Loved Ones Lost (Edgewater Curse Book 1) Read online

  “That’s perfect,” Jared says.

  “Where’s the cross on his?” Matthew asks.

  “It’s on the inside of the steering wheel,” Crystal says.

  Matthew flips it over. “Oh, cool. He’ll love this. You did a great job, Crystal.”

  “Thanks.” She smiles.

  “Okay. I’m going to go before Travis walks in on all of us,” Jared says.

  “Thank you for helping, Daddy, and I’m so glad I got to see you.” Crystal beams.

  “Any time, sweetheart,” Jared replies.

  Everyone gives him a quick hug, and he disappears.

  Crystal blows out the candles. “I’m going to go give these bracelets to Travis and Rose. Thank you both for helping me with the spell.” She smiles and heads out of the room.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Saying Farewell

  After Crystal leaves, Bri turns to Matthew. “Thank you for making the hidden area for the arsenal; you did a great job. Now we just need to figure out what type of weapons we need and start stocking up. In the meantime, I’m going to go see how Rose is doing on packing. She leaves tonight, and my stomach is just in knots about it.” Bri sighs heavily.

  “Thanks Mom, and everything will be okay. She will be fine with Aunt Evelyn.” Matthew pulls her in for a hug and uses his powers to help ease her worry. “I meant to ask you how last night went. Did Travis finally ‘fess up to racing?”

  “Oh my God, I forgot to fill you in! I’m sorry. Yes, actually. It turns out that your brother used a fake ID to sign up early, before he officially turned eighteen. I’ve confiscated it, though. Then one of the racers drank too much during intermission, so a friend of your brother’s, Devan, approached him and asked him to race in his place.”

  “Oh man, I bet Travis was thinking about how busted he was.”

  “Yeah, he was a little shocked and tried to hide it at first but then gave in and confessed. The thing is, he wasn’t replacing a driver in a regular race; he replaced him for the demolition race. It was the finale of the night.”

  “Oh Christ, Mom! I bet you were beside yourself. I’m sorry I wasn’t there. I had a feeling something was going on because at one point last night my stomach started feeling a bit queasy, but it felt like it was coming from someone else and not me. I’m guessing that was your nerves while he was racing.”

  “Yeah, probably. I felt like I was going to throw up any minute. But Matthew, he did great. He won the race and apparently it was his twenty-fourth win in a row! He did so amazingly, he had several sponsors approach him afterward, so I gave them Jonathan McLeery’s business card and told them to give him a call if they were serious about representing him.”

  “Oh man, that is so cool. What made you change your mind about letting him race?”

  “Well, he is legally an adult now, so I can’t really stop him, but it was also because I could see how much passion he had for it and how happy it made him. I couldn’t be the one to stand in his way. Not to say that it won’t worry me every time he races.”

  “That’s understandable. You know I’m here if you need me.”

  “Yes, I know, thank you. Well, I better go check on Rose.”

  “Okay, Mom. Let me know if you need anything.”

  Bri nods, smiles, and then turns to head upstairs. When she reaches Rose’s and Crystal’s room, the door is open, and she sees both the girls working together to pack Rose’s things.

  “I’m really going to miss you, sis, and I’m sorry I’ve been so distant since all of this happened. Seeing Travis at the race track and how amazing he is, then seeing the sponsors interested in him, made me realize how good this is going to be for you and how selfish I’ve been. You deserve this; you deserve to be happy,” Crystal says to Rose.

  Rose smiles. “Thanks Crystal, and I understand, and I’m going to miss you too. At least when I’m gone you get your own room,” she laughs, “and you have my permission to change it as soon as I leave.”

  Bri clears her throat, and both girls turn to look at her standing in the doorway.

  “Mom, are you crying?” Rose asks.

  “I’m okay; I’m just going to miss you so much. I am really happy for you though and proud of you. My heart just swells with emotion.”

  “Aw Mom, I’m going to miss you too.” Rose wraps her arms around Bri’s waist in a big hug.

