“Well?” Kate asked, tapping her foot impatiently.
Declan mentally prepared his defense. What did it matter if he slept with Nikki? Jared probably wouldn’t care. If he did, maybe Kate should rethink marrying him. And Kate needed to stop being a control freak about who Declan could sleep with. She told him he couldn’t have sex with Jenna and he abode. What was next? Was Kate to provide him with an approved list of who he could have sex with? She acted liked his girlfriend, but without any of the fun parts.
“She wanted to see if I had copies of the appraisals of any jewelry I gave her while we were together. I guess she’s going ahead and selling it all.” Jared shrugged. Declan could have fallen to the floor in relief.
“That’s convenient timing,” Kate said. Her eyes were fixed on Jared, likely judging his mood after talking to his ex-girlfriend.
“She mentioned the engagement. I guess she had heard,” Jared said evenly.
“Fucking Facebook,” Declan said, shaking his head empathetically.
“We don’t have Facebook,” Kate said wrinkling her nose.
“Damn Instagram, Snapchat, Reddit… whatever the hell you’re on. She must have found out from there.” He was truly going to hell one day, Declan thought.
“I’ve told you before I have a phobia about social networks.” Kate gave a little shake for dramatic effect. “And Jared went to school with too many douches. He doesn’t want to ‘friend’ any of those people.”
“Not exactly the reason I gave you, but okay you can go with that,” Jared said with a short laugh.
“We live in Small Town, USA, Kit Kat. I’m sure it wasn’t too hard for Nikki to find out about you getting engaged.” Declan decided to redirect the conversation into safer territory. “I’m tired, so I’m heading home to work there.”
“Okay, call or text me later? I’ll let you know if I see anything too.” Kate pivoted to Jenna. “Thanks for coming over and giving us the photos. We will get in touch as soon as we have a lead.”
“Thanks, Kate.” Jenna turned to face Declan. “Walk me out?” Declan nodded.
After saying his goodbyes to Kate and Jared, Declan followed Jenna out of their front door. He felt, all of a sudden, shy being alone with her. He wasn’t accustomed to his confidence fading around a beautiful woman. His palms were damp as he watched the sexy way her hips swayed as she walked in the direction of her car. Jenna was super-nice, super-hot… but Declan couldn’t go there. Sex with Nikki was actually a much safer bet. There was no risk of him developing any kind of authentic feelings for Nikki. Nikki could temporarily distract him not only from Kate getting married, but also from his burgeoning attraction to Jenna.
“Is this real?” Jenna stopped abruptly, spinning around to face him directly.
Had she read his mind? Was she feeling the chemistry between them too? “What?”
“You’re not both playing me, right? Because I’m a believer and what you said about the beach house feels real. But I’ve been in hell, not knowing what happened to Derek. And if I’m wasting my time here with you guys, please tell me. I won’t blow your cover. I won’t tell anyone you’re frauds. But I have hope now. And hope is a fickle bitch—”
Declan stopped her by placing a hand on her wrist. Her doubts had caught him off guard. Instead of getting whisked away by the drama with Kate and Nikki, he should’ve spent time reassuring Jenna about his vision. “We’re not frauds. We are going to find out what happened to Derek. Even if it takes weeks, months, how ever long. Doesn’t matter if we’re able to clear Derek’s friends of all wrongdoing. We’ll find other suspects and keep looking.”
She moved a strand of hair out of her eyes. “Thank you. If you do this for me… I will give you fifty thousand dollars.”
If he were drinking something, he would have spewed the liquid out. “Fifty thousand? How much do you think we charge? I’d never ask you to pay that much.”
His brain started whirring at the mention of the figure. Putting a price tag on his psychic abilities was tough. Although he depended on the money to live, he didn’t want to come off as an ambulance chaser.
“I don’t care about the money,” she shook her head, her tone turning beseeching. “My parents probably spend more on their annual Hawaii vacation. Someone took my brother away from me and they’re not paying for what they did.” She tilted her head to examine him closely. “Do you have siblings?”
