Nick: Justice Series (11 page)

Nick pulled her to him; his body was shaking, and it took her a few seconds to realize that he was laughing. When he dropped her on the bed, she bounced twice before he grabbed her ankle. But before he could do anything else, someone knocked at the door. Nick bellowed for them to go away, he was busy.

“Addie’s grandmother is here. She really wants to see her.” Kari giggled before continuing. “I would also like to suggest that you dress nicely before coming down. She’s a very prim and proper looking kind of woman.”

Addie nearly knocked Nick back to find something to put on. Her shirt was inside out and one of her socks was missing. Instead of wasting time looking for it, she left one on and one off and headed to the door. Nick grabbed her arm and held her until she looked at him.

“Marry me.” Addie stared at him. “Marry me and make me the luckiest man in the world. Please. I love you.”

“Yes.” Giggling like a kid at Christmas, she kissed him on the mouth and opened the door. “Hurry. I want you to meet my best friend and ally. You’ll love her.”

~~~

Evie was sort of nervous. It had taken them a little longer to get here than she’d thought, but that was because she’d been so nervous that she’d had Bentley take a few side trips and had delayed them on purpose. They knew that they weren’t being followed, but there was no point in taking chances this late in the game. She loved her granddaughter more than anything, but it had been a long time since she’d seen her too. But the moment she came into the room, Evie burst into tears and knew that she was just being silly.

“Oh, Grandma.” Addie ran to her, wrapping her up in her arms until Evie could hardly breathe. But it was fine…she was fine, and she sobbed right along with her. Her little Addie was with her now.

Neither of them finished a sentence. She told her that she loved…and Addie told her that she missed…. Each of them knew what the other meant, but to others she was sure it was gibberish.

Bentley was hugged too, his big body bent double to hold Addie to him, and the tears fell from his eyes. He handed her the tin of scones that he’d made for her. Told her that she was gorgeous and held her again like she was his own child come home. In a way Evie supposed she was. Addie had been the world to them both since she’d been born.

When a young man cleared his throat, she realized that the others, Steele and his lovely wife, had left them. Addie waved the man over, and Evie knew that her granddaughter had found love, true love, at last.

“This is Nicholas Stark. He just asked me to marry him, and I said yes.” Bentley shook his hand to congratulate him, but Evie wanted a closer look at the man who would love her Addie. “Grandmother, he’s so wonderful. You’ll love him.”

“Young man.” He nodded at her and smiled. “Do you have any idea what my granddaughter is worth? What she will be bringing to this marriage?”

“No. And frankly, I think you asking me borders on being rude. And before you ask or investigate me, you should know that not everything you find will be right. Yes, I’m a son of a drug addict. My sister killed herself the same way when she was just shy of her ninth birthday. I killed my stepfather with a screwdriver for…well, let’s just say that he wasn’t a good man. But all that matters nothing to Addie, and that’s all that matters. I will be polite to you, might even like you, but for her money or yours? I could care less. I have a good job. I make good money, and I have invested well. I love her and will care for her in the best possible way.” Evie liked him. When he winked at her, she thought perhaps she might even love this man after a time. “But most importantly, Mrs. Simon-English, she is my world, and the rest of it can go to hell for all that I care.”

“You’re a very candid young man, aren’t you?” He nodded and kissed her on the back of her hand. “I think we’re going to get along just fine, you and me.”

“Good. Now, I’ve just talked to Steele, and he and I are under the agreement that rather than just run around a bush that will get us in the same position as we might have should we just jump right in, I want to tell you what I do for a living.” She nodded, not sure at all that she wanted to hear this. Looking at Addie wasn’t that assuring either, but Evie sat when he asked her to. “My friend and the owner of this house is going to sit with us too. As are the others that live here. Mrs. Simon-English, some of this is going to be very hard to swallow, but I want you to have an open mind.”

