Guarded, page 20
part #2 of Tidewater Series
Jules glanced back at Shelley, question in her eyes. She didn’t need telepathy to know her sister was asking if she wanted to eat. Shelley nodded.
“We’re starved,” Jules said, then hopped up from the couch.
Shelley followed them into the hall and found Dev waiting for her. No green glow. No glow at all, but still as sexy as ever. He draped an arm around her waist and whispered into her ear, “Want to fluster Seth? Ask him how he met Jules. It makes for great dinner conversation.”
CHAPTER 17
“A HOOKER?” SHELLEY didn’t mean to laugh, she really didn’t. But she couldn’t help herself. The idea of her prim and proper big sister in a leather skirt and bustier sneaking into a cop’s bedroom in the middle of the night was hilarious. Catching her breath, Shelley said, “Come on! You climbed into his bedroom dressed as a prostitute?”
Across the little round table, Dev snickered then shoved a forkful of lasagna into his mouth while Seth glared at him and muttered, “Thanks, Jones. I guess I should be grateful you didn’t tell everyone at the station too.”
Seth’s eyes rounded and his mouth gaped. “Ah, crap. You didn’t. Right?”
“Holy Toledo, Seth, it was a costume,” Jules said, her face pink, and her green eyes sparkling with humor.
“Yes, but if Gareth had seen you that night, you probably wouldn’t be sitting here today.” Seth touched Jules’s cheek as if to reassure himself.
Tension replaced the humor in the room.
“Who’s Gareth?” Shelley asked at the silence that had redefined deafening.
“He was a police officer—” Jules began.
“No, he was a bastard dirty cop who murdered a woman dressed exactly like you, then went after you too,” Seth corrected.
Jules laid a hand on his and said quietly, “But he didn’t. I’m fine.”
Seth exhaled a hard breath, then cast Jules a weary grin. He kissed her on the temple. “I know, Precious. I know.”
Dev leaned close to Shelley and said in a low, rushed voice, “Gareth had been a police officer until October. We didn’t know he was behind a string of jewelry thefts until he started killing people. One of his victims was a woman. Before she died, she’d accidentally switched purses with your sister. Stolen diamonds were sewn into the lining. Gareth realized it and went after Jules.”
Shelley glanced at Jules who nibbled on what was left of her dinner. Her sister had been in the sights of a murderer? A shiver went down Shelley’s back so fast, she shuddered.
“If it hadn’t been for the ghosts, he might have killed me,” Jules said. “But they kept sending warnings . . . messages. Finally, the dead woman, Aimee-Lynn, told me where to find the diamonds and what to do with them. Dev here played a big part in helping to catch that psycho.”
“Dev did?” Shelley expected Jules to name Seth, not Dev.
“Yeah.” Seth nodded grimly. “If he hadn’t convinced me to stop wearing my ass for a hat, and believe in Jules’s abilities, I might have lost her forever.”
Seth’s watch beeped. Jules hopped up and shuffled into the bedroom. She returned moments later with Callie the kitten and handed her to Seth.
“Your turn to feed her,” Jules said with a grin.
The kitten meowed loudly. “Ooh, that’s a good sign,” Shelley said. “Despite the way we found her, she’s strong. Her lungs are definitely working.”
“I noticed that when I got home from work.” Seth rubbed the kitten on her patchwork head. She closed her eyes and purred.
“Is T coming back?” Dev asked, glancing around.
“No. She decided to stay at her place when Jiovanni called,” Jules said, returning to the table with the filled bottle. She handed it to Seth. “Theresa’s still trying to convince Seth that she’s ready to get married.”
Propping the kitten on the table and cupping his hand over her little body to keep her from falling, Seth gently inserted the nipple into the kitten’s mouth. Once the kitten started to drink, Seth said, “She’s only nineteen, Juliana. I don’t care if she’s mad at me. She’s too young to get married.”
Jules held her hands up. “I’m not arguing with you. I just think you two need to talk about it. Calmly.”
