by Ashlyn Chase
Dawn was sitting on a bench at the Christian Science Center, talking to herself. After the incident at the convenience store, she needed to think, and what better place to wrestle with her thoughts. After a half hour of kicking herself, she remembered the pager that Lynda had given her. Dawn rooted around in her purse for it and finally pulled it out. She pushed the button and waited. “Hmm. I wonder if this thing really works?”
“Of course it works. I’m here, aren’t I?”
Dawn glanced behind her and saw a grinning Lynda approach. She wasn’t in her old-lady garb this morning. This time, she looked young and vibrant, wearing a body-hugging teal jogging suit with silver trim. Her sleek black hair was tied up in a high ponytail. Dawn looked down at her own garb—a black turtleneck, faded jeans with rips, and her usual leather jacket.
“Everything’s going to be okay. I’m here to help.” Lynda plopped down on the bench beside Dawn, crossing her sleek legs. Her wedge sneakers even matched her outfit.
“How do you know? Are you psychic too?” Dawn asked.
Lynda laughed softly and reached into her matching purse. She pulled out some toffee candy and handed one to Dawn. “I know because I know you. I know you don’t give up. You care deeply about this little girl. Finding her means saving her life and saving yours.”
“What do you mean—saving mine?”
“You know what I mean. Deep down inside, you believe if you don’t find this little girl, your karma will be crap forever.”
Dawn frowned. “That would make me a pretty selfish person to be thinking about my karma when a little girl’s life is at stake.” It was true, though. She had thought about it and hoped she wasn’t a terrible person.
“Oh, please, you’re a tough girl from the streets of Boston. You’re not Snow White.” Lynda took a deep breath. “You know deep in your heart what the right thing to do is. Maybe it’s not the easy thing. But it’s the right thing.” Lynda leaned back on the bench with a sigh, nodding as though she’d just shared the secrets of the universe.
“I get it,” Dawn said. “Okay, lesson learned. Getting Mandy back is the right thing to do, and good karma or not, I’m going to rescue that little girl, because I am dedicating myself to doing so. I have a gift and I’m using it for good. But what good did it do?” Dawn filled Lynda in on her vision with the unicorn and then rushing off to the convenience store. “I was so close. I could have just opened that storage door and yanked her out of there.”
“And gotten yourself killed in the process?” Lynda shook her head. “You have to work smart. You can’t just rush into danger like the Lone Ranger. You have to think before you act. That’s what we need to teach you.”
Dawn’s eyes filled with tears, and she wiped them away in frustration.
Seeing her reaction, Lynda gave her a side hug. “Look, you know where the girl is. I think they’re keeping her around as a safety net. Whoever Ice is in cahoots with must be a VIP. I can only guess that Ice is keeping a close eye on the girl for a good reason. You know what I mean?”
Dawn nodded. “Yeah. But I also know Ice. If he starts to feel panicked, he’s going to do something rash. Stupid. And that’s why I have to get back to that storeroom.”
“They have the place guarded. Why don’t you stop and think of a plan first?”
“Like what?”
“Like maybe confiding in that hunka-lovin’ boyfriend of yours.”
Dawn’s face flushed. “He’s not my boyfriend.”
“Really? Then why are you going to yet another family event with him tonight?”
“How did you know?”
Lynda gave her one of those looks again. “Puh-leeze. I know stuff. A lot of stuff.”
“I should tell him, shouldn’t I? I just didn’t want to put him in danger. He’s already been told he shouldn’t interfere with someone else’s case. I wanted to get her out of there myself.”
“You wanted to be the heroine.”
Dawn nodded, tears blurring her eyes. Why was she always crying lately? It was really pissing her off.
Lynda took Dawn’s hand in hers. “You got this, girlfriend. Sometimes you have to settle for the silver medal before you can get the gold.”
Dawn leaned her head onto Lynda’s shoulder. “Thanks, LC. You always have my back.”
