by M. J. Eason
After Ryan walked away, Davis knew that wouldn’t be the case. The Angel killers were too good. They would never give themselves away so easily. Eluding the Bureau was part of the game. Revealing something as easy as their physical appearance to a victim and allowing her to live would be a show of weakness. They were anything but weak. No, this was part of their plan.
Once the agent interrogating Kara finished, Davis joined her. He could see how difficult it had been for her to answer those questions.
“I feel like I’m at a witch hunt,” he told her quietly. “The girl won’t be able to shed any light on things. She didn’t see her attackers.”
“Davis, you don’t know that. Maybe they did something or said something to her that she will remember. Don’t give up. This is good news. At least we saved her life.”
He pulled her close. “You’re right. I’ve been so worried about saving my own hide that I almost forgot we saved her. That’s worth a few uncomfortable questions, isn’t it?”
Unfortunately, the questions had just begun. The minute Ed arrived on the scene he took Kara and Davis aside.
“What do you think you’re doing conducting your own investigation in this case? I told you to leave this with us. You’ve only complicated things here. You’ve put yourself square in the middle of another crime scene, for God’s sake!”
“Ed, you know as well as I do that I’m not involved in this thing. Don’t you think if I were, I’d make sure not to leave any witnesses around who could identify me? That we found the victim alive is big. Hopefully, she can tell us something about the killers.”
“Killer. We don’t have any evidence to prove there’s more than one killer involved in this. And whether or not I believe you’re involved doesn’t matter. I told you, you were off the case. Now, you’re not only off, you’re suspended.”
“Dammit, Ed, are you out of your mind? You can’t do this to me.”
“I just did,” Ed told him quietly. “Now go home.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“You are, or you’re going to be arrested.”
Davis stared at him in disbelief. “Ed, there are two killers out there and you know it. We don’t have the time or manpower to spare here.”
“I’m well aware of what’s out there, Davis. But right now, you just happen to be my number one suspect.” Ed released a harsh breath into the tense space between them. “Go home. Stay out of it. We’ll take care of this. All you’re doing now is further incriminating yourself. Don’t make me arrest you. Please don’t make me do that. Go home.”
Davis’s eyes locked with Ed’s in disbelief, before finally accepting the truth. He and Kara were in this alone right now. It would be up to them to prove his innocence.
“All right,” Davis said at last. He’d never felt so defeated. “Come on, Kara.”
“No. She’s not going anywhere but into protective custody.”
“What?” Davis and Kara said at the same time.
“I’m staying with Davis, Ed.”
“No, you’re not.” Ed spoke directly to Kara for the first time. “There’s someone out there trolling for you. You’re his next victim. There’s no doubt in my mind about that now. I have to put you into protective custody for your own safety. There’s no other choice.”
“He’s right,” Davis agreed quietly. As much as he needed her with him for emotional support, he couldn’t risk her life because of it. She would be the Angel’s next intended target. Keeping her safe meant everything to him.
“You’ll be safer in custody. God only knows what might take place next. The girl looks like a lost cause. She won’t be able to tell us anything they don’t want her to reveal and I’m a mess right now. Go with Ed. He’ll take care of you better than I could” Davis turned to Ed searching for reassurances that he wouldn’t let him down.
“You have my word, Davis. She’ll be fine.” Ed’s gaze met his. Something else was there. Ed was trying to tell him something. And then suddenly it all became clear. He understood. This—their public exchange—was part of something bigger.
“Can you give us a second, Ed?” Davis took Kara’s hand, his eyes never leaving hers as Ed nodded then stepped away.
“Kara, I know this is hard—”
“I don’t want to leave you.”
“I know you don’t, sweetheart but Ed’s right. These guys are after me as well and they know how important you are to me. We can’t make this easy for them. If we’re together, we’re both vulnerable. Let Ed protect you.”
“And you? What about you? Who’s going to protect you?”
“Me,” Davis said with a twist of his lips. “I can take care of myself, you know?”
“You’re exhausted and you’ve hardly slept in days.”
“I’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”
“Are you ready, Kara,” Ed asked close by, not giving either of them time to think about it. Davis could only hope that whatever Ed had planned worked this time.
He shook his head and turned to Kara one more time. Drawing her into his arms he kissed her. There were no more reservations between them. No more hiding their feelings for each other. No more secrets.
“Take care of yourself. Please, don’t let anything happen to you. Not now. Not after we’ve found each other again.” Davis smiled down at her for a moment, brushing back a strand of her hair before kissing her gently for the last time.
“Davis, I need your weapon,” Ed told him quietly.
Davis released Kara and faced Ed. “You’re taking away my only means of protecting myself?”
“I don’t have a choice. I need your issued firearm and badge.” For a second, Davis could only stare at Ed blankly and then it became clear. Of course, Ed would know he had more than one weapon.
Davis handed him over the gun and badge and embraced Kara one more time, whispering against her ear, “I need the backup piece I gave you.”
She slipped him the weapon and Davis stuffed it inside his jacket pocket.
