Through His Touch (Mind's Eye Book 2)

by Deborah Camp

  “Owww! Damn it!” She sat on her rump and rubbed her smarting shins. Darn it, she’d been tapped into Taser! Another minute and she might have figured out where he was and they wouldn’t even need Lizzie to lead them to him.

  More shouting sounded upstairs, following by clanking and pipe rattling. What the hell was going on? She pushed up to her feet and climbed the stairs to the main floor. The ruckus was coming from the bedroom wing. She moved through the dim kitchen and dining room. It was gray outside, a light rain falling, thunder rumbling in the distance. In the living room, the television was still tuned to the football game, but no one was there to watch it. The front doors stood open and the elevator doors were shut, meaning that someone had gone down to the lobby. You didn’t need a key and combination to go down – just to get up to the penthouse floor.

  “Levi?” she called, suddenly alarmed. Where was the guard? She glanced around the foyer. No guard. The chair he usually sat in was overturned. “Levi!” Running, she headed for the guest bathroom and the source of the sounds . . . clanking, cussing, gushing water? As she entered the bathroom, almost tripping over Mouse, her tennis shoes slipped on the wet floor and she grabbed the door facing to keep from falling.

  Levi and Guy Reynolds stood in front of the wash basin, drenched. Reynolds wielded a wrench and struggled to stop a fountain of water that was gushing from the tap. Levi held up soaked towels, trying to keep the water out of Reynolds’ face. With a mighty grunt, Reynolds gave the wrench a twist and the fountain shrank to a jet. With another turn, the jet became a dribble, then a drop. Blessed silence – except for Mouse’s excited yapping.

  “Thank God.” Levi slumped against the sink, breathing heavily, water droplets falling from the curls on his forehead.

  Reynolds chuckled and wiped a hand down his dripping face. “What a mess! Where’s a plumber when you need one?”

  “Mouse, hush up! What happened?” Trudy asked, lifting her foot from a growing puddle.

  “I’m not sure,” Levi said, running a towel down his face and over his hair. “I would guess that Lizzie’s flown the coop.”

  A cellphone beeped and Reynolds reached into his back pocket and pulled it free. “Sir?”

  Excitement shot through Trudy as she stared at Levi. Lizzie was gone! The plan had worked!

  “That was Gonzo. She’s in a taxi and they’re following her.”

  Levi threw down the towels. “Let’s go.”

  “Why should we go?” Trudy asked, grabbing Levi’s shirtsleeve before he could stride past her.

  “We shouldn’t. You stay here. I’m going with Reynolds.”

  “You go on, Guy. You’re staying here with me, Levi.”

  “No.” He shook off her hand and followed Guy Reynolds. Trudy grabbed Levi’s leather jacket and her hoodie off the hall tree as she passed it. Shoving her arms into the sleeves, she didn’t miss a step as she almost ran to keep up with the two men. She shut the doors to stop Mouse from following them. At the elevator, she shoved the jacket into Levi’s hands.

  “It’s nippy and raining. You’ll need this.” She flipped up the hood of her jacket.

  “You’re not going,” Levi bit out.

  “Don’t try to stop me,” she bit back.

  He glared at her.

  “And don’t poke me with your mind,” she warned because she could see the dilation of his pupils, a sure sign he was concentrating hard. “No poking!”

  “Poking?” Reynolds murmured, smiling.

  “Something Levi learned in England. He can make it seem like someone’s stuck a hot poker against your brain. It’s quite startling.”

  “I’ll bet,” Reynolds said, his eyes growing wider as he looked from Trudy to Levi.

  The elevator doors opened and she stepped into the compartment first.

  “Trudy, I swear . . .” Levi ground his teeth as he glared at her. “I’ve spent every damned day you’ve been here worrying about your safety. Don’t you get that? I don’t want you coming with us!”

  “I’ll wait in the car. With you. I want to see what’s going on. I’m not cooling my heels in the penthouse while everyone else is hot on the trail of Lizzie and her murdering boyfriend.” She set her teeth to grinding, too. Reynolds looked like he’d love to be anywhere but stuck with them.

