Misfortune Cookie (9 page)

As I approached the counter, then heard the words I dreaded the most.

“Ohmigod, is that her?”

The loud whisper reached my ears from across the store.

Shit.

“It is!” the voice said, followed by a squee.

Make that a double shit. In my rush to prove how normal my life was, I’d forgotten that in some circles, I was a celebrity. Curse my family. Curse me and my youthful idiocy.

The woman, probably early twenties, whipped out her cell phone, ready to take a photo. Plenty of gossip rags would pay handsomely for a candid shot of me. A picture that would show the world my red-rimmed eyes, scary, frazzled hair, and clothes stained with liquids of dubious origin.

Obviously no one knew I’d been on a soul capture. To rest of the world, it would appear as if I’d been on an all-night bender. Yep, the girl was about to fetch some quick cash.

“Ask for her autograph,” her friend urged, tugging the two of them closer to me.

My lawyer-in-shining- armor stepped between them and, with well-practiced grace, fanned open a newspaper, effectively blocking her shot.

He smartly snapped the paper, adjusting the angle when she tried to take another photo. He said, “Denial never works as a long-term strategy. You can sweep something under the rug, but it’ll only come back and trip you later.”

The patrons on my other side woke from their morning stupors and started to notice the commotion. Recognition dawned on their faces, and furious hushed conversations sped around the room. The counter server slid a napkin my way with his phone number on it. Like he had a shot. I don’t think so.

“Shut it and get me out of here.” Time for him to earn that big salary my grandfather paid him and to atone for shooting me. Two elderly tourists approached me with pens and paper. “Please. Luca!”

So what if my rebellion was turning into an epic fail? I was nothing if not adaptable. I had to give Luca credit. He had some serious charming guy mojo that he directed at the elderly couple sending them away. While he deflected the groupies, I searched for Mikey’s scruffy head. We’d known each other in social circles for years. His father owned a frozen foods empire and had been on several corporate boards alongside Sebastian.

Mikey had followed in his old man’s footsteps, working toward expanding his chain of coffee shops nationwide. So far, he’d conquered the region opening stores in every metro and suburban area.

After several furtive glances on my tiptoes, Mikey must have sensed my desperation. He emerged from the behind the counter and offered me his arm.

“What have you gotten yourself into this time, kid?” he asked, scratching his neatly trimmed goatee, amusement crinkling soft lines around his eyes.

The crowd surged toward me. I swear it had multiplied in the last few minutes. Flash bulbs started popping.

“Oh you know, same old, same old,” I said, tightening my grip on his arm. Luca’s palm pressed firmly into the small of my back as we made our way around the counter.

“Been out partying tonight, Radiance?” someone called.

“Are you whoring around again?” another suggested with the rudeness of a skilled member of the paparazzi. “Who’s your latest boy toy?”

Luca growled behind me as we entered the narrow galley kitchen. Mikey stood with his back to the door, blocking the view inside the kitchen.

I threw my arms around his neck and hugged him. “Thank you! I owe you big time.”

He waved me off. “You best get moving.”

“Why? You in a hurry?” I joked.

Luca took my hand and tugged me toward the back door, grumbling about making it outside before the “parasites” found me.

“Nah. I got a date tonight.” He smiled, then casually flipped the bird at the photographers trying to take pictures through the door’s porthole.

“I hope she’s hot!” I yelled before I was yanked outside and into the waiting car.

“You don’t have to enjoy being right so much,” I said to Luca once we were safely ensconced in the limo. I was guessing he’d sent for it before we’d arrived, knowing full well we wouldn’t be able to disappear in front of everyone, especially with cameras everywhere.

“Allow me one little pleasure.” He purred the last word, sending a furious blush onto my cheeks. He stared at me expectantly, the “I told you so” clear on his face.

“Fine,” I huffed. “You were right. I can’t parade around as freely as I used to.” I hated the tiny sob that wanted to escape my throat.

Luca must have noticed, because he dropped the smile and took my hand. “I am truly sorry.”

