Chapter Six #3
Honor cut them a break.
“Sneak in through the Monroes’ property, and don’t let the cops on the gate see you. If you get caught, I’m busting your balls into next year. If you don’t get caught, well, then, what I don’t know doesn’t hurt us as lead investigators.”
Booth laughed.
“Who is this cop? Where is Honor ‘the goddamn Littlemoons are driving me crazy’ Littlemoon?” he asked, winking at her.
She was to the point.
There was no reason to sugarcoat this shit. All of this woo-woo bullshittery was bringing out the secrets, and she was getting ahead of it.
Here.
And.
Now.
“I was depressed after having our kids, Booth. My mom haunts our house. I can see her, and I don’t want to die.”
Yep, she dropped that bomb.
Immediately, Booth stared at her.
“Wait! What?”
She shrugged.
“I know I should have told you about my mother, but…”
Booth shut that down.
“Honor, if you think as a witch I didn’t know there was a spirit haunting our home, you are crazy. I’m talking about you being depressed. That’s my concern in all of this. That you should have come to me, so I could help you.”
She said nothing.
Why?
Because she’d been afraid to lose herself in that moment, and also to have him decorate her in herbs and rocks. Her husband had some questionable moments.
He waited, but she still said nothing.
“Are you taking meds?” he asked.
She shook her head.
“No.”
Well, there was at least that.
Tori could feel the woman’s discomfort, so she jumped in to help Honor.
She was a girl’s girl, after all.
“Honestly, Booth, so many women have post-partum depression. We just don’t say anything. We carry on, because as mothers, what choice do we have? That’s why a lot of women don’t want to have more kids. It breaks you down, and it haunts every second of your day. It’s difficult.”
Well, now, that had someone else’s attention.
Julian stared at his wife.
“Tor, is that why you didn’t want more kids?” he asked. “Did you struggle after their births?”
Honestly, he never noticed because she did an amazing job of being a mother. Tori was superwoman and breezed through it like a pro.
Or she was until he just heard the truth.
It hadn’t been a breeze.
A lot of things were coming out today, and she owned it because lying to your spouse created issues.
She nodded.
“It’s harder with each one. I get why Wynter did what she did, and why Honor kept it to herself. It can be a dark time for a woman.”
Well, now, he felt horrible.
Bishop patted Tori on the leg. She was beside her on the couch and knew how difficult it was for women. She’d never been depressed, but that didn’t negate that other women had been and had to carry on without saying a word.
That broke her heart.
The bottom line was she was a pussy, and the first person she would have sobbed to was Lucian.
Tori continued because her husband was staring at her. Call it a hunch, but she was betting this wasn’t over.
He was going to want to talk about this.
“We’ll break into the house and see what we can find. Just keep Ridge out of there.”
Oh, and for good reason.
It was his wife’s death scene.
Well, Tori didn’t have to worry about that.
Lucian would.
Before it was all said and done, if his wife forgave him and didn’t murder him, he’d get that house removed, or they’d move. One way or another, he’d take care of them.
For Ridge.
For Sophia.
For his promise.
Julian knew that everyone there needed to head out of there and get some rest. They also all had a lot of discussing to do. He, for one, was going to talk to his wife about this.
Putting her through something like this for his own sake…it didn’t sit well with him.
Now, he had a whole other list of worries, beginning with his wife’s mental health after the birth of his children.
Julian glanced at his watch.
“We are going to have a long day tomorrow. Let’s regroup here in the morning before we start out. I’ll text everyone and have them stay put. It’s the weekend, so we can make sure they are safe, and only we work it.”
They all knew the clock was ticking on this one. On Monday, everyone would be back at the office, and in danger again.
It was going to be a marathon.
As they stood, Bishop hugged her partner.
“I’ll see you in the morning. Call me if you need me, or something goes down with the case. I can get to you pretty fast.”
Oh, Honor would.
Bet.
On.
It.
Together, she and Booth headed out, and behind them, Raven escorted his wife, and the Carters to the cars. He wanted to tuck Bex away, and make sure the babysitter got home safely.
Then, he had some magick to work.
With Bex helping him.
They were going to fortify the spells on each of them. While the house was protected, he wanted to make sure his wife didn’t eat a gun.
Not that they had one in the house.
As they were left alone, Tori hugged Ridge.
“I’m so sorry for your loss,” she said. “I know I can’t make the pain stop, but I’m so damn sorry, Ridge. If you need anything at all, even if it’s just someone to cry with,” she said, as tears filled her eyes, “I’m your girl.”
Oh, he appreciated that.
