The Curse Keepers (Curse Keepers series) (20 page)

Collin stopped at a convenience store and pulled up to a gas pump. “I’m going to go pay for gas. I suggest you head to the bathroom and then get something to eat.”

“What am I, six years old? I think I can figure out my own bodily functions.”

He actually grinned.

I grabbed my purse, and he followed me into the store, standing so close I could feel the heat steaming off his body.

“What are you, my bodyguard?”

“When you’re in Buxton, yes.”

Marino. For once I kept my sarcastic comments to myself.

He followed me to the women’s restroom, looking like an attentive boyfriend. Several women in the store cast looks of longing and jealousy in our direction. If they only knew.

“I’m going to get us something to eat and pay for the gas. I can keep an eye on the restroom door most of the time, but if you have any trouble, scream.”

I nodded and swallowed.

“Where’s your phone?”

“What?” But it didn’t take a genius to know we might need to call each other. I dug it out of my purse and handed it to him.

He punched his number in. After answering his phone, he handed mine back to me. Then he opened the bathroom door and pushed me in. “If you don’t see me when you open the door, stay inside until you do.”

I closed the door behind me and locked it, thinking about how flimsy those little locks on doorknobs actually were. Marino only had to slam the door with his massive body and it would come crumbling down. But then, people like Marino never did the dirty work. They got someone else to do it for them.

After I finished my business, I washed my hands and looked at myself in the mirror. I could see why Rosalina had looked at me in surprise if she thought that Collin and I were together. While she was supermodel perfect, I was average height, average weight. Pretty, but with an average face. My dark red hair was unruly most of the summer, and my skin was so pale it literally glowed under black light.

Why was I comparing myself to Rosalina?

I had no delusions that Collin was interested in me, and even if he was, if I were smart, I’d steer clear of getting involved with him. But then there was the history of my failure with men. Did I expect too much, hoping for the kind of relationship Daddy had with Momma? Should I learn to settle?

I shook my head with a sigh. Now was not the time to reason out my love life. Or lack thereof.

There were dirt smudges on my white shirt. I grabbed a wet paper towel and scrubbed it clean the best I could. We still had to see Evelyn Abernathy, and I didn’t want to look like a homeless beggar.

When I opened the door, Collin stood in front of the refrigerated case, but he was with two men and none of them looked happy.

“… wouldn’t know anything about that. I’ve been at the Curl Up and Dye all morning,” Collin said. “If you don’t believe me, stop by and check it out for yourself. The ladies loved having me there.”

One of the guys, a muscled guy who stood taller than Collin, crossed his arms. “I’m sure they did.”

“Anything else I can do for you boys?” Collin asked.

“Where’s the girl?” the other guy asked.

Collin leaned his shoulder into the glass. “I left her at the Curl Up and Dye. Why do you ask?”

“Marino’s not done with her.”

“Unfortunately for Marino, I’m not done with her either.”

“Should we remind you what happened the last time you pissed off Marino?”

Collin rubbed his jaw. “That’s not necessary.”

“He’s giving you two days.”

Collin gave them a half-shrug and a smirk. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

The men walked away and I heard the tinkle of the entrance door. Collin turned to look down the hallway. When he saw me, he held up a finger and pointed to the bathroom. I went back inside and locked the door.

Marino was serious. I felt a little safer knowing that Collin needed me until we repaired the curse, but I had no delusions that he’d protect me when this was done. What would I do then?

My cell phone rang in my purse and I jumped, startled out of my thoughts. When I dug it out, I saw an unfamiliar number. Oh, God. Had Marino found out who I was? All he knew was my first name. What if he’d found out my last name and got my number?

“Hello?” I answered with a shaky voice.

“Meet me at the back exit in five minutes. I’ll call you when I’m ready.” Collin hung up and didn’t wait for me to answer.

Less than five minutes later, Collin called again. “I’m pulling around back. Come out, get in, and stay low.” Then he hung up again.

Taking a deep breath, I exited the bathroom, my stomach a jittery ball of nerves.

A middle-aged woman braced her butt against the hallway wall. She threw up her hands in exasperation. “Took you long enough!”

