Garden of Sorrow (Book 4 of Psychic Visions, a paranormal romantic suspense)

by Mayer, Dale

  But from where he stood, he recognized the man's energy. It seemed frail, almost non-existent. Maybe he'd die anyway. No, that wasn't likely. This asshole was too tenacious to die.

  On his own.

  He shoved his hand into his pocket. Now, should it be the needle or the pillow?

  ***

  Alexis loved the scent of pine trees. The rich aroma wafted up with every step.

  "We used to come here every day in the summertime," Kevin reminisced. "My brothers and I ran around out here for hours…" He turned toward her, his face lighting up as if to say something, when suddenly the color drained from his face and he fell to his knees, gasping in shock.

  "Kevin!" Alexis reached for him, dropping to her knees to support his weight. "What's the matter? Kevin? Talk to me, damn it." She'd never seen him like this, and she didn't like it. He'd always seemed so strong.

  "Stefan," he whispered, digging his fingers into her arms.

  She leaned closer to hear. "What about Stefan? Is he okay? Kevin, talk to me." She helped him to lie on the ground as the shadows deepened around them. "Is Stefan in trouble?"

  Kevin nodded, now gasping for breath. "I have to help him." His eyes rolled up in his head and he was gone.

  "Kevin!" There was no answer. "Oh God! Now what the hell do I do?"

  Call the hospital!

  Alexis barely deciphered Kevin's faint telepathic message. She was galvanized into action. Her fingers grappled for her cell phone. She punched in the numbers still permanently emblazed in her mind.

  She couldn't believe her luck. "Hello, Moira is that you? This is an emergency. Please run and check on Stefan. If there's…Moira? Moira, are you there?"

  Alexis looked down at the cell phone. There'd been a clunk followed by faint hospital sounds, leaving her to assume that Moira had literally dropped the receiver and run.

  Odd, you'd think she'd have questioned Alexis. But then, as Alexis's mind worked through the oddity, she realized Scott had probably told Moira about Alexis's odd abilities.

  Abilities? Could she use them now? She closed her eyes and thought of Stefan. She tried to reach out but all she could see was a maelstrom of energy contained in a way she didn't know how to penetrate. He'd said she could reach out to him anytime. She just needed more self-confidence.

  She tried again to reach Stefan. Nothing. She could see movement. Action of some kind but she wasn't a part of it. She had to trust in Kevin. And Stefan.

  With the shadows deepening and darkening by the minute, Alexis didn't know what else to do. Hang up the phone and call back, or wait. There was no decision to make regarding Kevin. She couldn't possibly move him on her own. She disconnected the hospital call. She eyed the phone in her hand, and then dismissed it. Kevin wouldn't thank her for letting others know. As he'd watched over her, she could stand guard for him.

  She sat down on the cooling ground to wait. Damn she hated that corpselike look on his face.

  After a few minutes, she redialed.

  "Hello, is Moira there? No. Do you know where she's gone? Okay. I just phoned in an emergency in Room 207 but was cut off. Could you please check on them?" She tried hard to keep her voice cool and controlled. Inside, panic ruled. What could have happened to Moira? "Fine. Yes, I'll ring back in a minute."

  Now she had to wait again.

  Gloom no longer gently enveloped them. Chilly darkness had settled in instead. There was no change in Kevin. She didn't dare join him; there'd be no one to protect the two of them. She had to trust that the two men could handle whatever hell they were in.

  The wait seemed interminable.

  Several times, she called the hospital. Then someone picked up, "Bradford General Hospital. How can I help you?"

  At least someone had answered. "I need to speak with Moira, please."

  "I'm sorry. She is unavailable at this time."

  "What? I just spoke to her less than ten minutes ago. She went to check on a patient for me."

  "I'm sorry. I only know that she is unavailable."

  "Has she been hurt? You don't understand. I sent her to check on a patient that might have been in danger."

  "I'm sorry, ma'am. Maybe you need to contact the police."

  Alexis snorted. "The police are already on it, you idiot," she snarled into the night as she snapped her phone closed. She glared at the man still prone beside her. "Well, Kevin, isn't it time to come back?"

