The Awakening: A Sisterhood of Spirits Novel (29 page)

“Now she’s telling me that at first, the drugs took away the pain.”

“What pain?” Jordan asked.

“The pain of simply being and breathing in and out.”

“I know the feeling.”

“She says she would take it all back if she could. She would undo every moment and fill you with love. She would take every opportunity to tell you how precious you were and never waste one second or hesitate to show you how proud she is of you. She’s showing me an image of a rolling trash can? Is it in an alley? I can’t see it very well.”

Jordan jerked next to her. “The night I was shot. If I hadn’t tripped over that trash can, I would have been killed.” She shuddered. “My mother did that?”

“Apparently. She’s fading back a little but wants to remind you of the day on the beach. She says it was the best day in her life too. She’s blowing kisses and says be happy. She loves you.”

Jordan began to tremble, which then turned into full-scale shaking. She held on to Sunny like a life preserver as the dam burst, threatening to drown her in grief.

“Let it go, Jordan. I’m here. Let it out. It’s okay.”

The effort it took to try to hold back was too much. Emotional agony built momentum starting in her feet, traveling through her body to her head, crushing her and pushing her thoughts to the side until all she could feel was the pain. She struggled to breathe and almost panicked when she couldn’t draw any air into her lungs.

“Shh,” Sunny soothed her. “Let it all go.”

How on earth did she let all the pain go? It was going to kill her. Jordan’s chest hitched as if separate from her will.

The tears came in body-racking torrents, and Jordan cried for the first time since her mother died doing a junkie’s dance and left her alone. She cried for the little girl she’d been and the lonely adult she was. She cried for the kids on the streets and the murdered teenagers in the basement.

She cried until she had no more tears, her chest hiccupping with sobs. Through it all, she was aware of the soothing noises and light that was Sunny. For the first time, Jordan knew what love felt like, not just an imagined concept of what she thought it to be. It wasn’t anything that could be put into words, it just was. Love was Sunny wrapped around her in the darkness.

Chapter Sixteen

Sunny sat at the rich wood table by the window and reflected on the last few weeks, glad Jordan had finally fallen into an exhausted sleep. Sunny had curled against her, wanting her, needing her. Her life had changed since she met Jordan. She’d changed. Something inside was stronger, yet immeasurably lighter at the same time.

And it all came down to Jordan.

Sunny recalled the night she stood in her father’s turret and sensed change on the wind. She hadn’t been unhappy before Jordan; she loved her life, family, and friends. But it was almost as if she hadn’t known she was missing something vital until she found it.

The experience of knowing how she felt rather than riding the emotional currents of others was intimidating, but she knew she would get better at it. It would leave her better equipped to handle the dark forces when they came up. Trial by fire taught her she could walk through it and come out unscathed on the other side. She no longer had to hide behind others.

Jordan’s phone rang again, and Sunny glanced at the caller ID. Katerina Volchosky, for the third time. Who the hell was that? A woman who wanted Jordan’s attention? Someone from her past?

Oh, hell no. Not without a fight.

At that moment, Jordan stirred and ran a hand over her face. Sunny crossed to her with a cup of coffee. “Good morning. How did you sleep?”

“Time izzit?” Jordan’s voice was hoarse.

“Nine.”

“P.M.?”

“No, sweetheart, a.m. You’ve slept for almost twenty-four hours.”

“What?”

“You needed it. Sleep is healing.”

“Hold that thought.” Jordan beelined for the bathroom.

A scream from behind the door had Sunny rushing to her side. “What’s wrong?”

“I look like a Dr. Seuss character! Look at my face.”

Sunny chuckled and ran cold water onto a washcloth. Jordan’s eyes were puffy from crying, and the bruising from her altercation at work did make her look fairly cartoonish.

“Are you laughing at me?” Jordan looked horrified. “This isn’t funny.”

“No, but your reaction is.” Sunny tried dabbing Jordan’s face, then gave up and handed the cloth to her. “Here. Hold this over it. It will help.”

“I need a shower,” Jordan said.

