by Mary Eason
“No. Davis, don’t.”
“Kara, you know you feel it too.”
“You’re wrong. I don’t feel anything.”
“And you’re lying. I can always tell when you’re lying. I knew it the moment I saw you again. It’s not over for us, Kara, no matter how much you’d like it to be.”
She took a deep breath and looked away. “Maybe not, but it is finished for me.”
“Kara—”
“No. I can’t do this. Not again. I almost didn’t survive the last time.”
“Kara, I’ll be there with you. I won’t let him hurt you.”
She forced a bitter smile. The Job. Of course, Davis’s only concern would be the job.
“I’m not talking about the Angel, Davis. That was horrible enough—terrifying in fact—but it wasn’t the worst part of it. Watching you choose the job over me as I’d seen you do so many times in the past—that was the worst part. Do you have any idea how hard that became for me to accept?”
“It wasn’t like that. At least that certainly wasn’t the way I felt in my heart. But I’m sorry I made you feel that way. I love you, Kara. I’ve loved you from the beginning.”
Six years ago she would have been thrilled to hear him say those things. Now, all she felt was angry and resentful. She’d waited by the phone for months—years even—for him to come after her. But he never came.
“Stop it.” She tried to release her hand from his hold but Davis brought it slowly to his lips, kissing her palm. She struggled against her reaction to his touch. “You don’t love me. You love the job. It’s always been about the job. You thought I helped you solve the most exciting case of your career. Now it’s happening again. That’s the only reason you’re here now. You need my help again.”
“Kara, how can you say that after all we had together?”
“Had, Davis? What we had was great sex. The thrill of the hunt made it seem more intense. But that’s all that existed between us.”
“No. You know that’s not true.”
“Really? Then why are you here now? Why after six long years do you show up on my doorstep the moment the Angel appears again?”
“I came the moment I discovered I had a child.”
“Maybe. But you came because you need my help too.”
“Yes, okay, I won’t deny that! I need your help, but that doesn’t change how I feel about you! I love you, Kara. You’re all that’s kept me going for a long time. Thinking about you. About the possibility of being with you again.”
“Very touching, but I’ve heard enough. I’ll help you with the case because I want this monster put away before he can hurt my daughter. But let’s be honest with each other for once. This is work. Nothing more.”
She pulled her hand away and got to her feet.
“That’s not true. Kara, wait!” He called after her but she didn’t listen. She had to get away before the tears she’d been struggling to keep inside came.
Kara closed the door to her room and leaned against it. She still felt his touch on her hand. She pressed her palm against her lips to stop the sobs.
Don’t cry. Just let it go.
She stood perfectly still, chanting those words over in her head, when she felt the calming presence of her daughter. Ava sensed her mother’s pain and reached out to comfort her through the miles and miles of space separating them.
Kara remembered all the other times in the past when her daughter had done this. No matter how much she might deny its existence to Davis and Maggie and the world, and no matter how many different explanations she used to try and make herself feel better, she knew Ava had inherited the gift as well.
And so it shouldn’t have come as a surprise that Ava knew Davis was her father. After all, Kara had told her as much in her thoughts of him in the past.
“I’m okay, baby. I’m okay. Don’t worry. You just take care of Grandma for me, okay? I’ll see you again soon,” Kara whispered into the silent room and felt Ava’s presence like a warm hug as she undressed and climbed into bed.
Chapter Five
“You let him back into your life. That was your first mistake, Kara. Thinking you can escape me again will be your last.”
Kara struggled to wake herself from the dream. She wanted him out of her head.
“No. You’re not real. You’re dead.”
She could hear his laughter, filled with hatred and insanity. He’d slipped further over the edge, becoming viler than before.
“You screwed me out of my next victim. Shame on you, Kara. You know how the game goes. But don’t worry. I have another in mind. She’s even better than that bitch in El Paso. Do you want to hear her pain?”
