“I’m not going to see my child born.”
“As of right now, you will not see Dianna Mary Armstrong born.”
He knew she wasn’t lying, since she pulled her name out of the static.
“Shit.”
“I’m trying, Jagger. All of this has been because I’m trying to move fate off this course. Tomorrow, if I can’t, you die.”
He thought about it.
It sucked that now, after surviving tours of duty, Oracle protection, and countless shitty missions, he was going to die after finally finding happiness.
Of course this was how it would end.
“How?”
“I don’t know. Fate isn’t giving me that yet. All I know is I’m unable to change it. Every scenario plays out the same way. We’re at your funeral and you’re in that horrible flag draped casket.”
He got it.
He was a dead man walking.
“I need something.”
“Yes?” she asked, glancing over at his aura. It was clear and calm. She didn’t get that, but Jagger was a special breed.
“When I die tomorrow, promise me you’ll tell Dianna about me. Promise me she’ll know that I loved her the second I knew about her. I want my daughter to know I wasn’t like my father. I would die for her. I loved her and her mother.”
“Oh, Jagger,” she whispered, the tears beginning to fall down her cheeks. She didn’t want to carry this either. “I don’t want to lose you. You’re my brother. You were one of my first friends.”
He moved toward her and knelt in front of her.
“Is there something after this, Avi? When we’re gone, is there more?”
“Yes, Jagger, there’s more.”
“Then I’ll be okay. Make sure you tell Roxy about this after she’s had time. Tell her I’m going to be waiting for her. She’s my soul mate.”
“She is, Jagger. She was always meant to be yours.”
“I know you worked hard to get us together, so thank you for that. I had a couple days of love, and that’s a beautiful thing.”
She was crying.
“I failed you, Jagger. I didn’t save you. I can’t stop this from coming. No matter what I do, I can’t fix this, and I’m so sorry.”
He knew she was. Avalon was special to him. She’d always be part of him, even when he was gone.
Jagger didn’t want her to carry this.
He kissed her on the forehead. “You can’t stop fate, Avi. You’re Oracle, not God. I accept my end. I can only do that if you promise me that you will all take care of Roxy and my child. Make sure she gets to meet Jaxon, and promise me that you’ll tell her everything when she’s growing up.”
“I promise, Jagger. I swear I’ll find a way to stop this if I can. I have time. I have until…”
He placed his fingers on her lips. “Let me go in honor. That’s why I chose this path. This is my duty. Let me die when it’s my time. I served, I saved, and I gave. That’s why I became a Marine. It was to fight the good fight, Avalon. You keep fighting them, and you keep saving them. That’s why I signed on to be with you. I believe in you.”
She hugged him. “I love you, Jagger. I’ve loved you since you tried to be cocky that first day. I saw the real you, and he’s an amazing man.”
He hugged her back.
His heart was breaking. He didn’t want to go, but he didn’t become a Marine to run from danger.
All gave some.
Some gave all.
“My dress blues are at my apartment—the one in Jersey that I use to stay hidden. You know the address. Make sure I am buried in them. Please.”
She wiped furiously at her eyes.
“Don’t tell anyone this is the end. I don’t want anyone to hurt. Just let me do my job, get this killer, and we’ll call it a day.”
She sniffled.
“Can you tell me about her? What will my daughter be like?” he asked. “Will she be…?”
She touched his cheek. “She’s going to be like Maura. She’s going to be brave, smart, and be like you. She’s going to have red brown hair, blue eyes, and wear a uniform in your honor. She’s going to fight the good fight, and matter.”
He smiled. “Will Roxy…?”
“She will never marry again. She’s going to stay with us, raise Dianna, and mourn you ever single day. She will get one hell of a tattoo in your honor.”
He laughed. “Thank you for that.”
“Fight, Jagger. That’s all I’m asking for tomorrow. Fight. I’ll do whatever I can.”
“I promise I will, Avi. Now, go out there, say nothing, and let me do my job. Promise me you’ll keep this between us.”
“I swear I will. I love you, Jagger.”
He hugged her. “I love you too, Avalon. I’ll miss you,” he said, setting her free. “I’m going to patrol the perimeter.”
She knew he needed to be alone.
“Okay, Jagger.”
He didn’t go out through the door with her. Instead, he climbed out the window to be alone in the falling night.
What did you do when you knew you had less than twenty-four hours to live?
Did you party?
Did you mourn?
Jagger stood there, staring at the cabin. He was hurting from all of this, but he wouldn’t let it eat away at him.
Dropping to his knees, he spoke, “I’ve given my life for this country, and I’ve seen things no one should see. If you’re out there, God, and you really do exist like my mother said you did, don’t let me die.”
He listened to the wind in the trees.
“I don’t want to go. I finally have peace. I have a family that’s mine, and they love me. I have brothers who have my back, I have Avalon and Maura who I love. I have a wife and child on the way. Give me time. I’ve earned it. Give me a few more years to see my daughter laugh, cry, and so I can be here to scare away the boys. I don’t want to lose my family. Not now. I’ve fought too hard.”
