Through Her Heart (Mind's Eye Book 6)

by Deborah Camp

  “On our way home.”

  “Goddamn it. I’m having a fucking heart attack.”

  “Calm down.” She glanced at Stuart and made a comical face to try to alleviate the tension wrapped up in Levi’s swear words and voice. “Lincoln is in custody. Stuart and I are bummed that our lovely museum trip was spoiled by that creep, but we’re okay. Right, Stewie?” She held the phone out to him.

  “Right,” he said. “Mom hit him! With her fist.”

  There it was again. Mom. She could tell by the silence on the other end of the phone that it had knocked the breath out of Levi, too.

  “Uhhhh. What?” Levi’s voice wobbled.

  Stuart grinned and lunged closer to the phone. “She hit him with her fist, Pop! Right on the chin! Called him dirty names, too!” he almost shouted into the receiver.

  Pop? Good lord. Could you combust from an over-abundance of happiness? With a tremulous smile that leeched into her voice, she said, “Did you get that, Levi? Did you hear that?”

  Just when she thought he might have hung up, perhaps unable to speak or maybe he passed out from shock, his voice emerged. Raspy and full of emotion. “I heard that. Loud and clear. Come home to me.”

  “See you soon.”

  “But not soon enough,” he answered with her mouthing the words with him.

  Chapter 17

  Levi applied an ice pack to her bruised knuckles. They sat on the couch in the den with the TV off and the ticking of the wall clock keeping time with Trudy’s heartbeats. She smiled when Levi’s gaze swept up to hers. He shook his head in quiet admonishment.

  She and Stuart had arrived home to a pacing, wound up Levi. His hair had stuck out all over his head from having been pulled repeatedly in agitation. He’d flung open the car door before the vehicle had come to a complete stop and hauled Trudy out of it and into his tight, almost crushing, embrace.

  “Are you really okay? Tell me, Trudy. No bullshit.”

  “I’m fine. Better than fine.” She’d laughed lightly, but sobered when she saw the glint of anger in his eyes. “The security detail did what they’re hired to do. They protected us and that monster is in jail now.” She’d half-turned to motion for Stuart. “Stewie was incredibly brave. I’m so proud of him.”

  Levi had brushed his hand over her hair, his gaze scouring her, noticing every single feature. Then he’d seemed to force himself to loosen his hold on her so that he could place a hand on Stuart’s shoulder. “Way to go, buddy. You’re doing okay, right?”

  Stuart had bounced a little on the balls of his feet. “Uh-huh. That man followed us to the museum, I guess. But the guards grabbed him and put handcuffs on him. Then the police came and the museum guards were there and everybody was asking questions and stuff.” He had rolled his eyes. “It was so crazy.”

  It had continued like that through dinner with Stuart chattering away. Levi had listened, asking a question now and then, but mostly letting Stuart talk it all out. Trudy had insisted that he go to bed at his regular time, although the child had groused that he wasn’t sleepy. She’d read two chapters of a Harry Potter book before his eyelids had finally grown heavy and he’d released a yawn. She’d kissed his cheek and tucked him in.

  “Good night, my brave boy,” she’d whispered to him, and he’d smiled, already drifting into sleep.

  Her attention returned to Levi’s ministrations when he pressed gently on the ice pack and her knuckles complained. “Ouch.” She winced. “I don’t think anything’s broken in there, do you?”

  “No.” He lifted the ice long enough to kiss each of her knuckles before reapplying it. “What possessed you? Usually, you’re haranguing me about not being violent. But you haul off and busted the guy in the jaw?”

  “I don’t harangue,” she objected, but then reconsidered. Well, maybe she did. “What possessed me was an uncontrollable desire to knock the smile off that creep’s face. He wanted to kill Stuart. An innocent, little boy! I didn’t even know what I was doing until I’d already socked him.”

  “You certainly impressed Stuart. I believe you’re equal to Wonder Woman now.”

  She laughed a little before sentimental tears blurred her vision. “He called me ‘mom’ right after that.”

  Levi’s gaze melted into hers.

  “And he called you ‘pop.’”

