Murders of the Zodiac Boxed Set

by Paris Morgan

  I wasn’t sure how much Ryan knew about Leslie’s gift, but I was going to follow Adam’s lead. It wasn’t like we’d gotten around to talking much the night before.

  “Okay.” I kept my grip on her phone and followed them back inside.

  “I was hoping you hadn’t all run out on me.” The waitress hovered nervously as we reseated ourselves.

  “Nope. Our friend had to leave, and thought she’d dropped her phone. It took all three of us to find it.” Adam chuckled at the idea. “I’ll need to get her food to go. Also, if you’ll go ahead and get me the check, I’ll get you paid up so you don’t have to worry about us again.”

  She beamed at him and hurried to comply.

  “Wow, you are simply a master at working people,” I breathed in awe.

  “This way, she won’t interrupt what we’re talking about, and it will give us just a hint of privacy.” Adam brushed off my praise.

  With the check-in hand, she returned with our food and a to-go bag.

  “Thank you so much,” we all murmured as the smell of good food addressed a demanding need for nourishment.

  “I hate to admit, you might be right about eating, but I’m still doing it under protest,” I begrudgingly admitted.

  “You’re welcome. You’ll need the energy if we’re going to find her. The Zodiac Master hasn’t allowed her to be harmed yet, and I don’t think he’s about to start tonight,” Adam informed with confidence.

  Ryan gave me a strange look.

  “You’re psychic too?” he asked in disbelief.

  “Um, yes.” I wasn’t sure how he hadn’t picked up on it yet. “I’m a part of Adam’s Unusual Crimes Division.”

  “That makes sense. I just didn’t know you had powers as well,” Ryan acknowledged before taking a bite of his food.

  “It goes a little deeper than that. When Leslie and I shook hands the other day, sparks went off,” I confessed.

  Ryan shrugged. “You already told me that you like her. It’s not like that was part of the secret, right?”

  “No, but these were actual sparks. It’s not unheard of, but in the psychic world, it means you’re fated to be with that person.”

  “As in, a psychic matchmaker?” Ryan frowned in confusion.

  “Pretty much. You can avoid it by staying away from the other person. If the connection isn’t reinforced, then over time it will be like it never happened. On the other hand, the more you’re around the person, the harder it will be to separate your powers and souls.”

  “OMG! That was why you and Leslie had this glow around you this morning. You slept together! Guess my warning about hurting her was a little late.” He smiled ruefully. “So that’s how you can find her, huh?”

  “Well, it hasn’t been tested yet.” I didn’t like the idea that finding Leslie was resting solely on my shoulders.

  Adam’s phone vibrated with a message.

  “Okay, we’re all good here. Let’s finish up and we can go get her.”

  “What do you mean?” I dropped the fork to my plate in surprise.

  He glanced around and the pulled a pen from his pocket. He took the napkin next to his plate and wrote: We had a chip put on her.

  “You did what?” I shrieked as Ryan slapped a hand onto the table in anger.

  “After her last incidents with almost being kidnapped a few times, I had Mac take care of things. In case something happened, it would be easily activated.”

  “Does she know?” I phrased my words carefully, not wanting to give anyone listening a heads-up.

  “No. We thought it best not to mention it. It’s only activated in case of emergency,” Adam explained, trying to rationalize what he had done.

  “Dude, I get it. I’m just kicking myself for not thinking of it first.” Ryan echoed what I was thinking.

  “It does seem like an invasion of privacy, so when we get her back, I want to make sure she’s aware of it.”

  He looked sheepish. “I promise full disclosure when she’s back. I was just trying to protect her. I didn’t think of all the other issues that would come along with it.”

  “Look, I completely get it, but if I’ve learned anything from working with Leslie, it’s that she would hate any one of us trying to protect her.” Ryan pointed out.

  “You’re right. I guess I did think about it, but I ignored that little warning voice and tried to convince myself that it was for her own good.”

