Oracle Seeing (The Phoenix Files Book 2) (32 page)

“Am I all of those things?”

“No. When Avalon was going to die, you rushed in because you needed to save her. That was all you. Then we brought her to Fire Bay, and you hover over her as if she’s fragile. I’ve seen you Googling Braille so you could help her learn. You act all sweet and gentle around her.”

“She’s like my kid sister.”

“Yeah, so that cancels out the dickiness. When Nate’s in a funk, you cheer him up by starting a bickering fest with him. You know how to read the situation, and do what’s best.”

Yeah, until now.

He didn’t know what to do with the doctor. Her phone number was burning a hole in his pocket. That NEVER happened.

Ever.

Screw it!

He had to get this off his chest. They were Marines, and he didn’t doubt that Maura would have his back.

He was her wingman, and she was his.

“I did something.”

“Like
‘break the law
’ did something, or
‘this is about a woman’
did something?” she asked.

“I had really hot, raunchy sex with the coroner, in the morgue cooler, and I can’t stop thinking about it.”

A part of Maura wanted to laugh, but then Jagger wouldn’t trust her. She had to be there for him.

They were a family.

“Maybe you like her.”

He stared at her in horror.

“What?”

“I don’t
‘LIKE’
people. I kill people. I rescue people. I shoot people in the head when they cross a line. I absolutely do not
‘LIKE’
people.”

“You like Avalon.”

“I love Avalon. Again, she’s like my sister. I got attached to her.”

“You like me.”

“I tolerate you. You’re a bit too bitchy for your own good, and I don’t know how your husband tolerates your bossiness.”

Yeah, she didn’t buy that.

She snorted and then decided to do what she always did.

Bust him back.

“Yeah, well you banged an ME in a morgue full of dead bodies. Your judgment is certainly up for scrutiny.”

She had a very valid point.

He was questioning his sanity.

“What do you want to do?”

“Fuck her again.”

Maura shook her head. “I meant about the situation and how you feel.”

“I want to tell her I’m sorry. I feel like I used her, but in actuality she used me.”

“So you want her to tell you she’s sorry?”

Yeah, yeah, he did.

“Yes.”

“Go talk to her. You’re an adult. She’s an adult, so you two should be able to work this out, right?”

She had a point.

“Can you handle it while I’m gone?”

“Avalon is creeping around, Lucian is locked up in his office, and I’m going over files looking for leads. Go. You can’t focus anyway. On your way back, pick up lunch.”

He offered her a fist bump. “Maura?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks. I appreciate it.”

She smiled. “Not a problem, Jagger. Anytime you need to talk, I’m here.”

It didn’t make him nervous like he thought it would. Instead, it made him feel calm. Maybe Avalon wasn’t the only one he loved like a sister.

Maura came in a close second.

“You’re still a bitch.”

“Yeah, and I wouldn’t have it any other way, Jagger.”

He laughed as he headed out.

He had to find a way to work through this.

He couldn’t focus.

Bad shit was happening when he couldn’t work through something as simple as sex.

Sadly, Jagger Armstrong had coroner on the brain.

That ended here and now.

As soon as he was gone, Avalon wandered into the room. She was feeling along the walls, trying to get to Maura.

“Am I clear?” she asked.

“Yeah, it’s a straight line right to me. Jagger went to get lunch.”

“Something’s coming, Maura. I can feel it.”

“With Jagger?”

She listened to the static, the calls for help, the screams of pain, and it was all in there.

Avalon wished it was that simple.

“Not just him. For all of us.”

Maura didn’t like the sound of that.

At all.

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

Lucian had to stop thinking about her.

Only he couldn’t.

Bishop was on his mind, and she was making him crazy. Earlier, he’d been angry when she defended him to the media, assuming he couldn’t do it himself, but now he was worried about Wendy keeping her word.

He felt off balance, as if something bad was coming. His head was buzzing, and the more he tried to ignore it, the louder it became.

Oh, shit!

It was happening again.

Earlier, the killer had faded out. The visions had stopped. He’d assumed that the Earl Thorpe was dead.

Only he wasn’t.

The killer was transporting him.

How did he know?

Lucian was seeing it.

As the first vision hit, he fell to the floor, grabbing his head. He could feel the vehicle stopping as the man in the trunk was struggling to hold on.

He was trying to stay alive.

God!

He didn’t know what was coming.

He should let go.

“Let go!” Lucian shouted. “Let go!”

He didn’t want to experience this man’s death too. He was getting flashes of what was to come, and he couldn’t help but dread it.

Then he heard footsteps.

Turning his head, he saw them.

It was Maura and Avalon.

