The two men had managed to shift Jen to the middle, either to buffer their manliness or keep from getting the other’s cooties. Hard to say. I still didn’t know why they’d decided to join us, or why we’d let them. Luke had been remarkably accepting of the psychic and ghost business.
“There’s another seat in the back,” I told Jen. “If you want to be more comfortable. I can pull over.”
She shook her head. “We’re in a hurry. Maybe on the way back.”
“So let’s hear the whole story,” Stacey said after she’d gobbled her tacos. She sat sideways in the seat, her legs crossed, her back against the door. No seatbelt. The LEDs on her Chucks continued to flash. “Don’t leave out the ghost wrangling part, either.”
She gave me a questioning look to confirm that it was okay that she spoke openly in front of Luke and Mikey. Not that she hadn’t let the cat out of the bag when she’d greeted me, but Jen had probably given her a quick and dirty rundown already, so she knew the men had witnessed our conversation when Rhi’s texts arrived, not to mention my little disintegration act at the table.
The cat had long since shredded the bag and escaped.
After I told the story,I spent the rest of the drive to Sutton answering questions. Mikey seemed content to just listen. Shortly after I began to tell my story, Luke revealed he didn’t believe anything I’d said and started ridiculing the idea of magic. I lobbed a ball of witch light at him. From then on, he just sat and stared wide-eyed at it bobbing in his cupped palms. I didn’t doubt he was listening just as intently as Mikey.
Luke was a slut, but he was also smart. He made his money working at a tech company that did business for the government. Whatever he did for them, they made sure he was happy, paying him well and loading him up with a buttload of perks, including paid-for trips to fancy resorts all over the world, a Ferrari, a vacation house in Pebble Beach, and I don’t even know what else.
He kept most of his wealth a secret, unless you noticed most of his clothes were handmade just for him, or if he took the Ferrari out. Most of the time he drove a pick-up truck with all the bells and whistles you could imagine. Basically, he was down to earth and not a snob about his money.
So to sum up: rich, slutty, and smart, but not snobby. He also had a sense of humor and frankly, the best thing about him was that for as long as I’d known him, he’d had Stacey’s back. Sure, he wanted in her pants, but he’d never force her, and he’d also do just about anything for her. I was pretty sure he’d accepted he’d never get her into bed and flirted mostly because they both had fun with it.
Mikey, on the other hand, despite his asshole tendencies, seemed like a solid guy and smart, but he also had a judgmental streak a mile wide. Since he directed it at Stacey, Lorraine, Jen, and I, he was going to have to crawl a long way before I’d be willing to trust him. Or like him.
I parked in the same place I had before. When we reached the shop, the front door stood open, light from the chandeliers streaming out. I went inside and scanned the interior. The girls had been busy. The salvageable stuff had been moved to one side of the shop. Fat garbage bags lined the opposite wall. Several big garbage cans held broken glass, wood, nails, and other debris.
I glanced up to the chandelier where I’d attached Mitzi. Her pink quartz twitched and vibrated. Jen and Stacey followed my gaze.
“That’s her?” Stacey asked.
I nodded.
“I thought my first ghost would be more interesting,” she said, eyeing the crystal.
“I could let her loose, but she’d probably pull the building down on us,” I said.
“You’re here!” Rhi hurried in from Mitzi's psychic reading room. The relief on her face was almost painful. She waved her hand. “Come quickly. She’s gotten worse.”
She disappeared and I followed, the others trailing after me.
When I stepped through the heavy velvet drapes, my gaze instantly went to Lindsey. She sat in one of the chairs at the glass-and-wood pedestal table. Her head hung down, her hair hiding her face. She sat stiff in the chair, arms dangling. She still wore gloves. Her breathing wheezed loud in the little chamber, alternating with sounds that could have been whimpers.
She shuddered and her breathing stopped. Her ribs bellowed as she fought for oxygen. She threw her head back. Her eyes stared wildly at the ceiling. Her body twitched and shook, her mouth opening and closing like a fish. Sweat dampened her face and darkened her shirt. She looked like she’d been working for hours in the Arizona sun. Her skin had gone bright red and her eyes looked bloody from popped capillaries. She didn’t blink.
Lorelei stood behind her, wringing her hands as she spoke quickly into Lindsey’s ear. She glanced up as I came into the room.
“She’s here. Do you hear me? Beck is here. You can talk to her now. Please breathe.Please.”
Lindsey didn’t react. I strode to her and stood over her, putting my face in her field of vision.
“Lindsey? Can you hear me? You need to breathe.” And if she didn’t, I’d have to do it for her. Mouth to mouth? Or using magic?
“I know CPR,” Mikey volunteered.
“Same,” Stacey said.
When Lindsey started to bow up out of the chair, her feet on the floor, her neck pressed against the back of the chair, I bent and grabbed her hand, stripping off the glove so I could touch her skin to skin.
A porcupine exploded in my brain. I collapsed against the table and dropped to the floor, my vision fracturing into confetti. Nothing made sense. My chest clenched down and I couldn’t breathe. I fought a panic that wasn’t mine. Lindsey’s emotions pounded through me in a cataract of frenzied fear and desperation. I heard her screaming. That I heard her only inside my head made no difference. The sound ripped through me like I’d been hit with a taser.
Vaguely I was aware of shouting and talking and the smell of lemons and cloves. Weird. In my mind, thick clouds of greasy yellow and black smoke billowed up. I wanted to hold my breath, but that only reminded me I couldn’t breathe. Prickles ran under my skin, quickly turning to pinpricks and then scraping. I twitched and shuddered, but couldn’t rid myself of the sensation.
