Fatal Dreams (COBRA Securities Book 17)

by Velvet Vaughn

  Chapter Three

  Ethan Addison merged into traffic on the Interstate heading south after dropping his older brother Noah and Peyton Durant off at the airport. Noah would be away for a few days escorting Peyton to the funerals of her friends who’d been murdered by a deranged psychopath bent on revenge. Though Ethan wasn’t accompanying them, he’d be with them in spirit, knowing how hard the upcoming days would be for Peyton.

  The traffic dwindled as he put Chicago in his rear-view mirror. He cranked the radio, anxious to be home already. Having worked back-to-back cases, he was looking forward to some rest and relaxation. His headache was down to a dull throb after he suffered a concussion a few days ago. He and Noah conked heads when Noah launched himself at Ethan to save him from a car bomb. They’d both been knocked unconscious but thankfully the damage to both was minimal, though his head had pounded like a well-used drum for a couple of days.

  After he slept for about fifteen hours or so, he would be packing up the apartment he shared with Noah and moving into a single unit down the hall. Noah had found the love of his life in Peyton and Ethan had no doubt she’d be moving in soon. He didn’t want to be a third wheel, so he decided to move out to give them privacy.

  It’d all be temporary anyway since both he and Noah were in the process of having plans drawn up to build homes on the properties they’d purchased years ago from their bosses. They’d be next-door neighbors, though several trees would separate them. Their younger sister Maggie and her husband Carter lived down the road. It was the perfect set-up for the Addison siblings. Close enough to visit often but not so close as to smother each other, not that he thought that could happen. He and his siblings were extremely close, and he loved that he worked and lived near both.

  Their mom and dad were free spirited hippies and though they’d always known their parents loved them, they weren’t always the most responsible adults around. Noah took on that role early. Ethan had a little of his parents’ wildness in him. He’d worked hard to tame it, even following in Noah’s footsteps and joining first the Navy and then becoming a SEAL. Unfortunately, they’d never served on the same team.

  Though it was a tough, demanding job, Ethan loved his time in the service and thought he’d spend another twenty years or so serving his country. But the opportunity arose to join COBRA Securities with his brother. Maggie already had a job as the office manager before training to become an agent. He couldn’t pass it up.

  As much as he loved being a SEAL, his current job was made for him. He got to do exciting work that fueled the adrenaline junkie in him with none of the restrictions that came with wearing a uniform—not that Ethan would ever do anything to embarrass or concern his bosses or colleagues, all of whom he adored. Fellow SEAL Logan Bradley and former police detective Luke Colton ran the coolest business in the country, as far as Ethan was concerned.

  Once he caught up on rest and moved into his new crib, he planned on contacting Esmerelda Jovanovich, the woman he’d rescued from the side of the road last week. He’d thought of her often since their random meeting. She was the most stunning woman he’d ever encountered, and that was saying something since many of his coworkers were married and/or dating glamorous women—Noah included. Peyton was beyond beautiful. But there was something about Esme that called to him.

  Just thinking of her had his body hardening. She’d been the star of several X-rated dreams the past few days. He hoped he’d be able to keep the reaction under control when he encountered her again.

  Thinking of Esme made the trip pass quickly, and he was almost home when his attention snagged on a broken-down vehicle on the other side of the road, its flashers blinking. As he cruised slowly by, he had an overwhelming feeling of déjà vu. All he could see was a shapely behind encased in a flowing skirt, only this time, it was jutting out the back hatch instead of the hood. Checking for traffic, he executed a U-turn and eased behind the disabled vehicle.

  This time when he approached, he knew better than to startle the woman. The last time that happened… His thoughts blanked when the woman backed out of the vehicle and turned. Ethan stopped dead in his tracks. Staggered back a step. “Esme?”

  Emerald green eyes widened and then a wide smile broke across her face. “Ethan!”