  After a moment Bri helps to pack up the rest of Rose’s things and the boys help to carry everything downstairs, where a moving truck is waiting to load everything. Rose will be flying to California while all of her belongings will be driven there by the moving company Bri had called earlier in the week. Once everything is loaded, and the truck leaves, everyone piles into Bri’s CRV and they all head to the airport. About an hour and a half later her flight is being called for boarding over the intercom, and everyone begins to say their goodbyes.

  “Good luck, sis. Knock ‘em dead,” Travis says while hugging her. “I know you will do great. I love you.”

  “I love you too, Travis. Keep me posted on your end too. I just know you are going to be some famous NASCAR driver someday.”

  Travis smiles.

  “Make sure you stay safe, sis. Make good decisions and don’t get sucked down the wrong path. I know you will do amazing and play it smart. I love you,” Matthew says, hugging her so tight he picks her up off the ground.

  “I will, big brother. You watch over everyone else, especially Mom. I love you too,” Rose replies.

  Next, Crystal steps forward with tears welling in her eyes, “I love you, sis, and I will miss you so much. Please call us often and tell us of all your great adventures. I can’t wait to see you on TV; you're going to be so famous.”

  Rose begins to tear up now as well. “I love you too, Crystal, and I will miss you so much too. I know you are going to do great things here. You are so smart, and I am so proud of you; don’t hesitate to call me whenever you need to talk.”

  Crystal smiles and then everyone turns to their mom to see her standing there with tears streaming down her face.

  “Oh Mom,” Rose says, “I was going to try and not cry, and then I see you, and I lose it.” Rose now has tears streaming down her face as well.

  “Oh Rose, baby, I’m going to miss you so much. My baby is leaving home and moving so far away.” Bri takes a deep breath and tries to compose herself while Matthew places a hand on her shoulder. Bri and Rose embrace in a hug, and Bri holds onto her for what seems like an eternity, not wanting to let go.

  Matthew interrupts. “Mom,” he squeezes her shoulder slightly, “she needs to board the plane now.”

  Bri sighs and releases Rose.

  Rose smiles at everyone and then turns to board the plane.

  When Rose is no longer in sight, Bri turns to Matthew and buries her face in his shoulder. “Can you drive us home, please? I don’t think I can.”

  “Sure Mom, no problem.” He holds her and sends calming feelings through her. She composes herself so they can leave and they all head back to the house.

  ∞∞∞

  Later that evening…

  Travis is at the race track while Bri, Matthew, and Crystal are in the family room watching TV. Bri starts to get up to make some popcorn when there is an interruption in their programming with breaking news.

  “Just moments ago, a 747 heading from Colorado to California, carrying 234 passengers, almost crash landed due to its landing gear failing to deploy. Luckily, by some miracle, the pilot was able to land the plane without any damage to the plane or injuries to the passengers. Security reports that a hydraulic line appears to have been cut. According to the maintenance crew, the plane passed all pre-flight checks, so security is unsure as to when this could have happened. The FAA will be following up with a thorough investigation.”

  “OH MY GOD!” Bri cries.

  Suddenly the phone rings and Bri answers it immediately. “Hello!”

  “Hi Mom, it’s me, Rose.”

  “Rose! Oh my God, honey,
are you okay? We just heard what happened on the news.”

  “Yes, I’m okay. That’s why I’m calling. I wanted to let you know that I am safe and we’ve already departed the plane. I’m standing here with Aunt Evelyn. I just wanted to call you before we head to her place so you would know that I made it here safe and sound.”

  “Okay, well, I’m glad you are okay and thank you for calling to let us know.”

  “Of course. I’m going to let you go now, though; Auntie wants to get going, so we miss the traffic out of here. There is still a lot of commotion here because of what happened, so we are going to try and sneak out of here while everyone is distracted.”

  “Okay. I love you, honey, and we’ll talk to you soon.”

  “I love you too, Mom. Bye.”

  Bri hangs up the phone. “Rose is okay. She’s with your Aunt Evelyn, and they are heading to her place now.”

