Vision in Trust (Legends of the North #2) (19 page)

She didn't know what the visions meant, or how they would stop them, but she realised for the first time in a long time that she was looking forward to the future. Sure, she wasn't certain what it had in store, but who did? It didn't matter, though; she finally felt ready to handle whatever life threw at her, because she had friends and brothers to support her. And she was going to follow her dreams, with a little help from Rob as well as Jenny and the others at the drop-in centre.

Pushing back from the tree, she turned to head for James's but stopped when she saw Miles standing on the other side of the field, staring at her. He strode towards her, and she pressed her back against the tree. Refusing to be afraid this time, she clenched her fists, prepared to hit him if she needed to.

"I saw the others leave. Figured you were waiting for me, sweetheart."

Jess laughed, a real belly laugh, which grew when his smile dropped at the sound. "Why on earth would I be waiting for you, Miles? I didn't even know you were here, but I should have known."

"Don't play hard to get with me, Jess. I know what you want. Your mother invited me to lunch with her. And you."

Jess pushed off the tree and stepped forward so she was in Miles's face. Prodding a finger into his chest, she said, "
You
know what I want? Really, you know, do you? Like you know I was playing hard to get last time, huh? I'll tell you what you know, Miles," she said, as she prodded him again, forcing him to take a step back.
 

"You don't know anything. I wasn't playing hard to get, Miles, you raped me. And instead of dealing with it, I ran away. Ran from you. But I'm back, and you don't get to push me around anymore. You lay one finger on me again, and I will call the police. I'll tell my mother, your mother, anyone who will listen, because they should know what you're like. They should know I did nothing wrong, except trust you. That's never going to happen again. So stay away from me, and stay away from Alt Hall."

She stepped back and her gaze left Miles's when she saw Rob. Before Miles could utter a word, Rob moved to stand beside her, arms folded across his chest as he glared at the other man.
 

Miles looked between the two of them but took a step back. "You're making a big mistake, Jess," he said, and then turned and walked off, in the direction of Altenbury Hall.

"Oh, my God, Jess," Rob said, as he wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off her feet. "I'm so proud of you for standing up to him."

Burying her face against his neck, she breathed in his familiar scent as she began to shake, the realisation of what she'd just done sinking in.

***

When Jess and Rob caught up with the others at James's house, they already had piles of open books and papers scattered over every flat surface.
 

James looked up from the papers in his hand when they walked in. "What took you two so long? Is everything okay?"

Jess smiled in response, because yes, everything was okay. Her life had taken a turn for the crazy, but she'd never been happier. "Everything's good, James. What did we miss?" she asked, as she plopped into a chair.
 

But it was Matt who answered, as James dropped his gaze to his papers again. "I've started a map," he said.

Jess bit her lip to stop herself from laughing at Matt. She wasn't sure how she could be related to him sometimes.

Matt gestured to the paper he'd pinned to the wall. "This is where the fort from your vision was." He pointed to what looked like a cloud and said, "This is where the sycamore tree is from your last vision."

God, he's in full teacher mode now.

Picking up a pen, he drew on the map what looked like a rectangle with a letter
f
in it. "And this is where the forge was, right next to the sycamore tree."

Not sure where he was going with this, Jess kept quiet as he carried on.

Picking up a different pen, he drew a square with "Alt" written inside it. "Here is Altenbury Hall, and the three of them make a triangle, with the sycamore tree inside it."

Jess nodded, but she had no idea what Matt was getting at. Was there a point to all this? Clearly there was, as he started to tap his finger against Alt Hall on the map.

"This is us, Jess. We know all of this relates to our family somehow. The fort is where you first saw the prisoner, and the tree is where he probably died. Whatever your visions mean, they lead to the forge somehow."

"Okay," she said, nodding again but still not convinced. There was no logical reason to think that. The forge hadn't been in her visions; it just happened to be near the sycamore tree. She looked at Rob, who gave her a little shrug. "James?"