“Something has happened.” Nicholas nodded. “All right. And call me Evie. And this is my best friend, Bentley. Where I go, he goes.”

“Good to know.” Nicholas turned and looked at Bentley, extending his hand in friendship. “Mr. Bentley.”

As the other men filed into the room, Evie watched them. Steele she had met with his wife, but the others were just as comfortable with each other as Steele had been with her. Evie knew people born to money, and Steele had been. He wore it well, and she had a feeling that he would tell you that it meant nothing to him. And for once in her life, she would believe him.

Nick, as he asked her to call him, introduced the others in the room. “You’ve met Steele Bennett and his wife Kari. This is Drew Mullins…he’s the dark and quiet kind of guy. Hugh McGuire is to his right. Hugh is…he can say more with one word than most can say with a book. Ray Hancock is former FBI and sort of the head master of us. He keeps us in line and is our savior for the most part. Landon Logan is…Landon is Landon. He’s one of the most honest and hard men I know.” Landon tipped an imaginary hat and smiled at her. “Mitch Riley is a thinker. His mind rarely rests, and if you stay here, which I’m to understand that you’ve been asked to do, you will see him roaming the halls in the middle of the night more often than not. Izzy and her husband Jake run the kitchen and the rooms. There is a staff here that takes care of us better than we deserve.”

Each of the men welcomed them. Evie knew there was more. There had to be. And as she waited for it, she saw the men shuffle their feet and squirm on the couch. For some reason that made her more nervous than she was before.

“Well? Spill it. I’m an old woman, but I’m not a stupid one. Tell me.” He looked to her right and she did as well. There was nothing there. “Young man, don’t piss me off before we begin.”

“Jacob Simon is there with you. He’s been there since you came into the room, feeling the emotion that you are feeling for having Addie back with you.” Evie sat back in the chair as Nick continued. “Billy Pike is here too. He died some years ago and helps us on our job a great deal. There is also Donny and Carlton. Donny died about twenty years ago—drive by shooting—and Carlton won’t tell us what he was killed by. I’m thinking he was having a tryst with a married woman and got caught.”

Evie looked at Addie, then at Nick. “I don’t think you’re trying to be funny, are you? You can really see him. All of them.”

“Yes, ma’am. I can see them all. Jacob wants you to know that Joel would never have touched you. He said that killing him for you was his greatest pleasure. He said that he loves you just as much today as he did when he first saw you coming out of the Grand Theater with that fop of a man you were supposed to marry.” Nick smiled. “Jacob said to tell you that the violets that he gave you still do not compare to the beauty of your eyes or the softness of your skin.”

She put her hand over her mouth to stop the sob that wanted to spill out. He really was here. Her one and only truest love was here. Evie asked Nick if she could speak to him and turned to her right to look for him.

“I love you. I have never loved anyone like I did you.” She felt his touch then, much like she had in the hotel the other night but had refused to believe it. Without turning to the others in the room, she spoke again. “You do this? You find ghosts and help them connect with their loved ones?”

“Something like that.” She turned to Steele and he smiled at her. “We’re here to help who wants us to in things that we can. We also assist the police or anyone that needs us, living or dead.”

“And Joel, he’s…are you going to tell me there is a problem with him?” Addie told her that he wanted her dead. “That’s not going to happen. He couldn’t have you when he was alive, and I’m certainly not going to let him touch you while he’s dead. Tell me what you need for me to do.”

“Tell us everything you can about the bastard.” Evie nodded and looked at Bentley, who left the room to return a few minutes later with two boxes. There were more and he went to get those as well.

