Lightbringer

by Frankie Robertson

  Carefully he rolled her off him, then knelt to pick her up.

  “I can walk,” she protested as he held her against his chest. He ran, fear dogging him as he zig-zagged through the cars, in case whoever had set the bomb had a rifle and a backup plan. He didn’t put her down until they reached the lobby. Gideon and Linda were already there.

  “Cassie!” Linda ran forward and drew her into a fierce embrace.

  Jared stepped back reluctantly, surrendering Cassie to her friend. Sirens screamed in the distance, growing louder.

  Gideon clasped Jared’s hand and pulled him into a man hug. *Nice save,* Gideon said, mind to mind.

  Cassie held Linda for a moment, then pulled back. She stared at the keys she still had clenched in her hand. “My car.” Her voice sounded lost.

  Jared’s heartbeat hammered in his chest. He’d almost blown it. He’d let her get too close before checking her car. She’d almost died because he’d been careless.

  Cassie craned her head around till she met Jared’s eyes. “What happened?” She spoke louder than normal. Her ears must still be ringing. He knew his were.

  Jared swallowed the sick feeling rising in his throat before he answered. “Someone just tried to kill you.”

  CHAPTER 6

  CASSIE SIPPED THE hot chocolate Jared had pressed into her hands. It was her second. She couldn’t seem to get warm, and shivered despite the blanket draped over her shoulders. Someone had tried to kill her. How could this be happening? Why was it happening?

  Paramedics had checked both her and Jared and bandaged their scrapes. They’d wanted to take them both to the hospital. Jared declined their offer but had urged her to go. She’d refused. She didn’t need to spend a thousand dollars so some doctor could tell her what she already knew. She was okay.

  Her car wasn’t.

  Her Volvo was a smoking ruin. Despite the car’s reputation for safety, it couldn’t stand up to a bomb. What would she tell her insurance company? Would they cancel her policy?

  The uniformed officers who had first questioned her had pulled Linda and Gideon into separate rooms. Linda had strenuously objected, but Gideon had talked her into cooperating. Somehow Jared had managed to stay by Cassie’s side. The police had locked down the hotel. No one had been allowed to leave. Once the fire was out, the police had begun questioning everyone, starting with the intended victim.

  “Ms. Lewis?” A man strode into the conference room. He flashed his badge, then slipped it back inside his dark grey suit. “I’m Detective Morgan.” His voice sounded muffled. The paramedics had said her hearing loss was probably temporary.

  Morgan turned to Jared, who had stripped off his severely damaged jacket.

  That could have been his back, Cassie thought as she noted the shredded leather. But Jared had only a few scratches.

  “Mr.…Price?” Morgan consulted the paper he carried with him. “I’d like to speak with you in a few minutes. You can wait in the lobby until I’m ready for you.”

  A surge of fear tightened Cassie’s chest. “I’d rather he stayed.” It wasn’t reasonable. No one would try to kill her in front of a police detective, but Jared had saved her life. She wanted—needed—him with her. Her eyes sought Jared’s. “Please stay.” She didn’t care if that sounded pathetic.

  Jared nodded, but the detective shook his head and said, “I’m sorry. It’s procedure to question you separately.”

  Jared stood. “Are you sure you can’t bend the rules just this once?”

  “I’m afraid not.”

  “Very well.” Jared held out his hand. “Detective.”

  Morgan shook his hand, then frowned. There was a moment of hesitation before he released Jared’s clasp. “All right. You can stay. Don’t interrupt.”

  Jared returned to his seat. The muscle in his jaw was tight, as if he was unhappy despite getting what they both wanted.

  The detective turned his attention to Cassie and sat down opposite her. “I understand you had a break-in at your place last night?”

  It wasn’t a question Cassie expected. It seemed so disconnected from what had just happened. “Yes. Someone put cameras and microphones in my home.” She almost didn’t recognize the flat voice as her own.

  The detective’s brows drew down as he glanced at his notepad. “There’s no report of that.”

  Cassie raised her gaze from the foamy brown liquid in her cup to look directly at him. “I didn’t find them until after Officer Varnes left. I was going to call the police this morning.”

  “You stayed here, in the hotel, last night.” It was a statement, not a question.

