Mystically Bound (Frostbite, Book Three) (12 page)

Loud voices stirred outside the bedroom and I
snuggled into the pillow, staring at the sun beaming through the
window. The front of my skull throbbed, as did behind my
eyeballs—no doubt from my travels into the Netherworld. A slow ache
slid over my body, reminding me I had done something completely
unthinkable. Not only my trip into the ghost world, but I had sex
with Kipp.

To my disappointment, I never returned to him
in my dreams last night. In fact, I hadn’t dreamed at all, and my
heart hurt a lot worse than my head. I wondered if there were
Netherworld rules that prevented me from going there as much as I’d
like. But at this point, who knew? I didn’t have a handbook of
instructions, nor did I have anyone to ask.

Perhaps it’d been a tease, and an even bigger
mistake, to test the waters, so to speak. The loss of Kipp cut
deep, even if seeing him again strengthened my motivation.
That
, I wanted for real, repeatedly, until I physically
couldn’t handle any more. Which I suspected, by how much I longed
for him, wouldn’t happen anytime soon. I doubted I could ever grow
tired of Kipp’s touch.

Outside the bedroom door, the voices grew
louder and closer, as did the hard stomps of feet. Turning onto my
side, Gretchen gave me her sweet smile. Her hair in bed-head state,
stuck up in complete disorder, and her eyes were glossy from sleep.
“What’s going on?” she asked.

I shrugged against my pillow, fighting
against both the throb in my head and the hollowness in my chest,
and the scratchiness of my eyes from crying last night.
“Yelling.”

She chuckled. “You don’t say?”

A sudden loud curse sounded on the other side
of the bedroom door, and I shot up in bed, recognizing the voice. I
instantly regretted it, too, since my head reminded me it hated me
with a fierce throb.

Only a split second passed before the door
whisked open and a blonde bombshell stormed into the room, her blue
eyes blazing. “That’s it, you mother fuckers. I’ve had enough.”

I blinked at the sudden appearance of my best
friend. “Caley?”

Before I had a chance to even process her
arrival, Zach entered the room behind her, scanning the area as if
he were looking for a gunfight. I pushed the blankets off me,
pleased I had dressed in yoga pants and T-shirt, not my typical
pajamas. “What—”

“You have visitors,” Dane grumbled.

I leaned to the side and peered around Zach
to see Dane enter the bedroom. He settled just inside the doorway,
with a thoroughly pissed-off Wayde in tow. I raised my hand to my
temple and gave it a good rub to ease the deep throb. “Yes, I see
that.”

Caley spun to face Wayde, arms folded, and
spat, “Now piss off.”

Wayde glared and took a step toward her. His
hard stomp against the hardwood floor echoed in the room. “Might I
remind you this is
my
house?”

Zach closed in next to Caley with an edge to
his blue eyes that promised death. “It’d be wise to back off,
buddy
.” Those two had a good stare down for a moment before
Wayde jerked his head to me. “I gave you the night to recover, but
my offer remains. Are you still in agreement over what we
discussed?”

I continued to rub at my temple, which did
seem to ease the ache some or maybe I became used to the pain since
it dulled. A good thing, since I needed to think straight,
considering Wayde acted weird. “Why are you talking so
cryptically?”

He snorted, gesturing to Caley and Zach with
a look that left something to be desired. “Do I need to answer that
question?”

I looked between Caley, Zach, and Wayde, and
immediately understood the problem. Heck, Wayde didn’t accept me,
and I somewhat belonged. Zach and Caley weren’t only strangers to
him, but they weren’t supernaturally
gifted.
“First, you
should know that’s insanely prejudiced. But yes, I’m in
agreement.”

At the sound of someone clearing their
throat, I jerked my head toward the doorway and discovered Amelia.
She glanced around at the old faces, plus the new ones, before she
looked at Dane. “I heard yelling. Is everything all right?”

“Everything’s fine,” Dane bit off.

Amelia gave him a tight smile, then to me,
she softened her expression and said, “When you’re ready, I’ve made
breakfast.” She looked at Zach and Caley before her gaze returned
to me. “Your friends can join us, if they’d like.”

My empty stomach clenched in excitement over
the idea of food, especially since Amelia was a great cook and last
night’s cucumber sandwiches had been delicious. “Thank you.”

