Oracle Haunting (The Phoenix Files Book 4)

by Morgan Kelley

  Yeah, that’s not what she was expecting.

  Wow!

  Maura was really sweating it.

  Honestly, Bishop thought Maura was being territorial, and now that Roxy was in the picture…

  Boy.

  She’d been wrong.

  “Did Avalon say it could happen?” she asked, watching the woman. “Is that even a possibility?”

  Maura wiped her eyes, and she didn’t say a word.

  Holy shit!

  She picked up her bottle of water and uncapped it just in case. Maura, or the whole ride, might burst into flames at any second.

  Here was her proof.

  Maura was shedding tears.

  This was Armageddon.

  “If you do what Luke did, I’ll dump your ass out of this vehicle in your girly undies. I won’t even think twice about making you walk home.”

  She laughed.

  Here was the woman that scared them all senseless. She was still there. Bishop could relax.

  “You know what, Maura?”

  “What?”

  “It’s okay to not be so badass all the time. That has to be really exhausting.”

  She had no idea.

  Watching over this group…it was the job of ten Marines on a regular basis.

  She had her and Jagger.

  They were going to burn out fast.

  Still, she explained.

  “This is my family. I have to keep them safe. I’ve been protecting Avalon for a while, and so has Jagger. I can’t go home, I can’t see my family, and I miss my brothers. I miss Callie. This…” She paused to compose herself. “This is all I have left. I don’t want to really bury him.”

  She got it.

  This had to be hard for her too. Everyone assumed Maura was tough and didn’t have a soft center, but she did.

  Clearly.

  “This has to be a bitch for all of you.”

  “Yeah, well, life isn’t meant to be easy. We don’t go softly into the night,” she mumbled. “Marines…they don’t do it the easy way. Ever.”

  Yeah, she could see that.

  Maura was a puzzle.

  Bishop was just about to offer her some comforting words when Maura began shouting and scared the shit out of her.

  Again.

  “MOVE YOU CRAZY OLD IRISH BAT!” Maura shouted at the woman in front of her.

  “Uh, road rage draws attention too, Maura. You may want to cut back on that.”

  She sighed.

  “I have an idea.”

  Maura looked over. “What, Princess Moneybags?”

  Bishop stared at her.

  Then she tossed the water on her.

  Maura sputtered. “I’m going to kill him for teaching you all that. I swear my husband is NOT amusing.”

  Bishop capped her water and thought otherwise. The whole thing was funny.

  “Are you done dousing me?” Maura asked.

  “Yes, but now I have to go on record. Your money comment was a low blow. I don’t have any say in my husband’s finances. I’m just as appalled by it too. I want to puke when I think about it. I want to puke thinking about the cost of this vehicle and how you’ve pretty much stripped its gears to the bare metal.”

  She got that.

  That’s why Marines drove tanks or Hummers. These luxury SUVs were for whiny pussies.

  Here was her proof.

  “I have a genuine idea, and it might help you,” Bishop offered.

  “What?”

  “Let me help you protect OUR family. I don’t have anyone either. I had to leave my brothers behind too. While we’re out here, helping Avalon, you guys are all I have in my life. Maybe, just maybe, we can be partners and help each other carry the load.”

  She stared over at her.

  “You’re shitting me, right? You get your nails done.”

  “You have a pedicure. Don’t judge me, sissy Marine girl. I’ve seen your pretty sparkly toe polish.”

  Maura closed her mouth.

  And that was why Marine women slept with their damn boots on. What happened on their toes was their business.

  “I also saw you buying sexy girly things, so you can stop pretending your panties are camo.”

  “My panties are camo.”

  “They are not.”

  She pulled the side of her underwear out of her black cargo pants. Maura hadn’t been lying.

  “You’re insane.”

  “What if I had to strip down and run through the trees?” she asked.

  “Do you find that happens a lot to you? See, it’s never happened to me, so I’m thinking it’s probably your doing. Normal women don’t get chased through a swamp in their girl gear.”

  Maura laughed.

  Despite the insanity of it all, she really liked Bishop. More importantly, she was right.

  They were all they had left.

  It was their team against the world. Elizabeth had to cut them free, the FBI wanted them, and the President of the United States would take Avalon if he could find her.

  This was their new normal.

  “Deal. I’ll let you help carry this load. It’s heavy at times, like today.”

  She was surprised. “Really?”

  “If you want on this crazy train, welcome aboard. It’s going to be a really insane ride.”

  “Worse than your driving?”

  Maura laughed. “I’m an excellent driver,” she offered, whipping the pricey ride into a parking spot on the side of the street near the main shopping district of Saint Patrick.

  “Yeah, no, you are not. Everyone is afraid to ride with you. They just won’t say it to your face.”

  That was likely true.

  Either way, it worked to her advantage.

  “We need to head down the street,” Maura said, as she texted Jagger.

  Immediately, she got a reply.

  He’s coming. I want you to get in the back with Roxy when we head back and keep an eye out the back window.”

  Bishop could do that.

  “There they are,” she said, as Jagger and Roxy headed their way. They were both wearing sunglasses, hats, and they were hustling it toward them.

