In the hospital, he met many of his patients who thought they were going crazy and then hunted them down through his religious aspects.
The church daycare Beth brought her kids to, and the others, were all connected too. He’d been there, talking to these women and become trustworthy. It was the link I knew had been there but hadn’t been disclosed in any of the old case work.
Robert looked at him like a brother, with adoration in his eyes.
Sarah, at least, had the decency to look sick beyond belief while Nathan told his story.
Rose wasn’t much better. As a psychology major, I could tell she was reading into his story as much as I was. Mine was strictly from a criminal background, hers was academic. My eyes met with hers, and I willed her to see that I would handle everything. Crazy people or not, they were no match for me.
“You’re the boy that told my parents about me.” I’d guessed it when he talked about his family traveling around to spread the truth about Christianity.
“Sometimes the whispers are more like shouting. I can’t keep them in, and your mother was the most beautiful angel I’d ever seen. I was disappointed to learn about your future gifts and that she had some, as well. I see so much of her in you.”
The way he said that made my stomach churn.
“I need to finish what I started that night, Echo; the voices have been relentless ever since—a never-ending need to use the tarot cards to channel my divination to see you. I promise that Rose will not die tonight, if you let me set you free, free to fly with your mother and fight on heaven’s side in the eternal war.” Nathan stood and wiped his mouth with a napkin.
“Let her go first,” I told him with complete confidence.
He shook his head in refusal, and Robert chuckled.
“We let her go, you’ll turn into some beast and slaughter us all. You first, then I swear she will be free. My pet Rosalie will escort her back to Seahill. She can find her way after that.”
Rosalie?
The poor girl from the hospital stepped into the room from around the corner. What the hell was she doing here?
Nathan held out his hand for hers, and like the good submissive she was, she came to him and placed her hand in his.
“So, let me guess, you had him kill Amanda to get her out of your way, since he was fucking her?” I was sort of pissed that she was helping this psycho. Nathan looked at his—for lack of better word in my head—dog. She turned to face me.
“We were both fucking her. Taking her innocence while she screamed soothed his voices. I would do anything for him. She tried to use her powers on us, but she was not equal to us. His power and my magic together are unstoppable. She outlived her purpose when she started lying there without any fight in her.” Her voice was steady and without remorse. She moved her free hand around, showing me the air swirling inside her palm. She was an energy wielder, like Asher. Maybe even part of his ignored coven.
“You raped her! You sick son of a bitch.” My voice was low, and my hands were shaking. All thoughts of leaving these in jail to rot went out the window with her words.
“Let’s get on with this. Sarah and I would like to celebrate the New Year right this year.” Robert yawned and went to touch Sarah’s cheek. She didn’t flinch, but tears started to gather in her eyes. Over my dead body. Sarah was an innocent in this. No way in hell was she leaving with these people.
I looked over to Rose, and she nodded subtly at me. We would protect Sarah and get out of here alive. Together. She’d been trained by warriors of old and new. She could handle herself without getting stabbed by the drug, and I could take care of the others.
Time to act.
“Let’s get this over with.” I repeated the pastor’s words, and Nathan’s creepy smile grew.
Faster than they could react, I grasped one of the knives behind my back and threw it at Rosalie, impaling her in the stomach so hard from the close proximity that she flew back into the wall. She would recover soon, like Asher would, so we only had a minute, tops, before her magic would become something to reckon with.
Nathan went to shoot Rose with the drug, but she kneed him in the torso and grabbed his head, bringing it down to the table with a loud thud. Robert wrapped his arms around my neck, and with his positioning, I could tell he was planning to snap it.
I changed into a black mamba and fell to the floor by his legs. He tried to stomp on me, but I was faster. One strike to his leg, and he stumbled to his chair. The venom in my fangs would most likely kill him, and I had no regrets about that. Not after everything I’d heard tonight, and not after he’d turned my city against me.
Nathan recovered himself and shoved Rose to the floor with his strength. She grunted in pain but otherwise seemed okay.
“Maybe I was wrong about your spirit. You’re a fucking demon who needs to be put down like a rabid animal.” Nathan cursed and came at me with a sharp knife.
I lunged for him, and he moved out of the way at the last minute.
My body started to change without my say-so, and then I was there, a bear staring down the man who murdered my parents.
His eyes were wide, but he came at me with the knife again. My powerful paws smacked his arm, and the knife clattered to the ground.
He fucked up, and he knew it. He shouldn’t have rambled on, instead of killing me as soon as I walked in the door.
A very sharp pain cut into my side, making me roar so hard the house shook.
I looked down to see Rosalie had stabbed me with the knife that had been in her stomach. She used her magic to lift Nathan’s abandoned knife and sent it flying at my throat. Not tonight, bitch. I shifted to a panther and went straight for her jugular.
Her magic flowed out with her blood, and the knife clattered against the wall behind me.