Jagger wiped at his eyes.
He’d always figured he’d die in battle. Only now, he had so much to lose.
“If this is meant to be, I get it. Thank you for giving me what I have, and thank you for giving me the strength to fight for freedom. I’ll go willingly.”
Jagger stood.
He needed a walk.
As he headed off into the trees, she watched him leave from her perch. Maura wiped at her own eyes.
Bullshit.
He wasn’t going down on her watch.
Maura, while she bought Avalon’s gift, knew one thing.
Nothing stopped a Marine.
Nothing.
* * * O R A C L E * * *
When she got back into the living room, Nate was there. Apparently, they told him what had been going on because he immediately went to her side and hugged her.
“I love you.”
She loved him too. “I feel the same, handsome.”
“What did I miss?” she asked, as he led her to the couch. “Are we talking about the killer?”
“Where’s Jagger?” Roxy asked in alarm.
“He needed a walk. He wanted to plan out his strategy for the next day,” she said.
The team looked at her.
Nate knew she was lying.
Luke heard it in her voice.
Jagger didn’t plan strategy. Maura did. She was covering for him. That couldn’t be good.
“Oh, okay,” she said.
“He’ll turn up,” Luke said, covering for him. “This is normal.”
“Let’s talk about this nutjob,” Nate said, changing the subject. “We have to find him, and fast.”
“Let’s talk suspects,” Bishop stated. “Then I can tell you what I’ve found.”
He glanced over. “You’re not yanking my chain, right?”
She laughed. “No, I actually found a way to link most of the women together. I just need to hear what you have, and then we can see if they jive.”
He could do that.
“Who’s at t
he top of your list?” she asked.
“I have some interesting characters. We interviewed Bob Buck today. He’s the guy that helps Karl Conway around his businesses.”
Nate told them about his talking to the dead thing.
“He’s insane.”
“People think I’m crazy too,” Avalon offered. “Maybe he really is talking to the dead.”
Somehow, that didn’t make any of them feel better.
Luke laughed. “I don’t think he’s as strong a psychic as you, Avalon. He was a little…off.”
She focused on him. “I can meet him…”
Nate stared at her. “No. Over my cold, dead, decaying, rotting, bug filled, hole-y body.”
She laughed. “How do you really feel, Nathaniel? From that response, I’m not quite sure I get what you’re saying.”
He calmed down. “You’re staying here. Better?”
Her laughter filled the room. “Yes, I think that one works better for me.”
“How old is he?” Bishop asked, trying to get more information. “Ball park it for me.”
“Thirty max,” Luke offered.
Most of their dead women, with the exception of the teacher who was killed last year was around that age.
It could be him.
“Who else?” Bishop asked, making a list.
“I have the sheriff on my list,” Nate said.
“Where is he?” Bishop inquired.
“He needed to check on his men. Maura did kick the shit out of them. He’s heading here in a little while.”
Avalon interrupted. “It’s not him. I’ve met him, and he’s not the killer. I’d know if he was the same energy I’d felt the last four times.”
She had a point.
Bishop crossed him off.
“Who else?” she asked.
“This one’s a long shot, but that reporter is rubbing me the wrong way. His colleague is killed, and then he’s following us around,” Luke stated. “He could be out for glory, or if he’s a psychic, he’d know she was working on that story and not want to be outed.”
He had a point.
He was staying on the list.
“Who else?” she asked.
“Karl Conway rented cabins to a few of the women, and he knows Bob Buck isn’t all there. Could he be pointing us away from himself?” Nate asked.
“He’s older than all the women,” stated Bishop. “Avalon, how old is this killer?”
She shook her head. “It doesn’t work that way. I can feel his energy, and it’s evil. That’s all I get. I don’t get an age. I’m sure I don’t feel my age to another psychic.”
Lucian answered her. “You don’t. I would have thought you would have been in your sixties. You feel like an old soul.”
There was her point.
“Okay, so who else can we add to our list?” Bishop asked. “We’re running out of time.”
Avalon knew she had no idea. The killer was getting ready to strike again. The static was kicking up. Even Lucian knew it. He was holding her hand on the couch, and their energy was going haywire.
“We interviewed Harold Fry today, and he was a douchebag. He’s this spoiled kid who sleeps all day and does whatever he wants,” Luke offered.
“He’s around the right age,” stated Bishop.
Nate was pacing. “I have someone on my list, and it’s bugging me. ‘Lucky’s’ keeps popping up. A lot of shit keeps pointing back there, and it’s distracting me.”
“Jared Walker was there a lot,” stated Luke. “The bartender, Austin Ball, said he was a regular.”
“He brought a few ‘dates’ there,” offered Bishop, and he was super obsessed with Brianna Moyer. Maybe he had something to do with it.”
“Brianna was how old?” asked Luke.
“Thirty-ish.”