“I know this all seems silly to you, but it’s important to me to not feel like a sideshow attraction.” Or caught like an animal in a leg hold trap, ready to bite off a foot in desperation.

“No. I do not think you are silly or that your feelings are inconsequential.” He raised my chin and leveled his stare on me. “Never think that.”

“I can’t spend my life hiding behind the mansion’s walls.” I’d been there, done that in my wilder days. And this time, it wasn’t even my own actions that caused all the media interest in me.

“You won’t have to. We’ll figure out a compromise,” he soothed.

“Like what? Reconstructive surgery? Do you have necklace that can magically change my appearance?” I fingered the heavy silver pendant around my neck. Since Luca had given it to me, I felt more secure. Too bad it didn’t work as tabloid journalist repellent.

“I might know where to find one of those,” he said. When he didn’t smile, I realized he meant it. “It is my desire to make you happy.” He turned his seductive gaze on me and I could swear he was undressing me with his eyes. At that thought, my body ignited, delivering delicious pulses in all my intimate places.

“Do we have anything else on the agenda today?” I kept my voice cool and steady, even though I considered a psych evaluation. What kind of sick person is sexually turned on by the same man who shot her? To be fair, I’d felt insane lust for Luca from the first moment I saw him. And I hadn’t forgotten that hot kiss we’d exchanged before the draugr showed up to ruin the night.

Yup. I was a candidate for the loony bin. Or a support group for victims of Stockholm Syndrome.

After an amused stare, which made me suspicious that he could read my mind despite his earlier denials, Luca said, “As a matter of fact, we do. Try not to protest as a matter of principle.”

My hackles rose. It’s never good when someone tries to forewarn you. It means that whatever suggestion that followed would probably suck.

Luca smirked. “It’s time for you, as Americans like to say, to
put on your big girl panties
. Do I have that right?”

“Yes,” I grumbled.

“We will train. Every day, until you can hold your own in battle.”

“Super. Who is going to teach me?” As if I didn’t already know the answer. Hope springs eternal, right?

“Me, darling.”

“Concentrate!” Luca swept my legs out from under me, dumping me on my ass.

“I’m trying!” We’d been training for a week. I quickly learned that super healing had a major downside. Luca could make me train for much longer than any normal person could last. I had to give credit where credit was due. My improved skills made soul captures go a lot smoother. I’d learned how to get close enough to zap escapees without being ghost-handled too roughly.

He bounced on his heels, fists up in a fighting stance. “Again.”

We sparred for another hour, until Mr. Meadows insisted we eat something. I could grow to like the man for that alone. He brought me food and managed to derail Luca’s single-minded focus for at least an hour.

“So is there some kind of rotation for Redeemers?” I forked a plump tomato from my salad. The produce came from my gardens. Part of Sebastian’s security was to make the estate as self-sufficient as possible. Eventually I might find the time to learn more about the legacy. Even if I didn’t want it, I could at least make the best of the situation. That day in the coffee shop had been the wake-up call that I needed to remember the bad old days. I’d rather deal with the spirit world than human greed and avarice.

“There is, but I don’t know the details. It is all determined by the Powers That Be.”

“Do you have job title? Maybe Head Ass Kicker?” Or Super Vortex Man. I’d learned that Luca didn’t like to discuss how he created a portal in his chest.

“I’m an Advocate.” He cut up a chicken breast with precise motions. “I carry out the sentence of the Redeemer.”

“And being a body guard is part of your normal duties.”

“In your case, yes. Normally, souls aren’t so hands on.”

“Have there been others before me?” Too late I realized how that question could be interpreted.

Luca smiled slowly. “No. You are the only one for me.”

Awareness buzzed in my skull. My fork clattered onto my plate as what I now recognized as “the tug” pulled at me. Tamzin’s yellow gaze peered at me when I closed my eyes.

Without comment, Luca dropped his napkin onto the table and circled around to join me. He closed his eyes and frowned. “Curious” was all he said before he transported us to our assigned location.

