Fate Heals (Twist of Fate Book 2)

by Tina Saxon

  I run toward the direction of the shots and stop at the sound of a scream coming toward me. A small girl comes barreling down an aisle. I grab her, needing her to stop screaming.

  “Don’t touch me!” her little voice screams, hitting me with her tiny fists.

  “Shh … I’m the police,” I say quietly. When she quiets, I immediately notice who she is. This is why I’m home early. I caught up on the case and read about her on the plane ride home. “Alexandra Collins?” Her eyes widen and she slowly nods. “Is someone after you?” Again, she nods.

  Fuck! The serial killer might be here. Where is her detail? I quickly glance around but don’t see anyone. I need to put her somewhere safe. Seeing the manager’s office, I run over, open the door, and put her down.

  “You stay in this room. Do not open the door for anyone. Do you understand?” Tears fall down her little face as she nods. “I need a secret word from you that only I will know. Don’t open for anyone who doesn’t know the secret word.”

  She nods in understanding, and I can tell she’s thinking of a word. Holy shit, any day now, kid. I scan the area, looking for movement. When I don’t see any, I look back to the girl. “Alexandra, I need a word, right now.”

  “Tater tot,” she says.

  “Tater tot?” I ask slowly. She nods with a small smile. Okay. Tater tot, it is. “Remember, do not open this door.” I close the door behind me, making sure it’s locked, and run in the direction she came from.

  I hear the sound of sirens outside. As I clear an aisle, I silently run down to the end. Peeking around the corner, I notice a body on the floor. A woman. I creep toward her, my gun drawn and ready. Reaching down to feel for a pulse, I notice a gunshot to the head. She’s dead. Fucking hell.

  I glance around the place. Where are you, asshole? As I’m standing up, SWAT surrounds me. “Hands up!” they scream. “Drop your weapon.”

  I slowly put my weapon on the ground, lifting my hands in the air. The last thing I need tonight is to get shot. “I’m FBI. Agent Aiden Roberts. My badge is in my pocket.” An officer comes over and reaches in my pocket for my badge, inspects it, and hands it back.

  “Sorry, Agent Roberts,” he says as he bends down and grabs my gun for me.

  I report what happened to the officer, station a police officer outside the manager’s office, and then call Damon to get his ass here.

  “We found Officer Kale.” I hear another officer say grimly.

  I look at the officer standing with me. “Alexandra’s detail?” He nods slowly as he radios it in. Son of a bitch. “We need to get security video ASAP. Make sure that asshole isn’t hiding in here somewhere,” I command. “Get the dogs in here. He couldn’t have gone too far.” I look at my watch. It’s only been fifteen minutes since I heard the first scream. “I need to get Alexandra out of here, but I want to make sure that the unsub isn’t in here hiding out. She’s safe in that room for now.” I glance at the door to make sure an officer is outside, waiting.

  FBI’s here within a few minutes. It’s not too long after that they have the place cleared. The bastard escaped again, but now we know he’s after Alexandra. Damon stops me on my way to get the girl.

  “Aiden, we need to talk.”

  “Can’t right now. I need to get the girl. She’s probably scared out of her mind. Let me get her handled and then we’ll talk,” I say over my shoulder as I’m walking away. He mumbles something, but I don’t hear what he says.

  Alexandra. Life sucks for her right now. First her family was murdered and then her only relative is murdered because a psycho is trying to finish the job. I read she was staying in an undisclosed location until her aunt came to get her. We’re going to have to take her to a safe house. She has no clue how much danger she’s in.

  When I get to the manager’s door, I knock, but I don’t hear anything on the other side. “Open up, Alexandra. Secret word is tater tot.” Nothing. I try the door handle, but it’s still locked. I look to the officer and he shrugs. I dart to an employee telling him that I need the keys to the office.

  Opening the door slowly, I breathe out a sigh of relief when I see a little girl nestled under the desk asleep. I crouch down and scoop her up in my arms. Her eyes fly open in surprise. “Hey there, Tater Tot.”

  Recognition reflects on her face so she swings her arms around my neck in a tight embrace. She whispers in my ear, “Is my aunt dead?” Her unemotional question stuns me. This little girl shouldn’t know death.

