Fatal Connection: A Phoenix Agency Crossover Novella (Phoenix Agency Universe Book 15)

by Anna Blakely

  Eden frowned. “What cards?”

  The man’s salt and pepper brows arched high as he spun his head in Alex’s direction. “Are you shitting me? You didn’t give them to her?”

  Alex’s gaze flickered to hers then back to the man in charge. “No, sir. I didn’t.”

  “We have something the killer left at the scenes, yet you purposely kept that from her? You want to explain that to me, Detective?”

  “All due respect, Sarge, but Eden nearly died once for this department. I don’t want to risk her like that again.”

  Though he was much shorter than Alex, Murphy had no qualms about going toe-to-toe with him. Literally.

  Eden fully expected the pissed-off man to start screaming. Instead, he turned his voice low, which was almost worse.

  “I’ve got women dying in my city. On my watch. So, I don’t give a rat’s ass what you want. Nor, do I care what she wants. The only thing that matters is what I want. You have any idea what that is?”

  A muscle in Alex’s jaw bulged. “To catch the sonofabitch.”

  Murphy sneered. “That’s right. And I don’t care what we have to do to get that done.” He stepped back and faced Garrett. “Get her the damn cards, or you and your partner can both get the hell out of my unit.”

  It was the last order Sergeant Murphy gave before storming out the door. In his wake, the tension in the became air so thick, it was damn near suffocating.

  “I’ll, uh…I’ll go get those.” Garrett refused to look her way as he quietly left the room.

  “I have some phone calls to make.” Dan looked at them both. “I’ll give you two some privacy.”

  Alex blew out a breath, running his fingers through his hair. “I know what you’re going to say. I also know I should feel bad for keeping this from you, but—”

  “You don’t,” Eden finished for him. She understood where he was coming from, but still. “Alex, you had to know Murphy was going to bring it up. What were you thinking?”

  He stared back at her. “I was trying to protect you.”

  She took a few steps toward him. “I know you were. And while part of me loves you even more for it, the other part is furious with you.”

  Surprise flickered behind his pretty eyes. “What I said to Murphy was true. The last thing I ever want is for you to get hurt.”

  “You should have at least let me try.” She was hurt that he hadn’t. “You should’ve trusted me enough to do what I’ve been practicing in order to get through it.”

  With a frown, Alex shook his head. “This isn’t about trust, Eden. It’s about—”

  “Protecting me.” Eden closed the distance between them. With a hand resting against his cheek, she said, “I know you believe that, but you’re wrong. This isn’t about me. Or you. It’s about finding the man who’s been killing those women before he finds his next victim.”

  Covering her hand with his, Alex stared down at her with the same emotion she’d seen when they’d made love. “I lo—”

  Garrett cleared his throat as he returned from the evidence locker. “Sorry. I can come back.”

  They both turned to the door. As badly as she wanted to hear what Alex was about to say, this wasn’t the time or place.

  Dropping her hand, she took a step back, putting some much-needed distance between them. If she was going to do this, she needed to stay focused on the task at hand. Not her love life.

  “It’s okay, Garrett,” she smiled at the other man.

  “So, how do you want to do this?” Garrett looked to his partner for guidance, but it was Eden who answered.

  “Let’s just get it over with.” She held out her hand. “Hand me one of the cards.”

  Alex’s entire body stiffened beside her. “Damn it, Eden. Please don’t do this.”

  “I have to, Alex.” She struggled to keep her voice steady. “And you need to let me. Now you two can either stay or go, but if you choose to stay, you’re going to have to remain quiet.”

  Shaking his head, Alex opened his mouth to continue arguing, but she shut him down.

  “I mean it, Alex. You cannot interrupt me. If I can’t handle it, I’ll pull myself out. You two need to stay quiet and not touch me. If you don’t think you can manage that, you need to leave now.”

  Having laid down the law, she waited to see what his choice would be. His disagreement with what she was about to do was written all over his gorgeous face, but Alex didn’t protest any further.

