Fatal Dreams (COBRA Securities Book 17)

by Velvet Vaughn

  “If you have any trouble Esme, I want you to call me. I don’t care if it’s a burned-out light bulb. Hit me up.”

  “Oh, okay,” she snorted and mimed holding a phone to her ear. “Hey Ethan, can you rush right over? There’s no toilet paper on the roll and I don’t know what to do.” She clutched her stomach and doubled over.

  He fought hard to control a smile. Her genuine laughter was music to his ears, but he wanted her to take this seriously. Maybe the car issues had been a fluke. And maybe her coworker’s death was random. But he wasn’t messing around. Not with her life.

  She wiped her eyes and glanced at him, her humor instantly evaporating at the look on his face. “Oh wait—you’re serious?”

  “As a heart attack.”

  “Ethan, I’m not some damsel you need to rescue.” She held up a hand to quiet him when he opened his mouth. “Again. Okay, yes, I sincerely appreciate you coming to my aid twice when I had car issues. But I’m a grown woman and I can take care of myself. I have for years. I’m not fragile.”

  “Never said you were.”

  She narrowed her eyes. He didn’t particularly like the gleam that suddenly swirled in the green depths. “You aren’t as tough as you act, you know.”

  Now his hackles were up. He’d been a decorated Navy SEAL for cripes sakes. They didn’t just let anyone join. Over seventy-five percent of recruits dropped out from the rigorous, grueling training, both physical and mental. Of those soldiers who rang the bell, he was supremely proud to say he was not one of them. “Excuse me?”

  “You pretend to be mister big, strong alpha male, do as I say, follow my rules,” she mimicked in a deep voice.

  He gritted his teeth. “I’m not pretending.” His biceps flexed of their own accord. He took immense satisfaction when her eyes locked on the movement. Then they flicked back to his before glancing over his shoulder.

  “Why don’t we just ask Aunt Lumi what she thinks?”

  Ethan jerked his head around, his feet dancing a tango when his flight instinct started to kick in again. “She’s here? Where?”

  He turned back to find Esme doubled over in laughter again. “See? You’re afraid of one harmless middle-aged woman!”

  Harmless, his ass. That woman was a freak of nature. Esme thought his tough guy routine was an act? He’d show her it wasn’t. He stalked forward with purpose. Her mirth-filled eyes suddenly widened, and she took a hasty step back, but he didn’t stop until she was pressed against his SUV. He caged her in with his arms. “You don’t think I’m much of a man?”

  “Oh, gosh, no, I didn’t mean—”

  He slammed his mouth on hers but quickly jumped back when a volt of electricity singed his lips. What the hell? Instantly contrite for using intimidation tactics on her, he muttered, “Damn, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”

  Esme stared at him with wide eyes, the fingers of one hand touching her lips. Her other hand was—empty? “Didn’t you just tase me?”

  “W-what?”

  “You tasered me just now,” he accused.

  Her head moved from side to side.

  “But…there was a shock.”

  She nodded. “Yes.”

  “You felt it, too?” Realization crashed over him at her confirmation. The spark came from their mouths touching, not a conducted electrical weapon. Holy hell. He’d felt the reverberations throughout his entire body, not just where their mouths fused together.

  He needed to know if it was an anomaly. Moving forward, he slid his hands around her face and absorbed the gasp that flew from her startled lips. He’d been prepared for the shock this time, so when it ignited, he didn’t pause. If she’d pushed him away or not kissed him back, he would’ve stopped. It might’ve killed him, but he would’ve ended it then and there. Instead, she fisted her hands in his shirt and jerked him closer. Have mercy.

  He tilted her head to plunder her sweet mouth, deepening the kiss when she opened to him. He rocked his aching pelvis against hers, eliciting a gasp from her, a groan from him. He’d never been this turned on before in his life. Zero to sixty faster than Tyler’s turbo Porsche. He wanted to be inside her more than he wanted his next breath. He couldn’t get enough of her. God, had any woman ever tasted this good? Like a potent drug he was quickly becoming addicted. Sure, his lips were tingling. A leftover remnant of the sparks that flew between them. Surprisingly, it was a pleasant feeling.

