Oracle Seeing (The Phoenix Files Book 2)

by Kelley, Morgan

He simply listened, not able to focus past the horror he knew was coming between him and Bishop.

  “How about someone named Haas Newman?” Luke asked, seeing that they were losing him.

  “He was a white collar criminal who bilked people out of investments. He did a couple years, but I made sure it was in the worst hole I could find. Judge Abrahms agreed. Is he out?”

  He used to be able to remember everything, but now…

  He could only think of one person.

  BISHOP.

  The love of his life.

  The woman he couldn’t have.

  The angel he was about to take out at the knees by lying.

  AGAIN.

  “Do you think either of them could have something to do with this?” Maura asked.

  “I can’t think about it right now. I’m sorry. I have to go.”

  “We’ll head out then,” Nate offered. “We’ll get out of your home.”

  Fuck that place.

  “You can stay. Lock up when you’re done. I trust you. Plus, Avalon is safe here. I know you worry about her, but to get in here…you have to be invited or a magician.”

  To Lucian, it wasn’t as if Graymoor mattered. It was just his prison, and he’d return to it as soon as he got Bishop free of the mess.

  Then he’d be all alone again.

  This time, he knew the truth.

  She’d never come look for him. Once he did the deed, she’d hate his guts.

  Hell!

  He hated them for thinking it.

  As he left the room, he heard her following closely behind him. He wanted to rage, but Avalon had been nothing but kind to him. He wouldn’t hurt her too.

  “Lucian, don’t do it,” she whispered. “Don’t break her heart. If you do…”

  “What? I’ll die a lonely old man?” he asked bitterly. “I appreciate your help, Avalon, and how you found me in the static, but it’s too late. I have no choice. We both heard that exchange between her and Wendy. This is the beginning of her end. I can’t let it happen.”

  She needed him to trust her ability.

  Avalon knew how to handle this, but she was going to need him to stay on the track.

  “If you do this, you’ll die. You’ll change fate, and it’ll end badly. I can’t guarantee I can go back and fix it. There’s a delicate balance.”

  Good.

  If he died, he’d be out of his misery. She’d get over him, and he’d be able to forget that he’d destroyed her life. The beast wasn’t meant to have a happily ever after.

  Silas had been right.

  It was a stupid fairytale, and he wasn’t that damn lucky. This road was meant to be traveled alone.

  “Do me a favor?” he asked, staring down at Avalon’s hand on his arm.

  “What?”

  “I don’t have family. I’m going to leave Graymoor to you. Donate it to a charity for the blind. Make it a school. Make it into something better than my family made it. Maybe that will wash away the past that’s cursing it.”

  She wouldn’t let his arm free. He tried to pull away, but she had to make him see what she saw. “Lucian, don’t do it. Trust in Bishop. She’s the path. From day one, she was meant to be your wife.”

  He laughed.

  There was no way he’d ever get that lucky. There was no way that fate would ever bless him with something so special. His days were numbered, and he wouldn’t take sweet, loyal Bishop down with him.

  He couldn’t do it.

  He refused to let it happen.

  “Sometimes, fate is wrong, Avalon. I’m meant to be alone. I’m not a man anymore. Lucian Monroe died ten years ago, and there’s no going back. Here’s the proof.”

  He walked away, knowing he was going to destroy an innocent life.

  He was a beast.

  He was a monster.

  Lucian didn’t deserve her, and he never had.

  As he headed up the stairs, Avalon felt her way back into the room.

  “Is he going to be okay?” Nate asked.

  “No. Get Bishop to come back here as soon as she can. If she doesn’t stop him, he’s going to die. Fate has changed, and I don’t know if even I can weave it back to what it was.”

  They all watched her pace.

  They knew it was going to be bad. Avalon looked like crap. She was pale, there were beads of perspiration on her brow, and she was mumbling to herself.

  They were in the middle of an investigation, and they really didn’t need this kind of distraction.

