The Naked Truth (25 page)

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Authors: Natasha Rostova

BOOK: The Naked Truth
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‘OK. I’ll collect my things from the boat on Thursday. That’s my day off. I’ll send some people to the house this weekend.’
‘Fine.’ Logan hesitated for a minute, as if he wanted to say something more, and then he turned away.
Callie watched him walk down the beach until he disappeared into the darkness. Then she slowly made her way back to the peristyle. She hadn’t even heard the drums stop pounding, but it looked as if the main ritual was over. People milled around the beach, feasting on the wide array of foods and indulging in drink. Callie found Tess and Adam, who were busy piling their plates with desserts.
Adam waved with one hand while balancing a paper plate and a soft drink with the other. ‘Hey, Callie, are you OK? You disappeared.’
‘Yes, I’m sorry. I just needed a break.’
Tess flipped her hair back and chewed on a chicken leg. ‘I know, it’s a little overwhelming the first time. Don’t worry, though. You’ll get used to it.’
Callie glanced around the crowd. ‘Is Abiona here? I’d like to speak with her for a moment.’
‘Yes, she’s resting over in the peristyle,’ Tess said. ‘She had quite a night.’
‘Thanks.’ Callie went back to the peristyle, where Abiona was stretched out on a lawn chair. Two empty plates and a cup rested beside her, and her mother hovered nearby. Both women smiled at Callie.
‘Callie, you enjoyed our ceremony?’ Pemba asked.
‘I did. It was incredible. Thank you for inviting me.’ Suddenly feeling a bit nervous, Callie smoothed down her skirt. ‘Abiona, can I speak to you for a moment?’
‘Of course, child, come and sit beside me.’ Abiona waved to a nearby chair. She looked tired from the events of the evening, but she radiated with an inner light that didn’t seem as if it would ever dim.
Callie sat down, unable to take her eyes off the other woman. ‘How do you feel?’ she asked.
‘Weary, but very alive,’ Abiona said. ‘It was Ghede, the god of both death and eroticism, who chose to mount me tonight. He can be very demanding, but he is one of the most powerful
loas
.’
Callie couldn’t bring herself to lie to this stunning woman. ‘I’m sorry, but I didn’t see the entire ceremony,’ she admitted. ‘I loved the dancing, but I got so hot that I had to take a short walk. I found . . . I mean, I met my husband a short distance away.’
To Callie’s surprise, the priestess smiled slightly. ‘I suspected he would come tonight. He came to see me a few days ago.’
Callie looked up. ‘He did?’
‘Yes. He appeared to be quite disturbed.’
‘Disturbed? Or was he just angry?’
‘No, he was disturbed. He didn’t show it, but I could sense it within him. Something bothers him very deeply.’
‘Yes, maybe the fact that I’m not obeying his orders,’ Callie muttered.
Abiona shook her head. ‘No, this is something beyond you. He is upset about you, of that there is no question. But there are dark forces in his life.’
Callie shrugged. ‘Maybe he has a difficult court case.’
‘I must tell you to think of your husband with compassion,’ Abiona said. ‘I believe he is a good man. Difficult to understand, perhaps, but innately good.’
‘It can be difficult to treat him with compassion when that’s a quality he doesn’t even seem to possess himself.’
‘Of course he does, Callie. He’s as human as you are. Besides, do you always treat people according to the qualities they possess? If someone is full of hate, do you in turn hate them? Or if someone shows no mercy towards others, do you show no mercy towards them?’
‘Well, no,’ Callie murmured. ‘But maybe I should. An eye for an eye.’
Abiona shook her head and pressed her lips together. ‘And then what happens if everyone thinks like that? The world goes blind.’
‘I’m sorry.’ Callie let out her breath and tried to clear her head. ‘I’m just confused. I don’t know what’s going to happen with Logan. Moreover, I don’t even know what I want.’
‘You will know,’ Abiona assured her. ‘Answers can come in the strangest of ways. And at the strangest of times. For me, it is through the
loas
.’