  “Fuck.” Levi entered the elevators along with Reynolds. Silence rode down with them. The doors opened and Trudy stepped out quickly, wanting to be sure that she wasn’t pushed back into the elevator. She wouldn’t have put it past Levi to attempt such a move. A black sedan purred at the curb with Kenner at the ready, the passenger doors standing open.

  “Good evening, Mr. Wolfe,” the smiling chauffeur said.

  “Thanks, Kenner,” Levi snapped.

  Reynolds folded himself into the front seat. Trudy and Levi slid onto the roomy back seat. Levi turned his face away from her and swiped a hand through his wet hair.

  Kenner steered the car out of the parking lot as he pressed a button on the steering wheel to access a cellphone.

  “Dial Gonzales,” Reynolds said, and beeps followed before Gonzo’s voice crackled into the car.

  “Hey, glad you could join us!”

  “Where are they, boss?” Reynolds asked, using his handkerchief to dry off his hair, face, and neck.

  “They’re heading north. The police are on standby.”

  “Why on standby?” Trudy asked, leaning forward.

  “Hey, Trudy! You came along on the adventure, too?”

  “Yes.”

  “We’ll let the cops know where Lizzie ends up and then they’ll send patrol cars there,” Gonzo explained. He sounded jovial as if he thrived on the chase.

  Sitting back, Trudy tucked herself into the corner and chewed on her lower lip.

  “She caused a minor flood in the bathroom that took our focus away from her,” Reynolds told Gonzo.

  Gonzo chuckled. “I have to hand it to her, she’s creative. But I had men stationed everywhere around the building and the surveillance cameras picked her up, too. She wasn’t going anywhere without us knowing about it.”

  Levi propped one arm against the window and stared moodily at the rain-slicked streets. It was a moonless, overcast night and it continued to rain lightly and intermittently. Trudy shook her head at Levi’s seething irritation. It galled him that she’d insisted on going with them, but she had to take a stand. If they were going to work together, she refused to be the “little woman” who stayed behind and wrung her hands while the “menfolk” chased down the bad guys!

  She hunched her shoulders, drawing away from his surly mood. She understood that he was concerned for her safety, but she also strongly suspected that he wanted a face-off with Taser. She recognized the stubborn set of his jaw and the dark gleam in his eyes. He was on a mission.

  “Hey, boss, what’s your present location?” Reynolds asked.

  “Still on North Highland Avenue,” Gonzo answered, his deep voice booming in the car. “The taxi’s slowing up ahead. Looks like it might be turning into a business . . . yeah. It’s a self-storage place. Uncle Abner’s Self Storage. Got that?”

  “Got it.” Kenner nodded and the car sped up.

  “I’ll call the police and let them know,” Gonzo said.

  Kenner pressed a button on the steering wheel to end the call.

  “A storage center,” Trudy repeated. “That’s what I’ve been seeing! I thought it might be a garage at first, but it’s a storage space.”

  “Seeing when?” Levi asked. “When he killed Heather Asher?”

  “Yes, and just a little while ago.” She almost cringed as Levi’s laser-beam gaze bored into her. “Right before the bathroom debacle, I had a vision.”

  “He was in a storage building?”

  “There were boxes and other stuff piled up. He was sitting in a van and a motorcycle was parked next to it.”

  “Then he must have rented one of the larger spaces,” Levi said.

  Gravel crunched under the car’s tir
es and the headlights arced across a length of chain-link fencing and a double wide gate – a closed gate. Yes! This must be the place! Trudy peeked out the window at the big, illuminated sign depicting a smiling man with two missing front teeth. Uncle Abner’s Self Storage. Two other black sedans sat purring in front of the gates. Gonzo strode toward the car as Reynolds stepped out, followed by Levi and Kenner. Trudy emerged from the vehicle, too, unaided, as the others clearly assumed she was staying put. Levi kept his back to her. Could he be more annoying?

  “The cab dropped her off here, but she’d vanished by the time we pulled up. We can’t get in. We’re waiting for the cops.” Gonzo said.

  “Why?” Levi barked. “Ram the damn gates.”

  “Take it down a notch, buddy,” Gonzo said, placing a hand on Levi’s shoulder. “The cops will be here in a minute.” He spotted Trudy and gave her a wave, which she returned.

  “Get back in the car!” Levi snapped.

