by Ciana Stone
“Not necessarily.”
“Well, when were you born? Where? When did you die?” Delilah fired off the questions.
“Why did you make yourself known to Cia?” Travis added.
Cia stepped in between Joe and Delilah. “Stop.”
“No,” Travis argued. “It’s time for answers. And why don’t you want to know? Aren’t you curious? He’s been with you all this time and keeps you in the dark and that’s okay with you?”
It wasn’t okay but she loved Joe and she couldn’t let them browbeat him. “No, I want answers but it’s his choice on what he tells me and when. It’s not up to you to interrogate him.”
“I have to agree with Travis,” Delilah said then looked at Joe. “She loves you, you know that? Cia honestly loves you. But we love her and we want to know that whoever or whatever you are, you’re not a danger to her.”
“Dee, back off!” Cia’s voice rose.
“No!” Delilah yelled back. “Cia, do you know how extraordinary this is?” Delilah stepped back but did not reclaim her seat. “If he is of the spirit realm, then he’s a far cry from anything we’ve ever encountered. He’s—”
“Cia, it’s way past time,” Travis interjected.
From that point, it turned into a screaming match, everyone talking on top of one another. Several minutes passed with no one willing to back down. All of a sudden, there was an almost ear-splitting shout. “Enough!”
Everyone went deadly silent, all eyes going in shock to Joe. Cia nearly fainted. She’d never heard him raise his voice.
“Joe!”
“Enough, Gracie. Your friends are right.”
“No, don’t let them bully you into telling them anything you don’t want to.”
He turned to her, his smile gentle and sweet, his hand extended. “Walk with me, child.”
Cia didn’t hesitate. Whatever her friends thought, Joe was no danger to her. She knew that from the bottom of her heart. She took his hand.
And in the blink of an eye, she was standing in the middle of the most beautiful meadow she’d ever seen. Bordered on three sides by lush green forest and on the fourth by an overlook of a deep green valley through which a river snaked, the meadow was awash with blooming wild flowers.
“Where are we?”
“Just somewhere nice we can talk. And quiet,” Joe added with a chuckle.
“It’s beautiful.”
“This world is a beautiful place.” He turned away and started to walk.
“You don’t have to tell me anything.” Cia fell in step with him, her hand firmly in his.
“My name is Jophiel.”
“Doesn’t sound like the name of a good old Southern boy, Joe. Where’d you get that name?”
“Just been my name since I came to be, Gracie.”
“I notice you didn’t say since you were born. Just how old are you, Joe?”
“By earth years? I guess a couple of million.”
She stopped dead in her tracks. “A couple of million?”
“Give or take a few thousand years.”
“What are you, Joe?”
“Just Joe.”
“You mean Jophiel? What does that mean?”
“Well, if you listen to the rumors, it means creative power. According to the lore, Jophiel teaches the consciousness to discover the Light within.”
“Kade was right! You’re an angel.”
“I guess that’s what some people might call us.”
“What do you call yourself?”
“Just Joe.”
She smiled and shook her head. “Come on. Just Joe? You have to think of yourself as more than that. Did you die and become an angel?”
“No. I’ve never died. Never really been born. Just have been.”
“How? I don’t understand.”
“Not sure I do either, Gracie.”
“So do you take orders from God or what?”
“No.”
“But you’re always trying to get me to repent, to change, and to find redemption. Is it for God that you’re doing this?”
“It’s for you, Gracie.”
She dropped his hand and walked away a few steps before turning to face him. “Why?”
“Because you don’t see the Light inside you. You got all turned around and twisted up when you shot Dwayne Jones and then twisted even more when you shot that couple. You shot them because you were scared. I’m not saying it’s right but it is understandable. You think an act of anger and fear negates all of the good you’ve done and will do. You let that define you and it’s just wrong.”
“I killed three people.”
“Yes, you did.”
“There’s nothing good in that, Joe.”
“No, there isn’t. But that isn’t the sum of your life, Gracie. Not unless you let it be.”
“I can’t just forget. Just pretend it didn’t happen. What am I supposed to do?”
“Forgive yourself and sin no more.”
Cia turned and started walking. She didn’t stop until she reached the edge of the meadow that overlooked the valley below. For a long time, she stood there, staring out over the landscape, tilting her face up to the sky to follow the wispy clouds. Forgive herself? How did one do that?
“One day at a time, Gracie.”
She looked to see Joe standing beside her. “Easier said than done.”
“You don’t walk the road alone, you know.”
She smiled up at him. “That mean you’re gonna stick with me?”
He nodded with a smile. “And there’s someone else, Gracie. He’ll stick with you if you let him.”
“Kade.”
“He’s a good man.”
“I know he is. He thinks you’re an angel, you know.”
“Toe-may-toe, toe-mah-toe… What does it matter what something’s called?”
She chuckled. “I guess. It’s so peaceful here. Can we stay a while?”
Joe shook his head. “We have to go back. You’re needed, Gracie.”
“I won’t tell them, Joe.”
He shrugged. “You’ll do what you think is right.”
And with that, they were once again in Cia’s hotel room with everyone staring at Joe.
