Deadly Chaos (13 page)

“Chaos, this is Linda. Your car is in the parking lot, we dropped it off last night, and the keys are at the front desk. Please pass the phone to Dakota and go take a cold shower.”

“Crap.”Chaos tossed the phone on the bed, and headed for the bathroom. In the mirror she caught a glimpse of his bare ass as he climbed out of bed. She groaned inwardly. A cold shower wasn't going to help.

The warm water cascaded over her shoulders and caressed her spine. Forget cold water. It wouldn’t help and she wasn’t a masochist. She poured shampoo into her hand and massaged it into her scalp. Chaos wrinkled her nose. The scent of the hotel shampoo stunk. It smelled like…

Chaos’s eyes popped open. Dead Bill stood in front of her. “Son of a bitch. Get out!”

The shower curtain flung open. Dakota stood there with fury on his face. “You’re not welcome here,” he growled.

Bill extended his middle finger, laughed, and disappeared. Chaos fought the urge to collapse against the shower wall. She just wanted it all to stop. “He’s getting stronger. He’s never come during the day.”

“It wasn’t him last night, you know.” Dakota said.

He was staring at her naked body like he’d never seen a woman before. Maybe he didn’t hate her as much as she thought. Didn’t matter, she reminded herself.
You can’t get involved and you’re not sticking around
. “Do you mind?” she said, pulling a towel off the rack to cover herself.

“Not at all,” he smirked. “I could help you with that. Maybe squeeze the shampoo or help you soap up.”

The smirk looked good on his mouth. It took everything she had to keep a straight face. “I’ve been showering all by myself for twenty six years. I’m sure I can handle it.” Turning her back to him she grabbed the shower curtain from his hands and yanked it closed.

Dakota smashed the heels of his hands into his eyes in an attempt to try to wipe the image of Chaos’s naked body from his mind. It wouldn’t work. He knew that. It was everything he had dreamed about right down to those damn three freckles near her naval. She’d swept her long hair behind her. Breasts exposed, he’d been mesmerized as rivulets of water cascaded over her nipples, around the underside of her breast and over her stomach. The image of her athletic body and lean curves was going to be burned into his brain for eternity. All slick with water and soap, it was all he could do to not to touch her, or more. It’s the evil inside you. He should have left her alone. He should have covered his eyes. He should have apologized.

Dakota's hands started to sweat. Up until now he'd been able to contain his attraction for Chaos. He’d been able to set it aside, for the most part. To not worry about what she thought, saw or believed. He’d been able to focus on keeping his team safe and protecting them from her. Now who needs protection? Maybe you’re the one in danger.

Dakota opened the window and looked outside. The room faced the Flatirons. The sun was well into the sky now and a low mist hung midway down the rocks. They looked as if they jutted out of a mystical sea. He needed coffee but he couldn’t have any until he met with Linda. Dakota looked around the room. His gaze stopped at the bed. He’d had another dream about Chaos last night. It was another warning. A coyote at her heels and dagger in her hand, as he lay dying on the floor at her feet. What were the ancestors trying to tell him? Why was this woman so dangerous?

And why did he have such a visceral reaction to her? Last night when she was being attacked, he thought he might lose her and was overcome by a despair he hadn’t known for a long time - the kind of despair that ripped your heart in two and left you trembling on the floor. Where had that come from? Why was he so affected by this woman? He wondered if Linda knew more than she was saying.

She’d left him with Chaos; that must mean something. Or maybe it didn’t. Maybe she just needed both Sheila and Kat to help her cleanse that bakery. Or maybe she wanted you to share her energy. It hit him like a brick to the head. That’s why that thing attacked her last night. It wanted her energy. She was a walking battery. Any spirit that wanted to cause trouble would gravitate to her. When she said trouble followed her, she was dead on.

Pain stabbed him deep in the pit of his stomach. It grabbed hold and squeezed until he was forced to drop to his knees on the motel room floor. “Chaos.” The words barely whispered from his lips. If he didn’t get to Linda soon he was in trouble. The battle last night had taken more from him than he thought. “Chaos,” he said.

“Are you in my head now, too?” She asked bursting from the bathroom. Fully dressed, she was combing her long hair. “I’m tired of…what’s wrong?”

