Deadly Prophecy: A Second Sight Series Spin-Off

by Heather Topham Wood

  “Since when?” he challenged. He moved his head closer to her as if on a dare.

  Kate kept swallowing, prolonging the time needed to give him an answer. Her eyes broke contact with his and she stared down at his feet. “I gave you the rule because I thought she would mean nothing to you. Jenna would become another beautiful girl for you to sleep with and not call the next morning. But the way you talk to her… it doesn’t come across like you feel nothing for her.”

  “What do you want to hear, Kate?” he asked in a low, dangerous voice.

  Unexpectedly, she launched herself forward, wrapping her arms around his waist. He resisted at first, but as she squeezed him tighter, he could feel his body relaxing. She spoke into his chest. “I want you happy. Maybe I should have told you sooner, but I don’t want to be the one to hold you back. I love you too much to ever do that to you. If Jenna means more to you—”

  He stopped her rant, disentangling himself from her arms. He took a step back and slammed the refrigerator shut. “Don’t do this now.”

  “Do what?”

  “Grant me permission to move on from you,” he said with a distasteful twist of his lips.

  “I’m not, Dec,” she said with a plea in her voice. “I’ve made mistakes when it comes to you. I realize that now. I treated you like a Plan B for too long. But you should be no one’s Plan B.”

  “We shouldn’t be talking about this,” he grunted.

  “Yes, we need to. Because I’m getting married in a few months and I want my best friend there with me. I want us to be okay again in the way we were before Jared proposed to me.” She nervously twisted her hands in front of her. Kate hated confrontation as much as he did. They were alike in the way they always sidestepped the truth. The truth was too ugly and hurtful to tackle head-on. For her to take the initiative to discuss their relationship was uncharacteristic. He almost wanted to applaud her. But his bitterness was getting in the way of behaving like a mature adult.

  “You can’t have it all,” he said flatly.

  “Why not?”

  “Because I can’t let go of our future,” he exploded. He pulled at his hair, making the spikes stick up straighter. Kate stumbled backwards at his outburst. He continued in a more tempered voice. “I saw a premonition of our future, Kate. I told you that when we first met. We were together and in love. I was happier in those few moments in my vision than I have ever been in my life.” She opened her mouth to speak, but he rallied on. “I don’t begrudge you and Jared your happiness. Fuck, you probably both deserve it more than anyone else. But you getting married also means I don’t get my chance. I have to mourn a future that will never happen.”

  As she bowed her head down, he instantly felt ashamed. He shouldn’t have admitted his feelings. So what if he spoke the truth? She shouldn’t feel guilty over not choosing him over Jared. His voice took on a tender quality. “I’m dealing with my issues, Kate. It’s going to take time, but we’re going to be fine.”

  She gave him such a hopeful look that his heart broke a little bit more. He preferred bickering with her—their banter concealing any true feelings they harbored for one another. “You promise we’re going to be okay? You can tell me anything. Even stuff you don’t think I want to hear.”

  She couldn’t have given him a better opening. He could tell her everything at the moment. All about Nikki and how he’d been sleeping with her to get over Kate. How he hated himself each morning when she woke up next to him. But he couldn’t stop. She was a much-needed distraction in his world—a world where he was surrounded by not one, but two women he couldn’t really have.

  “I said all I needed to say, Kate. We’re going to be okay. I promise.”

  Chapter Twelve

  “Your brother is dead.”

  Jenna stared at her mother as if she could see straight through her. She had obviously heard what she had said, but the words failed to penetrate. By her dazed look, the idea was too far-fetched to even consider. Her brother was healthy, young, how could he possibly be dead?

  She closed the nursing textbook she had in her hands. Her eyes watched her mother, searching for the truth in the woman’s tear-stained face. She was an older, heavier version of Jenna. “What?”

  Her mother’s body collapsed in the kitchen chair across from Jenna, her body seeming to suddenly weigh a thousand pounds. As she spoke, the weight of the world came through in her voice. “Dewey Beach Police called yesterday to tell us Brianna filed a missing person’s report on him. I was going to call you, but the idea of something bad happening to him… it just seemed impossible. I was waiting. Because he was going to call me and say he was on his way home and ask me to make those peanut butter brownies he loved….”