  I sigh. “She is.” She lays her head on my shoulder. “I’m so sorry, Alexandra. We won’t let anyone hurt you.” I’m at a loss for words. What do you say to a five-year-old who has had her world ripped from her … twice? I don’t know what else to say, so I try and comfort her until Child Protective Services can get here.

  Bubbles reach the top of the tub as I lie down to soak in a hot bath. I take in a deep breath, letting the essential oils fill the air. It’s been a long couple of weeks. Closing my eyes, I think about saying goodbye to those big caramel eyes. I can’t believe Lexi leaves for Los Angeles tomorrow. An empty feeling flows through me, knowing she won’t be a part of my life anymore.

  I think about how different my life was before Lexi came into it. I was living day to day, but it didn’t have meaning. It didn’t have life. Lexi brought purpose to my life, gave me something to look forward to. Dr. Price was right; Lexi has helped me heal. I hope I was able to help her as much as she did me. I start humming “This Little Light of Mine” and the symbolism of the song surprises me.

  Lexi was my light.

  My phone jolts me awake. I pick up my hand out of the lukewarm water and look at my wrinkled fingers. I must have fallen asleep. Stepping out of the tub, I wipe my hand on the towel and grab my phone. It’s from an unknown number.

  “Hello.”

  I hear whimpering on the other end, but no other sound. “Hello? This is Addison, who is this?” I ask.

  “Addie, please come get me,” Lexi cries.

  “Lexi? What’s wrong? Where are you?” I ask, panic in my voice. I grab a towel and dry off with one hand while listening.

  “I’m hiding in a room,” she sniffles. “The bad man tried to take me.”

  Where the hell is her aunt or her security detail? I grab the first thing I can, which is workout shorts and a white T-shirt. I slip on my flip-flops, grab my purse, and I’m out the door in less than two minutes.

  “Do you know where you are? Are you at a hotel?” I stop at the stairs because I know I’m going to lose my cell service. My heart is about to jump out of my chest, it’s beating so fast.

  “No, we came to a store.”

  “What store, Lexi?” I’m pacing now.

  “The one with two red circles.”

  Target. It must be the one that is right by their hotel. At least I hope that’s the one. “Lexi, my phone is going to hang up, but I will be there in a few minutes. Do not leave your hiding spot. Do you understand?” I plead with her.

  “The man told me not to leave. The secret word is tater tot.”

  Man? Secret word? What the hell is going on?

  I quickly tell her goodbye and run down the stairs, wrapping my dripping hair in a bun.

  It’s May and still a little chilly at night, but the adrenaline running through my blood has me burning up. I have the cab park next to all the cop cars and throw some money at him. Jumping out of the car, I make my way through the crowd. The officers let me by when I flash my badge. I’m walking in as Damon is walking out.

  “Damon, where is Lexi?” I quickly ask him, not stopping to hear an answer.

  “She’s fine, Addison. She’s inside with …”

  Once I hear she’s fine, I speed up to find her. I don’t care who she’s with, I just need to see for myself that she’s okay. When I get inside, I scan the place, looking for that set of caramel eyes.

  What I find instead are emerald green eyes. My eyes widen in disbelief. I freeze and inhale sharply. Aiden. He’s holding Lexi, and she’s
slumped over his shoulder. He draws in a ragged breath as his eyes drag their way up my body. The heat from his gaze spreads through me like an inferno. Feelings hidden deep inside slowly make their way out. When his gaze stops on my breasts, Aiden arches his brow and flashes a salacious grin.

  The inappropriate timing of his perusal of my body shocks me out of my frozen state. I look down to see what the hell he’s so fascinated by. Oh, my God! I cross my arms over my chest as my face flushes from embarrassment. In my haste to get dressed, I seemed to have forgotten a bra. And my wet hair made my shirt a little wet. Wet hair, wet, white T-shirt, add the cold temperature outside, and it makes me look like I should be entering into a wet T-shirt competition. My nipples are on full display for everyone to see.

  When I hear Aiden chuckle, my head whips up. “Really?”

  He wags his eyebrows and grins. “Hi, Addison,” he says, his voice softening. When Lexi hears my name, her head bobs up, and she wiggles out of his arms.

