Deadly Prophecy: A Second Sight Series Spin-Off

by Heather Topham Wood

  Jared’s smile was strained. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  “Good,” she said with a sigh. “Because inviting me out to dinner to celebrate getting out of rehab would be a shitty way to break up with me.” A waiter moving in their direction with a bottle of wine shook his head and turned around on his heel before stalking off.

  Jared shook his head in amusement. “You could have just said, ‘finished physical therapy.’”

  Kate shrugged innocently. Clutching the fork once again, she returned her focus to the spaghetti. As Jared cleared his throat, her gaze landed back on his face. “What did you want to talk about?”

  “Declan,” he said without inflection.

  Her eyes pulled away from his and stared off into the distance. She seemed to rack her brain over what about Declan her boyfriend wanted to talk about. “What did he do now?” Before he could answer, she added hastily, “He hasn’t been hounding me about going back to work if that’s what you’re worried about. He understands that being stabbed and almost dying earns me some vacation days.”

  Jared looked tired as he nodded at her. Dark circles rung his eyes and he had a couple of razor nicks on his chin. His solemn attitude portrayed his apprehension over her attack. He was worried about Kate’s safety, but was apparently trying to downplay his fears. Finding his girlfriend close to death haunted him, especially since the assailant had yet to be caught. He said distractedly, “Good. I told him you needed to concentrate on getting better.”

  “The two of you need to stop worrying about me. Detective Thompson called last week and he said they have some promising leads on my case.” Jared looked preoccupied over the news. Kate frowned at him. “You and Declan are still staying out of it, right?”

  “Stop worrying,” he said as the waiter returned with a water pitcher.

  She looked primed to go on the offensive. Probably ready to call him out on not giving her straight answer. But her attack had taken a drastic toll on her. Finding the fight inside was obviously more trying than before. Going out to dinner with her boyfriend was supposed to take her mind off the nightmare from months earlier. She had survived and wanted to start living again. Not always rehashing what had happened when she was stabbed in her kitchen.

  She kept quiet until the waiter departed their table once again. “Then what’s going on with Declan?”

  “I think he still has feelings for you,” he admitted, his lips tight together as he spoke the words. His eyes were almost colorless, a startling gray color, making them hard to read. Since he was a detective, his ability to conceal any outward displays of emotion was likely a coveted skill.

  “No, he doesn’t,” she said automatically.

  “Yes, he does,” he replied back.

  Rolling her shoulders back, she said with practiced patience, “Okay, I’ll bite. Why does Declan still have feelings for me?”

  “I see it in his face when the two of you are together,” he said simply. His voice was calm, almost as if he was relaying an indisputable fact. Kate appeared taken aback by his calmness as well as she gaped at him. He added, “And if we’re going to move forward, we can’t pretend like last year never happened.”

  “Shh… we can’t talk about this,” she said, putting a finger to her lips.

  “Why?” he asked, clearly getting frustrated.

  “You know why,” she said, her cheeks coloring again. She fanned at her face with her hand, trying to manage her increasing discomfort.

  “Why? Because it will destroy the truce we found ourselves in after your attack?”

  Kate shook her head hard, her face beginning to show signs of distress. “Because we can’t ever talk about Declan.”

  “Kate, believe me, I don’t want to have any ill will toward Declan. I genuinely like the guy. But I don’t think he’s ever stopped wanting to be with you.”

  “Jared, you need to stop—” she cried in almost full-blown panic mode.

  “Kate,” Jared said, leaning forward with his palms flat against the table. “I’m not playing the role of the jealous boyfriend. There was obviously something between you—”

  She interrupted him. “It was one night. And I realized right away that I made a mistake.”

  “I hate myself for asking this, but I need to know. When we were broken up, did anything happen between the two of you?”

  Her eyes flashed with anger over the inquiry. Jared had obviously never outright asked about the time period when he broke up with Kate. And the fact he was bringing up the past brought old hurts to the surface. “No. But he was there for me. He helped me try to figure out who wanted me dead.”

