Who was next?
Moving stealthily through the trees, she found two more of the deputies together. They were whispering about something when they should have been paying attention to their surroundings.
This kind of shit got you hurt.
Here was about to be the proof. Their idiocy was going to work to her advantage.
Moving silently between them, they were inches from each other’s faces, still talking.
“Psst,” she said to get their attention.
It surprised them.
When they both turned toward each other to see who was there, she slammed their faces together with a sickening crunch.
They hit the ground with duo thuds.
Okay, she said she wasn’t going to kill them, but that didn’t mean they weren’t going to feel a little pain.
A girl had to have some fun.
Before moving on, she zip tied their arms behind their backs to secure them. They weren’t going anywhere now.
Three down, three to go.
Moving around the house, she found one of the deputies setting up a sniper’s nest with a clear shot into the kitchen window. He was getting ready to cover his boss when he went into the cabin.
Yeah, she couldn’t let that happen.
Jagger was a sitting duck.
From where she stood behind a tree, peeking, Maura could see her Marine partner walking around shirtless. He and Roxy were happily talking.
Damn it, Jagger!
What the hell, man?
The Marine had gotten married and lost all sense of self-preservation. She was going to slap some sense into him before he became a civilian.
Self-preservation still mattered.
When she was right next to the shooter, she cleared her throat. He turned his head, her boot clipped him right in the temple, knocking him out.
Dumbass.
Two to go.
The last two deputies were closest to the sheriff. She recognized the one from the other day. She watched as the sheriff pulled his Taser and prepared to go through the door.
She could head the squeal of tires coming their way. As Joe Gilespie kicked the door in, Maura did what she had to do.
She kicked the shit out of two bigger men without even breaking a sweat. It looked like the sheriff’s backup was down for the count.
Hell!
This made her damn day.
Jagger, and his new wife, were lucky. Maura had evened the odds.
* * * O R A C L E * * *
Five Minutes
Earlier
Jagger and Roxy were just about to sit down to have something to eat. Only, he found himself distracted. He was married, had a kid on the way, and his wife was wearing only his t-shirt and panties.
So much had changed in a couple short days, but one thing remained the same.
He wanted her.
God!
Jagger could die from all the want he was feeling for this feisty brunette.
Sue him, but he’d been screwed out of his wedding night, and he really wanted a redo.
“What are you thinking about?” she asked, moving closer to him.
“You,” he offered. “You’re sexy this morning,” he offered, pulling her against his body. He realized that this was technically their first morning after sleeping together. Yes, he watched over her the last couple of nights, but last night they slept in each other’s arms, and he had peace.
Now he got it.
Jagger realized why Maura and Luke were always laughing in the morning. They had this bond, this connection, and this sense of belonging.
They had each other.
That was a special thing, and he looked forward to the next fifty years with her. For some reason, he knew it would only get better. Roxy was like a fine wine.
She’d age really well, and he couldn’t wait to taste her across his tongue.
At his words, she wiggled against him. “Am I sexy?” she teased.
When she groped him, he growled low and nipped her ear. “Don’t tease me, Mrs. Armstrong. A man has needs, and I needs you.”
She giggled. “Your grammar is atrocious.”
“It’s a side effect of being horny. One brain kicks off when the other kicks on,” he teased. “You should have mercy on me. I’m only a poor male.”
“Well, how about I feed this child of yours, and then maybe we can go take a shower, get soapy, and you can put parts of you in parts of me?”
She whispered in his ear.
Yeah, he liked what he was hearing.
“That part would love to find a nice home to call its own,” he admitted. In fact, his dick was throbbing as she rubbed against him.
It amazed Jagger that he was able to do this every single day with her. There was no need to hunt down a woman to satisfy his needs.
He had his Roxy.
She filled the holes in his life.
“Bring it on, Marine. There’s nothing like a morning boning to make a girl smile.”
Yeah, on that, he could agree.
“You’re a dirty girl. I married the right woman, that’s for damn sure. I know exactly what part I’m putting where,” he offered, giving her a kiss on her lips.
It was pretty hot.
As their tongues did battle, his hands wandered right to her panty-clad ass.
He gave her a squeeze, and she returned the favor.
When he moaned, Roxy snorted and stepped back so he could pour her cereal. He looked so damn sexy standing there in the sunlight, shirtless, and in front of the window.
It was the smile on his face that really made him as sexy as sin. This was a side of Jagger that she didn’t expect to see, and now that she was, Roxy couldn’t go back. He was calm, still, and incredibly open with her.
She liked it.
When he looked up, his face morphed. The switch was flipped, and it scared her.
What Jagger saw frightened him too.
“Roxy,” he shouted, reaching for her as he saw a shadow in the door. He barely got her behind him when the door crashed in, and he saw the gun.
The trigger was pulled, and it hit him full force in the chest. The prongs hit skin, and thousands of volts hit his body, sending shocks through him.
Jagger’s body froze. It went numb, forgetting how to function.