  He nodded, his eyes smiling at her.

  “I thought I’d burst with love, Levi. Just crumple in a pile of ooey gooeyness.” She laughed and a tear rolled from the corner of her eye. “It was so intense. So unexpected! I think he loves us, don’t you?”

  He chuckled, shaking his head at her. “If not, he’s getting there. You’re already there.”

  “Oh, yes.” She tipped her head to one side to regard him more closely. “Aren’t you?”

  He pulled his lower lip between his teeth for a few seconds before he answered. “Not like I love you. Not nearly as all-consuming as that. But, yeah, I suppose that I love the munchkin.”

  Her heart expanded a bit more. “We were having a wonderful time at the museum. He really enjoyed it. I’m glad we went. It just sucks that it ended as it did.”

  “I want you to check out my hair tomorrow morning.”

  She blinked at him, confused. “Why?”

  “Because I think I’ll have gray scattered through it after today.”

  She sighed and let her shoulders slump to further illustrate her feelings, “Oh, for heaven’s sake, Levi. No one was hurt. We were scared, yes. But it’s over. Let’s put it all behind us.”

  “That’s good advice.” He took her hands in his, careful not to dislodge the ice pack. “Let’s not go through this again . . . for a while. We have new priorities, right? It’s not just you and me. We have Stuart to consider. Putting ourselves in the path of murderers is irresponsible. We should reevaluate what we’re doing and make the necessary adjustments.”

  “You mean stop working on murder cases?”

  “Yes.”

  “What about missing persons?”

  “Those we can still take on, I guess. But if they change into murder victims, we need to back off.”

  She scowled at that. “Levi, if someone slips into my head and I begin getting important information about a murderer’s whereabouts or identity, I’m not backing off.”

  “You usually go to the site of the murder or murders so that you can get a closer connection with the assailant.” He waited for her to nod. “I don’t think you should do that now that you’re a mom.” He paused, smiling at her. “You need to stay here with Stuart. And with me.”

  “What about you? How’s it going to work with you?”

  “Same thing. I’ll continue with personal appearances and radio programs, but I don’t think it’s fair to you or to Stuart for me to become immersed in chasing down a serial killer. Like I said, my priorities have changed.”

  “We’ve changed.” She raised her uninjured hand to stroke the side of his face. “We’re parents.”

  He grinned. “Mom and Pop. Next thing you know, you’ll be wearing mom jeans and I’ll grow a beer belly.”

  “No!” She leaned her forehead against his. “You wear the mom jeans and I’ll grow the belly.” The image of her with a belly – one full of an infant – startled her. She drew in a sharp breath and her eyes stung before she shook it off and laughed. “Anyway, we can do work from afar, I suppose. I can concentrate on cold cases and missing persons from around here. There are plenty of those, unfortunately.”

  “And you’re getting more involved in charity work, too. I think you’re even beginning to like it.”

  She turned and snuggled back against him. His arms came around her. “Being able to help people and keep the arts alive is the best part about having money.”

  “Even though I encourage you to spend more money on yourself, I have to admit that I’m proud of the fact that you have such a generous nature. When I hear women having orgasms over purses and shoes that cost thousands of dollars it sickens me and I always
think how lucky I am to be married to you. You and your frugal, second-hand-hunting heart.”

  She appreciated the compliment and the blinders he must be wearing. “Thank you, Levi. And while it’s true that the men at the social gatherings we attend rarely get orgasmic over bespoke suits, Italian leather shoes, and six-figure watches, they do get stiffies talking about their fancy cars, private jets, and yachts.”

  He chuckled and kissed her cheek. “Point taken. How are those knuckles feeling now?”

  “They’re better.” She flexed her hand, but put the ice pack on the bruising. “It’s worth the discomfort, believe me.”

  “With circumstantial evidence, I’m hoping the cops have enough to send Lincoln away for good this time.”

  “They’ll charge him with the McFarland murders, won’t they?”

  “I think they’ll be able to now that they’ve confirmed that he worked with the security company and would have been able to learn the code for their home. They’ve matched his prints to the ones in the McFarland home. Oh, and he also worked with the security company that installed the safe in that house you saw him rob.”