  They already had bodies adding up.

  “What do we do?” Luke whispered.

  Nate knew the truth. They needed Lucian’s help, and Avalon needed him to stay. That meant one thing.

  He pulled out his phone and put his trust in his woman. If Avalon said get her back…he’d get her back.

  One way or another.

  * * * O R A C L E * * *

  Sheriff’s Station

  Interrogation Room

  She couldn’t wait to have some fun. At that moment, her team was working on getting a warrant to search Wendy Lockwood’s home.

  As soon as a judge signed off on it, she was going to make sure the woman’s life was put out there for the world to see.

  She’d deserve it.

  Was it revenge?

  Yeah, this was for Lucian.

  She was doing it for him…well, and justice. She wanted him to see that if you fought hard enough, the enemy could be taken down.

  Wendy was his past.

  She’d be his future.

  As she strolled into interrogation, she was more than happy to let the reporter vent and get it off her chest. As she took a seat, Wendy threatened her, called her names, and dug the hole.

  Instead of reacting, Bishop was patient.

  She sat there smiling.

  This was her board and her game. In this room, she wasn’t a pawn. She was the queen.

  Bishop was going to take her down if it was the last thing she did.

  “Are you done?” she asked, when Wendy finally took a breath.

  “You have no right to hold me here! I didn’t do anything!” the reporter demanded.

  Bishop took the recorder out of the evidence bag and placed it on the table.

  “By any chance does this look familiar?”

  “Yes! We all have them.”

  “Where’s yours?”

  There was a little hesitation.

  “It’s in my purse.”

  She motioned toward the glass. “Get her purse. I’ll entertain Ms. Lockwood. If she can make hers appear, I’ll listen to what she has to say.”

  Until then…

  “How cozy were you with Judge Abrahms?”

  “I'm not talking until the newspaper’s attorney gets here. You’re detaining me for no reason. I have a constitutional right…”

  “To bug a judge’s office? Yeah, I bet you think the lawyers will get you off, but I’m heading to your house tomorrow, and guess what I’m going to do? I’m going to find proof that you had a relationship with our dead judge.”

  “How?”

  “I’ll have every pair of panties you own taken and tested for judge spunk if that’s what it’ll take.”

  Wendy was shocked she’d been so blunt.

  And a little afraid.

  “What the hell does he see in you? You’re not a lady, you’re obviously crazy, and you’re crass.”

  She wasn’t debating that. It was all true. She wasn’t a lady. She was a cop. As for crazy, anyone who did what she did had to be a little off kilter.

  As for crass?

  Yeah, she hadn’t seen anything yet.

  All that mattered to Bishop was that Lucian saw the real her.

  That’s what would happen.

  “He’s not up for discussion.”

  Wendy wanted to make her bleed.

  “Well, he must have changed his mind about you because he called me. If you don’t believe me, look on my phone. He called and asked me to help him. Did you kn
ow that, Sheriff? Know what one of the best things about Lucian Monroe is? It’s that he’s a wildcard. You can’t trust him. He’s a lawyer to his core. You think everything is good, and BOOM! He’ll catch you off guard.”

  She knew the mayor was watching from the other room. Bishop had her, and she was going to take her down.

  Legally.

  While she wanted to comment and defend Lucian, she needed to stay on track.

  At the knock on the door, it opened, and the deputy tossed the purse inside.

  “Where’s your recorder?”

  Wendy grabbed her purse and began digging. When she got to the bottom, she pretended to look frantic.

  Bishop already saw the game.

  “You took it.”

  “Nope, not quite. See, when I arrested you, the team gathered your things, not me. I came right back here. You can’t say I took your possession, since I didn’t have access to your bag until just now.”

  She stared at her.

  “But, since you’re so concerned where I did locate your recorder, I’ll tell you where I found it. It was behind the watercooler in the judge’s office. Know what else I know, Wendy? No one gets down to the chambers unless they’re a cop, lawyer, or have an invite. So, how did you get down there?”