  Silence. She tried to look into his mind. And came up against his walls. There was no entrance for her there. Damn.

  "Now what?" She spoke aloud, finding comfort in the sound of her own voice. The answer came in a flash. Scott.

  "Hey, it's me, Alexis." Quickly, she explained what had transpired. "They just said she's unavailable. Scott, I'm scared something's happened to both of them."

  "I'm already in the truck and heading down the road. I'll get there in a couple of minutes."

  "Call me." Quickly, she gave him Kevin's number.

  Again, she waited. The underbrush rustled off to her left. The night creatures were foraging for food. She shivered in the cooling air. By now, the two of them were in total darkness. Why couldn't Kevin have collapsed back by his truck? She had no idea how far up the trail they'd traveled.

  Long minutes later, her cell phone beeped, scaring the bejeesus out of her. "Alexis, it's Scott."

  "What did you find?"

  "Moira apparently fell and hit her head. She's still unconscious."

  "What!" Alexis was stunned. That didn't feel right. Intuitively, she knew something had happened, but falling and hitting her head didn't fit.

  "Where did it happen?"

  "In the hallway outside of your friend's room."

  "Damn." She hesitated to ask, but knew she had to. "Scott, has anyone checked on Stefan? That's why Moira went there in the first place."

  "He's the same. There's been no change."

  A huge sigh of relief escaped. "Thank God. I'm thinking Moira might have interrupted an attack on Stefan.

  "And she was assaulted instead?" Scott roared, his burr thickening with his anger. "That's naw good, that isn'a."

  "I'm hoping he's gone." A horrible thought occurred to her. "Or else he's waiting for a second chance at Stefan."

  Shocked silence came through clearly.

  "That's it. I'll be staying right here for the night."

  Alexis nodded. "That's probably a good idea. If you can, would you mind checking in on Stefan as well?" She looked down at the still male beside her. "We'll get to the hospital as soon as we can."

  If and when Kevin woke up. Is this how he'd felt when she'd lain down beside Stefan and tried to track him into the ethers? She hated this being left-behind stuff. It was damn scary. The waning moon flitted through the treetops adding a surreal, eerie tone to the evening. She sensed Kevin out there working in the ether. She could see his energy busy doing something. And how weird…and wonderful was that. How quickly she'd become used to him there. That connectedness.

  She hadn't expected him to take up residence in her heart, but so far he'd showed no sign of making a quick exit. She still couldn't believe the speed in which everything had happened. Her heart might be comfortable with it, but her mind was troubled. Males were such foreign animals in her world.

  Damn, what could Kevin be doing?

  "I'm here." The masculine growl lifted her heart. Relieved, she bent over the beloved face and dropped a kiss on his nose.

  "Hey, how are you doing?" She smiled tenderly. Even in the dim glow of moonlight, she could see his weary grin.

  "I'm okay. Just tired." He struggled into a sitting position, rested a moment, then lunged upright.

  "Hey." Startled, Alexis fell back in surprise. "Aren't you the one that always says take it slow and easy when you come back?"

  "Yeah, but that's when it's you." He reached down to help her up.

  "And what the hell happened to you just now? It freaked me out when you collapsed."

  "Stefan called for help." Kev
in held onto her hand and strode off toward his truck, pulling her with him. "We have to go."

  Alexis practically ran to keep up. Her heart pounded while her mind still grappled with the rapid shift in events. His behavior scared her. "Why? What's the matter? Is something wrong with Stefan?" His long legs ate up the miles. He didn't waste any of his precious energy on speech.

  "We're heading there now. He should be fine, but I'm going to put a guard on him overnight."

  "Oh good."

  Every once in a while, the moon popped up between the treetops to give them a glimpse of the world around them. It was enough.

  During the trip back to Kevin's truck, Alexis listened as he made several calls – none of them eased Alexis's anxiety. By the time they'd reached his truck, they were almost running.