  A car alarm one row over started to peal, breaking them apart. Still cupping her face, he rested his forehead against hers, their harsh breaths mingling.

  “Wow,” she breathed in wonder.

  Yeah, wow. His world had just been rocked to the very core. He’d kissed many women over the years. Dozens and dozens of females. Not one had affected him this way. He was off kilter. Kissing Esme was like nothing he’d ever experienced before. It was as if some invisible force had wrapped around them and her breath became his.

  Damn, if a kiss did this to him, he couldn’t even imagine what would happen when he made love to her.

  #

  Yep, no doubt about it. Ethan Addison was her soul mate.

  If she’d harbored any reservations about the fact, they were instantly erased when his mouth met hers. It was as if her lips touched a live wire. The jolt was instantaneous and intense. It scrambled her brain. If he’d wanted to make love to her against the car, out in the open where anyone could walk by, she’d have been powerless to resist.

  Esme glanced over at him as he drove her back to her aunt’s house. Her arms and legs felt like jelly. He’d had to physically lift her into the passenger seat. Good gravy, the man could kiss. It was all she could do to just hang on for the ride.

  Her heart wanted to burst from her chest. It was so full of love for this man. Most people would think she was a fruitcake to even be thinking of love when she barely knew him. But she loved him all the same.

  She hadn’t meant to goad him earlier. He was being all he-man serious and she wanted to tease him about his fear of her aunt. Boy, did she ever poke the bear. Maybe she’d do it more often if he’d kiss her like that again.

  Still, it bothered her that he was so unsettled around Lumi. She was Esme’s only family. She’d raised her after her parents died. She needed them to get along. There was no way she’d be able to choose one over the other. “What do you have against my aunt?”

  Ethan glanced over at her. “I don’t have anything against her.”

  “Then why don’t you like her?” She hated that her voice trembled, but this was important to her.

  “I don’t not like her. I don’t even know her.” He sighed. “I don’t know why I reacted the way I did.”

  “She said it was because she unsettled you.”

  He lifted a shoulder. “I guess you could say that. I had the urge to confess all of my sins to her.”

  “Oh, yeah? What sins are those?”

  He glanced at her with a teasing smile. “That’s between me and your aunt.”

  She laughed, her heart lightening. Maybe there was hope for them to get along. There better be because, she planned on having Ethan in her life for a very long time.

  #

  Tyler felt like an insecure loser asking Lyra if she thought Ethan was good-looking. Why wouldn’t she? Everyone did, male or female. The man was a freaking Viking warrior. His brother, too. Both together were intimidating. But he didn’t want Lyra to think he was jealous.

  He’d enjoyed dinner, so much so, he’d forgotten the reason he asked her out. He parked in front of her condo, not expecting her to ask him inside. It was the first date, after all. But he did want to broach the subject on his mind, so he turned off the engine and twisted to face her. “The jewelry you create is incredible.”

  She dipped her head. “Thank you.” He couldn’t tell in the dark interior of his car, but he had a feeling she was blushing.

  “I was thinking, how hard would it be to incorporate weapons into your designs?”

  Her head shot up. “Yo
u mean like adding a gun?”

  He chuckled. “More like a knife or razor blade, something along those lines. For example, that intricate cross necklace with the jade stone you had on display in Esme’s shop. It was what, six inches or so?”

  “Yes.”

  “What if there was some way for the bottom to slide out and reveal a sharp knife?”

  “Why would I want to do that?”

  “I was thinking that having pieces like that would be useful when my coworkers had to go undercover and couldn’t carry a regular gun or blade. They’d still have a way to protect themselves.”

  “Oh, I see.” She looked thoughtful. “I’m not sure. I’ve never considered doing something like that before.”

