Deadly Prophecy: A Second Sight Series Spin-Off Page 15
Nothing else existed in the moment except for him and her. And he wasn’t thinking about what would come next. He wasn’t choreographing in his mind how long he was obligated to kiss her before moving on. He was content with just being with her in any way she would have him.
Her dress was sleeveless, giving him the opportunity to slide his hands down her bare skin. He felt her body come alive under his touch—her skin erupting with gooseflesh all over her arms.
They pulled apart at the same second. He watched her eyes flutter open and the pit he hadn’t known was in his stomach disappeared. She looked at him with desire. Her green eyes darkened with need as she licked her lips slowly. Nothing was fabricated about the moment. The kiss hadn’t been about playing a part. There had been something building between them and they were both curious to explore the attraction.
“That was unexpected,” she managed. She brushed back a strand of hair out of her eyes. “What happened to waiting until all of this was over?” Jenna was trying to sound unaffected, likely still testing the waters between them. But her squeaky pitch told a different story.
He leaned forward, inches away from touching her forehead to his. “I couldn’t wait. We can have dinner together after all this is over, hundreds of dinners if you want. I’m here for as long as you’ll have me.”
She stood up on her toes and brushed her lips against his. Her green eyes stared at him with a hundred unspoken questions. “I like you, Declan.” She didn’t sound too thrilled with the pronouncement. In fact, she took a step away from him, moving her gaze down to the ground in front of them. The distance made his physically ill. He made himself vulnerable and she was dismissing him.
“I like you too,” he said with uncertainty.
“But I don’t think this is a good time to start anything for either of us,” she said, kicking at the ground with the heel of her shoe.
“I get it. I’m not trying to rush you. I meant what I said about waiting until we find out what exactly happened to Derek before dating.” He tried to bridge the gap between them. Maybe the kiss was ill-timed, but it answered a question he had been torn up about for a long time. Could he fall hard for someone who wasn’t Kate Edwards? The answer was decidedly affirmative.
Jenna kept shaking her head with Declan getting the sense she was trying to tune him out. “I’m not in a good place right now, but neither are you.”
His mouth opened wide in surprise. “I’m in the best place. I’ve never been better. If you could see inside my head, you’d be astounded by how many personal demons I’ve been slaying lately.”
Her head shot up as she gave him a shaky smile. When the smile drifted away, she said shakily, “You’re in love with Kate.”
“I understand why you think that. And if you’d made that call a few weeks back, I might have even agreed with you. But I’m coming to realize I probably was never in love with Kate.” He ran his teeth across his lower lip before continuing. “I’m sure this line is from some dumb-ass movie, but I was in love with the idea of her.”
“I’ve seen you around her, Dec. You’re so hurt about her marrying Jared.”
He nodded. “I was. Because I thought fate had told me I belong with her. I had accepted Jared and Kate together before because, in the back of my mind, I figured their relationship was temporary. I never really let go of her. I freaked out about her getting married because I realized my premonition of us together would be unfulfilled.”
“If you were holding on to these feelings for her, then you’re not going to be ready to move on like that,” she said snapping her fingers together to make a point.
He settled his palms on her shoulders. “I would never use you to move on. To say I really like you is an understatement. But I’m not rushing you. When and if you’re ready, I want us to be together.”
His words seemed to startle them both. But he didn’t wish the sentence back. He was ready and open to run toward the person he really wanted. Jenna. She took a deep breath as he waited with bated breath for her response. He prayed she would believe him. That she would understand how much he regretted his overreaction to Kate getting married. But before she could speak, a commotion from inside the house shut her down. As they both peeked through the glass to investigate, Declan heard Jenna huff out an angry breath. The answers his heart was demanding would have to wait. Brianna had finally arrived.
Chapter Nineteen
Brianna’s shoulders were stiff as she held out her arms to give Jenna an awkward hug. As she embraced Jenna, both women’s stances were unyielding. Declan watched as Jenna’s eyes traveled down to Brianna’s midsection—more specifically her very flat belly.
