Celeste Files: Unjust (19 page)

“Are you calling me a dick?”

“I am. What’s wrong with you? And don’t say a word about last night. I’ve apologized, and you know damned well I would never intentionally hurt you. If I recall, you were the one who wanted to be with me when I was doing the readings on the dead women. Just last night you were telling me how proud you were because of what I was able to do for them, and how you thought this case was bringing us closer.” She crossed her arms, and looked out the window. “If you don’t remember, you said those things right before we made love.”

“I remember.” He drove into their condo complex. “I also remember waking up to a knife in my pillow.” He pulled into the parking space in front of their condo and slammed the gear into PARK. “Damn it, Celeste, I don’t know how the hell to deal with this.” He killed the engine, and rested his head against the headrest. “I love you. I would do anything for you, and I know you know that.”

He’d killed for her. But could he live with a woman who could become possessed and kill him? Her daughter’s dimpled smile and bright blue eyes suddenly filled her mind. Tears blurred her vision. “Please don’t say anything else.” She opened the door and slid out of the car. Denis might be gone, but he’d never be forgotten. John wouldn’t let it. She could see the future without an ounce of clairvoyance. John would constantly watch her, watch over her, calculate her behavior from day to day, and how she acted toward Olivia. Because in the back of his mind, he would always wonder if another spirit would possess her and, this time, kill him or their daughter.

Her hand trembled as she shoved the key into the door and let herself into the condo. Before she could slam it shut, John followed her inside. “What did you think I was going to say?” he asked.

She swiped the tears from her cheek, and headed for the bathroom. “I don’t want to talk right now.”

He took her by the shoulders and turned her to face him. “I do. Look, I’m sorry I’m having a hard time letting go of last night. But you have to understand where I’m coming from.”

Her throat tightened. “I do, and I think you’re right. I don’t know how I would feel if I was in your place. It’s easy for me to be pissed off that you can’t let it go and realize I’d never hurt you.”

“You think I’m right about what?”

“Leaving me and taking Olivia with you.” She looked toward the bedroom. “My bags are already packed, I’m going to see if I can find a place to stay until we can take the company jet home.”

“Damn it, I never said anything about leaving or taking Olivia away from you.”

“Then answer me this, and be honest…are you comfortable sleeping next to me tonight—with the knives in the drawer?”

“Not until I know for sure that Denis is gone.”

While she couldn’t blame him, his response cut deep. He didn’t trust her. “Will this uncertainty continue when we get back to Chicago?”

“I don’t know.” He held her in place when she tried to pull away. “I’m sorry if that’s not the answer you want to hear. You wanted honest, and I’m giving it to you.” He cupped her cheeks. “I do love you, I just don’t know how do deal with this right now.”

She shoved him. “I’ll tell you how. Suck it up and be the strong man I married.” She ignored the shock in his eyes and shoved him again. “It’s just me and you right now. Take our daughter—who, by the way will likely be just like me—out of the equation. No, actually, keep her in for a sec. If you don’t know how to deal with me, then you’re not going to know how to deal with Olivia when she starts seeing things. What are you going to do then?”

“There’s no telling if she’ll have what you have. She might not get it.”

She half-laughed at the ridiculousness coming out of his mouth. “You make it sound like an infection or disease.”

He shoved a hand through his hair. “I didn’t mean to.”

“Well, you did.” She tossed her arms in the air. “I need less stress in my life, not more, and more is what you’re giving me.”

“You tried to stab me,” John shouted. “How do you keep missing that major detail? I’m sorry if I can’t let it go. I’m sorry if I can’t let a ton of what you can do go.”

“Then maybe you should be the one to go,” she yelled back. “It’d be easier for you to shack up over at Polina’s Paradise than for me to find a hotel. This way, instead of worrying about your wife attacking you during the night, you’ll only have to worry about Vlad’s alligator making a snack out of your foot.”