“Downtown?”

We stood in the alley across from one of the most exclusive luxury condos—The Stirling—home to some of the city’s most prominent movers and shakers. Bad vibes shook through me. Like we should run in the other direction. Acid burned my throat as I fought to keep lunch down. “Do you—?”

“Yes, I feel it too. Be alert. I fear this may not be what we usually deal with.” Luca pushed through the revolving door. The concierge seemed to take no notice of us. Then I realized we had already crossed to the other realm. Dark red auras stained the lobby. The elevator, enveloped in black smut, appeared sinister.

“Is it safe to travel in that thing?” I hesitated.

“Yes.” Luca handed me the stun gun, secreted from his handy dandy pocket dimension. The shiny chrome doors slid open in welcome. He stepped inside, finger on the door open button.

I took the weapon and checked the power supply.

Luca arched an eyebrow at my pathetic attempts to stall.

“Just double-checking. I believe you beat that into me.” Literally. He’d zapped me enough times with the thing so I would know what it felt like. And, more importantly, he attempted to train me how to overcome the shock in case anyone ever turned the weapon on me. We were still working on that one.

I stepped inside, my body screaming for me to run before the doors closed, trapping us inside. As the elevator ascended, knots twisted my stomach along with the dread that something unpleasant waited for us.

Luca touched my shoulder.

I jumped, fingers twitching, ready to discharge my weapon.

“Breathe. Do not let your training go to waste.”

“I’m fine,” I snapped.

He inclined his head, but said nothing.

The elevator stopped, doors gliding open. Luca peered out, checking both directions. He motioned to the left. Tamzin waited, resting on an overturned service cart. Without a word, she drifted down the hall, stopping at the suite at the hall’s end.

Be careful, Redeemer.
The same dirty blackness coated the door. I really, really didn’t want to see what was on the other side, but I knew I had to. With a deep fortifying breath, I turned the knob. The door opened easily, revealing an open floor plan. The loft-type layout provided a clear view of the kitchen, living room, and dining area. To the right, mock walls that must have led to the more private areas like bedrooms and bathrooms.

The first thing that struck me, aside from the obvious wealth of the person who lived there, was the pair of twisted legs jutting from behind a sleek leather sofa. I aimed the stun gun and approached the body.

“He is dead.” Luca sniffed the air. “Do you sense the spirit?”

I shook my head. “I don’t feel anything.” I looked at my left palm. The brand was inactive. “Could this be a mistake?”

I circled around the couch. Cartons of Chinese take-out were strewn across the clear glass coffee table. Two sets of plates had been set out. I stepped around the pool of blood surrounding the victim’s head. Neck at an odd angle, arms and wrists broken and twisted, he’d been wrecked like a child’s plaything.

Cold sweat coated my forehead and back. In the months since I’d inherited this nightmare, I hadn’t gotten used to the carnage. “Wait a minute. Did this person just die?”

Luca responded from across the room. I hadn’t even noticed him move. “I believe so.”

“Why are we here?” We only caught souls who’d escaped the Hereafter. “This guy is too new to have escaped.”

“We’re not here for him.” Luca’s gaze hardened before he stalked down a hallway.

I glanced again at the victim and saw his face. Oh God. I stifled a cry. Kneeling down, I touched the tousled, blood-soaked hair. “Mikey? No! Luca, it’s —”

Sharp pain split my skull and stars bloomed across my vision. I dropped to my knees, hands automatically clutching my head as warm blood coursed over my fingertips, coating my palms.

Luca barreled toward me, mouth open as if calling my name. A blur zipped across the living room and collided with him. I faded in and out of consciousness, fighting to stay alert.

Double images of the ghost and Luca wrestled on the ground. I fumbled for the stun gun, willing my fingers to pull the trigger. They moved too fast. With my shaky aim and wonky vision, I could hit Luca instead. The room faded . . .

. . . and then it was back. The throbbing wound lessened to a dull roar. Furniture lay broken and smashed around me.