“Get up. You’re going to open that nice big safe in your office.” He waved the gun around, making sure everyone knew he meant business. He took care to point it at each man at the table. He didn’t want any of them being cowboys. Funny, a couple of them looked like cowboys. They even looked exactly alike. All of them looked mean.
Morgan moved around the table and dropped Matt in Cameron’s lap on the way. He wrapped a protective arm around Emma. Matt, none the worse for wear, curled up in Cameron’s lap. Morgan kept moving around the table, grabbing a bottle of wine and hiding it behind her back. When the man took his gaze from Elizabeth, she seized her opportunity.
“Robert Parks, put down that gun this instant.”
Robby looked at the woman coming toward him, and whether the drugs, the booze, or a trick of the light, he swore she changed from a beautiful blond angel into his grandmother before his eyes. He shook his head and tried to see clearly, but the pills he’d downed with half a bottle of tequila had left him bleary-eyed and flying high. Nothing could touch him.
That bitch hadn’t given him the job he’d tried so hard to get. He’d sobered up and put on the cleanest clothes he’d had for the interview, and still she’d turned him down. Not enough experience. Hell, how much experience did you need to clear tables and wash dishes in a fancy restaurant? He could do that stoned and drunk, which is how he usually spent his days and nights. The tips from all the wealthy people who ate there would keep him high all the time, and he wouldn’t have to resort to stealing and pick-pocketing.
He hadn’t slept in two days and he was getting to the point where he’d have to take more pills to come down enough to sleep a few hours. He needed to score more drugs. To do that, he needed money. He’d seen the old-fashioned safe in the office. It reminded him of the old western movies where bandits stormed the bank and used dynamite to blast it open. He wished he had some dynamite. It’d be one hell of a show.
His grandmother came toward him and he took a stumbling step back and raised the gun to her. He leaned a little forward to get a better look at her. Maybe he was hallucinating. He hated it when he took too much and started seeing things.
“Grandma? Is that you? You’re dead,” he slurred.
“And you’re supposed to be finishing school and getting good grades,” Morgan said. “I taught you better than this. You come in here drunk, stoned, waving a gun, and scaring these folks. What’s the matter with you, boy? Don’t you have any respect for yourself? For me?”
Robby didn’t know what to do. That safe had to be full of cash. He imagined it all stacked up. She wanted to stop him from getting all that money. His anger erupted and he took a step toward her and aimed the gun at her face.
“You’re dead. You can’t tell me what to do anymore.”
“Boy, you best put that gun down, or I’ll smack you into next Tuesday.”
She would. He’d had her riled a few times when he skipped school and she’d shown him what for. Then she died and he wound up in a foster home. The woman didn’t care about him. She only wanted to collect her check and watch daytime soaps. So he’d dropped out of school, started hanging out with some of the local guys, and they’d kept him busy doing petty crimes like stealing and shoplifting. One of the guys gave him some weed and another gave him some pills. Now all he thought about was making his next score and getting high.
“You died,” he screamed, and spittle came out of his mouth with all the rage. “You died and you left me with no one.”
Morgan’s strength waned. He had the gun trained on her face, and although his hands weren’t steady, at this range he wouldn’t miss if he fired. The overwhelming sadness underneath the anger made her push on. This boy missed his grandmother. She’d been the only one to care about him. She’d kept him on the straight and narrow after his mother dropped him with her before leaving for parts unknown. He’d never known his father and couldn’t be sure the man they thought had done the deed was for sure his dad.
“It’s time for you to grow up, boy. You don’t have me to keep you on the right path. You’ve got to do for yourself.”
“I can’t. I’m all messed up.” He wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand.
“Sure you can. Didn’t I always tell you, you’ve got to do for yourself? Ain’t nobody gonna give you anything. You’ve got to work hard.”
“I’ll make her give me the money. Then, I can do for myself.”
“She’s done nothing to you, and here you are holding a gun wanting to hurt these folks. You don’t want to hurt them. You put the gun down,” she said softly.
He wanted to leave. He didn’t want to see his dead grandmother anymore. He wanted to go back to that bug-infested apartment and sleep on his mattress on the floor. He’d let his mind clear and figure out what to do later. He just wanted to get away.
The sound of sirens and people shouting brought him back to the scene in the restaurant. He’d been there too long, and the lady hadn’t even gotten up to open the vault. He’d never get away clean now.
“This wasn’t how it was supposed to be,” he yelled at his grandmother. “You aren’t supposed to be here. I’m supposed to get the money and go.” He shook the gun at her face with each word. The police poured into the restaurant and people directed them to him in the back. He didn’t want to go to jail, or be killed.
Morgan feared he’d shoot. Exhausted, she wanted to shut down and block it all out of her mind. His rage and sadness were everywhere around her, like a thick blanket smothering her.
She took her chance when he glanced over his shoulder at the approaching police. She swung the wine bottle and knocked the gun out of his hand. It went flying across the floor.
“No.” Robby grabbed the knife on his belt and slashed at the woman in front of him. His grandmother disappeared. He cut the woman across the arm before she swung the wine bottle at his head, and he didn’t see anything anymore.