  He had approximately two seconds to brace himself before a hundred and ten pounds of soft female launched at him. He caught her easily, swinging her in his arms as he inhaled the exotic fragrance of her silky black hair. Wildflowers, spices, the smell an intoxicating mix of scents. Before he could fully appreciate her lush breasts pressed firmly against his chest, she shoved out of his embrace. Startled, he let her go.

  “Ow!” He rubbed his arm where she’d landed a solid punch to his bicep. He might have a foot on her, but she packed a mighty wallop. “What was that for?”

  She crossed her arms mutinously. “That,” she waved a hand at his stinging arm, “was for not letting me know you’re back in town. That was very rude, Ethan. Why didn’t you call?”

  “You’re the mind reader. You tell me,” he challenged.

  Her jet-black brows dipped. “I never said I was a mind reader.”

  Seriously, he could not win with this woman. “I meant because you work…never mind. I haven’t called because I just, this very second, drove back into town. I haven’t even been home yet.”

  Her brows narrowed further. “Really?”

  He indicated his Escalade. “I can show you the suitcases and bags of dirty laundry in the back of my vehicle if you want.”

  Her arms dropped to her sides. “No, I believe—what is that?” She stood on tiptoes and pressed a light touch against the faded bump on his forehead. He fought a wince. Though most of the swelling had gone down, it was still tender.

  “It’s nothing.”

  “It’s not nothing. You were hurt.”

  “Minor,” he insisted. “You should see the other guy,” he joked, though he’d taken the brunt of the hit. Noah’s bump was fading.

  “Did you get into a fight?”

  He didn’t want to tell her he’d almost been transformed into Ethan confetti by a car bomb. If Peyton hadn’t noticed the blinking dot beneath the vehicle he was passing, and if Noah hadn’t launched himself at Ethan like a linebacker making a Super Bowl-winning tackle, he’d be ashes in the wind.

  If Esme knew how dangerous his job could be, she’d run screaming in the other direction. He wasn’t ready for that to happen yet. He wanted to get to know her first, spend quality time together before the relationship fizzed, as it ultimately would.

  “Really, it was just wrong place, wrong time.”

  She studied him intently. “You had a concussion.”

  “I thought you weren’t a mind reader.”

  “I’m not, but I can read faces pretty well. From the way you winced when I barely touched the bump, I suspect it was much worse when it happened.”

  No sense lying. “It was a minor concussion and I was checked out at the hospital. They gave me the green light, so all is well.”

  She twitched her nose, clearly not believing him. He was telling the truth. He was fine now. Time for a subject change. “So that’s some fiery temper you’ve got going on.” He rubbed his arm again even though the sting had faded.

  “I prefer to think of myself as passionate.”

  Just that quickly, he hardened painfully, thinking of all the ways he could stoke that passion. Damn. Time for another subject change before his body gave all his thoughts away. “What’s up with your vehicle?”

  She glanced over her shoulder, but not before he caught a look of concern in her eyes. “Flat tire.”

  “Ah, an easy fix this time.”

  “It would be if my spare wasn’t flat as well.”

  “It looks like a newer model. I would’ve thought it came equipped with a low tire indicator.”

  “It’s actually a few years old, but it does have a warning light. It didn’t work.”

  He strode past her and opened the drive
r’s side door. After adjusting the seat to accommodate his large frame, he turned the key, but no warning light illuminated on the panel, just as she said.

  “Is it on and I missed it?” Esme was leaning inside, close enough that he could inhale the clean floral scent of her hair. He had to force himself to remember what he was doing, not drag her into his lap and feast on those lush lips that he knew would taste as good as they looked.

  “No, it’s not, but it should be. Could someone have tampered with your vehicle?”

  She gasped and straightened. “Who would want to do that?”

  He assumed it was a rhetorical question since he knew nothing about her besides the fact that she was drop-dead gorgeous, not a mind reader and loathed being called a gypsy, even though she enchanted the hell out of him.

  “Let’s get your tires fixed first and then we’ll figure out what’s going on.”