  “I’m being framed.”

  Yeah, she didn’t buy that.

  Even Wendy knew that wasn’t going to fly. She was getting fidgety as she tried to come up with some answer that would get her off the hook.

  “Lucian…”

  She cut her off.

  “He’s not involved in this. We know where he was. You made sure to post his whereabouts all over the news, so I’m his alibi. Thanks for that. It made this so much easier.”

  She looked sick.

  “You are your own worst enemy, Wendy. You can’t blame us for ‘planting’ your recorder. You can’t blame anyone because we all know you had everything to do with it.”

  The woman took a sip from the water bottle sitting on the table. It was clear she was trying to come up with an answer.

  Again, Bishop asked the question. “How did you get down to the judge’s private chambers?”

  “You don’t know that I did.”

  Oh, Bishop did. She opened a folder and slid the paper across the table.

  “What’s that?”

  “You signed in. Oh, but you didn’t do it as Wendy. That would be too easy. See, we pulled the courthouse cameras. You were there at eight twenty three on the night he died. The next morning, we had a dead judge.”

  She looked panicked.

  “I can take that signature, this recorder, and I can then compare them to your fingerprints when I officially book you. See, you didn’t sign in as Wendy ever. So, in theory, your prints will NOT be on this paper. Once they show up, I have you there too. I have a recorder registered to you with the paper. I have you signing in after hours to visit a judge in his private quarters. See, you knew I was going to be talking to Holly because you went back and checked the recorder.”

  “If he was dead…”

  “You walked right in the back door. You see, we have cameras there too. One of the workers last night was taking out the trash. You waited, the door opened, and you snuck in. Twenty minutes later, you walked out, smiling like the cat who swallowed the canary. In case you don’t know what that looks like, please see exhibit A—that would be my face.”

  The woman glared at her.

  She was caught.

  “You’re just pissed off that I had Lucian first and that he called me.”

  She didn’t react.

  Wendy pulled out her phone and scrolled through the numbers. “Call it if you dare.”

  She took the phone, willing to call the woman’s bluff. When she dialed, she listened.

  His voice came over the phone.

  “What do you want, Wendy? I’m not bailing you out of jail. You’re on your own.”

  Bishop’s heart skipped. She fought back the feeling of hurt and betrayal to do her job. There had to be a reason.

  “It’s actually Sheriff Killion, Lucian. I’m verifying Wendy’s story before I throw her into jail.”

  There was silence.

  “Bishop, I can explain.”

  Really, he couldn’t.

  Shit!

  “Bishop?”

  She didn’t want to talk about it. There had to be a good reason. He wouldn’t call her, would he? It stung that he was talking to his ex but she didn’t even have his damn cellphone number.

  It pissed her off and hurt her feelings.

  She hung up.

  Wendy was smiling. “Gee, I bet you didn’t think he’d come crawling back to me, did you? Lucian always did like the way I made him feel. It looks like I told you so.”

  Bishop wasn’t falling for it.

  She trusted Lucian. They’d made love, and she’d seen the truth when she’d been with him. He loved her. Wendy was trying to make her flip out and break the law so she could walk.

  It wasn’t happening.

  EVER.

  “Yeah, you also told me you didn’t see the judge, it’s not your recorder, and you weren’t in a relationship with him. Shall I go for three for three in the bullshit department, Wendy?”

  “Fine. I was fucking the judge.”

  Perfect.

  It appeared Wendy forgot that she wanted her attorney present before she answered anything. That was too damn bad. It looked like Bishop was going to win.

  “Who else? We know a lady like you likes to keep her options open.”

  She shrugged. “He gave me information. When he was drunk, he’d talk. I’d ask questions, and it would give me a jumpstart on a story. That’s it.”

  “Were you having sex with Dale Plunkett too?”

