Supernaturally Kissed (Frostbite, Book One) (6 page)

I skidded to a halt and stared at the tree-lined street before I glanced back over my shoulder, annoyed and equally embarrassed. I’d been so wound up from our conversation, I hadn’t realized I had no idea where we were headed.

Kipp’s light tone mocked me. “Coming back?” A few curse words echoed in my mind, which I kept to myself, before I walked back to where he stood. “Where to?”

He grinned, cool and collected. “If you were a young woman who had been murdered, alone and afraid, where would you go?”

Wander? To a friend’s house?
One place stood out more than the rest. “I’d go home.”

Kipp nodded. “My thoughts exactly. Her parents live not too far from here.” He gestured to the left, in the opposite direction I’d been going. “A few blocks that way.”

He might not have been laughing at me, but his eyes were. Not responding to the obvious knowledge that he’d gotten under my skin, I spun on my heels and proceeded down the street.

Kipp caught up with me and matched my stride. “You choose interesting company.”

Not something I hadn’t heard before. “Caley can be a bit much at times, but she’s a good friend and is loyal. She always has my back.”

“Apparently, since she all but broke down the door to make sure you were all right.”

“She’s got more balls than an entire soccer team.” I shrugged. “No one’s perfect—I take her for who she is.”

“As she does you.”

I stopped, placed my hands on my hips and gave him a firm look. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You can’t deny you’re interesting yourself.”

I glowered at him. “Interesting how?”

“For starters, you see and talk to ghosts. She doesn’t seem to have a problem with it.”

“Yo-o-u are so-o lucky. You came so close to a second death.” I strode forward. “Like I said, no one’s perfect.”

“I might have to disagree with you there.”

Oh no you don’t.
I couldn’t continue to go down a road of flirtation and needed to keep the topics light. “Do you like being a cop?”

Kipp fell into stride with me again. He smirked, clearly aware of my obvious change in the subject. “I loved being a cop.”

At the end of the street, the road forked and Kipp pointed to the left down Grand Cedar Lane. “What did you like about the job so much?”

“Not sure if I can give you one answer. I loved everything about the job—the adrenaline, the mystery and the end result of catching a killer.”

Seemed dangerous and depressing to me. Even I could get pulled down in the dumps if I’d helped too many ghosts in one month. The loss and sadness they suffered had always been pretty soul draining. To see what the family goes through, the despair they endure, not a job for me. However, part of me understood some of the appeal. “So you’re after the rush?”

Kipp winked. “A rush only equaled by one other thing.”

I ignored his drawback to regions south and focused the conversation away from naughty land. “Do you have any family?”

“I have a brother, Brett, who’s two years younger than me and works for the fire department.”

“Y’all are cops and firemen?”

“Mainly cops—generations of them, in fact. Brett was the first one to choose another career path. When you live and breathe community service, it tends to stick. I’ve known since the age of four what I wanted to do.”

He brought up a good point I had yet to consider. “Speaking of that, how old are you?”

“Twenty-eight.”

So young to have lost his life, but I wouldn’t go there. “Are you close to your brother? Maybe you’re staying around for him.”

He shook his head. “My brother and I are close, but I’m positive my sticking around has to do with Hannah’s case. I can feel a real pull to solve the case.”

No arguments from me. He’d know better than I would. “I can go and talk to your brother if you like—tell him you’re here and all.”
Had I just offered to help him? When did I ever freely offer to do more for ghosts? Oh right, never!

He gave a sweet smile. “I appreciate your offer, but I’m sure that he has been through enough. I don’t want to make the situation any harder for him than it already is.”

Saddest thing I’d ever heard.

We stayed quiet for a few minutes and continued down the street. Kipp finally swiped his touch against my elbow, which sent a shiver down my spine. “So tell me, Miss Tess, why are you single and going on dates with complete fools?”

It took me a second to recover from his touch. “Isn’t it obvious?”

Kipp shook his head. “Not to me.”

“Well…” I glanced down to my feet and stared at the pavement. “I’ve had a few men come and go, but it’s hard to keep a normal life with my ability. The act of trying to hide my gift all the time is exhausting.” I looked back at him. “It’s not worth the energy to try to appear
normal
.”

“I don’t think you could pull off normal even if you tried.”

My eyes narrowed on him. “I beg your pardon?”

“You’re far from normal and it has nothing to do with your ability.”

My cheeks heated. “So says the ghost who
needs
me to help him.”

Kipp said nothing more and I kept my gaze glued on the road ahead. It’d been so long since I’d been at ease with anyone and Kipp made my level of comfort soar. Not only did I have an explosive attraction to him, but he knew of my darkest secret. Of course, the one man who accepted my ability was the one man I could never have.

Life stinks!

Kipp stopped at a two-story, middle-class home with a two-car garage on the front. “Come on, let’s see if she’s here.”

I didn’t move an inch. “Are you forgetting something?”

“Not that I am aware of.”

“I ain’t dead.” I squeezed my arm to show I still consisted of flesh and bones. “I can’t go lurking around someone’s house. I’ll get arrested. You go and bring her out here.”

“She probably won’t believe me unless you’re there.” Kipp flashed a smart-ass grin. “Besides, you’re with a cop, why worry?”

I folded my arms across my chest. He couldn’t win every time he wanted me to do something. “Hmmm…I wonder why I’d worry. Maybe because the cop is a ghost and can’t do a damn thing to help me if I get cuffed.”

His eyes hooded, a smolder formed within their depths and his smile shifted to sultry. “Cuffs! Now that sounds like a great idea. Would you like to discuss it?”

I opened my mouth to respond, but nothing came out. Every time I disagreed, he used something sexual to lure me in, and dammit, I hated having a weakness. I huffed and walked forward, hearing him chuckle behind me.