Glancing up from his papers, he glared at her. She waited until his face cleared, then asked, "Have you found anything?"

"Not yet," he replied. "But I think Matt is onto something."

Flicking through another pile of papers, she waited for him to say more, but he'd become lost in them again. Jess wasn't sure either of them was onto anything, but she might be able to find something in her books, at home. Pulling Rob up with her as she stood, she said, "I'm going to check on a few things at home."

"Okay," Matt said, not turning from his map. James never even acknowledged her. Shaking her head, she left the room with Rob on her heels.

Two weeks later, life had calmed down and almost returned to normal for Jess. The one thing she wasn't happy about was not finding any information to work out who the prisoner in her vision was or what it meant. Written records were hard to come by.
 

Miles had been conspicuous in his absence, and she liked it that way.
 

And Rob? She let out a sigh at the thought of him, a smile spreading across her lips. They hadn't talked about their future, and she wasn't going to be the one who brought it up. But when she thought about her future, he had a starring role in it.

As if he could sense her thinking about him, he walked into the room with a big grin on his face.

"What's given you that look?"

He took a seat on the sofa next to her and grasped her hand in his. "Jenny just called. They've received a private donation for the drop-in centre. That means they can start on some of the other rooms, and she wanted me to go in and give them a hand. I told her I had to work but would start looking for some kitchen appliances online."

"Rob, that's amazing," Jess said, as she bounced up and down on her cushion. "Did you tell her I would go in and help them?"

The grin dropped from Rob’s face, and his hold on her hand tightened. "I don't want you going there on your own. Not after last time."

Shifting in her seat, she faced him, one hand on his thigh. "Nothing has happened since then, and I've not had any visions in ages. It'll be fine, and you can drop me off on your way to work."

As he chewed on his bottom lip, she let him think about it because she knew he just wanted to protect her. But she wasn't going to let him stop her from going; this was important to her too.

"But how will you get home?"

"I'll drive. I can drop you off at the gym. Or at the drop-in centre, it's not far to walk to the gym from there."

"That means you'll have to drive home alone since you'll finish at the centre before I finish my shift."

"Rob, I'll be fine. We lose if we stop doing the things we want to just in case something happens." Leaning forward, she placed her lips on his for a chaste kiss and then went upstairs to get changed.

***

And she had been fine, she thought as she got back home, shoving her key in the front door. The sound of the wind through the trees and the click of the gate latch opening made her turn. With a relieved laugh, she waved over her shoulder at Emma and pushed open the front door. As she turned back to Emma, two paws landed on her stomach. "Oof. Barney," Jess said, stroking his head. "What are you two up to?"

Leaning against the fence, Emma grinned sheepishly at Jess. "On the scrounge for a favour."

Jess pointed her thumb over her shoulder. "Do you want to come in?"

With a shake of her head, Emma said, "No. I can't, and that's the favour. Matt's at the museum today, and I've just been called to stand in on a job for a client. Could you take Barney for a walk, and then take him back to Matt's place?"

"Of course I can. You want to go for a walk, buddy?" At Jess's question, Barney's tail started wagging so fast it became a blur of white fur. Laughing, Jess said, "I think that's a yes."

Emma gave Jess his lead and gave her a quick hug. "Thanks, Jess. You're a lifesaver. I'll be back early this evening, no more than a few hours."

Jess waved her hand at Emma to dismiss her worries. "It's fine. Me and Barney have got this covered." Emma waved as she closed the gate behind her.
 

"Come on then, boy. I'll get changed, and we can go have some fun." She smiled as Barney wagged his tail again.
Maybe I should get a dog.

***

Making her way down the lane towards Alt Hall, Jess dragged Barney behind her. She was seriously rethinking the dog idea if she would have to do this every day. She couldn't call it a walk when she had dragged him most of the way.
 

When he dug his paws in yet again, she stopped and looked down at him. "Come on, Barney. What's wrong?" She laughed at her own question. "It's not like you're going to tell me, is it?" Barney looked behind him and let out a whimper. She looked up as he started to run, yanking his lead out of her hands.
 

