Wraiths of Winter (The Haunting Ruby Series Book 3) (36 page)

“Ruby! It’s so good to hear your voice! Rachel told me
everything that happened this morning—are you okay?”

Just hearing his voice on the other end of the phone
made me feel safer. I hadn’t told him about the lingerie
because he would have assumed it was from Lucas. Breaking
the news that I’d hidden something so important from him
was
the least of my
worries—I was
being
stalked by
a
psychopath!

“Zach! I think I’m next on the killer’s list of victims!” I
cried into the phone. Hurriedly, I explained about the last two
gifts and the similarities between me and the other girls.

“That’s it, Ruby! I don’t care what your dad says—I’m
coming over there right now. I’m not letting you out of my
sight until this killer is caught! Stay on the phone with me
until I get there!”

Gladly. Ten o’clock came and went but there was no
way I was opening the door to the shop while I was still alone.
The prospect of selling one dog candle to Mrs. Tuttle wasn’t
worth risking my life over—even Rita would have agreed. So
I waited patiently in the back room with Zach’s soothing voice
to keep me company.

Even though I knew it was him, his urgent knock on
the front door almost knocked me out of my seat.
On a good
day, I was happy to see him.
Today, he was my savior.
I
unlocked the door and threw my arms around him.

“Zach!” There were so many words floating around in
my brain but his name was the only one that made it past my
lips. Then, the tears came.
“Oh, Ruby! Don’t cry!” he said stroking my hair out of
my face. “I’ll protect you.”

Just what I
didn’t
want to happen.
If I had to keep
running to him for help, I would never know if that was his
main attraction to me. Dammit! Why couldn’t I ever seem to
take care of myself? But it was too late now and, let’s face it, I
needed his help with this.

“I know you will but I can’t always rely on you like
this!”

“Yes, you can, Ruby! I would do anything to protect
you!” He tipped my chin up until we were eye to teary eye.
“I’ve told you before, I would take a—”

I stopped him right there. “No, Zach! I don’t ever
want to hear you say that again!” The thought of him dying in
the line of duty was all too real now. People were actually
dying—the next victim couldn’t be him. If I lost him, I would
lose everything.

“Fine—I won’t say it. But it’s true.” He glanced out
the window and saw that we had company. Mrs. Tuttle had
tucked Mandy into her oversized purse and was staring at the
closed sign with a hardened scowl. “You better open the store
before she calls Rita to complain.”

Now that Zach was with me, I felt safe enough to open
the door. Mrs. Tuttle scooted in ready with a reprimand.

“You can’t just be in here making time with your fella
when you have a business to run, young lady!” Mandy gave
me a shrill bark in agreement.
Mrs. Tuttle glared at me
sharply. “Rita will hear about this!” As she turned toward a
table filled with dog shaped candles, she took note of who my
“fella” was.

“Oh, Zach! I didn’t realize that was you! You need to
stop by the library one of these days.
I miss seeing that
handsome face of yours, young man!”

Mandy perched her paws on the edge of Mrs. Tuttle’s
bag and looked up at Zach with the cutest little puppy dog
eyes. Geez, even the dog was under his spell!

“And I miss seeing
your
beautiful smile,” Zach replied,
wiping away any chance there was
of that mean old rat
tattling on me to Rita.

Zach kept Mrs. Tuttle occupied while I got the register
set up and the rest of the store ready for business.
After I
rang up her purchase and sent her on her way, I noticed Zach
was busy stuffing something into his mouth.
A cookie.
A
chocolate freakin’ chip cookie!

“Where did you get that?” I asked as I picked a stray
chip from the folds of his shirt and popped it into my mouth.

“Mrs. Tuttle—she had some in her bag. I’m sorry. I
should have shared with you, shouldn’t I?” My big, strong
warrior now looked like a five year old caught with his hand
in, well, the cookie jar.

“In her bag? Under Mandy’s rear?” I remembered the
gift I’d seen her deposit on the sidewalk earlier and began
wiping
my
tongue with
a tissue
to remove any
bits
of
chocolate that I could. That better have been a chocolate chip
I ate and not just something that got stuck in the fur of her
hindquarters!

