But the vision was upon her before she could prepare for it.
A tunnel opened up before her. Light beckoned at the end. She was disembodied, a molecule rushing toward it, but blinded by the glare.
She blinked to focus her eyes and found herself in a room decorated in white with tasteful touches of fuchsia and blue. The wall behind the bed displayed an array of framed posters and pictures of different sizes. Scarves were draped around one post of the bed, and jewelry and perfume bottles were scattered across the top of an old-fashioned dressing table with a velvet chair.
A sound came from the other side of the bed, and she went to see what it was. Will Abney was on his knees, his face red and ugly with purpose. His bare buttocks pumped violently between the legs of a young girl of fifteen or sixteen. His hand covered her mouth, stifling her screams, while he pounded into her. Her eyes were wild and pleading, her hands clawing at his clothes, not with passion, but fear and pain.
The next moment he was on his feet, standing over the girl while she curled into herself. “You’ll get over it and learn to enjoy it. Otherwise, you and your family will be on the street. I think it’s a fair exchange so you and your parents are able to maintain your current lifestyle. Don’t you agree, Angelique?”
“Mia?” Andrea touched her shoulder, interrupting the vision.
Mia turned blind eyes toward her.
Andrea gasped and gripped Mason’s arm. “There’s something wrong with Mia.”
Mason shoved away from the table and crossed to her side. He touched her shoulder. “Mia?”
“I’m all right. It’s nothing.”
“Her eyes, Mason,” Andrea murmured.
She knew what Andrea was seeing. Her pupils were no doubt so large no part of the iris showed. Plus she was shivering from the aftereffects of the girl’s pain and helplessness.
Mia got to her feet and Mason caught her arm. “I’m okay.” She tugged away and left the dining room, hurrying down the hallway to the bathroom. She locked the door and leaned back against it until the tremors eased and she was able to fight back the tears.
What she just witnessed was in the past. If the tunnel took her there, it had already happened. There was nothing she could do to change things. Nothing she could do to help. Unless it was still going on.
She went to the sink and, turning on the cold water, let it run over the insides of her wrists. She closed her eyes again and struggled to breathe through the worst of the aftermath. A few minutes later she looked up into the mirror and saw her eyes were starting to return to normal. She dried her hands, left the bathroom, and went to the study to get her purse.
“What did you see?” Ming asked from the doorway.
How did he know she had a vision? She hadn’t seen him in the dining room. But then he usually knew everything that happened in this house.
He was also the only one who believed in her gift, and he usually followed up on what she told him and acted on it in some way.
“Will Abney is a rapist and a monster.” She got the keys out of her bag. “The girl’s name is Angelique. She’s fifteen or sixteen. Will you call me if you find out anything?”
“Of course.” He stood aside so she could leave the study.
Her mother emerged from the dining room just as Mia reached the front door.
“Mia, where are you going?”
“I’m going home, Mother. Please offer my apologies to your guests.”
“Why are you leaving?”
Her earlier resentment came bubbling to the surface. “Please don’t bother to call and invite me to dinner again. I’m not interested in your rich colleagues. Or being pimped out to one of them.”
He mother blinked at her—for once shocked speechless. “How dare you speak to me that way, Mia?”
“I dare because that’s how you make me feel. If you need money, go to a bank and take out a loan. I’m not for sale.”
She opened the front door and escaped.
CHAPTER 5
‡
Gage sat next to Mama’s bed for his ten-minute block of time.
The bruising seemed to be getting worse instead of fading, but her breathing was less labored. She had broken ribs, a broken cheekbone, a broken jaw. Someone not only wanted her dead but enjoyed brutalizing her in the process.
Why? What had a little old grandmother who’d raised three grandsons, gone to church every Sunday, and been helpful and supportive of neighbors, done to deserve such a beating?
But even Gage could see the rage behind her injuries. Who could she possibly have angered?
He needed to talk to the neighbors, and to Mia.
The nurse came into the room to check Mama’s vitals. He moved from his seat to Mama’s side and took her hand in his. He bent to speak into her ear. “This is Gage, Mama. They’re kicking me out. You need to rest and heal. I’ll be back in a little while.”
Her fingers briefly pressed his, though she didn’t open her eyes. That tiny butterfly-like touch had his heart rate soaring. “I love you, Mama.” He kissed her forehead.
Buoyed by that small sign of awareness, Gage left the hospital and walked across to the parking structure. Mama’s fourteen-year-old Malibu looked none the worse for wear since the last time he drove it, which was entirely due to Roman’s diligence. He took it in for maintenance when needed and often did oil changes himself in the driveway.
And the inside was neat as a pin, one of Mama’s quirks. Gage had to smile. Algae could grow around the taillights, and she could write her name in the dirt on the doors, but the inside was always clean and polished. Mama’s reasoning was that she didn’t have to sit on the hood.
