Victoria's Destiny

by L. J. Garland

  He took off at a run, dodging through the trees. Not knowing the situation he might encounter, he kept the flashlight low, a few steps ahead of him. No need to alert anyone of his approach.

  The sound of Vicki’s shoes treading over the ground at his six told him she hadn’t stayed put. He considered sending her back, but it would take too long. Someone might need help. So, he plunged ahead toward the origin of the gunfire.

  Skirting around a thick tangle of brush, he spotted a bright beam illuminating a swath of ground not far in the distance. He stumbled to a stop, switched off his flashlight. Vicki staggered to his side, breathy pants rushing through her parted lips.

  “What is it?” she whispered.

  “Not sure.” He squinted at the scene. “I’ve got to get closer. Stay here.”

  “No.”

  Looking down, he met her stubborn, gray-eyed gaze. “I’m not about to let you walk into a possible fire fight and get shot, for God’s sake. You’re staying put.”

  “You’re not keeping me from anything.” Her whispered words popped with each syllable. “Do you think I’d let you face that demon alone?”

  Demon? He couldn’t consider the idea at the moment. Instead, he held up his weapon.

  “Yeah. And that worked so great last time.” Her lips thinned. “That…thing saw the bullet coming and dodged it. The only way you’ll shoot him is if I distract him.”

  River smiled. Damn, she was smart. “Fine. But stay behind me. A good ten feet if you can manage it.” He jerked his thumb in the direction of the area ahead. “I’ll go in first.”

  With her nod of agreement, he crept toward the light, his steps muffled by the needle-laden ground. As he drew close, he spotted two people in the clearing. One lay on the ground. The other knelt next to the first.

  Had one shot the other?

  Only one way to know. River took a breath to steel his nerves. Weapon in hand, he stepped out of the shadows. A breeze shifted the trees, allowing moonlight to illuminate the two people. Surprise jolted through him.

  “Dauscher!” He rushed forward. “What the hell are you doing out here?”

  His partner remained hunched over the body.

  “Dauscher?” River touched his shoulder. “You okay?”

  The brute of a detective jerked, turned a glassy-eyed stare on River. For a moment, confusion lit his partner’s eyes, but then Dauscher blinked, and the reliable bulldog was there.

  “River.” Dauscher peered down to where he held the other person’s wrist. “Just checking for a pulse.”

  Kent lay on the ground. Bullet holes had ripped through his stomach, chest, and shoulder—a single round hole above his right eyebrow.

  “Is there a pulse?” It was a crazy question. No one could survive an assault like that. But after what he’d been through with Kent—what he’d seen the man do—anything was possible.

  “No.” Dauscher rose, a bit unsteady on his feet. He stared down at the body.

  River touched his arm, tried to ground him. After a shooting, it was best to go over what transpired, get it straight so when the investigation came, there’d be no bumps. Killing another person sometimes jumbled things in an officer’s mind, not to mention the guilt of taking a life.

  “What happened?”

  The big guy’s brows drew together, and he grimaced. “Hell, River. It was like…I don’t know. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

  Vicki eased from the shadows, relief shining in her eyes. “He’s dead?”

  “Yeah,” River told her then turned back to his partner. “Start from the beginning.”

  “You called. Said you were coming out here.” He shook his head. “Didn’t think that was such a great idea.”

  “It wasn’t.” He cast Vicki an apologetic look. Her shoulder raised a fraction then lowered.

  “Anyway,” Dauscher continued, “on the way home, I thought I’d swing by. Check on you two. I heard shots fired in the woods.” The side of his mouth pulled into a half smile, but deep concern filled his eyes. “Figured it was you, so I drew my gun and dove through the brush. Thought you could use the backup. Why the hell didn’t you call me?”

  Vicki stepped forward. “He gave me his cell, but I couldn’t get reception.”

  Dauscher reached down, took out his cell phone. With a distressed frown, he held it up. Full reception glowed on the screen.

  “My guess is something else might’ve been at play.” River shook his head, not wanting to think about the unexplainable evidence that just kept piling up. “What happened next?”

  Dauscher stared in the direction River and Vicki had come through the woods. “I don’t know. I just….”

