See you soon.
My blood runs cold as I read each word slowly. “Eden, it says he left a present. What do you think it is and where do you think it is?”
Lyle walks towards the bathroom and says, “Just stay right there, Alyssa. I’ll search your room to see what he could’ve left in here, if he was ever really in here at all.”
Eden begins to open the closet, checking it over. “Nothing out of the ordinary in there.”
“Nothing in here,” Lyle says.
Eden begins to open the drawers on the dresser. He opens the top drawer, moves things around, and then closes it. He opens the second drawer and stops. I can tell by how his face pales a little that he’s found something.
“Papa, he was in here.”
Lyle walks over to look. “Oh my! Jesus, that man’s sick.”
“What? What is it?” I ask, softly.
Eden turns to look at me. “No, Alyssa, you can’t see this,” he tells me and then he shuts the drawer.
“It’s that bad?”
They both nod their heads. “I have to go call the police. Don’t touch it. Try not to touch anything, but get dressed and come downstairs,” Lyle commands.
I call Laura and ask her to get Kyle and meet us downstairs. After we dress, Eden and I go down to the living room to find that, not only are Kyle and Laura there, but our parents and two police officers as well.
My father stands up. “Okay officers, let me take you up to the bedroom so you can get started. The second drawer of the dresser, right, Lyle?” my father confirms.
Lyle nods yes. “Eden, go with them too,” Lyle directs Eden
I go sit next to Laura. “Sorry about all this Laura. I didn’t think he’d find us so quickly.”
“It had to be someone who was here yesterday. There was the kitchen staff. The maid, Terri, the driver who brought Kyle and Laura here, and the person who delivered the clothes,” Lyle explains.
“Linda?” I ask. “You think Linda could have something to do with this?”
“Any of them could, dear,” my mother says, “How can we ever figure out who would’ve helped him?”
The conversation is making me uncomfortable. Linda being a suspect is flying through my brain at great speeds and I send the thought to my mate.
“Mom, can we go make something to eat?” I ask.
She looks at me, then at Lyle. “I think that’ll be fine. Kyle, stay with them, okay?” Lyle says.
“Yes, sir,” Kyle answers him.
I go to the fridge and pull out a carton of eggs. Kyle sits on one of the stools at the breakfast bar as Laura helps me. “So what did the note say exactly, Ally?” Kyle asks.
“I still have it,” I tell him as I pull it out of my pocket and hand it to him. “Eden told me to give it to you. Read it.”
Laura looks at me with confusion. “Why would he do that?” she asks as she goes over to read it with him. I don’t answer her. “This is really scary, Al. He was out there with us somewhere, hiding in the dark.”
Kyle looks up at me. “He was in your room. I can’t believe he was in the house and no one noticed.”
“Eden’s father thinks the best thing to do is to try to bring him out of hiding,” I tell them as I scramble the eggs.
“While that is probably the smartest thing to do, you do have to realize you would be put in danger, Ally,” Kyle tells me.
I nod. “What else can be done?”
“I don’t know, but after what Lyle said about the bird in the drawer, I know this guy is a complete psycho,” Kyle tells me.
“What did Lyle say was in the drawer?” I ask, praying I heard him wrong.
“You know, a black bird with a piece of string wrapped around its neck that he must have used to choke it to death,” Kyle tells me.
The blood goes out of my face. I stumble a little. Kyle jumps up, grabbing me, then taking me to sit in a chair at the dining table. Crap! A black bird he choked to death. Not only does he want to kill me, he knows what I am.
I look up at Kyle and send to him, ‘He knows what I am!’
His arms close around me as I fall and things go black.
CHAPTER 50
Kyle
“Ally, are you going to faint?” I ask as I sit Ally down.
Laura gets a wet towel and holds it to her forehead. “Ally, you okay? You turned so pale,” she says.
‘He knows I’m a bird,’ she sends to me. ‘This is bad! This is really bad. He has to be stopped. He’ll tell people. What are we going to do?’
