The car sped by, missing him by inches. He got to his feet in time to see the blue sedan screeching onto the parkway.
Jordan turned and ran to where Kayci went over the wall. When he got there, he peered over it. She was facedown, floating in the water.
“Kayci, no…” He threw himself over the wall, into the water and rocks.
He splashed down, found his footing, and frantically made his way to her body. He grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her face up, falling under her, and pulling her onto him. “Kayci?”
He scrambled to his feet and lifted her. He struggled to get to ground and placed her on the rocks. He checked. She was not breathing. He started CPR, using the rocks to stabilize her body. He worked frantically for a minute until water erupted from her mouth. She took an involuntary breath.
Jordan fumbled for his phone. Amazingly, the water had not killed it. But as he dialed the number, the phone didn’t seem to work. There was a connection, but no numbers responded. “Dammit,” he yelled. “Help me! Someone help me!”
His pleas were loud enough to attract an early morning jogger, who looked over the seawall at them.
“Hey, you okay?” An older man with gray hair looked over the edge.
“Call 911, please,” he supported Kayci’s head.
“Don’t you die, please, not today, Kayci. It’s not your time,” he whispered, and her eyelids fluttered. “You’re going to be okay. Just stay with me.”
She didn’t speak. He could see she was losing a lot of blood. She blinked out again.
“I need you to stay with me. I’m not letting you go.” Whether or not he knew what he was doing, Jordan was reaching out to her, using his mind to heal her. He was trying anyway, but the wound was not slowing.
The blood mixed into the water like a river within a river. The smell of the coppery fluid made Jordan want to vomit, but he dared not show a weakness right now. Saving this woman had become something of a habit lately, now this.
He let the water rock them. Kayci’s eyes slowly twitched, but her breathing remained steady. Jordan started singing quietly, “Like a bridge over troubled waters, I will ease your mind,’” and he closed his eyes to pray. He was not going to let her die. God was not going to let her die.
The sweet sound of sirens split the soft noise of the waves touching the rocks. In a minute, rescue workers came rushing over the wall. They ushered Jordan out of the way and took over.
Jordan climbed back up the wall, and when his feet touched the pavement, he felt a massive sway of dizziness wash over him. He felt like he was about to fall, but he leaned against the wall for support.
“Whoa, buddy, you okay?” A short and stocky EMT rushed over to him.
Jordan nodded. “I’m okay”
“What happened to her?” the man asked.
“She was shot,” Jordan stated.
For what seemed like a long time, Jordan watched the commotion. The tendrils of fog streamed into the park. Sunlight tried to erase them but couldn’t win the battle. So many people had congregated from seemingly out of nowhere. An attractive young couple that was jogging now stood close by Jordan, looking over the seawall at the scene. The woman’s hand rested worriedly over her mouth. The man with the dog stood at a distance, the mixed breed’s ears pricking and pointing at the chaos. Several other people watched.
Jordan had seen this type of chaos so many times it didn’t make sense anymore. But this time he didn’t watch it the same. This time he didn’t seek out the victim. Instead, he watched the watchers.
A small group of women walking for fitness drew his attention. Two of the group of four were heavy with extra weight, one of which stared at him with wide eyes. She was attractive, even if her body was not the idea of Hollywood perfection. Her alabaster skin glowed with sweat, and her kind violet eyes and walnut hair all set Jordan at ease.
“Are you okay?” she asked in a sweet voice. “Would you like some water?” She held out a bottle of spring water.
Jordan shook his head. “No, I’m okay.”
She squinted and turned her head to one side slightly. “You don’t look okay. You look unwell. What happened here?”
Jordan did not answer at once.
“Is that your girlfriend down there?”
Again, he didn’t say anything, only nodded, with no real certainty.
The woman reached out her hand and touched Jordan’s arm. “She’s going to be okay.”
When she touched him, a bolt of energy hit him, and the black bar of the frequency plan grew into that special part of his mind. He saw the levels, the modulation of everyone around. He saw Kayci, slow and flat, but still slightly alive. And he saw the woman. She was high up on the pyramid, not there with him, but above everyone else. She was obviously a strong psychic compared to most people.
He looked to the woman, tapped into her frequency, and was amazed at what he suddenly just knew about her. She was thirty-nine, recently divorced from a man who had abused her. She was a romance author with more than twenty-five books. The saddest part of all was that her daughter, her only child, had recently died in a tragic motor vehicle accident at the age of sixteen. Here was this woman, someone who had endured a mountain of pain in the past few months, comforting him. It brought a tear to Jordan’s eye, and that started a flood of tears.
“Oh, don’t cry.” The woman wrapped her arms around him with a hug. “It’s okay. Everything is going to be okay.”
Jordan pulled back and wiped his tears on his sleeve. “You’re an amazing person,” he said.
“Oh now, don’t give me too much credit,” she replied.
“You’re very strong to be where you are after what you’ve been through.”
The woman pulled back and looked inquisitively at Jordan. “Do I know you?”
Jordan shook his head, laughed a bit. “No, but I have a sense about things.”
The woman took a sip from her water. “I’m Chloe, Chloe Keener.”