“He’s on the run. I’ll get Sarah out of here.” Rose started to rise and move toward a very pale Sarah.
“Take my car. I’ll meet you back at HQ. Keys are in the ignition,” I said in human form then ran for the door Nathan had just run through. I leaped into the air and changed into a wolf. Unlike that night long ago when I was the prey, running for my life, I was the wolf on the hunt now.
Chapter Forty-One
Echo
He should have spent all of these years getting fit for the day that we would be playing this game again. His overweight body came into view quickly, and I lunged, taking him to the ground with my powerful jaws clamped around his leg. Instinct made me shake him like a rag doll, but I pulled back and bared my blood-stained teeth.
He knew his time was over, and part of him looked relieved for it.
“A final gift from my angel,” he whispered through his strained breaths.
“Chaos of the mind, my only solace from a hell created in paradise.” He laughed sinisterly, like he’d succeeded in his life’s mission by relaying that strange quote and was now content to die.
He craved death, and I wanted to give it to him more than anything. I desired revenge for my parents, and for the many other lives this man had destroyed. Good people he ruined, all because he couldn’t accept what he was, and it drove him mad.
That realization hit me, and I knew what I had to do. One more shift and I became a rattlesnake. One bite to his leg was all I needed to keep him where he was until I could get him to the police station. Living was a more potent punishment than death.
He closed his eyes in relief, thinking I was going to let him die.
Quickly, I changed back to my human form and squatted before him.
“You will not die tonight, and you will forever replay the voices in your head until you rot in prison. I’ll make sure they put you in a nice padded cell, all to yourself.” His eyes snapped open, and he began to thrash toward me, furious that I was refusing to end his pathetic life.
“The venom will keep you complacent like your victims, but instead of the painful death, you’ll be at a hospital in cuffs.”
I changed back into a wolf and left him on
the cold ground. He wouldn’t be going anywhere. I made it back to my old house and saw Rose had left like with Sarah as I instructed.
They were safe, and it was over. I’d caught the killer and brought justice to those who had been wronged.
I walked back into the house, ignoring the two dead people in the dining room, and went to my mother’s closet for some clothes.
The reservation police and ambulance I’d called after I changed into warm gear showed up within ten minutes.
They took my statements and came back from the woods shortly thereafter with Nathan in handcuffs on a stretcher.
It was hard to explain how Rosalie died from a large cat bite, but we did have mountain lions around here, so it wasn’t one hundred percent unbelievable. The black mamba bite I knew they’d find odd. But Greg the police officer on duty, an old classmate, gave me a wink and told me he’d take care of it.
I was free to go and would be called if they needed me. Nathan would be taken to the local hospital then transferred to the Seahill Police Department after he’d been treated for the snake bite and large gash in his leg. They had a tow come get the white Lexus, and despite knowing I could use my powers to get home, I really didn’t want to transform again, so I hitched a ride with Greg back to Seahill, but as we came to the end of my childhood home’s driveaway I spied my car sitting there, with Rose standing outside the opened door.
They waited for me.
I smiled and told Greg my ride was there. He bid me farewell, and expressed remorse for how he and others treated me after my parents died. It was nice to hear that the people in the area were sorry, but this wasn’t my home anymore. My home was back in the city and wrapped up in a leather jacket with a stupid grin on his face.
“They managed to keep the city from going into the sea,” Rose said as I opened the passenger door and climbed in.
“Good. Let’s go home,” I said and looked at the poor woman sitting in the back seat. She was scared out of her mind but thanked us for saving her from them. Rose offered her psychologist services if she needed them, but Sarah said she would work it out with God. After everything she’d been through, I figured it would be hard to trust in her religion, but what happened with Nathan and Robert wasn’t the real love, kindness, and faith that the true believers shared. Theirs was black and tainted.
“How are we going to prove that it was Nathan all along?” Rose asked, and it was a good question, except I’d already thought of that.
“Our communicator necklaces go both ways. AJ was listening and recording through both of ours in case the sound was bad on mine. Mine disintegrated with my clothes, but yours was still good to catch anything after I changed.” I felt my body sag against the leather seats in exhaustion. I’d been running nonstop for weeks, and I finally felt like I could relax for a day.
Just one day—because then there would be more battles to fight.
We dropped Sarah off at her house, per her request, but did tell her that she had a place to stay at the Society if she wanted or needed it.
Finally arriving at headquarters, Rose parked my car next to Asher’s, and we left the parking lot and returned to our family.
“Thanks for being my hero.” Rose shoulder-bumped me, and I shook my head.
“You were your own hero tonight,” I told her, and she grinned.
Everyone was in the chill room, along with a surprise guest who was tending to everyone’s wounds: Esme.
Phillip rushed Rose and embraced her so tightly that I was worried he might pop her. They both cried happy tears and then he let her go, keeping her hand in his, relaying all his emotions that he didn’t say out loud.
