Psychic Storm: Ten Dangerously Sexy Tales of Psychic Witches, Vampires, Mediums, Empaths and Seers

by Deanna Chase

  Kate rubbed her hands together in anticipation. “Okay, let’s get to work then.”

  “Now?”

  “Yeah, why not? I just need…” she paused and carefully considered her words. “I need to have a win. I’m thrilled Max was brought home, but I keep having visions about him. He’s back home, but I’m unable to stop reliving what happened to him—seeing the things done to him while Ally had him. The extent of the abuse was way more than I ever imagined.” Kate shuddered.

  Twice this week she had been inside of Max’s head as Ally wailed on him over some minor discretion. The boy seemed to be unable to escape the horrors of his time with the deranged woman. Each vision reinforced Kate’s belief that she should’ve found the boy sooner. She said determinately, “I want to get this girl home as soon as I possibly can.”

  “Kate, you’re having way too much guilt over this Max thing…”

  She turned her head away from him and closed her eyes. “I know I am. But it’s not just about Max. It’s about refusing to help Jared find Cori and for all of the other cases I avoided since I found out I was psychic. I’m starting to have regrets about things and I want to make amends.”

  Declan looked like he wanted to disagree, but something in her expression must have dissuaded him. With a nod, he said, “Alright, let’s find Melanie then.”

  Melanie’s blonde hair poked out of her bun as she ran past the trees. Her breath came out in short bursts, but she did not stop until she reached the top of the hill. She collapsed on her bottom as she tried to catch her breath. Another blonde figure ran up to her. “God, you suck! One of these days I’ll beat you to the top.”

  She laughed at her sister’s mock anger. “Not even in your dreams. We’ve been running this trail for two years now and the only time you beat me was when I was getting over the flu.”

  Her sister plopped down next to her. She used her shirt to wipe the sweat off of her brow before speaking. “There’s something wrong with you. Not only do you exercise at work, but you do it in your spare time too. It’s just not normal.”

  “Well, maybe you should try it. Exercise releases endorphins, it could make you a happier person,” Melanie said and elbowed her sister in the ribs.

  “Well, I’m not giving up yet. I’m going to start training and by summer’s end I’ll beat you.”

  “Alright, if you win by the end of summer, I’ll do your half of the chores for a month,” Melanie challenged with a teasing smile.

  Her sister gave her a wide grin. “You’re on!” Getting into a standing position, she reached down her hand to help lift Melanie off of the ground. “You better be ready to kiss your days of winning goodbye, Mel. By next Sunday, I’ll be lounging in a lawn chair while you’re slaving away cleaning the house. I plan to be extra messy this week. So, expect plenty of dishes in the sink and grime in the shower,” she promised.

  “Ugh, gross! Now forget about me giving you a pity win after all.” They both laughed. “Enjoy the view of my ass, sis, as we’re going down the mountain,” Melanie teased and took off in a sprint. Her hair tie fell to the ground as her blonde hair streamed behind her.

  An outside voice made its way into her consciousness. “Kate, did you see her?”

  She opened her eyes to see Declan’s inquisitive expression. She let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. “I just saw her. I thought at first it was a recent memory. She was running through the woods which made me think she was being chased. But turns out she was going for a run with her sister.”

  “Damn,” Declan swore and swung out his hand in frustration. “Usually if something bad has happened it’s in the forefront of the person’s mind. If someone has been abducted, it’s normally one of the first visions I have.”

  “Maybe we should consider the possibility that she’s fine then,” Kate suggested.

  “Maybe,” he said uncertainly.

  They sat cross-legged in front of a few candles. He had closed the shades and put on some soft music in the background. In any other incidence, it would come across as a romantic atmosphere. Instead it was turning into a psychic marathon. They were both trying to get inside Melanie’s head to determine where she could be. This meant practicing Declan’s meditative techniques as a way to welcome in the missing girl’s thoughts.