The pain was overwhelming.
As the volts continued and Roxy screamed his name, he dropped to his knees as the man kept the trigger pressed to keep the electricity flowing.
His brain was scrambled.
Roxy was scared.
His heart skipped in his chest.
Jagger prayed for a miracle. A shot that close to his heart was dangerous. The sheriff wasn’t messing around. He really wanted to do some major damage.
Then, as suddenly as the chaos started, he was falling.
Right into the dark.
* * * O R A C L E * * *
Nate tried to call Jagger the entire time on the way there. When he pulled into the driveway, he saw the sheriff go through the door, his arm up, and something in his hand.
He didn’t hear a gunshot, so he had hope. This might be the first time in his life he was praying for a Taser.
As the vehicle came to a stop, they raced out. Bishop had a gun in her hand, Luke, too, as he scanned the area, hoping to see his wife.
They charged to the porch and could hear screaming coming from inside.
It was definitely Jagger.
Once inside, they found Jagger out cold on the floor and the sheriff handcuffing Roxy. She was on her knees and sobbing as she tried to reach her husband. His body was still twitching from the after effects.
The second Joe Gilespie realized they were there, he pulled his other gun and pointed it at Roxy.
Shit!
This man was playing a dangerous game by using an innocent woman as a shield.
Was he insane?
Law enforcement never did that. This was proof that this whole thing was spiraling out of control, and f
ast.
“I know you’re all imposters,” he said, moving to stand behind the woman. “What the hell are you doing in my town?” he asked.
“We told you what we were doing,” Nate said. Now he had to defuse this situation, and fast. Jagger shouldn’t be out cold from a Taser hit. He had to have hit his head on the way down. There was blood on the floor, and when he woke up, he was going to do something drastic.
This had the potential to blow up.
“You lied. See, I called the FBI late last night. It seems that you died in a fire, but yet here you are. You don’t look all crispy and dead.”
Well, shit.
That was poorly timed.
Crap.
Crap.
Double crap.
How the bloody hell was he supposed to talk them out of this? From here on out, nothing he said was going to have any validity to the sheriff. Nothing he said was going to be believable, and now Roxy was in the line of fire.
He prayed Jagger stayed out a little longer. Nate knew what he’d do in this situation, and he was sure Jagger would take it further—as in killing the man.
Joe Gilespie was dead as soon as the Marine surfaced. This was about saving his life.
Oh, and keeping this out of the damn news.
The sheriff kept going.
“In fact, he’s dead too,” Joe said, pointing at Luke. “So, I had every right to arrest you for impersonating Federal agents. Next, I’m calling the FBI, and they will be coming to get you. I only want to know why you’re here.”
What the hell was he supposed to say?
“I can answer that,” Avalon said from the doorway.
Immediately, Joe swung and pointed the gun at her. “Who the hell are you supposed to be?” he asked.
Nate went to move toward her.
“I’ll shoot her. I swear I will. Right now, I have six deputies outside,” he warned.
Maura entered the cabin next, and she was smiling. “You actually had six deputies, but they’re a little tied up at the moment,” she stated. “You can set them free later them when we let you go.” She stared down at Jagger and whistled. “Yeah, if we let you go,” she stated, pulling her gun too. Only hers had a sight on it, and the red dot flickered on his forehead.
He got twitchy.
Avalon knew she had to handle this before someone was shot. Thankfully, Lucian was around. She could navigate the chaos and deal with the worried sheriff.
“Put your guns down,” she ordered.
The team looked at her as if she was insane. There was no way she could mean…
“I mean it. Trust me. He’s not going to shoot me.”
“Yes, yes, I will,” he said. “I will shoot you all. I have enough reason to believe you’re up to no good.”
There was a click of Maura’s safety coming off.
The sheriff pulled Roxy closer.
That had definitely not helped his or her case.
“Please?” she asked, trying to get the people she called family to trust her. It was time for her to do her thing.
Reluctantly, the team did as she asked, despite what the man was saying. This was about trusting Oracle and this was her rodeo now that it was way out of control.
“Wasn’t your hair red?” he asked.
She laughed. “It was. How about you let me introduce myself? I’m Avalon Miller, but the government gave me the name of Oracle. I’m a psychic.”
He started laughing. “You’re nuts.”
“I get that a lot,” she stated. “Unfortunately, it doesn’t negate what I’m telling you. I’m here in Happy to help.”
“Bullshit. Prove it. As far as I’m concerned, you’re all up to something, and I won’t believe a word you say.”
Yeah, she figured as much.
It was time to do her thing.
“When you were six, your grandmother died. Before she passed away, she gave you something on her death bed.”
He stared at her.
He vividly recalled that day.
She’d been the center of their whole family.
“What was it?” he asked. There was no way she’d know this. There was no possible way…
“It was a paddle with a boot branded into it. She told you when you thought of being bold, to look at it. She told you that even though she couldn’t whoop the stupid out of your actions, you’d know she was watching.”
