As she buckled her seatbelt, Kate gave him a piercing look. “You’re not giving me a line about only having a soda, are you?”
“I don’t drink…ever,” he said with enough awkwardness that it sparked her curiosity.
“Oh, that’s right you’re a stoner. I forgot about the illegal substances you offered me while my mom was ten feet away from us.”
“I don’t do drugs anymore either. I only told you that they could help you see more visions. I haven’t used in three years,” he mumbled.
The tension was obvious, but she got the feeling he really didn’t want to talk about it. Her biting tongue had gotten her in enough trouble to discern when it was time to keep her mouth shut.
Several minutes later she coughed to interrupt the silence. “Well…thanks for the ride. It wasn’t necessary, but it was very nice of you to offer.”
“No problem. By the way, do you want to work more on the psychic stuff together?”
“Definitely. I don’t think I’ll be able to get a good night’s sleep again until Max is back with his parents.”
They arranged to meet in a couple of days at his house in South River. Her wariness over going to his house wasn’t a pressing issue any longer. In all honesty, Kate was curious to learn more about him. She figured the more she discovered about him, the more comfortable she would be in his presence.
Declan slowed to a stop in front of her house. “I’ll text you my address and you can come by after class.”
“Sounds like a plan. Thanks for the ride Declan,” she said opening the door and hopping out of the car.
“Day or night, I’m at your service,” he said before pulling away.
As Kate watched his ostentatious SUV drive off, she felt more confused than ever over the mysterious psychic’s intentions.
Chapter Nine
“Your mom said the secret to waking you up on the weekend is to wave food in front of your face,” a voice whispered in her ear.
With a groan, Kate opened her eyes and wondered if she was having a vision. Jared was sitting on the corner of her bed smiling at her and holding a Dunkin Donuts bag. However, since Jared had never been in her bedroom before she figured he must really be sitting in front of her. He was freshly shaven and by the waves of energy bouncing off of him he must have been awake for hours.
“Don’t you know that a girl never wants the guy she likes to see her first thing in the morning?”
Kate only imagined the tortuous combination of bed head and morning breath Jared was witnessing. Since her visions caused plenty of tossing and turning, she never looked well-rested in the morning. Red Bull, coffee and other highly caffeinated beverages were her only salvation many mornings.
“I’ve never seen anything sexier than you in your koala bear pajama pants,” Jared said and positioned his body over hers.
Before she could reply, his lips found her. His kiss deepened and her head completely emptied of any coherent thoughts. As she kissed him, Kate hoped he felt how much she missed him. Her hands cupped his face and she grazed her thumb across his cheek lovingly.
As he moved to her neck, she was able to gasp out, “Aren’t you worried about my mom hearing us?”
“She let me in on her way out. Said she’d be back in a few hours,” he mumbled into her skin.
“Am I spending the day with you?” she asked hopefully. “We do need to buy furniture for your apartment,” she reminded him. It wasn’t fun to spend time sitting on a pair of folding chairs without even a table to set a drink on.
“I wish,” he answered with a forlorn look. “Duty calls again.”
“Dating a cop really sucks sometimes,” she said.
“I know,” he agreed, “and I feel terrible about last night. I got your message this morning. My phone must have died while I was at work and I didn’t charge it before I crashed. Were you able to get a ride home?”
“Yeah, Declan doesn’t drink, so he gave me a ride home.”
His surprise was apparent. Jared straightened and arched an eyebrow. “Declan was at the party?”
“Yes. We have some catching up to do.” She lifted up into a sitting position. Pointing at the bag of donuts in his hands, she remarked, “Donuts sound amazing, but I’m fasting today. Do you have time to talk while I make my cleanse drink?”
Jared had an hour to kill before work. She met him in the kitchen after running a hair brush through her rat’s nest and brushing her teeth. She went in for a quick kiss, but found herself lingering. Maybe she could use his handcuffs to keep him around for the entire day. He pushed a few of her hairs back from her face and inquired, “Glad I came by?”
“This fuzzy feeling inside of me when you’re around must be what people refer to as happiness.” She grinned before turning to take a pitcher out of the cabinet. “Will you be around tonight?”
“Yes. I was going to ask you to dinner, but that seems cruel seeing that you’re not eating and all. Do you want to go to a movie instead?” Jared asked.
He straightened his tie as he waited for her reply. His suit should’ve been a dead giveaway that he was due into work. It had been her own wishful thinking that foolishly made her believe he would be all hers for the weekend.
“Only if you agree to make-out with me in the back row,” Kate joked. “It will keep my mind off not being able to eat popcorn and M & Ms.”
“Sounds good to me,” he said. “Will you be eating again in a few days?”
“I should be.”
With a grimace, she looked at the recipe card for the ingredients in the cleanse. Was she really going to drink this crap? She made such a big deal about doing it, she now felt obligated. Her stomach growled and she wondered if she should at least have the donuts Jared bought before beginning.
“Because your mom happened to drop a huge hint that your birthday is on Wednesday and I wanted to take you out,” Jared explained. “When were you going to mention it?”
