Raintree Read online

A moment later Hope was headed back toward him, moving a little more slowly than she’d been when she’d first chased after Tabby, but still moving fast. She didn’t maintain her shape any better than the lights above, and he blinked against the misty vision. How on earth was she able to run in those heels?

  “I lost her,” she said breathlessly. “Shit, she was right there, and I…” She shook off her frustration and dropped down to her haunches beside him. “You look terrible. You called for backup and an ambulance, right?”

  “No.” His lips felt numb and heavy as he answered.

  She reached for her cell phone. “You didn’t call this in? Dammit, Raintree…”

  He placed his hand on her wrist before she could dial. “No hospital. No backup. I just need you to drive me home.”

  “Home!” She moved his hand and peeled aside a portion of sliced fabric, then grimaced at his injury. “I don’t think so.” She pressed her surprisingly strong hand over the wound. “You need a doctor.”

  He shook his head. “I can’t.”

  “You’re going to have to tell her,” Lily Clark said with a shake of her red head.

  “I can’t,” he answered.

  “You already said that.” Hope lifted her hand slightly and looked again at the gash in his leg, what she could see past the torn trousers. “You’re not thinking straight.”

  “She’ll understand,” Lily said, almost kindly.

  “No, she won’t,” Gideon said. He was feeling the loss of blood, as well as…something else. “No one ever understands.”

  “Understands what?” Hope asked. “Raintree, don’t lose it on me.” She tried to regain control of her cell phone so she could call 911, but Gideon still had enough strength to hold her off.

  Maybe Lily was right. He hadn’t trusted anyone with his secret in a long time. A very long time. Tabby knew. Did that mean the secret was out? Or soon would be? He glanced to the side to study the ghost’s pale face, a face only he could see. “Maybe you’re right,” he said. “Maybe I can tell her the truth.”

  Lily nodded and smiled.

  “She’s going to think I’m crazy,” he said.

  The redhead laid a hand on his forehead, and he felt her cold touch very distinctly. He saw ghosts every day, talked to them frequently, but they rarely touched him in any way. Never like this. “Don’t be like me, Gideon,” Lily said. “Don’t hold yourself back so much. Live well, and leave a big hole when the time comes for you to go.”

  He shook his head.

  “Tell her.”

  “It’s not a good idea.”

  “Dammit, Raintree, you’re scaring the crap out of me,” Hope said softly, and he could hear the concern in her voice.

  Gideon turned his head to look up at Hope Malory. His head reeled. His leg didn’t hurt that badly anymore, and though Hope’s image was foggy, he could see that she was worried. He could see that she cared, even though she didn’t want to care about him or anyone else. He hadn’t told anyone what he could do in such a long time, and the last time…the last time it hadn’t worked out too well.

  “I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said. “I was just talking to Lily Clark.”

  Hope leaned slightly toward him. “Raintree, Lily Clark is dead.”

  “Yeah, I know.”

  Someone from the coffee shop had finally noticed the excitement on the boardwalk, and a few curious people walked toward him. He didn’t have much time. “Remember when I told you I talk to dead people?”

  “Yeah,” Hope said.

  “It was the truth.”

  Raintree was suffering from hallucinations. That was it.

  Hope pressed against his injury harder. Hallucinations from a nasty but relatively minor knife wound to the thigh? It didn’t make sense.

  “That’s not possible. I’m going to call 911 now…”

  “There’s no time to argue. I can’t go to a hospital this week.”

  This week? “Raintree…”

  “Watch this,” he said tersely, then turned his gaze toward the nearest streetlamp. In an instant the light exploded in a shower of sparks. The people who were approaching from the coffee shop stuttered and stepped back. “And the next,” Raintree said softly. Another streetlamp exploded. “The next?”

  “Not necessary,” she said softly, turning toward the other people, who were approaching once again. She mustered a smile for them.

  “Should I call an ambulance?” the burly man in the lead called. He looked like he was in charge, but this wasn’t the manager they’d spoken to earlier in the week.

  “No, thanks,” Hope said, sounding calm. “My friend here had a little bit too much to drink and fell, and I think he got a splinter or something in his leg. If you’ve got a towel or some bandages or something, I’ll patch him up and take him home.”

  It was an uninteresting explanation, and the other onlookers turned away. “Sure,” the man said, sounding disappointed. “I have a first aid kit with plenty of bandages.”

  “Cool,” Hope said gratefully.

  “Cool,” Raintree echoed when the man from the coffee shop had walked away to fetch the bandages. “So you believe me?”

  “Of course not,” she said sternly.

  “But you—”

  “I believe something is up. I just haven’t figured out what yet.”

  “I told you…” Suddenly Raintree turned his head and looked at a large expanse of air. “Yeah, she’s pretty, but she’s also stubborn as all get out.”

  “Talking to Lily Clark’s ghost again?” Hope snapped.

  Gideon leaned toward her. “She thinks you should be more open-minded.”

  “Oh, she does?”

  “Yeah.” Gideon looked puzzled for a moment, and then he added, “I haven’t lost enough blood to feel this woozy. She tossed something in my face. A drug of some kind. Maybe even poison. This isn’t good. I need to get out of here.”

  “You need a hospital.”

  “No. Lily says you’ll take good care of me.”

  “That don’t look like a splinter to me.”

  Hope’s head snapped up, and she saw the man from the coffee shop staring down, suspicion in his eyes.

  “Big splinter,” Hope said as she took the bandages from him.

  “Are you sure…?”

  Hope flashed her badge at the big guy, and he held up his hands in surrender. “Never mind. None of my business.”

  “I’ll get replacements for these bandages to you as soon as I get the chance,” Hope promised.

  “No problem,” the man said as he backed away. “Don’t worry about it.” He clearly didn’t quite believe her story, but he wasn’t going to stir up trouble and maybe even bring some of that trouble to his own door.

  Hope quickly bandaged Raintree’s thigh, padding it thickly and then tying the dressing tight. He was definitely hallucinating, and he needed more care than she could give him. She quickly explained away the exploding streetlamps. He had a secret gizmo hidden somewhere, and he’d used it to short out the electrical connection somehow. Maybe it had even been a coincidence. He’d seen the lights flickering, played the long shot, and won. He certainly hadn’t made the lights explode simply by looking at them. Common sense dictated that she lead Gideon out of here, put him in his Mustang and drive him to the ER.

  “You still don’t believe me,” he said, his voice growing thicker. Was it possible that he really had been drugged? She would let a doctor figure that out. She certainly wasn’t a doctor. Hell, she wasn’t even a halfway decent babysitter. In years past she’d proven time and again that she couldn’t even keep a goldfish alive.

  “I’m sorry, Raintree,” she said as she helped him up. It wasn’t easy, since he was heavy and unsteady, but they managed. With her support, they should be able to get to the car and from there to the hospital. Their progress was slow, as they took one careful step and then another. To the small crowd who watched from the coffee shop, he probably did look drunk. Just as well. It was an easier explanati