“Speaking of which, do you have a dress for the wedding?”
“Uh, no. I’ve been a little busy trying to work, date, and be a heroine and all.”
Lynda giggled. “I forget how sarcastic you are. Well, I think you need a kick-ass dress to wear so you knock Luca’s socks off.”
“But Mandy—”
“There’s not a thing you can do right now.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive. Let’s get your mind off of it for now.”
“I guess it couldn’t hurt.”
“A little retail therapy never hurt anyone except in the pocketbook.” Lynda’s eyes gleamed. “You just got paid, so you must have some money burning a hole in your pocket by now.”
Dawn chuckled. “Speaking of Luca…”
“Yes?”
“Um, regarding karma stuff, do I have to…uh…abstain from sex in order to keep my karma clean?”
“What?” Lynda stood up, hands on her hips and fire in her eyes. “Sex is not dirty. It’s as natural as breathing when a couple is young and in love.”
“Okay, okay, just checking. I thought maybe there was some code book for sex.”
Lynda sighed and shook her head. “The only thing you have to worry about is making the right decisions for yourselves. Now let’s get shopping. There’s an amazing little shop around here called Goddess Fashions.”
“You don’t happen to know the owner, do you?”
“Venus?” Lynda winked. “I may have heard of her.”
Chapter 12
Over the music and chatter of the reception, Luca teased his brothers.
“Do you, Dante?”
“I do.”
“Do you, Mallory?”
“I do.”
“Do you, Noah?”
“I do too.”
“Do you, Kizzy?”
“I do too.”
Dawn didn’t feel enough a part of the family yet to chime in. Fortunately, his sister-in-law did.
“It was cute!” Sandra insisted.
“I thought so too,” Kristine said.
At least Dawn was beginning to put the correct names with all the faces. Sandra was a willowy blonde nurse married to Miguel. Jayce’s wife, Kristine, was tall and had golden-red hair. Not exactly strawberry blonde…more like bronze. She was a Boston fire captain. Misty was Gabe’s wife and a stay-at-home mom. She was on the shorter side and had long brunette hair and big blue eyes. Now adding Mallory, a stunning blonde artist of medium height, and Kizzy, a shorter brunette—and a doctor! What an amazing, eclectic group of women!
Is that all of them? I must have missed a couple. She remembered Chloe and Ryan were in Ireland and couldn’t attend. So yes, she must have met almost everyone.
“How did you manage to join the wedding with only a couple of weeks to plan?” Kristine asked Kizzy. “Jayce and I needed every minute of those four months to get our wedding together.”
“I already had my mother’s wedding gown,” Kizzy said and stepped back to show off the full-length satin and lace white dress.
“It’s gorgeous,” Sandra said. “So that must have been all you needed?”
“Since Noah and Dante were best friends as well as brothers, Mallory’s guest list was pretty much the same as ours, so that was already taken care of. We added my bouquet and contributed another bride and groom to the top of the cake.”
“Pretty much everything was all set,” Noah added. “Dante had to get a new best man though. I suddenly had other plans.” Everyone laughed
.
Dawn remembered Dante and Noah had been roommates and firefighters in adjacent houses when they began dating their brides, and the two women seemed close too. The newly married couples gazed at each other, smiling. Anyone could tell they were in love and happy.
“I had to add a few people to the guest list,” Kizzy said. “Especially my sister, Ruth, who was my maid of honor.”
“And your father,” Noah added.
“Yes. And my overprotective father, who learned to love you when you saved my life.”
Gabriella Fierro wandered over and slipped her arm around Dawn’s waist.
“Are you all being inclusive to Luca’s date, Dawn?”
“Yes, Mom. Why wouldn’t they be?” Luca asked.
“Good. I just noticed she seemed kind of quiet. I didn’t know if you were all talking about people she didn’t know. Of course, even if that wasn’t the case, it can be hard to get a word in edgewise with such a large group. Right, Gabe?”