His mind wandered to what he’d been able to learn about Mia’s business. He did some research about Promises, and was glad…but not surprised…to learn she’d done well. Achieving financial independence from her mother was her main goal since middle school. She shared enough about her mother and their relationship that he knew Camille began, when Mia was very young, to use money as both a stick to beat her into submission and a carrot to coax her into doing what Camille demanded. Mia’s mother also behaved like she was making a blood sacrifice any time her daughter required anything. Thus, Mia had worked from the time she was sixteen.
Luckily, Mia’s grandmother, Mamie Boudreaux, set up a college fund for her when she was born and she never needed to ask for money for her education or living expenses while she worked toward her degree. He assumed she did the same for Mason.
Why Mason threw in with his mother after graduating from LSU with a degree in financial law was beyond him. Maybe Camille wasn’t as hard on him because he was male and the heir apparent to all the businesses. Or maybe he decided to keep his enemy close and watch for a way to wrestle the family’s money away from her.
Gage wished him luck. If there was a way for Camille to take it all with her, she’d find it.
He’d been on the outside of all that drama, working summers and weekends doing yardwork for well-to-do families, mowing their grass and doing landscaping. After graduating from high school, he went to work full time for one of the petroleum companies. Made decent money and was able to take Mia out for dinner, or order pizza. Simple pleasures. When she turned eighteen, she moved into an apartment where they could be alone and away from both his grandmother’s eagle eye and Camille’s spies.
But they just hadn’t been careful enough.
Gage parallel parked in one of the only spots on the street outside of Promises and on his way in held the door open for two women who were exiting with bags and stepped inside.
A stained-glass window above him grabbed his attention as soon as he crossed the threshold. To his right he saw the entrance to the restaurant, Promises Given, and the full tables he could see through the glass wall told him it was lunchtime. He’d get something to eat and take it back to Mama’s house.
Beyond the restaurant, a good third of the warehouse space was taken up with a bookstore, Promises Written.
M
ovement above drew his attention, where he caught a glimpse of Mia with a customer. He headed for the stairs.
On the second floor surrounded by fragile-looking artwork, he felt like a bull in a china shop and avoided going anywhere near the pieces. He caught a glimpse of himself in some kind of mirrored piece of furniture, he decided that at least he looked more presentable than he had the day before. The trim job he’d done the night before with a pair of Mama’s scissors helped, and he’d sculpted his beard, but he still planned to hit a barbershop on the way home.
He paused to admire a two-foot-long green, blown-glass sculpture of a boat, complete with the rowers and oars and blown glass waves of blended blues, greens, and whites lapping at the sides and along the bottom of the vessel.
A tall, slender blonde approached him with a smile. She was a beauty and had the body and walk of a model. The smile as well. “May I help you?”
“I’m Gage Fontenot. I wonder if Mia has a few minutes free for me to talk to her.”
“Just a moment and I’ll check.” She beelined toward the back of the gallery.
As she walked away, he wondered if he was becoming desensitized to women since her smile hadn’t even tripped his male libido. With all the women who came on to him because he was a SEAL…
Mia emerged from her office and started toward him. His heart leaped at sight of her—along with other parts of his anatomy—putting to rest any worries he had about his earlier lack of response. He could spend all day just watching her walk toward him.
When he noticed her anxious frown, he wanted to kick himself. He should’ve called before coming.
“Mama’s all right.” he said as soon as she reached him.
The tension in her face and body eased. “Good.”
“She’s still sedated, but she squeezed my fingers.”
“That’s a good sign, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, I’m taking it as one.” He stuffed his hands into the back pockets of his jeans to keep from touching her. “I want to apologize for the way I behaved in the car yesterday. Seeing you again…stirred up a lot of memories.” And regrets.
Mia’s expression remained dispassionate. “Roman should have told you I was picking you up.”
He hated this ice princess impersonation she projected while his insides were twisted up with pain and regret and desire. He wanted to hold her and somehow break through the ice. “I also came to ask you some questions. Is there somewhere private where we can talk?”
That finally got her attention. “Come into my office.” She beckoned for him to follow her, past a register where another employee was ringing up a customer, and into her office.
The blonde looked up from her seat at the desk. “Jessica, this is Gage Fontenot, Mama Bet’s grandson.”
Jessica stood. “How’s she doing?”
“It’s going to take some time, but we’re hopeful she’ll pull through.”
“I’m glad to hear it. She’s such a character. We just love her.”
“She’s tough. She’ll fight her way back.”
“If there’s anything she needs, or anything we can do, just call and one of us will run over to the hospital.”
“I appreciate it.”
Jessica left and pulled the door shut behind her. Gage crossed the room to the windows and looked out at the back of the building. A large delivery truck was parked below, being unloaded by two men. “You’ve built something special here.”
“I like to think so. It was a huge struggle for the first two years, but my business partners and I meet twice a month to arrange for promotions, online ads, fliers for the hotels, a few television ads, that sort of thing. We’re building a reputation, and it’s paying off.”
“Good. I’m glad you’ve realized your dream.” Even as he said it, regret pricked him. She’d probably have left him behind once she got her degree. She’d always been way out of his league. He looked up to find her studying him. “How’s your grandmother?”
