RAVEN'S HOLLOW (12 page)

“Yeah, but to hell with them,” he muttered, and pulled her so hard against him that she could feel every muscle in his body, from sleek biceps to tantalizing arousal.

It felt good, she thought, as pleasure hummed through her veins, not to be balanced on the high wire of her nerves. If only for a few minutes, she wanted to let the heat build and the fever, which was a wicked blend of need and desire, take hold.

The second Eli’s mouth captured hers, his tongue plunged inside to feast.

He tasted like the night, like darkness and danger. The restless hunger that had been part of him for as long as Sadie could remember flowed out of him and into her. It made her blood pump and her skin tingle.

She breathed in, then blissfully out. This was how she’d felt when they’d danced that first night in Boston. In that single heady moment she’d known with absolute certainty she wouldn’t be marrying Ty.

Cupping her face in his hands, Eli deepened the kiss, then ran his fingers lightly over her shoulders and arms until they found her breasts. She moaned, and the moan became a low purr as his thumbs grazed the nipples under her T-shirt and bra. His lips moved from her mouth to her jaw and along the column of her throat.

“Gonna melt in a minute,” she warned, but didn’t know if she spoke the words or merely thought them.

“Already have,” he murmured against her neck.

Letting her head bow back, Sadie savored the sensations sweeping through her. Desire mixed with the heat that spiraled upward from her belly. Breathless, she took a moment to revel in the kind of liquid need she’d never expected to feel. Wasn’t entirely sure she’d wanted to feel.

She dug her fingers into his upper arms, felt lean muscle and hard bone and knew,
knew
she should push herself away. Should never have started this in the first place, because...

When he took her mouth again, the thought simply turned to dust and scattered.

He awakened every one of her sleeping senses. Wanting him even closer, she slid her hands upward, until her fingers were impossibly tangled in his hair. Rough bark scraped her back, and the first drops of rain hit her cheeks. She could feel him hard and pulsing against her. All she had to do was jump up, wrap her legs around his hips and let gravity and hunger take them down into the remains of the flower bed. The setting was perfect, and the thunder that rumbled over the hollow merely layered anticipation over desire.

She spied it before she sank all the way into him. A misty shadow that wasn’t a shadow but a solid figure. Like the zealots from her nightmare, it wore a black cloak and held something in its hand.

Dragging her mouth free, Sadie managed a breathless “Gun!”

Eli reacted so swiftly she barely noticed the move. Shoving her to the ground, he pulled his Police Special and spun into a kneeling crouch.

The figure’s first bullet struck the tree behind them. The second—no idea. The third blew one of the herb bags apart.

Crawling to him, Sadie felt for Eli’s backup and tugged it free. There was a fence, a crooked line of pickets between him and the now-secreted shooter. Not much of a shield in her opinion.

Flat on the ground, her breath held to the point of discomfort, she squeezed the trigger. The gun kicked pain up to her elbows, but she continued to squeeze off shots.

She might have heard some thrashing at that point, and maybe she glimpsed receding black, but if she was honest, the whole thing had become a jumble of sight and sound. So she continued to pump out shots until she heard nothing but empty clicks.

Before the last echo died, Eli was up and gone. Sadie dropped her face onto her extended arms and breathed. She heard the double tone from her phone but ignored it until her senses rebooted. When they did, she raised her head and scoured the nearby woods.

There was nothing. No sound, no movement, no clue as to where Eli had gone.

“Just once,” she muttered in frustration, “I’d like an easy answer.”

She was debating her limited options when her phone beeped again. Preoccupied, she dug it from her jacket pocket.

More raindrops plopped onto her head, and the thunder that shook the flower bed and grave markers was creeping closer. High in the trees, ravens cawed. One of them swooped in for a landing on a tippy picket.

“Give me all the evil looks you want, pal.” She went to her message app. “After what I’ve gone through lately, I’m immune.”

The bird cawed noisily, but Sadie didn’t hear it, or anything. The text message that appeared on the screen stopped her breath and sent a shaft of pure terror into her heart.

I WASN’T SHOOTING AT YOU!

Chapter Fifteen

“People don’t vanish,” Ty maintained an hour later. “Outsmart other people, yes, but even on Bellam land, they can’t twitch up a broomstick and fly off into the ether.”

