Forbidden Secrets Read online

That was the last thing she remembered, right before she swore her body was falling.

  Her body felt light.

  Her mind went hazy.

  And she knew she’d reached her final destination.

  Crazytown.

  Population three.

  When Tori opened her eyes, she was standing in the same room, but Lennox was gone, and in her place was Bethany and her brother, Trey.

  They were calm and looked to be chilling out. Well, at least that was a good sign.

  Right?

  “Hey, what’s going on around here? Something nearly killed our client.”

  “You have some cranky spirits that aren’t happy that we’re here,” Trey warned. “In fact, Sprout, they are downright angry that the secrets are going to come out.”

  “What secrets?” Tori asked.

  She didn’t like walking blind into any situation, and if they were, someone could get hurt.

  Look at Nyx.

  She’d lost her gift thanks to some horrible spirits and secrets that Roman’s father had been hiding.

  He shrugged. “If you want, we can start snooping around and asking them. It’s going to take time. We may need to hunt them down. They’re playing hide and seek.”

  Bethany didn’t look right.

  She looked scared.

  That freaked Tori out. Bethany wasn’t one ever to be afraid of spirits. After all, she’d been dead a very long time. When you got to be her age on the other side, you were pretty damn powerful. This shouldn’t be rattling her cage.

  Tori was almost afraid to ask.

  “On a scale of one to ten, how bad are we talking?” Tori asked, catching more mist in her peripheral. Even she was getting a little freaked out.

  When Bethany didn’t answer, she turned to face her. What she saw freaked her out. Bethany was flickering in and out as if she couldn’t hold her form.

  “Bethany!”

  “There’s a really strong spirit here. She’s stronger than both of us put together,” she finally replied.

  “Is she old?” she asked.

  Again, Bethany kept flickering, as Trey tried to hold her hand. Only, he was going through her too.

  “No. She’s not even close to my age. She’s somehow figured out how to feed on my energy. I think she’s trying to get enough power to manifest. She’s not playing by the rules, Tori, and that should worry you. Normally, the dead ask permission. She’s not interested in asking it.”

  Shit!

  That couldn’t be good.

  “Who hit Lennox?” Tori asked.

  “That’s the energy,” Trey said, trying to hold Bethany in his arms.

  It wasn’t working.

  “Stop hurting her!” he shouted in anger at no one in particular.

  Trey was normally calm, which wasn’t an easy task. He’d died a violent death and controlling that anger was a struggle for him. The entity touching his girl was pushing him over the edge.

  “Leave her alone!” he bellowed.

  Tori was now focusing on him, too, and she could see that the entity was now feasting on his energy.

  He was starting to flicker in and out, much like his dead babe. The most startling part was that not only was he fading in and out, but he was losing his appearance. In its place was his death state. He was scarred, burned, and in his uniform.

  Tori knew he didn’t like letting her see him that way, so this wasn’t by his choice.

  Honestly, she loathed this visual of him. It was what he looked like on the day his Humvee blew up and he’d perished in the aftermath.

  “Christ. What the hell is going on here?” Tori asked. She didn’t like this. Without her spirits, it was going to be a bitch to channel. It wasn’t as if she could call Nyx to do a séance. She was on her own.

  “Who are you?” she shouted, trying to protect her spirits. Tori moved to stand in front of them, and she could feel them huddle into her back as if trying to hide.

  Yeah, this was bad.

  Really bad.

  “Tell me who you are!”

  There was an unholy wail, and Tori glanced around to find where it was coming from. There was so much going on now around her, that she could feel her energy starting to drain. This was why she didn’t channel more than two spirits at a time.

  She really needed Nyx. Even if she couldn’t hear the dead, she might give Tori an idea on how to control this.

  The energy dipped even more.

  Bethany was whimpering.

  Tori was at her limit. They were her family, dead or not, and she wasn’t going to let anyone hurt them.

  “Who the hell are you?” she screamed into the chaos.

  Another wail emanated from somewhere in the room, and a big blast of energy filled the space.

  “Why are you hurting them?” she shouted into the wind that was whipping around them.

  Something appeared before her, and then vanished in an explosion of energy. When Tori opened her eyes, both Trey and Bethany were gone.

  “Where are you?” she called. “Trey? Bethany?”

  She could hear Bethany in her head, but she couldn’t see her. Apparently, the apparition burned them both out.

  Great.

  That couldn’t be good.

  How were they supposed to fight this if both of her spirits were weaker than the entity?

  She forced herself to surface, and she found herself staring at Lennox. “I’m back.”

  “You’re right. That’s damn creepy,” she stated.

  “That bad, huh?” Tori asked, feeling a tad bit panicked over what she was feeling.

  Lennox handed her the phone.

  Tori watched it.

  She stared blankly ahead, almost as if she was empty. When she turned her head, she was tracking the phone like a zombie might follow its next meal.

  “I will never bust my husband for being a girl ever again,” Tori admitted. “That was three days past creepy. That was horrifying. I do look possessed.”

  Yeah, and if they knew what it was like on the other side, none of them would sweat what happened when she went under.

