Pandora's Box (4 page)

Chapter Seven

Feeling like a firing squad awaited them in her bedroom, Madison walked up the stairs slowly, as if she could prolong the inevitable outcome.

Cold.

Dear God, frigid to her very core. Her teeth chattered as pinpricks of unease scuttled across her skin. And numb, too, from all that’d happened the past few months.

Everything would be easier if she could scrunch her eyes closed and hide beneath the covers as she did as a child. Cowering worked then to stamp out the beady, glowing eyes of the monster peeking from her closet or from under her bed. Childish fears paled in comparison to her very real concerns and horrors. Hiding beneath the blankets and shivering in fright wouldn’t help her now.

Tears blurred her vision. She opened the door to her bedroom and nudged it shut with her hip. When she placed Amos on her bed, he curled onto his side, suckling his thumb. The habit returned at the same time his murderous bent emerged.

She ruffled his towhead with one hand and dashed at the scalding tears with the other. Since meeting Micah, everything had gone to shit. First, her parents died in a single-vehicle accident. There’d been some idyllic moments during her marriage to Micah before Amos, complacent years, and although she’d been a little bored, she’d been happy. Until one morning shortly after Amos turned two, when he’d kissed her good-bye, headed to work, and never returned home. The note she discovered on her pillowcase later in the evening explained that while he loved her and Amos, he couldn’t bear to ‘live here’ any longer. Whatever the hell that meant. Devastated by his betrayal, depression would have ruled her if not for the needs of her son.

The police investigated her for fraudulently reporting a missing person who never lived. Apparently, Micah existed nowhere. Not on paper and not on the World Wide Web of knowledge. The Internet forgot no one, and lost no one, not even those the government wanted forgotten. When they’d discovered an obscene amount of money in overseas accounts in her name, the IRS launched an examination for tax fraud, which coincided with the probe of money laundering.

None of the charges panned out, of course, because, shocker of all shockers, she was actually innocent. She disliked being a suspect in a criminal investigation and although the Feds formally closed their investigation, she thought they would always suspect her of something.

Financial security lent some comfort. Obscene amounts of cash proved Micah loved them in some sordid way. Pfft. But in the three years since his disappearance, she’d learned to hate him with a passion.

Things settled down. She and Amos grew comfortable with the mundane routine of daily life, until Amos went demonic and started killing animals and attacking her.

Madison walked into the bathroom. She stared at her reflection for a long time. Her glassy eyes held the look of a wild, caged animal. Dark smudges darkened the delicate flesh beneath them. Lines furrowed her forehead as if someone set a farmer loose on her with a plow.

If her hair weren’t so blonde, she wouldn’t have been surprised to find gray in the tangled mass. Her hands shook as she lodged strands behind her ears and released a deep, concerned sigh. She struggled to keep further tears at bay as she turned on the tap. The splatter of water hit the ceramic sink, and she splashed her face. The cold water should have alleviated her raging anxiety or the fear spiking with devastation through her system. Regrettably, it failed to soothe her frazzled nerves.

A quandary of emotions and doubts filled her mind. In truth, she felt as if a wrecking ball battered the walls of her sanity. The headache rap, tap, tapping at her temples proved the wrecking ball’s persistency to take her out. Worse, she worried cracks veined through the foundation of her judgment.

James and Phoenix Birmingham would have her believe in demons and Mimickers and God only knew what else. How could she believe all this? How could she not? Could they really exist? Her very religious father would have said yes. He’d often preached about Lucifer’s minions being let loose on unsuspecting humans. He’d warned her soul balanced between two worlds, and if she failed to alter the course of her life, she would burn, burn, buuuurrrrrn!

She stared at herself in the mirror. Her father had been a cold-hearted bastard, and she’d never really missed her parents until now. Madison didn’t want to think about her father or his passion for preaching hellfire and brimstone. Neither did she want to think about the problems currently plaguing her life. She wished she could change the dial of her life as easily as a television station. Life would be much simpler and less complicated if she could.

“How could Amos send that thing back to Hell the way he did?” she whispered to her reflection. “How can I believe he’s capable of it?”

***

Zo let loose an ironic chuckle. “Well, I guess we’re not going to be friends anytime soon.”

“Spectacular, showy entrance, Zo,” Nix said with a wink.

“What’d I say wrong?” Zo turned a puzzled frown on Gage, who shrugged and massaged her nape. “She does know we’re here to help them, right?”

Even if he never wanted a permanent woman in his too dangerous life, Nix envied their relationship. “She knows. I think her attitude has a lot to do with fear and even more denial.”

“So, what happened to the Mimicker? Which one of you had the pleasure of killing it?”