“I was thinking more along the lines of jumping into a rabbit hole. Or a cave, like the one Sadie and I used to climb out of the bog.” Eli flicked through files in his cousin’s private office. “Don’t you have any maps that predate the nineteen fifties?”

“The
Chronicle
might.” Sadie glanced up from her iPhone. “There are a lot of boxes in the basement. I can look tomorrow. We really should be leaving for the manor soon, if we want...” Pausing, she peered around Ty’s arm at the veterinary clinic across the street. “Orley’s pulling in,” she told them. “Back in a sec.”

“Bad mood happening here, Sadie.” A scowling Orley climbed from her car. “Brady and I just chased down a deer with an arrow in its hind leg. We had to use a tranquilizer dart on it. The tranq worked, but naturally the deer toppled into a pile of dung and had to be worked on where it lay.”

“Is it all right?”

“It will be. Gorgeous animal. A buck.”

“In that case, and given that you like animals a thousand times better than humans, how could saving a deer put you in a bad mood?”

Orley bared her teeth. “I’m wearing my Gucci suede boots. I swear, if I find out who launched that arrow, I’m going to shoot him in the leg and leave him to bleed in the woods.” Her grimace morphed into a weary expulsion of breath when a truck creaked to a halt behind her. “Dr. Dolittle in the flesh.”

Climbing from his truck, Brady shouldered his medical bag and picked up a crossbow arrow.

“I hate hunters,” Orley muttered. “My dad hunts, so opposite sides of the fence there, but at least he knows you can’t kill an animal by aiming for the ass end. Any poacher worth his salt should know that, too.”

“You can’t be sure it was a poacher, Orley.” Brady followed Sadie’s narrowed stare to the arrow. “What? I’m not the nitwit who pulled the trigger.”

“Sorry, knee-jerk. Where was the deer?”

Orley picked at one of her ruined boots. “In the hollow.”

“Near Raven’s Bog?”

“Within spitting distance. Why?”

“Can’t write an article without all the facts.”

Brady arched a surprised brow. “An arrow in the haunch of a deer’s newsworthy?”

“It is today.” She wiggled her fingers. “Can I see the arrow?”

“You must be having one very slow news day.” But Brady relinquished the metal shaft. “And here they come—the never-gonna-be Bobbsey Twins.”

Sadie heard Ty’s snort of disgust at the same time Eli’s arm dropped across her shoulders.

“Might want to keep that arrow away from your ex, sweetheart,” he murmured, “or it could wind up in an innocent back.”

Ty sneered. “Now, why would I want to impale the town vet? Hand it, Sadie.”

At a small nod from Eli, she complied.

“Ah, right, got it.” Brady’s face cleared. “You think this is one of the arrows that was shot at you and Eli on Sunday night. Instead of hitting its intended target, it hit a deer.”

“Always possible,” Eli agreed.

“I want to talk to Cal.” Ty twirled the arrow. “Are you sure you didn’t get a disclaimer after the attack in the bog, Sadie?”

Still out of sorts, Orley raised her gaze from her ruined boots. “Since when do would-be murderers put out disclaimers?”

Sadie shrugged. “Someone in a black cloak and hood put one out earlier today. He was shooting at Eli and me near the graveyard at Bellam Manor. Shooter rabbited. A few minutes later, I got a text. He said the bullets weren’t meant for me.”

Orley snorted. “Sounds like someone’s head is seriously messed up. No offense, cous.”

“None taken.”

Brady ran a hand over his face. “What about the attack in the bog?”

Eli watched Ty play with the arrow. “I think whoever was behind that wanted both of us dead.”

“You’re not in the guy’s head, though, are you?” Ty looked up with a level expression. “You’re also not on your own turf, so maybe you’re reading the whole thing wrong, or at least coming at it from the wrong direction. I know the Hollow and the Cove. I know how the people here think, and what they think and why.”

“Ty, Eli grew up here, too... Uh, right.” Palms out, Brady backed off. “You two hash it out. Triangles aren’t my...”

“Eli, that’s Cal in the truck at the corner!” Sadie grabbed the wrist still draped over her shoulder. “What’s he doing here? No, wait, don’t spook... Why do I even talk?” she wondered, as first Eli, then Ty, then Cal bolted. “It’s like being in a
Rambo
movie. Séance starts at seven, Orley,” she called back as she ran for her Land Rover.