  “He did?”

  “Yes. I got a text from Myers about that this morning.”

  “And what about the woman he murdered the other night?”

  “He was identified by the bartender as being there that night and talking with the victim. He also left the bar a minute or two after she did. Circumstantial again, but solid.”

  She sighed. “I’ll be glad when we can put this behind us. It’ll be good for Stuart to know that he’s safe from that monster. I won’t be surprised if he doesn’t have bad dreams tonight after what he went through today.”

  He tightened his arms around her. “If he does, we’ll be there for him. That’s what parents do, right?”

  She smiled, her eyes closing in that happy thought. “Right, Pop.”

  “An adoption hearing is generally just making things official, signing papers, and congratulations all around,” Dr. McClain explained. “It’s good that you’re getting an earlier court date. Originally, it was going to be after the New Year, right?”

  “That’s right.” Seated on the couch where he’d poured out his deepest secrets and cried bitter tears, Levi relaxed. His session with Dr. McClain had ended and they’d dropped their “clinical personas” and had slipped into their friendly mode. “December tenth. So, if all goes well, he’ll be an official Wolfe child at Christmas.”

  Althea smiled. “Do you like the sound of that, Levi?”

  “I do. Surprisingly, I do.”

  She shook her head in a mild rebuke. “I’m not surprised. Not now, anyway. A year ago, I would have been flabbergasted. It’s amazing how things can take forever or a second to change, isn’t it?”

  “Keeps us on our toes, I guess.” He let his gaze linger on the woman who had been his lifeline, his confidant, and his guide to a better headspace over the past few years. She was a beauty with her caramel skin, wise eyes, and warm smile. When Althea McClain pinned you with those brown eyes of hers, you were caught, held, and stripped bare. “I don’t believe I’ve ever formally thanked you for bringing Stuart into our lives. Thanks, of course, is flimsy when the gift is so immense.”

  “I like to think I had some help from above,” she said, her voice going soft as velvet. “It seemed the right fit. I never doubted it the moment the idea came to me. I just knew that you and Trudy needed to meet Stuart and that he could be helped by you.” Pinpoints of light danced in her dark eyes. “I can tell that he’s very excited about the adoption. He thinks that Wolfe is a cool last name.”

  Levi chuckled. “Hell, yes. That’s why I selected it for myself.”

  “Have you surprised yourself with your fatherly instincts?”

  “Yes, but I’m not sure they’re instincts. More like imitations of life. I find myself watching other men with their sons. How they interact with each other, talk to each other, and pal around together. And I recall what I used to wish for when I was young.”

  “What did you wish for, Levi?” she prodded, unable to entirely desert the professional side of her even in this more personal discussion.

  “Oh, you know.” He shrugged and tried to release the feelings crowding around his heart in his sigh. Didn’t work. “Being lifted high into the air, over my dad’s head. Getting tickled. Sharing a joke. Playing catch and tag football with him. Going fishing. Sheriff Andy and Opie things.” He glanced at her. “I still like to watch that old TV show. There’s something so special about how that father and son relate to each other.”

  She nodded. “I know what you mean. It’s the ideal, isn’t it? Something men and boys can aspire to and women can wish for in their spouses. Are you able to do some of those things with Stuart?”

  “Yes. Most of them, actually. I like goofing around with him and making him laugh.”

  “Have you told him you love him yet, Levi?”

  There it was – what she was so fucking good at. Asking the one question that tied up his tongue and hammered his heart. Had he told the boy that he loved him? It’s not as if he hadn’t rolled this around in his head over and over again.

  “Levi?”

  He winced. Actually winced because his heart hurt a little. “No. Not yet.”

  “But you do feel love for Stuart, don’t you?”

  He reluctantly lifted his gaze to her bold and battering one. “I think so.” He slammed his eyes shut. “Oh, hell, I don’t know.” It felt as if the ceiling suddenly crumbled and fell around him. He hunched his shoulders and buried his head in his hands, his elbows propped on his knees. “Love, love. It’s all about love, isn’t it? Do I love? How much do I love? Can I love anyone other than Trudy? I don’t fucking know! That I love Trudy so fiercely and completely still amazes the hell out of me.”