  Matthew and Crystal relax with sighs of relief.

  “All right, that’s it. I’ve had enough for today. I’m heading to bed,” Bri announces. “I’m exhausted and just emotionally drained.” Matthew and Crystal smile and say goodnight.

  Chapter Fifteen

  A Comforting Moment

  When Bri reaches her room, she closes the door and locks it, then collapses on her bed and begins to cry. A few moments later she feels the lightest touch of an arm wrapping around her waist, and she immediately knows that it is Jared.

  “Hey sweetheart,” he says in a soothing voice. “Sshh, it’s going to be all right.”

  “I know, but she’s our baby, and I’m going to miss her so much.”

  “I know. This is the right thing for her, though; it’s going to give her such opportunities for her future.”

  “Yes, I know.” Bri turns to face him, “Will you be able to watch over her?”

  “Yes, but unfortunately I won’t be able to help her physically. You are the only one who can bring me to a solid form. I have confidence in my sister, though. Evelyn will watch over her.”

  “Yes, I believe you are right. I need to have faith.” She smiles, and Jared wipes her tears away.

  “Now then, why don’t we get you more comfortable and relaxed? I’m sure I can think of a way to distract you from your thoughts” he says with a mischievous look.

  “Oh, you are such a scoundrel, Jared.” Bri giggles.

  Jared winks and then starts to unbutton her blouse one button at a time, something he can do himself this time because of Bri’s power being stronger. He starts kissing her at the opening of each unbuttoned area; working his way from her neck down through her breasts, kissing and licking ever so gently. When he reaches her waistline, he unbuttons her jeans and uses his teeth to unzip them while grinning up at her with a playful smile. Slowly he removes her jeans, then makes his way back up to her panties. Removing them and then her bra, he begins playing with her breasts with one hand and her mound with the other.

  “How does that feel, baby?” he prompts.

  “Oh, Jared that feels so good,” she moans, “but you are too dressed.”

  Jared smiles, and with a quick thought, his clothes disappear.

  Bri smiles in surprise. “I didn’t know you could do that.”

  “Yes, if I can make myself disappear, I can make anything on me disappear.”

  “Your touch is feeling a bit stronger since last time; is that because of my power?”

  “Yes, the stronger your power gets and the more you concentrate, the more solid I will become.”

  Bri closes her eyes and concentrates for a moment, and when she opens them, she can see that he is indeed more solid. She can feel him as though he were alive again, but she can also feel the draining effect that it is having on her.

  Jared smiles. “This solidity isn’t going to last forever; it will begin to fade as your energy drains, so we should take advantage of it while we can.”

  Bri smiles and then surprises him by flipping him over on his back as she climbs on top of him and pins him against the bed. “My turn,” she says with a wicked smile.

  She begins doing to him what he just did to her except his clothes are already removed. Starting at the lobe of his ear, she kisses and sucks his ear lobe into her mouth, circling her tongue around it. Then moving her kissing down his neck, to his collar bone, down his chest, she sprawls her hands in the areas she has just been. Caressing him, taking in every moment, every feel of his body under her touch, she moves even lower, spreading chaste kisses along his hips while massaging his manhood in her hand. She begins to stroke him, slowly moving her mouth to join in the pleasure she wants to give him since she wasn’t able to the last time they were together. After she pleasures him with her mouth for a few moments, he grabs for her and pulls her up to his mouth and plants a passionate, sizzling kiss on her lips and positions her hips so her hot, wet sex is placed over him, then plunges inside her. Their hips begin moving in a magical rhythm, and he pulses in and out of her. Each of them is groaning with pleasure as they begin to reach their climax together. Bri cries out in with pure bliss and collapses on top of him.

  “That was amazing,” she says breathlessly.

  “Yes baby, it really was.”

  Within moments the exhaustion creeps up on her, and she falls asleep on his chest as he begins to disappear.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Mystery Solved

  Monday, September 10, 2018

  The next evening, shortly after dinner, Travis is out in the garage working on this car while Matthew, Bri, and Crystal are gathered in the study so Crystal can work more on the grimoire. Their concentration is broken at the sound of the doorbell. Matthew and Bri look at each other, confused, and then Bri goes to open the door. Standing on the other side is Roman.

