by Mary Eason
“Then we’ll turn the radio on in your room to help you sleep and Buster can stay with you this one time, okay? Come on, baby, you need to get some rest.”
Kara untangled Ava’s clinging arms and kissed her gently. With all of Ava’s emotional turmoil, sleep was not long in coming. Kara barely finished one page of the book they’d been reading before her daughter drifted off.
With Ava finally out, Kara closed the door, confident of Buster’s abilities, and returned to the living room to the comforting sound of the TV.
Sleep for her would not be possible. Since she’d learned about the dead, the dreams of the Death Angel had become more real and more frightening than ever. They took on the feeling of a reality waiting for fulfillment.
Inside her top dresser drawer, way in the back, she found the silk scarf. Kara kept it to remember, not that she needed much help.
The second her fingers touched the silk, she sensed the nightmarish terror associated with it as clearly as if it were woven into the material. Even though she’d never seen the Angel’s face, the stark evil in him reached out to her. He was someone who enjoyed his work, took pride in it even. Someone cunning and off the charts in intelligence.
Kara took the scarf and stuffed it into the box with the photos. Tomorrow she would burn them all. And then she would make plans to leave El Paso behind, because the sanctuary she so longed for no longer felt safe.
Sitting in the dark, in her favorite chair, somehow she must have drifted off for a moment. She was awakened to the sound of someone knocking at the door.
With the nightmare memories of the Angel still close, her first thought was for her daughter. She ran to Ava’s room to check on her, and then Kara slipped into her room and quickly unlocked the gun safe hidden in her closet. Her fingers shook as she loaded the Glock and released the safety.
She peeked through the living room window and saw a dark silhouette standing on her front porch. She couldn’t make out the figure.
Kara tucked the weapon behind her back and slowly opened the door. She slammed it again as she faced the past she’d never be free of, and it had nothing to do with the Angel.
Before the door closed, Davis wedged his foot in, keeping her from closing it.
“What the hell are you doing here, Davis? Get out, I don’t want you here,” she managed to whisper, keeping her voice as low as possible in spite of the emotion it carried. “You shouldn’t have come here.”
He shoved the door open and came inside, facing her for the first time in six years.
“Dammit, Kara, I think you know why I’m here. I came because we need to talk about our daughter. Why the hell didn’t you tell me I had a child?”
She’d expected those words since she left DC, and yet hearing them aloud, it was as if her worst nightmare had been confirmed.
She couldn’t hide from the past any longer. She carefully backed away when he got too close.
“I don’t want you here. You made your feelings perfectly clear when you decided The Job was more important to you than I was. Nothing you have to say to me now matters, and I chose not to tell you about Ava because as far as I’m concerned she’s none of your business. I don’t want her part of the work you do.”
Anger flashed in his eyes as he stepped closer and she turned away.
The gun he spotted stopped him dead in his tracks. “You’re carrying a weapon?” In the beginning weeks of working at the Bureau, Kara had detested weapons. She still remembered how Davis had to force her into learning how to use one when they were working the Angel case. She’d taken to it easily enough. Almost as easily as she’d given him her heart.
Kara pushed those memories aside. She couldn’t think about loving Davis now. Not when the flesh-and-blood version of him was standing close enough to feel each heartbeat, reminding her of all the times past when he’d held her close after making love. She needed to remain strong. Anger was the only way.
“Why did you come here, Davis?” she hissed. “Why couldn’t you just leave it alone? I don’t want you here.”
“You don’t want me here?” Davis asked incredulously. He stepped into the light of the TV and looked at her with all the anger and resentment she’d dreaded for so long. “When were you planning on telling me I had a daughter, Kara?”
For a moment, she couldn’t get words to come out of her mouth. Her stormy gaze slipped over him in disbelief.
“Never. I never planned to tell you about Ava.”
He still looked the same. How was that possible? Handsome. Strong. Familiar. Incredibly sexy. But then, she’d seen him each night in her dreams. She knew every inch of him by heart, and every inch of Davis Martin still possessed the power to take her breath away and make her long for him to the point of giving up everything to be with him.
But not her daughter.
She watched Davis struggle with her answer. She wouldn’t blame him if he hated her for not sharing their child. She almost hoped he did. It would make seeing him again easier.
“Dammit, Kara, didn’t you think I had the right to know I’d fathered a child from our—”
“From our what? Our affair? Why?” She stood defiantly before him, refusing to give in to the need to back away when he moved closer. The expected hate wasn’t there.
But there was no mistaking Davis’s anger.
“It meant more than that and you know it. I loved you! You were the one who walked away from us, Kara, not me.”
“You told me you couldn’t be with me. What did you expect me to do? Hang around and wait for Ed to give us his permission to see each other again while becoming the laughingstock of DC? He couldn’t have been more thrilled when I left DC, because it took away any hint of affair from the public’s eye. I loved you, and needed you, and all you did was put your precious Bureau ahead of everything, including me.”
“I thought you didn’t give a damn what the Bureau thought about you?” he said, his mouth twisting wryly.
“I didn’t. But I cared about us. I cared about me. I left because of me, not your precious Bureau.”
