Fatal Dreams (COBRA Securities Book 17)

by Velvet Vaughn

  A loud crash sounded. She turned to see Lyra kneeling over a tray of jewelry.

  “I’m such a klutz,” Lyra groaned, her cheeks tinted red as she stood with the recovered items. “So, um, where did those guys come from?”

  Esme had been so focused on Ethan that it hadn’t even registered in her brain that Lyra had been speaking with Tyler. “Ethan’s the man who came to my rescue when Lumi’s car died.”

  Lyra’s brown eyes widened. “That was him?” Esme nodded. “Wow.”

  Yeah, wow. “He did the same thing today. I had a flat tire.” Which made her remember the fact that someone had possibly tampered with her vehicle. The warning light should’ve informed her the tire was low. She’d loaned her car to Sophie last week, but her friend would’ve let her know if she’d noticed. Which meant there might be someone out there who would meddle with her car.

  Making the situation a thousand times worse was her dream of being stranded with a flat tire. She hadn’t thought anything of it when she took off in her Rav 4 in the morning. But when she felt the wheel pull sharply to the right and then saw the deflated rubber, it came back to her. It’d been over a week since she’d experienced any dream that came true. She thought they’d fled just as quickly as they appeared. But she could no longer deny the truth. She was clairvoyant.

  Before she sprung the news on her aunt, getting her hopes up, she wanted to confess to one of her friends to gauge their reaction. Once it became public knowledge, she’d open herself up to skepticism and ridicule. Not everyone believed in the ability to see into the future.

  Sophie wasn’t home, but she was quickly becoming close to Lyra. “Do you want to grab something to eat?”

  Lyra adjusted a necklace on a black felt bust. “Absolutely. I’m starving.”

  #

  Esme decided on turkey on whole wheat, while Lyra chose a grilled tuna sandwich. As soon as the waiter gathered their menus and left, Esme took a deep breath. “Can I confide in you?”

  Lyra’s brown eyes widened. “Of course. You can trust me with anything.”

  “You know my aunt has…abilities, for lack of a better word. She can foresee the future, extremely accurately most of the time. Her preferred methods are through crystallomancy and chiromancy, meaning she uses a crystal sphere or palm reading. She also possesses an extremely heightened sense of intuition. Sometimes she can touch a person and predict the future. Femi was the same way. Although I also have Romani blood, I can’t read fortunes or auras or anything like it…that is, until recently.”

  Lyra sat up straight. “You can see into the future?”

  “In a manner of speaking.” Esme told her about the dreams, from the bird getting loose in the shop to Femi’s death. “I thought it was just a fluke or coincidence because the dreams stopped just as quickly as they started. There was nothing after Femi’s dream—at least any that I remembered.” She took a sip of water. “Last night, I dreamed I had a flat tire and then it happened.”

  Lyra’s back slammed against her chair. “Wow.”

  Esme nodded. “Yeah, wow. I haven’t told my aunt yet because she’ll make a big deal out of it. But I don’t know what to do.”

  The waiter returned with their sandwiches, preventing Lyra from answering. They waited until he left before Lyra leaned forward. “What other explanation could there be? You’re dreaming the events and they’re happening. Maybe one or two could be coincidence but, Esme, there are too many to discount.”

  Esme placed her sandwich on the plate, her appetite gone. “I know.” She didn’t want any special powers. The dream about Femi dying was horrible. Would she start seeing other people dying? It was a dreadful thought. She didn’t think she could take it happening again, especially to a friend.

  “What if you have a dream of, say, someone getting hurt. If you know about it, you could warn them and maybe save their life.”

  Esme’s eyes widened. “I hadn’t thought of that.” She’d been looking at the glass half empty instead of being half full. “If I know something’s going to happen and I could prevent it, then that would be a good thing.”

  All her fears and worries seemed to fade away with Lyra’s words. She truly hadn’t thought of it that way. She’d use her abilities for good. That thought made her happy and her appetite returned with a vengeance. They ate their sandwiches with light conversation ranging from television shows they were currently binge watching to the line of jewelry Lyra was working on for the shop.

