29. Stevie
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
STEVIE
I’m returning to Seattle a different person than when I left.
Not only have I aided in the killing of two men, but I also gave in to the sexual tension between Sebastian and me.
I have grown to care for him deeply in the time we’ve spent together.
He’s complex and infatuating—and dare I say he understands me? Or is “handles” a better word?
Last night was insanity. The high I’m still riding is visceral. His energy pulses through my veins as if I’ve injected him for survival. It’s strange, but alarming at the same time. Are we together, together? Or was last night an explosion of long-awaited pent-up tension?
I have no idea. And I fear I’m worried to find out.
I’m not the type of woman who falls in love every time she hooks up with a guy, but why did last night feel more than that?
Being wrapped in his arms, the way he needed to stay inside of me to sleep, an erotically heady and intoxicating vibe I want more of.
All I can think of as I watch Sebastian carry our luggage into Thompson Manor is how soon can I experience it again?
“Thank you.” I tuck my hair behind my ear.
Sebastian throws me a knee-buckling smile over his shoulder, walking down the hall toward the West Wing.
“Wait. Where are you going?”
He turns to face me, but continues to walk backward. “My bedroom.”
“Why? Aren’t I staying in the East Wing?”
“Not anymore.”
My eyebrows snap together in confusion. “Wait, what?”
Poe rounds the corner from one of the rooms. Sebastian sets down our things, then crouches to the floor to pick up the kitten. “Hey, buddy. I missed you.”
Poe head-butts Sebastian’s face and meows a greeting.
“Sebastian.” I approach them, scratching Poe on the top of his head. “Why am I not staying in the East Wing anymore?”
He sets the cat onto the floor, and Poe walks back and forth between his legs before coming over to me. “I want you with me…”
My heart flutters. “You do?”
“Yes. You think this weekend was just a moment of fun?”
I glance away. “Maybe?”
Sebastian steps into me. With his arm looping around my lower back, he yanks me into him. “Not a chance.”
“I never said I wanted to give up my space.”
“Because I never asked.”
“So, I don’t get a say?”
His eyes fall to my lips. “Stevie?” he whispers my name.
“Yeah?”
“I’m never going to sleep without you by my side again.”
His words force me to take in a sharp breath. Why is him needing to sleep with me for comfort the hottest fucking thing I’ve ever heard? And why do I so badly want to give him what he needs?
My eyes close. “Is that right?”
Sebastian’s lips press against mine. They’re warm and perfect, reminding me what last night was like.
“Oh good, you guys are home.” A masculine voice startles me from behind.
Sebastian breaks our kiss, turning his head to the side.
“Christian,” Sebastian says his name with an annoyed undertone. “I thought you were staying at Nightrose Hall?”
Christian approaches us, half-eaten apple in his hand. “I am, but Aunt Mae let me in so I could speak to you both when you got back.” He takes a bite, then turns to me. “Hi, Stevie.”
“Hi.” I smile.
“Interesting weekend?” he taunts.
I exchange a quick look with Sebastian. Christian is like Sebastian’s brother, I’m sure he told him what happened between us.
“We’re going to drop off our things in my bedroom,” Sebastian tells him. “Meet me in my office in half an hour to debrief?”
“Sounds good.” Christian takes another bite of his apple, then bends to pick up the kitten. “I’ll be hanging out with Poe,” he says, before casually walking away.
Sebastian picks up our luggage. “Come on.”
I follow behind him down the long hall lined with floor-to-ceiling windows. The sun is shining today, with only a few dark clouds in the distance. I need to check in at the mortuary sometime this afternoon or evening. But something tells me I should go with Sebastian first.
He leads me into a large bedroom with a fireplace on one side and the biggest bed I’ve ever seen. It smells like Sebastian everywhere. I breathe in the scent of leather and smoke while taking in the dark colors of chocolate and black.
“Looks like a bachelor’s room,” I comment.
My eyes find massive windows taking up one entire wall covered in the same blackout curtains found in the bedroom of the East Wing.
Sebastian laughs. “I’m going to have Aunt Mae get your clothes and things moved from your room to mine.” He gestures toward the closet that’s basically the size of my entire apartment.
“I can’t believe I’m letting you talk me into this.”
