The Complete Lost Children Series

by Krista Street

  She turned to the rest of the group. “I one hundred percent believe we should continue keeping an eye on Aaron and Abigail, but if Aaron leaves town, we can’t continue following him if we need to keep using our powers to locate him. It would be too risky.”

  Raven nodded. “You have a point, Di.” His gaze then shifted to me and softened. “But we’ll try to catch him before that happens. Okay, Lena?”

  I bit my lip. I knew the safest course of action was to do what Di said. We couldn’t let our powers be exposed. That would open an entirely new can of worms.

  But if Aaron left town, he’d continue assaulting women for who knew how long—probably for the rest of his life.

  And even if he did stay in town, we had no guarantee of catching him. To do that, we would need to catch Aaron in the act and then call the police. But I also knew Aaron was tricky. Following him hadn’t been easy. Just last night I’d been following him after the restaurant and had lost him. Who’s to say that won’t happen again?

  And worse, if Aaron did disappear from the area only to begin attacking women in a different city . . .

  My heart pounded. I can’t let that happen!

  The realization came to me that if I truly wanted to stop Aaron, I needed to do it myself.

  And I needed to do it soon.

  ~ ~ ~

  Another hour passed while everyone hashed out a schedule to follow Aaron. The sun was close to setting, and my stomach growled, reminding me I hadn’t eaten in hours.

  I made sure to keep my thoughts to myself as I formulated my own agenda. If Flint or Di caught wind of what I wanted to do, they’d tie me up and stow me away in a back bedroom—especially Flint. If he knew I intended to go after Aaron by myself tonight, he’d go into a rage.

  But I needed to. After all, Aaron had been following me this morning, not Abigail. He wanted me.

  An image of Aaron watching me from across the sidewalk yesterday filled my mind once again. No wonder he stared at me for so long. He obviously recognized me—the girl who got away.

  He probably wanted to finish what he had started all those years ago. I shuddered at the memory.

  For weeks while I worked on Pete and Val’s ranch, I had felt the cowboy’s hungry gaze follow me every time we met. He’d wanted me—for what reason I didn’t know—and I’d known that from the beginning. But . . . he’d never been able to act on it. Not really. I’d foiled his plans to assault me after escaping on a horse.

  The wheels turned in my mind while everyone else discussed various options of what to do next. Since the discussion grew heated, nobody seemed to notice my quietness.

  He still wants me, so if I give him the opportunity to trap me, I can turn the tables. I’m stronger than him, but he doesn’t know that. If I can lure him somewhere, let him believe that he’ll be able to attack me, even let him rough me up a little bit, I can call the police and they can catch him in the act.

  The plan was risky, but I had an advantage. I knew I was strong enough to stop him whenever I wanted to. One blast from my energy ball, and he’d be knocked out cold.

  Flint’s heightened cloud continued to fill the room. His pacing hadn’t lessened. As much as it killed me to keep this from him, I knew he would bar the door and windows if he found out. And I had promised Flint I wouldn’t go after Aaron alone again.

  But if I don’t go alone . . .

  There was someone in this group who I bet would join me.

  I glanced at Mica just as she took another big bite of ice cream. She was on her second bowl. “Mica? Do you want to go with me to buy some groceries?”

  At the mention of buying more food, she perked up. “Groceries? Sure!” She polished off the last bite, licked her spoon, and set her empty bowl down.

  The discussion in the room paused.

  “Groceries?” Jet raised an eyebrow. “You’re thinking about groceries right now?”

  Mica put her hands on her hips. “Regardless of this douchebag from our past, we still need to eat. Jeez, Jet . . .”

  I suppressed a smile and stood. I could always count on Mica to think with her stomach first. After retrieving my shoes and jacket from the front door, I slipped them on. Nervous energy filled me. It was possible that within the hour I would be alone with Aaron, and he could be trying to do who knew what.

  But before I could leave, Flint appeared in front of me. “Where are you going?” The worry pouring from him made my gut tighten.

  “We’re just going to pick up a few things for supper. If you haven’t noticed, we’re running a bit low on food.” I kept my gaze averted since he always seemed to know when I was hiding something.

  He tilted my face to his, forcing me to meet his gaze. With narrowed eyes, he said, “Jet’s right. Are you really telling me you’re worried about having enough food in the house right now? We just ran into the psycho who tried to attack you two years ago. I think it’s more important to figure out a way to stop him. Don’t you?”

  Mica grabbed her jacket and rolled her eyes. “You too, Flint? Seriously, what do you guys have against talking and eating?”

  Flint ignored her.

  I laid a hand on Flint’s forearm. His muscles bunched beneath my grip. “We’ll stop him. But it’s not happening tonight.” I leaned up on my tiptoes and kissed him on the lips before he could catch the deception in my intentions.

  His arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me close. Beneath the angry raw energy radiating from him, at its base I felt his true emotion—fear.

  I pulled back and continued getting ready to go. “We’ll be fine. I’m not going alone. Mica’s with me.”