  “Take it easy. Go slow.” He could imagine what might have happened, but he needed his partner to go through it.

  “I was out here. Searching for you. Trying to figure out what the hell you’d gotten yourself into. And then….” He ran a hand through his hair, huffed a sharp burst of breath. “It was like this huge burst of wind came through the trees. Except it wasn’t. It just came straight toward me. Like some damn freight train aimed right at me, except there was this rush of air.”

  River nodded. He’d experienced the same blur of motion himself. “Keep going.”

  “My gun was in my hand when I came in the woods. I aimed it where I thought…whatever it was would come out. I was ready, but it happened so fast. It just rushed out at me, and I pulled the trigger.” He shook his head. His brow furrowed, confusion emerging in his eyes. “I shot it…him. But he still knocked me through the air. Hit that tree.” He pointed at a pine. A smear of blood coated the bark. “Bastard came at me again, so I fired. Killed the sonovabitch.”

  “Good.” He patted his partner on the back. A healthy wave of relief washed over him. The nightmare had at last ended. He punched 911 on his cell phone. “I’m calling for an ambulance and more backup.”

  “Jesus, River. That guy was sitting at my desk.” Dauscher swallowed and ran his hand over his face. “He sat there and told me he was worried his roommate was a murderer. I had the bastard right there at my desk. I could’ve ended it there, locked him up.” His gaze shifted from River to Vicki. “Then none of this would’ve happened.”

  “It’s okay, man.” He squeezed his partner’s shoulder. “We’re fine.”

  Vicki moved closer, stared down at the dead body. Her lower lip trembled. Taking a breath, she lifted her eyes to the man who’d ended the monster’s life.

  “Thank you, Detective Dauscher.”

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Vicki grimaced. Reaching up, she massaged her temples while River—who’d resided in the chair next to her bed from the moment they’d put her in the room—watched her, concern darkening his eyes.

  Becca drew the curtains over the hospital window and blocked Savannah’s late afternoon sun. “Better?”

  “Yes. Thank you.” During her night of terror, there’d been more than one moment she’d wondered if she’d ever see the light of day again.

  A soft smile on her lips, Becca returned to Vicki’s bed. “I know I’ve already said it at least a dozen times”—she eased onto the edge of the mattress, took her friend’s hand and squeezed it—“but I’m just so thankful you two are okay.”

  Lenny grunted, slouched in his chair, and propped his feet on the end of Vicki’s bed. “Actually, that makes the sixteenth time you’ve said it.”

  “Oh, shut up, you.” Becca shoved his shoes away, the rubber soles smacking on the tiled floor. “They’ve been through a horrific ordeal, and here you are, putting your stinky sneakers on these clean, white sheets. I swear you were raised in a barn.”

  Lenny jumped up, grabbed Becca’s arm, and pulled her to him. “I thought it was my animalistic qualities that you found so irresistible.” He tucked his nose against her neck and snorted.

  Giggling, she gave a halfhearted push to his chest. The light in her eyes was something Vicki hadn’t seen in quite some time. She’d fallen for him, an odd couple to s
ay the least. But somehow, the two of them worked together. And if Lenny Johnston was the reason for the pink in Rebecca Carlson’s cheeks along with the tenderness to her smile, then Vicki was happy for them both.

  Raising his head, he grinned. “Besides, Vicki and Detective Chastain know I’m glad they’re all right.”

  Batting her eyes, Vicki spoke in a heavy Southern drawl. “Why, so kind of you to say, sir.”

  “See?” He tightened his arms around the dark-haired artist. “They know.”

  “Right.” River snorted. “And I noticed when we got to the part where they wheeled Vicki off for a CAT scan, you started sawing logs like a professional lumberjack. Guess that bit doesn’t make for such great story fodder.”

  The reporter grimaced. “Uh, no. Not so much.”

  Becca slapped at his chest.

  “What?” His focus snapped from one of them to the next, an expression of innocence on his face. “I’m just saying.”

  Becca twisted around in his arms to face Vicki and River. “He’s really glad you’re all right. He might not show it very well here, but in the car on the way over—”

  “So,” Lenny barked, “they ever letting you back out into the real world, or do we need to put in a change of address?”

