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“What?”
“Thank you. For keeping us safe last night.”
Something in his tone warmed her up. At the same time, it made her nervous. She shrugged to play down the latter.
“It was a joint effort.” She hesitated. “What do you remember?”
Silence. Those eyes felt like a searing beam, brushing across her face before he shook his head. “Not much. But I’m sure we played up our roles pretty well.”
Was it her, or did the room feel too hot and small? Tension tied her muscles up in knots and made it difficult to take in air. She gripped the counter at her side, only letting go when he finally broke their eye contact. But the memory of his light touches and his hot breath—and his thick thigh—stayed in her senses, and she knew she had to get out of here before she grew reckless.
“We did. Now it’s time for the next step.”
“The next step?”
“Get some rest, Mr. Prim. Or do whatever you need to do today. You’re mine tonight.”
He raised a brow. “Yours?”
Get it together, Pearl, for the love of the heavens.
She lifted her chin and nodded. “Stakeout, but a different one. We’re ghost hunting.”
“This is a sacred place, and we shouldn’t be desecrating it.”
There was the prim, proper man she knew, dressed in all black, and looking at the place haughtily. Pearl bit back a grin.
“We’re not desecrating. We’re just looking around for the shadow, since traces of it are leading here. I have some potions, too, to test out what Pippa said.” When he didn’t say a word, she added, “Non-desecrating potions, if you must know.”
Not waiting for his protest, she hitched her bag higher over her shoulder and strolled into the graveyard like she was just strolling through a park. What Henry didn’t know was that her stomach was riddled with nerves, unsure if this was the right place to be. Graveyards under sunlight were fine, but energies were in slumber during that time of the day. Graveyards at night, however, were a landmine for wandering spirits and ripe energies…and dark, very dark.
“What’s the plan?”
Determined to get this done, she kept walking until she found Maureen Salazar’s gravestone.
“The plan is to search for graves with restless spirits.”
“Why?”
“Ruby and I discovered by accident that restless spirits still witness the living world and hold secrets. Not all spirits, but some. Most of those secrets stay with them until they are in their eternal rest, but with a few potions here and there, I could maybe coax a few secrets out. The goal is to find the right spirit and see where that leads us.”
“You’re trying to get the spirit to point out where the shadow is,” he deduced.
She couldn’t read his expression—again—and felt herself bristling. “Do you have a better idea?”
Silence. Then he shrugged.
“It’s your task. I’m just here for the ride.”
That was as good as an agreement from him.
“Prepare for a wild one,” she hummed, then shoved back the image of her riding him wildly. She cursed it away and took her frustration out on the vials she lined up on the ground. Pearl stilled when a hand rested on top of hers, gentling her movements.
“Easy, there,” he murmured. “We don’t want shattered bottles and a spirit provoked into attacking.”
“I know what I’m doing.”
He ignored her defensive tone and kept his hand on hers until the vials were neatly nestled into the soil. Her body tingled all over until the physical contact was gone. He waited for her patiently. Willing herself to focus, she closed her eyes and started her chant. Seconds later, the world faded away as her energy took over, then was hauled back as she worried over others nearby sensing it. Surprise flickered when she felt his bubble around them. Then his hand lightly squeezed the arch of her neck to wordlessly assure her.