Dev caught Shelley’s eye and winked. That one little gesture did crazy things to her heart. And when he reached out and took her hand in his, the organ previously known to pump blood through her body did somersaults in her chest.
Oh, she shouldn’t let herself get close to these people, especially Dev. She didn’t belong here. Not really. And yet . . .
“Don’t you agree, Shelley?”
Shelley tore her gaze from Dev’s handsome smile and stared blankly at her sister. Her sister. The idea that they were really together again was still hard to process.
Jules frowned at her. “Shel? You all right?”
She was about to say yes, when the temperature dropped. She shivered and glanced around. Dev rubbed his arms through the sleeves of his navy crew neck. Seth stared at Jules, who’d gone pale.
Her eyes were open and staring blankly at Shelley, or maybe through her.
Shelley had the distinct impression that Jules didn’t really see her.
“Juliana?” How could Seth load so much love and concern into a single word? He turned to Dev, handing him the bottle. “Jones, take Callie.”
Seth slid out of his seat and squatted next to Jules. Dev shifted and took the vacated spot, so as not to disturb the kitten.
Shelley, unable to sit idly by, knelt next to her sister. There was something familiar about touching Jules’s hand during a vision. She didn’t have time to think about it long before Jules snapped out of it. Or rather, slumped against Seth’s shoulder.
A ripple of fear went through Shelley. “Is she unconscious?”
Seth and Dev wore matching frowns.
“Yes, don’t worry,” Seth said. “She does this sometimes after a vision. Haven’t you seen her do this before?”
That was what was familiar. Shelley had seen Jules go into a trance before. Not long before Shelley was adopted. “Once.”
“Oh, this is typical. She’ll be all right in a few minutes. She’ll probably be tired,” Seth said, picking Jules up from the chair and carrying her into the bedroom.
Uncertain what to do, Shelley cleared the dishes from the table and washed them in the sink while Dev continued to feed Callie.
The urge to run back to Elkridge hit her squarely in the midsection. In Elkridge, the animals needed her, and she had a purpose. There in that little town, she was safe. She was needed, but she didn’t need anyone. One afternoon with Jules and Shelley’s need for her older sister sprang to life again. It was too easy to fit in, here in Tidewater. Too easy to fall prey to the false sense of actually belonging to a family.
Shelley scrubbed the plates with more force than necessary and reminded herself to keep her expression neutral. God, she was being irrational. But she couldn’t shake the feeling that the joy she felt—and frack it all, she did feel it so much her eyes misted—could all end without warning. Then what would she be but an empty husk of who she’d been before? She couldn’t do that. She couldn’t wait for fate or Jules or even God to decide she should be alone again. Shelley, and only Shelley, had to be the one to make that decision.
Seth appeared in the open bedroom door without Jules. His face showed concern but not fear.
“How’s she doing?” Dev asked.
“She’s out.” Seth quietly closed the door behind him then reached for the kitten. Well-fed and sleepy, Callie snuggled against his chest. “It’s been a crazy week. One of our neighbors fell and broke her wrist. Jules has been running meals over there every morning and every night. The shop’s had extended hours because of the holiday rush. Everyone in Tidewater wants one of Jules’s handmade wreaths. She hasn’t had much sleep. Until tonight, she hadn’t had a vision in a while. I guess with everything, it just wore her out.”
Seth absently ran a finger down Callie’s spine, then glanced around his kitchen. “Shelley, you didn’t have to clean up.”
“I didn’t mind.” Shelley stepped closer to Seth and rubbed Callie between the ears. “Did she say what the vision was about?”
“No.” Seth sighed. “This one hit her hard. Sometimes they make her physically ill. Others knock her out. This was the latter. My guess is she’ll sleep until morning.” He gave Shelley a wan smile. “I’m sorry. I know she was really excited to spend time with you. But how about we try this again tomorrow night?”
Shelley smiled, unsure how to answer. She didn’t want to still be in Tidewater tomorrow. “Maybe we can reschedule? I really need to get back to Elkridge. The animals are counting on me.”
“You’re not staying for the weekend?” Seth cast a curious glance to Dev, then back at her.