Gabe coughed. “Right, Ma. Somebody has to be the quiet one.”
“Well, I hope you’re all making Dawn feel welcome. I’d like to keep her around.” She smiled, gave Dawn a side squeeze, and returned to her husband, Antonio.
“Ha! You’re next, Luca. And it looks like Ma’s already picturing Dawn in a white dress,” Dante said.
Dawn groaned before she realized how it could be taken. She was actually thinking that white was the last color she should be wearing. Her appropriate color would be more like gray.
Luca rubbed her back. “We’ve only been officially dating for a couple of days.”
“Oh, so not long enough for her to realize you’re a dweeb and run for the hills,” Gabe said.
Luca narrowed his eyes. “Maybe there’s another reason you’re the quiet one…”
Everyone laughed.
“I was only joking. He’s a good kid, Dawn. Don’t run off yet.”
She smiled at Luca, but she was nervous and hoped her voice remained steady. “I wasn’t planning on it.”
“I think I’ll go where I’m welcome,” Gabe said. He wandered off toward Misty, at which point his son began wiggling out of her arms. When she set him down, he ran right to his daddy. Gabe swept him up and held him above his head. The toddler’s laugh was adorable.
“He seems like a good dad,” Dawn observed.
Luca snickered. “Yeah. You’d never know he didn’t want kids at all.”
“A lot can change in a short time around here,” Noah said.
Kizzy chuckled. “You can say that again.”
“Um, I need to excuse myself for a moment,” Dawn said.
“Me too.” Luca walked with her toward the restrooms. “I hope my family didn’t scare you.”
“Oh, not at all. They’re wonderful! I just…”
There was a line for the ladies’ room, and he drew her aside.
“What is it, Dawn? I know you well enough to see that something’s bothering you.”
She sighed. “Yes. But this isn’t the time or place to talk about it.”
His brows shot up. “Are you dumping me?”
“No! Oh my God, no. I—it’s about the case. But I don’t want to ruin your brothers’ wedding reception by pulling you away from it.”
“Is it something that can wait?”
She worried her lip.
“Okay. I can see it’s important. As soon as you’re out of the ladies’ room, I want you to tell me.”
She hesitated.
“Please. I have something to tell you too. I’ll wait for you right here.”
She sighed. “Okay, we’ll talk. But go back to your family and socialize. I’ll find you.”
He nodded and returned to the festivities.
When she returned from the restroom, Luca was dancing with his mother. She hung back and watched. It was obvious from their smiles that mother and son were comfortable together.
As soon as the dance was over, he glanced around, probably looking for her, so she went right to him.
He gave her a quick kiss and swept her into the next dance.
“So, what did you need to tell me?” he asked.
“I’d rather you go first.”
He tipped his head and gazed at her with curiosity. “Okaaaay. I’m glad we’re here with my family, because you may not believe me at first. They can confirm my story. No one else can know, though. Can you promise to keep a secret? I’m about to share something you must keep to yourself, no matter what. You may be in for a shock.”
She leaned back and studied his face. She saw and sensed his expectant anxiety. “Not much shocks me anymore. Go ahead.”
“Promise you won’t tell anyone first.”
“I promise.”
He took a deep breath and glanced around. She followed his eyes, and when he was apparently assured nobody was listening, he leaned next to her ear and whispered, “I’m a shape-shifting phoenix.”
He leaned back for a moment to check her reaction. She was careful not to react at all.
“Did you hear what I said?”
“Yes. I’m not sure what it means, though.”
“It means…I have a special ability. I can shift into my other form, which is a bird about the size of a hawk but with long, colorful tail feathers.”
Again, she was trying not to react, even though she was silently wondering if he was completely crazy. But if so, why would he say she could check with his family? Did they humor him? Then Annette’s words returned to her mind. A few questions were in order.
“Can you fly?”
