Craving (34 page)

“Your mother? How can that be?”

“I don’t know.” Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. “Angel, you’re safe.”

I’m not sure who moved first, but we ended up tangled in each other’s arms. I looked up to see Josh holding Suki, stroking her hair as he kissed her. He really was my brother. That would take some getting used to.

I remembered Eve’s last message and felt a tremor of fear.
Gran
. With the deal void, did that mean Gran had died? It had been Alistair that brought her back to life. Had I unwittingly traded my life for hers?

I dug into my jacket pocket and retrieved my phone. Sure enough, I had one voice message. From Gran’s rest home.

I stared at Kitten. “I don’t think I can bear this.”

She plucked the phone from my hand and wrapped her free arm around my middle. “Let me.” We listened together.

“This is a message for Dante. Please call back as soon as you can. We have some urgent news about your grandmother.”

I swiped a trembling hand over my face. Images of Gran swam before me. From despair to happiness and back to despair. My emotions were getting a hell of a workout today. I steeled myself and tapped in the speed-dial number. Gave my name. Waited to be connected to someone.

“Dante? Is that you?” Gran’s clear and confident voice greeted me.

“
Gran
?”

“I’m so glad you called. I’m ready to go home, but I’m not sure where to go now. I think I might have to move in with you if you don’t mind. Just until I get myself sorted out.”

I groped for something to say, my mouth opening and closing with no sounds emerging.

“I’d really like to see you, Dante.”

“You’re better?”

She chuckled. “I’m fine. I think we have some catching up to do, though.”

She’d woken with her memories—her mind—fully restored. The home had no explanation, but I knew it was another impact from the deal. A very happy side effect.

17.5 Katherine

We cleared away the candles and salt, opened the curtains, and sat around the table. Sunshine poured through the windows, and I gazed idly at the day outside. Dante looked shell shocked. So did Josh and Suki. A knock at the door startled us all. It was Ellie.

“I hate to disturb you with your friends…” she narrowed her eyes at Dante as she spoke, “but Marina is on the phone again. She’s adamant that she talks to you, says she’s found something in Grayson’s safe.”

I couldn’t put her off for ever, and I needed to know when to catch my father at home. I followed Ellie back to her kitchen and picked up the handset.

“It’s Katherine.”

“Thank you for coming to the phone. I need to see you, Katherine. I found something… disturbing, in Grayson’s safe.” Marina sighed. Her voice dropped to a whisper. “I was looking for your passport, which I found, but while I was there…” Her voice trailed away. I dug my nails into my palm.

“Do you know what happened to my mother after the accident?”

I heard a shocked gasp. “You already know?”

I swiped a trembling hand over my eyes. “Is she still alive?” I could barely get the words out.

“
Yes
.”

My knees buckled. I sagged into the nearest chair and squeezed my eyes tight shut. I would
not
cry. Not yet.

“I have the address of a private clinic in Zurich where she’s being treated for long-term depression. As far as I can tell, they told her
you
died in the accident.”

I mumbled a shaky thanks, told Marina I’d call her back later, and then dropped the handset on the table top. Curling over, I sank my head into my hands and let the tears come. So many lies. So much pain. I would never understand my father.

A warm hand on my shoulder dragged me back, and I looked up to see Dante crouching beside me. “Kitten, baby. Tell me what’s happened. I can’t bear to see you cry.”

My smile was wobbly. “My mum—she
is
alive. Switzerland. Marina found the details.”

His eyes searched my face. “So why the tears?”

I threw my arms around his neck. “I’m happy. But she thinks I’m dead, Angel. I have to go and see her.”

* * * *

Josh and Suki were genuinely thrilled at my news. Suki placed a gentle hand on my arm and smiled, her brown eyes warm and affectionate. “I know he’s your father, but I would be tempted to make him pay for this, Katherine.”