  “Addie!” she screams, running into my arms. I scoop her up in a tight embrace.

  “Hi, sweet girl.” I close my eyes and let out a soft sigh. I take a deep breath, loving the smell of Lexi. When I open my eyes, Aiden’s eyes are trained on me, assessing me as he stands with his arms crossed. His expression turns serious.

  “Hey, Tater Tot, is this your friend who you kept saying was coming for you?” Aiden questions Lexi.

  Lexi releases her tight hold on me to looks at Aiden. “Yes. Addie, this is Aiden,” she says. “He helped me hide.” I look at Aiden and chuckle at her introduction. This is definitely not how I envisioned our first time seeing each other.

  She leans her head on my shoulder. “My aunt is dead,” she whispers.

  I sigh. “I’m sorry, Lexi.” My stomach knots, thinking what she went through tonight. How the hell did this happen? “Lexi, did you see the bad man?” She nods her head, still resting it on my shoulder.

  “I’ve seen him before.” What? I wonder if she did see him the night her parents were killed or did she recognize him from somewhere else. Her head jolts up like something stung her. “I did what you told me to do, Addie,” she says, proud of herself.

  “Did you fight and scream?” I ask. The words feel like sandpaper coming out of my mouth. When I told her that, I was hoping she’d never have to do it.

  “I did. When I scratched him, he yelled. He was mad,” she says as her eyes get huge. “And then I ran. That’s when Aiden found me. But he used my real name.” She scrunches her little nose. I look over at Aiden. He smiles and shrugs.

  “Lexi, you said you scratched him?” I say, putting her down. She nods. I grab one of the police officers walking by.

  “Who’s working forensics?”

  “Alyssa and Jennifer,” he answers.

  “Get Alyssa over here and tell her to bring her kit.” He nods and walks off.

  “Lexi, you know how I told you about my job. That we look for clues to help find the bad person?” She nods. “Well, because you scratched him, you might be able to help us find the bad person.”

  Lexi tilts her head with the look of confusion on her face. “I hope he has to go to the doctor and get lots of shots. Because they really hurt.” She rubs her upper thigh and then continues. “And then the police will know it’s him and they’ll take him to jail?”

  Aiden chuckles, and I can’t help but smile. “Not exactly,” I say, trying not to laugh. Little kids and their imaginations. “Remember when I told you about DNA?”

  “Yep. You said everyone has a different one.”

  “Well, when you scratched him, you might have gotten his DNA under your fingernails.” She throws her hands in front of her, inspecting her nails.

  “Yucky! I don’t want his DAN on me.” I chuckle as she starts shaking her hands. I grab her hands to stop her.

  “Sweet girl, we’ll wash them after we’re done. Don’t you want to help catch the bad man?” Her bottom lip juts out as she nods her head. I hold her hands until Alyssa comes over.

  “This is going to be really easy, and I promise it won’t hurt. But you need to be still, okay?”

  She holds her hands out to Alyssa. “The DAN is hurting my hands, so can you please hurry?” Alyssa tries really hard to hold in her laugh, but she has to turn around to let it out. Thankfully, it’s silent. When she gathers herself, she turns back around.

  “Okay, Lexi, let’s get that DAN off.”

  “Listen, both of you. It’s DNA. D. N. A.,” I correct them. Alyssa chuckles. When I stand up, a jacket is wrapped around my shoulders. I look up to see Aiden warmly smiling at me.

  “I didn’t think you’d want to be flashing everyone.” He winks.

  I put my arms through and I notice the tags are still on it. “Aiden, I’m not going to get arrested for stealing, am I?” I say, holding out the tag.

  He comes over and rips the tags off. “Don’t worry, I’ll pay for it,” he says defensively.

  I laugh, zipping up the jacket. He’s right, though; I definitely don’t need to be flashing everyone. I watch him walk over to Damon. It’s the first time I’ve truly had a chance to look at him. He’s wearing cargo shorts and a black T-shirt. My heart shudders as I admire him from the backside. His broad back and powerful shoulders flex as he moves. My eyes gaze downward to his perfect ass. I gasp when my body tingles deep down in my core. Sensations that I haven’t had in months and didn’t know I’d ever have again are starting to wake up.