  “So, about the guys that were in today,” Lyra started. Esme’s heartrate picked up just thinking of Ethan. He was even more impressive than she remembered from a week ago. It’d been dark that night and she didn’t get a good look at him. Seeing him in broad daylight was staggering. She took a sip of her water.

  “The handsome one asked me out.”

  Esme choked, the liquid going down the wrong pipe. She held up a hand when Lyra tried to help. “I’m okay.” Dabbing at her mouth with a napkin, she tried to sound casual with her heart breaking. Ethan was supposed to be her soul mate. “Ethan asked you out?”

  Lyra looked confused for a second, then laughed softly. “I said the handsome one, not the devastatingly gorgeous one. I meant Tyler. He asked me to dinner.”

  Esme wanted to smack herself upside the head. She had no hold on Ethan. Just because Lumi said he was her soul mate didn’t mean anything.

  Except it did.

  Now that she knew it was Tyler who asked Lyra out, she couldn’t be happier for her friend. Tyler seemed like a sweet, fun guy. And he was handsome, as Lyra said. “Are you going out with him?”

  Lyra’s brows dipped. “I don’t know. He didn’t mention a specific date and he left before I could give him my number.”

  “Maybe he’ll have to come back to the shop.” And maybe Ethan would be with him. That thought made her smile and she held up a hand for the waiter. This called for dessert.

  Chapter Six

  “You just spotted Esme on the side of the road and picked her up like a hitchhiker?”

  Apparently over his irritation, Tyler was now grilling Ethan for specific details. They’d stopped for lunch at a sandwich shop on the square and were now headed home. “Pretty much, but she wasn’t hitching a ride. I offered. It was over a week ago near Chicago.”

  Tyler twisted in his seat to face him. “What the heck? I want all the deets.”

  “Nothing much to tell. I was headed to help Noah with Peyton’s case when I noticed a vehicle broken down on the side of the road.” He didn’t mention the shapely behind protruding from the hood being the main reason he stopped to assist. He’d like to think he’d have helped anyone who was stranded, shapely rear or not. “It was late, and her car needed more work than I could do, so I gave her a ride to a casino to meet up with her aunt and arranged for her car to be towed.”

  “It’s like a fairy tale beginning,” Tyler remarked, to which Ethan rolled his eyes. “Did you talk to her after that?”

  He shook his head. “I was too busy working alongside Noah to keep Peyton safe. I was headed home when I spotted another vehicle stranded on the side of the road. I stopped to help and lo and behold, it was Esme again.”

  “Damn, dude,” Tyler held out his arm, “Goosebumps. Do you think she put some kind of spell on you or something?”

  Ethan shot Tyler a sardonic look. “Are you kidding me? You don’t believe in that woo-woo stuff, do you?” An image of Lumi popped into his head and he ruthlessly shoved it away.

  “What would you call meeting Esme twice the same way?”

  “Oh, I don’t know, coincidence?” Although, come to think of it, Ethan didn’t believe in coincidence, either.

  “No, it was magic, plain and simple.”

  He’d leave Tyler to think what he wanted. He’d chalk it up to good timing. He’d been in the right place at the right time. Twice. There were no mystical spirits at work, no spells being cast.

  He turned into the COBRA Securities compound and marveled at the new retina
l scanner that had been installed while he was away. His—what did you call it...eye print?—wasn’t in the system yet, so he waved to Tucker Nash manning the security camera and the gate slid open.

  Their home base had been attacked by missile-wielding fanatics attempting to kidnap Annabelle St. John. They were able to neutralize the threat, but not before several buildings were destroyed. Lives had been lost as well. The entire airport crew, including their lead pilot, Chet Rudd, had been inside the hangar when it had been bombed. Four of the terrorists died, two when they encountered the electrified fence and two when coworker Wyatt Hollister took out a helicopter before it dropped a bomb that would’ve obliterated the entire compound and everyone inside.