James scratched the back of his head, his features pulling into a brooding frown. “The boy had the pleasure. Wouldn’t you agree he is the one responsible, Nix?”

Zo and Gage gaped at him, and Nix nodded his head, agreeing emphatically with his uncle.

“What? How’s that even possible?” Zo shot a speculative glance at Gage. As an answer, he shrugged. Without witnessing the incident firsthand, Nix probably wouldn’t have believed it possible either.

“Basically, he told it to go bye-bye and it went bye-bye.” Nix answered Zo’s question and watched as disbelief spread across their faces. The hole had damn near swallowed him, too.

“Now’s no time for joking, Nix.” Gage’s lips seamed into a disapproving line. He guessed that was the biggest problem with being the smartass in the group. Sometimes folks couldn’t tell when he teased and when he was serious.

“Not kidding.” Nix ran a hand down his face. “So very not. Wish I were.” He sighed and met his uncle’s worried frown. “How in the hell could the boy have the power to do that?”

James shook his head. “I don’t know, son, but it doesn’t bode well.”

If Nix didn’t know better, he’d think Amos housed a damned powerful demon. Or was one.

“Wait.” Gage placed an arm around Zo’s shoulder. “Start from the beginning and tell us exactly what happened. Spare no details.”

James spared no details, relaying everything. “We gotta find out all we can about her ex-husband.”

Even though he had witnessed it all, Nix’s head spun with questions and uncertainties by the time James finished. He rubbed the back of his neck. “She told me he walked out on her when Amos was two years old.”

“We’re missing something.” James’s eyes were dark with concern.

Saying they were missing something was a lot like saying someone was a ‘little pregnant.’ In his opinion, the situation had hit FUBAR—fucked up beyond all recognition—status long before they arrived. A bad feeling settled in his gut, a knot hard enough to mature into a rock. They were way out of their league. Whatever targeted the child and his mother played by a different set of rules, ones they’d never dealt with before. Demons always preyed on the weak and young, just never like this, not in his experience.

James palmed his cell phone and punched in numbers. As he put the phone to his ear and waited for it to connect with the other party, he spoke to Nix. “Since she’s already opened up to you about the ex, why don’t you go smooth talk some more information out of her?”

Nix and Gage both snorted, while Zo let loose a sarcastic chuckle. Schmoozing women into his bed could be counted as his forte, schmoozing information out of them…not so much. Gage could charm satanic pit bulls into submission; too bad he didn’t have the trait. He shook his head and ran his fingers through his short, spiky hair. “Thanks for the moral support.” Heavy sarcasm flanked his tone.

“Go get her, tiger.” Zo imitated a mock growl and burst into peals of laughter which followed him up the stairs.

Chapter Eight

Guessing Madison had vacated to the safety of her bedroom, Nix rapped on the door and waited. He wasn’t sure how to cajole more information out of her about her ex, or even what else they needed to know about the man. He shoved his hands into his jeans pockets and waited. Rolling on the balls of his feet, he tried to think how to broach the subject. She answered his knock too soon for him to formulate a plan. Red-eyed, Madison opened the door. She’d been crying.

“Can we talk?” He stepped backward out of the doorway.

She peeked at her son, curled up on his side asleep on her bed. Like that, he wouldn’t believe Amos capable of anything more than ordinary childhood naughtiness, even though he’d witnessed firsthand the boy’s violent tendencies, as well as the accuracy of his aim with a blade. Nix rubbed the edges of the bandage on his arm.

Leaving the door slightly ajar in case Amos awoke, Madison stepped out of her bedroom and leaned against the wall to the left of the door. Weariness forced her shoulders to droop, and Nix wished he could do more for her. They stared at one another, saying nothing. He admired her tenacity and devotion to her son. Good mothers were hard to come by, and she had him missing his as if she’d died only yesterday.

Using the wall as support, she slid to the floor and wrapped her arms around her knees. He got the impression she wanted to draw up into the tightest ball she could and hoped no one would notice her. Or at the very least, all her worries would disappear.

“I think you and your family should leave.”

The unexpected statement surprised him. The only way she could have stunned him more would have been to kiss him senseless.

“It’s obvious y’all are as baffled by my son as everyone else.” She rested her forehead against her knees and shook her head. “You can’t help us. No one can help us.”

Nix didn’t believe in admitting defeat, and she sounded too conquered for his peace of mind. Hell, they’d barely arrived and she was ready to throw in the towel and surrender? Not acceptable. Giving up meant certain death. He squatted beside her. Flaxen hair curtained her face from his view. She seemed fragile and in need of a champion. “Madison, we’re not quitting, and neither should you.”