  #

  Esme couldn’t believe Ethan Addison had come to her rescue—again. He was turning out to be her own personal savior. When she’d first spun around, she thought she hallucinated him. In the days they’d been apart, she’d decided that he couldn’t be as tall as she remembered, as muscular or attractive. She was right. He was more so, in every single category. Her first instinct had been to launch herself at him, having no doubt he’d catch her—and he did. She could still feel the imprint of his strong arms around her. But her blasted temper had broken free and she hit him! Punched him on his rock-solid bicep. Actually, she fared the worst for that one. It was like whacking a slab of concrete. Her fingers smarted from the contact. Still, she’d never hit anyone in her life. What made her slug Ethan, of all people?

  She worried her lip. He mentioned that someone might’ve tampered with her vehicle. Who would do such a thing? Even more troubling—the dreams she thought had stopped came back last night. She’d dreamed that her car broke down and she was stranded. It was only a vague memory when she woke and she thought she might’ve been remembering when Lumi’s Charger died on the side of the road. But she’d been stranded for real. Did she truly possess the ability to foretell the future in her dreams?

  She hadn’t had a precognitive dream for over a week—except for seeing Ethan again. That was a dream come true. But as far as strange coincidences that plagued her before Femi’s death? They stopped the night Femi went missing.

  It was all still too new, and she wasn’t prepared to share it with anyone yet. She needed to make sure the powers were real before she exposed herself to the reactions she was sure to face.

  But if her visions were prophetic, why didn’t she dream of a person tampering with her vehicle instead of it breaking down? She hadn’t driven it much the last week to notice if the tire had been gradually losing air. Sophie had borrowed it for a couple of days, but she didn’t say anything, either. She couldn’t think of anyone who—an unwelcome image of Merle McDougal popped into her head. Could he be the culprit? He hated her enough to tamper with her car. Or Marge Earnshaw? She was bitter that Lumi wouldn’t rehire her and she insinuated that Esme would regret it. Esme didn’t have any enemies that she knew of, besides those two. Bernie Gorman wasn’t an enemy, per se. He was just annoying. Like a pesky gnat. Her aunt had a few people who didn’t like their readings and voiced their disapproval. Then there were the ones affected by Marge’s credit card fraud. A teenager down the block had been peeping in the windows. She’d caught him once and marched him home to his parents. Man, the list was longer than she thought.

  “I’ve arranged to have your car towed and the tires fixed, but it might not be ready until tomorrow. I’ll drive you home, but will you have a way into work tomorrow?”

  “If you don’t mind dropping me at my aunt’s, I’ll spend the night with her. My commute will be short since my shop is located inside her house.”

  #

  Having Esme beside him again made Ethan feel whole, and that was a frightening thought. He’d never needed a woman to make him feel complete. He’d had a couple of relationships that lasted longer than a few nights, but he’d never had the desire for them to continue. He enjoyed women and he treated them like queens when he was with them, but he didn’t plan on marrying. He’d leave that to his siblings. Maggie had married the love of her life, Carter, and Ethan loved him like a brother. Noah was well on his way to tying the knot with his dream girl. Ethan wouldn’t be surprised if she was sporting a rock the size of Connecticut on her ring finger when they returned. He’d be the kick-ass uncle to all their rug rats. But marriage wasn’t in his future. Why tie himself to one woman when there were so many out there to sample?

  He’d just turned the key in the ignition when his cell buzzed Tyler Redmond’s ringtone. Tyler was one of the tech geniuses who worked for COBRA Securities and the smartest man Ethan had ever met. Not only did he know computers inside and out, his mind functioned like one, too. He activated the phone from the button on the steering wheel.

  “Bruh, welcome home,” Tyler greeted.

  “How did you—never mind.” He knew better than to question Tyler’s abilities. He knew all. When they coined the term Big Brother, they’d been thinking of Tyler. “What’s up, bud?”

  “I need you to swing by and pick me up. I need a lift home.”

  “Who do you think I am? Uber?”

  Tyler chuckled. “Über annoying.”

  Yeah, he walked into that one. He glanced at Esme. “I’m not alone.”