  Once at the truck, he hopped in and barely waited for her to buckle up before he hit the gas. Gravel spit out back as he spun the truck around and gunned it. Once on the main road, it actually felt like the problems were rushing toward them, pulling them faster and faster into the crisis awaiting them. A police cruiser was parked directly across from Emergency. Not an alarming sight in itself, but with a multitude of officers milling about, her alarm bells rang a notch louder.

  Once they parked, several of the police officers walked over to Kevin.

  "Sir, we've been waiting for you. There's no sign of an intruder. Mr. Kronos appears to be stable."

  Kevin nodded, never slowing his stride as he covered the length of the hallway in record time. Alexis ran to keep up.

  At Stefan's door, yet another officer stood guard. "Kevin, the doctors just went in. I don't think you're supposed to…"

  Kevin cut him off with a look and walked in. Alexis followed. Two doctors were deep in discussion. An officer stood at the wall behind them.

  "Hi, glad you finally got here," the officer said with a smile.

  Both doctors looked on as Kevin nodded curtly and walked straight to the bed to stare down at his friend.

  "Kevin, he's fine. Whoever tried to do this didn't succeed."

  Alexis looked over at the one doctor who'd spoken. "What do you mean? What did they try?"

  Dr. Magill, according to his nametag, held up an evidence bag containing an almost full syringe. He handed it over to the officer behind him. "This was found on the floor."

  "What is it?" Kevin eyed the amount left in the syringe with a practiced eye. "Is there any chance he received some of it?"

  "We've taken blood samples, but the results won't be back for a bit. There's no change in his vital signs so at this point we're assuming not." Dr. Magill looked over at their patient. "He's being closely monitored. He's a very lucky man." The doctor studiously perused Kevin, adding, "He had a very capable friend." At Kevin's sharp look, he nodded, as if confirming something. "Now it's up to the police. Maybe you can sort this out."

  "Don't worry. I'll get to the bottom of this."

  No one in the room doubted that for a minute.

  Alexis stepped closer to Stefan and gently stroked his hand. Kevin wrapped an arm around her.

  "His skin has a waxy, undead appearance," she whispered.

  "He's fine. Come on, let's check on Moira."

  They didn't have to go far. Scott had heard the commotion of their arrival.

  "How is he?" The big Irishman stood protectively in Moira's doorway. Concern and worry blended with the flames of his ire. Alexis understood. Someone he cared about had been attacked. She silently dared that bastard to return.

  Alexis walked up and hugged him. "They think he's going to be fine. The consensus is that the intruder was interrupted before he could carry out what he came to do."

  "Aye. Chances are Moira took the brunt of it."

  "Has she woken up yet?" Alexis was sorry for sending the poor nurse into what had obviously been a dangerous situation. Her concern had been for Stefan.

  "Don't you be worrying none. You did the right thing."

  Scott's rough pats on her back had her smiling – the bloody big ox. "Still, I didn't want her hurt."

  "Yet, it could have been so much worse," Kevin reminded her bleakly. "They've both been lucky." Scott still barred the doorway with his bulk. Kevin raised an eyebrow and nodded to the interior. "May we come in?" he asked, sardonically.

  Scott flushed. Kevin was still a law officer. The bigger man moved aside and led the way to her bedside. Moira was sitting up, waiting for them.

  "Good evening, Detective. Is my patient okay?"

  "He appears to be," Kevin quickly reassured her. "Thanks for checking on him."

  "No problem." Moira shifted in bed, wincing in pain. "I don't think I did much good, though." She waved Scott away as he moved to help her. "I'm fine. It's just a wee bit of a headache."

  "Do you remember what happened?" Alexis asked, trying to steer the conversation to the main issue. She walked to the other side of the bed and sat down on the visitor's chair.

  "Not really. I remember what you said, then racing down the hallway, wondering who was visiting Mr Kronos…"

  Alexis interrupted. "He had visitors?"

  "Well, I thought I heard a noise, so I figured he must have had someone in there. I walked in, but I must have slipped and hit my head when I went down. I don't remember more than entering the doorway. I never even saw who was in the room."

  Scott's voice sounded black as hell. "I think someone hit your head for you."