“Relax—it was wrapped in plastic!” he said, waving
the empty bag in my face. “But it’s nice to see you smiling
again.”

I didn’t even realize he’d made me smile until he
pointed it out to me. What would I do without him? I gave
him a playful shove and he kissed me on the cheek in return.
“So tell me everything you haven’t told me yet. And I
do
mean everything.”

Rachel had already filled him in on our gruesome
discovery so I started with the lingerie. Zach’s eyes widened
as I recounted the story of how I came home and found my
father holding it up for me. And how mad he was at Zach.

“What—does your dad think I’m suicidal?! I would
never send you something like that!
Especially when we
haven’t even had sex yet!” He shouted the word “sex” then
glanced guiltily around the shop for customers.

“Don’t panic—we’re alone!” I giggled inside over the
fact that he’d hit the nail on the head when it came to my
dad’s reaction. “I told him it wasn’t from you so he accused
me of having a relationship with Lucas on the side. That’s
when I pretty much got grounded for life. If it weren’t for
Shelly, I probably still would be.”

“You’re still grounded from seeing
me
, though.
At
least now, I kind of understand why. That’s going to make
protecting you a bit tougher but I think I have a way around
that.” He smiled with satisfaction at what he apparently
thought was the world’s most brilliant idea. “I just need a
partner in my new bodyguard business and I have the perfect
person for the job—Boone.”

“NO!” I shouted forcefully at him. “His brother is the
prime suspect in this—Bonne can’t be trusted.” Try again,
Einstein.

“We can trust Boone—he and I have been friends for
like ever!
And I thought we were supposed to be clearing
Drake, not lynching him.”

I recited my reasons for thinking the police had gotten
it right in the first place. With every point, he tried to come
up with a counterpoint but failed each time. When I got to the
part about the things I had in common with the previous
victims, Zach ceased his rebuttal.

“I swear to God, if he lays one hand on you, this
‘wedding’ will turn into
his
funeral!” Shades of the insanely
jealous Zach flashed in his eyes. As long as his rage remained
focused on someone who deserved it, we were okay. I didn’t
want his months of anger management classes to go down the
drain on my account.

“So do you understand now why we can’t include
Boone in this little venture? Hell, we can’t even tell Rachel!
This has to stay between the two of us, Zach.”

“And the police, right? You do plan on telling them,
don’t you?”

I shook my head no. “I can’t—there are way too many
things I wouldn’t be able to explain to them. Sorry, it’s just
you and me.”

“I wish you would reconsider, Ruby. I can’t be with
you every second of the day, you know. One missed day of
work Andy will forgive. Every day, not so much.”

He was missing work to be with me.
I was in such a
panic when I called him that I never even thought about that.
“Zach, I’m sorry—I wasn’t thinking! Of course you can’t! I’ll
just have to be extra careful on my own.
At least now I’m
aware of the danger—I’m sure if the other girls had been,
they’d all still be alive.” Where exactly could I get my hands
on a stun gun and pepper spray on such short notice?

“No way! We have to at least find one other person to
help. There has to be someone else we can trust.”

Zach sat deep in thought as I pondered whether or not
to offer my suggestion.
I gave him time to come up with
nothing and then went for it.

“There
is
someone—Lucas.” I couldn’t exactly explain
it to Zach but Lucas was the obvious choice. He’d told me he
loved me.
He would protect me—I just knew it. I waited for
Zach to hit the roof but he didn’t—he
just
looked
disappointed.

“I don’t think we can trust him, Ruby. What if he tells
the wrong person and it gets back to Drake? You’d just be
putting yourself in more danger.”

Weird. Not the argument I was expecting. What made
him downgrade Lucas from The Big Bad Wolf to nothing but a
loose lipped pup?

“I know for a fact that Lucas can keep a secret. Even
big secrets like this one.”

 

Zach’s look of disappointment turned into one of full
blown defeat. “Really? What secrets is he keeping for you?”

Open mouth, insert foot. Zach didn’t know that I’d
explained my supernatural abilities to Lucas.
Oh well, it
wasn’t that big of a deal, right? It’s not like I professed my
undying love for him or anything.