Jordan reached out to reciprocate her outstretched hand for a shake. “Thank you Chloe. I’m Jordan.”
“You’re welcome. It looks like they’ve got your friend ready to go.”
Jordan looked back up at the scene, and even more police, EMTs, and random people had surrounded the area. His vision was blurry, and everything seemed to move in slow motion. He looked back at Chloe, smiled. She nodded.
“You’re going to be okay,” she reiterated.
“So are you.”
She eased back toward her friends.
Jordan got his focus back just in time to see a familiar face walking up with two uniformed cops. It was Detective Holly Prince.
“Mr. Callahan. Why am I not surprised to find you here?”
Jordan was still not fully clear, but he heard the EMTs shouting all sorts of things. Again, he reached his mind out to Kayci and wished he could heal her. He was a psychic, not a healer, so it was odd he thought he could somehow do anything.
“Mr. Callahan, you still with us?” Holly Prince waved a hand in front of his face.
“They shot her,” he said. “I tried to get there in time, but…”
“Who shot her?”
“The dead girl about a hundred yards down shore, big gun with a scope, shot her.” Jordan held his hand to point, then let it drop.
“Go check that out.” Detective Prince motioned to one of the uniforms. “Who killed the shooter?”
“I did. I had no choice.” Jordan saw them walking Kayci to the ambulance on a backboard.
“I’m sure the local police are going to want a statement. So you better get out of here.”
Jordan pulled his head back. “What?”
“Well, as far as I’m concerned, this was a government operation. I’m sure the FBI or NSA will take care of talking to the cops. You just get to the hospital, and in my book you’re just a witness who tried to help. Do you still have the gun you shot her with?”
“Yeah, it’s in my pocket.”
“Give it to
me.”
He casually reached into his jacket and took out the pistol. Holly Prince stuffed it into her pants’ pocket. “I’ll lose it.”
He looked at her, his mind now back to full operating clearness. “Thank you, but why are you helping me?”
The detective smiled at him. “I owe you one. I called you a liar, but you were being honest with me, and I hold that in high regard. I know what you’re mixed up in, and I know when to let it go. And don’t worry, she’s in good hands.”
Jordan walked to the SUV and climbed in.
Chapter Thirty
Jordan could not get comfortable in the narrow hospital chair. The arms were too low, the back too straight, the cushion, not deserving of the word. Although Kayci was still in the O.R., he had a feeling—no, he knew—she was going to live.
Jordan also knew without a doubt,the two men in the black suits sitting across from him were members of some government agency. He hadn’t talked to them, but he didn’t need his psychic ability to realize why they were here.
The double glass doors that led to the operating room wing opened, and a small man in green scrubs walked through. Pulling off his head cover, the doctor balled it up in his hands.
Jordan stood quickly and took a few steps down the long hall to meet the doctor. The two men in the black suits did the same. Pacing Jordan stride-for-stride, the one man glanced over, then back ahead to the doctor.
“Gentlemen,” the doctor greeted, ignoring Jordan somewhat and placing his attention on the black-suited government thugs, “she’s out of surgery, and things look good. The bullet was in and out. It did some damage to the clavicle, but we were able to put everything back. She should make a full recovery.”
“When can we talk to her?” the suit with the beady eyes asked.
“I doubt she has the wherewithal to speak right now. Give it some time.” The doctor walked away, continuing past them down the hall.
Jordan went after him. “Doc, wait.” Jordan caught up with the short man quickly. “When can I see her?”
He regarded Jordan for a long second. “And you are?”
“I’m her friend, well, her boyfriend.” Jordan’s words were somewhat hollow, because the word “boyfriend” didn’t quite sum up how he felt about her.
The doctor drew a deep breath and exhaled it in a quick sigh. “She’s on her way to recovery, third floor. Give them about twenty minutes to get her settled.” He twisted away and continued down the hall, tossing the balled up head condom into the large green trashcan near the nurses station.
Jordan turned back toward the chairs and noticed the two FBI-looking men were sitting in his spot. “Seriously?” Jordan said. “Don’t you two have something better to do?”
The one man turned to face him. His beady eyes looked almost comical to Jordan. “What would you suggest we do, Mr. Callahan?”
The fact they knew his name should have surprised him, but it didn’t, not anymore. At this point, he wondered if he could be surprised. If God himself popped up through the floor and sang a Lady Gaga tune, he would enjoy the performance and then wait for Moses to comment, “Yo-God, I thought you were a little pitchy, Dog”
Jordan walked up to the men, stuffing his hands into his front pockets. “So…what happens now?”
“Nothing happens now,” the beady-eyed man responded. His partner, Mr. Twitch Eye, didn’t say anything.
“So why are you here?” Jordan asked.
“We’re here to debrief Ms. Dewitt.”
Jordan nodded, then made his way down the hallway toward the elevators.
A few steps into his journey, the two FBI men got up and followed him. He looked back at them and laughed. “You guys are a trip.”
***
The smells of the hospital started to get annoying. That astringent and antiseptic combination mixed with chemical floor cleaner was taking its toll. Waiting in the small chair nook, outside Kayci’s room for the okay from the attractive blonde nurse who was so helpful with his questions, Jordan started to feel the hunger in his belly.