  In fact, they were jogging.

  That set the pace for this little meet and greet. They were compromised.

  When they met them, Roxy hugged Bishop. “Oh, Bish, Silas has lost his freaking mind,” she said, as her friend led her by the hand to the ride.

  Bishop shoved her in and hopped in beside her. “Buckle up!” Then she did her own seatbelt.

  Jagger hugged Maura and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you,” he said, squeezing her hand.

  She would do anything for him.

  “How bad is it?” she asked, as they both headed toward the ride. They got into the Land Cruiser, and Maura backed it out of the space.

  “Bad.”

  “Like that time in Tripoli?”

  He laughed. “Try Nairobi.”

  She winced. “Okay, that’s bad.”

  Bishop didn’t want to know what happened in either of those cities. She was pretty sure it was classified, and that her stomach couldn’t handle it.

  Somethings were best left unknown.

  “What happened?” Bishop asked her best friend, as Maura got them out of the city and back toward Adare.

  “Silas was trying to abduct me!”

  Bishop started laughing. “He’s lost his mind. What does he think this is? The Wild West?”

  Apparently.

  “I’m going to kick his ass,” Bishop said.

  Jagger laughed from the front seat. “Not if I kick it first. Clearly, telling him I’m Michael O’Banion’s kid did nothing to scare the fear of God into him. I guess I’m going to have to show him how my father handled the bodies.”

  Bishop’s mouth dropped open.

  “Wait! What?”

  “I said…”

  She stopped him. “Michael O’Banion’s kid? You mean THE MOB GUY?”

  He turned in his seat
. “Yeah, he’s my old man. See why I use my mother’s maiden name? People get freaked out.”

  She started laughing.

  “What is funny?” Jagger asked.

  “You’re perfect for her,” Bishop admitted. “She went from mob guy to mob guy.”

  “I’m a Marine, not a mob guy,” he grumbled.

  Bishop liked him.

  A lot.

  He was good for Roxy. She needed someone who would protect her, and he was that guy. Bishop didn’t give a shit who his father was.

  In this war, they were both on the same side.

  Bishop heard the acceleration of a vehicle.

  “Uh, Maura, to your right. We have a car approaching fast,” Bishop warned. “I don’t think they want to get our picture,” she admitted.

  “Buckle up,” she ordered.

  Jagger did just that.

  The road was heavily traveled at this time of the day, and she didn’t doubt that the car trying to pass them was following Jagger and Roxy.

  “Hold on,” she muttered, when the car got right next to her and tried to shove her off the road.

  There was the grinding of metal as the bumpers clipped, and then the grinding of gears as Maura downshifted, letting the car pass her.

  It, in return, did the same thing.

  This wasn’t some guy recklessly driving. This was someone trying to get them off the road to get to Roxy.

  Well, that changed everything.

  It was on.

  Maura hit the gas, accelerating past the car. As she watched the speedometer hit one hundred and twenty kph, she knew the Land Cruiser wasn’t built for speed.

  This was going to have to be tactical.

  What wouldn’t she give for her husband’s Hummer?

  She grabbed a piece of gum from the visor, and popped it into her mouth.

  “Bishop, hold onto Roxy and keep my baby safe!” he ordered. He knew what was coming.

  He’d been in a ride with Maura when they had to take someone out to save Avalon.

  There were three things you didn’t want to go at with Maura.

  A war of words.

  A hand to hand fight with a blade.

  Or a race with her in a car.

  She drove the roads with the proficiency of an Indy driver who built stock cars for shits and giggles. She didn’t just drive them, she knew how they worked. She was good with math, science, and the laws of physics.

  The men chasing them?

  They were doomed.

  As she blew past a few rides, their horns honking, she saw the sleek BMW approaching again.

  “They have some fancy rides for hired thugs,” she muttered. “Silas must be paying them well.”

  That’s all she said as the car shot past her, and it got in front of them, trying to get her to slam on the breaks.

  Well, she didn’t.

  This wasn’t her first day at the car driving rodeo.

  “Assholes. In the Marines, they put you in handcuffs, drop your pansy ass into a manual speed transmission, and then shoot at you,” she muttered, whipping the steering wheel at just the right moment.

  The car missed her tire.

  Maura maneuvered it just right, angling it so the bigger vehicle would hit in just the right spot. She bumped it, going nearly eighty.

  It spun off, gravel and dirt flying as it left the curvy road.

  She flew past, got clear of oncoming traffic, and then heard the explosion behind them.

  “Well, that was fun,” she said.

  Maura spit her gum out the window and pulled off her sunglasses.

  “I’m hungry. Want to stop for lunch?” she asked, looking back in the rearview mirror.

  Bishop was openmouthed.

  Roxy was pale white.

  And she took that as a no.

  When she glanced over at Jagger, he was grinning and silently laughing.

  He gave her a fist bump.

  “Definitely Nairobi with a side of Cairo.”

  She snorted. “I know. That was some of my best damn work!”

  There was sputtering from Bishop in the back.

  Were they laughing?

  Seriously?

