“I’m going to do you a favor.”
Ivan laughed. “That’ll be a first.”
“They’ll be coming for you soon,” Nicolas said, unaffected by his sarcasm.
“Who?”
“Spirits, hundreds of them, thousands.”
He’d had visits from time to time, a lost soul who’d been let in by a medium and needed closure to find their eternal rest, but hundreds? “How’s that possible?”
“You’ll know soon enough. When they come, the only way to save yourself is to find Alice.”
The name made him freeze. The sound of it was sacred, so off-limits he didn’t dare say it out loud. His fighting mode kicked in. “What the fuck do you know about her?”
“Find her if you want to be saved.”
He curled his hands into fists, ignoring the burn under his bandanna. “Have you been near her?”
“I’ve seen her.”
Envy washed over him, followed by fury. “If you did anything to her…”
“You know I can’t touch a human.” Nicolas’s eyes filled with compassion. “I couldn’t help it. When I found you a minute ago, your head was so filled with her it took me straight there.”
“Shut the fuck up! Who sent you? Why are you doing this to me?”
“You have little time. If you don’t play your cards right, her life will be in danger.”
If he could’ve grabbed the ghost by his neck and shook him, he would’ve. “Tell me what’s going on, or I’ll damn you to walk the earth for the rest of your pathetic existence.”
“No, you won’t. Don’t forget I can see into your soul.”
“What do you want?” They all wanted something.
“When the time comes, I’ll let you know.”
Just as he’d thought. There was always a price. Ivan shook his head. “I don’t believe you.”
“You do,” Nicolas said with certainty.
Damn, he hated encounters with spirits. He couldn’t hide the truth from them, not like with humans.
“Why will her life be in danger?” Ivan asked, but Nicolas’s body was already dispersing into nothingness.
“Talk to me!”
Nicolas offered him a last smile before he vanished.
Ivan’s very soul trembled. Her name. He hadn’t spoken it in nine years, yet she was the first thing on his mind when he woke and the last before he fell asleep. Each nameless girl he fucked, he pretended was her. He’d promised himself he’d prove to the world he was good enough for her after how her family had treated him. He’d told himself he’d find her when he’d made his name. A person couldn’t achieve much more than he had. Yet, he’d put it off never feeling ready. It looked like the moment had arrived.
He stared at the shattered mirror and uttered the one word he hadn’t granted himself the pleasure of tasting on his lips for a very long time.
“Alice.”
A queasy feeling made Alice break out in a sweat. Her body went from hot to cold and back to hot in a second, the pen trembling in her hand. She ducked her head and swallowed.
“Did you get that, Alice?” asked Johnny, her boss and head of the marketing department.
“Uh-huh.” She pushed her glasses back onto the bridge of her nose and tapped her pen on her notebook. “Tomorrow at three o’clock.”
Johnny addressed their secretary. “Tilly, book the boardroom—we want to look professional—and order refreshments.”
“Ohmegosh.” Mandy, the art director, placed a hand on her forehead. “I can’t believe I’m going to meet Ivan Kray in person. Ohmegosh.”
“Calm down,” Alice said, a tad hostile. “He’s a human being, just like us.”
“He’s so not human.” Mandy wiggled her shoulders. “He’s a god. I’m not shaking hands when we meet. I’m going straight for the mouth.”
Johnny folded his hands on the table. “Mr. Kray is bringing his own bodyguards, but speak to Quentin about stepping up our security measures, Alice, just in case. The man’s life has been threatened, and according to his agent, the fanatic fan mail hasn’t stopped.”
Alice listened with half an ear to the rest of the discussion. Ivan coming to the New Royal Theater shouldn’t come as a shock. He was a world-famous rock star, after all. So much for believing she was safe in a classic performing environment. The symphonic pop concert was the board’s idea of bringing younger feet to the theater. They wouldn’t have approached someone of Ivan’s stature had his agent not contacted them with an offer. Ivan should’ve stayed in the concert halls where he belonged. The theater was her holy ground. He had no right trespassing in her sanctuary, the only place she felt at peace.
After Ivan’s recent world tour success, she’d expected nothing less than the board jumping at the opportunity, but she’d still hoped she never had to face him, again. The last time they’d been together, they were both naked with her having the first and most explosive orgasm of her life. After losing her virginity to him, he’d gone downstairs for a glass of water, walked out of her parents’ house, and never came back. Embarrassment at the memory burned on her cheeks.