Dusk Til Dawn (7 page)

Dylan took a few heavy steps away. He needed to regain some measure of control. Figure out exactly what was going on and how to end it…preferably before Ms. Annie Dunnigan broke through any more of his walls. Or worse, he knocked them down and welcomed her inside.

He chuckled, the rough sound hollow in the empty hallway. “Not bloody likely.” He reached for his cell. He needed to call Avery. Get the man to give him something—anything—to go on so he could drive Annie home and go back to being alone.

He patted his pockets, swearing when he realized he’d put his phone in his jacket pocket. Dylan glanced at the door. Chances were Annie was already in the shower. Between the steam and the tempered glass, he’d get nothing more than a blurred outline of her if he snuck in and grabbed his cell. God knows how long she might be in there, and every minute was another opportunity for him to weaken his resolve and act on the scorching need pulsing his cock against his jeans.

He returned to the door, easing it open. The hinges groaned in protest, but the creak barely registered above the sound of beating water and an angelic voice. He paused to listen. Though music filled in the empty spaces, there was no doubt Annie’s voice followed along, rising and falling as she mimicked the melody. He shook his head. Brains, beauty and a voice that could lead men to their deaths…just the kind of distraction he didn’t need.

He headed for the bathroom, humming along as he slowly turned the handle, swinging open the door. A swirl of steam obscured his view. He waved at the thick air, blinking against the steam. “Hey, Annie. I’m just grabbing…”

His voice rumbled into a throaty groan as she appeared out of the mist. Pale skin gleamed in the bright light, the flawless perfection of it leaving him breathless. She turned toward him, her voice cutting off into a startled gasp as she stared at him, eyes wide, mouth pursed into a delightful O. He tried to tear his gaze away, but the soft play of her flesh over her lean muscles as she took a step back held him immobile. She was stunning. From the firm press of her thighs to the alluring curve of her waist. Rosy nipples beaded on pert breasts, the small peaks pointing toward him. His focus slid to her hips, and every thought merged into one revelation.

She was bare. Not a hint of hair marred the soft skin of her sex as it called to him, a trace of glistening fluid stopping his heart cold.

He raised his gaze, finally looking her in the eye. She seemed as much a prisoner of the moment as he was, her eyes dilated and heavy-lidded. She coughed as she swallowed, the simple sound snapping him free.

Dylan sucked in a harsh breath, finally looking away as she appeared to come to her sense, grabbing at the towel hanging over the shower door. His pulse thrummed loud in his head, the incessant pounding dimming his vision at the edges. He reached for the counter, using the hard surface to brace his weight as he took stock of the situation. And what he discovered wasn’t good.

He groaned. God, how had he managed to make things worse?

He scrubbed his hand down his face before turning to her, hoping she didn’t toss a shampoo bottle at his head. “God, Annie, I’m so sorry…”

His voice trailed off as his gaze locked on hers. He’d expected to see fury flashing in her eyes, but that wasn’t what he saw in her expression. She was shocked, but amused and, if he wasn’t mistaken, noticeably aroused.

She gave him a shake of her head before leaning against the shower wall. “I’ll give you this much…you certainly take guarding a woman’s body seriously. Let me guess. You thought our ghostly friend might try and spy on me in the shower?”

If he has half a brain…

Dylan clamped his mouth shut before he made more of an ass of himself, though he had to admit, she’d turned the tables on him. Again.

He released a weary breath, grabbing his jacket off the counter. “I remembered I’d put my cell in my jacket and…I figured you’d be in the shower already.”

He cursed when her lips quirked. Now that he heard his idea out loud, it sounded even more suspect than when he’d only been thinking it.

He gave her an apologetic smile. “Yeah. It sounds pretty lame to me, too.”

Her breathy chuckle caught him off-guard. “I’m sure I’m not the first woman you’ve seen naked, not that my clothing choice from earlier hid that much.”

“Definitely the most beautiful, and I’d be the last man to complain about your choice in clothes.”

A light blush crept up her cheeks, and he cursed under his breath. Now wasn’t the time to be flirting with her. Hell, now wasn’t the time to be considering
anything
with her.