Frozen, she just stared as the wolf stalked towards her. Its amber eyes never left hers as its nose twitched the nearer it got. Its mouth dropped open, revealing long, sharp teeth as it pulled back its lips. Raising its head, the wolf let out a howl, and she jumped.
 

Spinning around, she ran in the direction Barney had taken off in. The hedgerows blurred as she ran, but she could hear the thump of the wolf’s paws as they hit the ground behind her. Glancing over her shoulder, she could see it was closing in on her.
 

Crying out as her foot hit something hard she flung her hands out in front of her. Her knees hit the stony path first then her hands scraped across the rough surface. The breath was forced out of her at the impact, and she yelped at the sting of her injuries.

But that was nothing compared to the searing pain of the wolf landing on her back, its paws piercing her skin. She screamed. It sounded louder in her head as the weight of the wolf made it difficult to breathe properly. It joined her screams by releasing another howl before its soft fur brushed against her neck. She felt its grasp tighten around her throat as she bucked her hips, trying to get the beast off her. Slowly, she began to lose all feeling, as blackness surrounded her. She welcomed it, fell into it.
 

Away from the pain. Away from everything.

Rob hit the dial button again. With a frustrated sigh as the call went to voicemail once more, he hung up. Rubbing his hand against the back of his neck, he started to pace the gym reception area.
 

Jess had texted him to let him know she had made it home hours before. But since then, he couldn't get an answer from her, except her bloody voicemail message. Grasping the hair at the back of his head, he tugged at it, wondering what he could do.
 

Glancing at the clock, he saw he had another hour of his shift left, which meant he was stuck. Scrolling through his contacts until he reached Matt's name, he hit dial.

"Come on, come on," he said, listening to the ringing in his ear. He gripped the phone tighter as he heard Matt’s voicemail, letting out a deep breath as he hung up. "Where the bloody hell is everyone?"

"I'm sorry, I was just filing some documents.” Rob turned towards the voice coming from behind the reception desk as she stood. “Can I help?"
 

"Sorry," he said, as he held his phone up towards her. Walking away from her and outside, he scrolled back up to James's contact. His thumb hovered over the call icon before he hit it. He didn't care what James thought. He needed to know that Jess was okay.

"Rob," James grunted down the phone at him.

"I can't get hold of Jess. She said she got home hours ago, but now she's not answering her phone, and neither is Matt."

"Huh. I'm sure she's fine."

"With everything that's been going on, I'm not willing to take that chance. Are you?"

"I can walk up to her house to check on her if you want."

"Thanks. Thank you. Can you get her to call me when you speak to her?"

"Will do."

Rob pulled the phone down from his ear and stared at the screen, but he was right—James had hung up on him. A real chatty fellow. Shoving his phone back in his pocket, Rob strode back into the gym. Nothing he could do except wait.

But waiting was easier said than done. He had no clients booked in for a training session, and the gym was empty. With nothing else to occupy him, he resorted to checking his phone every five minutes and thinking that the worst had happened.
 

Finally, his phone rang, but he frowned at it when he saw Emma's name flash across the screen. He stared at it for another couple of rings before answering. "Emma? Tell me you found Jess. Is she okay?" He heard Emma inhale, and he prepared for the worst.

"James found her. She's ... I don't know, Rob. She's been attacked, and she's unconscious."

Gripping the phone closer to his ear until it hurt, Rob scanned the gym. Walking towards the pool area, he asked, "Where is she?"

"James took her to his house. We're all there with her."

Shoving open the door with enough force to slam it against the wall, he entered the pool zone. "I'm on my way," he said, then hung up and shoved his phone back in his pocket. "Hey," Rob called to Josh, who was on pool duty. "An emergency has come up, and I need to leave. Can you cover the gym for me? There's no one in there."

"Sure, you go. I hope everything is okay."