He dropped to the ground unconscious along with Morgan. She couldn’t take any more. As she fell to the floor, she hoped Sam would keep his promise and take her somewhere quiet and isolated from others.
Chapter Sixteen
* * *
TYLER FELL TO his knees beside Morgan and carefully rolled her over, revealing the bleeding knife wound across her arm. The blood didn’t particularly worry him, but the gray translucent color of her skin disturbed him. He opened one of her eyes. The vibrant blue had darkened to almost black. Her beautiful golden hair that always seemed to glow had gone limp and dull.
Her gift physically drained the life out of her. From the time she’d fallen to her knees after helping Emma see the future, and now, becoming a completely other person to a drugged-out boy, she’d given everything for them. He couldn’t believe what his own eyes saw her do. Every time he’d tried to get up to help her, Sam held him down. She’d gotten right in the guy’s face. He didn’t understand how she managed to change her voice, or the way she spoke, making the guy think he was talking to his grandmother.
How did she do that? The crazy woman walked right up to a man with a gun.
Make that a boy. At first sight, he thought him a young man of about twenty or so, but as he approached the table it became apparent he was no more than sixteen or seventeen.
“You crazy woman. What the hell were you thinking?” His fear from a moment ago turned into anger as he leaned over her. She could have been killed. The thought sent a chill down his spine.
Morgan’s skin broke out in a clammy sweat. Tyler brushed his shaking fingers over her cheek and leaned down and touched his forehead to hers.
“Wake up, sweetheart. Please.”
Sam clamped a hand on his shoulder and pulled him upright. “She saved Matt’s life.”
Tyler stared in shock at Sam, and then down at Morgan’s blank face.
“What?”
“Look at the two bullet holes in Matt’s chair. They hit right about head level for the little guy. She’s known about this happening for years.
She’s waited all this time, making sure nothing changed in the vision, not seeing you again until this night, all to save that little boy. He was meant to die tonight. She changed the future.”
Tyler tried to digest she’d sacrificed being close to him, to any of them, in order to save Matt. Years she’d dedicated to helping him, but never getting too close in order to change that moment when a drugged-out boy pulled the trigger and nearly killed a child. The anger he’d carried with him all this time dissipated and turned to admiration—and guilt.
A shiver of fear rocketed through him as he glanced at the holes in the chair. The last five years had all led up to this night.
“If that crazed idiot had taken Elizabeth into the office and discovered the old-fashioned safe is unused and empty, he’d have killed her. She saved my wife.”
“She’s amazing, but we already knew that.” Tyler brushed his hand over her hair. He didn’t want to leave Morgan on the floor. He needed to get her out of there. She’d asked Sam to take her somewhere with few people. Seeing how she’d reacted to his anger, even unconscious, he needed to get her out of there quick. He put his arm under her head and around her back to pull her toward him, so he could pick her up. Scared and unsure, he touched his fingers to the wet burgundy carpet and pulled them away, wet with Morgan’s blood. Not from her arm. He rolled her carefully to her side and swore.
He looked over his shoulder at the officer cuffing the boy who’d awakened moments ago. “Call for an ambulance. She’s been shot.”
Tyler pulled her torn skirt down and revealed the long gash across her lower back. The bullet left a furrow through her skin. Relieved the bullet hadn’t gone directly into her back, but rather traveled along the width of it. He’d seen a lot of gunshot wounds in his line of work. Morgan would be fine. She’d have one hell of a scar, but she’d live and that’s all that mattered. A half inch the other way and it would be a completely different story.
His tightly held emotions started to crack. He didn’t want her to be hurt. He wanted her to wake up, so he could fight with her about keeping him in the dark, and tell her he was sorry for not understanding, and he wanted to kiss her. On second thought, maybe he’d kiss her first.
Sam smacked him on the back. “I’ve been trying to tell you about her gift. This has pretty much sucked the life out of her. I’ll do as she asked and take care of her. You handle the cops. Detective Stewart arrived a few minutes ago. I don’t want him anywhere near her.”
“She’s bleeding. I’ll take care of her. It’s my responsibility.”
“Not going to happen. Tie up the scene here. Get rid of Detective Stewart and take your girlfriend and my wife home. I’ll take care of Morgan.”
Tyler wanted to argue, but he’d forgotten about Maria. He couldn’t just leave her here. Besides, Morgan asked Sam to take care of her, not him. The hurt and guilt expanded inside of him until he could barely take a breath.
This night just kept getting better.
Emma broke away from her parents and came over to him. She put her hand on his shoulder and looked at Morgan with tears running down her face. “Is she dead?”
He hugged the little girl tight. “No honey, she’s just sleeping. She’s hurt a little, but she’ll be fine.”
Emma wiped at her tears. “Like when Mommy hurt her head on the ship, when she pulled me out of the water. She fell asleep for a long time.”
“That’s right. Here come the paramedics. They’ll take her to the hospital, so she can rest quietly. Okay? Go back to your Dad. I promise she’ll be fine.”
Emma leaned down and kissed Morgan’s cheek. The simple affectionate gesture brought a touch of color into Morgan’s cheeks. She’d reacted to his anger, and now she’d responded to Emma’s love. No wonder she’d isolated herself.