‘I don’t have any answers,’ Callie admitted. ‘Only questions about why my husband wants to keep track of me.’
‘He follows you everywhere?’
‘No, I don’t think so. He’s a very busy lawyer, and I know he would never sacrifice his job just to keep track of me. But he’s shown up twice where I haven’t expected him. He followed me to your house last weekend, and then tonight he followed me here.’
‘I told him about the ceremony. Perhaps he suspected you would be here.’ Abiona eyed Callie curiously. ‘You had sex with him, yes?’
Callie flushed. ‘Look, I realise that’s not the most productive way of getting rid of him, but –’
Abiona laughed so suddenly that Callie was startled. She clutched her hands together as a sense of shame trickled through her.
‘My child.’ Abiona reached out and took one of Callie’s hands in hers. ‘I’m sorry, I’m not laughing at you. I’m laughing because I believe Ghede had a bit of an influence over you tonight. He has a vast amount of power, and he often uses it to confuse others.’
‘Well, it worked,’ Callie muttered. She sighed and rubbed her forehead. Everything had seemed quite clear after she left Logan, but now all of her rationalisations were muddled up in her head like a foggy windscreen. ‘But the ritual doesn’t appear to have done much good.’
‘Come back to our home on Tuesday, yes? I will give you another protection charm.’
‘Thank you, but I doubt it’ll work either.’
Abiona looked thoughtful. ‘Callie, you must remember that everyone has
loas
watching over them. If your husband has spirits around him who are quite powerful, then there is always a chance that they can divert any spells placed upon him.’
Callie thought of Logan’s commanding presence and shook her head. ‘If Logan has
loas
protecting him, then my
loa
doesn’t stand a chance of succeeding.’
‘Perhaps the problem does not even lie with the spirit world,’ Abiona suggested. ‘Perhaps it lies within you. May I ask why you married this man?’
‘Well, because I . . . because I thought he was very intriguing. And my sister kept telling me that marriage to him would be good for my status in society.’
‘And that is all?’
Confusion gripped Callie. She remembered once asking Logan why he married her, but she had never given much thought as to why she had married him. ‘No, that’s not all. I suppose I loved him.’
Abiona frowned. ‘You suppose? Child, if you don’t even know your own mind and heart, then you can’t possibly expect to salvage your relationship with your husband.’
‘I know,’ Callie said in a low voice, suddenly not sure if she knew anything at all.
‘Were you honestly so concerned about your status that you would marry for it?’ Abiona asked gently.
Callie shook her head. ‘No, I really wasn’t. I’ve never cared about that kind of thing. I must have loved him, or been infatuated with him at the very least.’
‘And now?’
‘I don’t know,’ Callie admitted. ‘I haven’t even thought of love with Logan. He’s been so unreachable that it just didn’t occur to me.’
‘Perhaps you need to start thinking about it,’ Abiona suggested. ‘That could be the source of your difficulties.’
Callie shrugged. ‘Maybe I thought I could change him. Obviously, that didn’t work.’
Abiona squeezed Callie’s hand. ‘Or maybe you recognised something in him that no one else did.’
Chapter Twelve
 
L
ogan stepped out of the French windows that led to the terrace and gardens of the house. Twilight was just beginning to descend. He took a deep breath of humid air scented with magnolias and grass. Over the past few weeks, weeds had started to choke the flowerbeds since Callie wasn’t here to tend to them as she usually did. She had often spent her weekends out here, digging her hands into the dirt and planting new flowers.
Now, crabgrass pushed up between the cracks of the flagstone pathways, and cones of fire-ant hills appeared in various places. It seemed as if everywhere Logan turned lately, there was some evidence of Callie’s absence. A humourless smile twisted his mouth as he bent to pluck a few weeds. It was hardly a stretch to view the encroaching weeds as a metaphor for what was happening in his own life.
Except for last night. His entire body responded as an image of Callie stretched out naked before him appeared in his mind. And then another image of her swirling and dancing, her hair flying around her shoulders and her body undulating. Damn, he’d never realised before how incredible she could be. He was beginning to understand that there were quite a few things he hadn’t realised about his wife. And yet she was still refusing to come home.