Brianna’s floral printed top wasn’t fitted, but Declan still expected to see a telltale bump. He had expected a very dramatic entrance with all of her friends gasping as she waddled into the room. He had assumed her pregnancy was the reason Brianna had been lying low. If anything, Brianna appeared thinner than she’d been months ago. Her face was more defined with her features more prominent.
Then again, Brianna was probably only a few months pregnant. He knew next to nothing about knocked-up women (thank the Trojan gods), so maybe she was too early to show. While playing catchup with Radha, she told Declan all about the vomitfest she had gone through when pregnant with Lulu. His sister didn’t spare him any of the repugnant details. Maybe the morning sickness made Brianna lose some weight.
“Sorry I’m late,” Brianna started. Declan raised his eyebrows at Jenna, but she kept her eyes fixed on Brianna. “I hit some traffic coming down.”
“It’s fine,” Jenna said brusquely. “We were about to head out to dinner.”
Brianna wouldn’t meet her eyes. She said sadly, “I’m sorry I haven’t been in touch. With Derek gone, it’s been so unbelievably hard.”
Liam came up from behind Brianna. As a way to comfort her, he tenderly rubbed the top of her shoulders. “We all miss him, Bri.”
Brianna pulled her body away from his touch. “Why did you want to come here, Jenna?” She looked around the house with distaste. “I wasn’t sure if I could stomach being in this place again.”
“Derek was alive here. Last spot he was happy,” she answered with obvious strain. Declan and Jenna both understood how that was a blatant lie. “I’m also going to talk to the Dewey police while we’re here. Maybe they have a lead on who killed my brother.”
Brianna paled as she nodded. “I can’t even think about it. I try to block it out. I don’t want to think about how he felt during those last moments.”
Her words had a sobering effect on everyone in the group. Adam and Chelsea who had been chatting on the couch quieted down while Liam’s throat bobbed up and down with concealed emotion.
Declan hadn’t personally known Derek, but even he felt weighed down by her words. At the moment, he was thankful for not having a psychic connection to the dead. All that pain and fear—it was too unsettling to think about.
Jenna’s expression remained impassive, but Declan’s bond with her allowed him to see beneath the surface. Jenna was feeling the strain over being near Brianna again. Jenna didn’t trust Brianna—and for damn good reason. But Brianna’s grief felt authentic. The way she peered around in horror at the walls of the beach house—like any minute they would come to life and swallow her whole.
And realistically how could Brianna have killed Derek? Not only would she have to overcome him enough to stab him to death, but also she’d have to be strong enough to move the body. The cops had already determined he wasn’t killed at the park; his body was merely dumped there. Declan was strong–as part of his post-junkie makeover he had followed a prison weightlifting program on YouTube–and he still wasn’t certain he’d have the muscle to move Derek’s body.
Brianna’s motive for killing him was flimsy at best. Sure she was pissed at Derek for breaking up with her, but he couldn’t see her killing the father of her unborn child—kind of hard to get child support out of a guy when he’s dead.
“Thanks for coming with Jenna. It would’ve meant a lot to Derek,” Brianna told him generically.
Declan couldn’t resist the opportunity of drawing Jenna close to his side. Although he’d sort of agreed to a temporary hiatus on their new romance, he was going to use his faux boyfriend role to his advantage. “I feel like I know him so well through Jenna.” He pressed a kiss on top of Jenna’s head, allowing his lips to linger for a second. Her scent was absolutely delicious. He was finding it intolerably hard to be “just friends.”
Brianna was watching him with mild suspicion in her eyes. Her manner suggested she categorized him as an unwanted interloper. She turned around to face Chelsea. “Do you want to show me to the room I’m staying in? So I can get dressed for dinner.”