Dane strode toward his wife and stopped at
the doorway. He looked over his shoulder at Zach. “Keep your stay
short.”

“Not a problem.” Zach’s eyes narrowed on the
enemy. “So, you know, Tess is coming with me.”

“Actually,” I butted in before a fight
erupted since worry creased Amelia’s face. I honestly hated to
admit this. “I have to stay.” Zach looked at me as if I had
seriously lost my mind—and maybe I had. “I need to be close to
Alexander, in case he comes to find me.”

“Yes, you do,” Dane replied.

Clearly appeased, he left the bedroom, taking
his wife with him.

“I’ll wait in the living room for you.” Wayde
strode toward the doorway before he turned to me. “Come see me
before you eat.” He looked at Zach with a frown, then flicked his
hard stare onto me. “Alone.”

After the door slammed shut behind him, Zach
scoffed. “Fucking pricks.”

I happened to agree with him, but my chance
to say as much vanished as Caley stomped toward me. Her hands on
her hips covered a very cute mauve silk blouse and jeans. “Enough
about them—you've become a real bitch, do you know that?”

My mouth parted to respond her when her eyes
lowered into slits. “You hang up on me when all I am is so fucking
concerned for you? Then you turn off your phone so I can’t call
back.” Her eyebrows rose. “Is that how best friends act?”

“Err…sorry,” I murmured, unsure what to
say.

“You should be.” Her chin lifted, then she
glared at Gretchen. “All this magical crap is grating on her. Don’t
you see it?” She turned to me again, her voice rose to a near
shriek. “Listen, I get you want Kipp back, but he wouldn’t want
this for you. He wouldn’t want you to be this unhappy.”

“Caley.” Zach sighed and ran a hand through
his stylish blond hair, his clear blue eyes displaying his
frustration. “Stop.”

She sent a harsh scowl his way and her voice
dropped to a wicked sneer. “Don’t tell me to stop.” She lifted an
eyebrow. “Unless you’d like to join Kipp?”

He frowned, shifting on his feet. Caley might
resemble a sweet Barbie doll, but her looks were deceiving. She had
enough strength in that slender body, matched with a quick mouth
and a smart head, to drop kick a man with a few sentences.

While Zach and Caley had been a couple for a
bit now—something that continued to surprise me since Caley tended
to drift—Zach still, and would always, have his hands full.

By the looks of it, Caley had been pushed too
far. It actually astonished me this cutthroat moment hadn’t
happened sooner. Zach had seemed to rein her in slightly and I’d
noticed a subtle calmer edge to her, but clearly, Caley was now out
in full force.

When Zach remained quiet—
smart
guy
—Caley turned to me. “Do you remember what you used to be
like? You used to laugh and smile, all the time, even with these
annoying ghosts around you.” She waved her hands around the room as
if ghosts were present, which none were. “We had fun and lived
normal lives, regardless of how fucking crazy your life was. But
now…” She threw her hands up in frustration. “You’re not even the
same person anymore. What kind of friend would I be if I sat
around, allowing this to continue?”

I sighed. “Caley, I can’t—”

She took another few steps toward me, closing
in on the bed, her eyes narrowing, dark and stormy. “Don’t even say
to me you can’t get out of this now because I won’t have it.” She
stomped her foot in classic Caley fashion. “You love Kipp, I get
that. But if he loved you as much, he wouldn’t want this for
you—”

“I’ve seen him.”

Caley huffed, once again, throwing her hands
up. “Well, thank the fucking stars. Now this can end. You can go
back to being the perfectly happy ghost lovin’ fool you’ve
been.”

I cringed and knew the long, drawn-out
conversation I had wanted to avoid was now upon me. Worse, I
realized I should’ve had it last night when she wasn’t pissed.
Getting the current wound up Caley to see reason wouldn’t come
easily. “Kipp’s not here.”

“What do you mean, he’s not here?” Caley
glanced around as if searching out a ghost, even if that was
ridiculous because she couldn’t see one. “Where is he?”

“In the Netherworld.” As her lips parted to
no doubt cut me off, I raised my hand. “Yes, I realize this is
going to be totally insane to process, but I did go there and saw
him last night. But before we get into that and calm the jets a
minute, Caley…” I looked at Zach, who remained at the doorway. “Why
are you here?”

