shoot. You’ve been a pain in my ass for weeks, and I’d as soon shoot you and be done with it. Just give me a reason.” The look on his face told me he meant it.

Forcing myself to take slow, steady breaths, I walked inside.

“Shut the door.”

I cast a quick glance over my shoulder. The one time I wished Tom was hanging around and nagging me to talk, he was nowhere to be found. Figured.

“Have a seat.”

I took my time sitting on the sofa, staying as far away from him as possible. Why did he have Daddy’s watches? He must have been snooping in my closet.

“Tell me what you know about the Ricardo deal.”

“I don’t know anything.”

He leaned forward, his face reddening. “I’m not a patient man. So let’s try this again.” His eyes narrowed. “What do you know about the Ricardo deal?”

Why was he questioning me here instead of taking me to Marino? I wasn’t sure what that meant. “I don’t know anything. The first time I ever heard of it was when I met Marino, and Collin refused to give me any details. Officer Helmsworth told me it was a collection of antiques that had been stolen. That’s all I know. I swear.”

“Then what are you doing with these watches?”

“They were my father’s.”

He shook his head with a disgusted look and banged his hand on the table next to the box. “Try again, Ellie.”

I jumped, fighting the sob that was building in my chest. Where was Mishiginebig when I needed him?

He opened the lid and pointed to the older watch. “Where did you get this?”

“I told you, it was my father’s.” I forced myself to take a normal breath. I had to control my fear.

Reaching down to a bag next to his chair, he pulled out a folder and set it on the table before sliding it over to me. “Take a look at that.”

I opened the folder with shaky fingers, trying to make sense of the photos inside. Then I realized I was staring at the contents of the Ricardo Estate. Maybe I would learn something I could use if I survived this encounter.

I flipped through the photos slowly, hoping I wasn’t being too obvious with my cataloging. Swords and daggers made of gold and silver were displayed on tables. Some were intricately carved, others plain. The next photo held candlesticks and silverware, but the third photo was what had made him suspicious. Pocket watches were mixed in with buttons, brooches, hairpins, necklaces, and rings.

“Take a closer look at that one. Upper left corner.”

I picked up the photo and tried to figure out what he wanted me to see. When I saw it, I gasped. The watch was identical to the one sitting on my coffee table, the one Oscar had told me would need its own insurance policy. But how could that be? These watches had been in Daddy’s family for years, centuries even.

“Now you know that I have evidence of your involvement, so let’s stop fooling around. Where did you get the watches?”

I obviously didn’t have the answer he wanted, and he obviously had information I could use. I had two choices. I could keep insisting on the truth, or I could take a lesson from Collin’s playbook. “Collin gave it to me,” I said after a moment.

He eased back in his chair and gave me a condescending grin. “Now we’re getting somewhere. Why did Collin give it to you? As payment?”