He felt her warm hands on his shoulders and pulled some energy from her. Not enough that she’d notice, he hoped, but enough to help him rise to his feet. It was easy to borrow energy from Chaos, like she had some to spare. She didn’t know how miraculous she was, and she wouldn’t know. Not if he had anything to say about it. He looked at her and saw compassion and fear in her eyes. She was worried about him. He wanted to know why. Why did she agree to look out for him? He hadn’t exactly been nice to her. What had she thought when she’d seen him separate into two? Did she believe what she saw or did she think she imagined it? He knew Linda wouldn’t say anything about it to Chaos, if she even asked. Linda respected his gift, she understood him. She was like a second mother to him.

“I’m okay,” he said, stepping away from her. The image of her naked was still at the forefront of his mind, battling with the warnings of his ancestors. “We need to get to Linda’s. She’s waiting.”

“What’s going to happen at Linda’s?” she asked, grabbing her bag from the desk. “She’s going to get rid of Dead Bill today, right?”

“I don’t know.” It hadn’t occurred to him that Chaos would stick around at Linda’s today. He usually went through the process alone. If she stayed, she was going to be truly tested. Cleansing was a painful process for him. She’d see him at his very worst. She’d deserve an explanation and he wasn't ready to share it with her. He didn't like to share his past with anyone, especially not someone as potentially dangerous as Chaos.

They drove in silence to Linda’s house in South Boulder. He actually lived two doors down from Linda. He owned more than a dozen homes around town. Most of them he rented to students but some of them he rented to families. He did the landscaping and home repairs for all of them and the monthly rent gave him the money he needed to live well and the free time he needed to investigate with Linda and the team. He glanced at Chaos. Dakota could tell she had about a million questions but she didn’t ask them.

“You don’t trust me,” she said, like she’d finally solved a puzzle.

Dakota didn’t answer or respond. He didn’t think she expected him to. It was true, he didn’t trust her. He could feel the doubt radiating off of her like heat off the desert sand. Doubt about what she’d seen. Doubt about what she’d done last night. It’d taken a very strong person to call the dead to them for help. She’d done that but he’d bet his other half that if he asked her how she’d done it she’d deny she’d done anything. She was so strong and she didn’t even realize it. She stayed. She fought. And she had fought him this morning when he’d antagonized her. He shouldn’t have done that. He owed her an apology.

“I don’t trust easily,” he finally said.

“I understand.”

She couldn’t. No one really could but for some strange reason he was glad she was trying. He didn’t even understand why he mistrusted her. She hadn’t done or said anything to cause it. It was the dreams and his intense reaction to her that fueled his distrust and confusion. Chaos pulled into Linda’s driveway and killed the engine. She turned and looked him in the eye.

“What happens now?” she asked.

He wanted to say something to reassure her about what was going to happen because in all likelihood she was going to see some things today that challenged her beliefs. She’d had them challenged quite a bit over the past forty-eight hours and was faring quite well but he didn’t know how much she could take. “Now we go inside,” he said instead. Still feeling incredibly weak, he opened the car door, closed it behind him and without looking in her direction he made his way toward Linda’s front door.

“It is okay, you know.”

“What’s okay?”

“To be exhausted.”

“I’m not weak,” he straightened and looked her in the eyes. They were filled with compassion and fear.

“That’s not what I meant and you know it,” Chaos said. “Look, for some reason you don’t like me and that’s fine. I’m just here to get Dead Bill off my back and then I’ll be gone. But what you did last night, that was amazing. I don’t know what it was or how you did it. Heck, I don’t even know what the hell was going on in the first place but I think you saved my life.”

“You saved your own life.” And maybe his, too, he thought. Without her energy this morning and her willingness to care for him he’d have been in dire straits. Usually, after his spirit divided, it took him days to get back on his feet. With Chaos’s help he was back on his feet in less than twelve hours.

He owed her now and that worried him. He didn’t want to owe her anything, least of all his life. But his present attitude and approach wasn’t working. Maybe being guarded against her wasn’t the right tactic. Maybe, instead of pushing her away, he should stick close to her. It wasn’t like she was going anywhere anytime soon and it was clear that Chaos was attracted to him. The way she looked at him this morning when she’d thought he was asleep was proof of that. It’d made him want her even more. Maybe it was time to get closer to Chaos.