“Eden didn’t tell you about the bird?” I ask, knowing damn well he didn’t, but I’m trying to talk out loud so Laura doesn’t get confused at how I know certain things that have gone unsaid. “Shit! He’s going to be so mad at me for running my mouth.”
“No, I needed to know that. He would’ve told me anyway. Don’t worry,” Ally says as she looks at me, then Laura.
“I’ll finish making breakfast, Al. Just sit there and chill. Kyle get her a glass of juice, please,” Laura orders.
I bring Ally back a glass of apple juice, then sit down next to her, putting my arm around her shoulders. Her head drops onto my shoulder. My mind is spinning out of control. I have so much to do and Laura’s not knowing about what we are is a pain in the ass.
I know she could handle the secret, but I have to get Eden and Ally to agree.
I kiss the side of her head, like I used to do all the time. “Everything’ll be all right, Ally. You have a lot of people around you who love you. We won’t let this freak get you.”
Her hand takes mine and she holds it in her lap as she sends me, ‘I feel safe with you here.’
My arm tightens around her shoulders and I hug her to my chest. ‘You’re safe with me here, baby,’ I send back.
Laura brings us each a plate, setting them down in front of us, then gets hers and comes to sit on the other side of Ally. “Eat up, Al, you need to keep your strength up,” she tells her with a smile.
Ally grins at her and leans over to kiss her cheek. “I love you, Laura. You’re going to be such a good mother someday.”
Eden comes into the kitchen, sees us all piled in close to each other, and smiles. I’m happy to see he isn’t unhappy with me being so close to Ally. She’s tucked into my side with my arm wrapped around her.
“I see you’re being well taken care of, Alyssa,” he says as he grabs a plate.
Laura jumps up. “Go sit, Eden. I’ve got it,” she commands him as she pushes at him to sit down across from us.
He’s still smiling at Ally. I’m not sure if my close proximity to her is making him uncomfortable or if he’s actually happy I’m watching over her so closely. Laura puts his plate and juice in front of him, then returns to her seat next to Ally.
“The police are watching the surveillance video right now. So we’ll know shortly how he got into the house,” Eden tells us. “Laura, I wanted to thank you for saving my wife’s life last night. If you hadn’t been with her, or if you had decided to come into the house for even a minute, he would’ve had her.”
Laura looks up at him. “Do you really think so?” she asks in disbelief.
“I’m very sure of it and so are the police,” he tells her. “I can’t begin to thank you enough.”
“Eden, I’m really sorry,” I say. “I had no idea she didn’t know, but I brought up the bird in the drawer.”
Eden gets a surprised look on his face. “How did she take it?”
“Not really well,” I tell him as I give her a gentle squeeze. “She just about passed out.”
Eden looks at her. “I bet she did. You okay now, Alyssa?”
She nods. “It’s better that I know that anyway.”
Eden smiles at her and I can feel the rate of her heartbeats increase. “I know. I was going to tell you sometime in the near future,” he says with a soft tone to his voice, which makes Ally all melty inside.
God! Knowing what she feels is so damn weird!
I release her fr
om my tight hold and move my chair over, so our legs no longer touch. I really don’t want to feel her every feeling. It seems like we’re getting more and more telepathy with one another.
I’m not sure I like it.
Laura and I take the dishes from the table, as we’ve all finished eating, and put them in the dishwasher. Eden takes Ally by the hand, pulling her up to him. They lean their foreheads together, sending things back and forth to each other no doubt.
Ally’s Mom comes in. Her face gets a strange look as she looks at Ally, then back at me and says, “I’ll get the rest of this cleaned up. You two are guests for goodness sake.”
Eden helps Ally out of the dog house. “She got the news about the bird in the drawer and got a little shaky. So Laura was kind enough to make breakfast for us.”
Her mother gives her a hug. “Oh, it upset you that much?”
Ally looks around the room at us all and says, “It shocked me at first, but I know everything’ll be fine. I have faith. I’m not going to let this guy get into my head, no matter how hard he tries.”