  Lennox agreed.

  “What’s next?”

  “How about a tour?” she asked, trying to keep calm until her brother and Bethany could come back.

  “Works for me.”

  Yeah, her too.

  * * * L i t t l e m o o n * * *

  Lewiston Sheriff’s Station

  The whole ride there, Hart was silent. Julian knew what he was thinking about the whole time. As soon as Lennox slid across the floor, it was clearly on his face.

  He was a cop to the core.

  The man was battling a demon. He wanted to disbelieve the woman, but he felt the need to protect and serve. When you were a cop, meant to be one, and loved the job, it was hard not to feel those emotions.

  Hart was struggling.

  He couldn’t blame him. This was new to Hart, and he was torn between protecting the woman and battling the invisible enemy.

  Julian got that.

  How was he supposed to fight something he couldn’t see, touch, or hear coming?

  He’d felt the same way, too, at the beginning. Now it was growing on him.

  Like mold on a piece of year old bread.

  “Want to talk about it?”

  “I feel like a jerk.”

  “Care to clarify?”

  “When Lennox Easton came into our office, I didn’t want to like her. Hell! I wanted to tell her off.”

  Julian wasn’t going to point out that he’d practically done that, and been incredibly rude. Why rub it in?

  Hart was struggling.

  Instead, Julian opted to listen. When you paid attention, you learned more that way.

  “Why?” he asked.

  Hart wasn’t sure how much he should share with Julian, and then he thought about all the things the family shared with him.

  Everything.

  “Almost four years ago, I went out with some of my friends for a mini reun
ion. As we were having some drinks, this woman approached me.”

  Julian suspected as much. They all had their emotional scars from women in their past. His ex-fiancée cheated on him in his own bed. He’d nearly lost Tori because he couldn’t let it go.

  “She was gorgeous. In fact, no woman that hot has ever focused on me before. I think I fell for her that moment. She was fun, exciting, and I was sick of my boring life.”

  That was saying a lot since cops had pretty adventurous lives when they worked. He knew he did.

  “We laughed, she seemed really awesome, and I was having a dry patch in dating.”

  He glanced over.

  “Who am I kidding? It wasn’t a patch. It was a couple years of dry spell.”

  “We’ve all been there. Before Tori, I was at like three years myself. I totally get it.”

  Hart was glad.

  “Go on.”

  “Well, we had some drinks, I paid, of course, we went back to my place, fell into my bed, and had sex. It was a pretty wild night. I don’t remember much. Maybe I drank too much, maybe she slipped something into my drink. All I know is that in the morning, she was gone.”

  Julian heard the anger.

  He got it.

  Hart felt violated.

  “To add insult to injury, so was my truck, wallet, keys, and anything else that was valuable in my house. I felt like someone had come into my personal space and used me. I didn’t even have her name. I felt like an idiot. I was a cop, and I fell for her bullshit scam.”

  Julian patted him on the arm. “I’m sorry, Hart.”

  He continued, “When I filed a police report, the bartender knew her. She was some rich girl who was into breaking the law because she thought it was fun. She took me to the cleaners by the time I figured it all out.”

  “That sucks.”

  “It took me almost a year, but I finally got my life cleaned up. I didn’t press charges since her daddy fixed the mess and reimbursed me for all the credit card bills. I simply wanted the nightmare over. I wanted to forget people like that lived in this world. I wanted to forget I fell for it.”

  “You’re a good person. I would have tossed her in jail to satisfy my anger.”

  At first, he wanted to do just that.

  “We know how long that would have lasted. She would have been out in a matter of hours, and then she would have had a fun story to tell her friends.”

  “Probably. What happened next?”

  “I finally get past it, and I forget about her. What happens? I’m home from work with the flu and there’s a knock on my door at one in the afternoon. I can’t imagine who it is, since everyone I know is at work. I open the door, and here is this woman from social services. She’s holding this child.”

  Julian knew the rest.

  “Ivy?”

  “Yeah, here, she lied to me about birth control, or maybe we never used any. I can’t be sure. All I know is I didn’t drink enough to not know I went into a stranger bare. That’s not how I roll. I’m careful to a fault.”

  He got it.

  “Here, she got pregnant and had Ivy. She was going to put her up for adoption. The only reason the woman found me was because this rich bitch said it was some cop’s baby, and the ‘idiot’ didn’t know. The social worker was married to a cop, so after a little research, she found me.”

  “Thank God.”

  “Yeah, exactly. When I look at Lennox Easton, I see that same rich girl mentality. No one’s feelings matter, no one has any right to this world but her, and someone will get hurt.”

  Yeah, mainly him.

  Been there.

  Done that.

  And he wasn’t going back.

  Julian got it, but that wasn’t going to help him through life. You had to let go of the anger or it would eat you alive. Hart had to start focusing on things other than the moments that led up to getting Ivy.

  She was a blessing.

  He knew because he wasn’t going to have more children. Veronica was it.

