I took a wobbly step and he scooped me up into his arms. “Nevermind. I’ll carry you.”
I buried my face in his shoulder without protest. “You’re very strong. Stronger than you look.”
“You’re very light,” he said. “You’ve lost weight since last spring.”
“That’s because I’m haunted.”
“What haunts you?” he asked softly.
“You do.”
I heard the quick intake of his breath, but he said nothing else until we reached the road where my car was parked. Then he set me gently on my feet.
“Where to now?”
I pointed to the maze of headstones at the back of the cemetery. “Through there.”
A breeze rippled the leaves as we moved silently along the pathway. Ghosts stirred, too. I sensed an icy presence behind us, but I didn’t look back. I wasn’t as frightened with Devlin beside me.
When we got to the tree, I stuck my arm down the hollow, grappling for the box with my fingers. I felt nothing.
“It was here a little while ago. Rhapsody must have moved it.”
“I don’t understand how she came to be in possession of my gun,” Devlin said. “If it is my gun.”
“I’ve thought about that. She must have been in the cemetery that night and stumbled upon the body. Maybe she suspected Darius was responsible and she took the gun to protect him.”
“Are you sure she didn’t know you were following her?”
“I don’t think so.”
“I’ll need to talk to her,” Devlin said. “But I’m taking you home first where you’ll be safe.”
“What if she gets rid of the gun while you’re gone? Or gives it to Darius?”
“She probably already has,” Devlin said.
“Still, you should talk to her. You don’t have to take me home. I’m not afraid. Not when I’m with you.”
“No matter,” he said. “I’m afraid enough for the both of us.”
But he didn’t seem frightened at all to me.
We walked back to the car together and he held the door for me. Despite everything that had happened, I had the strongest urge to kiss him. To stake my claim in case Mariama lurked in the shadows. Which was foolish because I still had no idea what she could do to me. To us.
“What about your car?” I asked.
“I’ll pick it up later. You can’t drive home in your condition. Besides, I’m not leaving you alone until we know what Darius is up to.”
He went around and climbed in on the other side. I turned my head on the seat so that I could stare at his profile.
“It’s cold here,” I said. “Do you feel it?”
“I’ll turn on the heat.”
“It won’t help.”
He scowled at the road. “Why do you say that?”
I glanced over the backseat. Shani’s dark gaze met mine as she lifted a tiny finger to her lips.
I was still trembling when we got home even though Shani had already vanished. Devlin ran a hot bath for me and when he started to leave the room, I took his hand and drew him to me. Eyes dark and hooded, he undressed me and helped me into the water. Maybe it had something to so with all we’d been through or maybe I was still under the influence of Darius’s drug, but I wasn’t at all shy about my nakedness. I didn’t even blush when Devlin knelt beside the tub to bathe me.
Afterward, we lay on the bed and I settled myself in the crook of his arm.
“Better?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“But you’re trembling.”
“Not from the cold.”
His arm tightened around me. “Are you going to run away from me this time?”
“I don’t want to, but I may not have a choice.” I gazed at him in the moonlight. “She’ll do everything she can to keep us apart.”
“Who?”
“Mariama.”
He didn’t move, but I already felt distance between us. “Mariama is dead.”
“But she’s still here. You know she is. You’ve felt the draft in your house. You’ve felt
His whole body tensed. “What are you talking about? They’re dead. They can’t come back. I know that better than anyone.”
“But they’re still here. I’ve seen them.”
“You must have had a dream or a hallucination,” he said harshly. “That’s all it was.”
“John—”
“Don’t,” he said and turned his head away.
I lay on my back and stared at the ceiling. I wanted more than anything to help Shani move on, but Devlin wasn’t ready to hear the truth. He wasn’t ready to let her go. Maybe he never would be.
The room was very dark when I awakened. Devlin was still stretched out on top of the covers, and I lay curled against him. I wanted to remain there beside him forever, but I could still taste the bitterness of Darius’s drug, so I got up and went into the bathroom to brush my teeth. When I came back into the bedroom, I felt the cold at once. Moonlight spilled in through the windows, and I could see Devlin clearly in that pale light. A ghostly shimmer hovered over him. Just like Shani, Mariama had found a way to breach my sanctuary, even though she hadn’t fully come through.
I must have made some involuntary sound because her gaze shot across the room and her rage at the sight of me gave her the burst of energy she needed to manifest.
She turned quickly back to Devlin and bent over him, pressing her cold lips to his.
So great was my terror, I stood frozen as she began to drain his life force. I had the notion that she also fed on my fear, so I took a deep breath, using every ounce of my willpower to suppress my emotions.
To my surprise, she instantly faded. Was it really that easy to be rid of her? Or had I only imagined her manifestation?
I went to Devlin then and pressed a hand to his chest, feeling the beat of his heart against my palm. He bolted upright in bed and grabbed me roughly, staring down at me with unseeing eyes. I wondered if he might still be in the throes of sleep. Or if Mariama might still be in his head.
“It’s all right. It’s me. Amelia.”
He put his hand over mine, but I couldn’t tell if he meant to shove me away or pull me to him.
“John?”
His unblinking focus chilled me as his eyes burned into mine. Slowly he entwined our fingers as he curled my arm behind my back. Then he slid his free hand over my breasts, down my stomach, between my thighs, and I drew a sharp breath. He held me lightly. I could easily have slipped from his grasp, but I didn’t want to. If Mariama still lurked, a perverse part of me wanted her to see how much Devlin desired me.
When he stood to remove his clothing, I rose, too, slipping his shirt off his shoulders and unbuckling his belt. Where normally I would have felt unsure of myself, I was now emboldened, and something Darius had said in my dream came back to me.
Devlin and I were both naked now, standing face to face in the moonlight. He touched my hair, letting the strands slide through his fingers before cupping my neck and drawing me to him. We kissed for a very long time. The build-up was unbearable. I trembled all over, and yet I had never felt more in control. My hand found him, claimed him, and he groaned into my mouth.
