StrangeDays (8 page)

“Murders happen. They don’t have to be demonic.” Jonah had
always been good at pulling him back to reality. Still, the idea that the
family had been butchered like that for no apparent reason didn’t sit well with
him. “And it could have been any passing ghost in the apartment. You know they
come and go. I didn’t get the haunted heebie-jeebies when I was in there.”

“That’s good.” Jonah would have sensed something if there
had been danger. Christian could relax, maybe a little.

“I’m going to be here today until Mindy gets home from work.
I just want to make sure that she’s fine and then I’ll head back to Chicago. Did
you tell the woman about your secret second, or make that third, career?”

That weighed on Christian’s shoulders like an ache he
wouldn’t be able to stretch out. “I started to and before you give me shit
about it, she had to go to work. It didn’t feel like the right moment to launch
into that whole thing. I did ask her if she believed in evil.”

Jonah nodded. “That’s a good introduction, I guess. What did
she say?”

“She said yes.”

“Nice.” Jonah yawned. “I’m going back into your apartment to
nap. Have a good time taking your pretty pictures.”

Christian rolled his eyes. “Thanks.”

The last thing he wanted to do today involved posing
shirtless while he stared at bright lights flashing in his face. Still, if it
got him where he needed to go faster, he’d do it and he’d plaster a smile on
his face the whole time.

Wind blew through his hair and he remembered the cold spell
in Dodie’s apartment. A passing ghost, a harmless specter that came and went
without causing any trouble. Could he be that lucky?

He doubted it. Taking the stairs instead of the elevator, he
got to his apartment after Jonah did. By the time he’d gotten inside he could
hear his friend snoring from the back room.

Christian took a quick shower and added product to his hair.
Getting ready for the shoot altered only slightly from how he had to get ready
for the club every night. No baby oil but prettying himself up took place in
both instances.

He’d really gotten sick of the smells. No more baby oil, no
more hair product. His father, who had been a master plumber and a real guy’s
guy, would never have believed what Christian did for a living. He did want to
make them proud, should they actually be watching from some other place.

Of course, they’d probably approve of his work with Master
Foy. They’d hunted down and taken out his parents’ killer. The third-level
demon would never hurt anyone again.

Christian shook his head. “Why am I thinking about all this
crap today?”

The sun shone through the window. He’d spent the night in
Dodie’s bed and today’s work would keep him from having to put off his dreams
even longer. Things were going along well.

Still, the faces of that family who had been killed haunted
him. A glance at the clock told him he had two hours until he had to be at the
studio. Just enough time to go check things out.

* * * * *

Northwest Austin was filled with families. With good public
schools, it tended to attract people who were looking for safe places to let
their kids play outside. Surrounded by two bodies of water, Lake Austin and
Lake Travis, the only time Christian had spent in the area involved kayaking
and boating on the waters.

Today, with a hat covering his long hair, and casual clothes
that wouldn’t draw attention to his presence, he wandered around the street
where the family had come to their end.

Neighbors were outside, some speaking to news crews, others
simply shaking their heads. Their illusion of safety had been slaughtered along
with the bodies of the souls who had lived next door to them. Just as it had
been when his parents had died so many years ago.

If he could have slammed his head on the ground he would
have. Why had he not recognized the similarities before now? This was the
closest he’d come to a murder just like that one.

Bending over, he picked up the dirt and smelled it, nearly
gagging when he caught the scent of rotten eggs.

“Sulfur. Damn it.”

The Incubus hadn’t been the only game in town. Some other
foul creature stalked and killed people here. Anger surged through his blood
and he wished he had his punching bag.

Picking up his phone, he texted Jonah. One word.
Demon
.

Dodie stared at Mindy, who for some reason showed up at the
office when she should be resting and trying to get over the trauma that had
turned her hair white, as if she had three heads. She wanted to throw her arms
around Mindy and simultaneously hug and shake her.

“Have you lost your mind?”

