Shadows (Bayou Magic 1)

“Now you’re scaring me,” I inform her.

“I need my sister,” she says, pulling her phone out of her pocket. “I’m going to call for her, and while she’s on her way, I’ll tell you everything.”

“Deal.”

Her eyes are on mine as she holds the phone to her ear. “It’s me. I need you right now. I’m at home. Okay, but Cash is here, and I haven’t told him yet. See you soon.”

She hangs up, but instead of talking, she just walks right into my arms and hugs me tightly as if she’s holding on for dear life.

As if she’s pulling strength from me.

“Brielle,” I whisper and kiss the top of her head. She smells like lavender. “Talk to me.”

She pulls back and paces to the window, staring down at the street. “She’s still there. Both of them are.”

“Who? I didn’t see anyone.”

“I can’t be sure who the first one is,” she says and turns to me. “But the other one? It’s Tammy. From my tour the other night.

“She’s dead.”Chapter FourBrielleI can’t find my center.

Hell, I can barely breathe.

This hasn’t happened since I was a child.

“Talk to me, Brielle,” Cash says. His hands are strong on my shoulders, his green eyes concerned but not disgusted.

“Like I said earlier, if you want to go, I understand. Because it’s about to get weird, Cash. I wish I was like normal girls, but I’m not, and I’m telling you now, you should probably go.”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

I swallow hard, fighting back tears of relief and joy. If one of my sisters told me that they already trusted their life with a man they only met days ago, I’d tell them they were nuts.

But here we are. I can’t explain why or even how, but I know him already. I can feel it down in my bones that I can trust him—with even my deepest secrets.

“I told you, I see dead people.”

“Let’s sit.”

“No, I’d prefer to stand. I need to pace a bit.” I walk away and look out the window again.

No shadows.

Apparitions.

“I always see shadows,” I continue. “I’ve never been able to make out the features of the spirits I see, though.”

“Until now?” He guesses correctly.

“Until now,” I confirm. “And let me just say, it’ll scare the hell out of a girl.”

“I can only imagine.”

There’s a knock on the door, startling us both.

“It’s me!” Millie yells through the door, and I rush over to open it. “What’s wrong? Wait. Hi, I’m Millie.”

She holds out her hand for Cash to shake, which he does immediately.

“Cash.”

“I know.” Her eyes narrow as she examines him, and I know she’s sweeping his thoughts. It’s intrusive as all get out, but she’s my sister, and that makes her protective. “I like you.”

“I feel like I was just given a test that I didn’t prepare for.”

“You were,” Millie confirms. “You passed. Now,”—she turns to me again—“talk to me.”

“So, I saw that new shadow the other night.”

Millie nods.

“Well, just before I called you, I saw something else that’s new. Not just a new shadow. An apparition.”

She blinks rapidly. “As in, you saw their features?”

“Yes.” I nod and then start pacing the living area again. “For both of them. The first one, the one I saw the other night, isn’t a shadow anymore. Now, there are two. Girls. And one is from my tour the night I met Cash.”

Millie slowly lowers herself to the couch, perching on the edge of it, watching me with wide, brown eyes. “They must be trying to communicate with you.”

“Their mouths were moving.” It comes out as a whisper, and a shiver slithers down my spine. “But I couldn’t hear what they were saying.”

“Wait.” Millie holds up her hand, her eyes wider than before. “This means they’re following you, Bri.”

“Yeah.” I sigh and rub my fingertips over my forehead. “Yeah, that started the other night.”

“You didn’t say anything,” Millie says.

“To either of us,” Cash adds, his hands balling into fists at his sides.

“Well, to be fair, this is our first date,” I remind him, but he doesn’t laugh. He just narrows his eyes at me.

“It’s a hell of a first date,” Millie mumbles. “I mean, most people just get naked and have sex and then regret their life choices in the morning. This is on a whole different level.”

I smirk and then shrug. “The night’s not over yet.”

“This isn’t funny,” Cash says, slowly shaking his head. “You’re being terrorized by the dead, Brielle.”

“Sometimes it’s either laugh or cry, and I don’t want to cry,” I admit. “Trust me, I’ve cried over crap like this all my life.”

“There has to be a way to shut it off,” he mutters as if he’s thinking aloud. “Hypnosis? It’s not my area of expertise, but I have friends—”

“I’m thirty.” I prop my hands on my hips. “Trust me, we’ve tried everything to at least tone it down. It just is what it is, and I’ve learned to deal with it. That’s why I have certain routes I take through the Quarter. No surprises. I chose this apartment because the spirits here are quiet. I don’t travel much. I have a routine, Cash, and it’s worked well for me.”