Psychic Storm: Ten Dangerously Sexy Tales of Psychic Witches, Vampires, Mediums, Empaths and Seers

by Deanna Chase

  The pockmarked man was larger in person, well over six feet and ripped with muscle...all of which I could see since he was bare-ass naked. Oh, holy hell! How was I supposed to plant a bug on him when he wasn’t wearing any clothes? And why was he like that, anyway? I was a stripper, not a whore. A lump formed in my throat. Didn’t matter whether I was a whore before walking into the room. The sparkle in Nico’s eyes showed he didn’t care.

  “Uh, hey, I don’t offer those kind of services.”

  Nico laughed and grasped my bicep hard, yanking me toward a leather sofa. In my ear, both JC and Neil were asking what the hell was going on.

  “A stripper is just a whore who likes to play hard-to-get.” Nico pushed me down to the couch and stepped forward so his ugly, bent dick was eye-level, grotesquely rising to the occasion.

  “Seriously. All I do is strip and do lap dances.”

  Nico grasped the back of my head. I nudged as hard as I could to get him to stop, but it was no use. Unless he had some inclination to let me go, the nudge was useless. I swung out to hit him in the side. The gun in my purse didn’t carry enough weight to make much of an impact as I’d hoped. He ripped the bag from my hand and sent it skidding across the floor.

  He must have reckoned forcing me to blow him would result in his castration, so he backhanded me, sending me sprawling on the couch. He landed on top of me, knocking my wig askew.

  “Two minutes, Marley. Hang on.” JC called.

  Nico ripped my dress off...easy to do since it was just held together by strips of Velcro on the sides. All I had for protection was my nudging. I needed to be smart about this. I needed to push him in a direction that he already wanted to go. The idea popped into my head, and before I could consider how disgusting it was, I nudged one, single word.

  Come.

  He immediately started dry humping my leg and yelling out his sudden orgasm.

  Chapter 12

  JC

  I ran across the tar roof with the sound of Nico grunting in my ear. White hot rage burned in my belly. I couldn’t think about what must be happening to Marley. That would just delay me getting to her. I bottled up all my emotions and locked them in the back of my mind. I imagined ice water pumping through my veins, and I clipped a carabiner to my harness as I ran. When I reached the edge of the roof, I locked the belay device to a railing and didn’t stop to think before leaping over the side. Ten feet down I found the window. Through years of dirty residue, I could just see Nico on top of Marley. I pounded the glass with my fist, but it was too thick to bust through. Inside Marley crawled out from under Nico, leaving the man squirming on the couch. I drew out a tiny torch cutter from my utility vest and cut a large circle. We were on the back side of the building with no one below, so I let the glass fall to the ground beneath me. Then I kicked off the wall and swung into the room feet first.

  Marley was standing up now, using her wig to wipe her leg. When she saw me, she rushed over to me. A naked Nico lie face down on the sofa, writhing and groaning in pain.

  “What did you do? Stab him?” I asked her quietly, unhooking the carabiner.

  “I nudged him to come and he did. Still is, I reckon.”

  Neil laughed in my ear. I winced. As cool as a never-ending orgasm sounded, that shit had to hurt. I turned to examine Marley. “You okay?”

  “Yeah, no lasting damage. Didn’t complete my job, though. He was naked as a jay bird when I came in.”

  “Don’t worry about that. I’m just glad you’re okay.” I wanted to carry her off to safety and hold her tight all night. Unfortunately, that would have to wait. I settled for a quick kiss. “How long is this going to last?” I gestured to Nico grinding on the couch cushion.

  She shrugged. “Don’t know.”

  I walked across the room and rolled Nico to his side so he could see me. My hair was bleached blond, and I wore glasses that looked black from the outside, but let me see crystal clear, even in the dark. He wouldn’t recognize me, but even so, I spoke to him in a flawless British accent.

  “Mr. Diaz. You seem to be in some kind of distress.”

  “What did that cunt do to me? And who the fuck are you?”

  “Now, now, Mr. Diaz. No need to be impolite. After all, if you help me, and I will help you.”