“No! No, this isn’t real!” Kara fought against his hold. But she could feel the terror growing inside her. Her terror. His latest victim. He had her. Here in her dreams she became far too real.
She was beautiful. Kara could see her long, straight hair, so like Justine’s, flowing past her waist. It appeared black almost but everything around her was dark. Kara struggled to see his face, but like all the times past, she saw nothing but darkness and an incredible malevolence surrounding him. He was the only one who’d ever eluded her completely. He taunted her with his power to remain anonymous every single time he reached out to her. Why was he different from the others? Was he like her? Did he, too, possess the gift? It would certainly explain why he’d remained a mystery. If she could just see him, she’d know his identity. She’d be able to prove once and for all that the Bureau had framed an innocent man. If only…
Someone shook her hard.
Davis!
“No.”
“Kara, wake up,” he said in a commanding voice that sounded so familiar. She tried, but the girl’s fear pulled her back. She was in a dark, cold place. Kara tried to make out the girl’s surroundings but it was impossible.
“It’s too dark. I can’t see.”
“Wake up, Kara. It’s just a dream. It’s time to wake up now.”
“No, just a minute longer. I can help her. I’m almost there.” But she wasn’t. Soon the darkness became thicker. The image disappeared entirely. Bright light dispelled the blackness as she opened her eyes.
The comfort of her bedroom replaced the horror of the dark place. She sat up in bed and reached out to Davis, clinging to him, her body soaked with sweat. Tonight the dream felt more real than ever before. She was crying from experiencing the girl’s fear.
“It’s okay,” Davis repeated softly against her ear, stroking back her hair from her damp face. “It’s only a dream.”
God, how she wished she could believe it, but she knew the truth. This was only the beginning. He was forcing her back to DC. Back to unfinished business.
Kara pulled a little away from Davis so she could look into his eyes. “It’s not a dream, Davis. It’s real. He’s real and very much alive. The Death Angel is back.”
His shocked gaze held hers. He didn’t believe it fully just yet but he would in time.
“Dear God, Kara,” he whispered. Touching her cheek, he wiped the tears away that clung there. “Not again. I won’t let this happen to you again,” Davis repeated more forcefully.
“There’s nothing you can do to stop it. He’s even stronger than the first time.”
He shook his head. The last of his doubts disappearing.
“Oh God, Kara. How the hell did Frankie Shepard become involved in this?”
“I don’t know.”
For a long time they simply held each other. The two of them had been the first to put the clues together in the past and had met with nothing but resistance and ridicule in the beginning. Would anyone believe them this time?
“We need to go to DC. We need to talk to the taskforce working the cases and see what they’ve come up with.”
“Yes.” She couldn’t fight it any longer. This would be her fate. She’d known this moment would come again since she ran away from it six years ago. In spite of the official Bureau line, Kara knew the
Angel wasn’t dead. The way Frankie’s car went into the Potomac that night appeared to be too messy for the Angel. Too staged. Through the years, she’d felt him reaching out to her, pulling her back into the game.
Kara leaned against Davis’s chest. She no longer wanted to think about the case. Having him so close reminded her of all the times he’d touched her like this in the past.
“Kara?” He felt it as well. He hesitated for a second, struggling to do the right thing. But she didn’t want to do the right thing tonight. She wanted him. Wanted to make love to him until she could wipe away all the horror she’d witnessed through the young woman’s eyes tonight.
His lips touched hers. Familiar. Gentle. All she’d ever wanted. His touch held more than simple passion for them both. There was history between them. Anger. Love. All there.
“Not like this,” he whispered against her mouth. “I want you. God, I want you, Kara. But I don’t want the things you said to me earlier standing between us. I don’t want the job there either. And I certainly don’t want you coming to me because of him. When we make love again, I want it to be just about you and me.”
He untangled her arms reluctantly, stood and walked to the door. There would never be just the two of them. It was an impossible dream.