Sebastian grabs my hips, yanking me into him. “Like I said, you don’t get a choice.”
I wrap my arms around the back of his neck and playfully lower my eyes. “I don’t like that.”
“Sorry.”
I glance at the clock on the wall, thinking there’s still time to head to the mortuary today.
“I need to go to Nevermore this afternoon,” I tell him. “I’m eager for a full report on how things have been going.”
“Of course, I figured you’d want to check in soon,” he mumbles into my skin, nuzzling my neck. My body breaks out into chills. “I’ll grab my stuff and follow you there.”
“You don’t have to. I know Christian is waiting to meet with you. And I’m sure you have a tracker on my phone by now anyway.” I thread my hands through his black hair.
Sebastian lifts his head to make eye contact. “I do. But I apologize if you think I was asking a question. Making sure you’re safe is not up for discussion. We’ve eliminated two of the members. I need to make sure you’re close to me.”
The urge to push back at his protectiveness is strong, but hell, do I think it’s hot. “Fine.”
“I can call Christian from the car,” he says.
A short time later, Sebastian is following close behind me as I make my way down the long driveway from Thompson Manor, past the security gates, and onto the winding highway.
My heart aches to speak with my sister. I need to tell her about everything that’s happened.
Discussing the emotions I’m having and not having would give me some peace of mind since she’s gone through a similar experience.
But I keep my eyes on the road, bound for Nevermore instead of calling her.
Lux deserves a break from this chaos, and I only hope she’s getting all the dick she can take—with a few spa days and expensive wine thrown in.
The afternoon rain bellows at the windows, as scattered showers dot the sky.
Small slivers of sunlight break through the gray clouds, creating little microbursts of moisture.
Glancing in the rearview mirror, I spot Sebastian’s slick black car.
He’s less than a car’s length behind me, leaving no room to be separated at a light or turn.
When I pull into the mortuary, a sense of familiar normalcy washes over me, settling my nerves from buzzing below the surface.
After parking, I grab my purse, give Sebastian a quick wave, and then head into the building. The smell of lilacs welcomes me into a space I call a second home.
“You’re back!” Kristine calls out from her office.
I give her a smile and wave and then head into mine directly across the hall. Quickly glancing at my gravestone art on the walls, each one a memory of a life once lived. Rounding the corner of my desk, I slump into my black leather chair and remove the laptop from my bag.
“How was your retreat?” Kristine walks into the office beaming.
I told Kristine and Noah I was going to a retreat for the weekend so I had an excuse for not being available.
I sigh, rubbing my thumb across the smooth, onyx stone’s eye of the skull figurine on my desk. The mineral is supposed to be good for protection and grounding, which is exactly what I crave right now. “It was good.”
“That’s it?” She climbs onto the couch under the large bay window, then brings one of the black lace pillows into her lap. “You were there for two days, I’m sure you feel a little more relaxed?”
The divine sensation of Sebastian’s lips peppering my neck with soft kisses returns, and I can’t help but blush at the memory. “You could say that.”
Kristine’s eyebrows slowly rise as her expression transforms from excitement to enthusiasm. “You got laid, didn’t you!”
I shake my head, biting back a grin. “I-I…uh…”
“Oh, my god!” she shrieks. “You are glowing!”
I give up the fight, letting myself feel the smile fully. “I-I did. Yes, I had sex.”
“Did you ever!” she exclaims, throwing the pillow to the side. “From the crimson shades on your face, he did good.”
I cover my face with my hands, my elbows resting on the desk. “Yes.”
“So, where does he live?” she asks. “Not in California, I hope.”
“No, he lives here in Seattle.”
Kristine takes a clip from the hem of her shirt and pulls up her hair as if feeling the heat from me. “So, who is he? What does he d—”
“Stevie. You’re back.” Noah appears in the doorway.
“I am.” I smile. “How’s everything going?”
His expression looks troubled. “Good, but we got a body early this morning that I’d like you to look at.”
Kristine and I exchange a brief look of confusion before we both get up and follow Noah into the prep room.
“I was working on Mr. Hoover, twenty-five, with an apparent heart attack.”
His words pique my interest. “Apparent?”
Noah pushes open the swinging double doors into the prep room. “Yeah, I guess the family is working with the police because they believe there might’ve been foul play.”