  “W-what do you want?” He was squeezing the base of his dick like he might be able to trip the off-switch. If he wasn’t careful, he’d end up ripping his pecker off.

  “Rumor has it that not all of your entourage is of legal age.”

  “So fucking what! Make this stop!”

  “I will. As soon as you tell me where I might find Lucas Banda.”

  He squinted his eyes at me, trying to see through my disguise. “Who wants to know?”

  I stood and turned to Marley who now held her gun by her side. “I don’t think he knows where the boy is. Let’s go.”

  “Wait! You can’t leave me like this. I’m dying here!”

  “Where is Lucas?”

  “Downstairs...in the club. Peddling X.”

  My chest squeezed. Lucas was here? So close?

  “I’ll look for him, Moreno,” Neil said. “We need to find him before Nico can mobilize his troops to stop you.”

  I tossed Marley’s dress to her. “Put it on. We have to find him.”

  “Hey! You said you’d help me,” Nico yelled.

  I thought about letting him pulse until his testicles shot out of his dick, but as it was, he wouldn’t be walking straight for a week.

  “Can you stop it?” I asked Marley.

  “Probably...”

  Reluctantly she stepped closer. Nico’s eyes glazed for a second and then his whole body relaxed like a jelly fish. He cupped himself tenderly and let a tear roll from his eye.

  I took out a small aerosol canister from my vest and sprayed his face with it, knocking him out instantly. With him out, I could drop the stupid accent. “There’s a guard stationed down the hall. Muss your hair up like you’ve been well-fucked. Walk out calmly and head straight to the east end of the parking lot. You’ll see a white cargo van. Door’s open. Just hang tight, and we’ll be out as soon as we find Lucas.”

  “You’re not going back out the window, are you?”

  The look of concern on her face touched me. “I have to.” I kissed her lightly. “I can’t walk out of here with you.” Just then excited Spanish voices sounded from outside. “Shit! They found the window.”

  Just then, the door burst open, and I tucked her behind me. Two guards rushed in, guns drawn. They took in the unconscious Nico and then looked to us.

  “It’s the girl with the codes!”

  Damn, just what we didn’t need. Before they could make a move, I executed a stepping side kick, knocking the gun out of the closer one’s hand. I followed up with an elbow to his face, breaking his nose. It was that lazy-eyed Roberto, the one Marley had seen in the alley.

  With him down, I turned to the shorter guy. He was chasing Marley, but every time he lunged, he would overcompensate and stumble past her. It took me a second to realize she was nudging him into missing her. So fucking smart. If the situation wasn’t so serious, I might have let her play with him a little more. Instead, I swept his feet out from under him, making him face-plant on the hard floor. The blood gushing from his mouth told me he’d knocked out at least one tooth. I stepped on his neck and bent to take his gun. I brought out a plastic flex cuff and bound his hands behind his head, reading him his rights as I worked.

  “JC!”

  I looked up in time to see Marley point her gun behind me and shoot. I spun to see Roberto, now sporting a bullet hole in his cheek. His gun dropped to his side, and he collapsed.

  “Jesus...” I crawled over to check his pulse. It was slowly grinding to a halt. The bullet had entered just beneath the right eye. I turned his head to see an exit wound a good two inches behind the left ear. Not a perfect shot, but effective.

  “I-is he d-dead...?” Marley stuttered.

  I stood and c
rossed to her side, allowing her to collapse into me. “Yes, he’s dead.”

  Her body shook. The first time you took a life was rough, no matter how deserved.

  I tipped her chin up to look at me and saw a quiet strength settle over her.

  She cleared her throat. “Well, I’m glad. He was going to kill you. No way was I going to sit back and let it happen.”

  “How did you get to be so strong?” I asked, half in awe, and half because I was truly curious. No hysterics would be coming from my woman.

  She swiped a stray tear from her eye. “I have a good mama.”

  Neil spoke up in our ear pieces. “Local cops are on the way. Moreno and I will need to stick around and give statements. I suggest Marley get out of here.”

  “Find Lucas yet?”

  “No, but kids are scattering. Someone close enough must have heard your shot, because rumors are flying through the crowd. There’s only one exit that isn’t locked, and I’m watching it. This place is a fucking fire hazard.”