  “Ever hear of the saying, ‘you can’t judge a book by its cover’?” he asked, trying to get the man to let some of it go and see the forest through the trees.

  He was riding Lennox, and his past wasn’t her fault.

  “Yeah.”

  “Maybe you should give her a shot. What if she’s not as bad as you think and you’re judging her? What if it was you? Would you be happy if someone pigeonholed you?”

  Julian’s words were startling.

  He didn’t have to think about it for very long. The idea of someone looking at him and thinking big, dumb cop pissed him off to no end.

  “I’d hate it.”

  They all did.

  Julian hated the reputation that went with being a Native. It was never good, and in his case, never true. Clarissa Littlemoon raised them to be better than that.

  Julian pulled into the parking lot at the sheriff’s station and turned off the SUV.

  “Just give her a chance, Hart. Something bad is chasing her. If she’s right, she might die.”

  He looked over.

  “If that happens, what side of this do you want to be on? The side that fought hard to keep her alive or the one where you gave up?”

  He hopped down.

  “Oh, and if you pick the latter, you’re not the man I thought you were.”

  Well, shit!

  That put it into perspective, and fast.

  Chapter Four

  Sheriff’s Station

  Inside the sheriff’s office, it was very familiar. Julian recalled his days as a deputy being the only Native on staff. There were good days, and there were bad days. All he cared to recall were the days where he had made a difference.

  They were part of his legacy in Red River, and despite what had gone down there, he knew he’d lived his job to the letter of the law.

  He’d done good work.

  That being said, standing there, he was a little shocked to see a Native man in the office. They weren’t anywhere near a reservation, and yet there was another Indian in his midst.

  That was a surprise.

  What shocked Julian even more was when the man moseyed on over to the counter, and he got a good look at his badge.

  He was the sheriff.

  Hell!

  This might work to his advantage. There was a code among Natives. Even if you aren’t of the same tribe, you still helped a brother out when you could. Until that moment, Julian was wondering how he was going to get the reports.

  Now he knew.

  It wasn’t often he could use Native networking, but he was going to give it a try.

  “Can I help you gentlemen? You look lost.”

  Julian strolled over, his hand out. “You can help us. Are you the sheriff?” he asked.

  The man smiled. “Yes, yes, I am. I’m Sheriff Silver Byrd. What can I do for you?”

  “I’m Julian Littlemoon, and I’m here working a case. I thought I’d check in with the local law.”

  Okay, so it was a little white lie.

  “Oh, I know who you are. You’re the most famous Native next to Ethan Blackhawk.”

  Julian grinned. He imagined that his buddy Ethan did get more media attention now that he was Deputy Director of the FBI. At least they were positive role models.

  “That’s right.”

  “Come into my office, and we can talk. If you’re here, it’s likely because it’s hush hush. I don’t want you to out yourself in a room full of my deputies. I’m sure it’s none of their business.”

  Julian was glad to have his attention and his consideration. It wasn’t often that he was met with pleasantries on the job. Since his face was recognizable, he often hit the wall before he opened his mouth.

  “Thank you, sir.”

  Silver Byrd laughed. “You can call me Silver. I make the deputies call me sir. I find that amusing, ironic, and poetic justice for the white man.”

  Hart knew better than to say anything.

  This wasn’t his r
odeo, and he wasn’t going to make any comments, especially about the obvious fact he was white.

  “Who are you?” Silver asked as if reading the man’s mind. “Are you one of his?”

  Hart offered his hand. “Yes, I work for Julian. I’m Everhart Rose.”

  “I have to admit that it’s one neat name, my friend. I should know. I have a fun one too. Can I offer you both some coffee before we get down to business?”

  They both accepted.

  While he poured, he waited for them to tell him why they were in his sheriff’s station.

  “We need your help.”

  “I figured as much. I can’t imagine you’re here on vacation and need a tour of the town. So what has you here?”

  “We are working for Lennox Easton. She hired us to handle a case or two.”

  Or six, but who was counting?

  He handed them their cups and took a seat. “The Easton family is a huge pain in my ass. They have been for many years. Too many.”

  That had Hart’s attention.

  This was what he’d been talking about.

  “Lennox too?” he asked. “Is she a troublemaker?”

  Julian gave him a look.

  The man was hell bent on hating the woman. It was a sad testament to how his heart had been kicked around.

  “No, definitely not her. She’s the odd man out, so to speak. I’ve never had an issue with her. If anything, she’s a good egg. The rest of the family was notorious for their bad behavior. I have a few files on her brother, Cornell, and her uncle, Howell.”

  “What did they do?”

  “They don’t exactly treat the ladies well, or shall I say they didn’t. Howell’s been dead about six years now, and Cornell about two. What’s going on?” he asked.

  It was time to come clean.

  If they wanted the man’s help, they had to give a little to get it.

  “Lennox feels that she’s next, and she asked us to come in and help her figure out if her family was killed or if this is all coincidence.”

  The man thought about it. “Well, I’ve been the sheriff here for the last six years, and don’t know if I buy that or not. She’s come in a few times asking for my help, and I’ve had to turn her down.”