“You’re kicking me out?” he asked, as if shocked she’d do such a thing.

“Yeah, I am.” She wiped away the last of her tears, then stabbed his chest with her finger. “If you don’t leave, I will.” She turned and walked away.

She gasped when he pinned her against the wall. “I don’t like being threatened.” When he leaned in, she caught the hint of his cologne. The smell of him, the anger, the hunger and desperation in his eyes shouldn’t have her wanting him, not when he’d hurt her, and not when she was just as angry. But she did want him. On every level.

“Just go,” she said, holding his gaze and avoiding his mouth. She ached to kiss him, to go back to where they were before Denis.

“I don’t want to.”

She swallowed, and looked away. “I want you to. I think we both need a break from each other.”

“Denis might come back.”

“He’s gone. I feel it. And even if I’m wrong, what are you going to do about it?” The hurt in his eyes had her regretting her words. “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded.”

“Nope. You’re right. I’m a pussy, and no match for a ghost.”

“I never said that.”

He slid his hand behind her neck. “You did, and you’re right. I think I’m better off leaving.”

She gripped his forearm before he pulled away. “For tonight?” she asked, panicked. She had no problem being alone. Before John, she’d lived by herself for years. Now that reality was setting in and he was really leaving, she didn’t want him to go, and worried he might not come back. Why would he? She didn’t just come with a little baggage. She’d come into their marriage with a steam trunk packed so full it couldn’t be sealed shut.

His gaze dropped to her mouth. “For now,” he said, then kissed her. Before she had the chance to cling to him, to hold him close, he pulled away, then went into the bedroom.

Ten minutes later, she stood by the window. She pulled the drapes to the side, watched him drive away, then dropped them once his taillights disappeared. The cozy condo wasn’t as cozy without John here, but she’d asked him to leave, and had no one to blame but herself. This time apart might be good for them. She didn’t know how, but telling herself this kept the tears under control.

After she made sure all the doors were locked, she poured a glass of wine, then unpacked her suitcase and toiletries. Halfway through the glass, and with all of her things back in drawers, she turned on the shower. Once she’d stood under the hot spray and washed away everything that had happened today, she had a choice of TV, starting a book or going to bed. Since it was barely eight, and she wasn’t ready for bed, she nixed that idea. And she since the book she’d brought with her was a romance, and romance was the furthest thing from her mind, she opted for mindless TV.

Fresh glass of wine on the coffee table, her favorite camisole and lounge pants comforting her, she curled up on the couch and flipped through the channels. Her stomach grumbled, but the thought of moving off the couch and making something to eat exhausted her. When her cell phone rang, she quickly checked the caller ID hoping John was ready to come back, but the call was from Maxine. Disappointed, and not in the mood to discuss her shortcomings and how they’d led her to this point, she let the call go into voicemail.

She went back to flipping through channels, found another documentary on arctic animals—who knew there were so many—and opted for the home improvement show,
Renovate or Relocate
. John hated the show, because every time she watched it, she would come up with ideas for what they could do to improve the fantasy house they hadn’t found or owned yet. Sadness settled around her. The future was so up in the air, she could no longer be certain they would sell the condo and buy a house. Yes, she’d brought up divorce, not because she wanted one, but because she loved her husband enough that she’d rather they separate than have him hating or resenting her.

She rested her head against a throw pillow. John could never hate her—at least she hoped not. Resentment was another thing. He was a man’s man, and prided himself on being the protector. He wasn’t an old school guy with a fifties mentality where he thought the little woman had her place and didn’t need to work. John liked the money her bakery brought in, but money had never been an issue—not to him. For her, as a former accountant, it was a hot-spot. She fretted about finances, what they should be doing for the future, for their retirement, for their daughter’s college account. She worried about the bakery’s sales, about the bills, about every fucking thing.