Sunny knew she had to leave before she burst into laughter, and she knew she shouldn’t be amused at Jordan’s predicament. But the Dr. Seuss character reference was so spot on, she was having a hard time keeping it in. Sparing Jordan’s pride, she excused herself and ran out of the bathroom.

She waited for five minutes, then went back in. “Can I join you?”

“Yes.”

“Want to talk about it?”

“Nope. Don’t want to talk.” Jordan drew her under the water with her and closed her mouth softly over her lips. Her kiss was soft, so soft, and deliciously hot.

Sunny put her arms around Jordan, holding her as she’d held her during her tears and through their sleep. “Good,” she whispered. “I don’t want to talk either.”

“Wait,” Jordan said. “Let’s make it to the bed this time.”

Sunny smiled. “Okay.” She turned off the water and led her into the other room.

“I’m going to love you.” She reached to cup Jordan’s face and kissed her softly. She searched her eyes while water dropped from Sunny’s hair and sparkled on Jordan’s face before slipping to soak into the sheets below her.

She knew Jordan had acquiesced when her body relaxed a fraction of a second before Sunny felt her emotional assent and saw her shy, hesitant smile.

Sunny straddled her stomach and started slow and easy with whisper kisses on her face and neck. Sunny took her time. There was no clock, no world, just sensation and the need to make love to Jordan, the desire to elicit another sigh, just like the first one. Sunny kissed the hand covering Jordan’s bullet scar. “I want to love you. All of you, you’re so beautiful to me.”

Jordan’s hand trembled slightly before she moved it. Sunny studied the scar, the raised red circle of skin, twisting and forming a crazy volcano peak around a pink crater.

“It’s ugly. Don’t look at it.”

Sunny perceived the gray swirls of Jordan’s insecurity and answered the statement by pressing her lips against the scar, then caressing it with her cheek in a soft motion interspersed with butterfly kisses until Jordan relaxed again and, following an exhalation, she yielded.

Sunny trailed her hair along Jordan’s thighs, delighted to see her respond by shivering at the contact.

“I love you,” Jordan said.

“I know,” Sunny answered. And she did. Jordan’s aura swam with beautiful colors of passion and grew more vivid with each whisper.

*

Seattle Times

G
HOST
H
UNTERS
S
OLVE
M
ISSING
P
ERSONS
C
ASE

By Katerina Volchosky

The bones found last Friday by a team of paranormal investigators were found to be the human remains of three long-missing teenagers. Sisters of Spirits, based out of Bremerton, uncovered the gruesome find while doing an investigation in a downtown hotel undergoing extensive renovations.

The owners, Eric Whitman and Frank Story, couldn’t be reached for comment. The names of the deceased are being withheld pending DNA analysis.

Inside sources suspect that the bones are those of three missing teenagers from the downtown Seattle area. A press conference is to be scheduled later this week.

Epilogue

One year later

Jordan looked at the crowd gathering and reflected on how much her life had changed in the last year. When she’d shut the door to that hotel room, she began the long process of healing.

The first thing she did was resign from the department. While making that decision was easy, letting go of her identity as a police officer hadn’t been without its difficulties. She had to learn
she
was more than the job she believed defined her as a person.

After she quit, Jordan went on her first vacation. It was there, on the other side of the country, on a white sandy beach in Florida, that she buried her childhood trauma alongside her sorrow and watched the sky blaze with orange and red fire while she sat next to Sunny.

Jordan’s heart swelled with the memory. How had she ever breathed without her? Sunny taught her how to laugh, and she showed her how to love. She helped her believe and trust in a power greater than herself.

The journey hadn’t been without bumps in the road. Jordan still dug her heels in once in a while when things got too strange. She discovered quickly that kindness wasn’t weakness, and Sunny’s temper could match Jordan’s own on any day of the week when crossed.

Jordan had gradually come to a truce with Ash and Isis. Just this morning, she woke to find them curled on her side of the bed. She’d never displayed any more telekinetic abilities, and for that, she was grateful.

Mazie still hid her truck keys and scared her silly with her antics more often than not. Jordan smiled to herself.