He stood and looked into the room. The door was closed, but he could see through the glass. She looked weak, vulnerable.
The FBI men walked past him and into the room. Jordan decided to play their game, so he followed them and stood next to them. But Mr. Twitch Eye turned around and straight-armed him in the chest.
“Sorry,” the man said, “Grade Four classified information share. Please wait outside the room.”
Jordan raised his head up in question but backed out of the room. The man closed the door. He watched them walk to her bedside. Mr. Beady Eye pulled out a touch-screen device and started scrolling through something.
To his surprise, Kayci turned her head to look at the men. And she looked engaged in what they said. Maybe she was not as groggy as she appeared. Jordan glanced at his watch, wondering how long this was going to go on.
After about fifteen minutes, the two men walked out of the room and disappeared down the hallway. Jordan strode into the room. Other than the oxygen tubes in her nose, she looked like herself. She even managed to twist a weak smile.
“You scared me,” he said.
She nodded and rolled her eyes, but didn’t speak.
“I know it was probably a lot scarier for you.” Jordan could only imagine what she was feeling but he had a good idea.
She nodded once more. “No big deal.” She smiled.
“I didn’t want to leave you, but they wouldn’t let me in the ambulance or in the E.R. I’ve been here the whole time. The doctor said you’re going to make a full recovery.”
For the first time since he got here, he could feel her psychic energy turn positive. Her frequency pull seemed to strengthen tenfold. And he could sense what she wondered.
“Nathan got away,” he informed her. “I killed Kara, but I got there just a second too late. She had the shot lined up when I turned the corner. I yelled, but she pulled the trigger. I watched you fall over the seawall.”
She reached out her hand. He leaned on the bed and took hold. She laced her fingers through his and squeezed twice. “Thank you. Again.”
“You’re welcome. Again.” Jordan bent his head to her hand and kissed it. “I didn’t want to watch you die.” A small blur of wetness touched her eyes. They were such a soft light aqua color at the moment they looked almost liquid.
Jordan watched her eyes close and felt her drift away to sleep.
Chapter Thirty-One
Kayci wanted to get up from the wheelchair and just walk. The hospital rules encouraged her to just take the ride. They had to wheel her to the pickup curb. Her left arm hung in a sling. There was still some pain when she took a deep breath, but other than that, she was feeling fine with the exception of the dire need to shower. The doctors told her she was lucky. She didn’t feel that lucky initially, but she did now.
Maybe Jordan had distracted Kara enough to cause her to pull that shot off the mark. She had to admit she’d misjudged Nathan’s greed. She really felt that once his hands got on the keys he would walk away and take the money. But maybe that was what he wanted her to think. The battle between psychic warriors was impossible to understand at times. There is no way to know if he got the better of her or not until it was too late. Still she wondered if perhaps he had an ulterior motive in addition to the money.
She’d had him sweating up a storm at the park and nearly had him ready to walk away. But he beat her again. That’s what pissed her off more than anything. There was no escaping the nagging feeling she was missing some key aspect of all this.
The wheelchair bumped over the threshold, and the first breath of fresh air streamed into her lungs. She felt instantly stronger. The orderly pushed her to the sidewalk’s edge. “Can I get up now?” She looked up at the tall, scruffy-haired young man. He just smiled and nodded.
Kayci sprang up and looked around the U-shaped entrance but did not see Jordan right away. Then the burnt-orange colored SUV tore around the corner. She glanc
ed once back at the hospital door and thanked The Lord she was walking out of there relatively unscathed.
***
Jordan snapped off his seatbelt and climbed out of the vehicle to open the door. But Kayci was already opening it. “I got it,” she said. “Only one arm is in a sling.”
Jordan stopped his progress by the hood and then turned back to the driver seat. “Trying a fast getaway?”
“Get me out of this place.” She let her head fall back into the headrest.
Jordan snapped his seatbelt back into place. “Where would you like to go?”
She shrugged. “How about anywhere? I don’t care. I just want to relax and chill out and think about nothing.”
Jordan smiled. “I’m down with that. I thought maybe somewhere near the ocean.” He put the car in gear and pulled away.
“It’d be nice. But in case you’ve forgotten, we have zero cash,” she reminded.
“Money is overrated. We can get by with our good looks.”
“Maybe you can, but I haven’t had a real shower in four days.”
“You do kinda stink.”
“Hey, that’s not nice.” Kayci flipped her hair over her face. “Don’t hate me because I’m smelly and ugly.”
“You…could never be ugly.”
“You’re sweet. But we still have no money.”
“Your buddy, Nathan, got away with a bunch.”
“He got away with over twenty-five million. But there is one thing…” She trailed off.
“What’s that?”
“The other key.”
“What key?”
“The key to the safety deposit box I found at my brother’s house.”
“You never mentioned it.”
“It’s at the safe house. I hid it in the coffee can on the counter.”
“Don’t we need some I.D. or something?”
“Not at this bank. Josh wasn’t dumb, and he knew if he had to run he might not have I.D. on him. Anyone with the key can get into the box.”
Savior Frequency (Frequency Series Book 1) Page 15