Mindy shook her head, her eyes screaming tiredness in their
every red-rimmed blink. “No. I need to be busy. What am I going to do? Sit at
home and think about Brian being chopped up? I can think about it plenty here
and stay busy.”

“I think we need to get you some professional help for this.
People don’t simply get over seeing something like that.”

Her best friend sat back in her seat. “That’s just the kind
of thing Jonah talked about last night. Only he didn’t mean for me to go talk
to a doctor.”

“How much time did you spend talking to Jonah last night?”

Dodie herself had been preoccupied with Christian. It had
never occurred to her that Jonah and Mindy might spend the whole night
together. Had Christian’s best friend taken advantage of Mindy while she
remained vulnerable?

“We argued for a while, actually. He’s really pig-headed.”
Mindy twirled a pen between her fingers. “And then I went and did something
dumb.”

So help her, Dodie didn’t care how big and brawny the man
happened to be, she’d throttle him herself if he’d gone to bed with Mindy while
she was out of it. What kind of scumbag did something like that?

“What did you do?” She tried to keep her voice calm.

Mindy, who usually read her moods like a book, stared across
the desk, her eyes distant as if she saw something Dodie couldn’t see. “I told
him I couldn’t sleep. Haven’t been able to since I came home from the hospital.
So he offered to spend the night on the floor outside the room to keep watch. I
let him, which is insane. I should not have made him do that and, even nuttier,
he actually did. I slept well knowing Jonah sat out there like some sentry
against the darkness.” Her best friend shook her head. “Nuts.”

Dodie needed to apologize to Jonah for all the mean things
she’d thought about him. Or maybe she’d never mention she thought them in the
first place. That would probably work better.

“I’m glad he did that.”

“Has Christian ever talked to you about their instructor in
Chicago? Jonah seems to think he can help me.”

“Right. Yes, the man who got Christian out of jail. He must
be a wonderful person. I don’t have a lot of details.”

“Jonah stayed vague on them too. He thought I might benefit
from some time there.”

“Are you really thinking about leaving?”

Mindy shook her head. “No.”

Just then the room shook as someone slammed open the door
from the outside. A secretary shrieked and then loud popping noises filled the
room. Dodie whirled around.
What the hell had happened?

“Dodie!” Mindy shrieked. “Down.”

Thrown to the floor by Mindy’s weight on top of her, the
world became a blur of movements, shouts and booming noises.

“What is happening?” she shouted, but no one answered.

* * * * *

Huddled in the corner with Mindy and the fifteen members of
the office who still lived, Mindy shook. Two of their coworkers were dead—the
secretary who manned the reception desk and their CEO, who had thrown himself
in front of one of the tech guys to save his life. Both dead. Gunned down and
piled in the corner like garbage the men with guns couldn’t have cared less
about.

A tear slipped from her eye and she batted it away.

Mindy’s white hair glowed under the fluorescent lighting
like a halo around her head. “If I get out of here, I’m going with Jonah. He
said I can be strong.”

Dodie had been doing a good job not thinking about Christian
up until that moment. How typical for her life. She finally found the perfect
guy and now some psychos held them hostage without even mentioning any demands
and they would kill her.

She pushed the thought away. Somehow she’d make it out of
here and see him again. “Being strong doesn’t stop a bullet,” she whispered. “I
don’t care how many martial arts you learn, a bullet hits your abdomen and
you’re dead. End of story.”

“I think I must be cursed. I mean, did I piss off a voodoo
witch? Why is this happening to me?”

Dodie laughed, covering her mouth so the arguing
hostage-takers wouldn’t hear her. “You have been having a string of the single
worst possible luck, haven’t you?”

“Yes. I really, really have.” Mindy shook her head.

“Or you could look at it quite differently. You’re alive and
everyone around you is having the worst possible stuff happen.” Dodie sniffed,
wiping away another tear.

“Oh.” Mindy nodded. “So it’s just that I’m bad luck to
everyone around me? You, Brian, my parents.”