  “She’ll be appreciative. I just don’t think doing it in the future would be a great idea. I know I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes.”

  Ryan joined me in the look of pain that crossed Adam’s face.

  “I didn’t want to give her an excuse to be more reckless.”

  “Well, now that we have this information, I suggest we get out of here. Even if he doesn’t hurt her, I still don’t want her there longer than necessary.”

  Adam threw down a few extra bills to help cover our tip, and we all headed for the cars.

  ***

  Leslie

  I couldn’t figure out what was wrong with me. My whole body felt heavy, like my arms and legs had bags with bricks holding them down. My eyes opened slowly, and I could see I was in a hotel room.

  It appeared that I was lying on the bed, but I couldn’t do anything except look around.

  The bed moved, and a man sat down next to me.

  “This isn’t how I want to keep meeting you. It would be so much easier if you’d just agree to be with me instead of making me do this to you.” His deep voice rumbled as he traced a finger up and down my arm.

  Black sparks jumped off his hand, and he pulled back as if he’d been stung.

  “Dammit. I knew that if he got with you it would change your response to me. I warned him, but it looks like I was too late.”

  “Wwwhhaattt…” I tried to speak, but whatever they’d given me hadn’t worn off enough yet.

  He placed a hand against my lips. “Shh…I’ll still love you. Heck, I forgive you. My brother is a handsome man. Most women would find him to be irresistible, so it’s not your fault. Can’t you feel that?” he questioned. “It’s the pull of our souls. If you choose to come with me, then his connection will thin out and mine will take its place. We have the special blood of our father. It’s what makes us who we are.”

  My mind raced, trying to understand what he’d just told me. Noah and this horrible man were brothers. To make matters worse, he was the son of John Reed, which meant Noah was also his son. Somehow, my psychic powers were connected to both of them. If I had a choice, I certainly wasn’t going to be choosing this psychotic killer. Noah was sounding better and better by the minute.

  Our connection. What if I called to him? Would he be able to hear me?

  “NOAH!” I shouted as loud as I could in my head. “I NEED YOU! HELP ME!”

  “He’s not coming, sweetie,” he cackled. “I told him to stay away from you. Threatened him, really.”

  “How did you know?”

  He turned his evil grin on me. “When you scream so loudly as a psychic, everyone around you can hear you. It’s why I don’t have long, so let’s get down to business. You and your team are running out of time. If you continue to try my patience, I will have to hurt you in ways that you’ll never recover from.”

  “We will beat you,” I said quietly. “You keep having to do dangerous things like kidnap me, but honestly, you’d get to see me much more often if you were sitting inside a cell.”

  “Ha. We both know that isn’t true.” He slid his hand into mine and intertwined our fingers. “The only reason that you’re not here of your own accord is because you’re still certain that you’re meant to fight on the side of good, and that’s not how it works, my dear. Remember my warnings, and don’t let Noah get close to you again. I’m always watching.” He bent over and placed a gentle kiss on my forehead.

  “Your team will be here shortly. You should be able to start moving about in a few hours. The effects aren’t long-lasting, but t
hat might change if you aren’t careful.”

  With those parting words, he pulled the hood of his jacket over his face and opened the door, darting out into the hallway and leaving me motionless on the bed.

  ***

  Noah

  Leslie’s call for help only increased the urgency of us trying to get to her. Adam had stopped at the front desk to get a key, but I knew which room she was in. I could feel her spirit calling out to me.

  We went around the side and ran up the stairs two at a time to the fourth floor.

  Her door was open, and the brass safety lock was holding the door open.

  Instinct prevented me from racing inside, although I knew he wasn’t in there anymore.

  Leslie had calmed down enough that I knew she wasn’t in danger right at this moment.

  My foot nudged the door open as I gripped my gun, holding it out in front of me like a shield.

  “Leslie?” I called out quietly.

  There was a muffled sound, but I could hear her response in my head.

