Page 37 of Deadly Misfortunes

“Why is someone trying to kill you?” she asked Gregory.

“Can’t you see this in your crystal ball?” Stephanie asked.

“Sure, I had one at the fair, but it doesn’t work. It has been on the blink for months. You know it’s like anything else. Repairmen figure it’s just not worth trying to fix things anymore. They assume you should just go out and buy a new one.”

Stephanie pursed her lips. “Okay, so why haven’t you picked up a new one?”

Gregory ran his hand through a length of Sascha’s hair as if he just couldn’t keep his hands off her. His touch made her desire him even more. His fingers slipped through her hair, making her want to give herself to him fully. What would his body feel like next to hers under his sheets? Their bodies sliding over each other in loving, unspent passion?

Sascha attempted to wipe the view from her mind. “Have you ever tried to find a crystal ball in a shop? They’re really hard to come by.”

Gregory’s smile brightened his peach-freckled complexion. “So do you want to try reading my palm and see if you can get anything that way?”

She knew he was teasing, playing a game in front of Stephanie. “I have to warn you. If I do this for you and I see something that’s hard to witness, I won’t hold back. I don’t believe in giving fluffy readings.” For the most part.

“I’m game.” He didn’t believe her. He kissed her hand, then rested his in hers. “Ready.”

Actually, she’d fibbed. She gave fluffy readings at the Worthingtons’ party for some guests when she didn’t have anything to share that wouldn’t upset anyone, because she wanted to return. But like with Katrina and Prescott, she didn’t believe she should hide the danger if she sensed anything concerning this deadly matter with Gregory.

His back stiffened with tension before she gave the reading. Was he worried she might be able to really see his future?

“Okay, Gregory, you need to relax.” Only because it was making her tense. She hesitated as she refocused her thoughts. “You’re thinking about…” She paused her speech as her gaze met his. “Naughty things.”

He burst out laughing.

He was! He was thinking about being in bed with her, between the sheets, making love to her!

Stephanie crossed her legs. “Anyone would know that a hot, red-blooded male would be having thoughts like that.”

Ignoring Stephanie, Sascha studied him as she drew an image of the scene in her mind. “You were…you were going to a grocery store to get a special birthday cake for your sister.” Sascha glanced at Rose. “Your birthday was two days ago?”

Rose smiled. “Yeah.”

“Well, happy birthday.”

“Thanks.”

“You already knew that,” Stephanie said.

Which she hadn’t. She had never associated with the Landrys before this.

“You had a dragon cake made special just for her. You didn’t want your chef to make it because you were afraid Rose would learn about it because she’s bad about being able to wait for surprises.”

“Yes.”

Rose laughed. “I did look all over for it. Chef Paul had made a faux birthday cake for me. I mean, it was real, but it was the typical old birthday cake in my favorite colors of purple and blue. It was hidden in the kitchen, but I found it.”

Sascha thought that was cute of him. But then she closed her eyes and frowned. “You had picked up the cake, and it was sitting on the front passenger’s seat when one of those monster trucks tried to run you down. Why?” She took a deep breath and answered him before he could say a word. “It did a PIT maneuver like the police do on criminals they’re in pursuit of, and your car went spinning out of control. It rolled once, but thankfully, you were okay, just bruised.”

“That was on the news,” Stephanie said.

“I don’t watch the news,” Sascha said. “The dragon cake was turned upside down, and when Gregory finally made it home, he made a joke about it being an upside-down dragon cake, but it was just as delicious as it looked, though slightly smooshed. It was all chocolate, with gold scales, and had orange flames coming out of its mouth. And Rose loved it, though she was more upset about you being in the accident and glad that you had made it out alive.”

Rose looked at Gregory. He was watching Sascha, silent, trying to figure out how she knew all that, when none of that would have been in a news story.

Stephanie was silent.

“Three days earlier, you thought you heard a prowler in the house and went to investigate. The security alarm activated, and the police arrived moments later. But no one found anything.”