“An older sister,” he answered automatically. After clearing his throat, he added. “I haven’t talked to her in years. My family and I had a… falling out.” Arriving at his car, he leaned against the hood and crossed his arms over his chest. “My family, specifically my mom, didn’t take the psychic thing all that well. She threw me out of the house and I haven’t been in touch with my family for years.”
“That’s awful.”
He gave a crooked smile. “She’s no mom of the year by any means, but in fairness, I probably deserved to get tossed out on my ass. After the accident, I thought the visions meant I was crazy. I was confused over what was real and what wasn’t. I took a lot of pills to get through it. She decided one day she’d had enough and showed me the door.”
Her hand twitched at her side. The movement made him wonder if she was talking herself out of touching him. “Has your mom or sister tried to get in touch with you since?”
Damn, that stung. “No. I’m sure they could find me if they wanted to. They live less than an hour away and unlike Kate, I don’t exactly keep a low profile.”
“Maybe this isn’t my place to say, but you should call your family. I’m not an expert on families, but since Derek died… I have all of these regrets. We were so close, but I still regret each and every time we fought or I blew him off. If I had known how soon he would be gone, I would’ve let all the small stuff slide.”
“Maybe I will,” he hedged. Most days, he liked to pretend his mother and sister no longer existed. They were in another dimension, completely separate from his own. Declan gave Jenna credit for not tiptoeing around the subject. They had only met a brief time ago and she was already challenging him. “I don’t want to lose focus on your case, but I’ll think about it.”
“You won’t lose focus. Go home and pick up the phone. You won’t regret it.”
Chapter Nine
Declan had gone home. He had picked up the phone. But instead of calling his family, he had rung up Nikki. And damn was he regretting it now.
Nikki was an incredible lay. Long ago, he had come to the conclusion crazy girls were always the best in bed. His theory derived from an increased desire to try anything between the sheets. Hours had gone by without any sign of her tiring or growing bored with him. By the time they were done, they had pretty much rewritten the Kama Sutra.
But then Nikki wouldn’t leave his house. The longer she stayed, the more awkward he was feeling about the entire situation. Especially since she was decidedly not into pillow talk or cuddling. Instead, she was lying half-dressed on his bed tapping away at her phone. Every time he tried to start a conversation, she’d put up a finger to silence him. He had tried to do some research on the Carnavale case on his own phone, but he was ready to bring on a vision. Nikki didn’t bring on the zen-like feeling he needed to connect to his targets.
He started again. “Jared said you’re looking to sell the jewelry he gave you?”
“Why? Are you interested in buying some to win Kate back? Jared hasn’t given me the appraisals yet, but he couldn’t afford much on a detective’s salary. I’ll make you a deal and sell you the earrings for a hundred a pair and the necklaces for one hundred fifty.” Nikki didn’t bother tearing her eyes away from the phone screen while answering.
He looked up at his ceiling and sighed. “I don’t think we should see each other again.”
Her attention could still not be diverted. “Are you going to have buyer’s remorse every time we have sex?”
He ran his thumb across his chin. “I don’t have buyer’s remorse. I thought this wo
uld help me deal with stuff and it’s not.” His honest answer made him want to extradite himself from the situation as fast as humanly possible. Hours and hours of gymnastic-style sex and he still felt unfulfilled. Something inside of him was shifting, craving more than a physical connection. Stuck, always stuck in a vicious cycle of the sameness. The faces of the women changed, but the emptiness never went away.
Finally, Nikki set the phone on the bed and watched him solicitously. “Declan, someone very wise once said, ‘I never planned on changing your mind.’ And you should apply this idea to our arrangement.”
“Someone very wise? I could’ve sworn that line is from a Taylor Swift song.”
“No matter who said it, you shouldn’t need someone to get over Kate. You have to do that on your own. I’m over Jared now and I didn’t need another man to get me to this point.”
