Page 11 of Boxed In

She stared at him. Maybe he wasn’t playing games. Maybe he was sick—like with multiple personality disorder or something. And he’d hid it pretty well until he hit his head.

“Luke is still in your body?” she asked carefully.

“Yes.”

“Let me talk to him.”

His face contorted. “We do not have time for a conversation now. We are in danger. We must leave this place.”

Her exasperation bubbled over. “Let me talk to Luke!”

oOo

Luke opened his mouth, then closed it again. He wanted to speak. But apparently the guy who had taken over his body wasn’t going to let him.

She needs to know what’s going on, he said inside his mind, hearing the words echo internally.

Later, Zabastian answered.

I’ll kill you later, Luke growled.

You’ll kill yourself, then, monkey brain.

You don’t have to insult me.

Then think logically.

Luke balled his free hand into a fist—the one that wasn’t clutching the haunted box.

He’d been strangely drawn to the damn thing—as if some magical force was tugging on him, goading him to try and solve the puzzle. Too bad he hadn’t kept his hands to himself when Olivia had warned him to leave it alone.

He’d thought he was so clever when he’d started working the sliding panels. Once he’d gotten the first one, his fingers had moved over the carved design on the sides as fast as the wind.

He’d slid hidden panels and pressed levers—like somebody else was directing his movements. And he was pretty sure that was really true. It seemed that the guy inside the chest—the spirit of some kind of ancient warrior—had connected with Luke’s mind, even when he was still trapped inside the chest.

He’d wanted Luke to let him out. When the lid popped open, the essence of the warrior came pouring out, like steam from a valve under pressure. The living mist of the man’s spirit enveloped Luke, knocking him to the floor with the force of the invasion. And knocking him unconscious.

He’d awakened, to find Olivia kneeling over him. He’d been trying to speak to her when Zabastian had taken over.

He gathered the guy hadn’t had a woman in over six hundred years, and he’d been ready to force himself on Olivia right there on the floor.

I did not force myself, an outraged voice inside his head answered. She wanted me.

She thought it was me!

And she liked what we were doing.

Luke had liked it too. He’d wanted Olivia since he’d set eyes on her—and known he couldn’t do a damned thing about it because it would screw up his Decorah Security assignment. But Zabastian had cut right to the chase.

Too bad his foot had hit that pitcher.

Later!

Get the hell out of my head.

You need me.

To prove the point, a sound in the doorway made him jerk around.

---