Chelsea rolled her eyes, but nodded. Being the wealthiest among the friends, she was likely unaccustomed to being ordered around. However, she dutifully hooked her arm through Brianna’s and they both headed to the stairs. As Brianna spared a fleeting glance backwards, she caught Declan’s gaze. He almost felt like she could reach inside of him and draw out the truth. Game on, he wanted to shout to her. Brianna had no clue who she was challenging.
***
Taylor put the car into park as they pulled up in front of the beach house. She turned to Chelsea in the passenger seat beside her. “I think we should have stayed for another drink.”
Chelsea sighed. “I’m exhausted. All I want to do is crawl into bed and sleep in until noon.”
Taylor cut the ignition. “Me too. But all the fighting with Derek and Bri is annoying as hell. I’ve been trying to avoid her, but it’s hard when we’re stuck in a house together for a week.”
Chelsea nodded exuberantly. “I was relieved when she bailed on the spa. She would’ve been miserable the entire time.”
“Do you know what’s going on with them?” Taylor asked.
Chelsea was silent for a beat. Her eyes drifted uneasily to the second floor, specifically the draped windows of Brianna and Derek’s bedroom. Finally, she offered, “No idea. Sometimes I think she wants to break up with Derek, but other times she acts like she’d die without him.”
Taylor climbed out of the car with Chelsea quickly following suit. Chelsea trailed behind her friend as they made their way to the front door. Although it was dusk, the porch lamp was extinguished. Chelsea stumbled in the dark as she stepped up onto the porch. The sound of raised voices carried through the front door as they pulled on the handle. When the door wouldn’t give, Taylor knocked loudly.
“Who is it?” a muffled voice demanded.
Taylor gave Chelsea an exasperated look before answering. “It’s Taylor. Open the door.”
A few seconds later, they heard the deadbolt slide back and the door was quickly swung open. Liam was standing there staring at them both with wide eyes. He looked over their heads, seeming to anxiously scan the street behind them.
“What’s wrong?” Taylor demanded, right away picking up on his distressed mood. She wrinkled her nose at him as she strode into the foyer. She glanced over at the living room, seemingly surprised to find the downstairs abandoned. The television was turned off as well. Her bafflement grew since she had obviously heard raised voices upon their arrival.
“Derek went to get beer hours ago and hasn’t gotten back,” he said with a tinge of dread rising in his voice.
Taylor seemed unmoved while she watched him. She shrugged as she tossed down her purse on the floor next to the door. Chelsea mimicked the action as she walked inside. “So? Maybe he went to get a drink in town. That’s what we did after the spa.”
“Sure, completely possible if he had come back to get his car. But he was only walking to EJ’s two blocks away,” Liam said breathlessly. Taylor and Chelsea regarded him skeptically, his obvious alarm not catching on.
Adam walked out of the bathroom as Liam finished speaking. Water specks dripped down his face as he gave them both a crazed stare. Chelsea elbowed her way around Taylor. She smacked Adam on the palm of his chest before he could get a word out. “What the fuck, Adam? I bet you couldn’t wait for us to leave for the spa.”
He gave Liam the side eye before replying. “What are you talking about?”
“I don’t know,” she said sarcastically throwing her arms out into the air. “Maybe the fact your nose is running and I can’t see your pupils.”
Taylor turned sharply to Liam and gave him a quick once-over. Her fists clenched at her sides as she didn’t seem to like what she saw. “You’re fucked up too. What the hell did you guys take? No wonder you’re bugging out about Derek.”
“Relax. We didn’t take a lot,” Liam said, turning away from them both. He grabbed the TV remote off of the coffee table, switching on a baseball game. As he sank down into the couch, Taylor stomped after him. “What did you take?”
“I brought a little H. Not much.”
Chelsea swatted at Adam’s arm. “And you took it with him? No wonder Derek left; he probably couldn’t wait to get away from you freaks.”
Taylor crossed her arms over her chest. “Did Derek see you take the heroin? Was he pissed?”