  Tyler filled him in on all the progress. Their bosses, Logan Bradley and Luke Colton were able to call in resources to have the damages repaired quickly. New security measures were also implemented, including the retinal scanner and Tyler’s upgraded cameras so that another attack would be stopped before it started. Heaven help anyone else who tried to infiltrate their home base. They wouldn’t be successful, and it sure as hell wouldn’t be pretty. For the intruders.

  “Hey, Ethan. Welcome home,” Tucker greeted when he stopped at the new and improved security booth. “If you hop on in here, I’ll get your peepers scanned into the system. It’ll only take a sec.”

  Ethan took in the interior of Tucker’s home away from home. “Nice.” It was his former security shack on steroids. It looked a little like Tyler’s underground lair with several high definition screens taking up one wall and a row of computers lining a long counter. There was a kitchenette with a fridge and microwave, a table, and an oversized couch against the back wall. Ethan considered curling up on it for a nap. “Is that a bathroom?”

  “Sure is. I’m as happy as a clam.”

  That had been an oversight in the old building. Before, when Tucker needed to use the facilities, he jumped into a golf cart and motored to the offices, leaving the booth unattended.

  “This is nice.”

  “Reed drew up the plans and the bosses spared no expense,” Tucker said. “Damn, we’re lucky to work here.”

  Architect Reed Steele was married to their coworker Hillary. He was a former major league baseball player turned television star who specialized in home restorations and renovations. He was also drawing up plans for Ethan’s dream home.

  Tucker settled him in front of a machine that looked like something an ophthalmologist might use to remove an eyeball and scanned images of his retina. After making adjustments and punching some buttons, Tucker announced, “You’re uploaded to the system now, so you should be good to go.”

  Ethan thanked him and then drove to the lot behind the building where he and Noah shared an apartment. Tyler lived one floor beneath them. He helped Tyler unload his bike and then he grabbed his bags.

  “Ethan!”

  He turned to see Kai Costa running full speed towards him, his arms pumping fast.

  “Little C, my man. What’s shaking, crispy bacon?” After a fierce hug, they exchanged a fist bump sequence that Kai had come up with, complete with an explosion at the end. “I missed you.”

  “I missed you, too.” He craned his head around. “Where’s Noah?”

  “He’s accompanying Ms. Durant to, uh, visit her friends.” He didn’t want to say she was attending their funerals. Kai was too young to have to deal with the harsh realities of the world.

  “After you unpack, do you want to see the new obstacle I helped design? It’s really tricky.”

  Kai loved obstacle courses and was always coming up with creative ideas for complex designs that he and his coworkers would construct for him.

  Though he was tired and still freaked out after the visit to Esme’s shop, Kai was the perfect distraction. “I’ll be right there.”

  #

  Tyler racked his bike in the room used for equipment storage on the ground level and headed to his apartment to shower. Excitement coursed through his veins and he felt like the geeky eleven-year-old freshman he’d been, suffering from an unrequited crush on his biology partner, Hyo-Soon. She’d been a junior, five years older than him and though she was very nice and kind, she treated him like what he was—a kid. He still recalled how his heart would race in anticipation of seeing her every Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoon.

  Maybe that was why Lyra affected him so much. She reminded him of his first love, Hyo-Soon. But no, Lyra was unique. She had the most radiant smile he’d ever seen and the blush that tinged her pale cheeks had warmed his heart. He wished he could’ve spent more time talking to her but something spooked Ethan. He’d been too wrapped up in his conversation to notice, but it had to have been something big for Ethan to react the way he did. Usually the guy was unflappable. He’d been a SEAL, for Pete’s sake.

  Lyra had been showing him some of the jewelry she designed when Ethan had whisked him away. The pieces were intricate and stylish, and they gave him an idea. He’d been wanting to pursue a line of jewelry that could also be used as a weapon. A small blade hidden inside a necklace, a ring that held knockout juice. Wyatt Hollister owned a belt buckle that pulled apart to reveal a knife and Tyler thought that was one of the coolest things ever. There were times when agents went undercover, and it wasn’t possible to carry a gun. Wearing an innocuous bracelet wouldn’t set off any warning bells until it was too late.