She lifted her head and stared at him. The intensity of her glistening Caribbean blue eyes startled him, leaving him vulnerable. In the kitchen, he’d felt the same way when she stared at him, like she could see to his soul and knew his many misdeeds. Dread possessed him as surely as a demon could. He wished to hide the depth of his offenses from her. Before he could digest his intention, he brushed her hair behind her shoulder, letting the back of his fingers wisp across her cheek. She leaned into his touch, reminding him of a starving creature. He wondered how long it’d been since she experienced affection from a man. Not a thought he needed to linger over—he pushed it from his mind.

“I’m just a man, certainly no miracle worker.”
And definitely not a fucking saint
, he added, enjoying the softness of her skin more than he should. “I promise we’ll figure out what’s happening, and we’ll put a stop to it.”

What a fool to make promises he in no way knew he could keep. But he swore he would help her resolve her problem or die trying. Their gazes locked, held, and every part of his body smoldered for her. Dangerous. He wasn’t used to this type of strong attraction. Nix’s idea of devotion lasted as long as their sojourn in a town. A man-whore, Zo jokingly called him. And Madison Wescott didn’t strike him as the type of woman a man made love to and later hit the road without ever thinking of again. Oh no, Nix feared she’d be the type to haunt a man. So, after experiencing Madison Wescott, how could her husband have abandoned her? Nix doubted he’d ever have an answer to such a soul-searching question.

Even if he decided to take a woman like Gage had, no man needed a southern bombshell on his hands. Zo fit the bill for what every Sherlock needed, someone that didn’t fuss over her appearance and could take care of herself. Regardless of her obvious courage and devotion to her son, the tall, curvy woman before him would cave beneath the constant battles. Or maybe he crafted excuses to keep his hands off her because he despised the idea of her risking her life, no matter how appealing the thought of loving her sounded.

Madison broke the eye contact first. Licking her lips, she closed her lids, leaned against the wall, and shook her head slightly. Nix sat opposite her and rested against the sheetrock. Propping his forearms on his bent knees, he splayed his fingers and watched the band on his middle finger glint in the minimal lighting. The etchings on his ring would protect him from demonic infestation. With the smell of sulfur in her house, she needed protection as well.

Note to self: Get Madison a Rhombus as soon as possible.

Becoming comfortable with their amicable silence, Nix watched her. Her direct, unblinking gaze left him feeling naked and uncomfortable all over again, as if all his sins lay exposed. What about her made him want to be a better man when he peered at her? What about her made him aspire to such heights?

“I should apologize to your friend.”

He shrugged. “Zo doesn’t hold grudges.”

“Zo? Odd name.”

“It’s Zoe actually. Zo’s my nickname for her.”

“Ah….” The sound exited her lungs, inflected with hints of carnality and lusty promises that would fell a man or a small nation. “I don’t want any of you to get hurt, Phoenix.”

The change in subjects stumped him for a moment before realizing they were back to her first statement when she suggested they leave. Nix rubbed his bottom lip with his thumb and pondered how to deal with her. “It comes with the nature of the business, Madison.”

“I’m not responsible for your other jobs, just this one.”

What a quick comeback! And smartly rational.

“My conscience couldn’t bear any of you getting hurt or worse—” She swallowed hard and finished with “—killed.”

“Are you a stubborn woman, Madison?”

She mulled the question over a moment. An ironic grin tilted one corner of her mouth and she said, “Yeah, I am. Although a lady should never confess to the fault.”

Nix couldn’t resist a smile. “Your secret’s safe with me.”

“Good.” Her grin vanished and he recognized the expression of someone whose thoughts retreated to dreadful memories. “I’d hate for another stain to mar my reputation.”

Only a true southern belle worried about her reputation, and Nix grew curious what could have happened to taint hers. “Tell me what happened to ruin yours.”

“Nothing really. It’s a small town and people talk.” She played with her hair, running the ends through her lips. “There was some evidence that my parents’ car accident wasn’t exactly an ‘accident.’ Some thought I was involved or had someone do it.” She shrugged, a casual gesture, but he could tell by her stiffness, her confession reminded her of a bad time in her life. “And when Micah walked out, those same people speculated I was involved again, only this time their paranoia grew and latched onto others.”

Nix couldn’t imagine how anyone might think this mild mannered woman could harm another person, much less people she loved. “What did they think was your motive?”

A bitter smile flitted across her mouth. “Money, of course. My father might have been a religious nut job, but he came from old money and knew how to invest it wisely. Micah….” She brushed the strands of hair against her chin. “He was an attorney, but the money he left in my name surpassed anything my father could have dreamed about.”

“A couple hundred thousand?” Nix guessed. The abstract amount created little cha-ching dollar signs registering behind his eyes.

Madison chuckled. “No. If you look hard enough, you’ll find my name on the list of billionaires.”