  She laughed. “EVERYONE was having sex with Dale. He had a really energetic dick, and he was fun. You should have fun, and by fun, I don’t mean Lucian. He’s the opposite.”

  Bishop wasn’t going to share sex stories with Wendy. Lucian was amazing in bed. Even if he wasn’t, she’d still love him. Bishop wasn’t Wendy. She’d never use him.

  She was in love with him.

  Wendy wouldn’t shut up. “Yes, he’s dark, brooding, and mysterious, but that gets old. Under that, he’s damaged goods. He’s broken beyond repair. You can’t fix it all, Sheriff. He’s a hideous beast who will cut you when he’s wounded. Be ready for that.”

  Bishop wouldn’t give up on him.

  It was never going to happen.

  “In a couple weeks, you’ll realize what took me a full year to figure out. He’s too full of himself, he’s a lousy lay, and he’ll turn on you in a heartbeat. He called me, didn’t he?”

  Wendy twisted the screws.

  Bishop didn’t let it bother her. She was leaving here and going home to Lucian. She was going to be sleeping by his side, while Wendy wore an orange jumpsuit in lockup.

  That was poetic justice for all.

  “Well, thank you for the advice on Lucian. It wasn’t necessary. Right now, Wendy, I’m booking you for trespassing, bugging a justice’s office, and anything else that I can make stick in the next few hours. You’re going to be here tonight. I hope you like orange. It’s going to look great on you.”

  “I’ll be out by morning.”

  “And I’ll have that warrant, so I hope you have a place to go. Your lawyers will get some of the charges dismissed, but getting details on a judge’s cases? Yeah, you’re going to jail on that one.”

  She went to get up and Wendy slapped her.

  It stung.

  Still, she didn’t react.

  If she was waiting for her to throw her career away, it wasn’t happening. She was going to win this one, and then she’d be happy. She’d have Lucian, and they’d move on.

  “And I’ll toss in some time for striking a law enforcement officer.”

  Wendy fumed.

  Heading out into the hall, she was pleased with herself. No, Wendy wasn’t likely the killer, and she w
as probably too clueless to pull it off, but that didn’t matter. She was going to pay.

  That was enough.

  “Book her,” she said to Reno as he stood watch in the hall. “Do it by the letter of the law. Make sure you don’t let anything go wrong because I want Wendy in jail for what she’s done.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  When she saw Silas waiting for her not far away, he was grinning.

  “You played her like a fiddle. One minute, she said lawyer, and then you had her talking up a storm.”

  “I know how to do my job. See? I didn’t even punch her when she slapped me—like a girl—may I add.”

  He looked at her cheek. “You need ice?”

  She laughed. “No, my brothers hit harder. Hell! Your girly-girl granddaughter slaps harder than that.”

  He hugged her. “What’s next?”

  Her phone rang.

  “Hold on, Silas. It’s the FBI.”

  When she answered, the smile immediately disappeared. She listened to Nate.

  “What?”

  More silence.

  “Right now?”

  Her eyes filled with nervous fear.

  She hung up.

  “I have to go, Silas. I’ll be back on duty later,” she said, racing from her office and toward her truck.

  She didn’t understand what was happening.

  What the hell did Nate mean when he said Lucian was leaving and packing his bags?

  There had to be a mistake.

  She trusted him.

  That call to Wendy…there had to be a reason. He wouldn’t do that to her. He loved her. She saw it in his eyes when they’d been together.

  There had to be a big miscommunication.

  Racing there, she prayed they’d figure it out.

  If Lucian actually left…

  Bishop would be heartbroken.

  Again.

  * * * O R A C L E * * *

  The deed was done.

  He called in the body using a payphone and gloves. There were no cameras to catch him, and no one would be any the wiser. When the sheriff got the call, she’d head there.

  Then there’d be an even bigger surprise.

  He’d be waiting for her.

  She was getting in his way.