  “Yes.”

  “With Mr. Price?”

  “No!” Maybe if I had gone home with him, none of this would have happened. Cassie’s gaze flicked to Jared. His eyes were cold as he watched Detective Morgan. The muscle in his jaw jumped. “I stayed with my friend Linda.”

  “In a room you paid for.” Morgan’s intent dark eyes bored into her.

  “Yes. She’s allergic to Edgar, my cat, so she had to stay here.”

  The detective’s brows furrowed. “Why was that? She and her husband own a house on,” he peered again at his notes, “East Baker.”

  “What has that got to do with the attempt on Ms. Lewis’ life?” Jared asked.

  Cassie smiled at him. His protectiveness gave her a small warm glow in the midst of the cold reality of attempted murder. He’d pulled her to safety, brought her hot chocolate, and stayed by her side. A perfect man. She had no idea why he was taking such an interest in her, but she was grateful he was.

  “I won’t know until I get all the pieces,” Morgan answered. “And if you continue to interfere, you’ll have to leave.” He turned back to Cassie. “Ms. Lewis? Why did you and your friend stay here last night?”

  “The police didn’t believe me when I said someone had broken in last night. I was frightened and tired. I wanted to get some rest away from the cameras before I had another go-round with TPD.”

  Morgan tapped the notepad with his pen. “But why was Mrs. Fallon staying here, and on your dime?”

  Cassie looked away for a moment, reluctant to incite even more derision from the detective. Then she stiffened her spine. She hadn’t been so reticent in college. Back then,

  The Cass wouldn’t have let any man intimidate her. She stared straight back into Detective Morgan’s eyes, daring him to doubt her. “I’m sure Officer Varnes’ report mentions I’m a psychic. I had a vision last night of Linda lying dead on her kitchen floor. I was afraid for her to go home.”

  Morgan’s brows rose. “Interesting. Did you have a vision of your car blowing up, too?”

  Cassie closed her eyes. I wish. Jared had nearly died. They both had. If she could see her own future, if she could have seen his, then maybe—

  “Ms. Lewis?”

  Cassie swallowed the sick feeling rising in her throat. “No, Detective Morgan. I didn’t see it coming. I’ve never been able to see my own future.” But she could see he thought she was a charlatan. He wouldn’t ask such a question otherwise. “Do you think I would have risked Jared’s life, or my own, if I had?”

  Morgan seemed unaffected by her sarcasm. “I don’t know. Would you?”

  Jared started to rise, his eyes dark with anger.

  Cassie waved him down. “I can’t read my own future, but I can see yours. Give me your hand.”

  Morgan shook his head.

  “Cassie, you don’t have to prove anything to him,” Jared interrupted.

  His protest only increased her resolve. Nervous sweat dampened her palms, and she wiped them on her jeans. She hoped she wasn’t too shaken to get a good read on the detective, but she covered it with a slight smile. “Afraid I’ll prove you wrong?”

  Morgan’s eyes narrowed as he stuck out his hand.

  Cassie took it between her own. It was a strong hand. Warm, with longer nails than was usual for a man. Cassie closed her eyes and struggled to clear her mind. She usually hadn’t just been n
early blown to bits when she tried to read someone, but Morgan’s past and future were easy to see.

  “You play flamenco guitar,” she began.

  “You could have guessed that from my fingernails,” Morgan interrupted.

  “Yes, but your nails didn’t tell me your first teacher was your maternal grandfather who fled Franco’s Spain.”

  Morgan’s eyes widened.

  “And your wife has some very happy news for you.”

  “My wife?”

  “Act surprised when she tells you.”

  Morgan frowned and pulled his hand away from Cassie’s, but his tone was softer than before. “Do you know why someone would want you dead?”

  “No, of course not—” Sharp reports of gunfire, women screaming, blood soaking into a dusty street. The memory of last night’s vision flashed over her.

  “What is it, Ms. Lewis?”

  Startled grey eyes staring into hers as his grip grew tight. “Dave.”

  “Dave, who?”

  “I don’t know his last name. I met him last night at the restaurant. I stumbled, and he kept me from falling. I saw something when I touched him. I think he shot some people. In Afghanistan.”