‘That a girl, Al,’ I send her.
She smiles back at me. ‘Thanks, Kyle. I’m so glad I have you,’ she sends me.
Eden looks at her, and in that instant, she shuts me out. “How far you’ve come in such a short amount of time,” he tells her.
“I guess it’s just the fact he did such terrible things to his daughter and what he’ll do to me. If he’s able to get to me, that has me thinking I can’t be afraid of him,” Ally says as she threads her fingers through Eden’s, something she used to do with me. “I have to stop him from doing this to anyone else ever again. I can’t be another victim. I have to be his ending. Our dreams have let me know I have no choice in the fact. He has to be stopped or it will be the end of us.”
Eden’s face drops as we realize she just said something she shouldn’t have. Laura catches it quickly. “Our dreams? What does that mean, Ally?” she asks.
Ally’s eyes look frantically at Eden for an answer. Unfortunately, he just looks back at her with a blank face.
Okay, no help there.
I look at Ally’s mom to find she has the same blank expression.
Okay, then I have to come up with some explanation.
My arm slides around Laura’s shoulders as I pull her tightly to my chest. “It just means, you know, the stress of this situation must have them dreaming about it. Almost like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, only it’s before the actual horrible thing happens,” I offer as an explanation for my Ally’s overactive mouth.
“Let’s go see if they’ve finished watching the surveillance video yet,” Eden says, changing the subject as he takes Ally and leaves the kitchen.
Laura and I follow them. I hold her close to me and she whispers to me, “Maybe they’re too close, ya know?”
Yeah! No kidding! What would she think if she knew how close Ally is to me?
Eden’s father, Lyle, is coming back into the large living room. He must’ve walked the police officers out. Lyle turns to us and I can tell by his expression that they know who helped Stiles.
“That was very productive,” Eden’s father says as he takes a seat on the large sofa next to his wife, Sierra. “We found out who let him in. It was a member of the kitchen staff, a young man named Brady Mathews. He’s been with us for about two years. I know him very well. I can’t imagine what he was thinking. We’ll soon find out. though, because the officers are going to the mansion to get him right now. I’m praying they can get the information from him as to where Stiles is.”
Ally looks at Lyle with curiosity and asks, “So there’s no way Linda had anything to do with it at all?”
Eden’s eyes go wide and he drops her hand. “Linda?”
Ally looks at us all, then says, “They said she could be a suspect, Eden.”
Eden looks at his parents. “Papa, you told her this?”
Lyle shrugs his shoulders, and says, “I said it could’ve been anyone who was here yesterday. That’s all, son.”
Eden turns back to Ally, a bit of a glare in his eyes. “Alyssa, why would you even think such a thing about her?” His question seems to physically hurt her. Her eyes drop to the floor and she wrings her hands.
Her demeanor makes me feel like she’s lost something of herself she had found just before I left her in New Orleans. It brings out my protective side. I leave Laura’s side to walk over and place my arm around her shoulders. “Eden, I’m sure you have to understand all people who’ve been in this house yesterday had to be in question in everyone’s minds.”
Ally sends me a scene—Eden and a lady with brown hair kissing by his swimming pool. I wince at how intense it looks. I look up at Eden and he knows she shared it with me, by the look in his eyes. He’s hurt.
He reaches his hand out for Ally to take. She looks up at me, then moves away from me. “We’ll discuss this later, princess,” he says and gives me a look before he darts his eyes to Laura.
I guess he wants me to leave his wife alone and mind my business. Sorry, dude, Ally is mine to watch after, and I’m not going to let anyone get in the way of that.
I made vows too, after all.
CHAPTER 51
ALYSSA
“They brought Brady here to see you, as you requested, Eden,” Lyle tells him as he comes into the kitchen where the four of us are playing cards.
I turn to look at Eden. “You asked them to bring him here? Why?”
“I want to ask him some questions. Do you have anything that you want to ask him?”