  The car was smoking, the Garda was going to be looking for them, and this vehicle was shot to shit.

  Jesus!

  They were both out of their damn minds.

  Maura glanced up in the rearview mirror. “What?” she asked with a serious face.

  “What?”

  “You Marines are insane. Do you know that?” Bishop asked.

  Oohrah.

  Yeah, they certainly knew that.

  Chapter Four

  Adare

  Special Detective’s Unit

  T oday couldn’t be happening. His head was pounding, and his nose was gushing blood like a freaking fountain. They’d uncuffed him, but they were still not answering his questions. Laird didn’t know what to think.

  All he knew was the woman touched him, and he began feeling a million things that didn’t exactly make him comfortable.

  And now he was freaked out.

  “What the hell is going on?” he asked.

  “We’re here to help you,” Avalon said, sitting across from the man.

  “Help me do what? Bleed to death? What did you do to me?” he asked, grabbing another handful of tissues. “I was fine, and now I’m bleeding! Did I black out? Did someone punch me?” He was so damn confused as to what the hell was going on around him.

  “I used my mind to open your third eye. That’s all.”

  “That’s all?” he asked. “It feels like more.”

  Avalon smiled. “You needed to see, and I had to open it. You’ll be fine now.”

  “Yeah, you keep saying that, and it’s insane. What does that mean because I’m not feeling all that FINE?”

  How could she explain it?

  Oh, she knew.

  “It means you’re psychic.”

  He stared at her. “Get out of my office.”

  “Oh, Laird, my little boy, you’re the shining star of my life, the apple of my eye. You’re my little aingeal,” Oracle stated, channeling his dead mother. She was giving him the first few hints of what she was capable of when she tried.

  “What are you talking about?” he asked, as his heart began speeding up. While he knew what she was saying, and where those words had come from, he was going to try and not let it rattle him.

  It wasn’t going to be easy.

  “A grá, you have always been my aingeal,” she said, substituting the Gaelic words for love and angel.

  “What are you doing?” he asked, pushing his chair back. “Why are you doing this?”

  “Your mother called you her angel and her love all the time. I’m just proving to you that I’m in your head. I can see what you’ve lived.”

  He didn’t like this.

  At all.

  “Why are you doing this?” he asked again.

  “Your killer is taking out victims by removing their hearts,” she said, seeing his thoughts. Because he was psychic, he couldn’t hide—not from her.

  “How did you know that?” he asked in horror. Laird was just about ready to freak out over all of this.

  His heart was thundering, and he needed to get some air. It was as if the room was closing in around him.

  “I told you, Detective Maguire. We’re here to help you. I’m Oracle. You remember me. Think back. We’ve met before. If you stop pretending, this will go much faster for both of us.”

  He did recognize her. That was the problem. It wasn’t that he didn’t, but that she scared the shit out of him.

  She’d been in his dreams for days.

  “Take a moment,” she offered.

  Oh, he was pretty sure he was going to need more than a moment to overcome this one.

  She’d been everywhere in his dreams.

  He’d hear her laugh, smell her perfume, and it scared him. All of this made him feel out of control, and that was the opposite of how he li
ved his life.

  Laird was always running the show.

  Now...

  It appeared to be running him.

  “What do you want?” he finally asked.

  “I’m here to help you catch the killer. You’ve been tasked with this by Fate, but you’re not alone.”

  “How do I know you didn’t break in here last night and read the files? How do I know…?”

  “That I’m not screwing with you?” she asked. “Well, first, I’m blind. I can’t see anything, so I don’t think your reading explanation is plausible.”

  He didn’t speak.

  Could she really be blind?

  She seemed to be tracking him with her eyes.

  This was making it worse, not better.

  “Secondly, I can describe any room in your home. Test me.”

  “My….?”

  “Your kitchen is yellow. You like color. You have tile floors, a green table that your mother left you in her will. It’s where she fed you and your father.”

  He didn’t know what to think.

  “Fifth grade, you came home with that F on your paper, and she was happy about it.”

  He wanted to be sick.

  NO ONE knew that.

  “She said, ‘A grá, m’aingeal, I’m glad to see you’re human like the rest of us’.”

  He wanted to puke.

  “How did you…?”

  Nate took over. Avalon had done her job, and she was looking kind of pale. These kinds of things drained her.

  “Oracle was a top-secret US government weapon,” Nate stated. “She worked for the President of the United States. Since being freed, she works her way around with her team, trying to solve the cases that are a little too woo-woo for regular agencies.”

  “People like us, Laird, we are few and far between. You have a gift. I’m here to help you use it.”

  “How?”

  “I normally track killers who are psychic.” She rattled a few off, and Luke pulled them up on a tablet.

  “To the media, they were normal killings, but they weren’t. Those men were killers, and they used their minds.”

  “Are you saying this killer is psychic?”

  “No, this time, you and your new partner are psychic. You both have to come together in order to hunt this monster down. You’re activated, and she’s going to be able to fine tune your gift. Like myself, and my partner,” she stated, referring to Lucian. “Once you work together, you’ll be able to stop him from hurting anyone else in Adare.”