  “Watch who you’re talking to, Levi,” Trudy snapped back, coming to stand beside him. “We left the dog back at the penthouse.”

  He closed his eyes for a brief second before sending her a slicing glance. She flinched inwardly, but held her ground. Jerking her gaze from his, she scanned the area and hoped to see police lights coming at them or to hear sirens in the distance. No such luck. The rain had stopped but the air was saturated with mist.

  “Can’t you shoot off the lock and go on in?” Levi asked.

  Gonzo looked at him as if he’d lost his mind. “And get arrested and charged with breaking and entering? I don’t think so, pal. The police are on their way.”

  “And they’ll shoot off the lock?”

  Gonzo grinned. “We’ll get in, Wolfe. You need to put yourself in check before you go and do something stupid.”

  Trudy started to agree with that, but decided it would make Levi even more furious. She eyed the street again and sucked in a noisy breath when she spotted a cop car zipping toward them. It pulled in right next to the sedans. Gonzo greeted the patrolmen. Levi stood to one side, listening. Another police car pulled up and two more officers joined the group. Trudy couldn’t catch much of what was said. She started forward just as Levi whirled away with a vicious oath. Oh, no. Now what?

  “What’s going on?” she asked.

  “They’re calling the owner of the business to get the code to unlock the gates.”

  She rested a hand on his damp sleeve. The leather of his jacket was cold like the man wearing it. “Taser and Lizzie are in there and they’re not going anywhere.”

  Gonzo joined them. His black trench coat’s tails flapped in the cool breeze. An Atlanta Braves ball cap covered his head. “The owner gave the cops the code to open the gate and his office, too. They’ll look through his books and find the number of the unit Taser’s rented.”

  “Let’s just go in and look for him,” Levi said. “We’re wasting time.”

  “There are a couple hundred units in there, buddy,” Gonzo said. “We’re not barging in there half-cocked. And this is a police operation now. We’re here as backup.”

  “That’s good,” Trudy said, ignoring Levi’s frustrated sigh as he shoved his fists into his pockets and stared moodily at the street. She watched as the cops opened the gates and they, along with Gonzo and his guys, made their way to the office. They opened the door and lights flickered on inside the small, blocky building.

  “Come on,” Levi said, gripping her elbow, but instead of walking with her to the office, he turned her toward the car. “Get back in the car, Trudy.”

  She tried to wrench her elbow free, but couldn’t. “Don’t manhandle me, Levi. You’re not my boss.”

  “No.” He leveled his anger-filled eyes on her. “I’m the man who loves you and who would die a thousand deaths if anything bad happened to you. So, please, get in the goddamned car!”

  “And I would die a thousand deaths if anything bad happened to you,” she said, although her resistance was ebbing after his heartfelt admission. How could a man be so exasperating and endearing at the same time? “If I get in the car, do you promise to be careful, Levi? Promise you’ll think before you leap?”

  He huffed out a short breath and blinked slowly. “Yes, I promise.”

  “Okay.” She glanced at where his fingers bit into her sleeve and he loosened his grip on her. “That’s better. Thank you.” Reluctantly, she slid into the back seat, but dipped down to see him. “I’m only doing this because I love you. I hope you know that.”

  “I do. And I appreciate it. I’ll be back in a few minutes. You stay here.” He closed the door and she heard him tell Kenner, “Watch out for her. Don’t let her leave the car.”

  “Yes, sir!” Kenner replied. “You can count on me, Mr. Wolfe.”

  “I know. Thanks, Kenner.” He trotted away from the car toward the office.

  Watching him through the rain-dotted window, Trudy wondered if she should have given in to his demands. If it had been anyone else telling her to get in the car and stay there, she’d have told them to go straight to hell. But it was Levi. And his emotions and hers were in a maelstrom. She could tell that he grappled with guilt over the reason two women had been murdered, even if, logically, he knew he really had nothing to do with it. He wasn’t responsible for the madness of another man. But still . . .

  She shook her head, angry at Lizzie for showing up like the bad memory she was, throwing Levi’s world into complete chaos again. Lizzie had stirred up the demons in him and they were in control now with Levi trying desperately to bring them to heel.

