Page 21 of Memento Mori

Chapter 16

Hanlen

I woke to raging heat and unfamiliar surroundings. Cracking open my gritty eyes, I looked around to see a bedroom I didn’t immediately recognize. Then it all caught up with me. What day it was. What’d happened the last two days. Where I was now—Dev’s bedroom. And the heat was from the very sexy man snuggled against my back and the snoring canine pressed to my front. I looked down and smiled, running a hand down Mystique’s silky fur. The pit bull grumbled a bit and then fell back to sleep.

I was entirely too comfortable, but my bladder waited for no man, woman, child, or adorable pup.

As gently and quietly as possible, I extricated myself from the love sandwich and headed to the bathroom. Despite the horrific events of this trip so far, there had been a lot of good, too. And the man in the other room was directly responsible for nearly all of it. Given that we were a full day behind, we’d spent all of yesterday, from morning to the late hours of night, setting up Arborwood for the show. It was really hard work, and I couldn’t believe that they did it all the time and all over the place.

Remy was constantly in motion; running here and there to make sure everything was set up properly and operating smoothly. Lennie and Van had shown me some of their gadgets and I had to admit, while I didn’t believe in what they used them for, the technology behind them was ingenious. But just because they got blips on the EVP meters, it didn’t mean there were ghosts. Electromagnetism existed everywhere. Still, they were really, really talented and they made things look so damn real. And Larken had displayed some things that blew my mind.IfI believed in magic, I would think that she was made of it.

And then there was Dev. He was always so in control, knowing exactly what everyone needed before they even asked and being on top of everything. It amazed me. And like Larken, he did things that defied explanation. Again, even not believing in that stuff, I could tell that there was something special about him—with the whole team, really. And if I were honest, I found myself being opened to all sorts of things on this trip—day by day. While I had known that being back in the city would hurt—and itdid—it also brought back a lot of wonderful memories. Things about Reagan especially that I wanted to keep alive. I didn’t need to only dwell on the bad stuff. There was a ton of good, too.

I finished my business and washed my hands, taking in my reflection in the mirror above the sink. My cheeks were still a little flushed, my lips a bit bee stung. I absolutely hated the saying, but I . . . dare I say it: glowed.Magic, indeed. I smiled. I wasn’t even crabby like usual, and it was godforsakenly early in the morning.

I grinned inwardly and opened the door to a beautiful sight. Dev sat, propped up a bit against several pillows, one knee bent and the bright white bedding pooling at his waist. He had one arm across his midsection, resting on his snake—I internally laughed at the double meaning there—the tattoo partially hidden, the other hand wrestling with Mystique as she wiggled on her back, play-grunting and trying to nip his hand. When he looked up and my eyes met those fathomless ocean-water pools, I felt it from my head to my toes. Especially in my gut. In the time I’d spent with Dev, I hadn’t missed my home in Texas once. That was telling, since I never thought to return to this state, especially not this parish. And the fact that some far reaches of my mind could entertain thoughts of possibly staying because I was falling for Dev was terrifying. Things were changing so quickly, but as I gazed at the bed with Dev and the dog, I realized that the only thing that could make this better would be finding Reagan’s killer and making sure they were brought to justice. Though, I had to admit, the happy memories I’d had of her while here were a bit of a balm, too.

“Come here,” Dev said and held out his hand. I walked to the side of the bed and sat down. He immediately reached up and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear, flashing me one of those smiles that made me feel safe, and awakening things that should have been sated by the last couple of nights.

“It’s a new day,” he said, stating the obvious.

“It is,” I replied, not sure where he was going with this.

“Still no regrets?”

Ah, sothat’swhere he was headed. I smiled and leaned down to place a gentle kiss on his lips. “None at all. Though I do feel a little guilty celebrating life like this after just losing August.”

He scooted back so he was better leaning against the headboard and could look at me more fully. “Let’s not look at it that way. Let’s look at it as him giving us the push required to grab what we both needed. I’m quite sure August loved you. I mean, how could someone not?” He grinned. “With that said, I think a celebration of life is exactly what he would have wanted for you. Would still want—especially given your past. This asshole plaguing the city doesn’t get to take that away from everyone. Their selfishness and sickness don’t get to rule. I won’t let it happen.”

“I wish I had your optimism,” I said and leaned forward to place a sweet kiss on his chest. “And you’re right. He would absolutely want me to be happy. And despite everything, in this moment, I am.”

Dev grabbed my hand and kissed my fingers and then hopped out of bed, pulling me with him. “Let’s get this day started, shall we?”

He spun me like a dancer, and I giggled. Actuallygiggled. What the hell?

“What’s on the agenda for today?” I asked as we both threw on some clothes. The cast and crew had donesomuch already, I couldn’t imagine what else there was to do before the actual shoot.

He led me to the table and pulled out a seat for me. Then he went about feeding his overly dramatic and seemingly starving dog before getting to work on breakfast for us. “We made up a lot of our lost day yesterday, but we still have some additional static trail cameras to position, hang, and test. Remy did a lot of it, but I’d like to add a few more. And some sound checks, glamour shots, filler clips, and other little things to do. Plus, I’m hoping that Burke uncovered some additional facts about the stories that I had him researching so we know where our so-called hotspots are, and I can have the gang checking for environmental reasons for those sightings and stories before we decide whether to use them for the show itself.”

He placed a cup of perfectly doctored coffee and a napkin in front of me, and I inhaled the nutty aroma, sighing. “I can’t believe how much goes into a show like this,” I said and took a sip. “I had no idea. I just assumed you guys waltzed into a place with cameras a laBlair Witchand called it good.” I laughed.

He kept his back to me as he tended the eggs on the stove. It reminded me of all the times I’d woken up to Reagan creating some morning culinary masterpiece in the kitchen and my heart panged in response to the memory. Damn, I missed her.

“Some of the Buzzfeed and YouTube shows are like that,” he answered. “But we’ve never been. Before I even pitched the pilot idea to the network, I knew how I wanted to do things. I think my plan was one of the reasons they decided to take a chance on yet another paranormal reality show.”

“Is that an oxymoron? Paranormal reality . . .” I laughed. “But I have to say, I’ve been impressed. There’s actually a bit of science to it all, and the technology is fascinating.”

He turned to me, his grin warming his eyes. “Where is my recorder when I need it? Hanlen Arbor just admitted that she’s impressed by aghost-huntingshow. That may be more ground-breaking evidence than any phenomena my EVP recorder could capture.” He winked.

I threw my balled-up napkin at him, and he ducked, chuckling as he went back to the food. “Shrink that head, Mr. Glapion. I still don’t believe. And until I have proof, a skeptic I shall remain.”

“Just remember, the spirits always see you. So be on your best behavior.” He pointed the spatula at me. “It’s when you start seeingthemthat things get really interesting.”

I felt a pang in my heart, my chest tightening painfully. Despite my stance on everything Dev did, I would give anything to see Reagan again. To tell her that I missed her and that I’d always love her. Thoughts of her brought thoughts of August. I wondered how Bea was holding up. I’d have to go and check on her when we got to Arborwood.

I watched Dev for a bit as we ate, noticing that he seemed almost distracted towards the end of the meal. Myst was fast asleep in her bed, so I knew it didn’t have to do with her. When he suddenly rose and put his plate in the sink, my insecurities grabbed hold.

“Did I say something wrong earlier?”

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