“No, I don’t think I can. Like I said, the animals need me.” Shelley glanced at her watch. Frack! It was after eleven. She couldn’t ask Dev to drive the hour and a half back to Elkridge tonight. And he had asked her to stay. “On second thought, why don’t you bring Jules by in the morning? We can do breakfast. Right, Dev?”
“Absolutely.” There was no missing the relief on his face or in his stormy eyes.
Oh yeah, she could definitely delay her trip home by a night, especially if Dev kept looking at her like that. Maybe they could try out his Jacuzzi . . . naked?
Seth cleared his throat.
Heat whooshed up her cheeks. Dev winked.
“Shelley, you talk to animals, right?” Seth asked.
“Well, not as much as they communicate with me,” she replied, trying to pretend she hadn’t just been imagining Seth’s partner naked.
“So what happened with T’s dog earlier? Couldn’t you talk to it?”
“Well, dogs are special. They um . . . don’t always want to communicate with me.” She smiled, but Seth didn’t return the grin.
“So you talk to all animals except dogs?”
“Sounds crazy, right?”
“No crazier than my fiancée talking to ghosts. Sounds like your crift comes with limitations, like Juliana’s.” Seth shrugged. “So maybe your crift isn’t as much of a curse?”
“No, talking to animals has been the one thing that’s kept me from being lonely all these years.”
Frack! Why did I say that? Looking for an excuse to end the conversation, Shelley spotted a dirty glass she’d missed earlier, swept it up from the counter, and headed to the sink to wash it.
Dev, as if sensing her discomfort, said, “Seth, you were going to lend me the files to review tonight. Can I get them?”
“Sure, hang on.” Seth disappeared back into his bedroom with Callie. He returned moments later without the kitten, but with two thick manila folders in his arms. He handed them to Dev. “I’ll pick them up when Jules and I swing by for breakfast.”
“Sounds good.” Dev tossed an arm around Shelley’s waist and guided her toward the door.
Seth cast her a big grin. “Great. Well, get some rest, you two. And for God’s sake stay away from big dogs.”
* * *
SHELLEY DIDN’T SAY a word all the way back to Dev’s place. And damn, it was starting to make him nervous. He’d escorted her to her room, where she’d promptly said good-night and closed the door. An hour had gone by, and she still had her light on.
Not that he was stalking her room or anything. He’d just noticed the light shining underneath the door when he’d gone downstairs to check the security system. And when he’d gone to make sure the coffeepot was set for the morning. And when he’d slipped down to get a glass of wine because he couldn’t sleep.
So now he stood in his bedroom, a half bottle of wine and a full glass, both untouched. Thinking. About Shells.
Her little speech about being needed back in Elkridge didn’t sit well with him. Okay, yes, she’d asked him to come to the little town to help her with some mystery of disappearing animals. But the sheriff’s office was investigating now. She didn’t need to be there.
He would’ve thought it was all out of her hands, except for the files she said she’d had only yesterday. Proof that tracked at least six months’ worth of strange happenings at the zoo. Proof that had suddenly vanished. Crap, she probably was needed back in the Elk-less Ridge. Which meant Dev was being a prick by not helping her solve her mystery. Well, he’d fix that right now.
He yanked open his door, only to find Shelley there, fist in the air as if about to knock. She wore a pair of plaid sleep pants and a faded black T-shirt with the words Vets Do It Doggie-Style. She held a yellow legal pad in her hands.
“Hi,” he said, then could have kicked himself for not just kissing her, because she backed up two paces and lowered her hand to her side.
“Sorry to bother you, Dev, but I noticed your light was still on.” She licked her lips then pressed them together. “I need you to promise that you’ll take me back to Elkridge tomorrow. I can’t sleep, because I know something’s really wrong at the zoo. I think it goes beyond the missing cubs. Plus, I still can’t reach Tomás. I want to check on Beau too.”
“You’re right,” he said when she paused.
“I know my proof vanished . . .” She continued as if she hadn’t heard him at first, then frowned. “What did you say?”