“Your breakfast is getting cold,” he said with a smile.
“Just toast and coffee for me,” Delilah said.
Travis started lifting covers off the dishes. “Color me in for the works, my man.”
Cia stared at them in surprise. They acted as if nothing had happened. She turned to look at Kade and he rose from his chair and nodded his head in the direction of the bedroom.
She followed him into the bedroom. “What the hell happened?” he asked. “One minute you were there, and then you…blinked out for a second.”
“Blinked?”
“Yeah, as in vanished and reappeared.”
“I don’t know. Joe took me to this meadow. It was beautiful.”
“And did he tell you who he is?”
She nodded.
“And?”
“And I’ll fill you in later when there aren’t so many people—”
All at once, everyone’s cell phones rang. Cia and Kade looked at each other then grabbed their phones.
“There’s been another one,” Kade said, as he was the first to finish his call.
“Got the address,” Travis yelled from the living area.
“I’m going with Kade,” Cia announced. “Dee, call Brett and fill him in then you and Travis meet us there.”
“Speaking of Brett,” Delilah replied. “ I spoke with him this morning.”
“And?”
“I asked him to remove you from the case.”
“Why?”
“She has good reason,” Travis answered.
“What reason?” Cia kept her eyes on Delilah. “Dee?”
“I don’t think you’re safe.”
“As much as the rest of you.”
“No, Cia. This one is --”
“You kn
ow, don’t you?” Cia stepped closer to Delilah, lowering her voice. “It’s him, isn’t it?”
Delilah nodded. Cia put her hand on Delilah’s arm and gave it a squeeze. “I’m not backing off. And I need to know you have my back.”
“You already know that, but I still think you need to be removed, Cia. You’re too close to this and—”
“Look, you know I trust you, and what you see, but this time you’re wrong.”
“Am I?”
“Yes.”
“How do you know?”
“I just do. Dee, please, I have to do this. Please.”
“I hope I don’t live to regret this.”
“Thanks.” Cia smiled then turned to Kade. “Come on. We need to get there before the scene is too stomped over.”
“You expecting to find evidence this time?”
Cia cut her eyes to Delilah. “No, I’m expecting to find a message.”
Chapter Ten
The small house on the edge of town had already been taped off when Cia and Kade arrived. “Who called it in?” Cia asked one of the officers guarding the perimeter.
“Sister-in-law. Came by to pick the victim up for a day of shopping and getting their hair and nails done.”
She nodded and proceeded to the front door of the house. Inside she found the sheriff and his two detectives.
“Body was found in the bedroom.” Sheriff Chapman filled them in. “ME is in there now. You might not want—”
“Have you questioned the neighbors?” Cia interrupted.
“Not yet.”
“Why don’t you get on that? Maybe someone saw something. The rest of my team will be here shortly. I need to see the body.”
The sheriff grabbed her by the arm as she turned away. “You might want to reconsider.”
She pulled away from him. “It’s my job.”
Kade followed her to the bedroom. Cia stepped inside and stopped cold. It was a scene from a nightmare.
“Christ!” Kade exclaimed from behind her.
“Christ had nothing to do with this.” Cia stared at the horror. This was the work of pure evil.
The medical examiner turned to face her. “This is…” He looked back at the victim and shuddered.
“I know.” Cia deliberately made her voice calm despite the fact she wanted to scream. “Look at me. Good. Now tell me. Just the facts.”
He sucked in a breath and seemed to compose himself. “She was taped to the chair with duct tape, the kind you can find almost anywhere. Bottom of the chair had holes cut out of it. Both holes have what appear to be broom handles—”
“Yeah, we can see that,” Cia interrupted “What I want to know is what killed her.”
“Hard to tell at this point but my guess is the cut to the throat.”
“Before or after she was tortured?”
“After.”
Cia nodded. “Put a rush on this, will you? I want the autopsy report as soon as possible.”
The medical examiner nodded and called out that the body could be moved. Cia looked at the wall behind the victim. On the wall a message had been painted in what she assumed was the victim’s blood.
What will it be, whore? You or them? It stops when you give yourself to me. Or I give you one of these a day until you do.
“Son of a bitch,” Kade hissed.
“We have to stop this bastard.” Delilah’s voice came from the door.
Cia turned to see her and Travis. “We’ve got less than a day. You getting anything, Travis?”
Travis' eyes took on a faraway look, like someone caught in a daydream. For nearly a minute, he was immobile. Kade opened his mouth as if to speak but Cia raised her finger to her lips to silence him.
“The room is bugged,” Travis suddenly announced. “He recorded it.”
“Where?” Cia asked
“Don’t look at the ceiling fan. He may still be watching.”
Cia eased over to Delilah, turning her back to the camera and speaking quietly. “Get someone in here. We need to trace the feed. Now.”
Delilah pulled out her phone, making the call as she walked from the room. Cia turned to face the scene, watching as the woman was cut from the chair and placed on a gurney.
She couldn’t let this go on. It had to stop and she didn’t think they had a chance in hell of finding him within the twenty-four-hour window. If she didn’t do something another woman would die tomorrow, and another the day after that.
