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Chapter 15
Back in London, Cain wanted Ivan to call up Nicolas immediately, but Ivan said a spirit needed to be respected with a couple of days’ alone time after its funeral, which kind of made sense to Alice. It was an unwritten rule of necromancists Ivan couldn’t break in the fear of losing Nicolas’s cooperation.
Despite the turmoil and danger, life had to carry on. When Alice left for the office on Friday morning, the black SUV was parked on the curb. Only Sean and Maya ever took her up on the offer to work from the house. The fact that whoever was in the vehicle didn’t come out, meant it had to be Lann or Joss, or Clelia, maybe.
She walked past with a wave.
The engine started up, and the window rolled down to reveal Joss’s rugged face. “Hop in. I’ll give you a ride.”
“I was hoping to walk. I need the exercise.” And to think.
“Too obvious if I’m going to drive next to you at three miles an hour.”
She snorted. “I’m not that slow.”
“Get in,” he said with a jerk of his head toward the passenger side. “It’s not safe enough to let you walk, yet.”
She went around and got in. “I’m going past The Ritz, first.”
Joss lifted his dark brow. “Is that a good idea?”
“Why not?”
“Since Ivan’s being blackmailed with you, I thought you’d rather stay away from there.”
“I just want to know if…” She paused. It was strange talking about a spirit like he was a living person. “I just want to know if Boris has been visiting.”
“He would’ve said something.” Joss studied her with a sidelong glance. “Maybe you want to go for a different reason.”
If she wanted to see if Ivan was all right, it was nobody’s business. After Cape Town, he’d been avoiding her. What if the voices or visions were getting the better of him? They hadn’t even practiced one session together since returning.
Joss wisely kept his mouth shut, focusing his attention on the road. A few minutes later, he dropped her off at the back entrance. Alice made her way upstairs and rang the bell.
The same girl from before opened the door. She wore a boob tube and a miniskirt, revealing way too much skin.
“Crim, right?” Alice said. “Is Ivan in?”
“Who wants to know?”
She was about to answer when Ivan appeared behind Crim. “It’s all right. I’ve got it. Go back to work, Crim.”
Crim popped her chewing gum and did as she was told, apparently in no particular hurry.
“Hey.” Ivan leaned in the frame, his eyes running over her. He was shirtless, dressed in his favorite jeans. “This is a nice surprise.”
Having been degraded to a nice surprise, Alice stood in the door, feeling inexplicably dejected. “I came to see if you’ve heard from Boris.”
At the mention of the name, Ivan tensed. “You would’ve been the first to know. I’m in no rush to see him.”
“I just want this to be over so I can carry on with my life. I don’t want to look over my shoulder every time I leave my house or see an SUV when I look through my window.”
He took her hand and pulled her inside, kicking the door shut behind him. Alice immediately froze as she took in the scene in the lounge. Besides Crim, the same girls from before sat around the dining room table, all looking at her like she was the morning paper headline.
“These are my employees,” he said without letting go of her hand. “Come here.” He all but dragged her to the first chair where a curly blonde sat. “They’re running my new charity project.”
Alice looked at the screen. “Why the sudden interest in charity work?”
“Tea? Coffee?” he said, ignoring her question.
“No, thanks.”
“Soft drink, then.” Without waiting for a reply, he took her shoulders, steered her to his bedroom, and closed the door.
She turned to face him. “There are no soft drinks in here.”
“Those are the requests from the dead. I’m trying to settle them so their voices will stop tormenting me. Only, as long as that portal is open, all I seem to do is run in place.”
“Oh, Ivan.” She cupped his face, concern overriding any pride that would’ve prevented her from reaching out to him. “Do you know how crazy that sounds?” If anyone ever found out, he’d be locked up in an asylum.
“We’re making headway, but not enough.”
“What can I do to help?”
An amused smile lit up his face. “You can do your job.”
“Not so long ago, you only chastised me for saying I was doing my job.”
He took her hands, interlacing their fingers. “I want you to go to the theater and practice. You’re on in three days.”
A flutter of panic ran through her stomach. “Don’t remind me.”
“You’ll be wonderful. I want you to be amazing.”
“Why?”
“Because you can. Because you need to let go of your insecurities, and you can only do it if you claim back yourself and be who you truly are.”