“Everything will be okay, Kara. Go with Ed. Let him get you settled in.” He stood looking into her eyes for a long time, hating that he had to let her go. He wanted to remember everything about her, in case this thing worked out the way the feeling inside the pit of his stomach all but warned him it would. Because at this point, both of their lives were in jeopardy.
****
Kara forced herself to release Davis’s hand but it took all her strength to let him go. For the life of her, if felt as if history were repeating itself. Only this time she might be forced to let him go forever.
She followed Ed to his car but stood watching as Davis headed for his own vehicle. Their eyes met and held as he drove away.
“He’ll be okay, Kara. Davis can take care of himself. He’ll get through this.”
“I hope you’re right,” she whispered to herself.
Dear God, she hoped he was right.
Ed didn’t press the issue. Once they were inside the car and away from the scene, Kara confronted the man who was supposed to be Davis’s friend.
“How could you do that to him, Ed? Especially in front of all his subordinates and the people he considers to be his friends? You all but accused him of being guilty.”
Ed glanced her way for a moment and then checked the rear view mirror. Kara found herself looking uneasily over her shoulder. There was nothing there.
“Why do you think I chose to confront Davis in public like that? Do you really think I believe Davis is capable of being involved in that type of brutality?”
It took a moment before the truth became clear. “You staged this whole thing to make it seem as if you believed the evidence against him for the killer’s sake. Do you think they were there watching somehow?”
“I don’t know,” he said without hesitating. “I hope so. I just wish we could find this Harrison fellow and prove Frankie Stephens is alive or dead once and for all.”
“Me, too. Did Davis know you were doing this?”
; “No but he’s too smart not to have figured it out by now. I taught him well. And he knows me well enough. He knows what’s going on.”
Slowly she looked away. “I feel so helpless right now. I can’t help myself. I can’t help Davis. I hate going through this—waiting for the inevitable.”
“That’s not going to happen. I made a promise to Davis to protect you and I damn well plan on keeping that promise no matter what.”
“What about Davis? Who’s protecting him?”
“Davis and of course Ryan. Ryan would do anything in the world for Davis.”
A sudden uneasiness swept over her. She knew Ryan would do whatever he could, even if it meant laying down his own life to protect Davis but what if it wasn’t enough?
“Where are you taking me, Ed?”
“There’s a hotel outside town. I’m putting you up there. I’ll have a couple of female officers outside our precinct that will be staying there with you.”
“I don’t want this. You know I don’t work that way.”
“Let’s get one thing straight right now. You’re not working. You’re off this case. As far as I’m concerned, you weren’t ever part of it. I don’t want the same freak show as we had the last time. Your presence here will only stir up the media frenzy like before. You’re not part of this thing. You understand?”
“You still don’t believe in it, do you Ed? You never did. You resented having me part of the team right from the beginning, didn’t you?”
“Of course. I see no reason to deny it now,” he told her without hesitating. “Oh, I don’t doubt your abilities. How could I? You’ve proven them to me. But as far as I’m concerned, an investigation should be about the physical evidence. Not what you do.”
Kara didn’t argue. After all, she’d been fighting this type of prejudice in the law enforcement field from day one. And she couldn’t care less about helping solve these types of case anymore. Once this was over and done, she was finished looking into the dark side of a killer’s mind. She’d never let another one inside her head.
The hotel sat close to the Pennsylvania state line. Two police officers in plain clothes met her and Ed there. Kara wondered how they got lucky enough to end up with this type of duty.
But they seemed genuinely nice enough.
The officers had reserved a suite under an alias. Not that it mattered. He’d know where to find her. He was reading her thoughts even now, growing stronger as Kara’s powers became weaker with the sleepless hours and the emotional roller coaster ride of the past twenty-four hours.
The fear inside her continued to spiral out of control with Davis’s absence, all but guaranteeing a bad ending.
The officers led the way to the back entrance with Kara and Ed following.
“I’ll have someone bring you a change of clothes later,” Ed told her following her into one of the two bedrooms of the suite. “Don’t leave here. This is serious. We have twenty-four hours to figure this out before they come for you. Do what the officers tell you and don’t contact Davis.”
Kara never felt more exhausted than she did at that moment, standing alone in a strange hotel room. She stripped away her clothing, which was covered in the young woman’s blood. How did this girl connect to Davis? Davis didn’t recognize her and yet somehow their paths had crossed to seal her fate.
She stayed under the warm shower until the water turned cold before wrapping the hotel’s gift robe tightly around her body. Then she lay down on the bed and focused on Ava.
Tonight she needed Ava’s sweet innocence more than ever. Ava no longer faced danger. Kara and Davis did.
“Take care of Daddy for me, Mommie. He needs you now.”
“I will, baby,” Kara whispered into the darkened room. “I promise I won’t let anything happen to him.” Protecting Davis became her last coherent thought before sleep took over and she faced the shadowy person she’d always believed to be Frankie Stephens. Could it have been Alec Harrison all along?
For once, she was the one hunting him.
One thought stood out in her mind clearly. He was avoiding her. The girl’s discovery threw him off his game.
It wasn’t deliberate. He’d made his first real mistake. The hunter had gone on the defensive. Kara pressed harder.