  I panic and look away, trying to shove them back into the dark corner they’ve been hiding inside of me. I don’t know if I’m ready for that. I can’t even make myself have an orgasm. I sure as hell am not ready for a man to do it. I laugh when I think about Dr. Price telling me that masturbation is one of my homework assignments.

  I push back all thoughts of orgasm and Aiden when I see that Alyssa has finished with Lexi. “Alyssa, can you take Lexi to wash her hands? I need to talk to some people about what is next,” I say quietly and point to Lexi.

  She nods in understanding, grabbing Lexi’s hand. “Come on, Lexi, let’s go wash the rest of the DAN off your hands.” I roll my eyes.

  “DNA,” I yell at her as she walks away.

  A group has gathered around Damon and Aiden. They all stop talking when I approach. “Please, don’t stop talking on my account,” I joke, trying to ease the awkwardness that I’m feeling right about now.

  “We were just talking about what we were going to do with Lexi,” Damon says.

  I look around the group. “Well, I thought she could stay with me again until we figure out what to do with her.” It’s funny how things have changed in two weeks. Two weeks ago, I was begging for them to not send her home with me; now, I’m suggesting it.

  “The fuck she is,” Aiden barks out.

  I turn to face him. “Excuse me?” I say snidely.

  “Addison, she’s in serious danger,” he seethes.

  “I get that, but they’ll be guards.” I puff out my chest and stand taller. He does not get to show up out of the blue and tell me what I can and can’t do.

  “She already had detail. Look what happened,” he grits out through his teeth as he gestures in the direction of the two bodies.

  “It’s only until we figure out where we need to take her. And I know how to use a gun,” I say defiantly.

  “A lot of good that did before.”

  SMACK!

  The sting on my hand from the slap to his face doesn’t even compare to the outrage that pours out of me. “Fuck you, Aiden.” I shake my hand, turning to leave this conversation before I say something I can’t take back.

  A hand grabs my arm, and I feel Aiden’s hard body at my back. “Addison, I’m sorry,” he says softly. His voice hitches. My eyes fill with tears. I yank my arm from his grasp and walk away.

  I hear him walking behind me. “Addison.”

  “Let her go, Aiden,” Damon says.

  I walk outside, needing air. My breathing is shallow as my body shakes from anger.
I tell myself that I’m here for Lexi, not Aiden. He’s not even supposed to be working this case. I’m pacing the parking lot, doing breathing exercises, when I hear someone walking up. I glance over and see that it’s Damon, so I continue my pacing.

  “You know he didn’t mean it,” he says. “He’s just worried about you being in a dangerous situation again.” I look at him with narrow eyes. “Hey, I’m not saying he didn’t deserve to be smacked. Hell, I almost punched him for that.” I smirk, knowing that Damon would do anything for me. He’s been a great friend. I stop pacing when Damon wraps his arms around me. “Have you calmed down enough to go finish our meeting about what we’re going to do with Lexi?”

  I blow out a long breath. “No, but I’ll be okay. Let’s go.”

  When we walk into the store, Lexi sees me and runs to me. “You get all cleaned?”

  She shows me her hands. “Yep, I got all the DA … DNA off me.” She smiles proudly. I grab her hand and walk back to the group.

  Child Protective Services is there. It’s the same lady who I’ve been working with the last two weeks. She warmly smiles at me when she sees Lexi’s hand in mine.

  “We’ve decided that tonight Lexi will go to your apartment,” she states, looking at me. “But we’ll need to decide tomorrow where Lexi can go, somewhere she’ll be safe until we catch this guy.”

  “I’m good with that,” I say, looking at Aiden raising an eyebrow.

  He shrugs. “And I’m going wherever Lexi is going. So that means I’m coming, too.” A smug smile stretches across his face.

  My mouth gapes open. “What?” I look around at everyone, expecting someone to remedy the situation. My glare lands on Damon. He must know that this isn’t a good idea. My eyes plead with him, and all he does is shrug. I mouth, Asshole. Unfortunately, the person who says something is Lexi.

  “Yay!” She claps her hands. I narrow my eyes at her. Little traitor. She leans her head on my hip and whispers, “I like Aiden.”