  Althea pressed the intercom button on the table near her chair and spoke into it. “Britney, you can lock up now. I’m staying a bit longer with Mr. Wolfe.”

  “Yes, ma’am. See you Monday and I hope you have a nice weekend.”

  “Thank you and same to you.”

  Levi looked up from his dejected posture. “You don’t have to do that. Our session is over. I’ll see you next week. Same time. Same channel.”

  “No. I’ll see you now.” She squared her shoulders in a back-in-charge gesture. “When you were told about the arrest at the museum and that Ike Lincoln had a knife which he had planned to use on Stuart and Trudy, what did you feel?”

  He scoffed at the question. “What did I feel? Like the whole world had almost disintegrated around me. Like I needed to get to them immediately. I needed to hold Trudy and make sure she and Stuart were really okay.”

  “So, Stuart did enter your thoughts.”

  “Of course.” He sent her a baffled glare. “I’m responsible for the little guy, after all. He’s been placed in our care.”

  “What you felt was the seriousness of your responsibility,” she repeated. “But that’s not what you felt about Trudy, surely.”

  “No, it’s not. And it’s not only what I felt where Stuart’s concerned.”

  “What else, then?”

  He settled back against the cushions and made himself go back to that black day and that heart-jolting phone call from Thompson that Lincoln was in custody and that Trudy and Stuart were unscathed. Panic. He’d known sheer panic. “I was afraid, at first. Terrified that something bad had gone down. I flashed back to when Trudy was hurt by the serial killer in Key West and in the hospital. That’s when I knew that she owned me, body and soul, because I had been out of my fucking mind. I’d walked the halls and screamed at nurses and threatened doctors because I was terrified of losing her.” He chuckled, remembering that time when he hadn’t even recognized himself because he’d never been head-over-heels in love before. “Jesus, I was a basket case until I knew she was going to be fine. That I still had her in my life.”

  “You felt that same way again?”

  “For a few m
oments, yes. Thompson was quick to tell me that no one was hurt. I called Trudy. I could tell from her voice that she was okay. Shaken up, but that’s all.”

  “Were you worried about Stuart?”

  “Yes. Very worried. In fact, I still am. He’s a resilient soul, but I worry that this has damaged him in ways we can’t see right now but will crop up later. I want him to have a normal childhood. I want him to feel loved and safe. But how can he when his parents were murdered and the man who killed them stalked him and tried to murder him, too?” He ran his hands through his hair in agitation. “Jesus. How does a kid get over that?”

  “Probably the same way a kid gets over being abandoned, unloved, rejected, and called a liar and a sinner his whole childhood.”

  Her words washed over him like holy water. Looking at her, he shook his finger slowly in a gentle scolding. “You’re slick, Doc. Very slick.”

  She arched a perfectly manicured brow at him. “Am I? Or are you unable to see the forest for the trees? Can you not see that you’re in a perfect position to help this boy patch himself up and move forward toward a place of love and acceptance? A place you will provide for him? Because you do love him, Levi. Your heart knows it, even though your head questions it. You are under the impression that love is always like a bomb going off. But it’s not. Sometimes it approaches you from behind on silent feet. Other times it floats into your heart like a seedling and takes a while to sprout and grow. Love has many guises, but your heart always recognizes it.”

  “You sound like a Hallmark card.”

  “You sound like Scrooge.” Her smile disarmed him. “Say the words, Levi. Don’t think of them as shackles. Think of them as wings.”

  He didn’t ask her what words she meant; he knew. “I know those words to be magical. They certainly changed my life.” He stared at his hands, turning them over, not really seeing them, but remembering how he’d felt when Trudy and Stuart had arrived in the underground parking lot from their harrowing trip to the museum. Her urchin-like face pressed to the car window, her eyes gobbling him up. He’d wrenched open the car door the moment it was safe to do so and she’d burst out of the back seat and into his waiting arms. Holding her, knowing that she was safe, had been one of the most blessed moments in his life.