  “Soon as we get the test results.” Vicki rubbed the back of her head. The pain of her gentle probe brought a breath of air hissing between her teeth. “Still hurts.”

  River looked at her, his gaze a mix of love and concern. “When I saw him knock you into the wall, I thought he’d…. I just can’t understand how he picked you up in the air like that.”

  She took his hand in hers. “I don’t either. Getting bashed into the wall a couple times and dragged around by my hair hurt like hell. But when he slammed me onto the dining room table and my head hit, I saw stars. Seriously. Pinpoints of twinkling lights.”

  He frowned, anger leaping to his eyes.

  She squeezed his fingers. “It’s over. He’s dead.”

  Knock, knock, knock. The door opened, and Detective Dauscher poked his head through.

  “And there he is,” River called out. “The man of the hour.” He rose to shake his hand.

  The detective shuffled into the room. His gaze shifted from River to Vicki, and she smiled, an attempt to ease his obvious unease at being the center of attention.

  Becca crossed the room. The bangles on her arms jingled as she raised her arms to give him a hug. “I wanted to thank you for saving my best friend’s life.”

  “Just doing my job.” Releasing her, he stepped back.

  “Don’t be so modest, Detective.” Lenny reached out, shook his hand. “From the story I just heard, you saved their bacon.”

  “More like I saved my own bacon.” His voice came out a growl laced with a hint of amusement. Then his eyes clouded. “Honestly? I don’t know why I’m not downstairs lying on a slab.”

  “Because you were faster,” River said.

  The detective’s expression sobered. “I got lucky.”

  “Hey.” River gave his partner’s shoulder a pat. “Any day we can stand around talking about how we cheated death is a good day in my book.”

  The somberness surrounding Detective Dauscher lifted, and he smiled. “Yeah. You’re right about that.” His focus slipped to Vicki. “I just wanted to check on you, see how you were doing.”

  “Much better. Thanks.”

  With a nod, he turned back to River. “I know you’ve finished making your statements, but the paperwork still has a few holes.”

  River glanced at Vicki. “Do you mind?”

  “Nope.” She shook her head. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  His answering smile prompted her heart to skip a beat. He followed his partner out into the hallway, leaving the door partway open. He peeked at her through the slim gap while he spoke with Detective Dauscher.

  Reassuring warmth curled in her chest. He wants to keep me in sight. Well, she wanted to keep him in sight, too.

  “So.” Lenny drew the word out, flopped in the chair at the foot of her bed. He lifted one foot to prop on her bed, but Becca’s arched eyebrow urged him to rethink the idea. He did. “The killer is dead, and Thurisaz has been dispatched back to…well, wherever he came from.”

  “It appears so.” Vicki shifted her attention to the door. River still spoke with his partner. When she looked back at Lenny, the question she’d been struggling with surfaced in her mind again. Was the man who attacked her a demon? A shiver trailed down the back of her neck. The killer had been stronger and faster than anyone she’d ever seen.

  “And your vision thing. Is that done, too?” His gaze flicked to Becca, and a shot of warmth filled his eyes. “I mean, are we free and clear, off the hook?”

  “I don’t know.” It was an honest answer, but she could tell by the panic in his eyes it wasn’t what he wanted to hear. “I’ve never had this happen before. Usually, when I have a vision, it follows through and is finished within two weeks. I’ve never experienced anything like this.”

  “So, is that a yes?” The corner of his mouth twitched. For his brave front, his backwoods hunts for Bigfoot and alien abduction theories, deep down Lenny wanted a happy ending. An ending involving the raven-haired angel standing next to him.

  “Well, the killer is dead, and it was his symbol tying you both to him.” She inhaled, stared into Becca’s hope-filled eyes. Why haven’t they seen their symbols? Maybe when Kent died, their two-week timer ended. Maybe my drawing those Ds did make a difference. Lenny and Becca are safe because their last symbol was the pointed D, and I mixed up their symbols’ order, too. Now, their fates are the happy kind. They’ve found each other, their true loves. The problem was, Vicki couldn’t be absolutely sure. But how could she make them suffer and worry for another week? She blew out the breath. “Yeah, I would think that meant you two were okay.”