Vehemently, he shook his head. “But you’re not over Jared. You called this a ‘revenge fuck.’ You wouldn’t need to get revenge on someone if you’re over them.”
“Not revenge against Jared. This was revenge against Kate. Despite everything, I actually still care about Jared and want the best for him. Kate Edwards will ruin him.” Her blue eyes clouded over. At times, Nikki showed flashes of humanity. She was obviously a woman who was deeply hurt by the man she loved. But the hard edge of her personality prevented much sympathy.
“But she saved your sister,” Declan pointed out.
“But she saved your sister,” she mimicked in a whine. “I’m so sick of hearing that. Everyone likes to rewrite history. Kate almost got my sister killed. The cops were very close to finding Cori. They didn’t need Kate getting into the middle of things and making the situation more dangerous for Cori.”
His eyebrows furrowed as he noted her fierce tone. “You would do anything for Cori, huh?”
She fell back into a more comfortable position against the pillows. Her body language relaxed, evidently relieved to stop debating Jared and Kate. “Of course; why?”
“I don’t know. I have a sister… her name is Radha. I haven’t talked to her in a long time and she’s been on my mind today.” Sleeping with Nikki hadn’t stopped Declan from revisiting the conversation he had with Jenna earlier. For close to five years, Radha had ceased existing in Declan’s mind. When his mother forced him out of the house, Declan’s first call had been to Radha—pleading with her to help him. She had taken a hard stance with him, telling him to get clean first. She refused to give him any money or offer a place to stay. His hatred had ballooned to encompass his entire family. They became nothing to him. The resentment never faded, not even after he’d gotten his life together.
“Unfortunate name.”
Declan mentally counted to ten first before responding. “My family is Irish. My mother picked traditional names for both of us.”
Nikki’s laughter rolled deep in her chest. “Declan and Radha—sounds like a name of a coffee shop band I wouldn’t be caught dead listening to.”
He clawed at the bed sheets. “Anyway, I was wondering if I should just let the past go and give her a call. She’s ten years older, so she wasn’t living at home when things turned to hell with my mother. And even if she took my mom’s side during the fight, I need to get over it already. Life’s too short and all that, right?”
“I don’t know. I guess,” she said in a bored voice.
He exhaled through his nose. “You’re not being helpful.”
“I could pretend to be a psychiatrist, Declan, if you’d like. But honestly I don’t know enough about your family to give you advice. I’m here for the sex, not the conversation.”
“Thanks for the brutal honesty.” Irritation flickered behind his words. Truthfully, he wasn’t angry with Nikki. He was livid at his own damn self. He kept repeating the same mistakes, always expecting a different outcome.
“Look, you seem like a nice guy,” she said looking at him with her eyes at half-mast. “I’m probably a little soft on you because you’ve also been burned by Kate.”
“You call this soft?”
“But you need to man up, cowboy. Turn it off,” she commanded. “Whatever is going on right now with Kate is making you crazy in other areas of your life. You don’t need to change your life completely because you’re hurting right now.”
“But maybe I do. I feel like something needs to change.”
Nikki didn’t reply as she picked back up her phone. Declan realized she wasn’t the best person to go to for advice, but he couldn’t exactly turn to Kate anymore. He had felt the spark of a connection with Jenna, but he was trying to keep that relationship as uncomplicated as possible. Jenna stirred up feelings inside of him, emotions reminding him of the sensations he experienced during his premonitions of Kate. He couldn’t risk getting burned twice.
If Declan were seeking out an emotional bond, maybe he’d give Radha a call. Even if his sister refused to speak to him, at least he could sleep easier knowing he tried. Growing up, Radha had been more motherly to him than the woman who gave birth to him. She had chased away bullies harassing him on the playground and offered sanctuary in her room during raging thunderstorms. Suddenly, he craved his sister more than he had in close to four years. Radha had always been a steadying influence. Maybe he could go to her and she’d tell him how exactly to move on from Kate.
***
“Dec, do you ever wish away our abilities?”
