The Wells Brothers: Luke (24 page)

Standing in the chapel, Mikki
looked around slowly.  Where to put the Full Spectrum POV Camcorder?  She was
certain something was in this old chapel.  Absolutely certain.  She’d felt
something watching her the night when the three of them had first come here at
dusk, and in the early hours of this morning when she’d padded from the bedroom
to the toilet located at the back of the long servants’ hallway, she’d peeked
out the window and seen it again - a low, dull, little prick of light, this
time coming from the chapel direction.

Something was here, she just knew
it, even if Luke had given her a disbelieving look and had suggested, quite
crudely, that maybe he’d bonked her brains out completely.  He’d accompanied
that with a wink.  She’d accompanied that with flipping him the bird.

No offence, though, she was used
to disbelievers.  Didn’t phase her one iota.  Aunt Elspeth had been delighted
and thrust the bag with the extra camcorders at her, unfortunately unable to
accompany Mikki to the graveyard as she had a conference on her laptop to
attend.  Mikki might have been on holiday, but business for Elspeth never
stopped.

Moving to the corner of the room,
she situated the camcorder so it had a good sweep of the chapel from the altar
to the door, then set the second camcorder in the opposite corner at the back,
covering the altar area and the door into the little side room.

Tonight she’d come back and set
the camcorders in motion, tomorrow she’d transfer the recordings to the laptop
and see if anything came up.  Or more correctly, what had come up, because
something was definitely here, she could feel it in her waters.

Unless her waters were wrong, then
it could be in the graveyards.  No worries, she had those areas covered, too.

Picking up the canvas bag, she
left the chapel, walking across first to the servants’ graveyard where she took
the tripod from the bag and unlocked the legs, setting the camcorder on top and
angling it to cover the graveyard.  Shifting to the family graveyard, she set
two more camcorders up on tripods to capture it from two different sides
because of the big stone angels and headstones obscuring some vision.

Finally she stepped back, hands on
hips, gazing around once more.  “I know you’re out here, I just know it.  I
reckon you’re the mystery lover, too.  Either that or Wilford.”  She scratched
her chin thoughtfully.  “Though Aunt believes you might be haunting the inside
of the mansion.”  She squinted up at the sun.  “Mind you, you’d think Dog and Duchess
would freak a little if the mansion was haunted, animals are a sure indicator
of hauntings.  I’ll be damned disappointed if not one ghost shows in the
mansion.  But I bet my fat arse you’re somewhere here in the graveyards or
chapel.”  Picking up the plastic bag containing the journal, she debated her
idea thoughtfully.  “I reckon if the mournful lovers parted so long ago and
bringing about the downfall of Willock Mansion could meet anywhere, it would be
here.  I truly believe, Wilford old buddy, that your journal holds the secret,
and if I keep prying into it, keep hunting around out here, I’m going to
discover the identity of the woman you were boffing.  Pardon the term.”  She
hefted the bag.  “I might even bring this with me and see if it attracts you,
or better yet, your lover.”  She paused. “Or nothing will happen and I’ll look
an idiot, but when has that ever stopped me?”

After one last look around, she
picked up the empty canvas bag and journal and returned to the mansion.

Rounding the corner of the mansion
to the front, she slowed down at the sight of three men standing near a plain
black four-wheel drive.  Luke she recognised instantly.  The other two had her
eyebrows rising.

Legs braced slightly apart, hands
in the pockets of faded blue jeans, stood Aaron.  Taller than Luke, broader of
shoulder, more muscular  from gym workouts and self-defence training, he stood
with a calm quietness.  His dark blonde hair had a golden tint in the sun, and
she knew from previous experience that in some light it looked almost a light
brown with hints of gold.  The man was a total chameleon.  Unlike Luke’s bad-boy
handsomeness, Aaron had an air of quiet composure, his handsome face
thoughtful, contemplative, his pale blue gaze seeking, weighing you up, noting
everything while keeping his thoughts hidden.  His eyes had the eerie effect of
sometimes seeming to darken, but that had to be the lighting, right? 
Chameleon
. 
Beneath an open black suit jacket he wore a white shirt with the top few
buttons undone and no tie.  Combined with the jeans and lace-up boots he wore,
it was typical Aaron attire - business on the top, kick-your-arse on the
bottom.