  Kate hadn’t been able to immediately see Melanie’s memories. After a couple of visions about her father, Kate was ready to throw in the towel. After Declan had a vision about Melanie dancing at a beach party in the bikini—a vision he seemed to enjoy way too much—she decided to keep trying. Finally, she had seen the vision of Melanie and Delaney on their weekly run.

  After this vision, Kate noted how exhausted she felt. She never expected meditating could wear you out. As she looked at the drawn curtains, she did not see any light peeking through. “I feel like we’ve been at this forever. What time is it?”

  Declan jumped up and walked over to the coffee table. Looking at his cell phone, he replied, “Just after eight-thirty.”

  “What! Are you sure?” she demanded and scrambled to her feet. Her flats were on the floor and she slid them on her feet without waiting for a response.

  Declan appeared unmoved by her rant. He knitted his brows and commanded, “Jesus, calm down. Sometimes you lose track of time when you’re trying to bring on the visions.”

  “Calm down?” Kate asked incredulously. “I was supposed to meet Jared for my birthday dinner two and a half hours ago,” she cried. “Where the hell is my cell? Why hasn’t he called me?” She grabbed her pocketbook from the floor and rifled through it. “My cell isn’t here. Shit, shit shit!”

  “Get a grip, Kate. If you drive like a maniac home, you’ll end up killing someone,” he warned.

  Hurrying to the door, she called out, “I’ll be careful.” Kate added as she charged through the front door, “Call me if you see anything else about Melanie.”

  “Will do and…” He paused and continued to speak after she spun to face him, “Happy Birthday Kate.”

  Her phone was in the center console of her car. Her anxiety was sky high as she saw five missed calls from Jared and three from her mother. Without even checking the messages, she dialed Jared’s number. He answered on the first ring. “Kate, thank god. Are you alright?”

  Her guilt bubbled to the surface at his worried tone. “Jared, I am so sorry…I left my phone in the car and I didn’t realize how late it was.”

  “Where were you?”

  “I was at Declan’s house.” She swallowed hard and then continued, “He has a new case he’s working on and I was trying to help. A fitness instructor from Pennsylvania named Melanie Pirola has been missing since Monday.” The silence on the other line stung. “Jared, are you there?”

  “Yes, I’m still here,” he said in a clipped tone.

  Jared was the most easygoing guy alive. She was sure he was bad ass at work, but he never lost his temper with her—even when she was huge pain in the butt. The coldness in his voice made Kate realize she must’ve messed up big time.

  “I can’t tell you how sorry I am,” she said mournfully. “I was so caught up in having a vision of Melanie that the next thing I know it was super late.”

  Kate’s hands gripped the steering wheel until the blood drained out of her fingers. She willed Jared to not lose faith in her. Kate was only attempting to use her gift to help people. She knew that was the same reason Jared was a police detective. She understood when he broke plans for work commitments—Kate only hoped he extended her the same courtesy.

  “And you’re hours late because you were busy having visions with Declan.” The way Jared pronounced visions made it sound completely dirty like Kate had really meant she had been having naked time with the psychic.

  “I understand why you’re mad, but it was totally innocent,” she countered.

  “Kate, you’re hours late. I’ve been calling you. You couldn’t have picked up the phone to at least let me know where you were. I kept thinking someth
ing must have happened to you,” he said.

  “I left my phone in the car. I honestly didn’t know how late it was. Jared, I feel like such an ass. I would’ve never purposely left you waiting for me,” Kate promised.

  Kate had to admit her excuses did sound lame. However, it was the truth. It killed her to know she ruined their night. She saw so little of Jared lately she had been anticipating her birthday dinner since he had mentioned it. Last night, she had tried to make him reveal where he was taking her, but he kept his lips sealed.

  “It’s fine, Kate. Don’t worry about it,” he sighed.

  “Can we have a late dinner instead? Can I come over?” she asked hopefully.