“Yes. My dad discourages it, because we age faster in bird form than human form. There are advantages, though. Even if we get old or if anything happens to us, we can reincarnate in fire.”
Her brows shot up. “Have you ever witnessed this?”
“Yes. It happened to Gabe…right in front of my face.”
She paused, mulling that over. “I see. So this ability includes everyone in the family?”
“Just my dad and brothers. My mom is human.”
Her eyebrows shot up. She couldn’t help it. “So, you’re telling me you’re not human. Are you from some alien world?”
He laughed. “No. Of course not. You’ve heard the legend of the phoenix, haven’t you?”
“Yeah. I think it’s a Southwestern Indian thing, right?”
“Not just there. Ancient Romans and Greeks had stories about firebirds. That’s another name for us.”
“Firebirds.”
“Yes.”
Dawn glanced around the dance floor, picking out Luca’s brothers and their dad. They were all somewhat similar in looks. Dark hair, olive skin, and except for Luca, they all had brown eyes. She’d learned that the name Fierro meant “fire” in Italian. She’d wondered about so many of them working for the fire department. If the legend was true, that would be a pretty obvious job. If it weren’t true, a job with the fire department could be something that supported a delusion.
Then she remembered. Shoot. I’ve been accused of being delusional too. That’s why she didn’t share her psychic abilities and photographic memory with many people. Luca just happened to catch her in the middle of a vision—literally.
With an expectant look on his face, he said, “Are you okay?”
“Um, I think so. You certainly surprised me, but I’m okay…not in shock or anything. I’m just processing.”
He let out a deep breath. “Good. You’ll need a little while to process, I’m sure. But like I said, if you want to talk to any of my family members, please do. They’ve all been through this. They don’t usually tell anyone they’re dating until they’re sure they can trust them, and I don’t know why I feel that way with you so quickly, but I do.”
“You’re a cop with good instincts about people. And don’t worry.
I promised I wouldn’t tell anyone, and I won’t.”
He smiled and leaned in for a kiss. She imagined he was greatly relieved she didn’t run screaming from the reception hall. A part of her wanted to hold back her kisses until she’d had a chance to check out his information, but a bigger part of her knew he wasn’t lying.
She leaned in and met his kiss with her own. Suddenly, it was as if everyone melted away. It was just the two of them, sharing a warm, tender kiss—right on the dance floor.
A few whoops and hollers brought her back to the moment. She leaned away to see the two grooms surrounding them, smiling and applauding. Their wives were smiling too.
She gazed farther and saw Gabriella with her hand over her heart and tears in her eyes. But she was smiling too. Antonio put his arm around her and kissed her on top of her short, dyed red hair.
When Dawn turned back to Luca, he was grinning. “Maybe we should take a short walk, so you can tell me whatever you wanted to get off your chest.”
“Yeah.” She giggled. “Yeah, that would probably be a good idea.”
Out on the sidewalk, she began her story. “So there’s something I haven’t told you.”
“You’re a shape-shifting bunny rabbit?”
Dawn smirked. Now that she knew he was a shape-shifting phoenix, as were his father and all his brothers, she felt strangely elated. Her boyfriend was like some kind of superhero.
Boyfriend. That made her feel all warm inside. Was that what it felt like to have good karma? She’d have to talk to Lynda about it at her next session. Could you tell when your karma was shifting? Did you feel differently inside? Did good things start to happen? So many questions whirled through her mind. She wished she could ask Lynda about shape-shifting, but she had promised not to.
First things first. “I had a vision about Mandy. I know where she is, and I went there but wasn’t able to rescue her.”
“You what?”
“I had a vision about Mandy.”
“I heard that part. That’s not the part I’m worried about. You tried to rescue her by yourself? Hang on. I need to sit so we can talk.” Luca pulled her over to a nearby bench, and they sat. Then he turned to her, his eyebrows raised. “Why didn’t you tell me?”