Lucky Stars (Ghosts and Reincarnation #5)(119)
Author: Kristen Ashley

“Thank you,” Belle replied softly.

“By quite a bit,” Lachlan went on.

“Um… thank you,” Belle repeated, dipping her chin and looking under her lashes at him.

Lachlan’s wolfish grin turned predatory.

“Jesus,” Jack repeated, again on a mutter.

“Uh, Lach, just to remind you, the man standing right there has a soul that’s eternally bound to the woman at his side,” Lorna informed her brother then she finished bluntly, “There’s no way in hell you’re getting in there, mate.”

Her brother swung his head her way and tipped it down to catch her eyes.

“I know that,” he replied. “Doesn’t make her any less pretty.”

Lorna looked to Cassandra and shared, “He breathes therefore he flirts. This is my lot in life. Can you imagine being connected to him through blood and profession and having to put up with this constantly?”

“I can imagine being connected to him but not through blood,” Cassandra returned, eyeing Lachlan appreciatively, her words getting his attention and he turned his roguish grin her way.

Lorna sought another ally, found Jack and requested, “Please, kill me.”

“I’d rather you tell me what your purpose is for being here,” Jack retorted, not in a good mood and none of this making his mood any better.

“They’ve got the gift,” Angus boomed and Jack looked at the older Scot.

“Pardon?” he asked.

“The gift!” Angus boomed again without any further explanation.

“As I don’t share Cassandra’s reported powers of clairvoyance, you’ll have to explain,” Jack pushed with rapidly waning patience.

Lachlan threw himself in a chair and slouched back with his arms on the armrests. He then placed his ankle on opposite knee and reported, “We were on a job, it got hairy or we would have been here sooner.”

“It was in France,” Lorna added. “French ghosts…” she gave a delicate shiver, “not fun. Especially if they’ve been beheaded. That revolution of theirs left some seriously pissed off phantoms and all of them are a pain in the arse.”

“Holy heck,” Belle breathed.

Jack crossed his arms on his chest. “This does not answer my question about why you’re here now.”

“They’ve got the gift,” Angus repeated and Jack’s eyes sliced to him so Angus quickly went on. “The gift. The feel. They can track ghosts.”

“I thought that was your job,” Jack remarked.

“Well, it is, lad,” Angus returned. “Cassandra can sense them, so can I. If we can’t, we can do readings. What I mean is, Lach and Lorna, they got the feel. That’s how the McPhersons got started in this business in the first place. All of us got it, some of us stronger than others. Lach and Lorna, they got it the strongest of all. They can track them and they can call them out.”

“Oh my,” Belle whispered.

Jack ignored Belle and looked between the twins. “And have you been doing that?”

“Aye,” Lachlan muttered. “Got here about an hour ago but didn’t even have to try. Minute we stepped over the threshold, we felt them. The wee ones, they’re here. Hidden and scared out of their minds, but they’re here. We haven’t had time to pull them to us but they’re here.” His eyes shifted briefly to Belle exposing he knew the whole story before they came back to Jack, “The third ghost, nothing.”

“Not one thing,” Lorna put in. “Not even a little bit. No trace.”

“This doesn’t make sense,” Belle noted quietly and Jack uncrossed his arms to wrap one around her and pull her to his side.

“Unfortunately, it does,” Lachlan stated, coming out of his lounge. He sat forward and put his elbows on his knees, his gaze on Belle. “We got the briefing. Although Caldwell did his dirty deeds in this house and this could be a reason why his ghost would be tethered here, unlike Myrtle and Lewis, he isn’t a ghost. He’s like you with Brenna and Bennett here with Joshua.” He tipped his head to Jack. “The triangle is not made of two reincarnated souls and a ghost. The triangle is complete only if the trace of the third soul finds its host.”

Belle went still at his side, whispering, “Oh my God,” and Jack pulled her closer as his own body got tight.

“So, we’re dealing with a human,” Jack surmised, this information uncomfortably and disturbingly matching Mickey Dempsey’s theory.

“Absolutely,” Lorna replied. “Cassandra nor Uncle Angus could feel him or read him anywhere. Except once. This means the night, erm…” she hesitated, her eyes also going to rest briefly on Belle before coming back to Jack when she continued, “the recent sad event occurred, whoever he is was in the house. And not only that, Cassandra sensed him here not only because his host was here but because Caldwell, active in the host, had taken it over.”

This, Jack thought, was not getting any better.

“What on earth does that mean?” he asked aloud.

“It’s likely,” Cassandra entered the discussion, “and has happened before, that whoever pushed Belle didn’t even know they were pushing her. They might not even have been aware they were here at all. If Caldwell’s spirit is strong enough, he could take over his host’s body and the host would have no memory of the acts he or she was perpetrating while Caldwell had control. It’s almost as if they don’t share a soul like, say, you and Joshua or Belle and Brenna. If it’s like this then it’s like a spirit inhabiting a body. It can lie dormant or it can take over. If it’s strong enough and angry enough, it’ll take over.”

“That’s bloody ridiculous,” Jack growled.

“It may sound it, but it’s true,” Lachlan replied quietly, his eyes now on Jack, his elbows still to his knees but his body was alert in response to Jack’s swiftly deteriorating mood and Jack made note not to underestimate him. A flirt with a ludicrous profession he might be but by the look on his face and his posture, it was clear he was not easily bested. “It would explain why there’s no readings or traces of his ghost or presence in this house. If Caldwell had never taken over his host, even the children wouldn’t sense his existence. He certainly would leave no trace, as you and Belle haven’t of Brenna or Joshua.”

“Does this mean Brenna or Joshua can take over Jack or me?” Belle asked and all members of the quartet nodded.