She pulled the edges of the towel tighter, seemingly confused by the frown he felt gracing his lips. “If you’ve got what you needed…” She motioned to the shower.

“Right. Sorry.”

He backed out, watching her until the door blocked out the room beyond. He clicked it closed, glancing up at the ceiling before turning and leaning against the wall. He’d never had such an overwhelming attraction to someone, let alone a woman he’d just met. And Temperance’s little sister to boot. If only he could kick his own ass.

He drew in a deep breath as he grabbed a shirt and some sweats out of his closet for her, tossing them on the bed before heading for the stairs. He needed to end this, now, before he was so far gone that the only way out was letting Annie in. He swiped the face of his cell, dialing Avery’s number as he made his way into the living room. But even down a level he could hear the haunting echo of her voice. He closed his eyes, but it only brought back vivid images of her body. How her skin looked so soft, he swore he could mark it with nothing more than the brush of his tongue. Or how her feet had shuffled under his predatory gaze, making the lips of her sex move ever so slightly.

“Fuck!”

“Generally people prefer to use some form of hello as a greeting, but then you are unique.”

Dylan growled at his brother’s flippant tone. The man could be more than infuriating at times. “Very funny. Just tell me you’ve got this thing figured out, and I can take Annie home now.” A rustle sounded through the earpiece, and Dylan knew Avery was trying not to laugh.

“What’s wrong? The woman getting under your skin? Afraid she might actually make you give a damn?”

Dylan clenched his jaw, hissing his breath out slowly. “Dangerous territory, little brother, and not somewhere I think you want to go with me. Now do you have any answers or not?”

“We’re going through the recorders now. There’s a bunch of activity, but it’s hard to narrow down what pertains to the ghost we saw manifest and what’s just residual noise. I don’t suppose your tech gurus have told you anything about the paper or the hair?”

“I haven’t dropped them off yet. Annie needed to shower, so I stopped at my place first.”

Avery’s breath caught in a raspy inhalation. “You took her to
your
place?”

“You told me not to leave her alone. I figured you were serious.”

“I was… it’s just…when’s the last time you took a woman home?”

“She’s not a woman.”

Avery chuckled.

Dylan cursed again. “You know what I mean. She’s Temperance’s little sister. Period.”

“Methinks the man doth protest too much.”

“You’re an ass.”

“So my wife continually reminds me.” Avery sighed. “And I know for a fact you’ve never taken a woman home before. You always go to her place.”

“The significance of which has nothing to do with the current situation.” Dylan huffed into the phone. “But if you must know, while my brain’s telling me this is nothing more than a weird atmospheric anomaly, I wasn’t going to take any chances with her safety. And I’ll have better success if I’m somewhere familiar.”

“Right. It’s all about keeping her safe.”

“Can we just skip the matchmaking efforts and get back to business. What am I supposed to be doing? What makes my place or hers safer than that dilapidated building where you and Temperance are? Wouldn’t it have been wiser to stay with you?”

“There are several reasons for having you leave. First, it’s difficult to do a proper investigation when you’re distracted by a relentless stream of questions. We both know that if you and Annie had stayed, it would have been non-stop critiquing of everything Temperance and I did.”

Dylan snorted. “Not nice…but accurate. What else?”

“We really do need those tests run on the paper and hair, in case nothing here pans out. I suspect the hair has been entombed in that glass since our friend was bound. Hopefully that means it’s less contaminated.”

“Hard to say. But I get the feeling that’s not the real reason you wanted us to leave.”

Avery chuckled. “And you claim I’m the mind reader.”

“You are. I just know you. So what gives?”

Avery sighed. “Sometimes it’s helpful to know what kind of attachment we’re dealing with. Since you two were the ones to free the spirit, I needed to know whether the ghost was still bound to the house or whether it could leave.”

“But we saw it leave. I still don’t believe it, but damn, it just…disappeared.”

“Disappearing isn’t the same as leaving. Manifesting requires a large amount of energy. Spirits vanish when their energy supply is drained, but that doesn’t mean it won’t return once it recharges, if you will. Simply put…it’s where he reappears that’s important.”