Chapter Seventeen

Cursed

Chaos shook her head to deny it but Linda opened the door before they’d even set foot on Linda’s porch steps. When she’d done that yesterday Chaos assumed she’d been looking out the window. Today, she wasn’t so sure.

“I told you dear, I can hear your thoughts,” Linda said. “We’ll work on quieting them in a bit. First, we must help Dakota get back to his old self.”

Chaos glanced at Dakota. He stood, turned slightly away from her, with his arms crossed and a fierce scowl on his face. He seemed like his old self to her. Not that she knew him well enough to know any better but the silent treatment on the car ride to Linda seemed to be consistent with his hostile personality. Save the awkward sexual conversation this morning and the heated moment in the shower, he avoided talking to her. “So I guess I’ll leave you to it then. Should I come back later or..?” When were they going to get rid of Dead Bill?

“Oh, you’re staying and helping me, unless you have someplace else to be. We have to get Dakota back to health before we can confront your ghost.”

Linda didn’t wait for her response; she simply cupped her arm and guided Chaos to a door. She opened it and headed down a flight of stairs. Chaos followed and heard Dakota behind her. Smoke lingered in the stairwell. This time she knew it was sage. For goodness sake, she thought, the woman was always burning sage. How much bad energy lingered in Linda’s home?

Chaos reached the landing and looked around. It was a fully furnished basement complete with a red couch, and several large floor pillows. Two high backed antique chairs sat on either side of a small side table. Positioned across from the couch they looked out of place. But it wasn’t their antique nature that attracted her attention; it was the large bowl of burning herbs on the table that she focused on. Linda already had the room set up for whatever she had planned for today and she’d clearly been waiting for them.

“It’s a bit cold down here. I’ve opened the windows to give the bad energy an escape. Don’t want it or the smoke lingering in my home. Dakota, sit on the couch please. You look better than I expected. Chaos must have taken good care of you.”

The sage burned in shiny bronze bowls positioned on the floor around the room. Chaos also noticed rock salt in bowls and a large pentagram, pointy side up, hanging on the wall. It freaked her out. Didn’t witches use pentagrams? “What is this place?”

“It’s the cleansing room. I like to keep cleansings contained. It makes it easier to get the junk out of my home.”

“And the bowls of salt and the star?”

“The salt is also to collect the bad energy. We use crystals to do that too. I have a few crystals inside my home that will help absorb and chase away negative energy. The star on the wall represents the four elements and spirit. It’s protection. Not witches.”

“Protection?” Seemed like she was expecting Armageddon with all of this stuff, Chaos thought. What the heck went on down here?

“You don’t want to know. Come here, dear.”

“Me?” Chaos took a step backward. She felt uneasy in the room and completely out of her element.

“Yes, you dear. You have schmootz on you from last night. It’s probably what is making you feel anxious in here. We get it off and you’ll feel better.”

Chaos was curious what she meant by schmootz but didn’t ask. She wouldn’t believe Linda anyway; it was all too much. She just wanted to get rid of Dead Bill and get out of here. Chaos reluctantly moved over to stand next to Linda.

“Your aura is one of the brightest I’ve ever seen but you’re a mess and last night didn’t help.”

Chaos fought the urge to roll her eyes. Aura? Please. “So what does all this do?

“Shhh. I need to concentrate. Do I have your permission to clean your energy?”

“Um…sure. It’s not going to hurt is it?” The urge to leave this place intensified. Chaos wanted to get outside in the fresh air and sunshine. She wanted a cup of coffee and a place to rest, a place where ghosts, and ghost hunters, didn’t exist. She remained standing.

“On the contrary.”

Linda sat down on one of the floor pillows and gestured to Chaos to sit too. She did and mirrored Linda’s cross legged posture. They sat there quietly. Chaos glanced at Dakota but he seemed to be asleep on the couch.

Linda opened her eyes and rose to her feet. “Stand, dear.”

Chaos stood. Linda picked up a smoking sage bundle and circled her. “Out with the negative energy; in with the good.” Setting down the sage she picked up a bowl of rock salt and circled Chaos. Finally, she closed her eyes again. Chaos waited. Linda’s eyes popped open. “There’s something wrong.”