  “We’ll be right down.” I bent to the thug bound on the floor. “Sit tight. Cops will be here shortly to take you to jail.”

  I walked over to Nico and slipped a flex cuff on him also. When I turned back around, I spotted the tell-tale signs of a departing spirit rising from the corpse on the floor. It looked like steam coalescing into a human-like shape. He sat up confused.

  I bent to spray the dude on the floor in the face and send him to la-la land. Didn’t need him witnessing me questioning his dead friend.

  “I’m dead?” Roberto asked. He must’ve heard my thought.

  “Yeah, you’re dead.”

  Marley’s eyes grew wide. “He’s talking to you?”

  I nodded and placed a finger to my lips to silence her.

  Roberto appeared to struggle to his feet, but since he had no body, the effort was literally only in his mind. “I can’t be dead. I feel fine.”

  “You don’t feel fine. You feel nothing. Trust me, you’re dead.”

  He seemed to consider that. “I’m...dead.”

  I didn’t have time to wait for him to wrap his head around the idea. I needed to help Neil find Lucas. Fortunately for me, I wasn’t above putting a little fear into a dead guy to get the intel I needed.

  “Look, if you don’t do exactly what I say, in about sixty seconds, one big black demon for every sin you’ve ever committed will come crawling out of the woodwork to drag you down to hell.”

  Roberto’s spectral eyes grew round with fear. As I guessed, he must’ve had a lot of bad deeds to atone for. “Shit, what do I do?”

  “I’ll help you, but you have to cooperate with me. See this woman here? Do you know who she is?”

  The silvery figure squinted at Marley. “Yeah, sure. She’s that Misty Showers cunt who stole Gomez’s bank account numbers and passwords.”

  “She’s not a cunt, and she didn’t take anything from Gomez. She’s innocent.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, really. You trashed her apartment for no reason.”

  “Uh, sorry, I guess. But she ran from us.”

  “A woman running from two lowlifes with guns is not guilty. It means she’s smart.”

  “Oh...yeah.” Roberto obviously wasn’t the sharpest guy in Nico’s operation.

  “So tell me, who else knows about her?”

  “Just me and Jorge.”

  “Jorge the guy down there?” I pointed to the sleeping man at my feet.

  The spirit nodded. “Yeah.”

  “Did you give her name or description to any other men in El Caos?”

  “No. I told Nico there was a girl at the strip club who might have the numbers, but he just told me to take her out and be done with it.”

  I grit my teeth, thinking again of what would’ve happened had Marley been home when they’d shown up that night. “One last thing...cops are on the way. Where can I find Lucas Banda?”

  “The kid? If the cops are coming, he’d go wait in the basement for Nico. It’s hidden. Cops won’t find it.”

  “How do I get down there?”

  “There’s a panel behind in the wall downstairs. Next to the restrooms on the north side. Look for the Stevie Ray Vaughn concert poster on the wall. The latch is below it.”

  “Thanks. Marley, let’s go.”

  “You’re not going out the window?” she asked.

  I shook my head. “No need now. They know I’m here, and the cops are on the way.”

  “Hey, wait!” Roberto called. “What do I do now?”

  I glanced over my shoulder. “Go toward the light.”

  Marley grasped my hand, and we headed out. I walked in front of her with my gun at the ready. “Keep your gun in your purse, but have your hand close to draw if you need it,” I instructed. “When we get to the bottom of the steps, go to the van. Lock the doors and get in the back. Don’t open for anyone but me or Neil.”

  “The cartel guys are high-tailing it out of here, Moreno,” Neil said. “Don’t see the kid.”

  “Forget the door. Meet me by the north side bathrooms.”

  “Got it.”

  As we opened the door at the top of the steps, and a wall of vibrating techno swept over us. A guard stood there, looking more surprised than menacing. Before he could swing his gun in our direction, I punched him twice in the kidney doubling him over. “Go, Marley!”

  She didn’t hesitate. “See you in the van. Good luck!”

