He needed coffee, his meds, and to clear the nasty sludge out of his brain.
And now, after that sexy vision, his cock screamed for relief it didn’t look like it’d get for a while.
Possibly a long while.
Chapter Fourteen
After getting back from Libbie’s, Mandaline fought the urge to strip and dance skyclad in the parking lot behind the store. Her rented trailer had been old and crappy, but at least it’d been out in the middle of nowhere, with no close neighbors and plenty of trees around it.
She wasn’t a nudist, but there were few things more satisfying to her soul than twirling around naked under a summer rainstorm.
Instead, she went to the office and dug through the boxes of things brought back from the Corey house after Julie’s death. Most of the equipment she’d use for the investigation at Ellis and Brad’s was there. She needed to recharge the batteries on a couple of items, but the rest were ready to go.
A wave of nostalgia washed through her. She’d performed dozens of investigations with Julie over the years. Many times they were able to debunk what was going on and discover nonmystical origins for phenomenon.
Rarely did they deal with intelligent, much less malevolent spirits. In the past, the few like that they’d dealt with hadn’t been able to do anything more than scare residents of a house. They’d also easily been dispelled by a thorough house cleansing ritual with the help of the residents.
It figured that with the worst-case scenario Julie had gone out to tackle it alone.
She grabbed her phone and called Sachi.
“What’s up, boss?”
“Are you busy this evening?”
“No. Skeet’s a wash with all the rain. Whyyyy?”
She sat at the desk and looked at the boxes of equipment. “Want to go check out a house with me?”
“Um, what house?”
She closed her eyes, preparing for what she suspected would follow. “Ellis and Brad’s house.”
There was a moment of silence. When she next spoke, Sachi’s voice sounded serious, devoid of snark or teasing. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
She let out a sigh. “Nothing’s happened. I just thought maybe I should have…you know, backup.”
“Armed backup?” Sachi asked with a hopeful tone.
“You don’t have a concealed carry permit, so no.”
“I don’t need a concealed carry permit for a 12-gauge skeet gun. So sayeth the mighty State of Florida.”
“I sayeth no. I don’t think we’re going to have any problems. I just think it might be better to have backup.”
Sachi’s tone turned serious again. “I could go do it with Mina or Makenzie, if you’d prefer.”
“No, I want to be the one to do it. I promised Brad I’d go through the house. I’m going to bring a home blessing kit, too. You can help me with the ritual.”
“What time you want me at the shop?”
“Can you be here a little after five? I told them I’d be there about six.”
“We’re not going to walk in on them having prepared some sort of romantic, sexy evening for three, are we?”
She snorted. “I doubt it.”
“Oh. Damn. Too bad. I’m guessing you slept alone last night?”
“Yes. As tired as I was, I needed to go to sleep. I had breakfast with Libbie, though.”
“Well, that’s good. I was worried about you but I didn’t want to call early and wake you up if you were…you know…busy.”
Mandaline smiled. “Nope. Just busy eating pancakes with Libbie.”
“Any special instructions for the investigation?”
“I’m charging up batteries now and getting stuff ready. Just bring with you the voodoo that you do so well, kiddo.”
Sachi laughed, a clear, ringing sound that always made Mandaline smile. “Will do.”
When Sachi arrived, Mandaline had everything just inside the back door and ready to load in the Element. She stopped short when she saw Sachi pull a padded gun case out of the trunk of her car in addition to a duffel bag containing stuff she referred to as her “road witch kit.”
“I was serious when I said no to the guns.”
Sachi slid the gun case behind the Element’s front seats. “And I was serious when I said I was bringing it.” She turned to Mandaline and grabbed her by the arms. “Look, I’ve lost one friend. I’m not about to lose another. Either it goes with us, or I’m getting on the phone and calling those two and telling them tonight’s off.”
She’d never seen Sachi look or sound so intense. “This means that much to you?”
“Yes. Dammit, I can’t…” She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath before looking at Mandaline again. “I can’t lose someone else. Not now, and dammit, not like we lost Julie.” She sniffled. “Hey, I showed restraint. I only brought one box of shells with me.”
Mandaline pulled her in for a hug. “Okay. Fine. But it stays in the car.”
“And you give me the keys when we’re there in case I need to get to it.”
“I’ll give you the spare set to carry.”
Sachi broadly grinned. “Deal.”
Ellis stayed out of Brad’s way. He considered leaving the house altogether, but he wanted to see Mandaline again. He also wanted to be there if or when she really found a cause for Brad’s behavior.
Today, he suspected he could safely add darkening mood swings and behavioral changes to the list of symptoms. No mind reader, still he sadly predicted a trip to the VA hospital in Tampa loomed on the horizon. Especially if Brad’s behavior continued to deteriorate.
He also thought it might not be a bad idea for him to be there with Brad, just in case. He’d never believe Brad would ever willingly hurt someone if he was in his right mind.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t ignore the stories he’d read about Steven Corey and what happened to Julie. He refused to take risks. He suspected Corey’s wife and best friend never thought he would snap, either.
Julie certainly hadn’t, and it had cost her her life.
He couldn’t live with that kind of guilt.
The rain didn’t let up all afternoon. The house felt dark inside despite the lights being on and the blinds open.
Upstairs in the attic, he heard Brad muttering to himself, pacing, moving around. He hadn’t stayed downstairs very long. Just long enough to take his meds, eat something, and grab a shower.
Occasionally, he came down to the bathroom before heading up again. They had plumbing stubbed out in one corner of the attic to add a bathroom for him so he wouldn’t have to interrupt his work. But on a day like today, he was glad Brad had to come out of the attic.
When he heard Mandaline’s Element pull up at a quarter ’til six, he called up to Brad. “She’s here.”
It sounded like a herd of wildebeests thundering across the attic. Brad threw the attic door open and pounded down the stairs, a wild look in his eyes as he flew past Ellis and downstairs into the kitchen.
Oh…crap.
He followed Brad into the kitchen, where his friend had thrown the door open and now anxiously danced from foot to foot like a little kid in desperate need of a potty break.
As he walked up behind Brad he also realized Mandaline hadn’t come alone. Sachi, from her store, climbed out of the passenger seat.
Brad trotted down the steps and across the wet grass through the rain to Mandaline and engulfed her in a bear hug. He apparently said something to her because she smiled and said something back. Ellis grabbed the umbrella from next to the door and headed out into the rain to help them.
Ten minutes later, everything was inside and Brad wore a silly grin on his face.