She stepped out of the tub and dried off. After wrapping her robe around herself, she went downstairs for some Tylenol. Finding the bottle in the kitchen, she took two pills and chased them with a glass of water. On her way back upstairs, she checked the door lock again. Her body felt limb and all she wanted to do was lay down. Her feet were dragging when she came into her bedroom. Exhausted, she landed face down on her bed and took a nap.
Her dreams haunted her. A masked man was chasing her, throwing people out of the way. He was focused on her. She was the one he was after. It didn’t matter how many people died before he got to her, but he would find her. She hid behind a dumpster in an alley, hoping he would pass her by. His footsteps were heavy, each step created a thud against the concrete. A dark shadow drew near. A phone rang in the distance. Her fear had her shaking and cowering behind the dumpster. She wanted to pick up the phone and call for help, but she didn’t know where it was ringing from. Just as the figure jumped out in front of her, she jerked awake in bed.
Her forehead was moist from her haunting dream. The phone continued to ring in the background. It took her a moment to realize she wasn’t dreaming anymore, and her cell phone was ringing from the bathroom. She stumbled from the bed and quickly ran to the bathroom. It had stopped ringing by the time she made it into the bathroom. She had a few text messages and two missed calls from Heath. How long was I out? She glanced at the time on her phone.
“Eight thirty? Shit!” She had been asleep nearly four hours. Her phone rang and vibrated in her hand. “Hello?”
“Thank the heavens you’re okay.” His deep exhale alerted her to his worriedness.
“I’m fine. I fell asleep. I didn’t mean to worry you.”
“Worried? I was scared shitless, thinking this guy had followed you home,” he admitted.
“No, I’m safe. My doors are locked.”
“I know, I was about to bust it down.”
“You’re outside?” She ran to her bedroom window to look out front. Heath and his partner were standing on her front stoop. “Wow, you really are.”
“Yeah, want to come open the door?”
“Um, I’m not decent,” she stated, looking down at her robe clad body.
“It’s okay. Come unlock the door, then you can go get dressed, so I can take you out to dinner.”
“Ok, I’ll be down in a second.” She hung up and peered out the window again, only to see the black SUV pull away from the curb.
She hurried downstairs but had to run into the kitchen for her keys to unlock the deadbolt. The lock clicked as she turned the key. She dropped her keys down on the end table and unlocked the doorknob. Wanting to make sure he was there; she swung the door open. Her bathrobe parted a little with the wind from the door.
“Now, that’s a welcomed sight.” He stepped in and wrapped her in a hug. “I was scared he’d gotten to you.”
“Why would he? He doesn’t even know about me.” She welcomed his warm embrace. Her robe came untied and she suddenly remembered she wasn’t wearing anything underneath it. “I should get dressed. She stepped away and secured her robe around her. “Make yourself at home. I’ll be back down in a few minutes.”
She hurried upstairs and tossed her phone down on her bed. Mentally kicking herself in the ass, she opened her closet and picked out an outfit. The first date she had in years, and she almost slept right through it. After getting dressed, she quietly ran to the bathroom. Not wanting him to think she was one of those girls that took forever getting ready, she rushed through her makeup. He’d already seen her without it, so it wouldn’t be awful if she only wore a little. Satisfied with her makeup, she pulled the clip from her hair and brushed it straight. She left it down, hanging below her shoulders with a slight wave from being pulled up.
As she came down the stairs, she searched for Heath. He was standing at the fireplace, staring at the pictures on the mantle. Without saying a word, she slipped up behind him.
“You shouldn’t sneak up on people.” His sudden words made her jump.
“Geez, I wasn’t trying to sneak up on you.” Her heart started to settle back down. “I was curious as to what picture caught your eye.” She glanced over his shoulders to the line of photographs.
“Well, I’m torn between two. The adorable snaggle toothed second grader or these three beautiful ladies, right here.” He pointed between the two photos.
“Oh God!” She flipped her school picture face down on the mantle. “These pictures have been up here for so long I forgot which ones were up there.” She laughed to cover her embarrassment.
“Is this your mom and grandmother?”
“Yeah, mom would stop by every eight years or so. This was right after graduation. She came by for the weekend but left in the middle of the night. That was the last time I saw her. She always seemed to be running from something.”
“I can see the resemblance between you two. Though, I can’t say the same for your grandmother.”
“That’s because she’s not really my grandmother. She helped raise my mom, so she earned the title. When mom fell on hard times, she left me with someone she knew would raise me right. My real grandmother passed away before I was born.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“It’s all good. They all left. I’ve gotten used to it by now.” She shrugged. “Hey, where’s Heather?”
“She said I was holding her back from sushi and wine. She went on ahead.”
“Well, alright then. Are you ready to go?”
“Ready whenever you are.”
“Just let me grab my purse and we’ll leave.”
She went into the kitchen and grabbed her purse off the counter. When she came back into the living room Heath was waiting for her by the door. She grabbed her keys off the end table as he opened the door for her, and their date officially started.
