Darlings of Paranormal Romance (Anthology) (109 page)

"Shh, Sam. It's okay. I'm sorry. I
didn't mean to wake you." He walked in and sat at the edge of the
couch beside her, close, without touching. She peered at him, still
groggy.

"Wow. I guess I fell
asleep?"

He smiled. "That you did. Not for
long though, maybe fifteen or twenty minutes."

She stood up uncertainly. "What time
is it? Can I leave now?" She searched around anxiously. "Where's my
purse?"

"Take it easy. First, it's not that
late. You've been here for just over an hour. Your purse is in my
office, and yes, you can leave." He opened his arms, closing them
around her as she walked into his embrace. "There, that wasn't so
hard was it?"

She stared at him, fatigue pulling at
her features.

Brandt hurt for her. She had to be
exhausted. "I want you to stay and rest for a bit."

"I'm fine." She visibly straightened
and produced a stronger smile. Brandt wasn't fooled in the
least.

"Have you eaten?"

Confusion clouded her face. "I think
so."

He nodded. " I may have found the
drugged woman. She came in during the right time period – and with
one earring missing. Her name is Annalea Watson. I'm on my way over
to check it against the one that just arrived. The lab has taken
swabs of it to match DNA, if need be. The woman is alive, but she's
in a coma."

Sam's eyes widened. "But that's
wonderful."

"So far so good. Come on,
let's find your purse and get you some food."

***

1:50 pm

Kevin hurried to his desk. He
couldn't believe what he'd seen. Or heard. His mind had been blown,
and it still had a frazzled edge to it.

If he hadn't been there and seen it
for himself... Well, he couldn't even go there yet. All his life,
he'd thought he understood the ways of the world. He just didn't
know anymore.

He did know one thing – she couldn't
have been making this up. He'd watched her very carefully. Her eyes
had been blind, the pupils dilated and unfocused. She'd been almost
comatose at one point, then completely awake at another.

Her face had gone dead white, then
flushed cherry red on her return. Her skin, God, her skin had been
so thin and so blue. He shook her head.

No one could have faked
that.

***

2:15 pm

Now wasn't that interesting? Dillon
kept his face impassive as he watched the chaos going on around
him. He'd been on the phone when the woman had screamed. Detective
Sutherland had a hell of a reputation with the ladies – but not
this kind.

Thinking she must be an informant of
one kind or another, Dillon had initially ignored her. Until she'd
screamed. Still he'd thought, hearing about the gruesome delivery,
that it had to have been her reaction to the gift. But not after
the preferential treatment she received in the captain's office.
When that was followed by an intense session later, Dillon's
interest was truly piqued.

So this was the psychic Brandt was
working with. Unbelievable. He laughed.

By the time she walked out of the
office, he had to admit, she did appear as if she'd been pushed
through an old wringer washing machine. Brandt's careful handling
confirmed one thing. Brandt must be sleeping with the weirdo witch.
Brave man. And smart too. That was the best way to control a
woman.

And while Brandt stayed focused on
her, it gave Dillon a chance to move in and on up.

Chapter 23

7:48 pm

T
he sun had lost its heat by the time
Sam managed to get home. Seemed Moses couldn't contain his joy. She
knew he hated it when she came in late. Soldier wagged his tail,
his only concession to her arrival. It was a step in the right
direction.

She should have gone home after the
vision, except working around the animals helped recharge her
psychic batteries faster than anything else. Though working didn't
help her physical energy levels, they would recharge faster once
her psychic energy levels were high again.

Sam survived by shoving everything to
the back of her mind and staying on task. Only once, had she fallen
off balance – when she'd noticed the blue dangly earrings in Lucy's
ears. It had been all she could to hold back the memories...and the
tears. After that, Sam had stayed away from the others.

Only when she tried to make it up her
porch stairs and inside the cabin did Sam realize the hamburger
Brandt had bought for her had been a long time ago.

The kitchen seemed empty and cold.
Leftover dishes in the sink, and an almost empty fridge added to
the forlorn atmosphere. It took a moment of rooting through the
cupboards before she found a can of soup and half-a-package of
crackers.

"Yeah, food." She turned on a burner
and slowly warmed up the soup, munching on the crackers while
waiting for the rest of the meal to catch up. Just before the soup
had heated enough to eat, Sam fed her animals. Then it was her
turn.

She turned off the kitchen light and
sat in the fading sun's rays. At some point in the last few days,
the atmosphere inside the cabin had changed. The normal sense of
security had disappeared. The darkness, instead of giving her
peace, threw long scary shadows. It didn't feel right anymore. The
loss of its solace devastated her.

Feeling chilled, she cupped the
cooling soup bowl, needing what warmth remained. She drank down the
last of the broth then headed outside.

With Moses at her heels, she walked
to the dock. Hearing something behind her, Sam spun around,
surprised to see Soldier hobbling after her. Happy with his
progress, she ran toward him only to stop at his warning
growl.

"Damn it, Soldier. What do I have to
do to gain some acceptance here?"

His growl deepened.

Crouched down close to him, Sam
didn't know whether to continue outside or head in. The sound of an
approaching vehicle decided it for her. She stepped further into
the shadows, glad she'd left the house in darkness. She knew the
sound of Brandt's truck by now only it appeared identical to the
asshole's truck who tried to run her off the road. She wasn't
taking any chances.

Silently, the dogs at her side, Sam
kept to the darkness of the trees and watched as a vehicle
approached. Powerful lights lit the way.

At the house, the vehicle parked and
a man got out. Sam squinted through the darkness. He looked like
Brandt, yet she couldn't be sure. She refused to be the first to
make a sound.