“Everything you ever wanted to know about Joel Delaney. And there are also several boxes on Addie’s parents. I only ask that you let me help.” Nick said she was going to. “Good. Let’s get this going, shall we?”

Evie wasn’t sure what to believe or disbelieve, but her granddaughter was alive and happy, and that alone could make her believe just about anything.

Chapter 11

Joel moved through the yard. He wasn’t entirely sure why he was there, but when he’d thought of Addison this was where he’d ended up. The small cemetery had been so close to where he’d landed that he’d been terrified that he’d end up there forever. But the names on the pretty stones hadn’t said his name or that of Addison, and he did rest a bit better. A voice behind him made him turn, and he watched as the big man approached. For some reason, Joel wasn’t afraid but somewhat relieved.

“You’re that man. The one that’s been bothering Addie. You go on and get out of here. If you don’t, then I’m going to get Steele and he’ll make sure you never move around again.” Joel was sure that this man, this Steele person, was the one he’d been warned about. “Get yourself—”

“Don’t say it, please. I’m begging you to let me tell you something first.” The man put his hands down, but Joel wasn’t convinced that he wouldn’t finish what he’d started and zap him. “I’m here to tell Addison that…well among other things, that I’m sorry.”

“Why?” It was a good question. And one he’d been bouncing around in his head since leaving the house across the way. “You tell me or so help me….”

“I’ve been trying to find her. That’s true. I want her…wanted her as dead as me so that I could rule her. But I’ve seen some things…heard things that have made me realize that I’m not at all a very nice person.” The man told him to go on, he’d not argue with him. Joel laughed. “There was a time when I would have had you fired if you worked for me for that kind of talk. And if you were just a person I knew, then I’d just ruin you. Financially as well as any other way I could. But I’ve been wandering around here for the last few days just…is she all right? I mean, Addison, is she all right?”

“In love.” Joel felt his heart twist and his temper flare up, but he only nodded. It was no more than he deserved. “You said you wanted to say you were sorry. What for?”

“I don’t know how much time I have. I’m not at all good at this death stuff. But there is a woman…. Actually, there is a man and woman…Ellen Wooten, have you heard of her?” The man said he had. “She’s going to kill Addison for me. Well, not for me, but she thinks she can lure her there and…I don’t want her to die. Not like…not anymore. There’s a man too, Dane Glass. He has a stepson that he wants dead so he can make him suffer as he did. I did some research and I know who he is now too. But Glass, he told me that they knew each other, Addison and this stepson.”

“Did he tell you the boy’s name?” Joel told him Nick Stark. “I’m thinking you should come on up to the house then. But I’m telling you right now, should you try something stupid, I’m going to send you over. And from what I know about you, it won’t be anywhere pleasant you want to be.”

Joel followed the man. “I didn’t hear your name. Or even if you told me. I’m so…did you know that all you have to do is think of someone and you could be near them? Not Addison however. She’s sort of off limits to me.”

“Billy Pike, and that would be about right. This boy Glass is looking for? He tell you what he wanted with him? Other than to have him dead?” Joel told him that the stepson had killed Glass.

“But the more time I spend with him, the more I think he was justified in it.” Billy said that he was. “Is Addison here? I know that her grandmother has sold out and moved on. I’m assuming that she’s coming for her granddaughter. They were very close and I missed out on that too.”

There were a great many things he’d missed out on. And hearing Ellen talk about her murder spree had made him realize that there were a great many evil people out there. He didn’t want to be one of them. Not any longer. Joel realized that Billy was talking and he’d missed some of it. When he asked him to repeat it, Billy turned to look at him.