  Flint took a deep breath and raked a hand through his hair. “I know, babe. But when I saw him today . . .” His eyes clouded over. “You don’t understand what I went through when I saw you slumped against that tree in the mountains all of those months ago. I went to hell and back in a split second. I thought I’d lost you.” Pain rimmed his eyes. “And now that he’s back and showing interest in you again . . .” A muscle began ticking in his jaw. “I’ll kill him if he lays another finger on you.”

  The chill in his words made goose bumps rise along my forearms, and guilt in me rose higher. He trusted me to be honest with him. But I can’t let Aaron get away. Flint’s going to be so mad when he finds out, but I have to do this.

  “It won’t come to that. We’ll find a way to stop him without anybody getting hurt.” I swallowed. The comforting words tasted bitter on my tongue, especially when Flint nodded acceptingly.

  “You’re right. We’ll catch him together.”

  Mica opened the front door and tapped her foot. “So . . . are we going?”

  I gave Flint one last squeeze before saying, “Yeah. Let’s go.”

  Leaving Flint at the apartment building was hard. I was purposefully deceiving him, but only because I knew he would stop me if he knew my plans. But I can’t let Aaron get away! I just can’t!

  “So what are we going to buy?” Mica asked cheerfully as we trailed down the hallway to the stairwell.

  I pushed open the door to the stairs and waited for it to close behind us before I responded. “About that . . . I actually have something to discuss with you that doesn’t involve grocery shopping.” Our feet thudded on the carpeted stairs as we jogged down them.

  We pushed open the outer door to the parking lot. Warm evening air rolled on the breeze. A few birds chirped from the tall trees lining the back of the lot.

  Mica raised her eyebrows. “Why do I get a feeling that what you’re going to tell me isn’t anything good?” She grinned.

  I laughed. Without a doubt, I knew I’d picked the best partner in crime.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Mica wasn’t entirely convinced that my plan was a good one, but she did promise to not run back to our family to tell them . . . within reason.

  “If I actually think harm is going to come to you, sorry, Lena, but I’m going to spill the beans. I can’t let you get hurt.” She drove through
the residential streets toward Aaron’s home.

  I quickly nodded as we turned down the street that Aaron lived on. “I totally understand that, but honestly, Mica, you know what I’m capable of. Aaron won’t get the upper hand.”

  “I know, which is the only reason I’m willing to help you.” An excited gleam entered her eyes when she pulled up to the curb. “I’d love to be there to watch when you unleash your power on him.”

  I smiled and unclicked my seat belt. “That would be pretty cool, but I have to do this alone. If you’re with me, he’ll probably be less likely to attack.”

  Mica sighed wistfully as I opened my door. “I know, but I can still daydream about it.”

  “So you remember the plan?”

  She nodded, her face turning serious. “Yeah. You’re going to stroll up to his house in hopes that he’s home. From there, you’re going to ask him to let you in, and then you’re going to confront him. With any luck, he’ll try to attack you. You let him go just far enough so there’s evidence that he actually tried to hurt you. From there, you’ll blast him with an energy ball, which will knock him unconscious, and then you’ll call the police. They’ll arrive and see a young woman in distress after a man tried to assault her, and they’ll arrest him. With any luck, they can link his DNA to the various crime sites from the previous attacks, and voila! We have our serial attacker in prison for the foreseeable future.”

  “My thoughts exactly.”

  I was about to step out of the vehicle when her hand shot out and grabbed me. “Lena? What if it doesn’t go to plan?”

  I debated how to answer her. “If I couldn’t control energy, I wouldn’t trust this plan, either. But I can. I can stop Aaron in a second if I want to, and this plan will also prevent him from running. You heard Luke. It sounded like Aaron was packing up, and if he leaves now, he’ll just go somewhere new and attack women all over again. I can’t let that happen.”

  Mica nodded tightly. “Okay, but if I see anything that makes me think you’re in trouble, I’m calling the cops and our family. Got it?”

  “Yeah, please do, but don’t worry. I got this.”

  She grimaced before squeezing me one last time. “Famous last words.”

  I laughed hollowly and closed the door, hoping she was wrong.

  My feet tapped on the sidewalk as I walked toward Aaron’s house. Streetlights clicked on as I passed them. The evening was truly growing dark.

  Sweat lined my palms, and I rubbed them on my thighs. While the plan in my mind seemed sound, Mica had a point. If something went wrong, this could go drastically south in no time.

  I chewed my lip as I pondered what could happen. I didn’t want to think about what Aaron could do if he did get the upper hand. Assaults didn’t take long to occur. The police might not arrive in time if that happened. And if Flint found out Aaron assaulted me, he’d go crazy and potentially expose his powers in a rage.

  I swallowed tightly. I won’t let that happen. I’ll use my power and keep the situation under control. This will be fine as long as I keep my cool.

  With that thought firmly in place, I picked up my pace. I reached his house a minute later. A light illuminated the living room. Hopefully, he’s still here.

  I stepped up to the front door on the concrete porch. Aaron’s home was surprisingly large and well maintained. Beautiful rose bushes lined the flower beds below the front window off to the right, and the siding looked freshly painted. A few feet from the front door, a lounge chair sat on the porch. A small table with an ashtray was next to it. Several cigarette butts were squished into it.