Bishop knew it was time to share what she found. “I think I hit the mother lode, and this may break it wide open.”
She told them what she’d dug up, and how. They listened to her until she was done.
“Jared Walker dropped out of school. He was being tutored by a teacher at the school. Raizy Lowery was a student there, as was Marian Hawkins. They were there the same time that Tanya Ware was. I also connected Bernice Parry there, too, as a teacher.”
Nate wasn’t sure. “If they were from this town, they all went to that school.”
“Yeah, but it feels connected. They were all there around the same time. They’re all the same age, minus the older teacher.”
“We’ll have to dig,” he stated. “We need to figure out if Annie Sherman, Kathleen Hale, and Joann Rice all knew each other too. This one is hard, because we don’t know what the killer is thinking.”
Avalon stood.
“We do. He’s starting. She’s fallen asleep. It’s beginning.”
The room went silent.
Then Lucian and Avalon both screamed.
* * * O R A C L E * * *
He played with her mind.
This was all about payback. Yes, Tanya was raped on a date. She asked for it. Joann Rice was a slut who wanted attention, and when she was asked to put out, she said no.
Brianna Moyer knew what had happened. She’d heard and began asking questions. She always was a goodie goodie who stuck her nose where it didn’t belong.
Boys would be boys.
Right?
Kathleen Hale was asking too many questions about that night a few years ago. Once she found out the truth, she was going to tell the whole damn town.
They all needed to die.
But they weren’t alone…
Annie Sherman was a dick tease, and she liked to talk about people as if they were nothing.
Well, that was just wrong.
Bernice Parry, that old battle-ax, was always watching—even though she was no longer at the school, she’d walk around town, watching and judging.
She had it coming too.
She needed to keep her loose mouth shut.
Raizy, Marian, and Kristine were the mean girls in school. They thought they were better than everyone, and they made lives miserable.
It was about payback.
For each and every one, it was about keeping their damn mouths shut. What happened, had happened, and it was time to let it go. It was time to move on and forget it all.
A boy had to spread his wings and try out the world. It wasn’t his fault it was filled with a bunch of gossiping, slutty, hens.
For that, they’d died.
Now there was one more. She would die too.
Then he’d finish this and go after Oracle. She was getting too close. She was trying to trap him. Once he killed her, the other coroner would die too.
Why?
He felt like it.
Women needed to mind their own business.
This was about revenge.
And making the pathetic scream his name.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Sunday Morning
Dawn
They did battle for the woman’s life. The entire time the killer was in the next victim’s head, he was desperately trying to end her. He was planting thoughts, ideas, and fears.
Avalon fought him back.
She needed to save her. This girl had to live. They needed to find out who raped Tanya Ware. If they could get that one piece of information, they’d have their killer.
Avalon knew she had to give the killer something worthy of his attention.
As she tried to lure him away, she offered up the one thing she knew he would be helpless to resist.
Herself.
He would want to destroy her more than the other woman. It would be too tempting to pass up. If she made herself look vulnerable, he’d strike.
She’d buy them some time.
Avalon needed to make this work.
Reaching for Lucian, she sent him the message, and then allowed the killer to pull her into her worst nightmares. She’d battle for as long as she could.
She’d hold on.
&
nbsp; She had no choice.
This was about saving Jagger, and ending this asshole once and for all.
When Lucian sat up with a start, the whole team jumped. Then they looked at Avalon, waiting for her to wake too.
Only, she didn’t.
“His next victim is still alive. He didn’t manage to kill her. Avalon bought you some time,” he muttered, holding his head. “You have to go get her. Avalon wants you to find out who raped Tanya Ware. Then you’ll have your killer. It’ll give you the final piece to the puzzle.”
“What’s wrong with her?” Nate asked, holding her hand. It was cold, clammy, and twitching.
Avalon wasn’t in a trance. He knew what they looked like, and this one was completely different.
“She’s…” He didn’t want to tell Nate what she’d done. Avalon had sacrificed herself. He was pretty sure the man was going to lose it, and Lucian couldn’t blame him.
Nate focused on her.
“NO! She didn’t.”
Oh, she absolutely did.
From the way her eyelids twitched, he knew the truth. She was in a dream.
Holy shit!
Avalon, Nathaniel Carter’s fiancée, was trapped in a dream.
He tried to scare her.
He tried to make her cry.
Only, he didn’t know what he was dealing with. In each and every one of the nightmares he threw at her, they were about her childhood.
He tried to make her relive her grandmother’s abuse. He tried to scare her as if she was as a child, only it didn’t work.
She fought him and fought him hard.
She did battle like no one’s business. That wasn’t her true fear in life.
It wasn’t what scared her.
She knew she couldn’t let him have that secret. If he got it, he’d use it against her.
Avalon battled for all she was worth, and while she was doing it, she was stripping away his identity. He was hidden in the shadows, but now that he was fully in her mind, she could find out who he was.
Oracle Saving (The Phoenix Files Book 3) Page 38
