to not let his brother ask questions. They’d never stop and would lead to more uncomfortable questions.
But with Fox, it wasn’t complicated or dangerous. It was so very freeing.
“Not quite. There are some ghosts that I can only see when I’m here. There are a few who can appear in both worlds. I have no idea why some exist in both. I once thought it had to do with how long they were dead, but I’ve seen the newly dead only appear here and never in the living world.” He didn’t need to go into the fact that he’d made those people the newly dead.
“Can you hear voices from both or just those in the living world?”
Winter shook his head. “No, I hear both. I can talk to both, though it’s far easier to talk to those in the dead world while I’m here.”
Fox leaned his head on Winter’s shoulder and grabbed his arm with his right hand, cuddling as close as he could. Winter wished he wasn’t still holding the damn rope. Otherwise, he would have wrapped Fox in his arms and stood there all night, letting him watch the ghosts move about. It was sort of like watching fish in an aquarium.
“Can they hurt us?”
“Not that I’ve ever experienced. They’ve given me headaches from their shouting and moaning, but that’s about it.”
Fox turned his head against Winter’s shoulder, worried eyes looking up at him. “But this is tiring, isn’t it? You’re using magic right now.”
Winter hesitated. It was true. The longer they stayed there, the more drained he was getting, but he didn’t want to admit to it. He didn’t want to end this moment of wonder and excitement for Fox. It seemed like such a small gift to give him after everything he’d already been through, but Fox was a unique person in his life. Other than Aiden, he was the only one who knew his darkest secret. He didn’t want to keep any secrets from this man or start telling lies.
“Yes, it does get tiring, especially when I’ve got someone with me,” he admitted softly.
Fox rested his head on Winter again and gave a little sigh. “Then we should go. Your ghosts are here.”
Winter turned his head and pressed a kiss to Fox’s forehead, his heart swelling. “We’ll do this again soon. I promise.” Hell, he’d bring Fox to the dead world every night for visits if that was what he wanted. He’d do anything to see that light in his eyes and hear that excited laugh.
Calling on his gift again, he parted the veil and they stepped into the world of the living. Fox dragged in a deep breath and gave a little shudder while he loosened his hold on the vampire. Winter immediately missed the warmth of his touch, but it was time to focus on what they’d set out to do in the first place. Winter needed answers.
“What’s the plan, Mr. Science?” Fox teased.
Winter smirked and slapped the braided white rope into Fox’s open hands. “Hold that, smartass.” He pulled his sling bag around and pulled out a pair of walkie talkies and some handcuffs.
“I take it back. You are the kinky brother,” Fox muttered.
Winter winked at him as he snapped the handcuffs carefully around Fox’s wrists. “You’re the one whose magic demands locks. These just happened to be handy.”
“Uh-huh. Most people when they need some kind of lock go for like…I don’t know…a padlock,” Fox mocked, his tone oozing sarcasm. “But you think handy, and reach right for the handcuffs. Go ahead, tell me you’re not kinky.”
“You’ve also got rope. I could be a magician,” Winter joked.
“Not helping your case here, David Copperfield.”
Winter snorted as he flipped on one of the walkie talkies and placed it in Fox’s hand while grabbing the rope. He turned on his walkie talkie and shoved it into the pocket of his cargo pants. “So, here’s my plan,” he started as he began uncoiling the rope. He placed one end in Fox’s hand and smiled. “You hold this end and remain right here. I will hold the rest and walk away from you until I start seeing ghosts.”
“That way we can get an exact measurement of how far the Fox Effect stretches,” Fox said.
“Exactly. I’ll also try talking to a ghost and then moving away to see if I can still hear them while in your bubble.”
Fox nodded. “Makes sense.”
“When we get that figured out, I’ll radio on the walkie to use magic to get out of