He pulled a cluster of weeds from a flowerbed just as the doorbell rang. Wiping his hands on his jeans, he went into the hall and opened the door. His muscles tightened.
‘Elenore.’
‘Hello, Logan.’ She was dressed in her Sunday best, a navy-blue suit tailored perfectly to her figure, with matching gloves and a hat. ‘May I come in?’
Logan’s fist clenched on the doorknob. ‘No. What do you want?’
‘I’m not happy about the way we parted last week,’ Elenore explained.
‘And so you’re here to make amends?’ Logan shook his head. ‘Sorry. Not interested.’
Elenore’s lips thinned. ‘I really don’t appreciate the way you’ve been treating me. Your past is not my fault. You made the decisions, Logan, not me.’
‘You made plenty of decisions,’ Logan replied dryly. ‘Believe me, I haven’t forgotten them.’
‘Good, then surely you also remember that I am the one in control right now, just as I was back then.’
Something ugly coiled in Logan’s gut, but he pulled the door open to let Elenore in. She glanced around approvingly as they walked to the sitting room.
‘My goodness, Logan, you really have done well for yourself. Your home is simply beautiful. Where did you find these antiques?’
‘Around,’ Logan replied vaguely. He didn’t bother offering her a drink or even a cup of coffee. Instead, he sat down on the arm of the couch and gave her a hard look.
‘Well, it seems to me that investing in my little riverboat wouldn’t cause a dent in your fortune,’ Elenore observed as she settled into a plush chair.
‘That’s hardly the point.’
She looked at him. ‘You know, even Gerald would be proud of you.’
‘I couldn’t really give a shit about your husband.’
‘Honestly, Logan, I can’t understand why you’re so hostile towards us. I can perhaps understand why you continue to berate yourself, but us?’
‘You’re a manipulative bitch,’ Logan replied. ‘Now, what do you want? You gave me a week. It’s been four days.’
Her lips curved into a smile. ‘What do you think I want?’
Logan went cold. ‘Forget it, Elenore. I’m not fucking you again.’
‘You know, I’m not happy with this uncooperative attitude of yours,’ she said.
‘Yeah? Well, I’m not happy with the manipulative attitude of yours,’ Logan snapped.
Elenore glanced around the room before walking to table and picking up a slender, patterned vase. ‘Who did the decorating here? Was it your wife?’
‘Don’t bother using Callie to get at me,’ Logan said. ‘It won’t work.’
‘Why not? Has she come back to you?’
‘What the fuck business is it of yours?’ Logan retorted. ‘Get out, Elenore. I don’t have time for this.’
‘You’d better start having time for it, Logan,’ Elenore replied curtly. ‘I’m a woman of my word, and so I’ll give you until Saturday. After that, I’m going to reopen our negotiations.’
‘What does that mean?’
‘Exactly what it means. I so enjoyed our little
tête-à-tête
the other day that it gave me a craving for more.’
‘You mean you want fucking thrown into the deal, no matter what.’ Logan’s fists clenched as he fought the urge to go after her physically. ‘Get out, you psychotic bitch.’
He stalked up the stairs and into his bedroom. He was relieved when he heard the front door slam. Jesus. She’d make good on her threat, he knew that much. Elenore Lawrence had never been one to let anything stand in her way. Nausea gripped him at the thought of being reduced to fucking her again on a regular basis. He’d kill her first.
Without thinking, he grabbed his car keys and drove to Abiona’s house off Bay Street. As sceptical as he was about voodoo, he wanted to see her again. He knocked on the door and waited impatiently.
‘Logan.’ Abiona opened the door and ushered him inside. ‘I have been expecting you.’
‘You have?’
She nodded. ‘I had a dream about you the other night. You were in the middle of a desert and you were walking and walking to try to find your way out. The sun was blazingly hot, and you had no water, but you continued walking as if you could have gone on for days.’

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