My Immortal (9 page)

“I’d like to speak to Roman Piccoli,” she said. “It’s important.”

“
He’s not in the office at the moment,” the voice replied. “We can page him for you.”

“
Yes, do that. Let me give you my cell number.”

Once she hung up she tucked all the information neatly back in the folder and headed out.

Fortunately there was only one major cemetery in the small town, it made the next task much easier. She couldn’t say why she needed to see all the graves, but somehow it felt very important that she did, starting with the empty one.

Adele stared at
Lily’s grave, which was still partitioned off by yellow police tape. She drew as close as she dared to an open grave, kneeling down to inspect the hole.

A
ll the dirt was scattered, which seemed odd to her. If someone had dug this grave up with a shovel, surely it would have been a lot neater. There would be mounds of spare dirt on either side, and the hole itself would look smoother, rather than so ragged and haphazard. This looked like the grave exploded outward.

What was even stranger, it became evident that a lot of the dirt was missing. The grave looked empty, as did the ground around it. She glanced up and around, trying to remember if the winds had been high in the last day. As she walked through the darkening cemetery she
couldn’t see any extra dirt spread anywhere. Perhaps they cleaned it up a bit, she thought to herself.

There w
as also the matter of Marisol lying across the side of the grave. Maybe the dirt was simply knocked back in. Adele cautiously leaned over to peer into the darkened grave.

She pulled her mini flashlight from her purse and shined it into the hole. It was empty, no coffin, no extra dirt, nothing. It looked just as it would have looked after being prepared for the burial. Empty. Waiting.

Just being there in the graveyard as the shadows fell was doing a serious number on her nerves She could hear faint whispers on the wind, but she tried to push that from her mind as she knelt down on her knees, leaned over right on the edge of the grave and peered farther into the grave.

Before she knew what was happening the ground gave way under her she tumbled headlong into the open grave, la
nding with a grunt on her back.

She took a moment to catch her breath, the dirt pungent in her nose. She glanced up at the darkening sky, framed by the rectangular hole in which she was now trapped. She closed her eyes for a moment to rid herself of the disturbing image. When she opened them again s
he was in an old wooden coffin.

It
wasn’t her first hallucination – but it was certainly one of her more terrifying ones. Instantly she couldn’t breathe or find a voice to call out for help. She began scratching at the lid to get out, her nails so long they chipped the wood and splintered around her as she clawed through the top.

Still deep in her hallucination
, Adele screamed as she scrambled to her feet, knocking away imagined dirt and debris. She almost came out of her skin as a hand grasped her arm and yanked her from the grave. She whirled around to face the grounds keeper.

“
What are you doing here, miss?” he growled.

“
I’m – I’m a reporter. Adele Lumas.” He looked unconvinced. “Action News,” she trailed off.

“We’re going to lock the gate,” he repeated. He had no tolerance for her foolishness. “Unless you want to spend the night with the dead, you best come now.”

She shuddered at the thought.
“Right behind you.”

He simply smirked and then stalked off. The wind began to stir the nearby trees. She
didn’t even look that direction as she chased after the grounds keeper.

The creeps followed her all the way to her block. The wind had picked up, and she could have sworn she he
ard voices in the shrill noise.

She was no stranger to hearing voices, but this time it was rattling her decidedly rattled nerves. She kept trying to talk herself down. Her imagination was running wild after the scare she got at the cemetery.
That was all. She was going to walk home as uneventfully as she ever walked home in the past.

Instinctively she reached in her purse for pills, but then remembered that she was out. She also remembered how she threw the newest prescription at Dr. Ashcroft. She blushed, instantly embarrassed. She made a mental note to call him in the morning and apologize.
She’d had her fits before, but never to the point of refusing her meds. Dr. Ashcroft had long warned it could be dangerous instantly dropping the meds since she'd been on them for so long. Adele, too, was scared at how much her condition would worsen without the pills that kept her somewhat functional.

And obviously it
wasn’t good. The voices seemed to surround her as she raced along the street. If she listened hard enough she might have made out what they were saying, but to be quite honest, Adele just didn’t really want to know. Instead she chose to flee from them.

About a block from her home she realized a second pair of footsteps followed her own. This time she was sure
they were real and not imagined. Her hand slipped into her bag and grasped the bottle of pepper spray she kept there. She sped up, as did the person following. She was practically running as she hit the landing of her apartment and she spun around with pepper spray cocked and ready to go.

“
Whoa, truce.” It was Nicholas, and he wore an apologetic smile. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“You didn
’t,” she denied quickly. He arched a brow and gestured to her pepper spray. She relented with a smile. “You can never be too careful,” she added, throwing his words back at him. She put away her weapon. “What are you doing here?”

“I don’t suppose you’ll buy it if I say I was in the neighborhood?” he offered.

She shook her head. Glancing off behind him she asked,
“Did you ditch the ghoul patrol?”

His amazing smile broke wide across his face.
“It’s just me tonight. If that’s okay.”

Her eyes got lost once more in the dark recesses of his own. It
was so much more inviting than fending off the shadows all by herself. “You know what?” she said. “It’s more than okay. Come on in.”

He followed her into her tidy, if small, apartment.
“Would you like something to drink?” she asked.

