Page 27 of It'll Always Be Her

Destiny shot her hand up, her long red fingernails looking like talons. The introduction died in Bee’s throat.

“You’re with the show, yes?” Destiny narrowed her eyes at Adam, her hand still up like a shield. “What is your role?”

“I’m the scientific consultant.” Adam seemed unfazed by Destiny’s attitude, though Bee supposed he’d encountered all kinds of people during his stint onHex or Hoax?

Destiny stared at him as if she were a microscope lens increasing him to fifty times magnification. A sudden antagonism radiated from her, which was very strange. Destiny was never hostile.

Adam slanted his gaze to Bee, but she could only shrug in a helpless apology. She had no idea what Destiny’s issue was, but clearly, the town mystic wasn’t perceiving Adam’s off-the-charts masculine energy.

And when it came to hot masculine…well,anything, Destiny was like a queen bee diving straight into a golden hunk of honeycomb.

“Excuse me for a moment,” Bee told Adam, forcing a bright note into her voice. She grabbed Destiny’s arm, urging her back toward the circulation desk.

As soon as they were out of Adam’s earshot, she whispered, “What was that about? What’s wrong?”

“Oh, honey.” Destiny closed her eyes and pressed a hand to her forehead in a swoon worthy of a classic movie actress. “Do you have to work with him?”

“Well, yes. He’s the one who provides the evidence of a haunting. I have to talk to him about Captain Marcus.” Bee shook her head. “Destiny, what’s wrong? I mean, did youlookat him?”

“Oh, I looked at him all right.” Destiny opened her eyes and squinted in Adam’s direction. “I couldn’t have missed him if I tried.”

“Don’t you think he’s…interesting?”

Destiny shook her head. “Absolutely not.”

“What?” Bee wondered if her friend was coming down with a fever.

“Listen to me.” Destiny grabbed Bee’s arm, drawing her closer. “That man has one of the strongest energy fields I’ve ever felt, and I don’t mean that in a good way.”

Bee frowned. Given the zings she’d been experiencing around Adam, his energy field was more than “good.” It was flat-out amazing.

“What are you talking about?” she asked.

“His energy is filled with negative vibrations,” Destiny hissed, digging her fingernails into Bee’s arm. “Cynicism. Doubt. A lack of authenticity. Skepticism. He has something to hide, and it’s not a birthday present. His frequencies are all snarled up like yarn or fishing line or…what are those knots that sailors make?”

“Sailing knots?”

“Yes. Those.” Destiny continued to eye Adam, who’d been intercepted by one of the lighting guys. “And they’re not going to loosen up anytime soon.”

“How do you know?”

“His energy is inflexible. He is not a man who is easily changed…if at all.” Destiny turned back, still holding Bee’s arm. “Listen to me, honey. You need to stay away from him.”

Bee’s heart dropped a few inches. “Um…are you sure?”

“He could mess everything up for you if you’re not careful,” Destiny warned. “Not to mention that his energy will severely darken yours and throw your auric field completely off-balance. No.” She shook her head, her black curls flying. “Don’t tangle your energies. In fact, don’t even get close to him.”

“Well, as I said, we do need to work together.” Bee glanced at Adam again. Aside from his lack of belief in the paranormal, she hadn’t sensed anything remotely snarled or dark about his energies, but then she didn’t have Destiny’s depth of perception. “I’m going to see him every day until Halloween. I have to talk to him.”

Destiny released her arm and rummaged around in her bag. She produced a glossy, jagged black stone attached to a silver chain.

“Black tourmaline.” She slipped the chain over Bee’s neck. The stone fell at her neckline, just above her silver book locket. “It’s a very strong protection stone that clears and repels negative energy. I don’t know how well it will work withhim, but if you must be in his presence, you need some sort of buffer. I’ll weave a few protection spells for you tonight too.”

Though Bee thanked her, she didn’t feel very grateful for this insight. She briefly considered telling Destiny about the fact that Adam was a hard-core scientist, but that wouldn’t likely change her friend’s reading.

And Bee didn’t want word getting out about the true nature of Adam’s beliefs. If Marilyn Lawford found out thatHex or Hoax?’sscientific consultant was a skeptical debunker, she’d find a way to use that to her advantage.

No. Better to deal with Adam on her own.

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