Mia smiled for the first time. “Mamie’s as tough as Mama and still standing her ground against Mom.”
“I’ll try to visit her before I go back to San Diego.”
“I think she’d like that.” Mia moved around the desk and sat down.
Gage sauntered back, pulled one of the chairs close and next to her. “I’m going to talk to the neighbors about what’s going on in the neighborhood. Break-ins, teenage mischief, that kind of thing.”
“I’m sure the police have asked the same questions already.”
“But they’re not Mama’s family asking. They won’t be able to just shrug it off with me or Roman looking them in the eye.”
She leaned back in her seat. “That’s true.”
“Mama and I talk about the old neighborhood whenever I call or FaceTime with her, so I know Mrs. Roby passed away and her family sold the house to a developer.”
“Mrs. Crest, too,” Mia added.
“Is there anyone nosing around to purchase more?”
“Yes.”
“Do you know who it is?”
She bit her lip. “My brother Mason is buying up properties all over the area.”
Gage searched her face.
“He wouldn’t hurt your grandmother, Gage. He knows my grandmother Mamie and I are friends with her, and that we both go by to visit.”
She hadn’t stood eye to eye with Mason while he held a brick of cocaine in his hand and threatened to have him thrown in prison for thirty years.
Mason wouldn’t give a fuck about an old lady with little to nothing to her name. If she had something he wanted, he’d bulldoze right over her. He might have already done it.
His face felt stiff with the effort it took for him to maintain his control. “I appreciate the information. I’ll keep you posted about how Mama’s doing.”
*
He was angry. As angry as he’d been when she met him at the airport. What the hell had happened between Gage and Mason? As far as she knew they’d never met.
“Gage, wait.” Mia caught his arm.
She was suddenly outside, and it was dark, the chirp of crickets rising and falling in synchronized waves, and the scent of flowers strong in the air. A red light flashed against the brightly painted front of Mama’s house while police officers stood around the yard waiting. The front door opened, and Gage was brought out by officers on either side of him, his arms pulled behind him.
One of the officers raised a plastic bag. “We found it. He’ll go away for thirty years for this.”
Mama’s clock inside the house chimed ten times and started playing Can’t Help Falling in Love.
“Mia!” Gage grabbed her arms and gave her a gentle shake.
His expression was tense with concern when she looked up at him.
“I’m okay. But there’s something I need to tell you.” He’d never believe her. When they were together her gift was intermittent, and she went to great lengths to hide it from Gage. And the few times she experienced a vision when they were together, she brushed it off as just a lapse in concentration.
But the older she got, the stronger and more frequent the visions were. There were times when she felt like she had no control at all, and now she normally avoided touching people because of it.
“We can order food from downstairs, and I’ll have it brought up,” she suggested. “The food is very good.”
He searched her face. “Okay.”
She went around her desk/table, found the Promises Made menu in her in-basket, and handed it to him.
Ordering their food only took a few minutes, and she beckoned for Gage to join her on the seating area couch and chairs. She took a chair and left him the couch.
“I’d like to give you a suggestion, if you don’t mind.”
“Sure.”
“I think you need to change the locks on Mama’s house right away.”
His dark eyes were piercing as they settled on her. “Roman and I have already talked about it.”
“It isn’t any of
my business, but I think it also might be a good idea, now Decker has his own apartment, not to give him a key.”
He tilted his head. “Why is that?”
She remained silent for a moment, then mentally shrugged. Gage was already angry with her, so she had nothing to lose. “He has a habit of coming by Mama’s, helping himself to anything of value, and pawning it. Mama was missing several pieces of jewelry and other things. Things that have sentimental value. But I was able to find them at one of the pawnshops and get them back for her.”
Gage leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees. Though his expression remained neutral, his mouth was set in a grim line. “Thank you for doing that for her.”
“I was glad to do it. I tried to sneak them back into the house and put them back where they belonged so she would think she’d just misplaced them, but she figured it out and called me on it.”
His dark eyes settled on her face with an intensity that brought a flutter to her stomach. “Don’t protect Decker again. I know you were trying to protect Mama too, but just—don’t. He’s had his chances. More than he ever deserved.”
“I also think he may hide drugs at Mama’s house, too, so you might want to search the house every now and then. While you’re there.”
“I will.”
“Maybe small cameras in parts of the house would be helpful, too. Just in case.”
His dark brows clenched in a frown. “What do you know, Mia? Something Mama doesn’t?”
Someone knocked on the door just in time, and, with a sigh of relief, she went to answer it. One of Lottie’s waitresses, Shania, brought in a large bag and a cardboard form holding their drinks and left them on Mia’s desk.
“Thank you for bringing our food up, Shania.” Mia signed the bill and added a tip. “Tell Lottie I’ll settle up at the end of the day.”
“Will do, Ms. Blanchard.”
The girl bustled away, and the next few minutes were taken up with getting the food out and distributing the napkins and plastic spoons and forks. They settled at her desk once again.
“Is this why you have a table instead of a desk?” Gage asked.
Hot SEAL, Midnight Magic (SEALs In Paradise) Page 4
