Intertwined

He ignored her first question. “I have a message for you.” There was only one way to present John’s case without admitting his own abilities. “John O’Conner and I were friends. He told me about you, how he loved you.” As he spoke, her color became ashen. “He tried to tell you, but—”

She jumped to her feet. Hands shaking, she gathered up her tray. “How dare you!” she whispered fiercely. “Let me guess what happened. You heard the rumor about our…relationship and you decided to taunt me. I thought he was cruel but you…” A pained cry left her.

“Don’t let her leave,” John rushed out in a panic. “Not until she understands.”

Aden, too, stood. “It might have started out as a dare, but he fell in love with you and wanted to be with you.”

She turned, ready to stalk away.

“Aden,” John said, eyes beseeching him. “Please.”

Maybe John’s empath powers had somehow transferred to him, because Aden felt his desperation bone- deep. He had to make this right. Had to make this girl understand. Even at his own expense. “Wait. You’re right. I didn’t know him,” he admitted, “not when he was alive. But the past few weeks I’ve been able to see the dead and he came to me, wanting only one thing. For me to talk to you.”

At least she didn’t race away. He had her attention, whether she believed him or not.

John must have taken heart, for he jumped in front of her and said, “Tell her I meant what I said the last time I called her. I would have run away with her. I even tried to give her a ring, my grandmother’s. I placed it in the glove box of her car to surprise her.”

Aden repeated every word.

Slowly she pivoted around and faced him. Tears were streaming down her face. “I don’t know how you found out about that ring and I don’t care.” She closed her eyes, exhaled a shuddering breath, and reached for the chain around her neck, tugging it from under her shirt. A diamond ring hung in the center, the small stones winking in the light. “I just want you to leave me a…lone.”

Aden followed her stunned gaze. A beam of light had streamed in through the window, hitting John and outlining the shimmer of his body. Openmouthed, Chloe reached out, fingers misting through him. He leaned into her touch anyway.

“John?”

“Hey, Chlo. God, I miss you.”

“Can you hear him?” Aden asked her.

“No,” she whispered.

He relayed what had been said. A long while passed in silence. The beam faded, and so did John, but Chloe didn’t move.

“What I just saw…that’s not possible,” she said, shaking her head.

“It’s more than possible,” Aden told her. “Later, you can tell yourself it was only your mind playing tricks, but for now…What would you say to him if you could?”

She swallowed, licked her lips. “I’d tell him that I forgive him. I’d tell him that when I found the ring, I realized he’d been telling me the truth and that I…I…I loved him, too.”

“Thank you. Thank you so much.” John pressed a ghostly kiss to her forehead, his image wavering, shimmering and then disappearing altogether.

Would he ever see John again? Aden wondered. Or had fulfilling his last wish ceased the ghost’s torment and sent him away for good?

Chloe stood there, crying, and her friends, who hadn’t strayed far, closed in on her, offering support and comfort. Aden left her then. Confused but strangely satisfied, he made his way to the parking lot. Victoria was already there, waiting in front of a plain blue car. He stopped. She gave him an unsure smile.

“Where have you been?” he asked, equally unsure. “Where are Riley and Mary Ann?”

She motioned to the car. “Get in and I’ll show you.”

They settled inside, Aden at the wheel. She handed him the keys and pointed north. Aden had a sinking suspicion that his day was about to take a turn for the worse. As awful as it had already been, that well and truly frightened him.

CHAPTER 19

Aden didn’t have much practice behind the wheel of a car, so he wasn’t as smooth a driver as he would have liked. He hit the brakes a little too hard and took the turns a little too quickly. At least he didn’t have to worry about being pulled over. Not with Victoria in the car. She could talk them out of a ticket. Literally.

They had the music turned low in the background. His fingers tapped against the wheel, keeping the wild beat despite the pain in his knuckles. Just as they’d been during his driving test, the souls were nearly giddy.

When’s the last time we were this free? Caleb asked with a laugh.

No doctors, no teachers. Just us and the horses. Julian sighed with contentment.

“This your car?” he asked to break the silence between them and drown out his companions so that he didn’t accidentally start talking to them. “’Cause I’ve never seen you even approach one before.”

She shrugged, sheepish. “Let’s just say I borrowed it. But don’t worry. I’ll return it and no one will ever know it was gone.”

Borrowed. AKA stolen. Most likely she’d used that commanding voice and the owner had simply handed her the keys. He couldn’t help but grin—until his lip split and he winced.

Oh, Aden. Eve tsked under her tongue. Riding around in a stolen car? Whether you’ll get in trouble or not, that’s not the right thing to do. I’m not sure this girl is the best influence on you. Mary Ann is—

No, no, no. Elijah banged his head against Aden’s skull, rattling his brain. Mary Ann is a friend only, so don’t try to push him on her. And I’m not just saying that because she knocks us into oblivion. Riley would eat us alive.

Eve huffed. All I’m saying is she’s a better influence.

Once again, Aden did his best to tune them out. “So…do you know where Riley and Mary Ann are? Were you with them earlier?”

“Yes. They’re in Tri City, which is where we’re headed.”

Tri City. He’d been a few times and knew there were restaurants, lots of clothing stores and a theater. “Why are they there?”

“I—they—” She blew out a frustrated breath. “It’s too difficult to explain. It will be easier to show you.”

Well, she wasn’t the only one dealing with frustration. They had another ten minutes before they reached Tri City, and the wait would not be easy. “Have you guys been there all day?”

“Yes.”

Yet they’d willingly left him behind. Ouch. “Why not pick me up earlier?”

“You hum with so much power, we wanted to first make sure we could protect you in case something went wrong.”

That, he understood. With him, something always went wrong.

A minute passed. Two. He merged off the highway and onto a side road, slowing the car to an acceptable speed. He’d wanted to talk to Victoria all day. And now here she was. He could ask the question he really wanted answered. Just say it. Put it out there.

“So who was that guy? The one who was at my window yesterday? The one who heard you tell me to leave you alone.” The words left his mouth through clenched teeth, each one scraped raw.

She twisted in her seat, facing him, and rested her head against the seat cushion. Her hair was down today, those blue streaks gleaming. “I hated telling you to leave me alone almost as much as I hate that man, but I had to say it. I couldn’t let him know how much I…like being with you. He would have challenged you, I would have taken your side, and my father would have punished us all.”

Both a comfort—she would have chosen him—and a fright—her father’s retribution. Aden would do anything,