“
That would be great.”

Instead of sitting on the sofa, he lingered in the doorway of her kitchen and watched her prepare
their tea. She felt self-conscious under his probing stare, as if he were soaking her up with his eyes alone.

“
You’re quite intimidating, you know,” she said when she finally couldn’t take it anymore.

“
I am?” he asked softly.

She nodded without turning to face him.
“You have this penetrating thing you do with your eyes. I watched how all my colleagues nearly buckled under the weight of that stare.”

“
And yet you remained completely unaffected.”

She
couldn’t resist grinning at the comment. She could tell he knew exactly how affected she was. “What can I say? I’m an Ice Princess.”

She brought him
his cup. “Thank you, your highness,” he teased with a smile. He was potent, there was no question about that. But at that particular moment he was far from threatening. Adele was beginning to realize just how comfortable she could be around him. It was a totally new experience for her. All she could do was stare at him and soak him in too.

“
You’re beautiful,” he whispered in a husky voice as he watched her put the cup of coffee to her full lips.

“
You’re dangerous,” she whispered back.

“
I’m not going to hurt you,” he promised as he set the cup on the counter.

“
Maybe I’m afraid I’m going to hurt you,” she offered as she did likewise.

“
I’ll take the risk,” he murmured and drew her into his arms.

She became breathless as she realized how well the form of her body fit the contour of his. It felt so familiar that without thinking her hands slid up his muscular
torso. She had never before felt so warm... so safe. Her fingertips came alive as her hands spread across his chest, and when she realized he was not going to, she bent in for a kiss. It was the most brazen thing she had ever done.

Right before his lips could meet hers her cell phone rang from the other room, and snatched Adele out of the hypnotic spell he had woven around her. She stumbled backward out of his embrace.
“I’ve got to… I’m – it’s important,” she mumbled before making a quick retreat to the other room. She snatched the phone, trying her level best to ignore the fact he had followed her.

She glanced at the caller ID, expecting to see
Roman’s name. Instead she frowned as she answered. “Michael?”

“
Dani’s gone.”

Adele tried to process the panicked words.
“What do you mean, she’s gone?”

“
She heard about Adam and apparently she’s run away. The nuns think she shimmied down the wall and jumped the fence sometime after sunset. She was gone by dinner. We’ve called the police but so far there’s nothing. It’s like she vanished out of the clear blue sky. Adele…” his silent plea lingered in her ear.

He
didn’t even have to ask. She knew what she had to do. “I’ll be right there.”

She felt his relief over the phone.
“Thanks, Addie. Hurry.”

“
On my way,” she said.

She was startled to find Nicholas standing in her doorway.
She’d completely forgotten he was there. It reaffirmed what she already knew in her heart. She may not have given birth to Dani, but she was her mother in every way that counted. Nothing mattered except her safety, even this captivating man.

He
didn’t look slighted, but rather concerned. “What’s wrong?”

“
It’s a family thing,” she answered. “I have to go.”

“
Maybe I could go with you,” he offered.

She shook her head. He followed her out the door. Before they went their separate ways he grasped her arm.
“If you need me, call me.” She nodded absently but he didn’t release her. “I mean it. You can trust me, Adele.”

She stared long into his eyes. Despite her better judgment
, she reached up and gave him a quick kiss on the mouth. It wasn’t what either of them had hoped for, but for now it would have to do.

She
jogged down the steps and off into the night.

CHAPTER
SIX

Adele raced into
Michael’s open arms as she shot through the door of the church without a second thought. They embraced for a long moment, and Adele felt Michael tremble in her arms. She couldn’t bear it. Michael had been her rock since elementary school, she didn’t know if she could get through this being the strong one.

“
They haven't heard anything,” he croaked into her hair, holding her closer. “I call every ten minutes, but nothing”

“
Shhh,” she crooned. “It’ll be okay. The police are out looking for her. They’ll find her. It’ll be okay.”

“
How can you say that?” He jerked away from her and collapsed into the pew. “You of all people.”

She had to smile. They were definitely experiencing a role reversal. Normally he was the one rooted in faith and she was the doubting Thomas. Adele realized she had too much invested to doubt now. Dani had to be all right. She just had to be.

And maybe that was all faith really was.

She slipped into the pew next to Michael and took his hand in hers. Their eyes met,
volumes spoken without a word.

They
didn’t dare name what was on both their minds. Dani wasn’t just a runaway this time. She was prey.

Michael looked especially pained. But he
wasn’t talking, not even to her.

So they just sat. And held onto each other. And waited.

Hours passed by. They alternately waited by the phone and called the children’s home for updates. Again the Mother Superior assured Michael she’d phone if there was news, but she couldn’t tell him not to worry. He was going to do that regardless, just like she was.

He lit candles. He prayed. He lay
nestled in Adele’s arms as she stroked his hair, doing whatever she could think of to assuage his anxiety. Finally he drifted to sleep in her lap. She leaned back against the pew and looked everywhere in the darkened room except for the massive crucifix staring down at her.

Adele finally succumbed to her own exhaustion and dozed, only to be further terrified by
yet another nightmare. What was worse she knew it was a nightmare as it was going on, which made her feel all the more helpless.