Eli was already inside. “Forget it,” he said, and started to slam the lock down.

But Sadie got the door open a split second faster and climbed in. “My vehicle, my decision. Go, or you’ll be fighting Ty for road space.”

He slanted her a dark look but didn’t argue further. Couldn’t because Ty fishtailed his cruiser around the corner and set off after Cal with a screech of tires and a series of short bursts on the siren.

Sadie gripped the dash with one hand and the side of Eli’s seat with the other. “Any chance you two could work together on this?”

“Any way you know of to transmit that request to Ty?”

“He has a cell....”

“Any way that’ll work?”

He had her there. She kept Cal’s gray truck in sight. “If we assume he’s heading back to the woods, you could take the Post Road and cut him off at the junction before the hollow. Then if Ty squeezes him from behind...” She made a dubious motion. “It could work.”

But it didn’t. Instead of cornering their quarry, Eli wound up in a near collision with Ty’s cruiser, leaving Cal to bump through the junction and roar away on a rocky path few mountain goats would attempt.

Recognizing the expression on Eli’s face, Sadie covered the gearshift with her hand. “Please don’t. I can’t afford a new vehicle, and I’m not insured for extreme off-road adventures. Cal knows these woods better than we do. Plus, we have his home address.”

When the light in his eyes didn’t diminish, she did the only thing she could think of. She reached over the console, took his face in her hands and set her mouth on his.

Because she only meant to distract him, the sudden burst of heat surprised her. It also caused every thought in her head to wink out.

A dazzled “Wow” was the best she could manage when she eased herself away. “I didn’t expect...hmm.”

His lips curved. “Serious understatement. But as long as we’re here.”

He had her over the console and straddling him before her brain restarted.

The hunger bottled inside her shot need and adrenaline into her veins. Bunching his jacket, she let her eyes sparkle into his. “As first times go, this wouldn’t be my setting of choice, but it’s better than—oh, damn, Ty!”

The memory of the near collision had her whipping her head around. “He’s—gone,” she realized in relief. Then frowned. “Why is he gone?”

Eli rested his forehead against her hair. “He didn’t go after Cal, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“Oh, I’m not up to thinking quite yet. My head’s still buzzing, and I’m in kind of a nice place physically.” She shimmied her butt on his lap. “However...”

Employing every scrap of self-restraint she possessed, Sadie climbed off and dropped back into her seat. “Bet he saw us.”

“If he didn’t, he should be declared legally blind.” Moving carefully, Eli grinned. “Message received. No wild rides.”

“Only where my Land Rover’s concerned. Anything else is fair game.” When her gaze drifted to the dash clock, her eyes widened. “Is that the time? We need to go. Molly sets a strict schedule.”

“For a séance? Sorry, sweetheart, I have to say again, your cousin’s very strange.”

“Strange is the middle name of every Bellam and Blume descendant I know. Molly schedules bathroom breaks, Eli. She’ll follow through whether we’re there or not. And if the monster who wants me, you, or me and you dead shows up—very likely—the last thing I want to do is not be there and have him decide to vent his rage on people I care about.”

Eli regarded the brooding sky. “Okay, we’ll go through with it. But I want to check out Molly’s apartment top to bottom before we start.”

“It’ll be Nola’s apartment.” Sadie flicked the ends of her hair. “In order to achieve the proper atmosphere, Molly does her summoning in what our family believes was Nola Bellam’s inner sanctum.”

“Great. Anything else I don’t want to know?”

“You decide. At her last séance, two years ago, after Molly commanded the spirit in question to signal her presence by knocking three times, we heard three consecutive taps at the window.”

“Signals can be rigged, Sadie.”

“Not done yet. Nola’s room is on the third floor of the manor. When we opened the shutters, we found a raven sitting on the sill.”

“Which is unusual because?”

“He had a locket at his feet, which belonged to the dead woman. A locket no one had supposedly seen since before the spirit being summoned passed on.”

“Uh-huh.” Now his lips twitched. “Can I assume this locket belonged to your ancestor?”

“Ten points to you, Lieutenant.”

“What was inside? A miniature painting of Hezekiah?”

Unable to resist, Sadie leaned over the console and used her index finger to trace the line of his jaw. “Not quite. There were two locks of hair inside, one red, one black. And beneath them was a tiny piece of paper that read:

Whosoever shall open my locket

Will find no peace.