The third man leaning back against
the black four-wheel drive with his arms folded across his chest made her
falter.  Similar in build and height to Aaron, this man had a dark, brooding
air about him.  His dark eyes cut to her, skimmed over her with not one thought
on his tanned face.  Handsome, yes, but with a hint of cruelty in his features,
a narrowing of his eyes, a tightness to his lips, an air about him as though he
could fade into the woodwork and watch you unseen, or spring into motion at the
slightest hint of danger.

Correction, he was danger.  It
seemed to shift subtly in the air around him, she could almost imagine it
flaring out to test her aura before disappearing again, withdrawing back into
him as he mentally dissected her.

Unlike Aaron, he was dressed in 
navy blue pants and a short-sleeved, navy polo shirt bearing Aaron’s small security
logo in pale blue stitching on the pocket. 

Aaahh, that explained it.  This
dangerous-looking man was one of Aaron’s security team.  Mikki veered towards
the reassuring presence of Luke, wondering what, exactly, Aaron would need with
someone like that.  Indeed, she wondered a lot about Aaron and his security
company, they seemed to do more than normal security.  Maybe.  All she knew was
that he sometimes disappeared for several weeks at a time, but when home he was
more often than not in his office situated in a nondescript building in a back
street.  Weird place if you wanted to attract clients.

All three men watched as she
approached, making her feel a little self-conscious until Luke grinned,
slinging an arm around her shoulders to tug her into his side.  “Look who
turned up like the proverbial bad penny, Red.”

Aaron smiled down at her with
genuine affection.  “Hi, Mikki.”

“Hi,” she replied.

“This is Ryan.”  He indicted the
man leaning so silently against the side of the four-wheel drive.

Straightening, Ryan nodded briefly
and held out a hand.  “Mikki.”

Politeness dictated that she shake
his hand when all she really wanted to do was look away from his dark eyes. 
Placing her hand in his, she was pleasantly surprised at the warmth of his palm
but when his fingers closed around hers, she wondered if he could feel her
uneasiness.  “Pleased to meet you, Ryan.”

He gave her hand a quick, firm
shake before releasing her to resume his position against the four-wheel drive.

Unconsciously she leaned into
Luke’s side, seeking the reassuring presence of his body.  As if reading her
thoughts, his stance shifted subtly so that he was ever so slightly behind her
in a protective position.

Feeling a lot more comfortable,
Mikki looked up at Aaron.  “What are you doing up here?”

“I’m providing security consult
for your aunt,” he replied easily.

“As in guards?”  She almost
glanced at Ryan but refrained at the last second.

Aaron’s eyes crinkled at the corners
in quiet amusement.  Yep, he knew exactly what she’d been about to do.  Luke
was right, sometimes Aaron was a little freaky with his deductive powers.

“We came out to have a look around
before Dad moves in with his workers and restoration starts.  It’ll give me an
idea of what we’re looking at.”

“The mansion,” Mikki and Luke said
together.

“Pair of smart-arses,” Aaron commented.

“Great minds think alike,” Luke
retorted.

Aaron studied them both without
seeming to, his gaze sliding from Mikki to Luke and back again, the knowledge
of their changed relationship not going unnoticed.  However, all he said was,
“What have you been up to, Mikki?”

“You mean this?”  She swung the
empty canvas bag lightly, watching his expression with interest.  “Ghost
hunting.”  She was unable to resist a peek at Ryan, but his inscrutable
expression gave away nothing of his thoughts.

“Mikki’s set camcorders in the
chapel and graveyards,” Luke explained without batting an eyelid.  “Like I
mentioned on the phone this morning, she saw a light several times.”

Aaron arched one eyebrow in query.

“We also went to the graveyards
the other night,” Mikki added.  “I felt something watching me.  I’m telling
you, Aaron, something is out there.”

Aaron’s gaze slid to Luke, but his
brother just looked steadily back at him.

It hit Mikki suddenly.  Geez, just
a couple of days ago Luke would have been teasing her mercilessly about her
belief, and in private he still would, but right now he was giving her his
unwavering support regardless of his own viewpoint.  Luke was emphatically
letting his older brother know that whatever she believed he’d back her up. 
Not necessarily share her convictions, but support her decisions to
investigate.