“Maybe we’re both a curse on those around us. My folks are dead
too, and my grandparents.”

“Would you two stop yapping? They told us to be quiet. I’m
not going to be killed because you can’t shut your mouths.” Nora, the woman who
worked next to Dodie, hissed out.

“You know, Nora.” Dodie spoke in a low voice. “This seems
like as good a time as ever to tell you I have never, ever liked you and I
think you are really bad at your job.”

Nora gasped and Mindy laughed, covering her mouth with her
hands.

“How dare you speak to me like that?” Nora’s beady little
eyes rounded and she pushed her glasses up her nose.

“How dare you take credit, even partial, for all the extra
work I do on the project?”

There were four men with guns holding them hostage and one
of them, a blond man who looked to be about forty-five, with a beer belly and
acne all over his cheeks, poked his head in. “I thought I told you to all be
quiet.”

Everyone in the room remained silent. Dodie sat back
straighter against the wall. An obvious truth occurred to her. She clenched her
jaw and tried to force her pulse to slow down.
If the lunatics with the
weapons let them see their faces, they didn’t mean to let any of them out of
there alive.

No masks.
Why hadn’t she cued in on that earlier?

Maybe because she’d been trapped in abject terror since the
crazies busted through their door. Why had they? It didn’t make any sense. They
were a small, not even mid-level, startup software company hoping to have a big
first hit with the online role-playing game they developed. She’d spent the
last two years working on a character that could turn from a man into a
unicorn.

They’d had some nice write-ups in some tech magazines with
small circulations and a brief mention in a local news broadcast when they’d
done some charity work for a pet rescue. No reasons she could think of for them
to be taken hostage.

The man ducked back out of the room and Dodie looked at
Mindy. Her bestie had been through enough—too much, really. Telling her these
would be their last moments seemed cruel. Dodie would keep her newly realized
discovery to herself.

Why make everyone as unhappy as she was?
I’m sorry,
Christian. I really would have liked to have seen where this could go
.
I
was well on my way to falling in love with you.

Too bad he couldn’t read minds or hear her thoughts
telepathically.

A loud bang filled the room and she covered her ears,
hitting the ground. This time she didn’t need Mindy to cue her in to the
danger. Something just exploded. Shouts sounded and Dodie closed her eyes. Whatever
was about to happen, she didn’t want to see it.

* * * * *

“Miss?” Dodie sat in the police station, a blanket around
her shoulders, giving her statement for the fiftieth time to the fiftieth
police officer who wanted to hear it.

“Yes?” She looked up.

This time it was a female detective. “Is there someone we can
call for you? Someone who can come to the station and give you a ride you home?
Things are too insane here. It’s going to be hours until we can take you.”

Her auto-response was no. Mindy had always been her phone
call and, a quick glance across the area confirmed, her friend remained in the
same room as her.

But this time she could say there
was
someone else to
phone.

“Yes. My boyfriend.” It was the first time she’d used the
phrase in regard to Christian. “I have his cell phone number in my phone. They took
it from me.”

“What’s his name?” The woman held a small tablet and pen,
waiting to write the information.

Dodie gave her Christian’s name and the police officer left
to call him. She leaned back in her chair, staring at the clock.
How can it
only be lunchtime?

Random act of violence
…

The police told them neither rhyme nor reason explained why
the gunmen chose their company. They’d simply wanted to kill some people, to
torment an office somewhere in the vicinity, and they’d had the bad luck to be
in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Two people she’d seen every day were dead. They would never
go home to see their families or finish any undone business they’d started up. Tears
filled her eyes and she pulled her knees up to her chest, even though the chair
she sat in didn’t lend itself easily to the position.

How could anyone ever be safe anywhere?

In the back of her mind, she heard laughter. Turning around,
she tried to locate the source, but she couldn’t see anyone who looked happy,
not to mention ready to burst into humor. She shook her head to clear it. If
she lost her mind today, it wouldn’t surprise her.