  “A lot of soldiers have shot terrorists in Afghanistan, Ms. Lewis. It is on the news every night.”

  “You still don’t believe me? I didn’t see this on the news! They weren’t terrorists, and he wasn’t a soldier. He was something else. A mercenary maybe. He shot unarmed civilians!”

  Morgan stared at her, silent.

  He didn’t believe her any more than Varnes had last night about her break-in, but she explained anyway. “I’m not imagining this. It was like I was seeing through his eyes. He was so cold about it.”

  Morgan’s eyes narrowed. “You had a vision.”

  “Yes.”

  “Like what you saw with me, or could you be remembering one of those first-person shooter computer games?”

  Cassie shook her head. “I don’t play them.”

  Morgan shrugged, but made a note. “That’s not much to go on. Who else do you suspect?”

  Andy’s name popped into her head, but she dismissed it. Andy was a jerk, but he’d taken his revenge. He wouldn’t be trying to kill her now, four years later. “No one.” Cassie glanced at Jared, wondering if he’d contradict her, but he remained silent, his face neutral.

  “What about”—again Morgan consulted the papers he’d brought with him—”Andrew Beckman? You tried to get a restraining order against him four years ago and then dropped it. Can you tell me about that?”

  Cassie cringed inwardly. She should have known Morgan would have that information. She didn’t want to revisit that humiliating time ever again. “We had a messy breakup. Andy was angry, and I was scared, but he didn’t physically threaten me, so I had no grounds for the restraining order. That’s it.”

  “Have you heard from him recently?”

  “No. He’s moved on with his life, and so have I.”

  Morgan turned his piercing gaze on Jared, who stared right back. “How do you fit into all this, Mr. Price?”

  Cassie wondered the same thing.

  “I’m a friend. I met Cassie last night.”

  “Most men would run away from this kind of trouble.”

  Jared met the Detective’s challenging eyes straight on. “I’m not most men,” he said, his smile tight.

  Cassie almost laughed. If Morgan only knew he’s talking to another psychic.

  Morgan stared at Jared for a long moment, then said, “And your friend? Mr. Gideon?”

  “What about him?”

  “We found no record of him. None. Not even a backstop I.D. Who is he? Who’s he working for?”

  Cassie’s attention sharpened. Is Gideon part of this? It didn’t seem possible. He was too light-hearted. But if he was involved, that would mean Jared was too, wouldn’t it? But Jared had saved her life.

  Jared shrugged. “It’s up to Gideon to read you in. Him or his superiors. I can’t answer that.”

  “Can’t, or won’t?” Morgan waited a few beats, but when Jared said nothing he turned his demanding focus on Cassie. “Ms. Lewis?”

  Angry heat flashed though her. She was tired of being interrogated. “I don’t know Gideon. I just met him last night. What I do know is someone is trying to kill me. Could we get back to that?”

  The detective just lifted his brows, inviting her to continue.

  “You obviously still don’t believe I’m the victim here. I’ll prove it to you.” Cassie stood. “I can show you the bugs. Let’s go to my house.”

  Morgan’s lips curled in half a smile. “Yes, let’s.”

  “A man of your experience should have more subtle means of eliminating his target.” Crandall’s voice grated through the phone. “She could have just been a missing person. Now the police are involved, thanks to your incompetence. I don’t need that kind of attention.”

  Silently Dave flipped off his boss, again. “Finesse takes time. You wanted it done quickly. That’s what I did.”

  “And yet she lives.”

  “It should’ve worked. It would have, except for that guy she was with. I don’t know how he knew about the bomb. One second he was touching the car, the next he was flying. You should have seen him! He just scooped her up and ran. It was like he had wings, he was so fast. I could use someone like that on my team.”

  “Don’t blame him for your failure.”

  “I’m serious. It wasn’t natural, the way he moved. The blast knocked him off his feet, and then he popped right back up again with the girl. He shouldn’t have been able to get the both of them that far, that fast.”

  Crandall was silent for a moment. “Damnation.”

  “What?” Dave asked.

  “Never mind. Change of plans. I need you to come in. I have a new assignment for you.”

  “What about the girl?”