And he might take her up on that offer. The future was going to be difficult as he learned to live it without the woman who was dedicated to him and had been his world.
He wiped his eyes.
“I know,” he whispered. “Thank you, Tor.”
Julian hugged the man next.
“My dude, if you need me, call. I’ll show up. You’re my brother from another mother. I know all of us feel that way. We’ve got you, Ridge. You aren’t doing this alone. I promise. You have a support system.”
God.
He hoped so.
Because he felt like he was in a free-fall over this. The only reason he was functioning was he could feel Lucian connected to his mind, soothing him. His gentle energy was holding him together.
Thank God for their mental link.
“Lock up,” Julian stated, knowing his business partner would.
With a goodnight to everyone, they headed out. When they were gone, Jagger patted Lucian on the back.
“You made the right decision.”
Lucian lifted a brow.
“I did?”
He nodded.
“We all love Avalon, but you need to be here with your family. She’ll get over it. She’ll do her Oracle shit and pull a miracle out of the mire. She always does.”
He hoped so.
Lucian had made a promise, and he wanted to keep it. Granted, he’d made another promise to his wife and had broken it, so his fate was yet to be seen.
Someone could be the killing blow to his heart, and he knew it. His wife had been watching him carefully, and he knew the fire was coming.
For him.
Yeah, he was screwed.
And he knew it.
“Bish,” he began, only to be cut off.
“Let’s go home and get Maura and Jagger settled,” Bishop said, heading out, leaving Ridge and Lucian to follow behind them.
Yep.
This was bad.
Lucian knew he was boned good.
There was no doubt in his mind that his wife knew that he and Ridge had committed the one sin they’d asked him not to do.
He could feel it in his slightly bruised balls.
As they headed outside, he locked the doors and got into the car his wife was driving. Maura and Jagger got into a blacked-out Hummer and followed.
Shit was coming.
And not all of it was due to this mess.
Some was his own creation.
In the goddamn static.
* * * L I T T L E M O O N * * *
Not Far Away
On The Hunt
Yes, he was watching her, and he knew she would be perfect for his next victim.
Honestly, she fit his criteria almost perfectly, and that meant he’d make sure she died.
It had taken careful preparation to find the next victim. It wasn’t like he just randomly chose one willy-nilly.
No.
This took precision.
First, he had to find them, and then, he had to make sure they were weak. He’d observe, watch, and listen to what the static told him about them.
And this one had a lot of whispers.
She was weak.
VERY WEAK.
Her mind was malleable.
Oh, and she also spent her night popping those pills to sleep, which gave him a way in.
Her depression was his greatest victory.
Earlier, he’d placed the necklace in her home, and tonight, while she slept, he’d find her in her dreams and make sure they were memorable.
The game was on, and he needed Lucian Monroe to come out of his hidey-hole to join him back in the static.
When he did…
He’d have him.
Then, he’d move on to the ultimate prize.
Oracle.
Then, the static would be his.
Oh, and the pretty ex-cop who thought she’d slipped away from him would be his ultimate prize. He’d control her mind and make her his.
Finally.
When he wanted something…
He got it.
Bet on it.
* * * L I T T L E M O O N * * *
Genesis’ Apartment
That Evening
Tucked Away
The whole ride there, Josh had been absolutely silent. As he navigated the silent Salem streets, he kept both hands on the wheel, and she assumed it was to control his temper.
He had to be pissed.
Genesis could see him white-knuckling it, and she fully expected a blowup with the man as soon as they got back to her place.
There wasn’t enough witchy energy in the world to stop this runaway train from blowing up in her face.
No.
Freaking.
Doubt.
With Bear’s head between them, he was giving her a way to hide in the shadow of his big body.
In case a fight broke out.
Because there was no doubt in her mind that one was coming.
PERIOD.
She could tell by the look on his face as he was dropped headlong into the whole mess. This morning, he’d been a cop off duty, and now, he’d been forced to witness everything that went down.
Witches.
Psychics.
And a hunted girlfriend.
It couldn’t get much weirder than that. That the man hadn’t dumped her ass at the curb and ran for his life…
She was shocked.
Oh, but it was coming.
How did she know?
Her.
Luck.
Sucked.
Never in her life did she expect any of this to happen. Six months ago, she was a cop in a mostly quiet Utah town, minding her own business.
The most raucous part of her job was her partner being an egotistical asshole.
She didn’t know she was psychic.
She didn’t know she had gifts that would make people run.
She didn’t know what Oracle was, or The Phoenix Files.
Truthfully, she’d been living in her own world, just existing, and now, her universe had been turned upside down after being shaken up.