“Damn,” Kristine says.
The body lies on the table, a white sheet pulled up to his neck. Jake Hoover, a good-looking guy. I grab his medical chart hanging on the wall, and after a brief skim of the first few pages, I can see he was in good shape, healthy, and had no preexisting medical conditions.
“Is the report from the medical examiner in here?” I ask.
Noah leans in, flipping to the fourth page. “It’s here. But what I wanted to show you was something strange on his upper thigh,” he says, then lifts the sheet, exposing only his left leg.
My eyes find a small, shallow X carved into his skin.
My breath hitches. The Black Veil Society.
Which one of these bastards got to him? We just got back from California this morning! Unless it happened last week.
“When was his death?” I turn to Noah, my mind spinning.
Noah flips back to the first page of his chart. “Ten days ago.”
It happened before the trip to wine country. I need to speak with Sebastian.
Running a hand through my hair, I go through the possible scenarios about how this could have been missed. “And the ME didn’t note anything about these markings?”
Noah shakes his head. “They’re subtle, and if they already ruled it cardiac arrest and police didn’t suspect foul play, maybe they weren’t looking for anything? Which, you know, can happen. We’re all human.”
“Sure, yeah,” I dismiss. My mind is still racing.
“Let’s prepare the body as normal unless we get a different communication from the family or law enforcement,” I tell him. “It’s probably nothing.” The last thing Sebastian and I need is the police asking questions.
Noah nods. “Sounds good. Just thought I’d bring it to your attention.”
“You were right to, thank you.” I attempt a convincing smile, then take another glance at the young guy lying on my table. “I’m going to go back to my office to get some work done.”
I leave Noah and Kristine in the room and march down the hallway. Once I’m back in my office, I take a deep breath in, hold it for a moment, and then push it out, trying to calm myself.
My first thought is to tell Sebastian, but if it happened before we started taking them down, then he would be no different from the others I found. And there is nothing I can do about it now.
A weight presses down on my shoulders as I slide to the floor. Tucking my knees into my chest, I hide my face for a few moments to collect myself. If we had started working together sooner, Sebastian and I could have saved him.
Which member was it?
Once my head clears a bit, I walk to my desk to try to return to work as usual.
I check the mortuary calendar, get a briefing from Kristine about the funeral she and Noah worked on independently—which went as well as I thought it would.
Then, I answer any pressing emails and check a few items off my to-do list. But none of those mundane tasks bring me back to sanity again.
My eyes bounce around the familiar room that once brought me comfort until they land on one of the grave rubbings I’m most fond of. A smile breaks, and I’m taken back to the warm sunny day when I created that piece.
I need to go to the graveyard. Creating art might be the only way I can process how my life has been turned upside down.
In my office, the sun peeks through dark clouds, giving me the short amount of clear weather I need before more rain moves in.
The desk chair rolls back as soon as I close my laptop and stand up with haste.
Grabbing my canvas bag filled with my supplies, I head for the door.
After I pop my head into Kristine’s office, I say a quick goodbye, and I’m on my way. When I reach the parking lot, I notice Sebastian’s car is gone. It throws me off for a moment, but he gave me a big speech about not leaving me alone. He’s probably not far.
I’m only going less than a mile down to the north side of the graveyard. I could probably walk through the dense forest, but I’m not feeling up for it right now.
Pulling out of the parking lot, I drive for about a minute and a half before I’m turning into an empty smaller lot.
I reach into the back to grab my bag of supplies, then climb out.
There’s a slight chill in the air, but I should have some time before the weather is no longer in my favor and the light mist turns into a downpour.
The beautiful Douglas fir trees hang low over the metal archway leading into the north side of the protected grounds. I have little time as always, but I’m hoping this time lets me detach because I know I need to.
Strolling between the rows of gravestones, I scan each one. Then I spot a small headstone hiding beneath long stalks of overgrown grass. Maybe poorly tended to.
Kneeling in front, I slide my fingers along the limestone. “Hi,” I greet the person as I always do.
The serene sound of a bird chirping and the sweet scent of pine fills my nostrils. The cool air is heavy on my cheeks but refreshing.
But then a loud snap of a branch from behind me captures my attention.