His mouth was open.
Holy shit!
That was EXACTLY what she’d told him. The only other person who knew that was his mother, and she was dead.
So who told her?
“She gave it to you because you had been caught stealing ice cream out of the back of an ice cream truck. Your brothers got the driver’s attention by pretending they were hurt, and you climbed in and swiped enough ice cream for all six of you.”
He couldn’t believe it.
How did she know that he had five brothers? Or the ice cream? Or the paddle?
He was getting freaked out.
“How the hell?”
“I told you. I'm not called Oracle for shits and giggles.
Nate, check on Jagger. He hit his head pretty hard, and he’s bleeding.”
The man backed up, still pointing the gun at her.
Apparently, he needed more to be convinced. His aura was shifting, but she didn’t trust that he had a gun pointed at any of them, let alone a pregnant woman.
“Do you need more?”
“Yes.”
“Your first kiss was a girl named Sally Mae Worthington, it was on the Fourth of July, and you ended up with her grape bubble gum in your mouth. Then you got the chicken pox ten days later because she’d picked them up from kissing Stevie Hallstead.”
“Jesus.”
There was no freaking way anyone knew that. He’d never told his mother what he’d been doing. No one knew about Sally Mae, and no one knew about the gum. That was his own personal memory.
It was locked away in his mind.
“I know. I’m in your head, and thank you. My fiancé likes my breasts too.”
He sputtered.
Nate glared at him. “I should just shoot you right now for ogling my girl.”
Avalon’s laughter trickled through the room, but her mouth was closed, and no one knew how they heard it. That meant it was in all of their heads.
“I don’t understand any of this.”
It was time.
“You asked why we’re here. There’s someone stalking your town. The victims, and the killer, called to me. Up until yesterday, I worked for the government. I’ve since been released from their service, and that’s why when you checked up on our team, you were told they were dead.”
He didn’t want to believe any of this, but she knew things no one ever knew.
“Let’s just say I freelance now. This is my team, and the man you hurt is my friend and family. His wife is pregnant, and you’re scaring her.”
Avalon pointed at Jagger’s wife.
Roxy was still sobbing, and it was clear that she was afraid to move.
“Uncuff her, and I suggest you do it before Jagger wakes up. She’s carrying his child, and you’ve manhandled a pregnant woman.”
He was afraid to put down his gun.
“First, tell me how you knew all of that?”
“I’m Oracle. I know everything.”
“What did I have for….?”
“Breakfast? A danish out of a vending machine, two cups of coffee, no creamer but lots of sugar, and two sticks of peppermint gum—the white one with blue specks that make your breath minty fresh. You didn’t have a toothbrush at your office, since your cleaning lady tossed it out.”
He stared at her.
“Holy shit.”
He couldn’t believe it. He’d eaten all of that, and he’d even been pissed that his toothbrush was gone.
Jesus.
What the hell?
“By the way, it was a cherry danish. You didn’t want to eat the cheese one beca
use the last time it made you want to puke.”
He crossed himself.
She laughed. Like that was going to help him. This man was in for a world of hurt if she didn’t get this cleaned up before Jagger woke up.
“Yeah, I get that a lot too.”
“What’s with your eyes? They are all cloudy,” he said, taking a step back.
“I’m blind. I’m using Lucian’s eyes to see you. I’m in his mind too.”
“Bullshit. This isn’t some science fiction movie. This is real life.”
She turned around so she wasn’t facing him. “Show Lucian what’s in your pocket.”
He reached in, pulled out the single item, and showed him.
“Well?” he asked, as he tucked it away.
“It was a blue paperclip that you bent to pick the lock to break in here. It looks like a U, and you got it from the glove compartment of your truck off your insurance papers. By the way, you’re not getting screwed when it comes to your premiums. You just happen to be shit out of luck that Dempsey’s is the only insurance company in town.”
“Jesus H. Christ.”
Avalon turned around.
The invisible breeze was blowing around her, and her hair was moving in it. She looked…spooky.
“Now, will you please remove the handcuffs from my friend, Roxanne? She really is pregnant, and she’s very scared. They just got married yesterday, and this is turning out to be a horrible honeymoon.”
He stared at her.
“Yes, you can check the courthouse. They filed the paperwork there.”
Joe had been thinking that too.
“Please? No one is pointing a gun at you. The least you can do is have some compassion for a scared woman. You’ve worked with her the last two months. This is no way to treat her. Your grandmother would be ashamed.”
“What are my brothers’ nicknames?”
“Grumpy, Bashful, Sleepy, Doc, Sneezy, you’re Dopy, and you live in Happy. Your mother was amusing.”
Okay, that was spot on.
He holstered his gun.
The whole team relaxed.
“I don’t understand this,” he said, feeling sick to his stomach over the whole thing. “You can’t be serious. None of this can be real.”
“Oh, it’s real, and you have a huge problem on your hands,” she admitted.
Oracle Saving (The Phoenix Files Book 3) Page 33