*****
Two hours later, they were still at the restaurant getting lost in conversation. Kylie, the owner’s wife, didn’t mind them hanging around for a while. Especially since she’d been having secret readings behind her husband’s back. She even gave them an extra drink on the house. Ciara was surprised she hadn’t dropped wasabi down her blouse or accidently slung her sushi roll across the room with her chopsticks.
“I hate to bust up the romantic evening, but we need to get down to business.” Heather sat down in the empty seat at the table. “We need to know exactly what happened at the house.”
“Could’ve asked that before the wine.” She slid her glass of wine away from her and put on her serious face.
“Sorry, I keep forgetting people can’t drink like us. You gonna finish this?” Heather asked as she reached for Ciara’s glass. When she shook her head, Heather chugged the remaining wine.
“Really?” Heath narrowed his eyes at Heather.
“What? You can’t let good wine go to waste.” Heather shrugged and looked at Ciara. “Did you see how he got in the house?”
“No, he was already in the house when my vision started.”
“What was he doing?” she asked.
“You want a play by play?” Ciara asked Heather, knowing she answered these questions before. “He was inside looking at her pictures. He was angry that he couldn’t find what he was looking for. When she came into the room, he slung her up against the wall without touching her.”
“Like the woman at the bar had done with the trash can?”
“Exactly like that. He’d ask where the other woman was then broke one of her fingers every time she refused to answer him. Before he could break all her fingers, he saw a picture on her dresser. It must have had the woman he wanted to know about because he didn’t ask the woman anymore questions. He asked someone if he should take the woman with him.”
“There was someone else there?” Heath asked, raising an eyebrow.
“I didn’t see anyone, but there must have been someone there.” Ciara still was confused on how she didn’t see the other person. “After that, he mad
e this blue orb thing appear in his hands. He threw it at her, and it hit her in the chest. She died almost instantly.”
“A blue orb? That must be what’s leaving the burn marks,” Heath commented. “I want to take you to the house. Don’t worry, she’s been moved down to the morgue. What I want you to do is point out where the picture came from. I have an idea, but it only works if I know exactly what I’m looking for.”
“Sure, I told you I’d help in any way I can. This man must be stopped.”
“Agreed, now let’s go get this done.” Heather hopped up and went to the bar. The bartender poured her another wine, and she drank it down like a shot of tequila.
“I think I’d fall over if I drank like Heather.” She watched as Heather set the glass down on the bar and sauntered back over to their table.
“Most humans would.” He pulled out some cash from his wallet then placed it in the ticket book and handed it to their waitress as she passed.
His comment about humans had her thinking he may be more than what meets the eye. Heath held out his hand to help her from her seat. With a smile, she placed her hand in his. When she stood up, a vision surfaced, nearly causing her to stumble into him. He grabbed her arm and helped her balance. Everything was blurry and the vision came into focus. She was holding Heath’s hand as the strolled through a wooded path. The little boy and girl from her earlier vision came running in between them.
“Hey, mom! Look what I can do!” The little boy ran and jumped into the air.
Before he landed his body started changing. His limbs bent and shrunk in size. The clothes he was wearing began to rip and fall away. Black and white fur began to sprout from his little body. When he landed, he was no longer the little boy. In his place, was a small honey badger.
“Oh honey, that’s great! But if you tear one more pair of jeans, I’m going to start taking it out of your allowance,” she told him then scooped him up in her arms and gave him a quick hug before putting him back down.
“I’m still trying.” The little girl pouted.
“You’ll get it, baby. Just keep trying,” Ciara assured her.
“Come on,” Heath told his daughter. “I’ll do it with you.”
They both ran and jumped like the little boy. Each of their bodies changed and transformed into their own honey badgers. The little girl’s landing wasn’t graceful as she went tumbling to the ground in a roll. Heath’s badger was much larger than the children. Too soon, Ciara was pulled back into reality. She wanted to watch her future family play. At least now she had some clarity into who Heath was.
“Are you okay?” Heath kept his hand on her arm to steady her. “Was that another vision? Did you see another woman?”
“Yes, it was a vision. Just not the killer.” She studied Heath trying to imagine him turning into the adorable honey badger she saw in her vision.
“What was it about?” Heather urged her to tell them.
“You’re a honey badger.” She looked into his eyes waiting to see if he would admit it. She’d heard of shifters while she was in New Orleans and had always wanted to meet a true shifter. Surprisingly, she wasn’t scared none the least.
“A badass honey badger,” he confirmed. “Have been since the day I was born.”
“I’ve never met a shifter before. Things like that aren’t welcomed here amongst the locals, which is why I don’t announce my visions.”
“So, what was your vision? I assume it had something to do with me since you noticed I’m a honey badger.”
“I may tell you about it sometime.” She couldn’t help but smile.
“I think I might like that vision.” Heath winked as they turned to leave the restaurant.