  “I’m actually really tired. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  His monotone voice was devoid of its usual warmth. Suddenly Kate was filled with pain and longing. She could only squeak out an “Ok” before disconnecting the call. Kate reasoned that begging him to forgive her and forcing her presence on him may end up backfiring. The only consolation was giving him some time to cool off should make him more prone to forgive her.

  Her mother gave her an anxious look as she walked in the house a short time later. “Kate, never worry me like that again! Jared had to convince me to wait a few hours before calling the police.”

  “I’m sorry I worried you, Mom,” she mumbled dejectedly. Some birthday this was turning out to be. Her boyfriend was pissed at her and she made her mom a nervous wreck.

  “Where have you been?”

  “I was trying to find a missing woman with Declan. I had no idea it was so late.”

  Her mother tsked disapprovingly over the sound of Declan’s name. Her expression softened though when she saw how upset Kate looked. She reached out and rested a hand on Kate’s cheek. “I’m guessing you talked to Jared.”

  “Briefly, he sounded disappointed in me.”

  “I guess you’re not going into the city then?”

  Kate moved her mother’s hand away and took a step back. “What are you talking about?”

  Her mother looked guilty like maybe she shouldn’t have slipped. After a brief pause, she admitted, “Oh honey, Jared had a whole thing planned. He was going to take you into New York for dinner and then you were going to stay overnight and see a show tomorrow. He had me call your job to make sure you could have the day off tomorrow.”

  Kate’s eyes welled up and her stomach clenched. This was the night. The special night he had alluded to weeks ago. Now instead of tearing up the sheets with her hot boyfriend, she was miserable and possibly single. Jared had gone to the trouble to arrange an amazing night for her and she had ruined it with her obsession over locating a girl she didn’t even know. If their visions were any indication, Melanie was most likely fine and sipping drinks on a tropical beach somewhere.

  However, something was holding her back from wholeheartedly believing that Melanie wasn’t in trouble. Melanie willingly disappearing didn’t match up with the girl Kate had seen in her vision. Although Kate hadn’t been inside Melanie’s head, it was apparent that she lived for those weekly runs with her sister. The girl hadn’t come across as the type to make her family worry for nothing. Melanie needed to be saved. Kate was sure of it.

  Chapter Twelve

  After a sleepless night, Kate banged on Jared’s apartment door with renewed determination. It was early enough that she knew he would still be home if he had to go into work. There was no way she was letting another minute go by without explaining her actions to him. Kate couldn’t bear the thought of Jared furious with her. In their brief time together, they had been through so much. She could never willingly let go of him. If she had to offer up her body in exchange for his forgiveness, well so be it, Kate thought wryly.

  Jared didn’t scowl at her when he answered the door which was progress at least. However, he didn’t look overly thrilled with her early morning invasion. She launched immediately into her apology. “I know I’ve sucked lately as a girlfriend. And I probably deserve the silent treatment for a few days. But I want you to know how much I wish last night turned out differently and I am so sorry I ruined it.”

  “Is Kate Edwards groveling? I didn’t know you had it in you.” He crossed his arms across his chest and leaned back on his heels.

  His smirk told her she hadn’t completely lost him. As mad as he was, she was pleased to know he always had a soft spot for her. Without preamble, she launched herself into his arms. He didn’t even stiffen and instead held her tightly and kissed the top of her head.

  “I should be furious at you for spending our night with another guy,” he paused a second before continuing, “but for some reason I can’t.”

  “That’s because I ensnared you with my captivating beauty and sparkling personality,” she said into his chest.

  “That must be it,” he laughed. When she stepped out of his embrace, Kate gave him a forlorn expression. In response, Jared landed a quick kiss on her forehead.

  As he led her inside, she felt a weight lift from her. Her heart had hurt over the thought of losing Jared because of a misunderstanding. A couple of months ago she had no idea who Jared Corbett was and now it seemed impossible to imagine her life without him. Kate knew she was lucky. Another guy may not have answered the door and already put up a profile on Match.com.

  “My mom told me about your plans,” she said as they went into his kitchen.