Declan and Kate were sitting together at her mom’s kitchen table with a pizza between them. Declan had already devoured half the pie while Kate was taking nibbles off of the crust. They’d been working around the clock together lately to find out who had been stalking Kate. He didn’t want to believe Kate’s premonitions would come true and she’d be killed, but he wasn’t taking any chances.
“Not really. What else would I be doing now? My grades sucked and I wasn’t into sports. Besides amateur porn, I didn’t really have too many job opportunities.” His joke fell flat. He frowned at her expression. Ever since she’d broken things off with Jared, she would get a faraway look—made her look like the loneliest person in the whole damn world. “Why? Would you give it all up? Say to hell with being psychic?”
“I would,” she admitted quietly.
“Why? Do you know how many people would kill to trade places with you?” Declan demanded, incredulous over her confession. “We may not have complete control over our powers, but we still get to see so much more than anyone else. Kate, without our abilities, we’d have no idea that someone is planning to kill you.” He stood up then. “I don’t get you sometimes. You know how much good we’re doing; how the hell could you wish it all away?”
“Are we doing so much good? What about Melanie—”
He didn’t dare let her finish. “We’re not talking about Melanie again.” His voice left no room for argument. She looked defeated, but he kept his face emotionless. Let her think he didn’t care about what happened to Melanie. The truth didn’t matter. Kate had gotten too attached as it was. If she understood how many nights Melanie’s face had haunted him, she would never move on. Erasing Melanie from both of their memory banks was a necessary evil.
“I feel all of their pain.” Tears filled Kate’s eyes. “All of these cases we work on… there aren’t enough happy endings. Day after day, I have to relive all of the hell they’ve all been through.” A sob shook her shoulders. “And I have my own pain now. I have this horrible ache in my chest that won’t let up. And I can’t escape Jared. When most couples break up, they can avoid each other indefinitely. But not for a psychic. Every night, he haunts my dreams. And this will go on and on. I’ll be forced to see things I’ll never unsee. Every time he kisses another woman, professes his love, I’ll be a silent spectator. Forced to watch him build a life with someone who isn’t me.” Her self-control dissolved as she cried openly into the palms of her hands. Her cries were heart-wrenching because they weren’t fresh. Her anguish wasn’t fading, although she had shed enough tears for a dozen breakups.
Wiping at her cheeks, she took a long, steady breath, attempting to regain her composure. “How do you know?” Her hazel eyes were full of genuine curiosity as she asked him.
“Because I used to have visions of my family all the time.” He changed his somber tone to sound glib. “You would think disowning your family would get you out of stupid holiday gatherings.”
“And what? You don’t have them anymore?”
He could tell by her tone that she didn’t believe him. “Not at all.” The admission was a half-truth. He still had visions of his past with the Brayden clan, but not as frequently. At eighteen, after his ski accident, he’d had little control over his psychic gift. Avoiding his family’s thoughts became easier after years of practice. “You will get over Jared one day. I should warn you, though. He’ll probably spend the rest of his life wanting to punch himself in the face for letting you go. Especially when the day comes that you have moved on.”
She managed a smile. “Really?”
Declan sure as hell hoped so. Because once Kate was over Jared, maybe he’d have his shot. He had tasted her already, felt her pressed against him—and once wasn’t enough. His premonition before they had met suddenly replayed his head: the one of the two of them together in his house—and happy. He had barely recognized himself in the vision. Making dinner together in his kitchen, laughing at her jokes, kissing her until his mouth ached. Declan couldn’t remember the last time he’d been truly happy. Hunger overruled happiness. When you didn’t have money, your sole purpose in life was to get paid.
“Yes,” he said with certainty.
The look she gave him at the moment would come to haunt him indefinitely. Her customary annoyed expression she usually gave him softened. Kate looked at him as if he represented possibility. Like her future wasn’t laid to waste because Jared decided to break things off with her. Declan hadn’t seen any signs of Kate’s interest pointed in his direction since the night they kissed.
Deadly Prophecy: A Second Sight Series Spin-Off Page 7