  “Seriously, dude, you just rolled into town. What did you do, pick someone up off the side of the road?”

  Ethan smiled and Esme smiled back. “Yeah, I did.”

  “Huh. Okay. Well, I still need you to come get me. You’re close. Turn right at the stoplight.”

  Since Tyler was obviously tracing his cell and could pinpoint Ethan’s exact location at any given time, he had no choice. “Give me the address—scratch that. I see you. Hanging up.” Ethan pressed the button to disconnect the call. “I hope you don’t mind if we give my coworker a ride.”

  “Not at all,” Esme said.

  Ethan turned into the lot and parked next to Tyler and his bicycle. Tyler was decked out in bike shorts and shirt. Once a tall, skinny geek with multi-colored hair, he was now fit and buff, thanks to intense workouts he’d followed religiously.

  “Be right back,” he said to Esme as he slid out. He and Tyler exchanged a fist bump/bro hug with a slap on the back.

  “Glad you’re home and in one piece.”

  “Yeah, it was iffy there for a while. It’s good to be home.” He opened the back and Tyler effortlessly lifted his bike inside.

  “Why aren’t you riding back?”

  “I’ve got a cramp in my hammy.” He rubbed the back of his right leg. “Hurts like a bitch.”

  Once the bike was loaded, Tyler hopped in the back seat while Ethan climbed in behind the wheel. “Tyler Redmond, this is Esme Jovanovich. Esme, Tyler.”

  “Wow,” Tyler said, shaking Esme’s hand, much too long, in Ethan’s opinion. “If there are women like you on the side of the road, I’m going to be cruising the highways from now on.”

  “Thanks,” Esme grinned.

  “Seriously, you’re so exotic and stun—”

  “Tyler?”

  “What?”

  “Do you want to walk home?”

  “Sir, no sir!”

  Ethan rolled his eyes as Esme’s body shook with laughter.

  Tyler leaned back and stretched his arms over the back seat, obviously pleased to have slid under Ethan’s skin.

  He had a general idea of where Esme’s shop was located. As they neared the Victorian house, she guided him to the rear parking area.

  “Righteous,” Tyler said, leaning forward to peer out the windshield. “Can we go inside? I’ve never had my fortune told before.”

  “Sure, but my aunt’s not giving any readings right now. We recently suffered a death in the family.”

  Ethan glanced at her, stunned. He didn’t know that. “I’m sorry.”

  “
Me, too,” Tyler added.

  “Thanks. She wasn’t an actual family member but a coworker. Still, we were very close.”

  He hated the sadness that washed over her face. “I’m sorry,” he said again. He’d dealt with loss too many times to count over the course of his military career. He felt her pain.

  The residential area was comprised of large, older homes that had all been updated and maintained, except for a blackened pile of rubble two doors down. The lingering scent of charred wood hung heavy in the air.

  “What happened there?”

  A troubled look crossed Esme’s face. “It burned down a few nights ago. The authorities suspect arson.”

  “Was anyone hurt?” Ethan asked.

  “No. Thankfully it was empty and on the market. The owners had already moved out.”

  “Maybe they torched it themselves for the insurance money,” Tyler mused. “It happens all the time.”

  “I didn’t know them very well, but they didn’t seem the type. Hopefully the police will find the culprits.”

  Ethan shut off the engine and hurried around to help Esme from the SUV. He studied the house as they approached. With all the gables and decorative trim, it looked both gothic and mysterious, but the paint was fresh, and the roof looked new. A narrow alley separated the parking lot from the house. A sign led visitors along a lighted, landscaped path to the front entrance. Esme guided them up a flight of three steps to a small concrete landing and door marked private.

  Tyler opened the door and held it for her. “When you feel up to it, can you give me a reading? Palm lines, tea leaves, I don’t care which one. Tarot cards scare me, but I’m fine with anything else.”

  She shook her head. “Sorry, I don’t tell fortunes. My aunt’s the one with the abilities.”

  Ethan detected a worried frown when she made that statement and he wondered what that was all about.