“Honestly, it sort of slipped my mind. The psychic stuff has taken over my life again.” She added after a thoughtful pause, “Plus, I haven’t done much for my birthday the past couple of years. My mom makes a cake and Julie comes over. My father will take me out to dinner the weekend after. Very low key.”
“Do you have plans yet? We could go to dinner wherever you want,” he offered.
“My mom hasn’t mentioned anything, so we can do cake with her the night before,” Kate said decidedly. Since the idea of thinking about restaurants on the day she was fasting seemed torturous, she suggested, “Why don’t you surprise me?”
“You’re on,” Jared said and his eyes crinkled as he beamed in her direction.
These fluttery feelings were definitely lifting her mood. She hated to ruin it by bringing him up to speed on Declan’s psychic tutorial and the lack of progress on Max’s abduction. Since Jared’s time with her was limited, Kate tried to hurriedly sum up everything he missed in the past few days. Purposely, she left out the part about Declan’s flirtatiousness at the party. It would only create weirdness and she had already made it clear to him there was nada interest on her side.
Jared tilted his head as he listened carefully. “You think he’s not being straight up with you?”
“I can’t shake the feeling he’s not telling me everything. Like he’s putting me through a test and won’t reveal anything until I pass it. Part of me wants to stay as far away as possible from him, but he does seem to know a lot more about our gift than I do…” her voice trailed off.
“It won’t hurt to question him some more. The more you know about your gift, the better control you’ll have over it,” he said and checked his watch. “Crap, I have to go. Text me later about what movie you want to see.”
“Alright, I’ll just be here enjoying my delicious drink.”
Kate held the glass up for him to view. She wasn’t surprised to see his face screwed up in repugnance. The concoction was grayish colored and probably the most unappetizing thing she had ever seen.
; Jared took it out of her hand and took a sip. By his expression, she could tell it took a lot for him to not spit it out. “I give you an hour until you cave.”
“Want to bet on it?” she challenged lifting an eyebrow.
“Not a chance. I rather you just eat. Give me a kiss to help me through the hell day I have waiting for me at work,” he said and motioned her closer.
Walking over to him, she first ran her hands through his dark hair until splaying her fingers across his shoulders. She pressed her body against his and pulled his mouth to hers. The passion began to build and lust coiled in her belly. Their kisses were fast and furious and she could feel his want matching hers. His hands began to move up her back underneath her tank top, setting her skin on fire.
His face was tortured as he pulled away. “You’re killing me, Kate Edwards.”
She gave him a coy smile. “Try to concentrate on work after that, Detective.”
***
Her mother arrived back home a few hours later. Kate was trying to keep busy to distract her from the hunger pangs. Her mom was impressed by the sparkling kitchen, folded laundry and mopped floors. Darlene gave her a hug in greeting. “I figured you would be sprawled on the couch. It was after one when you got in.”
Kate wasn’t sure if it was normal to have such a close bond with her mother, but she would’ve been lost without her. She could tell her mother anything and knew she would give her good advice. It was touching to think she waited up for her to get in. Julie battled with her own mother on a daily basis and told Kate regularly how lucky she was to have such a good relationship with Darlene.
Her mother spoke, “How was the party?”
“It was good. The cookies were a big hit of course,” she replied.
“Who dropped you off?” she questioned rapping her fingertips against the table. “I saw you get out of someone’s truck I didn’t recognize.”
Most girls may be annoyed that their mother was keeping such close tabs, but Kate understood where she was coming from. It had been only a month or so since Kate was abducted right in front of their house. The experience had shaken Darlene and brought out her fierce protectiveness. Almost losing Kate twice in two years had left her mother wracked with anxiety.
“Declan gave me a ride home,” she answered shortly.
Her mother made a noise that distinctly sounded like “harrumph.” Kate inquired, “You don’t like him?”
“Well, I don’t really know him, honey. We only met briefly the other day.” Her mother waved her off.
Like that mattered, Kate thought. Her mother could nail someone’s character down in under a minute. One of the reasons she had confidence in her relationship with Jared was because her mom held him in such high regard. Jared wasn’t being coy when he said that Kate’s mom liked and trusted him completely. Otherwise, Darlene would have never permitted Jared to be alone with Kate in her bedroom that morning.
“Well, you obviously have an opinion and I wouldn’t mind hearing it,” Kate responded.
There was no defensiveness in Kate’s tone—she truly wanted to know what her mom thought about Declan. Kate may be the psychic, but her mother was more intuitive. A part of her was fearful about her mother confirming her own fears. Declan wasn’t dependable and Kate would be better off trying to find Max on her own.
“I don’t want to judge too hastily, but I’ve met a lot of Declans before. I mean I’ve slept with more than a couple Declans in my day…”
Kate cut her off, “Mom, I think we may be over-sharing here.”
“Anyway,” she continued pointedly, “I know Jared is your first boyfriend in a long time and you’re somewhat inexperienced with men.”
That was an understatement. At eighteen, she had only one serious boyfriend for a couple of months that dumped her right after they had sex. In high school, she had dated a few boys but had always avoided going too far with them. Her background didn’t exactly qualify her as an expert on men.
Kate gave her mother a nod to continue. Her mother bit her lip before continuing, “And I just have a fear if you spend too much time with this boy, both your pants and your self-respect will end up on the floor.”