“Sorry.” I turned my attention to the store, and when I didn’t see Marino’s men, I headed down the hallway to the exit. Collin’s truck was rounding the back corner of the convenience store. I waited until he pulled up next to the door before I ran to the passenger door and climbed in. I yanked the door shut, but Collin was pushing my head down.

“They’re watching me, and they’re going to wonder why I drove back here. I’m pulling over to the air pump and putting some air in my tire. Stay down.”

He didn’t have to tell me twice.

He stopped the truck and hopped out. I crouched on the floor of the truck, thankful for the first time that Collin drove an old clunker from when they made vehicles big and their interiors bigger.

I heard the sound of the air pump and then a minute later, the driver door opened. I lifted my head in alarm, relieved to see Collin slide in the seat and shift the truck into drive.

After several minutes, I asked, “Can I get up now?”

“Yes. I haven’t seen any sign of them for a few miles.”

I climbed up on the seat, smoothing my skirt over my legs.

Collin cast a glance in my direction and grinned. “No sense doing that. I already had a look up your skirt earlier.”

Resting my elbow on the open window ledge, I leaned my head on my hand. “I hope you enjoyed the view.” But my words lacked the sarcastic punch required to make it effective.

Collin didn’t seem to notice. “I’ve seen better.”

My day had sucked and it wasn’t even one o’clock. So much for my lucky skirt. My close call with Marino’s men had put me at the edge, but Collin’s statement was the final straw. It was stupid and immature and irrational, but tears filled my eyes, and I tried to swallow the burning lump in my throat.

Collin turned toward me, horror on his face when he realized I was close to tears. Not the
what can I do to help her
kind of horror or even the
I’ve gone too far and hurt her feelings
horror either. It was the flat-out disgust of a man caught in a truck with a crying woman.

“Leave me the fuck alone!” I shouted. I wanted to jump out of the moving truck and die from embarrassment and massive internal injuries.

His hand tightened on the steering wheel. “I didn’t mean what I said about your ass. You have a very nice ass.” It was halfhearted and he obviously said it to get me to stop crying.

“Shut up, Collin!”

His hand flopped over, palm open as he tried to make his point. His mark was in plain view. “I’d say you rank at least in the top fifty percent, maybe even top twenty.”

I gritted my teeth. “
Shut. Up
. I’m not crying over your immature comment about my ass, so get over yourself.”

He looked stunned.

“I don’t give a flying fuck what you think of my ass, and you better get that through your head right now!” I shouted, and it felt good. It was like letting the valve off a pressure cooker that had been building all day.

Collin looked confused. “Okay…”

“I was almost killed by an angry wind god, and Jabba the Hutt wants to buy me. I think that grants me a few seconds of tears.”

He paused, then slowly nodded. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“And when I came to in the woods, you were stripping my shirt off without explanation—”

“You were unconscious!”

“—you just started drawing on my back with a fucking ink pen—”

“I was saving your life!”

“And you told Marino he can have me when you’re done with me. What the fuck? I am not someone’s possession!”

“Again, trying to save your life.”

“And I’m a lousy fuck? What the fuck was that?”

Collin grinned.

“What the fuck are you smiling about?”

He smirked. “Before a minute ago, I probably heard you say fuck less than a handful of times. In the past thirty seconds, I’ve lost count.”

“How often I say fuck is none of your fucking business.”

He lifted a shoulder with a sheepish grin. “True. I’m a fan of the word myself.” He smirked. “In more ways than one.”

I punched him in the arm. “You do not get to laugh at me when I’m pissed at you.”

He smiled. “I can’t help it. You’re kind of cute like this.”

Cute was the last word I expected Collin Dailey to use, especially regarding me.

He held up his hands in surrender. “Go ahead and cry if you want to. I’m not stopping you.”

“Shut up!” I yelled and hit his arm again.

He reached over his chest and covered my hand with his left one, probably to avoid our marks touching. “You’ve got quite the temper.” He looked over with something in his eyes I hadn’t seen before. Appreciation? Respect?

