Justin coughed into his hand. “Liar.”
Tori opted to let him have his little white lie. “It’s okay, babe. Have at it.”
Julian studied the ground as they moved through the trees. As of yet, the abductor only left them a trail. He was hoping to find something that might give them a lead.
It was possible that the police swept the trace all the way out to the road. If that were the case, Julian knew they weren’t likely to find anything.
“Julian?” Tori asked.
“Nothing so far,” he answered softly.
They entered the area where the stalker had stood. Suddenly, Tori and Justin heard it and pulled Julian down to the ground. Everyone’s heart was beating, as the three lay in close proximity to each other.
There was a rustling not far from their location, on the other side of the greenery. Glancing up, Tori stared through the brush. The officer who had escorted them from the scene yesterday was walking a patrol.
Tori silently signaled Justin, and he understood and relayed the common military hand signals to his brother, by whispering in his ear.
They nodded as Tori quietly slid across the ground to get into better position to watch the officer.
Julian stayed low and continued to examine the scene. They didn't have much time. If Officer Jersek was walking the perimeter, it wouldn’t be long until he returned to the same position. They couldn’t get caught there, not by the cops.
He scanned the area and took it all in. Dropping his voice low, Julian spoke, “He came here a lot. He definitely watched her over time. Look at the varying degrees of dead grass.”
Justin began taking more pictures, as his brother pointed out different locations.
“The shoe prints aren’t the same as the ones in the grass by where the car was left.”
They heard the cop’s radio go off, and they knew they needed to hustle.
Tori went to stand. Before she could touch a tree behind her, Julian grabbed her arm.
He hissed into her ear, “That’s poison oak and ivy. If you get that, we’re both screwed.”
She had been so worried about the patrolling cop that she had never even noticed the hidden danger. “Thank you, babe.”
The three of them backed out of the opening and headed to the car.
“So, what did we learn?” asked Justin, as soon as they were out of earshot of the police officer. He didn't see anything different from the last time he was there.
“I learned one very important thing,” Julian stated. “The cops really don’t want us anywhere near this case. They’re guarding that ground like it’s a treasure. They have to know something that they aren’t sharing.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Tori added.
Justin knew what that meant.
Tonight, he hoped Vivian would have something for them.
Early Evening
Littlemoon Investigations
Arriving back at the office, they found Christina and Kane filling out the last of the paperwork on the workman’s comp case that they had been toiling over. Other than the hum of the printer going, the office was relatively silent.
“Hey, how did it go?” Kane asked, signing off on the last form before handing it to Julian as he walked into the office.
“It’s the same old here. How’s it going with the case?”
“Well, we filed our findings with the company, and they were more than pleased. They sent a messenger with a folder and the money that we were owed.” He handed Julian the check.
“Great. I love when a company pays on time. It looks like we’re staying in business a little bit longer,” he teased.
“Yeah, well the man has been arrested on fraud.”
Tori grinned. “Awwww, it looks like the perv won’t be able to fraternize with young girls where he’s going.”
Christina started to snicker. “Oh, I’m betting that he’s going to be busy trying to ward off all those passes from the eligible bachelors.”
The men joined in laughing too.
“You two can cut out for the night. It’s been a long day,” Julian offered, sending Kane and Christina home. “Good job on wrapping up all the loose ends for me on the Coleman case.”
Kane simply nodded and held out his hand for Christina.
As she stood, it finally hit her. “Oh, Justin, this call came in for you, and she left a message.”
That had their attention. He didn't ever get calls at work of a personal nature.
He took the message and read it;
‘Meet me at two twelve Sycamore at eight thirty.’
Shit! That didn't give him a lot of time. “I have to get home and shower,” he stated as he rushed out of the room. The last thing he wanted was to be late when it came to meeting up with Vivian.
Julian watched his brother race away. “He’s already got it bad.”
Tori smiled at her husband. “Well you know how alluring those Littlemoon men are.”
“Yeah, so you keep telling me. What do you want to do tonight?” he asked, as he sat on the corner of the table.
She crossed to him and stood between his legs and against his body. The minute Tori made contact, the room started to heat up. Bringing her lips to his, she slowly kissed him.
Words weren’t needed.
The kiss said it all.
His wife was in the mood to get naked and roll around in their upstairs apartment. Who was he to argue with her? If anything, he had learned that a happy wife meant a happy life.
Oh well, he’d have to make the sacrifice for his sexy Army babe.
Slowly, he pulled her hair free from the ponytail to run his fingers through the red richness. “I think I concur on your plans,” he whispered, as she stared into his eyes.
“I can’t wait,” Tori murmured. There was nothing that she liked more, than quality alone time with her husband.
Julian moved towards the safe to lock up the check for the night.