  Flashlight beams sliced through the darkness, bouncing along the ground and illuminating the misty rain as the men emerged from the office and spread out. Some went left and some veered right, searching for the correct storage building. She thought she saw Levi and Gonzo head left, but it was hard to see who was who and Kenner, standing outside and leaning against the side of the car, blocked some of her view.

  Sighing, she shifted irritably on the seat, feeling chilled as she stared gloomily out the window at a blurry white building next door to the storage lot. Faint light spilled from a single window on the side of it. Leaning forward a little, she lowered the window a couple of inches. She could barely make out the unlit letters on the tall sign – Big Bob’s Cycle Repair. A vise squeezed her ribcage and pain throbbed behind her eyes. She sat back against the seat and closed her eyes.

  What the heck? Drawing in a deep breath, she felt compelled to open her eyes and look at the cycle repair building again, so she did. Something about it pulled at her, toyed with her mind. Something . . . no, someone dark and full of rage.

  Oh. Crap!

  Without even giving it a second thought, Trudy reached for her purse and located her cellphone. When the screen lit up, she began typing a text to Levi. I feel him. I think he’s at the place next d—

  Something bumped against the car, making her fingers twitch and hit “Send” before she’d finished keying and then she saw Kenner collapse like a rag doll.

  “Kenner!” she gasped, and the car door swept open. A cold, damp current of air rushed in before a big, blocky hand fisted in her hair and yanked her out of the car.

  She gathered in a breath to scream when a powerful jolt speared her and her mind went completely blank as her body convulsed.

  Strong hands wrapped around her waist and she was lifted and carried. Her mind cleared and she realized she was draped over someone’s shoulder. She kicked and beat at the man’s back with her fists, but then another jolt of electricity obliterated her thoughts and made her muscles contract and jerk.

  Big, calloused hands landed on her legs, her hips, her breasts. Instinctively, she clawed at the hand that covered her mouth and nose. She saw flashes of bulging muscles, a bare chest, and a coiled snake tattoo. It’s him . . . it’s him! She imagined that snake striking her, poisoning her, and another vital burst of energy exploded inside her.

  The need to survive kicked in, although she cringed at getting another ta
p of the stun gun. She sank her teeth into the hand against her mouth and gave it a shake. She tasted blood and managed to gulp in life-giving air before the hand closed around her throat and tightened. All the while, she was being dragged backward into a building, and then the door slammed shut. Blinking, she saw a fluorescent light overhead. Cold steel bumped up under her chin. She knew what it was and it wasn’t a stun gun. This one had bullets in it. She froze.

  “I’ll pop one right up through your brain, bitch,” Taser panted in her ear.

  She blinked rapidly and her vision cleared. Boxes, tires, metal shelves, white van, motorcycle. She’d seen them all before through his eyes. This was Taser’s snake pit. To her right, she saw the big, wooden X nailed to the wall. A whimper crawled up her throat when she realized that a woman was bound to that cross, her body dripping blood from long, deep gashes. A coiled bullwhip lay on the ground beneath her. Trudy could see enough of her face to recognize Lizzie. She wasn’t moving. Was she dead?

  Taser laughed – a low, choppy emission of sound that was more like panting. The stench of beer, onions, and tobacco battled for supremacy on his breath. He wiped the side of his hand against her cheek and she felt something sticky. Blood.

  “You bite hard, bitch.” He held her hands behind her back, clenched in his bone-crushing fist, and positioned the gun under her chin with the other. “Don’t move. Don’t even fucking breathe.”

  Panic careened in her. She could feel muscles bulging everywhere on his body while hers still cramped from the stun gun. He was huge, powerful, and nearly out of his mind with rage.

  “Not a sound,” he hissed near her ear. “You think ass-wipe will find you? Did you try to call or text him? You didn’t think I saw that, did you?”

  Looking toward the front of the building, she tried to focus on Levi, hoping her frantic thoughts would somehow reach him. Suddenly, the door rattled violently and was ripped open. A roar filled her ears as Levi came charging in. When he saw her, he stopped, his face going white as the blood drained from it.

  “Heeeere’s pussy boy,” Taser sang out. “Shut that goddamned door or I’ll blow a hole in her head right this fucking second!”