  Instead, he walked over to Garrett, yanked the evidence bag from his hand, and opened it. Reaching in, he pulled the card from the bag and held it out to her.

  Eden made a move to grab it, but he held it out of her reach at the last second. “You don’t sacrifice yourself for this bastard.”

  Her heart swelled. “I won’t.”

  “Promise me you’ll stop if it becomes too much.”

  Despite their current location—and the fact that Garrett was in the room with them—Eden leaned up and pressed her lips to his. “I promise.”

  A second later, she took the small, white square from Alex’s hand.

  ****

  Chapter Ten

  Alex watched Eden closely as she took the card from his hand. She gasped, her eyes squeezing shut as her body jolted. It reminded him of someone being electrocuted.

  He took a step toward her, ready to rip the damn thing from her grasp, but Garrett grabbed his arm to stop him.

  “Wait.”

  He swung his head around. “For what? Look at her, Garrett. She’s hurting.”

  Torn, his partner shook his head. “I know, but she said not to interrupt her. I think we need to give her a chance.”

  Alex looked at Eden again. The painful expression had eased, the muscles in her face becoming more relaxed. He drew in a slow, deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

  Garrett was right. Eden had given him specific instructions not to intervene, but damn it was hard not to. His primal instinct was to protect this woman at all cost.

  “Fine.” Alex pulled his arm loose and sat at the table. “But if it gets any worse, she’s done.”

  With a jerky nod, Garrett agreed. For the next several minutes, the two men kept their distance as Eden continued seeing what they couldn’t. After a stretch of nerve-wracking silence, she began describing the vision.

  “Horses,” Eden breathed out. “I see horses and…a buggy.”

  Without speaking, Alex snapped his fingers and motioned for Garrett to get something to write on. In a flash, the man left the room, returning seconds later with a notepad and pen.

  “Horses?” The other man whispered, frowning in confusion as Alex scribbled down the notes.

  With a shrug, he waited anxiously for Eden to reveal more from her incredible gift. Alex knew from past experience Eden’s mutterings oftentimes didn’t make sense right away. Only later, after they were able to talk them through did they usually start to come together.

  “No, Daddy.” Eden’s voice turned softer, almost like that of a young girl’s. “I didn’t mean to, I swear.”

  The two men looked at each other, then back to her.

  “Please, don’t!” She begged, her chest heaving with rough, ragged breaths.

  Eden cried out, then. Over and over, her body jerked forward, her back arching as though something were striking her there.

  “Please, Josiah! Make him stop!”

  Alex shot to his feet, determined to end whatever hell she was living when her demeanor suddenly changed.

  Standing taller now, Eden tilted her head to the side. The painful expression vanished, and the pitch of her voice became so deep, it no longer sounded like her at all.

  “You shouldn’t have done that, Mary Grace. You know what happens when you do those ungodly things.”

  She became the young, tortured girl again. “How is it ungodly if God, Himself, made me this way?”

  “Because Father says it is.” Eden’s voice grew deep again.

  Back and forth, she
continued the conversation. Her voice changing with each of the different players.

  “I don’t understand, Josiah. You have a gift, too, but he doesn’t beat you. Only me.”

  “Because I’m careful not to let anyone see when I use mine. As is Mother. You continue to defy him when you should be doing as Mother does. You need to forget what you can do and pretend your power doesn’t exist at all.”

  “We shouldn’t be ashamed. We’ve done nothing wrong. I don’t want to grow up to be like Mother. I don’t want to have to hide who I really am.”

  “You have to, Mary Grace. It’s the only way.”

  “No.” Eden shook her head. “I won’t do it. I won’t!”

  “Then Father will continue to punish you.”

  “I don’t care.”

  “I do.” The male voice became agitated.

  “I’m tired of living a lie, Josiah! Of always having to pretend. Don’t you see? That’s no way to live.”

  “It’s the only way, Sister.”

  Real tears fell from Eden’s eyes as she opened her lids and stared straight ahead. Though Alex was standing directly in her line of sight, he knew she couldn’t see him.