“You need to hurry up, Jules,” she stated, as she began to unbutton her shirt.
He glanced over his shoulder as the safe clicked open. “Don’t worry, honey. The devil himself couldn’t keep me away.”
Vivian was nervous as hell.
It was a rare thing to invite a man back to her townhouse. This was her place to find peace and contentment. When she dated someone, she always insisted they go to his place. It was simply easier. When she wanted to escape, she didn't have to kick anyone out. All she had to do was get dressed and make a break for it.
It wasn’t like she didn't want someone in her space. It was just that Vivian was very picky about who she shared the intimate part of her life with.
Until that day, there wasn’t a potential date that she wanted to see her apartment. Somehow, Justin Littlemoon felt like he belonged there.
She’d seen him in her dream as they discovered that the woman was missing. From that moment, Vivian knew that he had a place at her side, if he wanted it.
Growing up, she’d learned to trust her dreams. While some people might find her potential ‘gift’ odd, she didn't. It had always just been there.
The dreams led.
They guided.
They just were… haunting her.
As of late, the visions were plaguing her nights. For a while, they went dormant. They would come and go as they saw fit and gave her no control over them.
Every so often, Vivian would go months without one, and then all the sudden they would appear once more.
It was her early warning system, and she never told a soul about them.
Why would she?
It wasn’t like Vivian was ashamed, but if she went around telling people that she had the gift of precognition, they’d lock her away.
It took her years to accept it, especially after she had seen her father’s death. To terrorize her further, Vivian had watched her college roommate fall to her death.
During those parts of her life, they were useless to her. The dreams would come so fast that th
ere was little time afterwards to make a difference.
They haunted and tormented her all her life, until she became a cop. When she decided on her career, she also made the choice to use them to her advantage. Now, Vivian allowed them to point her in the direction that she needed to be focused on when working a case.
Was it unfair to use it?
Probably.
This gift, or curse, had helped her go from street cop to detective in under four years. She had risen through the ranks by astounding everyone with her perception and gut instinct.
Little did they know that she wasn’t as special as they believed. Without the gift, she’d still be a cop, but maybe she wouldn’t be as good of one as she was now.
It was all about balancing the scales.
Wasn’t that what her father would tell her?
Instead of crying over what she had been saddled with, she was going to use it to her advantage. When life handed you lemons, you made lemonade. When fate handed you dreams, you honed them and made them do your work for you.
Or at least that was what she was trying to tell herself.
Daily.
As a girl, Vivian vividly recalled watching her dad always doing the right thing, and she was following in his footsteps. This was her way to find justice for those who needed her help. Her only regret in life was that she never told her father the truth. Sad but true, she had to keep a big secret from the man who raised her. He died not knowing that his little girl saw his death and was powerless to stop it. That was her cross to carry and all she hoped was that he was watching her now.
She prayed that he was proud.
And that she was doing the right thing.
Standing in her bedroom, she finished dressing. Yeah, this was probably going to be a work meeting, but in her dream, she’d seen this dress.
Vivian laughed. When Justin showed up, she knew what he’d be wearing too. He was going to pick a green polo shirt and a pair of black dress pants.
Why she knew, Vivian had no clue. For some reason, the dream wanted her to be aware of it. Where it generally foretold of what was to come for other people’s fate, this time, it had included her.
Wasn’t she the lucky one?
Now, all she could do was see if the dream came true.
Yeah, that made her laugh.
Years ago, she would try to change the outcome and make the ending vastly different. Vivian had learned a lesson from that huge mistake. When you screwed with fate, it only made it that much worse in the end.
The universe would always win.
But, sometimes it needed a little help to get it to where it was going, and that was why she believed that she had the dreams.
When she was finally done dressing, she headed to the kitchen and ordered the same pizza that she saw in her dreams.
In her head, the dream replayed over and over again, guiding her to the choices that it wanted her to make. It was crystal clear, and gave her the specifics for her to take it from there.
Vivian knew that she’d have to prove it all to him, and she was given the tools to do it. Yet, her nerves were still a jangled mess.
Now, it was all about waiting for the man to arrive. Vivian placed the zip drive on the end table. She had finished downloading everything that they had and was willing to share it with the Littlemoons.
For what was coming, they would all need to band together. If her partner only knew what was really happening, maybe he would be more serious about this whole case.
How was she supposed to make him understand?
For now, she had to bide her time and wait. Eventually, the truth would come out, and they would have to face it all together.
At the knock at the door, her heart began pounding in her chest. Vivian took a deep breath and braced herself for what was about to happen.
She knew that once the door was opened, their journey would begin, and nothing in her life would ever be the same again.
As her hand touched the doorknob, she closed her eyes. “Okay, fate. I’m ready,” she whispered, knowing that either way, this was going to be one hell of a ride. Once on, Vivian didn't believe that she would ever be able to get off.
