Oracle Seeing (The Phoenix Files Book 2) (20 page)

Bishop recalled those exact same words being used the day he was in that hospital bed. She’d called him washed up, a has been, and not worth her time. Bishop vividly recalled Wendy coming into his room, seeing her holding Lucian’s hand, and the tirade she went into in protest.

It had been an act.

She saw that now. Wendy wanted to make a grand exit from the relationship, blaming Lucian for it, not her. She was a total bitch.

Enough was enough.

“Hey, Wendy?” she said, unlocking her shiny truck.

The woman approached. “What?”

Bishop lowered her voice. “If you ever call him washed up again, I’m going to make you sorry.”

She heard the click of the camera going back on.

Fine.

She didn’t care.

Lucian’s dignity mattered to her.

“Oh, yeah? I’m just pointing out the facts. He’s hiding in his house, he’s a scarred mess, and he’s washed up.”

Bishop opened her door fast, bumping it into Wendy. In the stilts she called heels, Wendy toppled.

Bishop pretended to reach for her, purposely missing her. Wendy fell to the ground, right into a puddle of nasty water.

It was hard not to laugh.

“Oops. My bad. Have a good day, Wendy.”

With that, she hopped into her truck as the media hounds helped their evil queen. She pulled away, and Bishop knew heads were going to roll.

Silas was going to kick her ass.

Still…that was payback. Lucian wasn’t washed up. Bishop saw his potential. Now it was about making him see it too.

If that was even possible.

       
                
* * *
  O R A C L E   * * *

Graymoor

Yes, he was hiding.

After the confrontation with Bishop, he didn’t know what the hell to do. Lucian could still feel her lips against his cheek, and he didn’t know what to think.

He’d missed that contact.

He’d wondered the last ten years if anyone would ever touch him again. It wasn’t as if he could blame the opposite sex for running from him.

Hell!

He was running from him—only it was damn hard since he was trapped in this shell. It was funny. His insides didn’t match his outsides. Lucian felt as if he could still make a difference, but he knew the outside would hold him back.

His face was going to be his obstacle.

As he sat in his office, he flipped through the news. He was trying to get some work done, but divorce documents didn’t have his attention.

He had to admit, he was curious.

This case was plaguing him. He could feel the low hum of voices in his head, and it was making it hard to think.

It was clear that Avalon, wherever she was in the house, was controlling them. She was keeping them off his back. She’d helped him with controlling his aura, and that pushed the pain back. He was grateful.

Still…

He needed a distraction.

As he flipped to his least favorite channel, he saw her. Bishop Killion was heading out of the newspaper, her face set in determination, and her eyes lit with anger.

He saw it there.

Lucian was familiar with it.

That anger lived in him.

As he watched the beautiful woman cross the parking lot, he heard the dreaded voice. Wendy’s whining was crystal clear, and now he understood why Bishop looked so irritated.

He would be too.

One of the best things about Graymoor was that his ex-fiancée couldn’t get to him. That was his only blessing the last ten years.

Lucian watched the footage, and he realized that Wendy was trying to start a fight. She’d been like that when they dated, and when he proposed, but he’d always won.

Why?

Because he was Lucian Monroe.

Winning was in his blood.

Now he realized she was only letting him win. Wendy had been using him, in all fairness, he’d done the same. He didn’t feel an iota of emotion toward her.

Now Bishop?

Yeah, he felt everything,

As she had most of her team shut off their cameras, he relaxed. Then he heard what she said.

Wendy was being Wendy.

It was true.

He was washed up.

It was then that he saw the flash of fury as Bishop came to his defense. It was horrifying and healing all at once.

When she went to get into her truck, he watched as the other news station that had been tailing Wendy, caught the end of their
‘talk’.

He laughed.

For the first time, in a very long time, it broke free from his chest. It sounded so unfamiliar, but felt so right.

The look on Wendy’s face as Bishop
‘accidentally’
knocked her over was priceless.

It was cathartic.

Bishop had defended him.

Was she telling the truth earlier? When she said all those things to him, were they said in honesty?

As he sat there, pondering the question, there was a light knock to his door.

“Come in.”

Avalon blinked a few times, adjusting to using his vision to guide her before she moved into his office and toward him.

“Do you need my help?” he asked.

“No, but I think you need mine. I could hear your mind calling mine from across the house.”

Had it been?

Did he need help?

At this point, Lucian wasn’t sure. His whole life was upside down, and he was confused as hell about the killer, why he was being targeted, and Bishop Killion.

Especially her.

“Can I get you something, Avalon?”

“Maura is on the phone, coordinating something with Jagger, so I thought I’d come sit with you for a while. It felt like you needed it.”

The funny thing is, he did.

He had been feeling down.

Now he was simply confused.

“She hurt you, didn’t she?” Avalon asked.

“Who?”

Avalon focused on the man, reaching into his mind to find the deepest, darkest secrets.

“Wendy.”

“Yes, she did. I suppose I deserved it. When I started dating her, it wasn’t because I thought she’d make a good wife. I thought she’d help advance my career.”

