“I’ll take it,” he says. “Where’s your room?”
“Second door on the right.”
“Come on.”
He takes my hand and leads me to my bedroom. He turns down the bed and then faces me. “I’ll go make you some hot tea. Your sister pointed out the one I should use.”
“She’s helpful.”
“You get ready for bed, and I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“Cash.” He stops in the doorway and turns back to me. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
I can hear him puttering around in my kitchen as I change into yoga shorts and a loose tank top, then pad into the bathroom to brush my teeth and my long, dark hair. I wash my face, and just as I walk out of the bathroom, Cash walks into the bedroom with two steaming cups of tea.
“Thank you again,” I say as I sit on the bed and accept a mug. “I’m glad you made yourself a cup. I was going to suggest it. It’ll protect you, too.”
“Am I in danger?”
I frown. “I don’t think so. I know that nothing here can hurt you. Or would want to. Trust me, I wouldn’t live here if that were the case. But, just in case, the tea can’t hurt.”
He nods and sits in the rocking chair across from the bed, watching me. His brow lifts when we hear footsteps in the living room.
“That’s normal,” I say with a grin. “It’ll calm down in a few minutes.”
“Do you just live your life in fear, every single day?” he asks, surprising me. I think back to the three of us huddled under the stairs of the god-awful house we grew up in.
“For a long time, we did. The three of us. Our childhood wasn’t fantastic, Cash, and only half of that was due to our gifts and not understanding them. The other half was our parents.”
“You mentioned them earlier.”
“My father died when I was thirteen.” I take a sip of tea and guard my mind, reinforcing my personal shields and grounding myself. He’s been truly gone for a long time, but I don’t want to take any chances. “I’m pretty sure my mother killed him, but I can’t be sure.”
“You’re kidding.”
“I wish I were.” I shrug a shoulder. “He haunted the three of us for a decade. He’s the only spirit that’s ever followed me. Before this week. He was a bastard when he was living, punishing us for the smallest things. He took a lot of joy in inflicting pain.”
“Fucking hell, Brielle.”
“And it didn’t stop after he died. So, yes, our childhood was full of fear. Then, once the three of us were all out of the house, Millie started studying with Miss Sophia, a very powerful witch, not far from our childhood home. She told her about our father, and Miss Sophia was finally able to create a spell to get rid of him forever. Without her help, I’m sure he’d still be around.”
Cash’s jaw clenches. “And your mother? Is she dead, too?”
“No.” My smile turns cold. “But if I had my way, she would be.”
“You can’t tell an FBI agent that you wish your mother was dead.”
“Yes, I can.” I raise my chin. “While my father inflicted punishment and pain, she simply ignored it. Ignored us. I raised my sisters, not our parents. In fact, when I turned eighteen, I moved out and took them with me, filing for full custody. She didn’t fight it. She still lives in that godsforsaken house in the bayou, by herself, slowly dying.
“She didn’t believe us when we told her about what we saw, what we felt. And she would beat us with the belt if we talked about it.”
“Christ.”
“So, when we left, I immediately called other people in the area that were like us. And I started to ask questions. Built a community around us. We learned, we grew stronger, and after a while, we healed.”
“I’m so glad. I hate that you went through that.”
“Maybe we’re all stronger because of it,” I reply honestly. “We learned to control ourselves out of necessity, so our gifts aren’t messy or frivolous now.”
“That’s a positive way to look at it.”
He blinks slowly, watching me.
“What about your family? Tell me about them.”
“Does it sound weird for me to say that I feel guilty that I had the exact opposite of you?”
“You shouldn’t feel guilty at all.”
“Andy is my only sibling. He’s a couple of years younger than I am, and he works for the New Orleans PD.”
“Lots of law enforcement in your family.”
“My dad was a cop,” he says and nods. “He was killed in the line of duty when I was eighteen.”
“Oh, Cash. I’m sorry.”
He nods and drinks the rest of his tea, then sets the mug aside. “It was tough. Mom never remarried. She still lives in Savannah. She’s been sick lately.”
His eyes hold mine.