  Jared ran a frustrated hand through his black hair. “How can you be mad? If the roles were reversed, wouldn’t you want the whole story?”

  She took a long sip of water before speaking. “You have the whole story.” Her eyes narrowed as she whispered harshly, “I love you, not him… never him. That’s what you want me to say, right? You want me to say kissing him was a mistake I’ll always regret. That when I look at him, I only see an ally, not someone whose love I can’t ever imagine living without. You want me to promise, no matter how he feels, those feelings will never ever be reciprocated.”

  Fully satisfied by her impassioned speech, Jared leaned back in his chair. “Yes. Why is that so much to ask?”

  “Because although those things are true, I can’t say them aloud. He will see this moment and it will hurt him, Jared. And although I’m not in love with Declan, his friendship means everything to me. And he doesn’t deserve to be hurt over and over by me.”

  She looked upwards as she spoke, not addressing Jared any further. “I’m sorry, Dec. If you see this, please know I’ve never set out to hurt you.” Her eyes filled with unshed tears.

  Jared reached for her hand across the table. He ran a long finger across her palm before he spoke. “How do you manage? How do you have a friend that knows everything about you?” His voice was tender and sweet, reassured about his place in Kate’s heart.

  “Seeing my memories doesn’t mean he knows everything about me. And I never assume I know everything about him.” She gripped onto his hand as she added, “But I do trust him. And you can too. Declan is OUR friend. I’ve seen enough to know he’s put what happened between us behind him.” She didn’t need to further allude to her meaning. Declan never was secretive over his voracious sexual appetite.

  Jared took a second before nodding. “Fair enough.”

  Her shoulders relaxed. “So, you’re okay? No more questioning his loyalty? Or mine?”

  “Yes. I wanted to have this conversation for a while now. But now it’s done with. You’ll always know my hand, Kate. Your visions will always show you who I am and how I feel about you. I don’t have that luxury. I had to ask because if we always sidestep the issue, we’ll never move forward.”

  “I love you, Jared. If you saw inside my head, that’s what you would find,” she said in a warm voice.

  He pulled her hand to his lips and landed a soft kiss on the underside. “I love you….”

  ***

  Declan’s psyche must have taken pity on him since he jolted awake as Jared and Kate started getting sappy. As if his day couldn’t go any further to shit, he had to have a damn vision of Kate putting him in the friendzone. He was supposed to be having visions of Derek and his friends, not seeing memories of Kate after her attack.

  The most disturbing part about the whole vision was that Kate suspected he would one day witness her dismissal of him. But she still went through with it. She might have felt bad for hurting him, but reassuring Jared was more important.

  As much as he could try to avoid Kate’s memories, they acted like a siren song to his psychic abilities. While his slept, with his guard down, he lost control over his visions. He didn’t dream; instead, he drifted into the subconscious of others. He had to bear witness to all the highs and lows of Kate Edwards’ existence. If his voice could be heard within a vision, he would disagree with her. His fre
quent visits to her memories did make him feel like he knew everything about her.

  And fuck, this latest glimpse into her mind tore through his gut like a raging fire. As if Kate getting married wasn’t enough for the universe to make sure he got the message, his visions were intended to drive home the point. His promised future with Kate was never, ever going to happen.

  Chapter Five

  “Can I have a shot of Southern Comfort and a seltzer?” As soon as he finished his order, Declan released an exaggerated groan. “Forget the Southern Comfort. I’ve been sober for two years and I’m not going to throw it all away because of a woman.”

  The female bartender gave him a bored look. “You know that bartenders aren’t really the poor man’s therapist? That’s just a myth.”

  “You know what’s not a myth? Tipping is optional. So, can you get me that seltzer or what?” The bartender rolled her eyes and went to the tap to pour his seltzer. As she placed the drink in front of him, he noticed some of the liquid sloshed over the sides onto the bar counter. She stormed away from him without bothering to mop up the mess. The slight was another reminder of how Declan needed to work on his people skills.

