The Soul Collector - By Tamela Quijas Page 0,50
six of us, as usual.”
“As you're aware, Miss Keyes is accompanying us.”
“What's this little vacation going to cost us, Luke?” Deborah chirped, her inquiring eyes sliding to Eva.
Lucien turned from the window and his lips twisted ironically.
“It’s not going to cost us anything.” He supplied, appearing to focus on the group at the table. “Geoffrey Noah, since we’ve borrowed his illustrious Keyes in New York star, has decided to foot our expenditures.”
“So, he pays for the investigation for the television ratings and you pay for the vacation?” Nikolai's question made the rambunctious pair of boys issue appreciative whistles.
“Yes.” His attention moved back to Eva. She knew he wished he could read her thoughts, but she kept her expression bland.
She would get him, later.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
There are moments in life that confound and amuse even the most bitter of souls
Evangeline cornered him in the lobby of the hotel, Reese dogging her shadow. Lucien acknowledged the ulterior motive in their confrontation, and the similarity of their expressions. Fierce determination, as well as uncertainty, glowed in her normally warm eyes.
“You do know I couldn’t bear the shame.” She sputtered.
He shrugged, his expression enigmatic.
Miami meant one thing to her, family. She couldn't here, knowing the show would be televised in a few weeks, and not visit her parents.
“I can't arrive alone.”
“Where?” He asked, deliberately obtuse.
“Did I forget to tell you we are in my family's new hometown?” She questioned then scowled. “Or did you know?”
He heaved a disgruntled sigh. “I am well aware your family moved here.”
“And you weren’t going to say anything?”
“What would you have me do, Evangeline?”
She folded her arms across her chest, huffing. “You can take me.”
“Do you truly intend to test me?”
“You shouldn't have scheduled a potential ghost hunting expedition in the city where my parents retired.” She attempted to quip, but failed. “It would be horrible if I didn’t visit.”
“You’ve avoided your family for years.”
She laughed, though the effort was forced. “Maybe I’m just being a sentimental fool.”
“Certainly, blame the holidays,” he grumbled.
“I can’t avoid them if I’m here.”
“This is difficult, Evangeline.”
….difficult is her middle name
“It is not!” She hissed beneath her breath to the air, restraining the need to stomp her foot. The unmistakable sound of laughter rippled around them, providing a cool and soothing breeze.
“Are you certain you wish to take me?”
“If I have to go to a site with your group, you can endure the nightmare of my dysfunctional family.”
It was Lucien's turn to laugh.
“You’ve no idea what dysfunctional may be, Evangeline.” He supplied sarcastically.
….damaged goods to his family
“Payback is a real….” She left the sentence unfinished, but it didn't stop Reese from chirping in.
….bitch
“Your family,” he began, staring pointedly at the phantasm.
“Yeah, I know, wonderful bunch.”
“Julian….”
“Lucien, if you can tolerate my family, you'll survive Julian. Besides, I learned to adjust to your family.”
“I don't have any family.”
“Oh, yeah, you do." Her smile broadened to impish proportions and her meaning became blatantly clear. "You’ve the oddest bunch I’ve met in years.”
“They are, I suppose.” He answered grudgingly, shrugging. His fellow investigators had become the family he never had, despite their distinct nuances.
“You've blinded yourself from the obvious.” She responded before sobering, and stared earnestly up at him. “I can't go home alone.”
“You're never alone.” Lucien soothed. “You have Reese.”
She grimaced, her expression pained.
“We both know he's the reason I became the black sheep.”
“What would you wish of me, Evangeline?”
“Come with me.”
….gonna hide?
He scowled darkly. "I don't do public appearances…"
“Neither do you do interviews.” She pointed out. “Remember, you made an exception.”
“Just once, I did,” he admitted grudgingly, “all for you.”
….watch it
“Would you do it again, for me?”
“I'm not capable.” Lucien insisted. “My visions don’t make me a candidate for good company.”
“You’re not like that all the time.”
He cocked his head to one side, her precise meaning unclear. He was unprepared as Eva reached for him, the effect of her touch instantaneous. As she touched his gloved hand, his back slammed into the hallway wall, the sound a bone-jarring thud.
A strangled gasp ripped from the depths of his lungs, followed by the exhalation of a shuddering breath. His sunglasses slipped, falling askew, and he stared at her with eyes that flickered from coal dark orbs of obsidian to slate gray. Complacently, she plucked the offending lenses from his face, her gaze strangely serious.
Throwing his head back, a low growl of agony tore from Lucien's lips. Every pore felt afire, the maddening course of blood singing through his veins and roaring loudly into his ears. He flushed hotly, his