  “No.” The girl’s voice suddenly became steady. Determined. “It’s not.”

  Eden extended her left arm straight out in front of her, palm-up. In her right hand, she held the corner of the card against the sensitive skin at her wrist.

  “Mary Grace, no! You’ll be damned to Hell!”

  “I’m already in Hell,” Eden whispered sadly. “I’m sorry, Josiah. I need to be free.”

  Acting as if it were a razor, she moved the card’s edge up along her arm toward the inside of her elbow. Then, she repeated the same motion with her right wrist.

  Horrified, Alex watched as Eden’s eyes rolled back into her head. Within seconds, she was falling.

  “Eden!”

  He rushed over, his arms sliding beneath her just in time to keep her upper body from hitting the tiled floor. On his knees, Alex gently cradled her head in his lap.

  With a knot in his gut, he studied Eden’s still, limp body. Her shallow breaths moved at an even pace, reminding him of a similar, terrifying scene.

  Please, no. Not again.

  “Eden? Sweetheart, wake up.” He waited a beat, but she didn’t move. “Come on, baby. Open your eyes.”

  Alex’s worried gaze shot to Garrett’s. He was about to tell his partner to call for an ambulance when a soft moaning sound escaped the back of Eden’s throat.

  “I think she’s coming around.” Garrett nodded toward her.

  When he looked back at her, Alex realized the other man was right. Eden’s eyelids were fluttering and after another moan, she opened them completely.

  “Welcome back.” He smiled down at her, doing his damnedest not to show how worried he really was.

  “Hey,” she whispered back weakly.

  “You gave us quite a scare.”

  “Sorry.” Eden’s mouth turned slightly upward.

  Feeling as though he could breathe again for the first time since she’d touched that damn card, Alex filled his lungs before exhaling slowly.

  “Help me up,” she ordered, trying to stand.

  “Do you think that’s a good idea?” Garrett asked, hovering over them both.

  Eden nodded. “I’m all right.”

  Despite his desire to take her home and force her to rest, Alex recognized the determined look all too well. With clearer eyes, Eden rolled awkwardly from his lap before taking his hand and carefully making her way back to her feet.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” With his hands at her elbows, his eyes scanned her from head to toe, giving her a quick once-over.

  “I’m good.” She nodded again. After blowing out a deep breath of her own, Eden added, “Really. I’m fine, now.”

  Trusting that she was being truthful, Alex released his hold and took a small step backward, giving her some room.

  “I gotta say, Eden…” Garrett shook his head. “That was pretty intense.”

  With a teasing smile, she said, “Tell me about it.”

  “I hate to jump right in, but can you tell us what you saw? I mean”—Alex glanced at Garrett then back to her—“I think we got enough to paint a general picture, but the more details you can give, the better. But only if you’re up for it.”

  “Absolutely.” She sounded confident enough, but immediately following her response, Eden began to sway.

  “Whoa.” Alex’s hand shot out. “I think you’d better sit down.”

  “I think you’re right,” she chuckled softly.

  Grateful she couldn’t see how badly he was shaking, Alex carefully guided her over to one of the chairs at the table.

  After another deep breath, she looked up at the two men. “His name is Josiah. He grew up on a farm. His parents were very strict, especially his father.”

  “Yeah,” Garrett scoffed. “We kind of gathered that from some of the things you said while you were…under.”

  With a small grin, Eden nodded. “Sorry. I sometimes forget that I say things out loud during visions like that one.”

  “Don’t apologize.” Alex sat down next to her. “Just take your time and tell us everything you saw.” With a wink he added, “It won’t hurt us to hear some of it twice.”

  “Okay.” Eden opened her mouth to start again, but Sergeant Murphy chose that moment to come barreling in.

  “She get anything?

  It really pissed Alex off when the guy spoke about her like she wasn’t even in the same room.

  Knowing this, Garrett responded before Alex had the chance to comment. “Eden was just about to tell us what she saw, Boss.”