Liam gestured with his chin to the stairway behind them. “He was only worried about his bitch girlfriend bugging out about it. Thank God the cunt went to bed early so we didn’t have to listen to her complain. He said he was going to hang and watch the game with us, but we were out of beer.”
Adam scratched at his forearms before looking at his watch. “It’s been about three hours at least.”
“Did you wake up Bri to let her know?” Chelsea asked with practiced patience.
“No,” Liam said shaking his head. “She would only add a lot of unnecessary drama. Adam took a walk down to the liquor store about half an hour ago and there was no sign of him.”
“And you called him? Sent him texts?” Taylor prompted.
“Yup. He hasn’t texted back and his phone is going right to voicemail,” Adam said. He joined Liam on the couch as a heady silence ensued. Chelsea and Taylor stared at one another with questions clear on their faces.
“I mean, it’s weird, but he might have decided to sit on the beach and have a couple of beers. Or if he didn’t want to drive drunk, he could have grabbed an Uber and gone to a bar,” Chelsea said.
Taylor nodded slowly, agreeing with Chelsea’s line of thinking. “I would think if he wanted to go out, he’d call the guys, but if they were both cracked out….” She trailed off.
Liam gave her a withering stare. “We aren’t cracked out.”
“We’ll wait a few hours. If he isn’t back after the bars closed, we could drive around town looking for him. Maybe then wake up Bri and see if she wants to call the police—” Chelsea started to suggest before Adam interrupted her curtly.
“Oh fuck no. That’s not happening,” he managed to sputter.
“Why not?” Chelsea countered.
“Because, as Taylor said, Liam and I are cracked out. What do you think is gonna happen to us when the cops show up? We’re only peaking now—it’s not going to be completely out of our system for hours,” Adam said with evident fear. He took Chelsea by the hand when he seemed to notice her face fill with worry. “Derek is fine, I promise. He’ll be coming through that door any minute.”
Chapter Twenty
Declan leapt onto the bed, spreading out his exhausted frame after he and Jenna entered their shared bedroom. He stifled a yawn as he stretched his arms overhead. Jenna sat down on the edge of the bed and began to play with the frayed blanket. She had been quiet and distance from the second Brianna had arrived at the beach house. Jenna wouldn’t like the comparison, but her mood echoed the time Brianna had spent in the same room.
He wished he could find a way to siphon away her pain. She was hurting and he felt her anguish acutely. His impulse was to tell her again how much she meant to him.
But he needed to cease with the romantic declarations until she gave him the go-ahead.
Yet, he couldn’t shake the hyper-awareness he had developed surrounding her. When Jenna walked near him, she stripped everything away, even the oxygen in the room. He found himself sitting up straighter in her presence, as if his perfect posture could woo her.
Dinner wasn’t as eventful as he had hoped. Most of the meal consisted of sharing old memories about Derek—exactly what you would expect from a memorial gathering. Brianna was reserved for the most part, but even she had offered an anecdote or two from Derek’s short life. Adam’s mood had been up and down during the night—one minute he was laughing hysterically and the next he was wiping at his eyes. Chelsea kept shooting him annoyed looks, making Declan wonder if he had taken drugs before heading out to the restaurant.
His objective during the dinner had been to say as little as possible. Unfortunately, he had yet to master the art of concealing his aversion to rich assholes. Each time, Liam and Adam walked nearby Declan, he could practically still smell the stench of the Mayflower clinging to them. Their sense of entitlement was clear in every interaction they had, from the rude way they spoke to the waiter at the restaurant to the dismissive way they asked about Declan’s background. As soon as Declan gave them the cover story of working as steelworker, he sensed the group mentally downgrade his status. Although he had lied, their reaction still infuriated him. His father had been a steelworker and Declan found himself offended on his behalf.
Jenna shared none of the same prejudices as Liam and Adam. She was the epitome of good breeding: sweet and polite, no matter who she was conversing with. Her head was always tilted when she spoke to someone directly as if her attention was unwavering. She may’ve been surrounded by wealth growing up, but she never allowed money to shape her character.