I snatched my hand from his and turned my back to him.

“So are you going to cry or not? I’ve got to warn you that I don’t have any tissues.”

“I don’t feel like crying anymore.” It was true. My anger had dried up my tears.

“For the record, I officially retract my first comment about your ass. However, to make a final judgment, I’d really need to see it again.” His hand lifted the edge of my skirt.

I slapped his hand. “Not a chance.”

His hand covered mine again. “I’m sorry.”

My jaw dropped, and I turned around to face him. I never, ever expected to hear Collin Dailey apologize for anything. Ever.

“You’ve been through a lot this morning and you’ve handled it so well, I never questioned how you were
really
handling it.” He shrugged. “I’ve had my fair share of incidents and this morning set me on edge. I can’t imagine what it’s done to little Ellie Lancaster of Roanoke Island, whose life goal is to be a waitress and get married.”

I could have taken offense at his statement, but it was obvious he meant no malice. This was Collin’s way of apologizing. I was flabbergasted. “Thanks.”

His face turned serious. “It’s going to get worse before it gets better.”

I nodded. I’d figured that out already.

He swallowed, clearly uncomfortable. This was probably as honest as Collin got with someone. “Look, I’ll help you the best I can with this, but I’m not really… that kind of guy.”

“I know. I don’t expect you to be.”

His eyebrows rose in surprise.

“I’m not blind, Collin. I know who you are, or rather what you are. I don’t expect anything from you other than information, and to do your part
in the ceremony. You don’t owe me anything, and it’s not your fault if I’ve forgotten everything about being the Dare Keeper.”

He seemed to accept my answer. “So how about we start again?”

“And how many times would that be that we started again?”

“Does it matter?”

I shook my head. Collin was making an effort. Who was I to argue? “How did you get involved with Marino anyway?”

Collin shifted in his seat, looking out the windshield. “It’s a long and sordid tale all revolving around a boat.”

“
Your
boat?”

“Yep. The
Lucky Star
. It was my father’s. My family have been commercial fishermen for generations. The Croatan were fishermen. We like to follow tradition.”

“Is your brother a fisherman too?”

His face hardened. “No, he turned his back on his family and our tradition.”

“You mean he doesn’t believe in the curse?”

He sighed. “No.”

I supposed if his brother was younger, it didn’t matter if he believed or not. Collin was the Keeper. But I could see how it must have hurt Collin. Just like I’d hurt my father.

“You went to Marino for money?”

“My father knew Marino. My father up and left one day, fifteen years ago. We never saw him again. There were bills and I was a kid, barely ten, but I was the man of the family. I felt a responsibility to take care of my mother and my little brother. On weekends I worked on a boat with my uncle, and he’d pay me.”

“You were a kid, Collin. It wasn’t your responsibility.”

He shook his head and glanced at me. “You don’t understand, Ellie. It’s the way of our family. I dropped out of high school my junior year and started fishing on my father’s boat. But it was old and hadn’t been used for several years. I needed money to fix it. Money I didn’t have. My dad used to deal with Marino. A couple of months after my dad disappeared, Marino
stopped by and told me if there was anything my family needed to come seek his help. So I did.”

I knew about that kind of responsibility and that kind of desperation. Collin and I were more alike than I realized.

“It started as small jobs for him and then I branched out on my own. He’d buy whatever I had. Before I realized it I was too deep to get out. When you get caught up in Marino’s web, there’s really no getting out of it. Not permanently. I’ve tried before, and it doesn’t work.”

“So why don’t you sell the boat and start over with something else?”

A hardness covered his face. “Some of us want more than husbands and fancy houses.”

“And who the hell says that’s what
I
want, Collin? You hear one thing out of context and think the worst of me.”

“So what do you want?”

I released a loud sigh. “Honestly, I have no idea. I’ve spent twenty-three years feeling like I didn’t fit in anywhere. Like I couldn’t find my place in the world. Something was always missing. Maybe this was it.”

Collin was silent for a moment. “I know what you mean.”

“So what happens when it’s over? When we close the gate? Do we just go back to our lives before?”