That was the first time he’d ever said it out loud, and it felt damn good.

Avalon listened.

“Along the way, I got twisted up in her games, her lies, and the media spotlight.” Yeah, and in the process he fell in love with another woman.

Bishop
.

It had always been Bishop.

“You’re free from her now and have been for the last ten years,” Avalon offered.

Was he?

Could a man really be free of his past?

Wendy was gunning for him, and in the process, going after Bishop. That bothered him most.

“Can I ask you something personal?” Lucian asked.

“Sure. If I can have some coffee. I really like it, but I don’t get to have it all the time. It’s very addictive.”

He glanced over at the pot sitting on his desk. He’d forgotten to offer her some. That’s how twisted up he was. He was being a horrible host.

“You absolutely can.”

He poured her a cup, and she took it from him with no incidents. Lucian was about to say something, but she beat him to it.

“Yes, I’m using your eyes.”

He didn’t mind. Being around Avalon was cathartic. She had a calming presence about her.

Avalon took a sip of the coffee. She really loved the stuff. There had to be a way to get more. It seemed to calm the jittery feelings that she was experiencing.

Pregnancy was hard.

She was already feeling the strain and under the weather because of it. She wasn’t sure how she’d do this later in pregnancy. It was a big energy drain.

“Go ahead and ask what’s on your mind, Lucian.”

“Do you believe in love at first sight?”

“I absolutely do. I’m a victim of it myself. I met my fiancé in a dream. For years, I dreamed of him, and then one day, he was there. I fell for Nathaniel a long time ago. I was just waiting for life to catch up.”

“Did you tell him when you met him? How long have you been together?”

“We’ve only been together for about six months. I told him that I loved him right after the first time we had sex. I was a virgin.”

Lucian squirmed in his seat at the use of the word
‘virgin’
. It was awkward to have a woman say it to him.

It freaked him out.

“I’m not sure he’s going to like you having this conversation. I know I wouldn’t.”

She laughed. “You’ll find I’m often without a filter. I tend to say whatever comes to mind. As to my state before Nathaniel, I was a prisoner. I didn’t want to help the government. I simply had no choice. When he came into my life, he saved me.”

She told him about her father, how her mother had gotten pregnant by her cousin, and the outcome.

“He nearly died to save me. Nathaniel was willing to sacrifice anything to make sure I lived. That’s love. It’s the deepest, purest form of it. That’s how we both knew.”

He thought about what Bishop had said. Then he thought about what he’d seen on the TV with her and Wendy. She was risking her job to protect him.

Was it the same?”

“It is,” Avalon stated.

He stared at her. “That’s a little creepy.”

“Yeah, so I’m told. Here’s a little secret, Lucian. The team doesn’t know the half of what I can do. In fact, neither do I.”

He believed that.

“Anyway, back to Nathaniel and love at first sight. I was glad I told him. In life, we don’t have guarantees. I think you know that, Lucian.”

Oh, he was well aware.

“How did he take it?”

She sipped her coffee. “Well, he was freaked out at first. I’m younger than he is, and I think that sometimes makes him nervous. He’s not old by any means, but there’s at least fifteen years between us.”

Lucian got it.

“It didn’t last long. I think after about two days, he figured it out. I had faith that he would.”

Lucian thought about it.

“You should tell her the truth. It will set you free.”

He played dumb.

“Tell who, what?”

Avalon’s laughter filled the room.

If he wanted to play it that way, she’d allow him that luxury. Avalon knew what was coming. Everything was there. It was like one giant chessboard, and she was moving the pieces across the board.

Right now, the bishop was protecting the king. At some point, he’d have to take over.

“You really should tell Bishop how you feel—how she makes you feel. Once you do, you’ll begin to heal. It’s the first step.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Liar.”

He laughed. “Yeah, I guess I am.”

“I can tell that she scares you, but not because she’s interested in you. She scares you because you don’t want to get hurt anymore. You really believe there’s nothing redeemable in you.”

“There’s not.”

“You’re very wrong. You see nothing, but that doesn’t mean it’s not there for someone else. We each have needs and things that make us whole. Why can’t you hold that last piece that fixes her?”

He’d never thought about it like that.

He might have that piece.

“What if she has what will fix you?”

“I’m screwed because I don’t know how to approach her. I said some horrible things to her.”

“Like?” Avalon already knew, but she needed Lucian to come to grips with it. Her job was much like that of a therapist. She needed him to begin the healing process.

It was one more move on the chessboard.

“After I got out of the hospital, I was angry with the world. I fired everyone here. I told them to leave. I wanted to be alone. Every day, she came. It was the same time. I could set my clock to it. She’d stop by, buzz the gate, and beg me to see her.”

“And?”

“I turned her away.”

Avalon was aware.

“But she kept coming. Bishop didn’t give up. I pushed her away to save her, but she wouldn’t stop trying. She’s the strongest person I’ve ever met in my life. I have nothing like that strength. People say I survived something hard, but I’m not a fighter like she is. Bishop is tougher than anyone I know.”