by Paris Morgan
“Adam?” I went to him and checked his pulse. He was alive.
Noah had caught Leslie as she fell before joining her on the ground.
“This is crazy.” Mac looked around, confused. “What’s going on? Were they shot?”
“No.” I shook my head. “It’s something psychic that caused them to pass out.”
“What do we do?” He knelt next to Leslie and Noah and moved them to where they were lying beside each other instead of on top of each other.
The bomb squad had stayed back in case they were needed, but when it happened, they moved even farther back, out of the way.
“Should we call the CDC or an ambulance?” The leader approached the two of us cautiously.
“Not yet. Something’s going on, but I don’t know what it is right now. If they don’t wake up, we’ll have to. Let’s give it a few minutes.”
They were minutes I was certain we didn’t have, but I wasn’t going to leave my team to go chasing after more trouble by myself. Maybe this was what he’d wanted in the first place, making me choose between my daughter and Shea, but he hadn’t told me where to find either of them. So, for now, I’d wait.
------
Leslie
As soon as I read the words on the wall, it was as if a spell had been cast and we were pulled into it. I felt my body hit the floor, but my spirit could stand up and walk around easily.
The others were still lying there, and I wasn’t sure if they were in their own worlds or what.
“Leslie,” Mary Ann beckoned. “He’s brought you here to keep you from interfering with his plans. You have a choice to make, much like Ryan’s, but it will affect you in different ways than his will.”
I took a deep breath. “All right. Hit me with it.”
“I can break the spell and give you the words to speak over Noah and Adam. They cannot get out of the spell on their own. In exchange for this, I’ll be gone and will no longer be your guide to help you with spiritual matters.”
“That’s not fair to punish you for my choice. I didn’t want you to stay before, but now I really like you. Where will they send you?”
“Oh, I’ll be sent somewhere nice, considering I’ve been helping you. It’s replaced my karma for the things I did in the past. I’m not sure if they’ll let me move on or if they’ll give me another charge, but either way, I’ll be fine.”
“Okay. So what is the bad part of this choice, except for the fact that I like you now and hate to see you go?”
“You’ll be assigned a new guide, and you may not like the one they give you.”
“Hmm…” I thought on that for a moment. “That’s not really a choice then, is it? You’ll be safe, we’ll wake up. I can deal with a cranky spirit guide. I mean, after you, how horrible can it be?” I joked
Mary Ann just raised an eyebrow.
“Oh, you know who they’ll give me?”
“Yep. And you’re not going to like it.” She shook her head in warning.
“I’m not going to lose my friends just because I won’t like who they’ll send me. Give me the spell, please. I choose to save us.”
“Very well.” She grimaced. “Just say: Undo what has been done.”
“That’s it?” I couldn’t believe it would be that simple.
“Yes, ma’am. It’s been nice working with you,” she sniffed.
“Oh, Mary Ann.” I surprised her by giving her a hug. “I’m going to miss you very much. Take care of yourself, and maybe in a few decades, I’ll see you around.”
I closed my eyes and spoke the words.
“Undo what has been done.”
Nothing happened. Mary Ann was still standing there, smiling.
I walked over and leaned down to touch Adam. “Undo what has been done.” He started to stir.
One down.
I then moved to Noah and stroked his cheek lovingly. “Undo what has been done.”
Ryan was checking on both of them, and they seemed to be okay.
With a last wave at Mary Ann, I laid down over my body, allowing my spirit to settle in as I spoke. “Undo what has been done.”
As I opened my eyes, I looked around, hoping I could sense her or my new guide. Nothing. She was gone.
“Come on, we need to go outside,” I urged them.
“Why? What’s going on?” Ryan asked.
“I’m not sure, but my gut tells me we need to leave the building now.”
“How will I be able to find them? There has to be a clue inside somewhere. I can't choose between them.”
I shook my head. “Ryan, you won’t have to. He’s got them both together. I made a choice, and they didn’t say anything about yours, so I think they’ll be okay.”
He reached for my hand and gave it a squeeze. “I hope you’re right.”
Everyone stood outside and waited for something to happen, and when it did, it still took us by surprise.
The building we just vacated wasn’t the one that blew up. It was one farther up the street, and the flames were spilling out over the road, guiding us to that spot.
Chapter 9
Leslie
When another explosion shook the ground under our feet, Ryan stopped running.
“We didn’t make it in time!” he shouted in anger.
I grabbed his arm and dragged him with me toward the heart of the explosion. “We won’t know until we get there. Come on.”
There was still dust and rubble coming down around us as we hurried to where the warehouse had been standing only moments before.
With no idea if he was still out there watching our reactions, I stood helplessly, waiting for some sign of life.
On my left, a piece of metal started to move and Ryan beat me there, lifting it off of Jerome.
He wasn’t looking too great with a few gashes that didn’t look life-threatening, but he was covered in soot.
Ryan grabbed him by the shoulders, practically yanking him off the ground. “Where are they? Are they alive?”