“He knows that I can see ghosts. I told him a few
weeks ago and he hasn’t breathed a word of it. He’ll keep this
secret for us, too.”

Zach sighed heavily. “Us? He won’t be doing any of
this for me. Face it, Ruby—the guy’s in love with you.”

Yes, he was. But I was in love with Zach and Lucas
knew that. Asking him to help keep an eye on me wasn’t
leading him on or anything, was it?
No, as long as I was
straightforward with Lucas, everything would be just fine.
And with Zach, too, of course.

“Even if he is, it doesn’t change things between us. I
haven’t taken your ring off, have I?” I held my hand out like a
model. “See—you have nothing to worry about.”

Zach smiled sadly. “I have plenty to worry about but
keeping you alive is top priority. Give him a call. Just do me a
favor—don’t tell him that we’re not allowed to see each other.
He might see that as an opening.”

“I won’t,” I agreed. Zach nodded and handed me my
phone.

So I dialed Lucas’s number and set off a chain of
events I never anticipated. Bringing together the two halves
of my heart didn’t exactly make it whole. Dr. Jekyll, meet Mr.
Hyde.

29. Hyde and Seek

When Lucas walked into Something Wick-ed with a
cocky smile on his face, I was certain their partnership would
be over before it began.
But with the utmost grace, Zach
thanked him for coming and offered him a seat. When Zach
showed no trace of jealousy, Lucas backed down and politely
asked me why I invited him to join us.

“I need your help, Lucas. There’s a killer on the loose
and I think I’m his next target.”

Whatever he was expecting me to say, it wasn’t that.
His jaw dropped immediately and he sat there in shock for a
moment.
Did I underestimate his feelings for me?
I thought
so until he answered me unreservedly.

“I’m in! What do you need me to do?” He leaned
forward in his chair, eager for details.

“I need you to keep an eye on her at all times,” Zach
informed him. Quickly, he added, “Except for when she’s with
me, of course.”

“Of course,” Lucas replied unemotionally. “Does this
have something to do with the body they found at the church
this morning?”

“It does,” I replied. I explained the details of the
murders and their link to the Bantam Theater.

“Oh, it all makes sense now! That’s the only reason
you’re there, isn’t it? You’ve been trying to catch a killer using
Allison’s ghost! And you have a suspect, don’t you?”
“I do—Drake Sterling.”

Lucas’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. “
The
Drake Sterling?
The one police arrested a few weeks ago?
He’s an NFL linebacker—I’ve been watching the coverage on
ESPN!”

“Yep, that Drake Sterling,” I confirmed.

 

A look of worry engulfed his face. “That dude’s HUGE!
I’m no match for him.”

Zach sat up straight and puffed out his chest in a
classic alpha male pose.
He was clearly much larger than
Lucas—did he really have to call
that
much attention to it?

“Oh, whatever, dude—you’re no match for him either,”
Lucas
said
as
he shoved a proverbial pin into Zach’s
testosterone balloon.

“If you’re afraid, say something now,” Zach taunted, “I
can’t have you running away from danger if Ruby ever really
needs you.”

“I’m not scared—are you?” Lucas retorted.

Suddenly,
I
was
caught
in
an episode
of
National
Geographic.
You
know the ones
I mean.
Male grizzlies
grappling
over mating
rights.
Peacocks
displaying
their
plumage for the hens. Roosters pecking each other’s eyes out
to stake their claim on the roost. If I hadn’t really needed
their help, I would have been seriously offended.

“Okay guys! You’re both brave, alright? So can I count
on you Lucas, or what?”

“Definitely,” he replied, more to Zach than to me. “And
since I have access to the theater, I can help you out there, too.
After what happened with the gun, I think I’m the one you
need—not
him
.” Definite emphasis on the word “him”.

Zach was ready with a response but I denied him the
opportunity. “Lucas is right—Allison wanted to hurt you that
night. Or worse. No theater for you. Period.”

The three of us worked out a strategy so that I would
never be alone. Thanks to my dad’s recent dislike of Zach,
Lucas ended up bearing most of that load, starting with the
theater that night.