  Jenna made an impatient noise in the back of her throat. “Mom, what are you talking about?”

  “The police called again. We need to go down to Delaware; his body was found—”

  Jenna slammed her fist hard against the table. Her textbook fell to the ground with an earsplitting thump. Her mother didn’t react. She kept mumbling about details that weren’t possible. The central idea being Derek was dead.

  “Where’s Dad?” Jenna demanded, her breath coming out in hard, staccato bursts. Her mother’s behavior was apparently too unhinged to get a straight answer from.

  “He was with your Uncle Lou in the Poconos for the weekend. He’s on his way,” she said in a faraway voice.

  “Mom, I texted with Derek yesterday. There’s been a mistake. He’s with Bri and his friends for the week at the beach. He’s fine. If there’s a body, it’s not Derek’s,” she said angrily. Beads of perspiration had started to break out on Jenna’s forehead.

  “He went out for a walk. The police think maybe he was robbed. They can’t find his wallet. They robbed and killed my little boy. He’s gone. He’s not coming home.” Her mother sounded like a child. She was relaying a terrifying fairy tale and couldn’t manage to expose the rest of the sordid details.

  Jenna continued to shake her head, trying to block out the truth. Her eyes narrowed and her face flushed to a deep red color. “No. No, I won’t believe it. Derek is strong and smart—no one can hurt him. Why are you saying these things? Why are you lying to me?”

  Instead of answering, Jenna’s mother pressed her forehead down onto the table. She could no longer speak, only wail in despair. Jenna gaped at her in horror. She had obviously never seen her mother in such a state before. Her mother’s words hadn’t made Jenna believe, but the sound of her mourning howls made it real—too real for her to accept. Her body swayed back and forth while her eyes rolled into the back of her head. Within seconds, Jenna fell off her chair into a dead faint.

  ***

  Nikki’s right hand slipped under the sheets, finding Declan hard and ready. As she began to stroke him, he let out a low moan. She tightened her grasp and began to pick up speed. His eyes closed as he let out a contented sigh.

  He vowed to only concentrate on his physical needs and ignore the mental voices pulling him in different directions. Nikki was perfect for getting him out of his own head. After having an overnight vision of Jenna, Declan couldn’t shake the unsettled feelings he had seeing her in the throes of grief. He hated the helplessness of being only a spectator during such an appalling moment in her life.

  There was a shared something he had with Jenna he couldn’t quite put his finger on. Although they came from different backgrounds, he remembered having the same reaction when his father died. Declan didn’t feel sadness. He felt rage. He wanted to smash the world to pieces if it meant bringing back his dad from the dead.

  “Don’t I make you feel so good?” Nikki whispered sexily, dragging him away from his thoughts of Jenna. If getting involved with Nikki was a bad idea, developing any kind of romantic feelings for Jenna was an apocalypse-level path for him to take.

  “Oh God yes,” he murmured. With one quick move, she pulled back the sheet and yanked down on his boxer shorts.

  She continued to work his
cock with her hand while running her tongue down the length. “I love how your cock tastes.”

  “I want you to put it in your mouth,” he said huskily.

  “I want to deep-throat you all night, baby,” she said lowly. After another lick alongside his shaft, she said, “But I need a teeny-tiny favor first.”

  “Whatever you want,” he managed. Declan began to imagine all the dirty favors she was about to ask for. Nikki was the kinkiest girl he’d ever slept with. Some of the stuff she asked for in bed was a little strange. But who was he to judge someone who wanted to role-play an X-Rated version of Hamilton? Yet he would never feel the same way about the song “Yorktown.”

  “I need you to come with me to a charity dinner my family is hosting tomorrow night,” she commanded before taking him fully in her mouth.

  “Sure,” he sighed. As her words penetrated, his body stiffened. “Wait? What?”