  “I’ve jotted down some ideas. I was thinking that maybe there could be a ring or bracelet that held a dose of knock-out juice.” He made a punching motion with his fist. “Jab at the attacker and bam. Out like a light.”

  “Even if I wanted to, I wouldn’t even know how to go about getting any kind of drugs like that.”

  “I’ve got that covered.”

  She considered his suggestion. “It would make me feel good to know I’d be helping to protect your coworkers, even in a small way. I’ll give it some thought and see if it’s something I’d be able to do.”

  “We’d compensate you generously. My bosses are freaking awesome. I ran the idea by them, and they liked it.”

  She chewed on a nail. “I’ve never worked with weapons before, so I’m a little nervous.”

  “If you’d like, I can help you come up with ideas on how to make it work.”

  “I’d like that very much.”

  “Great. I’ve got a deadline on a project that I need to take care of first. But I’ll call you in a day or so. Maybe we can have dinner again before discussing ideas.”

  “It’s a date,” she agreed.

  “Wait there.” He jumped out and rounded the hood to open her door and help her out. His nannies had drilled manners into him. “I’ll walk you to the door.”

  “You don’t have to,” she insisted.

  “But I want to.” He reached for her hand and guided her up the walkway. He didn’t have the training of his coworkers, but he’d picked up so much from them. He checked out the security as they approached the building. He was pleased to note her porch light illuminated a wide area of her patio, revealing any hidden spots. An open area separated her building from one just like it. All the units looked to be filled, with lights burning in several windows.

  They reached her condo much too soon. She dug her key from her purse and turned to face him. “I had a great time. Thank you for a wonderful evening.”

  “It was my pleasure.” He ran a finger down her cheek, wanting very much to kiss her. But he was a gentleman, so that meant he stepped back. “I’ll call you soon for our second date.”

  “I’m looking forward to it.”

  With that, she twisted the knob and disappeared inside. Tyler felt like skipping back to his car. He’d had an incredible date with an incredible woman, and he hadn’t messed it up. He’d just ignore the fact that most of it was spent with Ethan and Esme and focus on the time he and Lyra spent alone. She laughed at his jokes. When she aimed one of her smiles at him, he felt like the luckiest guy on the planet.

  He shoved his hand in his pocket and fingered the strip of condoms Ethan slipped to him. Maybe he’d put them to use in the near future. He couldn’t wait.

  Chapter Nine

  Almost four days and Ethan hadn’t called Esme for a second date. She’d asked him to drop her off at her aunt’s house and he’d politely walked her to the door, but he hadn’t come inside. The kiss he’d brushed against her lips was sweet and tender and left her aching for more. It’d been the perfect date.

  She anxiously awaited his call the next day, but it never came. She’d passed paranoid on day two. Were her remarks about his reaction to Lumi a deal-breaker? Maybe she had offended him. But he’d kissed her breathless. Day three was full of self-pity. Why didn’t her soul mate want to be around her? Was she so hideous? Now on day four, she was just plain pissed. They’d had a good time. There’d been laughter and heat and chemistry. He couldn’t fake his body’s reaction to their kiss. If he didn’t want to see her, well then, she didn’t want to see him, either. Sure, he’d texted her as soon as he got home that night, explaining that he would be busy, but she didn’t want excuses. She wanted action.

  She’d decided to stay with her aunt while they cleaned out Femi’s house and settled her estate. It’d been hard on them and having each other for support helped. Femi didn’t have any family, so she’d left everything to Lumi and Esme. Esme had been shocked at the size of Femi’s bank account. She knew the woman lived a modest existence, but she must’ve saved most of her income her entire adult life. She and Lumi had discussed it and they decided to donate the money in Femi’s name to a shelter that provided meals and accommodations to battered women and children. They knew Femi would be happy with their decision.

  Esme kept almost as many clothes and supplies at Lumi’s as she did at her own home, so spending several days wasn’t an issue. The house was large with five bedrooms on the second level, counting her room and Lumi’s master suite with an attached bath. Esme’s room also had a private bathroom, while the other three shared one. Halfway down the hall was a common area with a television and comfortable couches Esme had used when her friends visited in high school.