  “Noah, I’m here on the bed. He’s gone.”

  I breathed a sigh of relief and lowered my gun, reaching for the light switch.

  Ryan and Adam arrived just then, and we all surveyed the room that was empty, except for Leslie.

  “Tell them I’m fine. I can’t move, but it should wear off in a few hours,” she projected to me.

  “Guys, she’s fine. They drugged her,” I explained as I approached the bed and took a seat.

  I paused when I went to touch her, but realized that in her immobile state, she couldn’t stop me even if she wanted to. What if he’d touched her against her will? I didn’t care if he was my biological brother, I was going to rip him to pieces when I finally caught him.

  “Noah, it’s okay to touch me. Help erase his touch.” She moved her pinky up to flick at my hand hovering over hers.

  Like a man without water, I brought her hand up to my lips and kissed it.

  The shock was so powerful, even Ryan felt it from the other side of the room.

  “Well, I see that you’ve completed the connection,” Adam beamed.

  “That’s what that was?” Ryan croaked. “I thought because they were all shiny that they’d already done that last night.”

  Without taking my eyes off of Leslie, I answered him. “Apparently not. I think we both had to give freely and accept this with our souls and not just physically.”

  “Ick,” Ryan spat. “If you’ve got this here, I’m going to go check us all into new rooms. I’ll be back with keys in a few minutes.”

  Adam laughed at his reaction, but followed him to wait outside the door.

  Leslie’s hand moved up my arm, as if by touching she was gaining back motion of her body.

  “He warned me to stay away from you.” Her voice spoke softly, as if unsure it was working properly.

  “I know. He tried the same thing with me. His threat worked all day. I was doing great ignoring you until I realized you were missing.” I couldn’t resist the urge to kiss her, to make sure she was real.

  Little sparks of blue and green flew as our lips connected.

  “You’re stuck with me know, kiddo.” I pulled back, but hovered just above her.

  “I’m okay with that,” she responded easily. “Keep touching me. It seems to be reversing whatever it was that he did to me.”

  My hands started moving up and down her arms, but didn’t seem to have the same reaction when I ran them over her clothes.

  “It’s a skin contact kind of thing,” I confessed.

  “Well, we seem to be the only ones in the room…”

  Taking her words as consent, I slid a hand up the leg of her pants and was surprised when the small sparks we’d been seeing didn’t hurt her clothing.

  “Try moving it now,” I suggested.

  It gave a few twinges, and I hurried to repeat it on the opposite side. “There, that should help.”

  A knock on the door alerted us that Ryan was back, and I withdrew my hands to hold hers as I called out for him to enter.

  “I’ve got rooms on this floor for us. Adam and I will share. Can you carry her to the new room?”

  “Yes.” I put my arms under her legs, and she helped by wrapping her arms around my neck.

  “Great, I’ll get the door for you,” he offered and stood to the side as I walked out.

  Adam was standing there holding the keys as we approached the new rooms.

  “This one is for the two of you.” He slid the plastic card into the slot and it turned green.

  Ryan went in ahead of us and made sure that no one was hiding inside. He nodded when it was clear, and I proceeded to place her gently onto the large king-size bed.

  “Thanks.”

  “Is there anything you can tell us, Leslie?” Adam pulled up the single chair and sat down, waiting to hear what she had to say.

  “Honestly, he just repeated his same stance. I’m his, and Noah had better keep his hands off me. I’m not sure what he hoped to accomplish by kidnapping me. He’s certain that he can turn me because of the opposites attract rule.”

  Maybe he hadn’t told her about my biological relations, but it didn’t matter, because I wouldn’t feel right keeping that from her anymore.

  “All right.” Adam patted her arm gently. “Mac promised to have a name for us of the person who delivered that food, and we’ll get started first thing in the morning. Take good care of her, and both of you get some rest.”