  Ignoring his cries, Nikki continued to go down on him. Although he was tempted to let her continue, his conscience got the better of him. “Nikki, hold on a minute.”

  “I can’t stop, Doctor. You said I had to keep sucking on this lollipop if I wanted to feel better,” she said in a sing-songy voice. Oh fuck me, Declan thought. Why hadn’t he gotten off the crazy train sooner?

  “Nikki, stop. For real,” he said, scooting back to show his seriousness. As he sat up in bed, she pouted at him. He diverted his eyes to avoid being distracted by her nudity.

  “You’re no fun,” she complained.

  He adjusted himself before saying evenly, “I was having fun, but I could have sworn you said something about being your date to a charity dinner?”

  Nikki pushed a loose curl out of her face. Her eyes narrowed and his stomach fell. Although the relationship was strictly about sex, he didn’t want to come off as a complete asshole.

  “Yes, tomorrow at six sharp. I’ll assume you have nothing appropriate to wear so I’ll have a tux delivered here,” she said haughtily. Christ, he felt like he was in a gender-swapped version of Fifty Shades of Grey.

  “That sounds like a date. And we both decided a strict no-dating policy when we started this—”

  She grabbed his thigh and dug her sharp nails deep into the exposed skin. “I’m not asking you on a date. You’re acting as an escort. All you have to do is clean up nicely and smile for the cameras.”

  “I can’t,” he said flatly.

  “Can’t? Like you can’t because you have scheduled brain surgery tomorrow? Or won’t?”

  “Won’t,” he replied. “Cameras, Nikki? If this is some big event, it’s probably going to get back to Jared and Kate that we went together.”

  “Are you serious, Declan? Kate still doesn’t know we’re fucking?” she said with a forced laugh.

  “No. Why would she know?”

  “I don’t know, Declan, maybe because she’s psychic,” she said in mocking voice. “She’s this supposed mind reader and she still hasn’t figured out her ex is having sex with her fiancé’s ex?”

  “We’re not mind readers. We have flashes of other people’s memories. Sometimes we’ll see a glimpse of the future,” he said with irritation. He had tried on multiple occasions to explain his gift to Nikki to no avail.

  “Declan, I’ll level with you,” she said. “It was pretty damn embarrassing to be dumped by my boyfriend of three years for a girl half as pretty as me. Bringing a smoking hot date to this stupid party makes me feel a little bit less of a loser.”

  He felt a twinge of sympathy toward Nikki. Her grating personality usually prevented him from feeling sorry for her. But they did have the shared bond of being the ones not chosen by Kate and Jared. “I should tell Kate, but I was waiting….” he trailed off.

  “Waiting until it was over,” she finished for him. She gave him a withering look before turning away. Angrily, she began to get dressed as he watched her helplessly. After pulling on her sundress, she gathered up her bra and panties in her hands.

  “Nikki, I’m sorry—”

  “Fuck off, Declan. Do you think I honestly care you were planning to end things with me? I’m only pissed because I didn’t get a chance to do it first,” she said with spite. “I can’t believe I wasted so many perfect blow jobs on you. All I wanted in return was a good-looking date for this stupid charity ball I’d rather blow my brains out than attend. Do you know what my family is raising money for?” Before he could react, she answered her own question. “For exploited children in third-world countries. What a joke. They neglected their own children so badly one was abducted right from under their noses.”

  “Just give me time,” he said, using the same excuse he’d given Kate. “I’ll tell Kate and maybe you and I can still spend time together.”

  “No thanks,” she said mockingly. Picking up a sneaker off of the floor, she launched it at his head. The rubber sole thudded hard against his cheek. “Like I said, go fuck yourself.”

  As he rubbed his sore cheek with his palm, he watched her storm out of his bedroom. “Damn,” he mumbled. Seconds later, he heard his front door slam. Declan would not be shocked to find his Mustang keyed when he ventured out to his driveway.

  Frustrated, he punched the pillow next to him. He had never seen a future with Nikki, but he still hated hurting her. He had been floored over her sudden suggestion of going out in public together. She had always kept their relationship strictly sexual. The couple times he had tried to have a normal conversation with her, she had mocked him.