  “Hi Roman. This is an unexpected visit,” Bri says.

  “Yes, sorry about that but I have some information I thought you would want to hear right away and I wanted to deliver it face to face.”

  “Okay, let’s go sit on the porch,” she says and then motions for Matthew to join them.

  Roman smiles and complies.

  When they are seated, he continues, “First, I assume you heard about the near plane crash last night.”

  “Yes, Rose was on that plane. She has moved to California to live with our Aunt Evelyn,” Matthew replies.

  “Yes, I’m aware,” Roman confirms.

  Bri and Matthew look at each other, puzzled.

  “My son and I have been monitoring your home, for your safety. We know that she was signed to Capitol Records and left here last night—congratulations on that, by the way…and I’m sorry. I know how difficult it is when a child moves away from home.”

  “Thank you,” Bri says.

  Roman continues, “Dimitri was the one who landed the plane safely. He felt a strong connection to your daughter when we were here the other night, a feeling that he needed to protect her, so he followed her. Before the plane took off, he felt an uneasy presence and knew something wasn’t quite right. He followed the plane using his abilities of flight, speed, and invisibility, and as soon as he saw the plane was having issues deploying its landing gear, he used his strength to guide it down to safety.”

  Bri and Matthew look stunned.

  “Oh my God! Well, I think I speak for all of us when I say thank you to your son. If it weren’t for him, she would probably be dead,” Bri says.

  “I’m sure if my son were here, he would say you are very welcome. Because of the incident, he has decided to stay in California to keep an eye on Rose, to protect her,” Roman informs them.

  “I saw him looking at my sister that night. Please forgive me when I say this next part, but I thought he was looking at her with bad intentions, like she was going to be his next meal or something. I’m glad to find out I was wrong and I’m sorry that is where my mind went. I’m just a very protective brother, and we had just met you both, not to mention we are very new to the supernatural world. I can tell you that it relieves my mother and me that he
will be there watching over her. It’s been very stressful thinking of her there with only my aunt. Don’t get me wrong, I know Evelyn can handle my sister, but she doesn’t know about everything else.”

  “Well, now that you are a part of the supernatural world, there are things that your aunt won’t be able to protect her from; that’s why Dimitri is there,” Roman says, “and after I tell you the rest of the information I came here for, I will be the one adding extra protection to your home and family here.”

  “What do you mean? Why do you think we will be in danger?” Bri asks.

  “Because I was able to find out who poisoned your mother and father and the person knows I’m here telling you. It is very likely that she will try to make a move to have you all killed.”

  “Why in God’s name would you let her know you are here telling them?!” Jared has now appeared and is bursting with anger and fear for his family.

  Roman remains calm, as he could sense Jared before he materialized. Bri and Matthew, however, jump in surprise at the outburst.

  “They need to know, and I’m the only one who can tell them without The Powers That Be or the curse interfering, since it’s my job as a detective to investigate and report the truth,” Roman states with conviction.

  Jared sighs. “Okay, okay, yeah, you’re right, but damn it, you better protect them with every power you have, so help me,” Jared says with his brows crossing in frustration.

  “Easy there, Dad. Weren’t you the one that told us not to piss off a vampire? We want him on our side,” Matthew says, trying to calm his father.

  Jared concedes and proceeds to stand behind Bri, placing his hands on her shoulders. “Okay, you better continue, then, and tell them who it was,” he says to Roman.

  Roman smiles. “First, I would like to say that as long as your family doesn’t attempt to kill my family or me, then you have nothing to fear from me. I made a vow a long time ago to your grandfather, Edgar, that I would protect your family. There is a history between the two of us and to make a long story short, he befriended me after the curse was bestowed upon the Edgewaters. He saved my life, and in return, I vowed to protect his family and descendants as long as I lived.”