  Weird. I don’t remember Aaron being a smoker.

  Pushing that thought aside, I lifted my hand and knocked on the front door.

  Silence came from the other side.

  I lifted my hand again and knocked with more vigor.

  Nothing.

  I then hit the doorbell. A singsong tone came from within just as a sinking feeling started in the pit of my stomach. Did he already leave?

  But then footsteps sounded on the other side, and the door opened.

  Aaron’s frame dominated the doorway. My vision switched of its own accord. His ugly, writhing black cloud swirled around his shoulders. I remembered it so clearly now. At times, it resembled a slick eel that slithered and slunk around his skull. Sometimes it was like a tidal wave that roared over him as if it might pound its victim at any moment.

  He opened the door wider and smiled. Behind him were stacks of bags and a few boxes. Luke had been right. Apparently, Aaron was planning to head out of town.

  I got here just in time!

  “To what do I owe this pleasure?” He stepped to the side to allow me in. “Would you like to come in?” He leered.

  I balled my hands into fists and shoved them into my jacket pockets. As I stepped into his house, the first thing I registered was the scent of cigarette smoke—that and the expensive furniture and university pictures hanging on the wall. So Aaron’s a student? But this place seemed too expensive for a student to afford, although Aaron did have working knowledge of the campus. He had to be a student or someone that worked at the university. Regardless, I didn’t have time to wonder. Nervous energy swirled inside me when he closed the door behind me.

  The sound of a bolt sliding into place came next.

  Reminding myself that I was stronger than him and not trapped, I turned to face him. “I know you’re the man assaulting women on campus.”

  His cocky smile faltered before he hid it behind a sardonic smile. “That’s quite an accusation to make.”

  I took a sudden step toward him.

  He stumbled back a step before righting himself. Fury flashed in his gaze. I could tell he didn’t like how I’d taken the upper hand. Before, I’d always run from him, but a lot had changed since we’d last met.

  “I know you’ve been following Abigail Jonas. I know you intended for her to be your next victim. And I know what you’re capable of. All of us know that you tried to attack me two years ago on Pete and Val’s ranch.”

  He put his hands on his hips and stepped forward. A flash of surprise crossed his eyes when I didn’t retreat, but again, he quickly covered it.

  When we were standing toe to toe, he looked down at me. “You have no proof of that.”

  “I may not have proof, but we did tell the police about it. There’s a record of it in Little Raven’s Police Department.”

  He laughed. “Do you think that really matters?”

  I curled my fingers into my palms and forced myself to remain calm. More than anything, I wanted to wipe that smirk off his face, but I needed to maintain my cool. If he didn’t attack me, I had no way of proving that he assaulted women.

  I needed him to come at me. Without that, the police would never arrest him. Instead, I would be the one harassing him by coming to his house and confronting him like this.

  “It must kill you that I got away.”

  His nostrils flared.

  “All alone in the mountains with just little old me, and you still couldn’t catch me. How did that make you feel when I escaped?”

  Something flashed in his eyes, something dark and malevolent. “But now you’re here. And you’re ripe for the picking.”

  He took a step forward, forcing me back, but there was still a room to my side. I wasn’t cornered as his cloud grew and pulsed in a way that I knew meant he was going to act now.

  I pulled the energy from all around me, calling on the animal and plant life forces from outside. Within a second, I had a huge energy ball, ready to do my bidding. “I don’t think so. You won’t have the upper hand this—”

  My words cut off as I felt the presence of another energy filling the room. I spun around just in time to see a bat coming down on my head. And the hands that gripped the bat created a shock in me so great that my power vanished.

  Professor Dillinger!

  My teacher’s face registered in my mind before everything went black.

  CHAPT
ER TWELVE

  My body shifted, moving and swaying as a pounding headache pummeled my mind. Something rolled into me. Groggily, I opened my eyes.

  A large wad of something filled my mouth. “What the . . .” I tried to say the words out loud but couldn’t.

  My eyes flew open. I can’t breathe!

  Darkness surrounded me as I frantically tried to clear my mouth of whatever filled it, but my hands were pinned. My breathing increased as the sickening taste of dirty cotton coated my mouth. Something’s in my mouth! And my mouth is taped closed!

  When I kicked out, my feet encountered a hard panel, and I realized my legs were restrained in addition to my arms. Fighting, I tried to free my arms from behind my back, but something hard and thin cut into my wrists. What’s happening?

  And then it all came crashing back. Memories returned like bullets from a machine gun.

  Aaron. Professor Dillinger. The bat.

  They bound and gagged me!

  My head swam. Blackness threatened to descend again. I forced myself to take slower and deeper breaths since I was hyperventilating, but that was hard around the gag.

  Breathe in. Breathe out. Okay, stay calm. Figure this out!

  The shifting and moving were the biggest indicators of my location. But the thin line of light coming in through the cramped space, the muffled voices to my left, and the road noise made it very apparent I was tied up in the back of a trunk.