Jerome shook his head no and glanced at where the main blast had come from. Ryan followed his gaze and saw one of Hope’s blankets peeking out from the corner. He dropped Jerome back to the ground and took off. A tiny spot of pink was the only thing that really showed up against the dirt and soot on the blanket.
I followed him, unsure of what we were going to find. A baby car seat was scattered in pieces, as if the explosion had been nearby.
“Ryan, I don’t think the baby was in the seat.” It seemed like a comforting thing to say.
“Wait! Do you hear that?” Ryan screamed, moving the still smoking pieces from the building with his feet.
“There’s a trap door down here.” He began trying to move some of the stuff blocking it.
“Hold on!” Adam yelled as he and Noah caught up to us after establishing a perimeter with the cops arriving on the scene.
Jerome joined us, and all of us cleared and moved things out of the way.
We probably should have waited for the firefighters and professionals, but Ryan wasn’t really in the mood to be told anything.
A set of stairs leading down underneath the warehouse was our reward for opening the door. We could hear the voice calling more clearly as we drew our guns and descended downward.
“Shea? Is that you?” Ryan called out hopefully.
Noah held a flashlight over our heads so we could see. If there had been electricity, it had gone out when the blast went off, and there weren’t any windows down here.
“Ryan, I’m down here!” Shea cried out.
“Is Hope with you?” Ryan’s voice shook from emotion.
“No. I haven’t seen her since that first day when the lady took her from me.” Shea reached through the bars and grasped Ryan’s hands. “The keys are over there on the wall.”
I hurried to find them, because I was certain Ryan wasn’t about to let go of her.
Noah followed me, moving the light around as I looked for the keys. They might have been on the wall
before the explosion, but they weren’t there anymore.
“I can’t find them. We’re going to have to get the firefighters to use one of their tools to open the lock.” I felt my way along the wall and walked up the steps, into the bright sunlight.
“Is Shea down there?” Jerome called out as he sat on the sidewalk across the street with a paramedic looking him over.
Adam hurried up to me. “What about Hope?”
“Shea is down there, but no Hope. She hasn’t seen her since that first day.” I knew it wasn’t looking good for the little one. “We need the firefighters to help get Shea out of the cell he put her in.”
“Got it.” Adam turned to the captain. “Do you have something they can use?”
He frowned. “Honestly, I’d rather not have anyone going down under the structure until we’re certain that it’s sound.”
“I get that, but I’m not leaving them down there. It’s still standing right now, and I’m going to get our people out.” I went to find what I needed on their truck.
There were two or three different things that might work, so I grabbed them.
The fire captain sighed as he walked over to help me. “We should really wait.”
“Yeah, we should, but we’re not going to. Do you have a flashlight?” I hurried toward the stairs, assuming he was going to follow.
He didn’t answer, but turned on a light bright enough that the street lights would have turned off.
When we reached the cell door, he took over, and the next thing I knew, the cell door was swinging open.
“Shea, is there anyone else down here?” I scanned the area, making sure we weren’t missing anything.
“No, just the empty cells. They would come down here and check on me. I never saw anyone else except for the two of them.” She took Ryan’s hand and they made their way outside.
“Miss, can we please go now?” The fire captain urged as the others made it to the surface.
“Yes.” I took one last look around and climbed up the stairs. If there was any evidence down here to help us find him, now wasn’t the time to find it. When things cooled off, I would come back. We had to find Hope before he did something horrible to her.
-----
While we were thrilled to have Shea back, there was still the missing baby. I was certain our killer wouldn’t have taken her with the intention of hurting her, yet Shea hadn’t seen her in weeks.
Ryan was with Shea as the paramedics checked her out. I walked over to make sure that Jerome was okay since Ryan had things taken care of.
“Is he going to be okay?” I approached the ambulance where they had him on the stretcher.
“Yes, ma’am. He’s just a bit beat up at the moment. Nothing a hot shower and a few painkillers won’t take care of.”
“Are you taking him to the hospital?”
The paramedic nodded.
I looked for Noah in the mass of chaos and confusion, following my connection. He was standing to the side, looking over the area where the explosion had gone off.
“Don’t go yet, I’m riding with him,” I informed the paramedic as I left Jerome to tell Noah.
“Hey, I’ve got to go with Jerome to the hospital. They don’t think he’s hurt, but he should have someone with him during all this. He might be able to tell us something that Shea doesn’t remember. It looks like the Zodiac Master kept them in different areas, so they never saw each other.”
“Go ahead, I’ll meet you there. Ryan and Shea will be there as well. I want to look around a little longer.” He leaned down to kiss me, pulling me close against him. “Be safe. Remember, he’s still out there and wants to kill us.”
“I know. We’re going to find him.”
Letting go of me, I hurried to the ambulance and crawled inside. If I didn’t have that connection to Noah, I wouldn’t have wanted to leave his side. But now, I needed to go with Jerome because I knew what it was like to feel alone.
“Hey, how you doing?” I placed a hand over his and received a squeeze in return.
“I’ve been better.” He grinned around the oxygen mask at me.