  When Lumi purchased the house years ago, she’d commissioned a construction crew to redesign the bottom floor. It featured a sitting room when you walked in the front door with a half bath for customers. Three private rooms off to the right provided privacy for readings. Esme’s shop and storage room took up a large chunk of the left side, plus she’d set aside space for a workshop for when business was slow. The back half of the first floor was off-limits to guests. It boasted an eat-in kitchen, laundry room, another bathroom and a living room/den with a fireplace and large screen television. The back entrance led to a parking area across a small alley, but customers were directed to the front entrance via signs.

  Though there were three private reading rooms, one was unoccupied and used for storage. Lumi’s room was set up to her specifications. Femi had decorated hers to her tastes as well. One of the tasks they’d accomplished the last few days was to clean hers out and prepare the space for a new hire. Lumi had narrowed down the list of potential replacements to two, and both came highly recommended. Neither was Marge Earnshaw. She’d had her chance and blew it when she decided to steal from the clients. She might’ve changed as she claimed, and Esme truly hoped she had, but her aunt wouldn’t trust her again.

  After the stress of the last week, Lumi’s friend Ethel was taking her on a weekend trip to a casino. The business would reopen on Monday after being closed almost two weeks. Esme wanted to have her redesigned shop ready to go. Lyra’s pieces were filling the displays nicely and she hoped to add more to her line of candles and soaps. She’d temporarily halted shipping of online sales while they dealt with Femi’s death. Now she had a backlog of orders to fill. The two high school boys who lived a few doors down stopped in each afternoon and packaged the online orders. They were hard workers and paid attention to detail, so she compensated them well for their efforts. She made a note to ask if they had friends who wanted to make a few extra dollars since the list was long.

  If her shop kept growing at such a rapid pace, she’d have to look into renting a larger space. It’d be nice to find something close to Lumi’s house, but the residential area was popular and there were no buildings for sale that she could convert into a warehouse for making her soaps and candles and storing them. As much as she hated to think about the possibility, she might need to move out of her aunt’s house for good, maybe open a storefront in town. A facility with space for walk-in sales as well as a workshop for her and one for Lyra would be ideal. If her aunt wanted to keep a gift shop, Esme could hire someone to run it while she foc
used on her products and her new store.

  She’d had her eye on a building in town for a while. The run-down structure languished on the market well over a year, but Esme could see the potential. It would be the perfect size, with ample parking and a location that would draw plenty of drive-by customers.

  Lyra was sitting cross-legged on the floor with an assortment of necklaces spread out in front of her, but she was staring off into space with a dreamy look. Esme smiled, glad her friend was so happy. She’d been on two more dates with Tyler while Esme had been on exactly none with Ethan.

  “Did you go out with Tyler again last night?”

  Lyra snapped out of her trance and focused on Esme. “He came to my place and we worked on the pieces he wants me to make. He’s amazing. He finally kissed me.” A crimson blush stained her cheeks.

  Her words made Esme remember Ethan’s kiss. Even days later, her pulse sped up thinking about it. She was dying to kiss him again.

  Despite being depressed about not seeing Ethan, she was pleased to realize that the prophetic dreams had stopped again. There’d been nothing since the flat tire incident. She didn’t know much about precognitive dreams, so she wasn’t sure if it was normal that they’d quit, start again, only to quit again. Maybe they were random. And maybe she should read up on them to get a better idea of what she was dealing with. Sooner or later, she’d have to tell her aunt. But not yet. She’d wait until they had the business settled back into an assemblance of normalcy. Maybe then she’d admit her abilities to Lumi.

  “How is the weapon design going? Have you two come up with ideas?”

  “Oh, it’s really good. I mean, it’s a little scary to think that something I’ve made might be used to harm someone else. Tyler told me to think of it as helping the good guys. If one of his coworkers is in trouble, one of my pieces might save their lives.”