Chapter Eleven
Ciara felt uneasy as they pulled up to the house a woman had been murdered in earlier that day. The place seemed different at night. The eerie shadows from the trees and plants played tricks on your mind, making you think someone was crutched down behind a bush. They parked by the road instead of the victim’s driveway. Yellow crime scene tape was x-ed over the door. A chill ran through her body as the crisp night air breezed across her face.
“You ready?” Heath asked when he came up beside her.
“As ready as I’ll ever be.” She sighed and he took her hand, squeezing it gently.
Suddenly, she didn’t feel on edge anymore. Him being there gave her the strength to go inside without fear. Together, they followed Heather into the house. Heather’s gloved hand flipped the light switch, illuminating the living room. All Ciara could see was that poor woman pinned against the wall by an invisible force. She pinched her eyes shut and willed the image to go away. When she opened her eyes, the room was clear. Just an empty room that held a horrible crime.
“Who was she?” Ciara asked them.
“Her name was Tasha Sutton,” Heath answered. Taking a deep breath, she entered the room. It was exactly the same, except now there was a fine powder over everything where they checked for prints.
“You won’t find his prints,” she commented as she spotted more things covered in powder. “He was wearing black gloves.”
“Yeah, but they had to check anyway,” Heather said as she flipped on the bedroom light. “Where was the picture at?”
Ciara slowly made her way to the bedroom. She sidestepped the spot the woman had laid hours before. Standing in the doorway, Ciara closed her eyes and imagined her vision. It wasn’t hard for it to come into focus. It replayed in her mind, and she let out a whimper when the woman’s fingers broke. Heath put his hand over hers, giving her his strength. It continued in her mind. The man spotted the picture on the dresser, it was between an 8x10 and a collage of three pictures. Her eyes opened; she knew the spot. She walked into the bedroom and straight for the dresser. It was loaded with pictures. No wonder they were having a hard time identifying which had been missing.
“It was right here,” she pointed to the empty spot on the dresser.
“Maybe we can find the picture within another one of these pictures,” Heath suggested. “She has tons of them.”
“I’ll check out here,” Heather stated and stepped out into the living room.
“You really think you’ll be able to see the picture inside another photograph? Won’t it be too small?”
“You’d be amazed at what Gunner can do.” Heath started examining the photos on the wall.
Above the headboard was a collage of selfies. Ciara leaned over the bed to get a closer look. Most of the pictures were taken at the beach, but a few were in the house. One in particular caught her attention. It was a selfie in front of the dresser and just to the victim’s left was the missing picture.
“Hey, I found it!” Ciara called out. “It’s that one.” She pointed it out.
Heath snapped a picture of the collage then snatched the photo off the board and examined it.
“It’s in the background but it looks clear. I think Gunner can work his magic,” He commented and handed the photo to Heather.
“I’ll take it to the station, and have it scanned for him. The locals may want to try and enhance it themselves.”
“Just make sure Gunner gets it first.”
“Of course.” With a nod, Heather went toward the door. “There’s nothing else we can do here. You two continue your date.”
“We’re coming right behind you.” Heath took Ciara’s hand in his and escorted her out.
She was glad to be out of the house. As Heath locked the door and secured the tape back across, Ciara went to her vehicle. The farther she got from the house, the better she felt. Heath caught up to her by the time she got to the front of her CV-R. He beat her to the driver door and opened it for her.
“Thank you.” She sat down behind the wheel and he closed the door. She turned the ignition on as he ran around to the other side. “Do you need to go to the station, too?”
“Didn’t you hear Heather? She said we can continue our date.”
“We’ve already been to dinner. I bought
a bottle of wine this morning. We can go back to my house and have a drink.” She just wanted him alone to see if her visions would come true.
“That sounds like a plan.”
On the inside, she was jumping for joy. She tried to play it cool in front of Heath, but she couldn’t hide her smile. As she pulled away from the curb, she glanced over at him only to see him smiling too. She couldn’t wait to see what the rest of the night had in store for them.
By the time they got to her house, she was a bag of nerves. She had never met anyone who had aroused her like the man next to her. Biting her lip, she pushed back the thoughts of kissing him. She didn’t want to come on too strong even though most men wouldn’t mind.
He held her hand as they strolled up to the door. With her free hand, she fumbled around in her purse for her keys. When they got to the front door, Heath stopped and looked at her.
“I’d really like to kiss you now.” He gazed into her eyes.
She was speechless as her body screamed yes. All she could manage was a nod. His hands cupped her face as he pressed his lips against hers. His kiss was tender and gentle. His tongue gently licked her bottom lip. When she parted her lips, he deepened the kiss. Her knees nearly buckled, and she dropped her keys. He stepped her back against the wall. Her arms went around his neck as she pulled him to her. The kiss was definitely the best kiss she ever had.
“Let’s go inside,” she said as they broke away from each other.
Heath backed up and picked up her keys. He unlocked the door and guided her in. When they went inside, Heath set her keys by on the end table near the door. She scooped up the keys and locked the door. Dropping her keys in her purse, she looked over at Heath. His raised brow made her pause.
“Sorry for all the locks. I just feel a little safer with them there considering all that I’ve envisioned lately.”
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