  “She’s no longer your concern.”

  Jared shoved his hands in his pockets to keep from reaching out to Cassie as Detective Morgan loomed over her. She didn’t need his comforting anyway. Mrs. Tolson had her arm around her as they sat on the sofa.

  “But they were right here! I saw the one in the bookshelf.” She jumped up and strode to the shelves. She shoved the books aside, revealing nothing.

  Cassie turned her wide green eyes from Morgan to him. “You saw them. Tell him!”

  Jared nodded once. He stood to one side of the couch. He and Morgan were similar in height, and he wasn’t going to cede the high ground to the other man. “They were here.”

  Cassie turned a fiercely demanding expression on the detective.

  “Well they’re not here now,” Morgan said.

  A crime scene team had come and gone. They’d checked Cassie’s house and office thoroughly, shifting books, lifting rugs and cushions, removing vents, disassembling her phone, and dusting for fingerprints. They’d found nothing.

  Nothing. Not even disturbed dust and cat hair. Nothing to show anyone had ever been here. Jared wasn’t surprised. Whoever had planted the cameras was a pro, and he’d removed them when he’d decided to kill Cassie instead of watch her. Guilt tightened his shoulders. He’d badly misjudged the threat to her last night, but short of kidnapping her, there wasn’t much more he could have done.

  He still thought it strange someone would plant surveillance equipment and then attempt assassination. Why the abrupt change in plans? Had leaving the house pulled the trigger? But why? And what did this have to do with the Apostate?

  So far the danger to her seemed to be Terrestrial. He’d sensed nothing last night nor today that indicated an Apostate was involved. Gideon was going to answer some pointed questions about the accuracy of his info.

  “Well of course they’re not here,” Mrs. Tolson said. “He came and took them away.” She turned to Cassie. “You should have told me about all this last night, dear. I’d have kept better watch.”

  Morgan practically pounced. “He, who? What did you see?�
��

  “The man in black, of course.” Mrs. Tolson spoke as if the detective was a bit simple. “He was one of those black-ops types. You know, the ones from the shadow government?”

  “Oh my God! He came back?” Cassie exclaimed. “Did you call the police?”

  “Yes, of course I did. But the man was long gone by the time they got here.”

  A muscle jumped in Morgan’s cheek. “You haven’t been getting much satisfaction from the police have you?” he asked in a mild voice.

  Mrs. Tolson’s lips thinned. “No. I’ve called you people at least a dozen times this year, and you never do a thing.”

  Morgan looked at Cassie as if he were sizing her for Mrs. Tolson’s shoes. Jared clenched his hands. It wouldn’t do her any good if he went to jail for punching a police detective in the nose.

  Morgan’s gaze shifted to Jared. “What do you know about incendiary devices, Mr. Price?”

  “What?” Cassie sat forward. “Jared saved me!”

  “Yes, he did.” Morgan nodded. “How did he know what to save you from?”

  Jared had been expecting this. Morgan would have to be stupid not to wonder about this, and he didn’t strike Jared as anything less than competent.

  “I’m like Cassie. Only I read things, rather than people. That’s how I found the bugs last night.”

  “I knew it!” Cassie exclaimed.

  Morgan frowned, but didn’t scoff.

  “How wonderful!” Mrs. Tolson exclaimed. “You’ve finally found a man who understands you, dear!”

  Morgan huffed a laugh. “Yeah, a match made in heaven.”

  Dave lifted a hand to shield his eyes from late afternoon sun. Long shadows slanted across the pavers of Crandall’s drive. For some reason the fucker had wanted to meet at his hilltop mansion all the way out in Vail instead of his office in Tucson, adding an hour to Dave’s trip each way. He hoped this wasn’t going to take long. He’d been up for thirty hours straight and he was ready for some rack time.

  Crandall himself opened the door to Dave’s knock. Not at all what Dave had expected. He thought his boss would have had staff for every job, including wiping his butt. Just goes to show, people can surprise you. Their footsteps echoed on the terrazzo tiles as he followed Crandall through the house and down a wide staircase to a walk-out basement. Otherwise, the huge house was eerily quiet and empty feeling. Apparently Crandall wanted complete privacy to discuss this new assignment.