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Dane hesitated then finally said, “You can’t have a relationship with a ghost.” He bounced from foot-to-foot. “You’re new to this. And I’m saving you a huge heartbreak that in the end would only hurt you more.” My hands trembled, as I soaked in his words. “He needs to cross over, and if you loved him, he’d never want to leave. Always linger to stay with you. That’s not fair.”
I drew in a deep breath and said through gritted teeth, “Answer the question.”
Another pause. “Yes. I sensed his energy here.”
Rage made a nasty taste form in my mouth. I rose to my feet, sucked in a harsh breath and approached him. He appeared somewhat regretful with dark eyes, yet determined. “What you just did can never be forgiven, not by me.”
“Tess—”
I closed in on him and stood on my tippy toes. “You don’t know him. You don’t understand what that must have been like to see me kissing you since he’s wanted to do that same thing to me since we met.”
His powerful gaze did nothing to intimidate me and I continued, “You have no idea how much pain you’ve caused him. I never asked you to come here. Never asked you to figure my life out for me. Consider this a warning to stay the fuck away from me.” I brought my leg back and with all the power I could muster, I kneed him in the junk.
He dropped to the ground, groaning. Gasps filled the space around me as people in the airport watched Dane roll in agony.
What Dane hadn’t known was what he’d done was the gravest of all mistakes. Maybe for some, Kipp’s strong reaction would be brash. Not Kipp. Not when he had wanted to kiss me from the moment we met and the hard despair knowing that he never could.
I’d seen him lose it once when I kissed Zach—as a decoy, no less—and that was his partner. Someone he trusted and cared for. That heartache in his eyes proved that my kissing another man was the worst thing he could’ve ever seen.
And I could only hope he hadn’t done something stupid, or that Dane was wrong and the loss of connection between us wouldn’t force him to cross over.
The latter I couldn’t accept. No matter that I cared nothing for Dane. This wasn’t really about him. This was about Kipp’s anger at his situation and the reminder of what he was.
A ghost.
I just needed to find him and remind him I didn’t care.
Chapter Fifteen
The abandoned house looked exactly as it did the last time I’d been here. Deserted. I knew better. A man—demon—was trapped in that house. I glanced at the front door and the salt still lined the doorway, but there were also some medallions placed there too.
Two hours had passed since I started searching for Kipp, leading me to believe that Dane had come here and put that extra little bit of protection Gretchen had offered on the home.
I stood on the curb under the streetlight and studied the house. An unease that had nothing to do with Kipp filled me.
Soon, I’d have to go into that house and face the demon. Right now, I didn’t have to, and nothing pleased me more. My mind spun without this added trouble. I needed to get a grip on everything before I even considered dealing with the demon.
Right then, a shadow crossed by the window. The man appeared, peering out at me. I held my breath watching him, surprised to see a smile on his face, a cold hard smile that terrified me. He clearly wasn’t worried that we had trapped him.
If I were him I’d be frantically searching for a way out, but by all appearances he portrayed calmness, which unsettled me even more. Should I be worried? The little voice in my head told me I should.
I sighed, ignoring said voice, and pushed thoughts of the demon aside. I needed to focus on finding Kipp and straightening out the current mess before I landed myself into another one. I headed toward the back of the house, forgetting the swell of rising fear.
“Kipp,” I called, scanning the backyard.
I was greeted by darkness and silence. I continued striding around the house and by the time I returned to the front, the street remained empty.
The demon had stayed at the window staring out at me. The smile on his face never faded, as if he dared me to come in. Not that I cared, or thought of taking the bait. He couldn’t get out, and that’s all that mattered.
I spun around and strode toward my car.
My bright yellow Volkswagen bug waited by the curb. I’d only owned the car for two weeks now. Living in downtown Memphis I never needed a car, but with my new employment it became a necessity since I was sick of Zach being my taxi.
I got into the car and within a minute, I tore down the street. I’d searched everywhere I could think that Kipp might be. I even called Zach and Max to fill them in on what happened and dared to ask if they felt him around. Both said no. But Zach said he hadn’t felt any cold drafts. That was assurance enough for me that Kipp hadn’t been with them.
I tightened my hands on the steering wheel as guilt shook me to my bones. Maybe even anger, too. Kipp should have known better. Ghost or not, where was the trust?
Once I found him, he had to understand. Even if I still couldn’t believe all this had happened, or that he hadn’t found me to sort this out.