  The noise of the bar was the best kind of distraction. The club called Amuse, found about half an hour from his house, was relatively new. A big draw since all of the local South River taverns were full of too many women who he had complicated histories with. Amuse aimed to attract a higher-end clientele by advertising tea-infused cocktails and agave margaritas specials. The décor was vintage with brown leather seats, wood floors, and exposed brick walls.

  His head pounded from the hours he spent trying to bring on a vision about the Carnavale case. His visions could happen while he was sleeping, but if he wanted a daytime glimpse, he needed to relax and meditate. Not an easy task with Kate getting him all keyed up earlier. When he’d finally unwound, he had put his whole focus on who he considered one of the prime suspects in the case—Derek’s girlfriend, Brianna Meyer.

  Over a series of text messages she had sent to Declan, Jenna voiced her suspicion about Brianna and the part she possibly played in Derek’s murder. According to Jenna, Derek and Brianna had a tumultuous relationship with more downs than ups. They would have explosive fights with Brianna’s jealousy being the root of a lot of their problems. Brianna was withdrawn at Derek’s funeral services and hadn’t returned any of Jenna’s calls in the months following Derek’s murder.

  After finding Brianna’s picture online, Declan was able to psychically connect with her. Her memories appeared to be out of context and he wasn’t able to glean anything useful from what he saw. Derek hadn’t appeared in the visions and from what he gathered, she was considering a job change. Not exactly evidence that made her appear culpable. He would have to keep working in hopes of seeing glimpses of her relationship with Derek.

  Besides, the idea of the teeny-tiny Brianna murdering Derek was a long shot in Declan’s estimation. Derek was almost six feet tall while Brianna barely cleared his shoulders in high heels. Declan found it next to impossible to picture her getting the jump on Derek, able to overpower him enough to stab him multiple times and not walk away with a single scratch. When Derek’s friends reported him missing, all of them were interviewed. None of the detectives on the investigation noted any visible injuries on the interviewees.

  Declan also thought Jenna was being a little hard on Brianna. People grieved in different ways and he could understand how Brianna became withdrawn after Derek’s death. After his father died, Declan couldn’t wait for the house to clear away and be able to deal with his loss without relatives asking him every five seconds if he was okay. Obviously, he was about as far away from okay as a person could possibly get.

  Jenna was the exception, not the rule. She was showing a deep inner strength, not an easy task when confronting immeasurable grief. Instead of falling apart like Declan had after his dad died, she was finding healthier ways to cope. Maybe most people wouldn’t consider tracking down a killer a good way to deal with death, but what Jenna was doing took backbone. Instead of curling up into a ball and falling apart, she was fighting back.

  Declan wanted to help with her fight. But if he couldn’t concentrate on the murder suspects, he would fail and potentially ruin the future of his new investigation firm. Jenna was a high-profile client and if she got on social networks and starting blabbing to all of her rich friends about how amazing he was, Declan could be making serious cash in no time. Money had always been his sole motivator and he couldn’t let Kate make him forget his priorities.

  And what the hell was going on with him? Why was Kate’s engagement making him so damn obsessive? He was supposed to be cool and aloof. Not at all like the blubbering idiot he had been reduced to by her news.

  Declan scanned the bar. What he needed was a distraction. He couldn’t drown his sorrows in liquor, but he could get lost in a different type of sensation. He went to bars for the sole purpose of picking up women—preferably within the first hour in order to avoid the temptation of having a drink. Not that the bars he frequented were anything like his old haunts. When he was strung out, he visited rundown bars in drug-riddled neighborhoods. The odds were always in his favor that he’d find a dealer working out of the men’s room.

  Sex would help relieve him of feeling like he wished to crawl out of his own skin. Kate forbade him from going after Jenna, but that didn’t mean he had to stay celibate. He could screw until his head got screwed on back right.

