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“Nah, it’s all you.” I tucked that wayward wave behind her ear and ran my fingers across her jaw on the retreat. I couldn’t seem to stop touching her, and was grateful that she appeared to not only tolerate it outside of closed doors but also enjoy it.
“Lark?” I called. She looked my way from her spot in the corner where I knew she was placing some selenite. I’d asked her to put shards in the four cardinal corners of the house to help with protection but also to ramp up the energy. Normally, we’d use quartz or amethyst as an amplifier, but for some reason, my instincts had told me to use selenite this time because of its ability to keep light and energy flowing and allow messages from higher forces to come through. Lark had wholeheartedly agreed.
“Yeah?” she answered.
“Are you good? Do you need anything from me before we head out? I want to go check on Burke. We still haven’t heard anything from him, and I’m starting to worry. I need the data he gathered on the woman Harper believes is Chloe Aillet, given the research she did after interviewing the Whitakers. And I just want to make sure he’s all right.”
She smiled and waved a hand, still full of selenite shards. “No, go on. I’m good. Just have a few things to finish up here and we’ll be ready to go tomorrow. What time do you want us here?”
“Um, let me send a group text later. I have to do some thinking about how to attack the next few days. As we know, the things we uncover will dictate a lot of it, but I’m not sure how early I want to start. We should all get as much rest as we can since we’ll be going overnight for the next couple of days, at least.”
“Sounds good,” she answered. “Drive safely.”
I grabbed Hanlen’s hand and started to walk away when I heard Lark call out. “Oh, wait. Dev?”
I turned, and Hanlen turned with me. “Yeah?”
“Um . . .” She cocked her head for a minute and stared off into space. “Whew, that was a rush. Okay, ah . . . I have no idea what this means, but you need to look to the water and beware of false prophets. Or maybe . . . false idols? I don’t know.”
My stomach tumbled. “Message from spirit?” I asked.
“No,” she answered. “Just a psychic flash. And as you know, they don’t always make sense in the moment.”
“But they’re always right. At least,youare. Thanks for the heads-up, Lark.”
“Take care, you guys,” she said and went back to her task.
I retook Hanlen’s hand and walked through the courtyard to the front lawn. Squeezing her fingers, I asked, “Did that freak you out?”
“Actually, no,” she said. “I still don’t get it, and I’m not sure how I feel about it all, but I’ve seen enough in the time that I’ve been here to know that not all things need to be explained. Some things just are.”
“Well, well, well. Is cynical Hanlen Arbor becoming a believer?” I turned her to me and wrapped her in my arms, staring down at her. She smiled up at me.
“I didn’t say that. But I do have a lot more respect for what you guys do.”
“I’ll take it,” I said and then took her lips in a passionate kiss. She melted into me and gave as good as she got. When we came up for air, both of us were breathing heavily.
“It is really too bad that I have some things to take care of because I would love nothing more than to take you to bed and ravish you until the sun comes up.”
She squeezed my butt. “I thought you said we needed sleep.”
“Oh, we do. But we can nap between rounds. And I fully plan on taking advantage of the morning hours we don’t have to be here to sleep with you in my arms.”
“Such a charmer,” she said and then kissed me quickly again before climbing behind the wheel of her SUV.
When I was buckled into the passenger seat, she turned to me. “Where to?” she asked.
“I really want to go and check on Burke. He lives in Bucktown on Lake Ponchartrain.”
“Do you have his address on you, or do we need to go into the city first?” She looked over at me as she navigated the drive to the main road.
“I’ve got it.” I held up my cell. “Just head that way, and I’ll direct you once we get closer.”
“Sounds good.”
Not too long later, we pulled up to a house on the 17thStreet Canal, fishing boats heading out onto the lake beyond the property. A columned porch encircled the entire whitewashed dwelling, the setting sun creating a perfect backdrop.
“Wow,” Hanlen said as she put the SUV in park. “Nice place. What does Burke do again? Or what did he do before he started working for you?”