  Although his dick wasn’t thrilled, he felt a semblance of relief with her departure. Having sex with Nikki once was a horrendously bad idea. Two weeks of sex with Nikki was like a death wish. Things with Kate were finally looking up. Despite the awkwardness of their conversation a day earlier, it was a necessity. They’d never move forward if she didn’t acknowledge his hurt feelings. But as understanding as she had been about his emotions, would she be as forgiving when hearing about Nikki?

  As he dressed, he pushed thoughts of Nikki clear out of his head. He had a full day of work planned. Jenna needed him. The thought was sobering. Not once had Declan thought about the fifty thousand dollars Jenna promised. His drive came solely from wanting to give Jenna the resolution she desperately needed.

  While Kate attempted to conjure visions of local Dewey Beach lowlifes who might have killed Derek, he was back to concentrating on Brianna’s secrets.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Brianna was dead-eyed as she moved among the sea of people crowded in the house. Although they all wore black for mourning, they chatted happily while stuffing their faces with tea sandwiches. Every few seconds, bits of conversation floated over the room. “Remember when Derek won the district championship?” “Way too young. I still can’t believe it.” “Suspects? No, I don’t believe so.” “Who her? She’s the girlfriend.”

  She moved away from the crowd to an empty den at the rear of the home. Slipping inside, she closed the door gently behind her. With a dazed expression, she floated closer to the far wall dotted with family photos. Derek and Jenna were the stars of most of the shots. Dazzling smiles with perfectly straight teeth and not a hair out of place. Every significant moment captured on film and hung on display: proms, vacations, weddings, sporting games. The photographs were a testament of the Carnavale’s charmed existence.

  Brianna wiped away at her damp eyes as she heard the door opened behind her. Turning, she watched Adam enter the room. Without a greeting, he motioned with his head toward the pictures. “A lot of good times. Hard to believe he’s gone.”

  She looked back at the photos. “I came in here to be alone.”

  “Well, since you’re not returning any of our calls, we couldn’t figure out how else to talk to you,” he said.

  “We?”

  “Yes, all of us. Taylor, Chelsea, Liam….”

  “I don’t want to talk to anyone right now. Why do we have to grieve as a group? Can’t I finally have the separation I begged Derek for? I didn’t even want any of you there
in the first place. But as usual, you and Liam had to invite yourselves.” She crossed her arms in front of her chest. Her body language spoke of a need for confrontation. Her rage was begging for an outlet.

  Two long strides and he was in front of her. Glowering down at her, he said, “We need to talk about what happened.”

  “We have nothing to talk about,” she said with steel.

  “Fine,” he spat at her. “I can talk to the cops then. The detectives gave me their cards if I happen to remember anything else.”

  “Don’t threaten me. Tell the cops whatever you want. I lost Derek, nothing else matters to me right now,” she said with a challenge in her voice.

  “I can tell them you’re pregnant,” he spat back.

  Her pallor turned gray. “What did you say?”

  “You haven’t told the Carnavales yet, have you?” His voice grew in pitch and the anguish was apparent.

  “It’s none of yours or anyone else’s business. And don’t you dare go to the cops about it,” she seethed.

  “Derek was my best friend. You’re nothing to me. Why should I protect you?”

  “Because if you think me being pregnant makes me look guilty, what do you think the cops are going to believe when I tell them what you were up to that night?” she demanded.

  Adam took a step back as if her words had physically assaulted him. “What happened to all of us?”

  ***

  As Brianna started to reply in Declan’s vision, a loud buzzing drowned out the sound. Instantly, Declan was tossed out of the vision and back in his own living room. Irritated, he blew out the candle he had left burning and stormed to the front door. He could strangle the intruder for taking him away from Derek’s funeral. The vision was the first time he had witnessed the days immediately following Derek’s death. Something about the interaction between Adam and Brianna wasn’t sitting right with him. But he needed to see more to determine what they were hiding from the police.