  His eyes narrowed on a willowy blonde sitting on the other end of the bar. He took in a few details about her as he planned his strategy. She was nursing a glass of white wine while staring at her phone with irritation. Her black dress was tailored perfectly to her thin frame, showing off a modest amount of skin. Every couple of minutes, she would toss a look of disdain at any man who stared at her for a beat too long. A sign advertising her as high maintenance might as well have been hung above her head. Declan was about to move on, but when he closely studied her features, he suddenly placed her. Hopping off of the bar stool, his feet moved on their own accord down the bar.

  “I know you,” he started.

  The woman looked at him as if he was polluting the air she breathed. “Really?”

  “Yes, we have a mutual friend.” He added, “Jared Corbett.”

  Her blue eyes betrayed her shock although her lips stayed in a thin and tight line. She gave him the once-over before saying in an arched tone, “Are you on the force with my ex? Because you don’t look like a cop.”

  Her voice was full of condescension, but Declan took the assessment as a compliment. He guffawed. “Me a cop? Cops follow a code and have a clear understanding of right and wrong. Since I lack the ability to do either—”

  She cut him off. “If you don’t work with Jared. How exactly do you know him?”

  “I’m a psychic and I work with Kate—”

  She didn’t let him finish his thought. She grabbed her purse, cradling it against her side as if he was likely to snatch it away. “Can I ever escape that horrible girl? If I never hear the name Kate Edwards for the rest of my life, I swear I’d die with the biggest smile on my face.”

  He held up his hands in surrender. “I’m not trying to be a shit stirrer. I saw you over here by yourself and thought I’d introduce myself. I’m Declan.”

  He held out his hand and she shook it reluctantly. “Nikki Preston.” She examined him shrewdly for a long moment. “You’re not spying on me for Kate, are you? Because I haven’t talked to Jared in months, so she can give up the paranoid fixation she seems to have with me.”

  Declan smirked. “I wouldn’t call her obsessed. She was only concerned you were trying to murder. An understandable conclusion considering she was receiving death threats at the time and she had stolen your man.”

  Nikki snorted. “I broke up with Jared. And I read all about Kate’s attack in the paper. I think there’s something deeply disturbing about a girl who constantly finds herself in dange
r. Jared is always trying to save someone. When he saw I wasn’t in need of saving, he decided to start sniffing around Plan B.”

  Declan shifted uncomfortably. He felt a little disloyal staying in place as Kate’s nemesis blasted her. Nikki and Kate had a long and convoluted history he had heard about in great detail in between psychic sessions. Nikki was beautiful, wealthy, and had been coupled with Jared for years before Kate came into the picture. This trifecta resulted in all of Kate’s insecurities coming to the surface.

  Declan was angry with Kate, for reasons he couldn’t discern, but that didn’t erase how Kate had been his only real friend for the past year. As many women he had bedded before meeting her, he had never curbed his loneliness. Within weeks of meeting, Kate became like family. “I should go…,” he started.

  Nikki set her purse back down, and then gestured to the open barstool next to her. After taking a dainty sip of wine, she regarded him with more scrutiny. “I noticed you before you came over.”

  “Yeah?” he asked without inflection.

  Nikki looked around the room before facing him again. Her straight blond hair fell forward over her shoulders as she stared at him. The shade of her light-colored hair reminded him of Jenna. The resemblance made his stomach roil as he thought about how she was another woman he couldn’t have. Nikki’s eyes filled with heat. “Well, you looked very brooding and handsome in the corner. I could see why Kate found you so attractive.”

  “How did you know…?”

  She waved off his question. “Jared called me after he broke up with Kate. He didn’t tell me the entire story, but enough details to conclude Kate was fooling around with another guy. Since Kate was a recluse before meeting Jared, it’s easy to figure out you must be the other guy. Now, I’m curious how you went from being called a first-class fucker to Jared’s friend.” She laughed deeply as she lowered her long lashes at him.