“It’s…it’s Emma.”
I narrowed my eyes. “You followed her?”
He groaned and shoved his scythe in its holster. “Fine. Yes. I watched her and Cash sit in her room like awkward little kids while you were in Hell. I’m not as big of an asshole as you think.”
I raised a brow.
“Something bad’s going to happen,” he said. “I just came from there. It’s Maeve. She’s there, and there’s no talking her down this time.”
I didn’t need to hear anymore. Fear pierced my chest. Throbbed in my ribs. I looked at Easton and he nodded. In a flash I was gone.
Chapter 35
Emma Two days.
It had been two whole days since Finn had kissed the breath out of me and started to tell me he loved me. That kiss…that moment…it had been earth-shattering. Reckless. Perfect. How could he stay away that long after what happened between us?
I pulled the milk out of the fridge and set it on the counter next to the flour, sugar, and bag of chocolate chips. After crossing that line, feeling him touch me, he was all I could think about. All I could dream about. Without him…I felt like I was in the dark. Like I couldn’t see what was coming, and I hated it. What if something happened to him? He’d touched me and he wasn’t supposed to. What did they do to souls who broke the rules?
I stared at the ingredients in front of me, not really seeing them. Seeing Finn’s face instead. Why did I let him touch me? Why did I touch him back? If he was okay, he would have come back by now.
My mind wouldn’t stop. It was out of control, thinking about what could have happened to Finn, not to mention the fact that a soul could even possess a body like that. Could Maeve do it, too?
I grabbed the phone off of the wall and called Cash, needing to hear someone’s voice. Needing to not be alone right now. If I was alone, my thoughts were going to eat me alive.
It rang and rang. When it went to voice mail I hung up. Crap. He was probably still freaked out about our “kiss.” I slid down the kitchen wall, careful not to mess with my stitches, and buried my face in my hands, trying to make sense of the screwed-up mess that my life had become. It felt like a tangled, silver web I couldn’t escape, and the fact that Maeve was still out there was the spider coming to finish me off.
“Emma, I’m home!”
I jerked, startled, when Mom stumbled into the kitchen laughing, Parker on her heels. A gust of cold air swirled into the house, stirring the edge of Mom’s red dress, as he closed the front door shut behind him.
“Hey. You’re home early.” It was only eight, far earlier than they typically came home, but I wasn’t complaining. At least I wouldn’t be alone. I hopped up, wincing when I tweaked the stitches in my neck and leg a bit too far, and headed for the refrigerator. “Did you guys get a chance to eat? I can make something if you want.”
“We had dinner,” Mom practically purred. She grabbed Parker’s shirt and hauled him closer, kissing him like she wanted to taste his tonsils, then broke away and ran her fingers through his hair.
“I think we’re more interested in dessert.”
My mouth fell open. “Mom, gross!”
Parker held her at arm’s length, his eyes wide. “Okay, sweetheart. I think you had a little too much wine.” He smoothed a hand down her arm and gave me an apologetic smile. “Looks like I should have cut her off earlier.”
You think? I wanted to ask, but I forced myself to focus on the ingredients on the counter. Milk, flour, sugar, chocolate chips. For the first time, I wasn’t sure baking would occupy my mind enough to calm down.
“How are you doing, by the way?” Parker continued. “I want you to know we’re not going to stop until we catch that guy. Everyone in the department is putting in their time on this one. We’ll catch him soon, Emma. I promise.”
Mom snorted and muttered something under her breath, and both Parker and I frowned. I’d seen Mom tipsy before, but never rude like this. Parker helped Mom slide onto a barstool and kept his hand on her shoulder to keep her from tumbling off the side. She leaned into his chest and nuzzled into his neck, breathing deeply.
“Um,” I began, not quite sure what to say. “I was going to bed anyway, so you two have fun.”
Abandoning my cookie ingredients, I fled to my room. Watching Mom date was one thing. Seeing her shove her tongue down some guy’s throat was another. I’d never even seen her act like that with Dad.
Not in front of me anyway, thank God.
I heard the static and hiss of radio followed by a dispatcher’s voice out in the living room. A few seconds later, Parker said something about having to leave for work. I sagged against the door in relief. At least I wouldn’t have to hear their fun through the wall.
Safe in the confines of my room, I crawled into bed and buried my nose in the bedspread. I breathed in the last of Finn’s scent as if I could hold it in me forever. “Please come back,” I whispered into the blankets.
Mom opened my door, a lazy smile spread across her face. I peeled myself away from my memories of Finn and sat up, knowing I was probably going to be forced to listen to her gush over Parker. Her arm slid up the doorframe and she sagged against the doorway, sighing. “I almost forgot what that was like.”
I rolled my eyes. “I really don’t want to hear this.”
She stepped in and shut the door behind her, then pressed her back against it. “You know, I almost bailed on my plans for you so I could take that man to bed. He was delicious.”
“Mom…” I carefully slid off the bed, my stomach twisting into uncomfortable knots. I wished she’d just pass out already and stop acting like a lovesick college girl. “Maybe you should go to bed.
Come on. I’ll help you.”
She threw back her head and laughed, dancing past me. “Oh, Emma. This is going to be more fun than I thought.”
She twirled some kind of tool in her hand. Just the sight of her holding a simple screwdriver was cause for concern. Mom plus tools equaled broken things; lots and lots of broken things.
“What are you doing?”
One by one, she jammed the screwdriver into the screws beside the lock on my window and twisted until they were half way up, then wacked the screws to bend them over. “There. I don’t think you’ll be unlocking that window any time soon.”
I gaped at her. “Have you lost your mind? Mom, seriously, I think you’ve had too much to drink.”
Mom sauntered back to the door and tossed the screwdriver across the room. “What a sad, sorry excuse for a girl you are,” she said. “You should be thanking me for putting you out of your misery.
Pining away for a boy you can’t have, not willing to trust anyone but your best friend and mother.
Really, I couldn’t have planned this better if I’d tried.” She gave me a wicked grin. “Time to hand over that body, Emma.”
The fear that been building in my chest exploded and I stumbled back, catching myself on the edge of my bed. My stitched leg slammed into my mattress. Her eyes. Tonight, they were hazel green with flecks of gold. Nothing like the jewel-tone blue eyes that had watched me grow up for the past seventeen years. She’d done what Finn had done to Cash. Maeve was in there, and Mom… Oh my God. “What did you do to her?”
“What dumb luck that your mom chose tonight of all nights to get sloshed!” Maeve laughed. “It was easy. Too easy really. Just a bump on the head in the restaurant bathroom. And the fact that your mom likes her wine definitely helped things along.”
She inspected Mom’s nails. “I apologize for dragging this out. I really do. I’d planned to get this out of the way at the theater, but there were…technical difficulties.” She grinned and dropped her hand to her side. “See, you weren’t dead enough. But I’ll fix that tonight.”