“I’ll leave Jessica a voicemail to let her know we’ll be arriving later today. I don’t think sleep is going to be possible for me, but you should try. I’m going to make some coffee and go over the case files again.”
Long after Davis left her alone, Kara couldn’t move. And sleep—she couldn’t risk sleep. Not knowing the Angel wanted her to experience the girl’s pain again.
Kara showered and dressed then joined Davis in the kitchen. He acknowledged her presence by handing her yet another cup of coffee. She’d lost track of how much caffeine she’d consumed over the past few days.
“This is the last thing I need right now. More stimulation.” Bad choice of words on her part. She saw him smile but he didn’t press the matter.
“Davis, I don’t think we should wait any longer. We need to get to DC. He’s got his next victim.”
“Are you sure?” he asked slowly, but knew the answer already.
“Yes. It was her I saw tonight. She’s terrified. I couldn’t make out where he’s holding her. She’s still alive, Davis. But not for long. I think he’s keeping her alive for us. He’s waiting for us to return to DC before killing her.” Kara went to the living room and found the file of the fourth victim of the Angel.
“What are you looking for?” Davis followed her, looking over her shoulder.
“Jan Yates was killed on September twenty-third. That’s two days from now! We have two days to find this girl. During that time, she was tortured repeatedly. She could bleed out. Die from exposure. God only knows. There isn’t much time. We need to leave now.”
“I hope you’re wrong about this, Kara. Because you know our chances of finding this girl before he kills her are next to impossible. He killed Jan Yates in an abandoned barn, remember.”
“I remember.” Kara could feel him reaching out to her again, laughing at her weakness. So confident. Even more than before.
“Kara? Are you okay?” She shook her head, trying to dispel the image.
“Yes.” But his victim was not. She shivered in the cold, damp place where he held her and time was quickly running out for her.
“Why don’t you go pack and I’ll call and make our travel arrangements.”
It took Kara less than ten minutes. When she returned, Davis had all the folders tucked away in his briefcase.
“Buster!” In all the rush, Kara had forgotten all about her faithful companion. “I can’t leave him here alone. I’ll call Paul and have him pick up Buster and take him home with him for a while.”
Kara had known for a while that Paul wanted more than just friendship from her. She’d been close to considering it until Davis’s return. But that wasn’t an option anymore. Her heart belonged to Davis whether she went back to him or not.
“Who’s Paul?” Davis asked as they drove along the deserted county road. The tension she felt inside him now had nothing to do with the case. He didn’t want to hear her answer.
“Paul Juarez. He’s a friend. He works at the bank in town. He helped me get the boutique financed.”
Davis’s hands tightened on the wheel. He didn’t say anything, but he concentrated on the road ahead a little too intently. He wanted to ask more. He didn’t have that right.
The airport appeared deserted except for a smattering of business travelers. They dropped the rental car off and booked their flights to Dulles without any problem. The five a.m. flight was empty. Bored attendants couldn’t wait for the flight to get underway.
Kara sat by the window next to Davis, silently going over the Yates case in her mind.
“Jan’s body was found at an abandoned barn twenty miles outside of DC, correct?”
“You want to talk about this now?” he asked with a hint of amusement. “You don’t want to try and get some sleep?”
“No. Sleep is the last thing I want.”
“He still reaches out to you through your dreams, doesn’t he? That’s how he’s kept you involved in this thing through the years. And kept track of you.”
“Yes.” In the past, she’d had visions of both the victims as well as the killer through the victims’ possessions. Clothing. Pictures. Personal items that contained pieces of them. They’d disappeared completely until recently when they’d become far too strong to shut out. For six years the Angel had been promising this moment. A few weeks earlier his presence became stronger as he tried reaching her beyond the dreams.
“Davis, I haven’t been completely honest. There’s something I need to tell you.”
For a moment he didn’t speak. She could feel the tension increase in him. “Okay,” he managed at last. She had his full attention. Something wasn’t right. It occurred to her that Davis had his own secrets.