  Murphy, the arrogant prick, shot Alex a look. “So, the cards were helpful?” To Eden, he tipped his chin and said, “Let’s hear it.”

  Pulling out a chair across from them, Eden waited for the jackass to sit down before starting over. To her credit, the amazing woman kept her voice calm and professional.

  “The killer’s name is Josiah. I don’t know his last name. He had a sister. Mary Grace.”

  Eden became choked up just mentioning the sister. The three men waited quietly while she regained her composure before continuing.

  “The memory I picked up on was from a few years ago. My best guess is he’s in his late twenties now. Possibly very early thirties. Josiah and his sister grew up on a farm. I got the feeling it was someplace not far from here. They lived off the land. No electricity or modern-day amenities.”

  “How do you know?” Murphy asked gruffly.

  Eden looked over at him. “The clothes I saw appeared hand-made. And the majority of the vision took place in a barn or outbuilding of some sort. The farm equipment in the background looked like they were from a century ago. A hand-pushed, rotating mower. One of those old tillers you latch to a horse or mule and walk behind. Nothing like what today’s farmers would use.”

  “The Amish still use equipment like that. Illinois doesn’t have near the amount of Amish as, say, Pennsylvania, but there are a few communities scattered across the state.”

  “Josiah’s family lived very similarly to the Amish way of life, but I got the feeling they weren’t part of an actual Amish community.”

  Alex felt his brows turn inward. “What makes you say that?”

  Shifting to face him better, Eden explained. “The Amish are very loving and caring people.”

  “And Josiah and Mary Grace’s father was anything but.” Alex stared back at Eden, his knowing glance telling her they’d seen at least part of what the killer’s father had been like.

  “Exactly.” To Murphy, she quickly explained. “I believe the man who calls himself The Liberator has some sort of psychic ability. I don’t know what, but I know he and his sister were raised to believe it was something to be ashamed of.”

  Alex watched his boss fall back into his metal chair. “Great That’s just what we need. More of this psychic bullshit.”

 
; “I assure you, Sergeant, it’s not bullshit.” Having just entered from the hall, Dan stared down at Alex’s boss. “I don’t know if you’re aware, but there are entire groups within the United States Military that study psychic abilities. They help soldiers who are gifted perfect their skills and are constantly discovering new ways to use those abilities to help keep our country safe.”

  Taken off guard by Dan’s reprimand, Murphy attempted to explain away his blunder. “I…uh…I just meant the general public isn’t used to dealing with this sort of thing.”

  “So don’t tell them.” Dan shrugged. “Problem solved.” He made his way over to the table. “You might also be interested to know The Phoenix Agency has a fairly new department that deals specifically with extrasensory abilities, as well. My wife heads it up. Did I ever tell you she possesses precognitive abilities?”

  Alex hid a smirk. He could kiss his friend right about now.

  Murphy shook his head. “No.” He cleared his throat. “Uh, no, you didn’t. That’s…fascinating.”

  Alex glanced over at Garrett, who appeared to be having just as much trouble holding back his own grin. Damn, it was nice to see Murphy in the hot seat for a change.

  “Every day, Phoenix is learning more and more about how we can use these gifts such as Eden’s to help in situations like this. In fact, each of my partners’ wives are gifted with various psychic abilities. In fact, they’ve all been instrumental in helping solve cases for us, as well as saving lives. So, I urge you, Sergeant, to take whatever Miss Westfield tells you very seriously. Especially if you want to stop this man before he kills again.”

  Chagrined, Murphy looked over at Eden and nodded. “Please continue.”

  With a grateful glance in Dan’s direction, Eden went on. “As I was saying, I believe our killer is psychic, though I have no idea what his specific gift is. His sister, Mary Grace, was also gifted.”

  “Was?” Murphy asked, sounding genuinely curious now.

  Eden nodded. “Her father beat her for using her powers. Accused her of being ‘ungodly’ and going against the Bible. He…” She swallowed hard. “He’d whip her across the back with a leather belt.”