This Strange Addiction by Julie Steimle (e book free reading .txt) 📕

“It all depends on her,” Daniel said, gesturing to Audry. She could feel it. “An effective shadow must be a willing participant.”

“I’m willing,” Audry moaned between sips, “I just don’t…”

Rick patted her on the back. “Is there another way?”

“Witness protection won’t work against witches,” Daniel said. “And we all agreed we need to protect the life Audry has chosen for herself. So, no. There is no other way. Not without Tom being with Audry twenty-four-seven—and I don’t think her fiancée would appreciate that.”

Audry heard an almost wolfish growl come from Rick’s throat. She sat up and stared at him.

Meeting her gaze, blinking, Rick immediately colored and cleared his throat, coughing. “Sorry.”

She stared more.

Rick instantly rose, his warm hand lifting off her back. He quickly looked to Matthew and they traded places. Matthew sat next to her, but he shot Rick looks.

“Alright…” Rick stepped to Daniel. “So we have to make this work.”

Daniel nodded, glad Rick saw it his way.

Audry watched him. It was still hitting her hard that Rick was doing all of this for her. It wasn’t for Silvia. It was for her. Out of his own mouth. He really was trying to protect her.

“So I should try to suspend my disbelief,” Audry said to Daniel, “and believe in a Santa Claus type of magic—”

“Not Santa Claus.” Daniel laughed. “Believe in us. Believe that whatever we do, it will protect you and Silvia from being discovered by those witches.”

Her eyes traced to Rick. “Tom will still watch out for us—”

“Oh yes.” Rick earnestly nodded to her. “And I can get Bobo to be your bodyguard at work until all of this is sorted out.”

She rolled her eyes. “I don’t need a bodyguar—”

“Yes, you do,” he said, going back to her. “And Bobo is good. He would never let a soul harm you.”

“Then why don’t you use him?” she snapped at him.

“Because I don’t deserve a bodyguard,” Rick bit back, his face flushing.

Tom whopped him on the head with a takeout box. The rice fell out all over Rick. “I told you to stop talking like that!”

But Audry was shaken. She stared at Rick. All his grief was on his face and in his shoulders. His entire body was trying to keep from shaking.

“The rice!” Matthew exclaimed, grabbing the damaged box.

Tom shoved a box of vegetarian steamed buns into Audry’s chest, lifting one of her hands for her to make her hold it. She dumbly obeyed.

Daniel came up to her, leading her back to her seat. She watched Rick as he knocked off the rice from his head and clothes, averting his gaze from her as he had spoken what he was really thinking.

“He’s still grieving,” Daniel whispered. “Jordan mattered a lot to him.”

Audry nodded, sitting down.

Tom shoved some chopsticks into her hand and urged her to eat up. Matthew led Rick to the side, talking to him in private.

“Jordan?” Audry looked to Daniel.

“Jordan Hague. His roommate at Brown,” Daniel said.

Immediately she knew who that was. It was a guy she had met at the ski lodge back when she was doing her Masters. He was a tall man. Lean. Nice smile. He was the one who had died? Audry looked to Daniel.

“I was there,” Daniel said, making it clear he was not speaking from rumor.

She stared more.

“After the fact,” he clarified. He then looked toward Rick who was trying to breathe in and out to keep calm. “He has good days and bad days. Today I think is a bad day. He doesn’t want any more friends to get hurt.”

Friend. He saw her as a friend.

“Was he really attacked by wolves?” Audry asked, whispering.

Looking to her, meeting her gaze to make sure what she meant by it, Daniel carefully said, “Yes. But Jordan was murdered. And Rick’s afraid the witches will get to you the same way.”

Audry pulled back.

“Let his friend Bobo guard you when you are out and about,” Daniel said. He exhaled heavily, peeking to Rick again, “It will make him feel better and it’s no loss to you.”

She closed her eyes and nodded.

“When our world gets the hint to leave you alone,” Daniel said, “maybe when you get married to your Hogan, you will be free to do whatever you want with your life and this will be nothing but a passing, but weird, memory.”

It was a weird thing to say. And Audry doubted it very much. There was no way any of this was going to be just a passing memory. It was way too bizarre.

Chapter Nine

“Ok…” Selena said once Tom, Rick, and Matthew left her apartment, guiding Audry into the luxurious penthouse where she resided. “My spare bedroom is to the right. The bathroom is down the hall and you can help yourself to anything in the fridge—but tonight…” she sighed with a ceiling-ward gaze “…we’re going to have to go my grandparents’ place for dinner. If they ask, you are a friend of a friend. And don’t tell them who. They get all huffy when I mention any of my Gulinger friends—especially Tom and Rick.”

The Davenports. Audry had heard of them—posh folk who would disown their only granddaughter if she did not marry well, but they spoiled their daughter. And their granddaughter, Selena, was still single.

“Got it,” Audry said.

Her impression of Selena on first gaze was one of those New York debutantes who did not care about anything but her own posh lifestyle. She was a shapely woman with sea green eyes. Selena had Mediterranean bone structure and a tan which brought to mind women like Penelope Cruz and Monica Bellucci, but her accent was one hundred percent American. Everything else about her was enticingly exotic. In fact, when she spoke, her voice had a sultry, almost hypnotic tone to it… like she could convince you to do anything. In this case, it was that they were going out to have dinner with the pretentious elderly Davenports whether she liked it or not.