  “Ahh yes, the night didn’t turn out exactly how I expected,” he said lightly.

  “So, I’m not sure if you’re still off today but if you are I’d like to offer my services,” she explained.

  “What type of services are you offering up, Kate?” She loved that his flirty side was back and only further cemented the idea that she hadn’t ruined their relationship.

  “My furniture shopping services, of course,” she said with a smile.

  He looked around at his empty apartment. “I guess it is pretty dire looking here. But you don’t have to do that.”

  “I want to,” she insisted.

  This was absolutely true. Not only would she get to spend the day with him, but she could help redecorate his apartment. With Nikki’s stamp no longer on it, the apartment felt like an open canvas. She could furnish it in a style that would be more reflective of their personalities.

  “Let’s go then. I’ll get my wallet,” he replied and disappeared in his bedroom. A minute later he reappeared and handed her a gift bag. “Happy Birthday.”

  “Thank you,” she squealed and tilted her head to kiss him. The kiss was sweet and gentle—exactly what she needed after their tumultuous fight. She wanted to tell him that he shouldn’t have bought her anything, but didn’t want to tempt fate. Jared may decide she wasn’t worthy of the gift after all.

  Tearing through the wrapping and seeing a jewelry box, she felt the anticipation build. Opening the box, she gasped at the beauty of the necklace. An oval gemstone with a deep purple color was held in place by a diamond studded setting. She removed the necklace out of the box and held the white gold chain as she examined it closely. After a minute, she breathed, “Jared, I love it.”

  Jared smiled at her reaction. “My aunt told me that the amethyst has been tied to psychic power since ancient times. The priestesses believed the stone was able to open up a person’s psychic energies.”

  It was such a thoughtful gift that she actually felt tongue-tied for a second. She wiped at her eyes and put the necklace on. She would have to give Jared’s aunt a call on the sly later and thank her as well. Kate wasn’t sure if his aunt’s mystical beliefs were the reason she was a champion for their relationship, but Jared revered her. Kate was certain Aunt Lizzie was one of the reasons Jared had been attracted to Kate in the first place.

  “This is amazing,” she said grasping the stone in the palm of her hand.

  Jared kissed her forehead and hugged her again. “You drive me crazy in the best and worst possible ways.” His tone was uncertain as he started, “I trust you, Kate and I want you to be hon
est with me. I’m trying to be understanding, but I’m not going to pretend that it doesn’t bother me you spending so much time with some guy I never even met. Do I have anything to worry about? Do you have feelings for Declan?”

  “No. Honestly, he’s just a friend,” she replied. “He’s actually been a big help with getting me to focus my gifts. I’m not completely convinced over everything he’s telling me. Like his claim that we can see the future seems pretty out there.”

  Jared nodded. “Just promise me, you’ll be careful. After what happened last time, I worry about you getting involved in other abduction cases.”

  “I swear it.”

  “Good morning, welcome to Milo’s Furniture Store. My name is Grace, how can I assist you today?”

  Kate looked around in awe. Darlene Edwards would be proud of the thrill she felt over the freedom to decorate Jared’s apartment. She had made him take all of the measurements before they left and also shot a few cell phone photos for inspiration. He mistakenly did not provide her with a budget which could culminate in blowing up in his face when he received the credit card bill.

  Jared had introduced himself and the saleswoman had now turned to her expectantly. Grace had corn silk blonde hair that fell past her shoulders. Her eye color was hard to discern behind a pair of tortoise shell eyeglasses. Kate smiled as she sent a sideways glance at Jared. Her boyfriend already looked bored as he glanced around at the room displays. “Hi, I’m Kate…Jared’s fiancée.”

  “Congratulations!” the woman exclaimed as her eyes moved down to Kate’s hand.

  “We’re waiting to get a ring. I’m expecting and I’m sure I’ll swell up as big as a beached whale. Don’t want the ring getting stuck.” The woman nodded politely and turned away to lead them through the store.