“I did what I thought was best for everyone involved, Kara. Including you.”
Kara fought to control the raw pain once more. He was lying. For Davis, the only thing that mattered was the Bureau. “Don’t lie.”
“It’s true,” he repeated more softly. His husky whisper still filled her with longing. “I thought about calling you a thousand times. But then I kept remembering the look in your eyes that day. I didn’t want to hurt you anymore.”
“Very touching. But you’ll forgive me if I don’t believe you. If that was true, why are you here now? Let me guess… Rachel’s case?”
“You think I came because of the case? Dammit, Kara, I came for my daughter.”
They faced each other in a silent battle of wills, like so many times in the past, both completely unaware of the little girl who’d joined them until Ava spoke.
“Mommie, she’s scared!” Ava’s frightened words brought Kara’s attention to her daughter in an instant. Tears streamed down her flushed cheeks. Ava’s eyes were glazed but not from sleep. Kara recognized that familiar look too well.
Dear God—no!
“Baby, it’s okay. You’re just having a bad dream.” Silently she pleaded for Davis not to say anything.
“No, Mommie, she’s scared for real. She’s scared for real!” Ava began to cry earnestly out of fear. Kara knelt in front of her daughter, taking her by her arms. She could feel her daughter’s shivering running through her tiny body.
“Who’s scared, Ava?”
“Justine,” she said through hiccupping sobs. “She’s afraid of the man.”
Kara’s breath lodged against her throat. From close behind, she registered Davis’s shocked reaction.
“Oh God. She has the gift?” There was no denying the dread in that question.
Kara threw him a warning look, but her thoughts were all for her assistant Justine.
“What about Justine, baby? Wha
t is she afraid of?”
“I told you, Mommie. The man. He’s coming to hurt her. She’s afraid of him.” Ava’s tiny voice broke into another round of sobbing. She clung to Kara, who picked her up in her arms, heading for the phone while praying this truly would turn out to be just a bad dream on Ava’s part.
“Baby, it’s okay, Justine is fine. I’m going to call her right now so you can see.”
It took Justine more than a dozen rings to pick up. “Hello?”
Kara could tell from her voice she’d been sleeping.
“Are you okay?”
“Kara—is that you? What are you talking about? Of course, I’m okay. Do you know what time it is?”
“Justine, I know and I’m sorry, but are you sure everything’s okay there?” Kara asked while trying to keep from alarming Ava as well as Justine.
“I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be? Is this about that man who stopped by the shop today? Jeez, Kara, couldn’t it wait until morning? I was sound asleep until you called.”
“Good. I’m sorry—no, what man?” Kara glanced at Davis and saw the truth. “Never mind that now. Justine, don’t go back to sleep just yet, okay. I’ll call you right back.” Kara didn’t wait for Justine to argue before hanging up the phone.
She soothed her daughter’s hair from her eyes. “See, baby, Justine’s fine. Now you need to go back to bed.”
Ava’s eyelids had begun to grow heavy until she spotted Davis.
“Mommie, who’s that man?”
Kara’s gaze collided with Davis’s. Before he could say anything, she stopped him.
“Baby, let’s get you back into bed. We’ll talk about this in the morning, okay? Now close your eyes.” Kara lowered her daughter back into her bed and pulled the covers up over her.
“Sleep tight, baby. I’ll leave the hall light on and the door open. It was only a bad dream, Ava. Okay?”
“Okay, Mommie.”
When she turned to leave Ava’s room, Davis stood in the doorway, blocking her exit. Emotions long-since buried resurfaced between them in an instant before he quietly stepped aside and followed her back to the living room. When she reached for the phone again, he stopped her.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m calling Sheriff Hanson.”
“No, you’re not.” When she would have ignored him, he stopped her. “Wait just a second, Kara.”
She stood staring back at him, with the phone still in her hand, angry with him—with God for giving Ava the gift. But most of all, angry with herself for still caring about Davis Martin.
“Why? Justine might be in danger.”
“I’ll send someone to keep an eye on her. She’ll be safe, I promise. But you and I have to talk. I want answers, Kara. Does my daughter have the gift or not?”
Kara didn’t trust Davis or his reasons for being there tonight. He still belonged to the Bureau. She couldn’t trust him not to use Ava’s gift the way the Bureau used her.
“She doesn’t have the gift, okay?” she told him at last, and tried to sound convincing.
“Then what was that all about just now and why are you so worried about your friend?” When Kara didn’t answer, he added, “She does, doesn’t she? You told me once that it manifests itself in different ways. Ava can see into the future. Can’t she? Dammit, answer me, Kara!”
“I don’t know,” Kara said quietly.
“What do you mean you don’t know? You told me you knew you had the gift when you were still a child. Around Ava’s age, wasn’t it?” He watched her stubbornly ignore his question. “Answer the damn question.”
“I don’t know! I don’t know, okay?”
“Kara.” Davis took a step closer but she turned away.
“Are you going to help me or do I call Sheriff Hanson?”
Davis took the phone from her and called the local sheriff’s office, identifying himself. He directed the sheriff to sit on Justine’s house but not to bother the girl unless something happened.