  Once she was on her way down, I knocked his head hard with the butt of my gun, dropping him into an unconscious heap, and then I took the stairs at a run. Only the most trippy of the club kids remained in between me and the restrooms, and I dodged them easily. Any semi-sober raver would be in the mob trying to get out the door.

  Neil stood leaning against the wall by the men’s room with the calm expression you’d expect on someone waiting for a bus. The wall was plastered with concert posters of all kinds, layers upon layers of curling paper and crusty tape that looked like an artistic homage to the eclectic Austin music scene.

  “Look for the Stevie Ray Vaughn poster.”

  We each took a side and scanned the walls.

  “Found it,” Neil called out.

  I rushed to him and ran my fingers along the wall until I felt a latch. I pulled and the panel slid open, revealing a tight spiral staircase. We descended into darkness. Wherever we were, it was hot and stunk like B.O. and rot. I reached for the torch on my belt and flipped it on, letting the light roam over the room. I found Lucas, eyes straining against the brightness of the light. But he wasn’t alone. Not even close. Looking back at us from the dark were the terrified faces of at least a dozen other children.

  Chapter 13

  Marley

  The locks on the van doors popped, sending my heart into a gallop.

  “It’s just me, Marley,” called JC as he opened the back door.

  I dropped the gun I’d been holding like a lifeline for the last half hour and tumbled into his waiting arms. He squeezed me so tight I almost asked him to ease up. But when I felt his body tremble and his face press into my hair, I knew he needed me too much to let go just yet.

  We stood like that for several minutes. When he finally drew back to look at me, the unshed tears in his eyes glistened in the parking lot flood-lights.

  “Did you find Lucas?” I asked, stroking the back of his neck softly.

  “Yeah. It wasn’t pretty, but he’ll be okay.”

  “Wanna talk about it?”

  “Not now. I have to finish some things up here. I’m going to have an officer take you home. I’ll be a few hours, so don’t wait up. You need some sleep. We can talk in the morning.”

  I didn’t want to leave him, but he was right. There was no reason for me to hang out here. He was safe, and Lucas was safe. That was all that mattered.

  I rode home in the front seat of a squad car. It was the first time I’d ever been in one, and I was amazed by all the cool computers inside. If I wasn’t so exhausted,
I might have asked the cop to show me what some of them did.

  When I got back to JC’s place, I took a hot shower and crawled into his bed. I was desperate for sleep, but when I closed my eyes, all I saw was Roberto’s face. A shiver ran down my spine, and I clutched JC’s pillow to my chest. I meant what I said. I didn’t regret shooting him. If it came down to me choosing between JC or him, JC would win every time. But that didn’t mean the sight of Roberto’s face exploding when I pulled the trigger wouldn’t haunt me for a good long time.

  I must have dozed off, because I woke to the light of dawn and the sound of soft voices coming from the living room. I yanked on some clothes and went to investigate.

  JC and Neil sat on opposite ends of the couch, nursing giant cups of drive-thru coffee.

  I sat down between them and stole a sip from JC’s cup. “Ya’ll should be in bed.”

  “True that.” JC rubbed his eyes.

  “How’s Lucas?”

  The guys shared a weary glance. “He’ll be okay. He’s in the hospital for observation. He’s a little undernourished, and beat up, but nothing serious.”

  “He was beat?”

  JC’s jaw tightened. “That’s how Nico got him to deal drugs. Teens will buy from other teens, so Nico made a mint off sending Lucas into places where kids hung out...malls, parks, playgrounds.”

  “That’s sick.”

  “That’s not the worst part,” Neil said ominously.

  JC shot him a glare. “When we found Lucas, he wasn’t alone. There were a dozen other kids with him just as young. Street kids, I guess. Nico picked them up in Mexico and promised them a happy life in the States if they’d deal for him. That was the purpose of the meeting last night. Each of those men was going to be taking a couple of kids home to foster. Nico enrolled them in schools all across the city with the hopes of starting a little army of dealers.”

  My stomach soured at the thought of a person peddling drugs to grade-schoolers. “There isn’t a circle in hell deep enough for that man.”

  “Well, thanks in no small part to you, Nico is going away for a long time. And Social Services is working with Immigration to find the kids’ families, if they have any left.”