As I approached the house, I glanced around, but the neighborhood remained quiet. I scooted toward the side of the house and hid behind a large bush, since I couldn’t knock on the door and ask to speak to Hannah.

A window above me glowed with light. I stood on the tips of my toes and peeked up into the home. Two people watched television and ate popcorn while they sat on a large, plush pumpkin-color couch. I assumed they were Hannah’s parents, but they didn’t hold my interest for long.

On the matching loveseat, Hannah sat with her legs curled up as she watched the movie. I recognized her long blonde hair and small frame from the newspaper articles I’d seen on her disappearance.

“I’m going to go in and get her,” Kipp said.

I nodded. “I’ll wait here.”

Without another word, Kipp melted through the wall. He only took two steps before Hannah jumped to her feet and shock shone in her big blue eyes. Her expression went through wild emotions, as Kipp must have explained the tale of craziness, which was now my life.

After a little while, Kipp pointed toward the window and Hannah’s gaze followed, looking at me. Doing the only thing I could think of, I smiled and waved. She returned the wave and looked back at Kipp as if he’d said something to her.

Hannah nodded and they walked toward the wall. I lowered from my tippy-toes and stepped away, but remained hidden behind the bush as they joined me outside.

My stomach took a hit and a lump formed in my throat—Hannah was so young. So many milestones left to experience and all of her dreams had been ripped away. I dug down deep, praying for strength. “Hi, Hannah. I’m Tess.”

Her eyes widened. “You can hear me? You can see me?”

I made a face. “I’m talking to you, am I not?”

“That’s just so weird.”

Yeah right, I’m weird—you’re the ghost!
I nearly laughed, but refrained because although the conversation had been light, the agony in Hannah’s expression remained profound. “You’ve stayed here with your family for all these years?”

“I didn’t know where else to go.” Her voice trembled. “I didn’t want to leave my parents and they didn’t want to let me go. So I stayed.”

My throat tightened. A wave of sadness washed over me. I craved to hug her, to take away the pain so prevalent in her eyes, but I held no power to do so. If I touched her, I’d go right through her. Seeing that would only frighten her, I wouldn’t go there.

It appeared, though, Kipp held an equal heartache for her. His despairing expression revealed the same emotions I experienced. He grabbed Hannah and took her into his arms. Apparently, being both ghosts, they held the ability to touch. I stood stunned. I’d seen them cry before and even that had shocked me, but this I hadn’t expected.

Kipp overpowered Hannah’s small frame while he embraced her tight. She sank into him and grabbed onto his shirt, sobbing. It’d been five years since her life had ended. Five years alone, without anyone to talk to, without a single moment of warm touch, and within her sobs, the agony and loneliness came through.

He whispered soft words and ran his hand along her hair. My heart swelled with warmth. Everything about the man—ghost—was perfection. Not only did he have the looks and personality, he had a heart—one that broke in this moment.

Being a cop clearly hadn’t been just a job for him. He cared for the victims of the crimes and it hadn’t been only a paycheck. More so, he wanted to set right the tragic path their lives.

I melted into a pile of goo, yet at the same time, awareness struck me. Everything made sense. The reason why Kipp hadn’t crossed over had nothing to do with finding his killer—he stayed to save Hannah’s young soul.

Many minutes passed before Hannah backed away from Kipp, wiped the tears from her face and took a seat on the bench resting in the gardens. I sat next to her and Kipp knelt in front of her.

“Are you okay to talk about what happened to you now?” he asked.

Hannah nodded. “Yeah, I’m okay now and thank you. I’m sorry I fell apart.”

“I think you’re entitled,” I said. “Actually more than entitled to fall to pieces, but we need you to focus just for a little while. Can you tell us anything at all?”

Her expression showed what I’d seen from most ghosts after I asked the question. She appeared puzzled. “I know I’m dead, and I know the man I loved killed me.”

“The man you loved?” Kipp repeated.

I understood his surprise. I hadn’t expected her murder would lead back to a man she’d been emotionally involved with. “Why would he kill you?”

Her eyes lowered with shame. “I made him angry.”

Kipp reached up, took her hand in his and his expression showed nothing less than complete sympathy. “What made him so mad?”

A tear ran down Hannah’s cheek. “I wanted to share a life with him and start a family. We were soul mates.”

“But…” Always a
but
.

She wiped her tear away. “He was married.”

Kipp’s eyes widened. “You were having an affair?”

“We weren’t having an affair, we were in love.” Hannah’s tone became sharp before her voice softened with immeasurable sadness. “He was angry because I wanted more from him.”

I couldn’t stop the question from blurting out of my mouth. “What did you want?”

Hannah’s voice sounded trapped in her throat. “I’d grown tired of the secrets. I told him I wanted him to leave his wife.”

“Apparently, it didn’t go over so well,” I retorted.

Hannah snorted. “Obviously not.”

The side of Kipp’s mouth arched before he focused back on Hannah. “Did he say anything to you when he hurt you?”

“Only that he loved me, but I’d ruin everything for him if I said anything. He just kept apologizing.”

Kipp studied her. “Who killed you, Hannah?”

“Percy Mills.”

“I’ve never heard of him.” He nibbled on his bottom lip. I did my best to not notice how sexy he looked.

Hannah made a face. “Why would you hear of him?”

“I’ll explain later.” Detective Kipp was down to business. “But for now I’ve got a couple questions for you, if you don’t mind answering.” At Hannah’s nod, he continued. “What does Percy look like?”

“Handsome.”

Kipp urged her on with a wave of his hand. “I need more than that.”

“Early thirties, clean cut, blond businesslike hair and the most stunning blue eyes known to man.”