Man, he was sweet.  Made her want
to kiss him, but no way was she going to do that with his brother looking on,
so she smiled up at him instead.

Apparently Luke had no
reservations.  He dropped a light kiss on her nose before turning her around
and steering her towards the steps.  “Come on inside, check out this place. 
It’s going to need a lot of work, but Dad no doubt has that covered.”

“Dad’s been on the phone
contacting a lot of subbies.  You should see his office, he has papers, plans, photos,
the whole she-bang.”  Aaron followed them up the steps onto the veranda.  “The
experts he’s hooked in will restore this old girl to her former glory.”

“And I just bet you checked out
the backgrounds of these experts,” Luke said.

Aaron just smiled.

Once inside, Mikki watched his
reaction to the mansion.  Expecting at least a bit of awe, she was disappointed. 
He only looked around with quiet appreciation and murmured, “What a grand old
dame.”

“When did you become so eloquent?”
Luke queried.

“When your vocabulary improved.”

“Oohh, who’s been reading the
dictionary before bed?”

“You, apparently.”

Mikki looked up at Luke with big,
innocent eyes.  “Is that what you do at bedtime?”

He rewarded her with a smart tap
to the bum.  “Woman, go and get your man a cup of coffee and mind your
manners.”

“Up yours, Lukey-boy.”

“You’re embarrassing me in front
of family.”

“Are you kidding me?  They already
know what you’re like.”  She danced out of the way of another light smack.

“There’s always later,” he
threatened, eyes dancing with laughter.

“I had no idea you were into
pain,” she replied pertly.  “I’ll bring the hearth brush with me and give it to
you good.”

That had his eyes gleaming.  “The
only one getting it good will be y-”

“Aaron!  Sweetie!”  Elspeth chose
that moment to bounce down the stairs in heels so high it had Luke and Aaron hurrying
forward in expectation of her going bum over turkey.

Used to Elspeth’s amazing agility,
Mikki watched in amusement.

Reaching the bottom, Elspeth
patted Luke’s shoulder before taking Aaron’s arm and swivelling around to fling
her hand out.  “So what do you think of this gorgeous house, Aaron?”

Luke ducked just in time, straightening
to shake his head as Mikki chuckled.  “Lady.”  He stabbed a finger in her
direction.  “You’ll be snickering on the other side of your face tonight.”

“Tonight?  Oh my.”  She fluttered
her eyelashes coyly.  “I’ll be busy tonight.”

“Yeah.”  He bared his teeth in a
wicked grin.  “You will be.”

“I’ve the camcorders in the
graveyards and chapel to turn on, plus I’m going to do a little stake-out,
too.”

“It’s a long night.”

“It will be, I’ll have to take a
flask.”

“I thought the whole point was to
get the camcorders rolling and go back in the morning to see what they
captured?”

“So you
have
been listening
to our lectures.  I’m impressed.”

Luke looked at Aaron.  “Some women
need gags.”

His brother just winked at her and
let Elspeth lead him up the stairs, chattering the whole time about her plans.

Mikki moved to stand beside Luke. 
“Wait for it.”

Luke looked up to where Elspeth
and Aaron had stopped at the top.  “You think?”

“Has to be.  I remember your face
only too well.”

“Just my face?” he teased.

“Hush. Watch.”

Elspeth turned, her frilly skirt
swishing around her knees, her silk blouse topped with an elegant silk scarf,
her hair swept up in a messy bun.  Then, right before their eyes, she
transformed from chatty woman to business woman.  The flighty air vanished and
her expression grew serious.  The chatter stopped, and definite speech started
as she outlined what she envisioned, what she wanted and what she expected
Aaron to provide.  There was nothing of the eccentric woman now, it was pure
business.

Mikki had been dying to see Aaron
get gob-smacked by her change, but he simply nodded, his gaze moving around the
huge main room, taking it all in as he listened to Elspeth.  He replied quietly,
discussing things logically, taking her opinion into account while giving her
his expert point of view in return.

“Damn.”  Mikki’s shoulders drooped
in disappointment.

“Never mind.”  Luke patted her
back.

“I really wanted to see him surprised,
even just a teeny-tiny bit.”