“So, this is the infamous Morgan?” Detective Stewart asked. The paramedics strapped her to the gurney. “She doesn’t look like what I expected.”
“No? What did you expect, a black pointed hat and a wart on her nose? She’s a woman. A very gifted woman, who saved your ass on that case by giving us the name of the ship where the women were being held. You repaid her by giving her name out to the press and opening her up to her murdering father and a madman, both of whom want to see her dead. I’ll only say this once. Stay away from her.”
“I’ll need to get her statement about what happened here tonight. I’m getting conflicting statements from witnesses. Some of them say the boy thought she was his grandmother.”
“He did.”
“She’s white. He’s black.”
“He’s on something, completely out of his head and hallucinating. She kept him talking, until she got a clear shot and clocked him with the wine bottle. That’s all you need to know. Talk to Sam. He’ll give you the rundown. I can’t talk to you right now.”
Tyler walked away, following Morgan out to the ambulance, pissed off.
“What’s his problem?” Detective Stewart asked Sam.
“You. And me.”
Sam understood Tyler’s anger. Outing Morgan to Detective Stewart set this whole thing in motion. Guilty. Angry. He wanted to make things right, but he couldn’t even go with Morgan to the hospital because he still had to take another woman home.
“Did she save the little boy?”
Sam understood the skepticism. Detective Stewart believed in what he could see and touch, what he could prove. Morgan was something he’d never thought possible.
“Look at that chair, and you tell me. She knew just what to say to that boy to keep him from hurting anyone else, and she took him down by herself, while two FBI agents sat at the table behind her.”
Stewart looked at the chair and at the two identical boys held by their parents.
“You’d think she’d have known about getting shot and moved out of the way.”
“You assume she didn’t know,” Sam said. “Everything happens for a reason. She’s known about this for years and she still came to stop it.” That said it all. Sam couldn’t make Detective Stewart respect Morgan, but he could give him something to think about.
Stewart didn’t say anything, out of his element where Morgan was concerned. Used to dealing with the scum of society, who were only out for themselves. He had trouble believing someone would put herself in harm’s way when she knew she’d be hurt in the process.
“I assume you won’t mind writing up her statement for us.”
That was as close as Stewart would get to saying he’d keep his distance.
“Yeah, I’ll write up her statement. Right after she’s stitched up and regains consciousness. I’d better not see her name in the morning paper, or on the ten o’clock news.”
No less than three news vans were setting up outside the restaurant windows.
“How am I supposed to keep her name out of this? She confronted an armed man.”
“I don’t care. Keep her name out of it. Call her a friend of the family. We don’t need the Psychic Slayer seeing her name on the news and trying to kill her. The only advantage we have over him right now is he doesn’t know where she is. Maybe she can help us find him. I’d like to give her the chance to try before he comes after her.”
“Can she help us with the case? I saw the newspaper report stating she couldn’t see anything about this case.”
“It isn’t a matter of can she help us, she’s already given us information. The clue about the phonebook and his description that we’ve been working with came from her. No, in this case, it’s more a matter of if she’ll help us.”
“If she knows something, then she has to tell us. She can’t keep her mouth shut about a multiple murder investigation.”
“She can’t? Why? If she came to you, would you believe her, or do anything with the information she provided?”
Stewart stood with his hands on his hips, staring at Sam, refusing to answer.
“If you know what’s good for you, stay away from her,” Sam demanded and ran to catch up with Morgan in the ambulan
ce.
Something Emma said gave him an idea. He knew just where to take Morgan to be alone: Marti’s pirate ship. He’d hide her away from the world for a while, and Tyler too.
Chapter Seventeen
* * *
JACK BOARDED THE World, Marti’s pirate ship she’d inherited from her grandmother. It had taken a while, but he’d finally gotten Jenna, Matt, and Sam out of the restaurant and home. They left the place in complete chaos while the police took statements, customers were given a gift certificate for dinner on Elizabeth at a future date, and the staff cleaned and closed up for the night.
The press came out in full force in front of the restaurant. A sensational story, especially when the president and CEO of Merrick International were inside during the attempted robbery. Not to mention the CEO’s son had almost been killed. Add in the fact that Elizabeth was the daughter of federal judge John Hamilton and heir to the Hamilton fortune, and that two FBI agents were seated with them and did nothing to stop the events, and it was just another reason to splash the story all over the news.
Tyler had been in rare form. One minute he directed the spectacle and the next he yelled orders and barked at the officers at the door to keep the press out. Maria sat patiently waiting for him. She’d been quiet, only asking Jenna and Elizabeth if Morgan could really see the future.
Jack found Sam sitting in a chair next to the bed in the master cabin below deck. Morgan slept with her bandaged arm propped on a pillow. Lying on her side, her long hair spread across the pillow and over the sheets covering her.
“How is she?”
“She’s still out. How’re the boys and Jenna?”
“Jenna’s still shaken. The boys are fine. You know them. This was a big adventure. I don’t think they really understand what happened. Matt didn’t see the bullets hit his chair. Morgan turned around to protect him.”
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