“Who is she? How did you connect her to Davis?”
Her question startled him. Before he could hide the truth, his thoughts become clear. Kara saw the girl. She wore a uniform with a nametag pinned to it. Her name was Annabelle McIntyre.
She worked at the convenience store where Kara and Davis had stopped to call his father, just around the corner from Kara’s old apartment. The killers were taunting them, reminding them they could take anyone at anytime and the Bureau was powerless to stop them. Kara tried to find a crack in his confidence.
“You’re scared. You know your time is almost up, don’t you? This time it will end.”
He tried to shut her out but she pushed on, not allowing him time to regroup.
“You thought the truth about your relationship to Frankie would never be known, didn’t you?” Kara tried harder to focus on him. While she couldn’t make out his features, she sensed his fear very clearly. It drove her on. He hadn’t realized they’d discovered the truth about Frankie.
“You wanted Davis to take the blame. You screwed up.”
“Ms. Bryant?”
He struggled to break her spell. In another minute, he was gone. Kara awakened before she could discover the truth. She sat up in bed disoriented for a moment. Someone knocked hard against her door. Officer Geneva Soloman opened the door and asked, “Are you okay in there, Ms. Bryant?”
“Yes.” Kara forced the word out, annoyed by the interruption. She’d been so close.
“I’ve ordered room service. I thought you might be hungry by now.” Kara swung her legs off the bed and closed her eyes once more, trying to reach him but he was gone. She got up and followed the officer into the living area.
“Where’s your partner?” Kara asked when the officer handed her a sandwich. Didn’t cops eat anything but donuts and sandwiches?
“Officer Montana went out to get you something to wear. We figured you could use a change of clothing since yours was covered in blood.”
Kara nodded without answering. The simple ham and cheese sandwich tasted delicious. She hadn’t realized how hungry she was until now. A little more of her strength returned with the nourishment.
Geneva Soloman sat down on the sofa across from Kara and took a bite of her sandwich. Kara knew all the questions that were coming by heart.
“You’re that psychic, aren’t you?” she asked, swallowing. Kara’s gaze went to hers. She was surprised by the officer’s recognition.
“I remember the Death Angel murders as if it were yesterday,” Geneva told her. “I recalled seeing your picture. You’re involved in these copycat killings as well, aren’t you? I mean, why else would the head of the Bureau escort you here personally.”
“Yes, well, I’m not actually involved in the current investigation but I did participate in the last one.”
“I was just starting out at that time. I don’t mind telling you, that creep scared me to death.” She took another bite and chewed it thoughtfully. “What a mess.”
“What do you mean?” Kara asked cautiously. She knew what the officer meant.
“The Bureau screw-up. You know about the leak?”
“Oh…yes, you’re right. It cost us valuable time as well.”
“I can imagine. So, can I ask you a question?” Geneva finished the last of her sandwich and wiped her hands thoughtfully. Kara knew what was coming but she merely shook her head.
“How did you come upon this gift? I mean I’ve heard a person is either born with it or sometimes it manifests after a trauma. Some case studies seem to indicate we all have a certain amount of psychic ability within us. So I’m curious, when did you first realize you had it?”
For a second, Kara hesitated. She hated taking about the g
ift but Officer Soloman seemed genuinely interested in her answer and not out of a morbid sense of curiosity.
“Believe it or not, it runs in my family.”
“No kidding? So you’ve had it for as long as you can remember?” She wiped a crumb from her shirt. “I’m taking some courses at the university. I want to join the Bureau some day,” she added by way of explanation.
“I see. Yes, I’ve had it for as long as I can remember and I’ve hated it just as long.”
“Really?”
Kara could see she didn’t understand this.
“I know that sounds ungrateful but trust me, I don’t see it as a gift. It’s a terrible responsibility, seeing such unbelievable evil and watching lives torn apart by it.”
“Yeah, I can only imagine,” Geneva said quietly. “Do you see it before it happens?”
“Sometimes,” Kara’s answer was vague. “Sometimes I see the aftermath. And sometimes I see into the mind of the killer.”
“Wow. That must be creepy. I’ve read some of the serial killer case files. Those guys are some twisted people.”
“Yes, they are.”
“What was your first case, if you don’t mind me asking?”
She did. She hated talking about any of this.
“It was a child’s death,” Kara admitted reluctantly. “I’d always had the ability to see things, like where something had gone missing, or when the next test in a certain class would take place. Just little things like that. But the first real image of murder happened while I was still at the university. I remember it just as if it happened today. I’d been studying at the campus library when I saw it. He was taken from the street, molested, and then murdered.”
“Oh wow. What’d you do?”
“At first nothing. I thought, well I don’t know what I thought,” Kara said remembering those first terrible images. “I left the library and went home to my grandmother’s place. As soon as I walked in the door the news came on about a missing boy.”
“The kid you saw,” Geneva supplied.
Kara nodded. “I told my grandmother about it. She took me to see the police right away. Of course, they laughed it off. Then another boy went missing, which I’d witnessed. I knew where he kept the boy. The killer took his time with him. He wasn’t in any hurry to kill him. He enjoyed the game too much.”