In this life or the next.”

Eli curled his fingers around her neck. “Gotta be more to it than that. Who opened the locket?”

She touched her mouth to his in the lightest of kisses. “You already know the answer. I did.”

* * *

S
ADIE
DIDN
’
T
BELIEVE
in portents or omens, never had. However, a séance in her ancestral home in the throes of the chaos that was unfolding around her, had her wishing she’d taken that job at the
New York Times
after all.

She opted to wear traditional black—an ankle-skimming dress with a deep V, long pointy sleeves and just cling enough to bolster her slightly battered confidence.

She got a major boost when she opened the front door of the manor. Eli’s eyes glinted dangerously even as Rooney hobbled in to wedge himself between them.

Beaming with delight, the old man wrapped his bony fingers around her upper arms. “Nola won’t be putting in an appearance with one of her progeny looking as drop-dead beautiful as you do tonight, Sadie Bellam.” He inhaled deeply. “Smell like a dream, too. Hope your cousin’s got a standby spirit up her witchy sleeve.”

“It wouldn’t surprise me.” She looked at Eli, then past him into the teaming rain before escorting Rooney slowly up the stairs to the third floor.

“No need to fuss,” he assured her as she seated him. “You just make sure the tea’s hot and the whiskey that makes it drinkable isn’t of the soda pop variety. On the off chance my heart stops from fright, I’ll be needing something stronger than chamomile to jump-start it.”

Sadie set a hip on the round table, crossed her arms and regarded him with a semihumorous expression. “I thought you were a firm believer in all the local lore, not merely your own.”

“Oh, I believe, young Sadie, but I also know shinola when I see it. Molly’s got the trappings down pat. Hanging plants, rocks and crystals scattered, participants seated where she chooses, mood music for effect, candles for light. It all looks, sounds and smells perfect, but is it real or just a show for the tourists?” He tapped his nose. “One way or another, with a hundred-plus years under my belt, I’ll sniff out the truth. Now, let’s get down to basics.” His cane hit the floor between his knees. “Firstly, are you or my great-grandson gonna tell your favorite centenarian why I got a half-crazed phone call from Brick Majerki late this afternoon? And secondly, does a man’s heart actually need to stop before he can get a mug of tea in this house?”

On cue, Orley slammed a tray holding four pots and several mugs onto the table, growled out a hello and marched off.

“Green pot’s yours,” Sadie stage-whispered to Rooney. “Hey, Jerk,” she said to the man just entering the room. “Rooney here was asking about your brother. Seeing as Brick’s so fearful of all things Bellam, I never expected to see either of you at the manor.”

The big man scratched his cheek. “Well, I’m not Brick, now, am I, Sadie? The story of
Hansel and Gretel
sent little bro under the bed for a week. Me, I only cared about sinking my teeth into a big chunk of that gingerbread house.”

Sadie had known Jerk and Brick for two years. When they weren’t hauling or tearing apart dead vehicles, they liked to tinker with old machines. They’d been tinkering with the printing presses at the
Chronicle
since before her uncle retired.

Rooney winked at her. “Maybe Molly’s crystal ball’s on the fritz and she called Jerk here to fix it. Even she knows you’d never get the Brickman within a mile of this place on a night like this, not for all the whiskey in Ben Leamer’s—”

“Corn,” Sadie inserted smoothly. Her eyes found Eli in the doorway. “Not for all the corn in Ben Leamer’s maze, Rooney. Is Molly’s crystal ball on the fritz, Jerk?”

Brick’s brother grinned. “Can’t say as I know why she asked me to come.”

“I didn’t ask you to come,” Molly said from behind him. “You asked me if there was an empty seat.”

“And then you asked him to come,” Sadie put in. “Which is why he’s here, undoubtedly against his brother’s wishes, but hey, you have to go your own way, right, Jerk?”

The big man poured himself and Rooney a mug of tea. “I’ve seen that gleam in your eyes before, Sadie. You wanna punch someone in the balls, Eli’s made the rounds and he’s heading this way right now.”

Rooney clinked his mug to Jerk’s. “If I were you, Sadie, I’d leave the ball punching to Ty. He looks hissy as a snake, don’t you think?”

“Oh, this night’s going to be so much fun,” she predicted, then twirled in a half circle. “What about you, Lieutenant Blume? Are you up for a little fun?”