Opening the door, she found him standing there. He was smiling at her and Vivian found that she was having a hard time breathing normally. Her whole body was reacting to his presence. Already, the woodsy scent of his cologne was permeating her senses and making her lightheaded.
“Hello, Detective.”
She stepped back to let him into her sanctuary. “Hello, Mr. Littlemoon. I’m glad you found my place.”
He followed her into her apartment and took in his surroundings. “This is really nice.”
Vivian smiled. “Thank you. I have to say that you look really good in that shade of green.”
“It’s my favorite color,” he replied, easily.
Yeah, she was already aware…
Chapter Six
Waking up, she found the room spinning. The drugs that he was feeding her in her food were finally wearing off, and she was becoming coherent.
What she wanted to do was escape from this hell. Melissa rattled the cage that he kept her locked in, like some big perverse pet.
With every second of captivity, she grew more and more defiant and angry. Who did this kind of thing to another human being? All she wanted was to escape and make sure that he got the electric chair.
As she tried to concentrate, Melissa found that it wasn’t as easy as it should be. Something in the drugs was making her mind foggy.
There were only flashes of awareness.
Looking down at her body, she noticed that her clothing was changed. Gone was the party attire, and in its place was some nondescript dress. That meant at one point that she had been out of the cage.
Trying to focus, she was putting together the flashes of memories that were coming back.
Then, she remembered.
He had actually touched her.
Used her.
Oh God! He had sex with her while she was drugged.
Was this to be her fate for the rest of her life?
The sickness welled up that he had put his vile hands all over her body and touched her while she was unconscious.
It made her want to vomit.
Staring through the metal bars of the cage, she saw the couch across the room. Melissa had a flash and recalled him sitting on it as he watched her.
Then, she dredged up more memories of the sex.
The tears welled up in her eyes.
In her heart, she knew that she was going to die in this place. She was beginning to lose hope. Who was going to find her it was a room without windows and thick concrete walls?
Melissa was officially in hell, and no one was going to save her.
The tears began to stream down her face, as the hopelessness filled her. If she could get out of here, she would give up anything. Freedom would be the most precious thing in her life.
If only she could have the chance to make better choices and live a more fulfilling life.
She began praying for such an opportunity
When the door opened, he walked in wearing dark clothes. “I see that you’re awake,” he stated, grinning. “If you wouldn’t fight me, I wouldn’t have to drug you constantly, Melissa.”
She stared at him silently.
“Was it good for you, pet?” he asked, lecherously.
The fury exploded as she fought to reach her hand through the cage and to his face. “I hate you! You’re nothing but a filthy rapist!”
He played with a piece of her hair that was sticking though the cage. The air hummed around him as his demeanor changed.
Melissa watched it happen. The haze of blood red rage coated his features as he yanked some of her hair through the cage, ripping it from her head.
Her startled scream filled the air as the pain of having a handful of her hair torn out shocked her.
As quickly as it came, it was gone, and he was calm once more.
He began walking out.
“I gather pretty things.”
Her sobs filled the air.
At the top of the stairs he glanced back at her. “Then, I make them mine.
* * *
Justin took a seat on her couch as he watched her curiously. The place that she called home looked just like her. In the room, there were serene colors and lots of pillows on the couches. It was soft here, and the complete opposite of her job.
Where in life Vivian searched for the lost, here she found peace.
“I was surprised to get your message,” he stated. “I was just getting back to the office. I’m glad I was in time.”
“I’m glad you were too. I have to say, Mr. Littlemoon, that was a nice trick there with passing the note to me today.”
“My brother and I would swap notes in school that way,” he replied. “So, why was there a change of plans?” He was trying to not think about the fact that they were sitting relatively close to each other and her bedroom wasn’t far away.
“My partner ran everyone with the last name Littlemoon.”
That explained it. “So, that’s how you knew I was a Marine.” He relaxed marginally. Now, that question was answered.
“No, not really.”
“Then how?”
Vivian didn't reply. She knew that the dream was playing out specifically, and she needed to stick to it. “So, why did your family come here to open the business?”
Justin planned on being completely honest with anything she asked him, even if she was going to evade his questions. His gut was telling him that she could be trusted, plus, in the back of his mind, he knew his brother wanted her help.
“Well, we’re from a small reservation called Red River. It’s not exactly the hotbed of activity. Julian is really good at finding things and tracking, so in order to make his business successful, we came to a bigger city.”
That was logical.
“Why are you a cop?” he asked her. This was where the ‘tit for tat’ would come into play. Now, Justin would see exactly how willing she was to be open with him.
Blood Red Rage (LIttlemoon Investigations Book 1) Page 10