“I said you’re right. The animals need you. And I promised to help. I was just coming over to talk to you about it.” He opened the door wider and gestured for her to come in. “But since you’re here, why don’t we talk in my room?”
The smile on her face was dazzling, and it warmed him. More than warmed him. Made him damn hot. But she wasn’t sidling into his bedroom so she could fulfill his fantasies. Or even part of his fantasies.
Closing the door behind her, Dev waited to see where she’d sit. His bedroom was twice the size of hers. It had a small round table with two leather-padded desk chairs near the sliding glass door. There was of course, his king-size bed, which she promptly walked straight past to get to the chairs.
Damn shame.
While she sat down, he opened the slider a crack to let some fresh air flow. The sound of ocean waves rolling against the shore and the scent of the cool, salty night air washed through the room.
Dev clicked on the small lantern-style lamp on the table and turned off the overhead lighting, reducing the glare in the room. He hadn’t done it for the romantic effect, but Shells, bathed in the combination of moonlight and the soft light of the lamp, was definitely erotic.
He claimed the chair across the table from her and waited.
Shelley bent her head sideways, revealing her long swanlike neck.
Swanlike neck? Since when do necks turn me on?
She smiled at him.
Oh, now.
The combination of her innocently seductive smile and her silky throat did a number of things to his cock, not the least of which was making it go rock hard.
“So.” He cleared his throat. “Did you work on your notes this afternoon? Think of anything new?”
“I was kind of distracted helping Jules. But I did think of something just now.” She set the pad she’d brought into the room on the table and pushed it toward him. “While writing down what I’d seen at the zoo, it hit me. Yesterday, Cristos told you that Miah ate one of her cubs. That was completely untrue. Miah never harmed a single one of her cubs.”
“You sound pretty certain.” He searched the table for his own notepad before realizing he had left it and the pen on his nightstand. He crossed the room, collected them and the wine bottle and glasses, then sat back down. “How can you be so sure?”
“Do you normally keep wineglasses in your bedroom?” Shelley stared pointedly at the stemware, red brows arched.
“Not really. I brought up a glass and the bottle tonight before remembering I’d left one in here from a few nights ago. I fell asleep before I had a drink.” When she continued to stare at him with a dubious expression, he tapped on her yellow college-ruled paper with his pen. “You were telling me you were certain Miah didn’t eat her young.”
Shelley’s brow relaxed. “Right. Well, Miah’s a tiger, isn’t she?”
“Yes, she’s a tiger, but I don’t see how that explains anything.”
“Lying is a human condition,” Shelley said, eyeing the wine bottle. He couldn’t tell if she wanted some or wanted it to go away. Curious, he pushed it closer to her. Shelley paused for three heartbeats, lifted the bottle, and poured herself a glass. Taking a hearty sip, she grinned. “Heaven.”
“I thought you didn’t drink?”
“Not as a rule. But my migraine’s gone and after today . . . Well, a good wine is worth a slight dulling of animal-empath senses from time to time.” She grinned and sipped again.
Dev picked up his own glass and drank. “You were saying about tigers?’
“Huh?” Shelley blinked then nodded. “Lying is a human condition. People lie to each other all the time. They lie to themselves more. Animals do not. When a dog steals food off the kitchen table, it might cower and hide from its owner, but it doesn’t deny the theft. And the monkeys on St. Kitts in the Caribbean might take your beer and drink it, but they don’t pretend they’re not drunk. It’s only humans who lie.”
She stared at him earnestly; her wide guileless blue eyes looked at him imploringly. And he wanted to follow her train of thought but hadn’t made the connection yet. “So some people lie.”
“Not some. All people lie. Animals do not.” Shelley took another mouthful of wine and said, “Animals are incapable of telling a lie. They see the world for what it is, be it dangerous, beautiful, or deadly. And when they communicate with me, they wing images into my mind. Sometimes I have to figure out what they mean because an animal cannot reference what it has never seen. Still, what they tell me or show me through their mental pictures can only be the truth.”