* * * * *

Christian’s cell phone rang and he crossed the room to pick
it up. The photographer transferred the shots they’d already taken onto the
computer and he, along with Christian’s agent, pointed at one of them. Maybe a
hair had been out of place? He’d reshoot if they wanted, but he really wanted
to get out of there.

A run at the gym and then catching sight of Dodie before he
had to go dance sounded like heaven.

The number that came up on the phone didn’t ring a bell to
him, but he picked it up anyway. It could have been one of his fellow dancers
needing a ride or another one of Foy’s soldiers who had to change numbers for
some unknown reason.

“This is Christian.” He yawned, covering the phone so the
other person couldn’t hear it.

“Mr. Casillo, my name is Detective Patrice Morgan with the
APD. I have your girlfriend Dodie Chase here. She gave us your number. I’m not
sure if you’ve been watching the news, but Ms. Chase has been the victim of a
terrible incident. She needs to be picked up and…”

He interrupted the woman. His heart beat too fast against
his ribs and his throat felt as if it might close up at any second. “Is she
okay?”

“Yes sir. Physically she’s unharmed. But her office was held
up at gunpoint today in what seems like a random act of violence. She’s been
through hell.”

“I’m coming. Tell her I’m coming.”

He hung up the phone and sent out a text to Jonah with news
of what happened.

In two seconds, he’d run out the door. Somehow he’d make it
up to the photographer later or they could take the time from his check,
whatever they wanted.

All he could focus on was getting to Dodie. His girl could
have been killed and it couldn’t be coincidence. A demon targeted Dodie to get
his attention.

He rushed toward his car. “Well, you’ve got it, fucker.”

* * * * *

At the police station, as at the hospital the first night
he’d been with Dodie, he walked into a beacon of pain that would have floored
him had he not been solely focused on reaching one of the hurt people inside.

Jonah grabbed his arm, coming up next to him. “Is Mindy in
there?”

He looked at his friend, glad to see him, relieved even. Christian
hadn’t even questioned whether or not Jonah would show up. One text and he’d
known he would have help.

“I don’t know. Could you look for her while I find Dodie?”

“Count on it.” Jonah rushed away from him and Christian
pushed past a sign-in desk to find Dodie.

She sat by herself, her legs pulled up in such a way that he
knew instantly she felt vulnerable. His heart thudded, missing a beat when he
saw her. If he’d had any question as to whether he loved her, it vanished right
then. The woman would have to handle his life and the battles he fought because
he could not live without her.

In two strides, he’d reached her. Kneeling in front of her,
he tried to smile, though he wanted to rage against the world that this
happened to her.

“You okay, sweetheart?”

She shook her head. “Not even a little bit, but you came and
it means more to me than you can possibly imagine.”

“Of course I did.” He pulled her into his arms. “I’ll always
be there for you. Nothing like this is ever going to happen again.”

“I’m not sure you can make that promise.”

He turned his head in time to see Jonah hauling Mindy out
over his shoulder. She shrieked, but it didn’t dissuade his friend and the
police officers, surprisingly, didn’t interfere either.

“Jonah is going to get arrested and I’ll have to bail him
out. Again.” He turned back to his love. “I can make you that promise and as
soon as we get out of here I’m going to explain to you why I can.”

She nodded, standing up. He didn’t like her silence or the
way she stayed stiff in his arms when he put his arm around her. He kissed her
hair and then her forehead. “Did they get all the guys who did this?”

Dodie squeezed his hand. “They shot all of them. What is
weird is that they didn’t even seem to care. They’d come to hurt us for no good
reason whatsoever. I guess its terrorism, right? I shouldn’t be surprised.”

“No.” He shuffled her out of the police station and away
from the reporters, who would have been thrilled if they had stopped.
No one
would bother Dodie today.
“You should be surprised this happened. It’s not
normal, not natural.”