“You’ve made yourself a huge turnaround since you were killed. What the hell happened to you? And if you tell me you found religion, I’m not going to believe you. There is no way that much can happen to you in two weeks.” Joel asked him why two weeks. “You’ve been dead that long. Didn’t you know?”

“No. It seems…there are times when I still have to remind myself that I’m actually dead. I went to my graveside. Not a single flower marred the grass there. No prints—auras, I guess they’re called—showed that a single person, other than a couple of men, came to see me off. As you have probably already guessed, I’m not a well-liked person.” Billy didn’t agree or disagree with him, for which he was grateful. “Ellen…she opened my eyes to what I was going to do. What I wanted to do. She killed those people, all of them, because it was fun to her. How could she…? She just wanted to practice her cutting and did it. Why? Then when she told me how she got out and what she’s done since then, I left them. I decided that I wanted no part of them.”

They were at the house and Joel didn’t even try to go inside. There was something like a glow around the house, and he knew that trying to cross that line he’d be hurt…or worse. Billy had no problems and entered the orb around it as if it were nothing. A man came out moments later and Joel had an insane need to go to his knees in front of him. He knew as surely as he was standing there that this was the famed Steele Bennett.

“Billy said that you want to talk to Addie.” Joel nodded and didn’t look at the man’s face. “He said that you were with Wooten and Glass, and now have had a change of heart on a few things.”

“They’re gathering an army.” It sounded so stupid when he said it aloud that he looked at the man. “You’re him, aren’t you? Steele. I’ve heard so much about you that I’m sort of thinking I’m going to wet myself, but I know that’s not possible.”

“No, it’s not. But you fuck up here, and I will make sure you’re never seen again. I’m Steele and you’re Joel Delaney. I heard that you were looking to bring Addie to your side. You know that it doesn’t work that way, right?” Joel told him he had no idea how any of this worked. “Yeah, you left your book behind.”

Joel looked at him then. The man was bathed in light, bright white light that hurt his eyes. If he had his book, then all was lost for him. But it mattered very little right now. He had to tell them what he knew.

“Ellen is going to bring the living to her. She has a bunch of cell phones and some money now. Glass and his men, six of them when I was there, are whispering in the ears of the living and having them go out to this house in the middle of nowhere.” Steele was joined by a woman and she glowed as well. Joel continued, but he knew that he was somewhat babbling and tried to calm his thoughts. “Ellen has a house that she’s using as a base, I guess you could call it. She’s planning to fill the yard with the dead after she’s finished with them. While I was there a…I don’t want you to think I had anything to do with it, but when I was there, she cut the throat of a pizza delivery person. Perfect her art, is what she called it. Get perfect at it until she can have Addison and this other man, Nick Stark, brought to her and make them suffer for us. I never wanted her to suffer. And to be honest, I’m not sure why I even…it matters little now. But I want—”

“I want to know.” He looked at the doorway and nearly sobbed in relief. There she was, Addison in the flesh. “Even after five years of me being gone, why did you keep sending people to find me? What did you hope to gain by that? I never wanted to marry you, but you were…you just didn’t let it go. Why?”

“I don’t know. You were mine and that’s all I could see.” He looked at the man who stood next to her. “You’re in love with him. I can see it. You’re glowing with it. Christ, that could have been mine had I been a good deal smarter.”

“I was never meant for you, Joel. You know that, don’t you?” He nodded at her. “Billy said that you wanted to help us. He said that you have information on where Glass is.”

“There’s a woman after you and this man, Glass, is after a man by the name of Nick. I was wondering if you could get him some….” Joel looked at them all when they laughed. “I don’t understand. He can hurt him.”

Steele stood up and Joel took a step back. “Joel Delaney, I want you to meet Addie’s fiancé, Nick Stark. Nick, this is the man that is going to help us bring Ellen Wooten to an end.”