  “Yes, sir.” I wasn’t planning on any strenuous activities, and I doubted that she’d be up to it no matter how much we were drawn to each other.”

  “He wouldn’t be using threats if he didn’t think he was running out of options. He’s getting desperate, and isn’t going to stop until he gets what he wants.” Adam paused, as if trying to decide if he should continue. “He may decide that if he can’t have you, then you can’t be anyone else’s. Don’t forget that. You’re not invincible.”

  He rose and put the chair back under the desk.

  I thought he was going to leave without telling her about the chip they’d put into her, but he turned back.

  “Just in the interest of full disclosure, we had a chip put in you. Mac turned it on when you went missing. I should have asked first. I’m sorry,” he confessed before rushing out of the room.

  “We’ll go get your bags and bring them up in just a few, so don’t go getting naked on me. I don’t want to walk in on that,” Ryan joked.

  “We’ve been warned.” She smiled at him. “Thanks, Ryan. I’m sorry this keeps happening.”

  “Hey, not your fault a psycho’s in love with you.” He gave us a wink as he closed the door behind him.

  “I thought they’d never leave,” I murmured against her hair. “I don’t think I could stand to lose you, but there’s something you need to know.”

  “You won’t,” she promised. “I know, you’re his half-brother. You’re both John Reed’s sons, but you’re pure good while he’s completely evil.”

  “He told you, didn’t he?” I asked, pissed that he would try to use it as a selling point.

  “Yes, but it makes sense. If I’m drawn to you, then he’s being drawn to me in the same way. I just couldn’t feel it until I accepted my psychic gifts. He’s been trying to get my attention for years now.”

  “None of this bothers you?” I asked, astonished that she didn’t try to pull out of my arms.

  “Nope. We all have things in our past that we don’t want to acknowledge. You can’t help who your father is, or who your brother is for that matter. It’s just the design of fate.”

  “Wow, I lucked out with you, didn’t I?”

  “Yep. Now, could you take my shoes off and help me get comfortable until this stuff wears off completely? Just because I’ve got a little feeling back, doesn’t mean I can do it myself.”

  As she looked up at me, I knew that I would do just about anything she asked me to do, even if it meant bringing her the moon and
stars. Nothing was ever going to be too much for her. I was a goner.

  Chapter 9

  Leslie

  When my eyes opened, it felt so different this time. I wasn’t out of it, and the feeling of danger was completely gone. Noah had curled his body around me, and instead of wanting to leave, I snuggled in closer. Maybe I had found what I’d been looking for. It sounded too good to be true.

  Thankful that I had feeling again, the urge to visit the restroom took over, and I slipped out of bed, careful not to disturb him.

  I picked up my phone when I got back and sat in the chair to text Adam.

  What do we know? I asked.

  First, how are you feeling? he responded.

  Much better, but I’m getting really hungry. I didn’t eat dinner last night and my stomach is letting me know it :)

  In that case, rouse Noah out of bed and meet us downstairs with your suitcases. We’ve found her, and are heading out to a new site this morning.

  Where at? I messaged.

  Mississippi. Mac sent over her name, and has alerted police to be on the lookout for her. Sarah Mackenzie is her name.

  All right. Give me about ten and we’ll meet you downstairs.

  I sat the phone down and dug through my bag, looking for something that hadn’t been slept in. Clean would be nice, but I was looking for something that made me presentable.

  “Was that Adam?” Noah groaned as he rolled over into the space I’d left.

  “Yeah, we’ve got a name for one of them. He wants us downstairs and ready to go after breakfast. I think we’re driving to Mississippi this morning,” I advised him, going into the bathroom to change clothes. My shower would have to be quick if I was going to get downstairs in ten minutes.

  The door opened as I was getting out, and Noah stood there shirtless, holding a cup of coffee.

  “Thought you might need this to get you going for the day,” he offered, giving me an appreciative look.

  “Awe, that’s so sweet.” I took it from him and inhaled the wonderful aroma.