Something had to be done. Now. It came to her in a flash. Cia turned and looked up at the ceiling fan. “You want me, you sick fuck? Fine. Name the place and time and I’ll be there.” She shouted out her phone number.
An uproar followed, Kade and Travis both yelling that she couldn’t do it. She ignored them, continuing to stare at the fan. Kade grabbed her by the arm and forced her from the room with Travis following.
“Are you insane?” Kane shouted. “You saw what he did to that woman!”
“Which is exactly why I did it.” Cia wrenched free of Kane’s grip. “He’ll carry through with his threat, Kade. It’s our only chance to stop him from killing again.”
“He’ll kill you, Cia.”
“What’s going on?” Delilah entered the room.
“Cia offered herself,” Travis answered.
Delilah went white as a ghost and staggered but Travis caught her. “What?” Delilah’s voice was strained.
“She can’t do this, Travis" She looked at Cia. “You can’t, Cia. You can't.”
“Yeah, I can.”
“No!”
“Why?” Kane asked.
Delilah looked from him to Cia. “Because if you do, you’ll die.”
“Then I die,” Cia stated flatly.
“No!” Travis argued. “It’s too dangerous. If anything at all goes wrong, he’ll kill you. And Delilah said—”
“Delilah saw something?” Kane’s voice raised another decibel.
“Not everything she sees is carved in stone." Cia was quick to point out. " She sees possible futures, Kade. We can be smart and change what she saw. If he contacts me we’ll trace the call and get him.”
“And what if he’s anticipated that and we can’t trace it?”
“Then I follow his instructions and we get him.”
“You so sure?”
She looked over at Travis. “You can track me, right?”
“I think so.”
“Think?” Kade yelled. “Think isn’t good enough.”
“Can we get Butch here today?” Cia asked.
“Who’s Butch?” Kade asked.
“Remote viewer and telepath,” Delilah answered. “I’m against this, Cia, and am going to tell Brett that and why.”
“Fine. But it’s my case, so get Butch here.”
Delilah looked as if she would argue then shook her head and pulled out her phone. “I’m on it.”
“Good,” Cia said and left the house.
Kade followed, catching up as she reached the car. “Cia, this is crazy. It’s too risky.”
“It’s our only chance, Kade.”
“There has to be another way.”
“There isn’t. Travis and Butch will be able to keep eyes and ears on me. If he calls, there’s a chance Butch will be able to vibe in on him and get his location. That’s all we need for my team to move in and take him out.”
“You mean arrest him, don’t you?”
“His physical body, yes, if possible. But we have to kill what’s inside him.”
“How is that possible?”
“We’re going to need help.”
“From whom?”
“The dead.”
She turned and got into the car. After a minute, he walked around and got in behind the wheel. “I hope to hell you know what you’re doing.”
“So do I.” Joe’s voice came from the backseat.
Cia looked up, meeting Joe’s eyes in the reflection from the rearview mirror. That made three of them.
Chapter Eleven<
br />
Cia had just stepped out of the shower when the knock came at the door. She’d ordered room service before getting into the shower but it normally took longer.
“Just a minute!” She wrapped a towel around herself, and hurried to the door, opening it just a crack.
“Kade."’
“Mind if I come in?”
Cia stepped aside for him to enter. His eyes ran from the top of her wet head to her toes and back again. “Nice, but would look better without the towel.”
The towel hit the floor a second later. Cia watched his eyes move down her body again and back up. When their eyes met, she didn’t have to ask. She could see need clear in those gray depths.
As seemed to be the norm for them, meeting in a clash of lips and tongues, hands grasping, touching and her tugging at his clothing, all in a frantic, hard-breathing race as if time was of the essence.
Maybe because that’s how she operated. Her love life had been quick, down and dirty for enough years that any other kind of sex was little more than a dim memory.
She was pushing him backward toward the bed before his pants were off. One hard shove and he went down on his back, his pants around his shins.
Cia ran her hands up his legs to his penis, gathered it in both hands, and started to go down on him. He stopped her, taking her hands to pull her on top of him.
“Slow down.”
“I don’t like slow.”
“No, you’re afraid of slow.”
“Fat chance.” She broke free, straddling his body and then tossing her wet hair over her shoulders.
“Cia. Look at me.”
“I am looking.” She watched his erection jump as she ran one finger up and down its length.
“Cia.”
She blew out her breath dramatically and looked at his face. Big mistake. More than need was evident in those eyes. It undid her, made her want things she couldn’t have.
“I want to make love to you,” he said softly.
“What’s stopping you?” She tried to tease.
“You.”
“Baby, I’m sitting here, naked and willing.”
“Cia, I don’t want to fuck you. I want to make love to you. Why is that so damn hard for you to understand? Do we have to go through this every fucking time?”
She knew the anger in his voice stemmed from frustration. Kade was a strong man, even in his emotions. He didn’t do or feel anything halfway. He was an “all in” kind of guy. And a frustrated guy because between the moments she let her guard down while they were having sex, she ran like a rabbit from anything that even suggested an emotional attachment.