“Well, it’s my turn to take care of you. With a shower to get rid of that horrible smell and some rest, you’ll be running around in no time.” I grinned back, hoping my fears didn’t show through.
His eyes closed and I sat there, feeling helpless.
How were we supposed to find someone if we were constantly chasing our tails, trying to find people before it was too late?
What if he had set off that bomb just a little later and we had been there? He wanted us close, but not too close that we’d stop him or be there when it exploded.
My phone rang, identifying Noah as we pulled up. I stood off to the side as they wheeled Jerome through the hospital’s entrance.
“Noah?”
“When you left, I could feel the connection to my brother. He was there, watching us.”
I sighed. “I thought he might be. Like a firebug, he wants to admire his handiwork.”
“I could tell he was gone shortly after you left. He may follow you to the hospital. All of us are heavily invested in this case, and may overlook something because we’re all close to those involved. I think he’s someone who is much closer to us than we realize.”
My hand flew up to cover my mouth. “Noah, I’ve got to go.”
Shoving the phone back in my pocket, I took off running in the direction that they’d taken Jerome.
“The man they just brought in from the explosion. Do you know where they put him?” I asked a startled nurse.
“No, ma’am. Was he urgent?” she questioned.
“I don’t think so. They looked him over, but said he was going to be fine. Where would they have taken him?”
“They should have put him in one of the emergency rooms. What’s his name?” She sat at the computer, ready to search for him in the system.
“Jerome Bell.” As I said his name, recognition flooded me. He’d even used a version of his name all this time and we just hadn’t realized it. Henry J. Stevens, whose mother’s name was Belle Stevens.
“It was literally seconds ago. They couldn’t have put him in the system yet.” I wanted to scream at her to work faster, but calmly walked to the area he could be in.
“Look, he’s a suspect in the bombing, and they didn’t realize it when they were bringing him in. If he escapes…” I let the thought trail off as I pulled out my badge, hoping it would motivate her.
“Follow me.” She stood and trotted through the ER with me as we looked through all the beds, but none of the patients were Jerome.
Thirty minutes later, I knew my suspicions were right. Jerome wasn’t in the hospital.
I ran outside and jumped in the cab that was idling at the curb. I was only minutes behind him, and if I was correct, he would be trying to leave town or covering his tracks.
When the cab pulled up to our destination, I swiped my card as I got out.
Jerome was looking out at me from the window of his living room, waving.
The sound of the explosion was more of a ringing in my ears, the blast knocking me off my feet. Once I landed halfway across the street, I shook my head, trying to clear away the shock.
His house was engulfed in flames, and the front section of his roof had collapsed.
“Jerome!” I screamed. Trying to stand up, one of the neighbors hurried over to help me. “Call 9-1-1.”
I knew I was using my voice, but it seemed like nothing was coming out.
Tears began to slide down my face as I realized he was gone. We’d have to have someone confirm it, but he’d taken the easy way out. I could feel it. This wasn’t the way I wanted things to end.
Someone tapped me on the shoulder, making me jump.
The woman was saying something, but I couldn’t understand.
She then pulled out a phone and typed out something to show me: “He told me to give you this if anything happened to him.” At my confused expression, she s
hoved a disc into my hands.
“Wait!” I stood carefully and pointed to her phone, which she politely handed over.
“When did he leave this with you?” I typed out for her.
She nodded and typed back: “Yesterday.”
The phone was handed back and I texted myself from the number.
“I’m going to call you tomorrow with some questions, when I can hear better. Is that okay?”
She smiled and took her phone back, typing: “Yes, that will be fine.”
Firetrucks began to arrive, and I used my own phone to message Noah.
“I’m fine, but Jerome just blew up his house. Tell Adam and get over here, please. The explosion hurt my ears and I can’t hear.”
Officers began to head toward me as they pushed others out of the way and established a safe zone.
I stumbled as I moved toward them, pulling out my badge and pointing to my ears.
“Can’t hear you because of the blast. I’m working with the FBI, and the suspect just blew himself up. They’ll be here in just a minute.” I started to topple, and the nearest cop caught me, leading me to the ambulance.
Wanting to protest, I decided against it when I felt something running down my cheek.
It was blood.
------
Chapter 10
Noah
Moments before Leslie texted me, I felt my heart stop. It was like the universe was being torn apart. I’d made it to the hospital with Adam, only to find that Leslie had raced out of there after Jerome.
Something had happened to both Leslie and my brother. He was dead. The connection we’d had was gone, and there was no way to get it back. I didn’t know what had happened, but he was gone, and Leslie was still alive. That was all I knew.
In the chaos, I didn’t hear my phone ring, but Adam had already been in route when the message came through. He was trying to drive and keep me from passing out.
Haphazardly parking near the firetrucks, he came around to my side of the car.
“Breathe,” he commanded.
Lowering my head to my knees, I tried to take deep, long breaths, but all I could feel was panic.
Adam searched the chaos until he found Leslie. “She’s okay. Let’s get you over to her. That will make it better.” He held the door open, urging me out.