  Moira looked startled. From watching her face, Alexis could see that the more she considered it, the more reasonable that possibility appeared to her. "It's possible, I suppose. I've never slipped at work before. I thought there must have been a spill of some kind for it to have happened."

  Kevin shook his head. "There was no evidence of anything like that." He stepped closer, checking out her color. "Has the doctor checked your head?"

  "Yes, I'm fine, and I'm wanting to go home." She glared over at Scott. "Scott won't be letting me."

  "Yes, I will, but not alone."

  The stalwart Irishman wouldn't budge and with two such stubborn characters, they were at an impasse. Alexis hid her smile. These two were good together, or would be if they ever got a chance.

  To that end, Alexis suggested, "Moira, it's probably a good idea to let Scott stay on your couch overnight. The extra protection wouldn't hurt, and you shouldn't be alone after a head injury." Alexis could see Scott nodding his head, emphatically agreeing with her.

  But Moira's next comment wiped his smile right off. "Except he wouldn't stay on the couch."

  "Aye, I would," he protested in hurt tones. "I won't be going where I'm not invited."

  Moira shot him a look of disgust. He looked so innocent, but even Alexis could see the leprechaun peeping out, fooling none of them.

  "He'll stay there," Alexis stated emphatically, looking over at the Irishman now standing defensively with his burly arms across his chest. "Scott's an honorable man." Alexis's tone left no doubt about what she'd do if it didn't turn out that way.

  Kevin burst out laughing, garnering looks from them all. "Welcome to having your days numbered, my friend."

  Scott blushed and mumbled under his breath. "Danged women."

  "What?" asked both Alexis and Moira.

  "Nuttin'," the Irishman snapped back, and glared at the three of them. "She's going home. You two can leave anytime."

  "Actually, you two men can leave. Alexis, would you mind giving me a hand to get dressed? I'm not sure I'll be able to bend to put on me shoes."

  "Sure." Alexis glared at both males. "Out!"

  The two men left, both grinning like mad monkeys.

  "You do that well," murmured Moira as she sat on the side of the bed, trying to catch her breath.

  "Practice." Alexis grinned at the woman she knew instinctively she would come to know and love quite well. She bustled around the room, collecting Moira's things. "Seriously, if you were attacked, the intruder might worry that you did see him. I think it's unlikely, but let's play it safe." She b
rought over the shoes and squatted down to slip them on the unsteady woman. "Let Scott be protective."

  "I don't much like the thought of someone coming after me," Moira admitted.

  "Nobody does. But we have a murderer in this town. We're getting closer to him every day, and he knows that, and he's starting to make mistakes. So, don't you make any before we get a chance to catch him."

  The women stared somberly at each other.

  Alexis smiled at the raised brow and stern look from the other woman. "No, I won't either."

  CHAPTER 22

  Back in the truck, Alexis yawned widely. "I'm tired, but not enough to sleep yet."

  "It's the adrenaline rush. Afterward, you're fatigued, but not sleepy. Which is a good thing right now." Alexis's color was good, so Kevin didn't worry too much. He probably looked worse.

  He pulled into the police station and parked. Turning to face her, he asked, "There are a couple of rookies on tonight. Stefan suggested you come and meet them."

  That woke her up. "Any idea why Stefan wanted me to meet them?"

  In truth, he wasn't sure what to tell her. "I'm not sure." They exited the truck and headed inside. He needed caffeine. The trip to the other side had exhausted his energy reserves.

  Several officers called out greetings as they passed. Kevin stopped to talk to a couple of them, catching up on anything he might have missed. At the same time, he was handed a large stack of messages – more than a few from John. Kevin felt the shadows in his world deepen. Fatigue pulled at him. This was getting to be a bit too much.

  "Problems?" Alexis broke his reverie gently.

  Kevin looked at the woman who'd become a beacon in his world. He hadn't planned it. He hadn't really wanted it. But there she was, and he knew he couldn't walk away from such a precious gift. He needed her.

  He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and tucked her close against him. She needed him, too. If she'd just accept what they could have together… She was close to that point, he could feel it, but at the same time, he sensed a part of her wanted to hold back. She still didn't recognize and accept how essential they both were to the fabric of each other's lives.