Dropping my cards on the table, I say, “I hadn’t thought about it, Eden. I’d like to know some things. Can I come with you?”
He stands up, holding his hand out to me. I take it, looking back to Laura and Kyle. “We’ll be right back.”
Kyle frowns at me and sends, ‘I should be there too.’
He should, but Laura would find that more than odd.
I send back, ‘Laura! Duh!’
As Eden takes me from the room, Kyle sends me one last thing, ‘You and I will straighten this shit out before the night’s over! I’m not going to be shut out. I’m your protector!’
Great! He’s pissed! And apparently I get to deal with that later.
Lyle leads us to my father’s office, where the two policemen from earlier are standing just inside the door. There’s a young man sitting in my father’s chair. He’s in handcuffs.
Eden and I follow Lyle into dad’s office. My father comes in too, shutting the door behind him after he asks the officers to give us some privacy and they step outside.
The man has his head hanging down. “Won’t you please look up at me?” Eden requests.
The man shakes his head. It doesn’t detour Eden though. “You have done my family a great wrong. I would like an explanation for why you’ve done this.”
The man shakes his head again. His wavy brown hair bounces as he does it. I feel this man has much sorrow in him. I move towards him slowly, feeling compelled to touch his head. I slowly reach out to touch him.
Eden looks at me. I stop for a second and then he nods. I place my hand on the top of the man’s head.
My mind is suddenly filled with his memories. It’s as if I’m him. I’m looking into dark brown eyes with dark circles underneath them. Her hair is brown and messed up, like she just woke up.
My chest pounds as Brady reaches out to touch her. Her shoulder has a big bruise on it. Brady leans to kiss it.
“Does that make it any better, Karen?” I hear his voice say.
The girl smiles. “Yes, Brady.”
I hear a door open, then it slams against the wall. “Get the hell away from her,” a gruff voice calls out.
Brady turns and I see Darren Stiles coming at him. He has a baseball bat. Darren’s eyes are red and he’s sweaty. A small amount of spit hangs from his bottom lip, as he must be so angry that he’s practically foaming at the mouth. The smell of stale cigarette smoke and dirty socks fills the air as h
e gets closer.
“No, Dad, please don’t. I love him!” the girl screams.
“You don’t know what love is, you little slut. He doesn’t love you. Who could love someone like you? You’re a whore and not worth a penny!” he yells, then he swings at Brady with the bat.
Brady moves quickly, avoiding contact with the bat. “I should kill you for what you’ve done to her, you sadistic freak!” Brady yells.
“What did she tell you?” Stiles demands.
“How you beat her and rape her every chance you get!” Brady yells at him as he moves to stand in front of the crying girl who sits on the bed.
“She’s a liar. You need to leave so I can deal with her,” Stiles tells him in an unbelievably calm voice. “She’s sick in the head, boy. You can’t believe anything she says.”
Brady isn’t buying it. “I’m taking her with me. You need to leave her alone. Forget you have a daughter,” Brady tells him as he takes the girl’s hand, pulling her out the door with him.
Suddenly the scene changes. Brady is going into a small white house. “Karen, I’m back,” he says as he walks into the kitchen.
“Karen?” he calls out as he walks into the bedroom.
“Karen?” he yells as he begins to panic, calling her name over and over as he runs through the house and out the backdoor.
He returns to the house, opening the closet to see if her things are still there. Most of them are gone. Empty hangers and one black sweater is all that’s in the closet. He reaches out, taking the sweater down, and a paper falls out of the pocket.
Asshole,
I need a favor from you as you work for the bastards who fucked my daughter and me over.
I want you to get me into that house.
If you refuse, then I will kill Karen.
You have until tonight to get me the information I want:
The code to get into the gate
A map that shows me how to get to the newlyweds’ rooms
And a picture of any windows or balconies that enter their rooms
Leave this information in your mailbox and I will pick it up tonight.
Brady shakes his head and starts to cry. He picks up the phone to call someone, only to slam it back down.
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