“Call your friend back and tell her everything’s fine.” Kara started to protest when he added, “There’s no use bringing this to her door tonight. It can keep until morning, surely.”
After Kara called Justine back, she found Davis in her kitchen making coffee. He looked a little too familiar there for her comfort. Kara forced aside memories of all the times they’d made dinner together, made love with abandon, and worked throughout the night at her small apartment in DC.
“It’s going to be a long night. You look as if you could use some as well.” She took the cup he handed her and sat down at the table.
“Why did you go to the shop today?” she asked quietly.
Davis’s gaze slipped over her before answering, “Isn’t it obvious? I went looking for you.”
Kara nodded without speaking. She could only imagine what went through Justine’s head when she saw Davis. Since she’d walked into her life, Justine had constantly tried to uncover Kara’s secrets.
“Why her, Kara? Why do you think he would pick this girl?”
“Who are you talking about?” She knew. But she needed him to deny it.
“You know who. The Angel. Frankie. Whoever the hell is doing these killings. Why pick your friend? How did he know about her?”
She wished she could answer that. “I don’t know.”
“Did you talk to her today or see her?”
“Oh God—she called.” Her worried gaze met his. “She called me earlier today.”
“Who else have you spoken to today?” he asked quietly, trying not to alarm her.
There had been only one other call. Her grandmother.
“Maggie.”
“I’ll send someone over there as well. Until we know what’s going on here, they’ll both need to be in protective custody.”
Kara nodded without answering. She couldn’t believe this was happening again.
“Anyone else?”
Kara glanced up and found him watching her. For a moment, she couldn’t think clearly. Not with Davis standing so close. Not when she felt this vulnerable.
“I don’t know. I don’t remember.”
Davis scrolled through the called numbers on the phone. Too late, she remembered her call to the Bureau.
“You called the Bureau? Why?” Another pause and then he asked, “You were calling me, weren’t you? Why, Kara?”
Reluctantly, she looked at him but she couldn’t answer. She still didn’t understand why she’d needed to call him.
“Why now? After all this time?”
“I don’t know. I wanted to…I wanted to tell you how sorry I was about Rachel.” Their eyes locked. She wanted to say so much more but she didn’t trust herself or him.
Davis’s cell phone chirped and he turned away, breaking the spell. She could breathe again.
Kara sat listening to the voices of the dead calling out to her once more. And above their cries, she heard his voice. The Angel was taunting her.
“I’ve asked the Austin police to pick Maggie up for me,” Davis’s voice quietly reassured her over the others.
“Thank you.”
“I’m taking Ava as well,” he added in a tone that discouraged argument.
“No, you’re not. You are not taking my daughter from me.” Kara got to her feet and faced him once more. “I won’t let you.”
He stepped closer, controlled anger in every inch of him.
“She’s my daughter as well.”
“No…”
“I have no intention of walking away from Ava now that I know about her, Kara, so you’d better learn to deal with sharing her with me.”
The determination she saw in him frightened her. Davis could move mountains when he wanted something…or someone. She wasn’t sure what hurt the most. That he’d found her the minute he knew about Ava, or that he hadn’t come for her.
Anger and regret left a hard edge to her voice. “I won’t let you take her away from me!”
Davis released his breath slowly, giving
in for the moment. “I’m not talking about taking her from you, Kara, but she is my child and she needs to know she has a father who cares about her.”
When Kara could no longer hold his gaze, he asked, “What did you tell her about me?”
Kara didn’t know how to confess her sins to him. “She thinks her father is dead.”
“For God’s sake, Kara, how could you do this to me?” he asked.
The heartbreaking reality of how wrong her decision had been was there in his eyes. She’d thought she’d done the right thing for everyone involved. Now she wasn’t so sure.
“Davis, I thought—”
“What? You thought you could make all the decisions about our child and never expect me to find out?”
“Yes—no, I don’t know. I just thought I was doing the best thing for all of us. I thought you wouldn’t want any reminders of the past.”
Davis let out an explosive growl. “Reminders? She’s my daughter. You had no right to make that decision for me. Dammit, Kara, I should have been told. I had the right—I earned that right.”
“You had no rights,” she told him, her anger matching his. “You made your decision.”
He came toward her once more but this time Kara backed away.
“Did you know about the baby before you left? Did you? Answer me, dammit.” He reached for her, his fingers gripping her arms tightly.
“No! No, I didn’t know. But you know what? It wouldn’t have mattered because I still would have handled things the same way.”
Davis released her as if the touch of her sickened him.
He started to say something but then turned away, unable to look at her.
All the hurt she’d stored up inside came rushing to the surface. “Don’t you dare try to pretend you’re innocent in this. You told me you loved me and that you couldn’t live without me, and yet you chose the Bureau time and time again over me. I needed you, Davis, I’ve needed you all these years, and yet you weren’t there for me. It’s been six years and now you’re coming after me. When the killings have started again.”
Davis turned back to her in disbelief. “You think—”
“You need my help. Admit it. That’s the only reason you’re here now.”