Draco was patiently waiting for his turn to touch his woman, and as soon as Phillip released her hand, he wrapped her in his arms, whispered things in her ear that no one else could hear.
Esme, who had her hair down and was wearing leggings and a sweater, walked over, having noticed I was favoring my right side.
“Let me see,” she demanded and then lifted up my shirt to see my shitty bandaging skills over the knife wound that Rosalie had given me. I’d been in bear form when I was stabbed, so nothing important was harmed; it was just a flesh wound, as they say. Some stitches and I’d be just fine.
She went about cutting the bandage with scissors from a bag she had next to her filled with all sorts of supplies, including pain killers. She cleaned the wound and neatly sewed it up.
“You guys will definitely keep me on my toes,” she commented, and I tilted my head to the side, obviously having missed something.
Lilith came over and kissed my dirty forehead with a loud smack.
“Phillip hired her part-time to be our Hero Society nurse. It seems we are going to need someone who knows more than a few tricks to pull a bullet from the muscle.” Lilith winked at Leon, who was sitting on the couch, looking tired as hell. They all looked like shit, if I was being honest.
My eyes searched for my mate’s, and I found them staring back at me with longing in his eyes but his body limp in the chair.
“His energy has to recharge, so he can’t really move right now, but come later today he should be fine. Go easy on him—he bought the Heroes some time,” Esme told me softly while the others talked to each other and welcomed Rose and me home.
“Thank you.” I leaned in to hug her, and I felt her body freeze at first then melt into my hold. I’d known her for years, and all that time, we could have been friends, had I not had a metal wall around my heart. But now that would change. She was one of us.
“Go get him, tiger,” she whispered into my ear, and I grinned. With fast steps, I was at the couch, lying my upper body over his, listening to his heart, hearing that he was okay with my own ears.
“I missed you too, kitten.” He chuckled, and I picked my head up to look into his perfect face.
“My mate,” I purred, and the soft vibrations coming from my chest at the notion made him grin wider.
“Your mate,” he confirmed, as I leaned in to kiss that stupid smile that drove me wild and made me feel home once again.
Chapter Forty-Two
Echo
Three days had passed since New Year’s Day, and Seahill had not recovered.
The press had a field day with the news of Robert and Nathan, that their mission had been to destroy Seahill by pitting its residents against each other. While the riots and chaos had subsided, there was still a current of unrest in the streets. People were still scared but were swallowing it down, for now.
It was only a matter of time before people would revolt.
But we would be there. Everyone went back to their normal routine and protecting the people when they needed it. Asher worked at his bar at night and spent some of his days helping the Society out when he could.
I’d been temporarily put on paid leave until Seahill Police could figure out if having someone like me on the force was going to be a problem. Chief tried to fight the orders, especially after me bringing in Nathan, but the city council decided they needed to debate the subject.
So I’d been relaxing, which was weird. And unable to completely give up working on cases, I jumped back into the journal connected to Janie’s kidnapping.
Delphi had run into his archenemy, the favorite son and his companion. A man who had special gifts. Delphi had been living a boring life for the few weeks of his entries, until that moment. Jealousy and hatred flooded the words until the last journal entry.
Delphi murdered the companions of his brother without him discovering it was him. A silent killer in the night. His hope was that his brother would never find happiness and would fail at the job his parents had given him.
Part of him regretted killing those companions and the ones before them, but his hatred for his brother was stronger than the remorse.
It was a strange way to end the journal. I scrolled down to the final page and saw nothing at first, but then my eyes caught a small font at the bottom.
Chaos of the mind, my only so
lace from a hell created in paradise.
The words Nathan had said were his final gift to me, when he thought he was going to die. I couldn’t explain what the words meant in this scenario to Janie’s kidnapping. Besides the last page, there was nothing important about this journal, particularly nothing that was worth potentially killing a young woman. Especially since these murders had taken place centuries ago.
Wanting to talk to Janie about the book, I put on my clothes and left Asher’s apartment, heading toward the Hero Society.
AJ said she was in the kitchen, but when I checked, she wasn’t there.
Sounds from the medical room had me walking to the room next door. Maybe she was testing her knowledge about medical supplies.
I opened the door and stood there in confusion.
“Dr. Dorian?”
“Ms. Cross. I was just cleaning up.” He gave me a slight smile and went about moving items on the counter next to the exam table. His fingers toying with the blood samples Esme had taken from us so she could test our blood for abnormalities because of our powers.
“Phillip thought it would be wise to have another medical professional besides Esme to help with your Society,” he added, and that made sense.
“Sounds like a plan,” I agreed and then turned to leave, but then I remembered he had helped us a lot.
“Before I forget, thank you for helping with Amanda’s case. I’m sorry Nathan was affiliated with your hospital. He was a madman.” I knew the hospital was taking a hit for having a serial killer as their head psychologist.
Dusk (Hero Society Book 3) Page 15