  He had no artistic talent to create the jewelry himself, but maybe he could work with Lyra to produce a line. He had rough ideas of pieces that would work, but he’d bow to her technical expertise to bring them to fruition.

  The more he thought about it, the more excited he became about the idea. He knew his immediate supervisor Peter Dennis would go for it. The big bosses, Luke and Logan, too. Anything that would help keep the agents safe they’d be all for.

  As he stripped off his clothes, he couldn’t contain a smile. After he talked to his bosses, he had a reason to call Lyra, spend time with her. He couldn’t wait.

  #

  Ethan spent the afternoon running the obstacle course with Kai before heading back to his apartment to shower. He needed to start packing up his things for his move, but he was so exhausted, he crashed and slept for ten straight hours.

  When he woke the next morning, he placed a call to Eric Bishop, the foster brother of Declan Elliot. Declan, a former Marine, had saved Noah’s life when a sniper took a shot at him. With the approval of their bosses, Noah hired Declan to assist with Peyton’s case. In an event unrelated to Peyton’s situation, Declan had been shot in the hip and then bashed in the head with a baseball bat. He’d spent several days in a coma, but thankfully was on the road to recovery. His foster brother stayed with him during his hospitalization and he told Ethan that he was able to take Declan home in the next day or two. Good news. He truly liked the jarhead and hoped he decided to join their team. Eric promised to keep him updated on Declan’s progress.

  After a late morning workout, he returned to his apartment to shower. He’d just finished and was drying off when his cell rang. He checked the display, noting it was from the garage where Esme’s car had been towed.

  “Ethan, it’s Mel. I didn’t find any damage to the driver’s side tire. The spare, either. No punctures or slashes.”

  “Nothing?” How was that possible? Two tires didn’t just go flat at the same time. The odds had to be astronomical.

  “No. Could’ve been a bad batch of tires. Or it’s possible someone might’ve manually inserted a device to let out the air, but there’s no way to know for sure.”

  So, it could’ve been sabotage. “What about the warning light.”

  “A faulty sensor. I fixed it.”

  “What about the rest of the vehicle?”

  “It checks out clean. I’m having it delivered to the address you provided as we speak.”

  “Thanks, Mel. I owe you.”

  Ethan hung up and grabbed a cold bottle of water from the fridge. It could’ve been a fluke that both ti
res went flat and the warning light shorted out. Or someone had wanted to harm Esme. To what end? She didn’t seem like the kind of woman who collected enemies. Granted, he knew very little about her, but he was a pretty good judge of character.

  He might need a break from back to back cases, but there was no way he was leaving Esme to fend for herself against an unknown enemy.

  Picking up his cell, he dialed her number.

  #

  Esme woke in her room at her aunt’s house, having slept through the night without any prophetic dreams. Even though Lyra tried to put a positive spin on the situation, it was a relief and she hoped they’d stopped. She didn’t want the burden.

  The morning passed quickly as she worked on the redesign of her shop. She’d ordered display cases for Lyra’s pieces and she wanted to make sure the flow worked for customers to browse. She’d just finished restocking her shelves when her cell rang. Her breath caught in her throat when Ethan’s name appeared on her screen. Maybe he wanted to apologize for fleeing so abruptly yesterday. “Hello?”

  “Esme, it’s Ethan. Your car is on the way back to you as we speak.”

  She glanced out the window to see it pulling into the lot, followed by a tow truck with the name of a local garage. “It’s here now. Hang on, let me pay them.”

  “It’s taken—"

  She placed the phone on the counter and grabbed her purse. The man who slid out of her car was wearing a blue shirt with the name Earl stitched over the pocket. He smiled and handed her the keys. “All fixed.”

  “Thank you so much, Earl.” She tugged out her wallet. “How much do I owe you?”

  He waved her away. “Already taken care of.”

  Ethan. “At least let me tip you for your efforts.”

  “That’s taken care of, too. Have a nice day.”

  She watched as he climbed into the passenger side of the tow truck and then they motored away. Stuffing her wallet in her bag, she jogged back inside and grabbed her cell. “How much do I owe you for my car and for Aunt Lumi’s Charger? Tips included.”