“Help me,” he whispered, a thin line of blood dripping from his nose. He could feel it running across his cheek and to his ear as his body bowed in pain.

Avalon grabbed his hand, and she began trying everything to help him.

Only she couldn’t.

His head was a jumble. She was getting flashes of Bishop. Lucian was at her house, and they were making love, the media, the killer, and the phone call with the horrible blonde woman.

He was a mess.

His brain was overwhelmed, and his emotions were jacked up. He was going to have a stroke. His heart was pounding way too fast. If they didn’t do something, and quickly, he was going to die. He was too connected to the visions.

“Knock him out.”

“What?” Maura asked.

“He’s going to die. You have to break the connection. I can’t do it. He’s tied to the victims. You have to stop him from living it.”

He saw the noose.

He felt it tightening around his throat.

His fingers went there as his body bowed in tension.

He couldn’t breathe.

God!

Lucian couldn’t breathe.

“Maura! Knock him out!”

She reached for the pressure point on his neck and pressed as hard as she could.

The air released from his lips, as his eye rolled up into his head.

“Is he okay?” she asked.

Avalon was breathing heavily, as if she, too, had run a marathon. That had been way too close.

“For now. He’s okay for now.”

Maura wasn’t sure she bought that.

Avalon looked like shit, and now she was resting on the floor beside Lucian, closing her own eyes.

“Avi, come on. Tell me what you’re seeing,” she said, holding both of their hands in hers.

Lucian was still warm.

Avalon was ice cold.

“Bad things are coming,” Avalon whispered. “So many bad things, and for all of us.”

Maura didn’t want to hear that.

Frankly, it freaked her out.

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

The deed was done.

The body was left where someone would find it.

This place was perfect. He deserved to hang, and this would give the most impact.

He could almost see the news now.

The sheriff was trying to stop the justice, and that wouldn’t work.

This had to be finished.

Once before, a sheriff had tried to stop him, and that didn’t end well. Maybe, it was time to scare this sheriff too. Maybe it was time to show her what happened when you put your nose where it didn’t belong.

He had an idea.

He had the files, he had all of her information, and now he’d leave her a little gift.

Well, make that one hell of a gift.

She’d never see this one coming.

They had one of seven.

They had two of seven.

When they found this one, they’d have three.

Little did she know they actually had number four already. They’d had him for a very long time.

The fun was about to begin.

Now he’d really pick up the pace. This game just got interesting. Bishop Killion didn’t have a clue what she was up against, and that would be her downfall.

Just like her dear old dad.

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

Ravenswood

B & B

Friday Mid-Day

When they pulled up, it looked like every other Bed and Breakfast in a tourist town.

It was a Victorian with lots of flowers, bright colors, and rockers on the porch.

They were having a hard time picturing the man who went to jail dating anyone who worked here. It was getting weirder and weirder with each passing moment.

Something was definitely off.

Nate pulled out his phone when the text went off, and he read it.

“We have to head back after this. Avalon is going off the rails, Lucian is knocked out, and Jagger is twisted up.”

Luke glanced over. “Please tell me that my wife didn’t knock him out. She has too much fun doing shit like that. It took me a whole week of explaining why Marines just couldn’t go around doing that. She wanted to actually do it to a guy who stole her parking spot.”

Nate would have laughed if he wasn’t feeling the stress of the situation.

“Well, we know it wasn’t my girl who did it.”

Shit.

Luke was sure Maura had to have one hell of a reason, or so he hoped.

Heading up the porch stairs, they needed to make this fast. Once inside, a blonde woman headed their way. She wasn’t dressed like any business owner they saw before.

She looked more like Jessica Rabbit run amuck, but with so much blonde hair it looked like cotton candy.

What the hell?

“Can I interest you in a room?” she asked. “I’m Starla, and I’m the proprietor.”

Nate nearly asked the proprietor to what. Had they walked into a brothel?

“Uh, no. We have some questions to ask you about a man named Nolan Parker.”

She smiled. “That’s my man. What about him?”

They pulled their badges.

Her demeanor changed. “Did my rotten, greedy, bastard step-son send you?”

They looked at each other.

“Pardon?”

“Lucian Monroe. I was married to his father, and ever since the old man croaked, he’s been a thorn in my side. I contest the will, which is my right, and he shuts me down. All I want is what was owed to me. His father married me and I played wife. I did what he asked. All I got out of it was this business. That’s not fair. I deserve my share.”

The men knew why it felt off. Lucian mentioned this when they asked about a place to stay.

It was really odd, or a coincidence, that a man who’d been connected to the three men was also connected to Lucian’s stepmother.