I shrugged, not understanding, and she cast a glance at Josh. “He’s the sponsor for my show, so I don’t want my name to be associated, but there’s nothing to stop an anonymous journalist finding out, is there? And you might be the one who feeds them the information—unless your father agrees to pay you off.”

“That’s blackmail.” I liked the idea though.

Josh grinned. “I prefer to think of it as persuasion.”

“I could get him to restore the sponsorship for my research team. And buy somewhere for us to live.” I slipped my hand in Dante’s and squeezed his fingers. “That’s if you want to…”

I saw hesitation on his face, and my heart plummeted. He rubbed his knuckles along my cheek. “I won’t sponge off you, Kitten. I’ll find a job and pay my own way. I have to support Gran too.”

Throwing my arms around his neck, I clung to him. “As long as we’re together, I’m happy.”

“I love you, Kitten. And I’m looking forward to showing you just how much.”

Epilogue
– Dante: 2 months later

I
felt a trickle of sweat breaking out across my forehead. The lights had been dimmed, and I sat in a muted spotlight, alone on the stage. I saw Suki standing with Josh, Kitten, and Gran, waiting patiently in the wings and well out of camera range. It felt like a dream. Gran back to normal, living her life again. And tomorrow Kitten was heading back to Switzerland to spend more time with her mother, while making plans for her to return to England.

Focus, Dante.
On my right, the manic little production assistant was already making wind-up motions with her hands, while muttering into her headset.

The spirit glared at me. “I told you, her boyfriend is a complete jerk! She needs to dump him. Seriously.”

My gaze slid to the anxious girl standing in the audience. She twisted her hands together as she watched me. The packed house was silent. I cleared my throat and produced a smile. “Your sister isn’t fond of your boyfriend. Did they get on before she passed over?”

The girl in the audience started snuffling, really loud. Her boyfriend shoved a fresh tissue in her hand, and the spirit made an exasperated sound. “Look. He’s trying to be supportive, but you know what? He’s shagging his assistant. He’s only here because he thought he might get on the telly, and he wanted to try to chat up Suki Bridgewater. Nothing else.”

The production assistant caught my eye and made a show of tapping her watch, then holding up one finger. One minute left. I gave her a tiny nod, and then looked back at the audience. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think I’m going to get anything more from this spirit. Sometimes they just can’t be coaxed to talk to us.”

The girl sat down and buried her face in her hands, noisy sobs emerging. Her boyfriend patted her shoulders, but I noticed he was actually looking at the edge of the stage… at Suki. The spirit snorted at me. “You can see it, I can see it, but can she?”

Ignoring the angry spirit, I let my gaze roam over the audience and fell back on my closing spiel. “Thank you for coming here today. I’m sorry if I haven’t been able to help you, but as you know, it’s not an exact science. I’m Dante, and I’ll see you again soon.”

The lights dimmed, the theme music played, and the winking red light on the camera disappeared. I let out a breath and smiled apologetically at the spirit. “I really am sorry.” Behind her, another spirit emerged, walking right up to me. I frowned. I’d seen him before somewhere. The flash of a bulldog tattoo on his arm jogged my memory.

“I met you at Josh’s friend’s house. You were looking out for… was it Sylvie?”

“That’s right.” Close to, he was tall and broad shouldered. He looked tough. “I need your help, Dante. It’s Sylvie. Something’s happening to her, and you’re the only one that can help.”

THE END

Coming Soon

Book 3 in the Talisman series

A dark compulsion.

A secret addiction.

Finding her Talisman bracelet might be the only thing that can save Krista.

About the Author

Romance author Sofia Grey spends her days managing projects in the corporate world and her nights hanging out with wolf shifters and alpha males. She devours pretty much anything in the fiction line, but she prefers her romances to be hot, and her heroes to have hidden depths. When writing, she enjoys peeling back the layers to expose her characters’ flaws and
always
makes them work hard for their happy endings.

Find her at:
www.sofiagrey.com