~~~

Nick tried to be nice to the man. Steele hadn’t allowed him into the house as yet, and while Joel didn’t seem to have a problem with it, Nick knew that the guy was still out there. He walked to the window and looked out to the cemetery at the back of the property.

“You do know that there is nothing out there that can hurt either of us, right? I mean, we can fight this thing, and Steele has sent some of the others out to the house to keep an eye on them. I had no idea the guy was so strong.” Nick didn’t even turn to look at Addie when she spoke to him, but answered her as he watched the yard.

“Steele is the strongest necromancer I’ve ever met. More than likely the strongest ever born. He can do more things with his power than most people can do…well, anything.” He turned then and saw her sitting on the edge of the bed. “You’re so beautiful.”

“Thank you. You’re very handsome.” She crooked her finger at him. “Come here, Nick. I have a powerful need to have you inside of me.”

Nick didn’t move to her but leaned back against the wall and watched her. He wanted her. Wanting her with every breath, he took every minute of the day and then some. But he also knew that in a moment, less than a heartbeat, he could lose her. And that terrified him more than anything.

“Stand up and take off your clothes. I want you to undress for me.” Instead of doing what he wanted, she leaned back on the bed. Nick started to ask her again when she kicked off her shoes. Then she sat up and pulled her socks off.

Nick loved a woman’s legs. The way that the muscles seemed curve into an incredibly sexy form, the way they hardened at just the right moment when the foot was lifted from the floor. He thought that high heels should be worn at all times by them, and that pantyhose should be outlawed and those stocking that were held up by gravity should be the norm. But watching Addie pull off a simple pair of athletic socks nearly had him moaning.

When she stood up, he nearly left his post. But if he was honest with himself, he was afraid he’d fall on his face before he got more than a foot from it. He was that enthralled by her sheer beauty.

The buttons on her blouse were undone slowly. He watched as she moved her fingers slowly over a tiny little button and then worked it through the equally small hole. As she moved her fingers down to the next one, he had to cup his cock. He’d seen nothing but her feet since he’d asked her to do this, and he could see that he more than likely wasn’t going to make it until she was completely undressed.

The blouse was unbuttoned but stayed on her body. He had no idea why that was as sexy as hell, but he loved it. As she moved her hand down her belly to the top of her pants, he licked his suddenly dry lips and watched. The sound of the button coming undone nearly had him dropping to his knees and begging her for more.

“You’re very hard, aren’t you?” He nodded, no longer able to think beyond what she was doing. “I want to see you, Nicholas. Take out your lovely cock and let me see you.”

“If I do, then I’m going to come. The slightest breath of air over me is going to be my undoing.” Her soft laughter had him reaching for his belt. When he pulled it open, his cock seemed to stretch more, fill his pants to a painful degree. “I love what you’re doing right now. Christ, I want to jump on you and take you hard.”

“No. Not yet.” He nodded, feeling like a simpleton. “When I’m naked, and I will be soon, I’m going to lie back on this bed and play with myself while you watch. Then when I say so, you can come here and eat me until I come.”

“Hurry.” She laughed again, and Nick felt like he was going to die. It was going to be a wonderfully fulfilling death, seeing her like this, but he was a dead man all the same. “I need you.”

“As I do you.” The pants were open, her panties there for him to see. The bit of lace—pink, he thought—was going to be twice as beautiful laying on the floor. But not soon enough so far as his body was concerned. “Did you know that Kari was a panther?”

Nick’s fuzzed mind had no idea what she was saying to him, and he asked her to repeat it. Or at least that was what he’d meant. What spilled from his mouth was gibberish, and she laughed again.

“Kari? Yes. Panther. She was converted by a madman.” Addie moved her hands into the front of her jeans and he heard her moan. “She’s beautiful as a panther. Are you wet?”

“I’m very wet.” He knew that her fingers were sliding over her pussy, touching her clit and making the little nubbin harder. “I saw her. As a panther this morning. She scared me. I’m so close to coming, Nicholas. I might not be able to wait for you.”

He’d had enough. Taking the final steps to her, he dropped to his knees and jerked her pants off. Nick was right, her fingers were deep in her panties and she was soaking wet. Burying his nose into the wet silk, he inhaled deeply, taking all of her scent into his body.

“Come.” She screamed out his name as her fingers danced beneath the cloth. He could smell her, the delicious smell that was all her. Tearing her panties from her, he licked her fingers clean, then told her to lie back on the bed. Nick was going to enjoy this.

Nick spread her legs wide. Her clit was so swollen that it peeked out from her swollen nether lips, and he leaned in to taste it. But taking the tiny pearl into his mouth, he couldn’t help but slide his fingers into her sheath to bring her again. When she came this time, Nick felt her juices run down his hand to his elbow as he tried to drink every drop of her.