Nix whistled. The inconceivable amount spun like a slot machine in his head. Figures he couldn’t count the zeroes on, making her a mega rich client. They’d never worked for anyone with money before, not that it changed anything. He’d still help her, even if her wealth caused his head to spin with a slew of questions.

“Wanna know something else?”

He nodded and waited for her to continue.

“I learned after Micah disappeared that he didn’t exist. My marriage wasn’t even legal. My ex-husband’s phony ID fooled the registrar’s office into giving us a marriage license. I still insisted on a very legal divorce.” She rubbed her forehead. “Even his birth certificate was a phony.”

He guessed this could account for another stain against her reputation. Supernatural creatures rarely created “real” identities in the human world.

“Madison, what do you mean when you say he didn’t exist?” He tried to sit up a little straighter, and discovered his position on the floor failed to accommodate a straighter seat.

“There are no records of his birth, his Social Security number belonged to someone already dead, and a detailed Internet search produced nada. Even his brother, Elias, is a ghost. His so-called deceased parents were tracked to living during the 1700s.”

Nix sucked in a ragged breath, the scenario she painted atypical of the paranormal community.

“There is no record of any children being born to the couple. Everything Micah ever told me was a lie.”

Elias
? What a peculiar name. Coupled with parents from the 1700s, her problem kept getting bigger and more complicated. “Have you seen his brother since Micah’s disappearance?”

“No.” She shook her head. “Good riddance, too. Elias always made me feel like he stripped me naked. Made my skin crawl.”

Nix wanted to strip her naked, too. He could understand Elias’s obsession there, but he’d been her brother-in-law, which identified him as a pervert and a little sick in Nix’s opinion. Some familial territory lines weren’t meant to be crossed. “Since Micah is nonexistent, do you think he was really a lawyer or do you think that another lie?”

“He practiced law, but he held no official degree from Harvard as he claimed. I have all his case files boxed up if you want to look at them.”

He nodded. “Yeah, that’d be great.”

“What happened in the kitchen….” She shuddered and fear clouded her eyes. Considering what he knew and what he saw, he thought her very brave. She swallowed hard and asked, “Do you really think Amos got rid of it?”

Nix hesitated, scratched his chin, and nodded. “Yeah, I do.” He gave her the answer he knew she was most reluctant to hear. He would never be comfortable sugar coating supernatural occurrences. Sugar coating got people killed.

The beauty of her tear-filled eyes hit him again. Like blue diamonds.

“How could he do that?” She swiped at the wet tracks falling down her cheeks, and Nix thought she’d be stunning dressed to the nines. Red-rimmed eyes, puffy red nose, a total mess, and still a very attractive woman any man would desire. He could understand why a high-powered man like her husband would desire a woman like her—if not for love, her looks alone would seal the deal.

Between gasping, tear-laced breaths, her words stuttered out, “How could…he do…any…of…the things…he does?” A long, ragged inhale seemed to fortify her backbone into steel. The crying ceased and her voice grew a fraction stronger. “I’m scared, Phoenix. Terribly scared.” A nervous laugh made her sound like she hovered between the delicate edge of reason and full-blown irrationality. “I guess that makes me weak. Not the type of woman you’d….”

She glanced away sharply, and Nix wondered what she’d been about to say. He knew what he wanted her to say, but even if she admitted an attraction to him, it wouldn’t be right to pursue it. Madison Wescott was a vulnerable woman, and he would be a cad to make a move on her during the worst moment in her life. Tense silence hung between them as she sniffled and used the back of her pale pink, three-quarter inch sleeves to mop up her tears.

“You’re not weak, you’re human. I get scared, too. I’m just too manly to admit it.” For some crazy reason, he resisted the urge to pound on his chest like Tarzan. But it didn’t matter, she broke into laughter, a pure, melodious sound that shivered all over his body and settled like a warm cocoon on his downstairs brain.

“Yeah.” Her chuckles retreated. “But at least you know how to protect yourself. If I tried, I’d just screw myself.”

“Not anymore—you’ve got me to do that.”

Their gazes locked, and she sucked in a shallow breath. Oh, God, he couldn’t have just said she had him to screw her now, could he? Not what he intended to imply, even if the idea was fabulous.

Nix cleared his throat. He wouldn’t correct himself. It’d make matters worse if he tried. “You want to show Gage those case files you said you have?”

If Nix perused them, he’d be left scratching his head. Gage was the brain in the family, could dissect a computer faster than an IT tech.

“Yeah. No point in sitting in the hallway feeling sorry for myself.”

Nix stood and offered his hand to help her up. Madison stared at it as if he might bite if she accepted, but she finally placed her hand in his.

He noted her tiny shiver as if skin-to-skin contact left her tingling in awareness.