Selena drove. She had cute car—a sea green Mini Cooper which smelled faintly of sea air. Selena herself had kind of a freshwater smell, light and refreshing. Audry wondered what kind of perfume she wore and where she could get it. When they arrived at her Grandparent’s estate outside the city, a valet opened Audry’s passenger side door.

“Now, a few pointers while you are here,” Selena said to her in whispers as she led them to the door. “Ignore any remarks my grandparents make about your clothes. You are dressed like a normal person and they don’t live in reality. They like to assert their dominance on everyone they come across. It’s not you, it’s them.”

Glancing wordlessly to Selena, Audry found it odd how much like Rick Selena was when talking about her extended family. He thought the same thing about his grandparents, the Richardsons, whom Audry also had met the same time she had met Rick’s mother. In every other way they were different.

The butler showed them in. He silently eyed Audry’s tee shirt and jeans while Selena strutted in like a regular debutante in a classy dress. The front hall was everything one would expect from the wealthy. Luxurious furniture. Fresh flowers everywhere. Flowing draperies with jeweled adornments. It was like something out of a magazine. It wasn’t the first time Audry had been in such places, of course. Her Bruchenhaus grandfather and his extended family were all of that ilk. And their homes were the same kind of huge museum like palaces—places that ordinary humans stared at but felt so out of place. And it made her wonder what Deacon Manor in Massachusetts was like. Were they as ridiculously extravagant?  

Selena led Audry to the dining room where dinner was already set up, from the wine goblets to the find silver and china. A servant was adding another place setting, making space for five individuals. An elderly man in a button-up sweater and neat slacks stood within the room, glancing at his watch. He lifted his head. His eyes brightened upon seeing Selena. But when he spotted Audry, his brow wrinkled and his eyes turned to his granddaughter questioningly.

“Hello Grandpa.” Selena kissed his cheek then gestured to Audry. “I know this is unconventional, but this Audry Bruchenhaus, a friend of a friend of mine. Um, she’s staying with me for a few days and I didn’t think I was safe to leave her at home.”

“Safe for your home or safe for her?” Mr. Davenport said. There seemed to be a lot going on behind his eyes, lots of questions about things Audry was not aware of.

Huffing, Selena said, “Safe for her. This is a favor for my friend, Matthew, the police detective.”

Her grandfather’s expression looked vaguely confused. Apparently he was not as familiar with Matthew as he was Rick or Tom. Audry noticed that Selena had not mentioned Matthew was a friend from Gulinger Private Academy.

The elderly man nodded to Audry. “Pleasure. Welcome to our home.”

Audry nodded back. “Thank you for allowing me to be here. I’m sorry for any inconvenience.”

“Not at all,” he said. Then he went to the side room, calling in. “Darling, Selena’s here.”

“Oh good,” an elderly woman’s voice came from the other room. Soon after, a regal white haired woman came in on pretty heels. Prada. She wore her hair short, but styled, and her dress would have fit perfectly in a garden party among the royals in England. Her eyes rested on Selena with delight, but they seemed to freeze when she took in Audry.

Coming up to Selena with a cheek-to-cheek kiss, the woman then turned and said, “Glad you’ve come on time. And who is your… uh… friend?”

Selena emitted a short sigh as she responded, “Grandmother, this is Audry Bruchenhaus. She is staying with me for a few days.”

Mrs. Davenport nodded to Audry. “Pleasure.” But then a look came into her eye, and she glanced at Audry again before saying to Selena, “Did you say Bruchenhaus?”

Selena nodded, nonplussed. “I did.”

Turning to Audry, Mrs. Davenport asked, “Are you related to the Pennsylvania Bruchenhauses?”

Selena glanced to Audry, startled. Apparently she had heard about them also. Audry always got that. It was getting tiring.

Audry nodded, saying, “That’s my Great Aunt Helena’s family.”

Their eyes brightened, especially the grandparents.

“So you are from Gregory Bruchenhaus’s family.”

“He’s my grandfather,” Audry said, as there was no way to get around it.

“So you’re the daughter of…?” Mrs. Davenport rolled her hand, waiting for apparently the best news she had all day.

Sighing, Audry said, “Zachary Bruchenhaus.”

But Mrs. Davenport stiffened. “The one who married the hippie.”

Selena choked on a laugh. Her grin widened fondly on Audry.

Nodding a little stiffly, Audry said, “Yes, actually.”

Selena’s grandparents looked to her as if to ask ‘Why did you bring such a person into our home?’ But Selena responded with a lifted chin and a silent smirk. She was enjoying this.

“And how did you two meet?” the grandmother asked.

“Today,” Selena responded, grinning. “I am helping a friend out.”

“Actually, we met earlier than today,” Audry said. She couldn’t resist. The borderline dirty looks from those pompous ginnygogs were driving her crazy.

Selena looked to her, her eyes questioning that.

“It was many years back,” Audry said with a smile. “You were on a ski trip with some of your school