The man approached the dark house
warily.

Sam watched just as
cautiously.

The man jumped up the stairs and
knocked on the front door.

He knocked again. He pivoted,
searching the encroaching darkness. There was no way anyone could
miss her truck parked out front. "Sam, are you in
there?"

It was Brandt. Joy lit the dark areas
in her heart and filled them with a sense of security. Misplaced
feelings or not, she was glad to see him.

"I'm over here."

Brandt turned in her direction.
"Where?"

"Down toward the dock." Still, she
didn't move, waiting instead for him to approach her.

"Why the
hell are you wandering around outside in the dark?" He stormed in
her direction. "And why the
hell
didn't you answer the phone?" As
he approached, his face switched from worry, to exasperation, and
finally to a building anger. "Do you know how many times I tried to
call? Did you ever consider that someone might be worried about you
– especially after the day you had?"

Sam stepped forward so he could see
her. "Hi." She pulled her phone out of her pocket, saying, "It's a
beautiful night. Why shouldn't I be out?" Flipping her phone open,
she groaned. "Shit. My battery is dead. I'm sorry, I never even
checked."

He shook his head. "Right. Of course,
it is. There's no reason to be extra careful or accessible,
huh?"

Sam defended her actions. "I said I'm
sorry. Besides, I have the dogs with me."

"Not a lot of good they are going to
be against a bullet or two, are they? Remember the last
time?"

She didn't need this. "So did you
have an official reason for this visit or did you just come to yell
at me?"

"Sorry." He smiled slightly, reached
out and snagged her into his arms where she cuddled right in. "I am
sorry, but you scared the hell out of me when I couldn't reach you
by phone. I've been trying for hours."

Leading the way, Sam walked to the
cabin. "As you can see, I'm fine." She didn't wait to see if he
caught up with her. As she passed his truck, he stopped and opened
the passenger door. Curious, she turned in time to see him pull an
overnight bag out before locking up the vehicle.

Sam glanced sidelong at the bag, but
reality didn't hit until she'd opened the door. Excitement unfurled
deep in her tummy. Her breath hitched even as a kernel of outrage
sparked at his audacity. She didn't know how to react. How to feel.
Excited and comforted, all mixed up with relief. She needed to know
for sure. She turned around. "What's the bag for?"

"If you won't look after yourself,
then someone has to do it for you." Brandt walked around her and
stepped inside. "Therefore, you have a houseguest." He walked over
to the worn out couch and dropped his bag with a heavy thunk.
"Besides, I have a couple of questions I need answered."

Sam didn't want to give in so easily.
He had a lot of nerve making this decision without her. And yet,
she couldn't be happier. "Did you ever consider asking
me?"

"Asking – oh yeah, that's one of the
questions I'd planned on putting to you earlier. But… Oh right, you
wouldn't pick up the phone. So now I don't need to ask, do I?" He
kicked back on the couch, his arms behind his head. His grin split
his face in two.

"Whatever." Sam pushed the door shut
with a little more force than she'd planned. She reached for her
answer to all life's ailments – tea.

"So why didn't you know about the
souvenir?"

Sam stilled. Turning away from him,
she pulled out two cups from the cupboard.

"I won't go away."

Sam sighed, poured two cupfulls
before walking over to sit down opposite Brandt. "Are you
sure?"

He grinned. "Positive."

Sam sat in silence, then sipped her
tea, staring quietly at the irritating and highly amused man in
front of her.

"Get it through your head. I'm here
for the long haul."

Sam tilted her head to stare at him
in confusion. Quickly, she glanced down again. Surely, he hadn't
meant that, had he? But God, she hoped he had. She didn't know much
about long hauling, but she'd like to.

He sat up and leaned toward her. "So
tell me why."

She tried to focus on the
conversation. As much as she didn't want to revisit the case, she
knew he wouldn't lay off. "I didn't know because it was sliced off
after the woman died. After I disconnected."

Brandt's face was a study of emotions
as he considered her words. "Then I guess it's a blessing that you
didn't know."

With a frown, Sam sat back. "I'm not
always so lucky." Sam stopped, as emotion rose dangerously high.
She swallowed heavily. "Once the victims die, I have a couple of
minutes of adjustment. How they die and how long it takes them to
disconnect, determines how long I am caught in limbo. Sometimes,
I'm aware of what happens to their bodies after death if I'm still
stuck there."

Staring down at the table, her
fingers traced the old pattern showing through the melamine top.
"And sometimes," she said, raising her gaze slowly. "And sometimes,
people think the victims are dead, but..." Tears clogged her voice.
"But they aren't a hundred percent gone yet." Sam wiped her eyes
with the back of her sweater sleeve. "They, and I, can feel every
little thing then."

Her vision blurred with tears and
through it all she tried to see if Brandt understood. The look on
his face broke her heart.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have told
you."

"No. No. Don't feel that way." He
reached across the table, his hand a protective cover over hers. He
squeezed her hand. "It's just disturbing that you have to go
through this all the time." His thumb stroked across the soft skin
beside her thumb.

"Working in law enforcement, I'm
exposed to every horrific human experience. I should be used to
it... It still catches me sometimes."

Sam gently caught up his fingers in
hers. "I know. It's the same for me. People can be vicious to each
other."

His lips
twisted in a wry grin. "That's often why relationships don't work
for law enforcement officers. If we marry
someone
not
in the
same field, then the partner doesn't have the understanding of what
we go through every day. And if we marry another officer, then
there is no leaving the work behind. Living with this level of
violence every day, slowly wears down the relationship until
nothing can hold it together."