Living with Sunny was an adventure. Jordan became a part of the S.O.S. team and went on investigations. But it hadn’t been enough. She wanted to work and still felt the need to make a difference.

An idea had formed and grew wings. Jordan had been surprised and grateful that so many people wanted to help.

And here they were to help her celebrate this day.

The sun heated the sidewalk and mist rose from the cracks as the moisture from the night’s rain steamed.

Sunny stood to the side of the small crowd that included the mayor and held Jordan’s hand. The emotions she felt from the gathering were mixed. Her mother stood on her other side, glowing with pride and joy. Tiffany and Shade were inside finishing setting up the refreshment tables for the reception.

“Thank you all for coming,” the mayor said. “To celebrate the opening of this much-needed community resource created by Jordan Lawson, and generously donated and funded by the Skye Trust, we are happy to present to you the Gina Brayden Safe Haven Center.”

The mayor handed the large golden scissors to a diminutive woman next to her, who, together with her husband, cut the blue ribbon in front of the door. A cheer went up from the crowd.

“It was generous of you to let the Braydens do the honors.”

“I hope it gives them some small measure of closure and comfort.”

“It does,” Sunny said. “It’s sad that the other parents couldn’t make it.” She thought of the brass plates etched with the other teenagers’ names hanging in the entry hall.

“Honey, sometimes the kids have very good reasons to run away.”

People were entering the downtown building they had bought and renovated. “Shade’s friend’s company did such a good job with the place.” Sunny searched the smiling faces until she found the contractor shaking hands with the mayor. “Come on, then. Let’s go celebrate.” She kissed Jordan before tugging her toward the entrance.

Agnes and Steve stood by the reception desk reading the poem Gina had given Jordan so long ago.

Sunny tugged Jordan away, so happy she thought her heart might burst.

“Hey, Lawson!” Katerina called from the hallway outside the kitchen. When Sunny had met her in person, she had to laugh at the first impression she’d drawn of her. Ms. Volchosky was very far from the fragile ballerina she had pictured.

Kat stood taller than Jordan, topping six feet. Oh, she had blond hair, but it was short and spiked. She might possibly be the most handsome woman Sunny had ever met. Perfect features appeared almost chiseled from a Renaissance artist’s palette. Her wide, dark eyes constantly moved, never missing a detail. She strode over to them, and the double-breasted suit looked as if it were custom made for her wide shoulders, tapered hips, and long legs. Gold hoops that marched up the side of her ear flashed with her arrival, along with the diamond stud in the side of her nose.

A uniformed officer entered and Jordan excused herself to go talk to her former partner.

Sunny felt Kat’s power tickle her skin. The first time she met Kat, the woman’s energy surprised her. It felt ancient, and it was definitely not one that she had any experience with. But when she asked her about it, Kat remained enigmatic about the source, preferring instead to remain mysterious.

“Do you miss working at home?”

“A little, but I’m really enjoying the time off. I’ve been doing this for so long, I’ve almost forgotten what it feels like to rest. Jordan thought that moving the offices here to the Haven would be the best thing. She suggested it after one of Shade’s clients left one day, and the spirit she called up hung around and then scared her to death when she was in the bathroom.”

Kat laughed. “I’ll bet she did.” She gestured to the door. “Do you think she misses it? Being a police officer?”

“Nope. She said she was tired of the dark side. This center for runaways was all her idea, and you can quote me on it.”

“We got some great pictures earlier.” She pulled out a slip of paper from her pocket. “Here’s a list of names of teenagers currently living on the streets downtown.”

“So many?” Sunny was sad at the number of them.

“Those are just the ones who were willing to talk to me. I handed out Safe Haven’s business cards. Some will come, I promise.”

“I hope so. We certainly have the room. When do you think—”

Sunny realized Kat’s attention shifted.

Tiffany was laughing at something Shade said to her as they got out of the elevator, but she stopped sharply and turned to meet Kat’s stare across the room.

Sunny felt every muscle in Kat’s body go taut next to her and then a whisper of her odd energy rose up in the space between them.

She looked at Tiffany, then back at Kat, two frozen statues aware of nothing but each other.