“Maxine’s right,” she mumbled, and burrowed deeper into the comfortable couch. She was a ball of stress. Just last week, she’d freaked out when she’d forgotten to send in an extra pair of clothes to Olivia’s daycare. Why had that mattered? If Olivia had messed herself, Celeste could have easily slipped away from the bakery and taken care of it.

What she needed was to learn to relax. There was a school for just about everything. Someone needed to create one that taught people to not sweat the small stuff.

Renovate or Relocate
ended. Although she liked how the home renovation had turned out, she would have relocated to the one the realtor had found for the show’s couple. The craftsman-style home was something she could picture living in with her family. She closed her eyes which burned with fresh tears. Her family was John and Olivia. Right now, neither were with her. She missed her daughter, but after fighting with John, and with how they’d both left things between them, she missed him even more.

Heat crept up her back. She opened her eyes, as a cloud of dark smoke hovered in front of her face.

“
Miss me?
” Denis asked.

Fear lodged in her throat. She stared at the cloud. Pressed her lips together to keep from crying out and letting it in her mouth. Then it morphed. Manifested into a face with no eyes or lips.

“Go away,” she said, reaching for her cell phone. The phone flew across the room. Heart racing, she rushed from the sofa to the front door. The cloud beat her. Swelled, grew larger, forced her to step back.

“
I’m not going anywhere until I get my revenge
.”

“Your need for vengeance is what killed you, not Gabe or the girl.”

The face in the cloud frowned. “
You’re wrong
,” it yelled, its mouth gaping open to the point she worried it would try to consume her.

“It’s true,” she shouted back, and used her arms as shields.

The cloud grinned. “
Are you telling me this is my fault?
”

She swallowed, shifted her gaze to the phone that had slid under the chair near the window, to the front door. Screw the phone, she needed out of here. Now. She could knock on neighboring doors and ask them to call John. He would come for her, but he would be furious. He would also know that she’d been wrong about Denis, that he wasn’t gone, that he was still haunting her.

“If you hadn’t abducted those women you wouldn’t be dead. So, yeah, this is your fault. Given the chance, I would have stabbed you, too.”

His laughter, loud, piercing, filled her head, crowded her thoughts. She covered her ears.

“
You can’t hide from me
.”

She dug deep, tried desperately to control him. “I can stop you from getting in my head. You’re not welcome there.”

Heat wrapped around her body, cocooning her like an electric blanket on high.
“Watch me.”

The cloud disappeared, along with the heat. Breathing hard, she glanced around, then rushed for the front door. When she touched the knob, she quickly jerked away from the heat. She looked down, saw burn marks on her fingers, then ran to the patio door. Hissing snakes replaced the handles.

Dread filled her. She closed her eyes. “This isn’t real. None of this is real.”

She opened her eyes and screamed. Denis stood before her, greenish-black, peeling skin, missing eyes and lips. “
Not real? Are you sure about that?
” he asked, then turned into a cloud of smoke and shot to the ceiling.

Celeste looked up, followed his movements as he darted around the room, then disappeared. She grabbed a dishtowel and made her way into the living room. With no sign of Denis, no certainty of escape, she crept forward a few steps, then broke into a quick sprint.

The dark cloud blocked the door when she reached it. She gasped, then quickly clamped her mouth shut as tendrils oozed from the cloud and toward her face.

“You can’t run from me. One way or the other, I
will
get my revenge.”

Thank God Gabe was still in jail, and Jane Doe was in the hospital. If they were free, Denis could force her to hurt them.

“
Who said anything about
them
?” Denis filled her mind and body. “
I need some company, sugar. Come join me,
” he said, then everything went black.
 

Chapter 14

WAVES CRASHED ALONG the shoreline. She tasted salt water as the wind swept over the beach, whipping through her hair. She blinked several times, looked down at her bare feet, then to the water. Fear gripped her. She had no recollection of leaving the condo, and hoped to God she was on the beach across the street from where they were staying. She hoped to God she hadn’t hurt anyone.