“I kept the scarf.” It took a few seconds for him to realize what she meant. And then he closed his eyes in disbelief.
“You did what? Okay, never mind the fact that you took evidence from a case, Kara, but why would you want to keep a reminder from such a terrible part of the past?”
“I don’t know. I can’t explain it and I know it sounds macabre but I just felt I needed to have it with me to remember. So that I never forgot what happened.” With a single glance, she knew he didn’t understand. “I’m not explaining it very well, I know.”
“No, you’re not. I don’t understand why you’d want to have that thing anywhere near you. Does Ava know you have it?”
“No, of course not!” In Davis’s eyes, keeping it probably seemed morbid. Maybe it was. “Can we forget about the scarf for now? Let’s concentrate on our latest victim. We still have time to save her life if we try.”
“All right,” he said at last, letting go of his anger with difficulty. “Jan Yates’ body was found in a barn in a remote area by accident when a hiker stumbled upon it. Which means his latest victim could be anywhere. Where do we even start?”
“I don’t know. I couldn’t make out anything about her surroundings. I’m sorry.”
“I’ve called Ryan. He’ll have all the local authorities start searching a twenty-mile radius around DC for every vacant barn or shed,” he told her quietly. “Who knows, maybe we’ll get lucky this time. Maybe he’ll slip up.”
As much as Kara wanted to believe him, she didn’t. Deep down inside, the fear that started weeks earlier had begun to spiral out of control once more. Even now, she could hear him laughing in her head. Familiar.
She didn’t understand how but somehow she knew they were running out of time. Two days and his latest victim would be gone. Then Kara believed he would try to come after Ava again. It all fit.
But something told her he wouldn’t be satisfied with any other victim but her.
By the time their flight landed at Dulles, the morning commuter tra
ffic had hit bumper-to-bumper status going into the city.
Kara called to check on Ava while the taxi made its way along the congested roadways.
“What’s wrong?” Davis knew right away from the uneasiness in Kara’s voice that their daughter had seen another vision.
“Nothing. She’s just upset.”
He leaned closer to Kara and heard Ava’s tearful reply, “Mommie, he’s going to hurt you.”
Davis took the phone from Kara’s hand.
“Ava, it’s me.” He couldn’t bring himself to say the word “father” just yet. “Honey, your mom is fine. She’s here with me and I’m going to protect her. I’m not going to let anything happen to your mom.”
Ava said something Davis didn’t quite catch, but it almost sounded like “thank you, Daddy”. Emotions he’d never expected to feel before overwhelmed him. Without even knowing his daughter, he knew he loved her.
“Thank you for trusting me, Ava. I promise I won’t let her out of my sight for a minute. And when this is over, you and I have some catching up to do.”
The taxi slowed to a stop in front of VCIRD headquarters. Ryan Anderson met them on the steps.
“I asked Ryan to start re-interviewing all the people connected to the first Angel case. The victims’ friends and family. Anyone connected to the crime. You never know—someone might remember something new after all this time,” Davis explained as they got out of the taxi.
“Davis, you two made good time.” Ryan’s glance slid Kara’s way. Ryan’s resentment of Kara went deeper than the usual scoffing at her talent. What Kara didn’t know was Ryan had been the one to pick up the pieces of Davis after she left DC that final time.
“Just like old times, isn’t it?” Ryan made an attempt at a peace offering by extending her his hand.
Reluctantly, Kara accepted it. “Yes. Yes, it is. I never thought we’d be doing this again.”
“No, me neither,” Ryan told her with a smile.
“Anything new on the search?” Davis hoped Ryan had better luck at unearthing clues than he and Kara had so far. When he saw Kara’s surprise, he added, “Ryan and I are both in agreement with you. There’s no way Frankie Shepard could have been the Angel. We have to find out what Frankie’s connection to this guy is, though, and why the Angel waited for this moment to resurface. What we need to know is what brought him out now. Something had to trigger the new killings, because I can’t believe this was just part of his game.”