His eyebrow arched. “You call me and say
you’re staying in a house that might, or might not, also have the
person responsible for Alexander’s death here, too. Did you
honestly think I wouldn’t come?”

My heart did a little pitter-patter, though
now I realized his search for a gunfight earlier had been because
he thought the killer might be in this house with me. “Okay, well
that’s nice and thank you, but…” I slid my gaze over to Caley,
whose glare remained. “You didn’t come alone?”

“Of course he didn’t come alone.” Caley
snorted, flicking her long locks over her shoulder. “Do you think
I’d let him leave me behind while you are in danger and surrounded
by people who don’t care about you?”

“Now wait a minute,” Gretchen countered in a
tight voice. “That’s not true. I care about her.”

As those two played the stare of death, I
sighed and could’ve kissed Zach when he cut through the tension and
said, “She was coming whether I came or not, so why fight it?”

Seeing Caley’s firm stance and Zach’s knowing
look, this couldn’t be undone. Caley needed answers and I
sympathized with that need—I wanted them, too. “Okay, Caley. Sit
down.” I pointed at her. “Gretchen is one of the good guys so stop
glaring at her.”

Caley took a seat on the bed in front of me
and her scowl slowly melted away. “Zach told me about what’s
happened so far. I mean, I get it all, Tess. But come on, when is
enough,
enough
?”

Trapped in my best friend’s gaze, I allowed
all my heartache to pour into my expression. Instantly, her hands
wrapped around mine, and her features softened. “It won’t ever be
enough?”

I shook my head slowly. “Being here is the
only way for me to get him back. So, please, let’s move past that.
I’m not leaving until Kipp is safely back in his body. Whatever I
have to do, no matter how shitty is, I’ll do it.”

She looked at Zach, her expression became
tender, and this was the reason I loved Caley. She could be
overbearing and sometimes wildly ridiculous, but when it came right
down to it, she had my back. She’d never judged me or disbelieved
in my abilities. Perhaps she hated the danger it put me in, but she
was right—if she loved me, how could she be okay with this all? If
the roles were reversed, I doubted I’d be either.

After a long exhale, she turned to me and her
voice softened. “Do you honestly believe this is going to
work?”

I glanced down to our held hands above the
bedspread and considered the question. It didn’t even take a second
to realize deep down the answer remained clear. “It has to work.” I
lifted my gaze to her. “I can’t even consider it failing.”

She studied me for a moment with sad eyes,
and then to Gretchen she asked, “Do you believe she won’t get
killed doing this? Twice now, she’s nearly died.”

Gretchen shifted on the bed, sitting
cross-legged next to me in her plaid pajamas. “I won’t answer that
question.”

Caley’s glare returned. “Why?”

“Because you’re trapping me,” Gretchen
replied, cool and collected. “I’ll do whatever I can to help Tess
see this through. But I won’t be responsible if something bad
happens to her.”

“She’s right.” I gave Caley a hard look. “Cut
Gretchen a break.
I’m
doing this. Not her. She’s been
nothing but kind and helpful to me.”

Caley’s gaze lowered to the hardwood floor
for only a moment before she lifted her head and tears welled in
her eyes. “I can’t lose you, do you understand that?”

Zach stepped in toward Caley with a furrow to
his brow. Guilt instantly consumed me. I’d been so wrapped up in
myself and in Kipp, I hadn’t realized what this was doing to
her.

Twice now, I had almost died. Caley and I
were as close as sisters were and that bond was unbreakable. Now I
saw her anger came from fear, but one truth remained. “I can’t lose
Kipp either.”

A tear slid down Caley’s cheek. “I know.” She
wiped at her face. “I just hate this. All of it.”

“Me, too.” Sadly, knowing that changed
nothing and I couldn’t make her any promises to when it would all
end; this mess wouldn’t magically go away.

“All right, you’ve got that out of your
system, Caley.” Zach sat in next to her on the bed, tucking her
into his side, and his intense blue eyes zeroed in on me. “Tell me
again what you’ve got so far. I’ll do what I can to help you both,
ensuring neither of you lose anything.”

After I told Caley and Zach about the recent events,
even how Kipp implied Dane’s involvement and of my interaction with
Kipp in the Netherworld, minus the juicy bits, both of them looked
a little stunned. Not missing a step, I finished up with the freaky
note from last night.