“Mom…” she stammered out. It took Kate a minute to recover from her mom’s shocking statement. “Don’t worry. It’s only a psychic friend thing with Declan. My heart belongs to Jared.”
“That’s good to hear because sometimes you keep thinking there’s something better out there and miss what’s standing right in front of you.”
By the sound of her voice, Kate realized her mom was speaking from personal experience. She hoped it wasn’t about her father. Her mother went through a difficult time with the divorce—especially when her father’s infidelity was revealed. Although her parents were civil to each other, Kate still had some residual anger over the way her dad had treated her mother.
Kate’s thoughts were interrupted by the chime of her cell phone. Kate grabbed the phone from the counter and saw a text message alert from an unrecognized number.
They found Max. I can’t talk now, but I’ll call you as soon as I can. You’re an angel on earth and you have my everlasting gratitude. Farrah Santo
She turned to her mother. “It’s a message from Max’s mom! They found him!”
Without a second’s hesitation, her mother engulfed Kate in her arms. Smoothing down her hair, she whispered, “You’re amazing, you know that?”
Tears sprang to Kate’s eyes. Her mother could make her feel special and less of an anomaly at moments like this. Like what she could do was miraculous and didn’t make her an outcast. “I finally feel like I’m on the right path and this is what I need to do.”
She cupped Kate’s face in her hands. “You’re going to use your gifts to help so many people in this world.”
“No pressure or anything,” she cracked with a half sob. Wiping at her tears, she took a shaky breath before speaking. “I’m going to check out the computer and see if there’s anything about Max online.”
There were so many questions in her head. Did they have Ally in custody? How was Max doing? With a quick peck on her mother’s cheek, she headed to their den to scour the internet for as much information about Max as possible.
About fifteen minutes later, her mother wandered into the den. Kate sat perfectly still with tears running down her face. “Katie, what’s wrong?”
She couldn’t tear her eyes away from the screen. It was a photograph from a local newspaper. It was taken yesterday after Max had been found and reunited with his mom. He was wrapped around his mother’s waist and tears of joy were visible on Farrah Santo’s face.
Max had no tears. His face was haunted, probably with memories of his time with Ally Seldon. His eyes stared into space as if he was disconnected from reality. He had a black eye as well. Something Kate had yet to witness in her visions and couldn’t fathom what type of monster would do that to a helpless child.
Her stomach heaved as she read the accompanying story. Max had been taken by Ally at the mall when the boy wandered off from his grandmother. She had pretended to be a caretaker appointed by his mom and kept the boy docile with physical violence. Since the family lived in Blaine, which bordered Canada, authorities had thought the abductor had somehow snuck out of the country with Max. In reality, Ally had taken Max two hours south to an apartment in Seattle. She had rented the apartment under a false name. This was the reason Max wasn’t located immediately after Kate had given the police Ally’s name and history.
The extent of the abuse was being kept under wraps and the boy was meeting with child psychologists for counseling. Ally was arrested and also meeting with mental health professionals. Her ex-husband Lincoln cooperated with police and helped them track down Ally. He explained his ex-wife had become violent and unpredictable following the death of their son less than a year ago. However, in the newspaper article, he expressed shock over how much she had lost touch with reality. The tip about Ally being involved in Max’s abduction was
credited as coming from an anonymous source.
“Katie?” her mom prompted in a worried tone. She walked closer and Kate breathed in her perfume as a way to comfort her.
Kate couldn’t find the words to explain why the visual of Max was affecting her in this way. “It’s a story about Max,” she stammered as she wiped at her face. Looking over her shoulder, her mom scanned the article. Darlene’s frown deepened as she took several minutes to read the story.
“There are people in this world that are truly reprehensible,” her mother breathed. She gave her an awestruck look. “It’s a miracle you were able to save the boy. She probably would have killed him eventually if it wasn’t for you.”
At that moment Kate didn’t feel like a savior. If anything, she felt like she had failed Max. She should have been able to find him sooner. While she’d been living her life and making out with her boyfriend, a little boy had been suffering. Kate should’ve donated every free minute to finding him. Rising to her feet, she almost knocked the office chair to the floor. “I have to talk to Declan.”
“Katie, what’s going on?”
“I should be working on controlling my gifts. I might have been able to find him before she laid a hand on him!” Kate cried and grabbed her purse.
Her mother reached for her and gave her a stern look. “Don’t do this to yourself. There are terrible people in this world that do horrendous things, even to children. You can’t save everyone.”
“I sure as hell can try.”
Chapter Ten
The drive to Declan’s house was a blur. Once she pulled up to the address she checked her phone three times to make sure she got it right. She was expecting a small apartment or maybe an older row house in the city. His house was nice. Really nice. She was certain Declan had mentioned he lived alone. It baffled her to imagine how an unemployed twenty-one year old afforded a Hummer and a suburban two bedroom home.
Declan seemed unfazed when she texted him to announce her impromptu visit. He sent her his address without asking for an explanation or the reason she urgently needed to see him. Kate could never be that laidback of a person.
New Revelations: Second Sight Book Two Page 9