  Becca took her hand, squeezed it.

  “Okay, now.” Lenny grinned. “That’s what I’m talking about. I wonder if Freddy would be interested in a story about how his top reporter slipped through Vicki the Para—”

  “Lenny.” Becca gave him the stink eye. “Really?”

  “I meant to say, how I slipped through Victoria Vampire’s psychic grasp.” He grinned, his affinity for the words he spoke clear on his face. He probably had most of the article in his head already.

  Vicki smiled. Funny how a near-death experience at the hands of a demon put everything in perspective. It didn’t matter Lenny had reverted to his previous slimeball persona and referred to her as a parasite or vampire. He wasn’t a jerk. As far as she was concerned, his devotion to Becca spoke volumes.

  The door to her room opened wide, and River entered, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Check out who I found wandering the halls.”

  A statuesque brunette in a white doctor’s jacket walked through the doorway, trailed by a wary Detective Dauscher.

  “Ms. Spiere,” Dr. Carmichael said, a soft smile on her lips. “You’re looking bright-eyed.”

  “Other than the bump on my head, I’m feeling pretty good.”

  “Good.” The doctor took her pulse then flashed a penlight in her eyes. She jotted a note on Vicki’s chart. “Well, your scan came back clear, which is good. No concussion or other trauma. You’re a very lucky woman.”

  “Yes, I am.” You have no idea.

  The doctor snapped the chart closed. “As far as I’m concerned, you can go home. I’ll drop this at the nurses’ station, and they’ll get you checked out.”

  “Thank you, Doctor.” River held the door while the brunette exited. Turning back to Vicki, he grinned. “Okay, so I’m starving. Who’s up for dinner?”

  “Dinner?” Lenny jumped to his feet. “What are we talking?”

  “Anything but hospital food.” River laughed. “How about it, Vicki? Let’s all go out and celebrate. Anywhere you want to go.”

  “Lenny and I are going to pass on dinner.” Becca rose from the edge of the bed and picked up her
purse. Reaching for Vicki’s hand, she gave a light squeeze. “I want to get home, get things ready for your arrival.”

  “You don’t have to do that,” she protested.

  “I want to.” Her friend walked to the door, her skirt swishing with each step. “Maybe we’ll pop popcorn, watch a movie. Something…normal.”

  Happiness welled in Vicki’s chest. “I’d like that.”

  “I can’t make it either,” Detective Dauscher said.

  “No?” River turned toward his partner.

  “I’ve got other plans.” His gaze flitted to the door where Becca and Lenny stood then returned to his partner. He smiled. “But you two should go. Have fun.”

  “Dinner plans with your grandmother?” he asked, to which his partner tilted his head in question. “She told me you two get together for dinner once a week. Figured this was the day.”

  “Damn, you are a detective.” Dauscher snorted. “Yes, I’ll be dining with my grandmother tonight.”

  River turned to Vicki, a spark in his eyes. “You’d love Dauscher’s grandmother. You have visions about people? Well, this woman read my palm like a pro. Told me she used to go to the Biltmore house in the summer to entertain the Vanderbilt’s and their guests. I can’t imagine….”

  “Yeah, Grandmother is quite the card all right.” Detective Dauscher laughed. “Maybe we can all get together, have dinner sometime. Then she can read everyone’s palm.”

  An odd expression flickered across River’s features then vanished. He pivoted to his partner. “You sure?”

  “Yeah.” He grinned, waved a hand toward Lenny and Becca. “You both can come, too.”

  “Seriously?” River set his hand on Vicki’s arm. “All of us?”

  “Sure.” Dauscher looked from Becca to River, held up his hand, and wiggled his fingers. “She read my palm just the other night. Told me I’d find myself in a deadly situation. I’d say the woman has a gift.”

  Lenny barked a laugh. “Well, I can hardly wait to meet her.”

  Becca elbowed the reporter in the ribs. “Thank you for the invitation, Detective Dauscher.” She grabbed the reporter’s hand, and as she dragged him out the door, peered over her shoulder. “We’ll see you two at home. Have a nice dinner.”