“Reappear?” Dylan scoffed. “So this ghost might reappear here?”

“That’s what we need to find out.”

Dylan growled. “Are you seriously telling me you set me and Annie up as bait?”

“Not bait. If this ghost is feeding off you two and not this house, it’ll come after you no matter where you are. If it shows up here…without you…that changes things. But if it pays you a visit at your house without us…” He released a weary sounding breath. “Just follow the instructions I put in the bag. And call me if anything happens.”

Dylan pulled the phone away for a moment, glancing around his place. Shadows stained the corners a disturbing shade of gray, and it seemed as if the air felt charged.

“Dylan? You still there? You do have that bag I put in the backseat, right?”

He shook the thoughts away. Damn, now he was starting to see ghosts. “Yeah. I got it.”

“Is it beside you?”

He huffed. How the hell did Avery always know when he was lying? “It’s still in the Jeep, but I have it.”

“Having it means it’s in your damn hands.” Avery’s voice wavered. “Please go out and get it and keep it with you at all times.”

“Fine. I’ll go grab it.”

“Look, I know you don’t really believe in this, but humor me. What’s in there could save your life.”

“I got it. I’ll grab the bag and camp out with Annie for the night. Forensics won’t be able to do much for me until tomorrow, so unless you come up with something there, we’re stuck here until daybreak. You did say something about dusk ‘til dawn, right?”

“Good to know you heard something I said. Hang tight. I’ll call if we unearth anything useful.”

“Fabulous.”

Avery laughed. “Night, Dyl. Give Annie a kiss for us.”

Avery disconnected, leaving Dylan to glare at the phone. When this was over, he was going to have a chat with his little brother. Dylan shoved the cell in his pocket, rubbing his arms as a sudden chill swept through the room. He glanced at his jacket, but just the thought of putting it on—inhaling even a hint of Annie’s perfume he’d already detected on it—made his pulse race. He shook his head, snagging an extra shirt out of a laundry basket stashed in the corner as he shook his keys and headed for the car. A cold breeze rustled his collar as he slid his arms into the sleeves, leaving the sides to hang open. He paused as he reached the driveway, glancing over his shoulder at the door as it slowly swung open. He frowned, certain he’d pulled it tight.

A heavy feeling built between his shoulder blades as a gust of wind blew raindrops across his face. He ran a hand through his hair. Now even the wind was getting to him. He muttered into the breeze, unlocking the doors as he darted around to the driver’s side. Avery’s bag sat in a rumpled heap on the seat. Dylan unzipped the side, retrieving the instructions his brother had mentioned. He held the paper up to the glow of the streetlight, reading through the first few lines.

Silver. Iron. Hallowed ground.

The words glared at him, mocking his beliefs as he peeked inside the bag. There were a number of gadgets, most of which looked like creations straight out of a sci-fi movie. Shit, did Blake really make this stuff? He pulled out a clear bag full of the same kind of powder he’d seen the couple toss at the ghost back at the house. He opened it and ran his fingers through it. Small rough crystals rubbed across his fingertips.

“Salt.”

He placed it back in the bag and slung the duffle over his shoulder, wondering what his seemingly innocent prank was going to cost him, besides his obvious sanity. The Jeep rocked as he slammed the door shut, listening to the horn beep as the locks engaged. He rounded the tailgate, glancing at the front window as he made for the steps. A shadow darted behind the curtains, disappearing into the house.

Dylan frowned. It hadn’t been that long, and the fact Annie was already downstairs seemed odd. The hairs on his nape stood up as he moved toward the door, a tumbling feeling rumbled through his gut. Something felt wrong. He quickened his step, reaching the porch when a blast of hot air pushed him back. Dylan grabbed the railing, steadying himself as a swirl of black filled the entryway. The mist gathered strength, spinning faster until it exploded in a scattering of gray dust. He covered his mouth, the smell of sulfur heavy in the air, and pushed toward the door. As he reached the threshold, the door slammed shut.