Peril for Your Thoughts (Mind Reader Mystery) (20 page)

“Is that why you pushed her down the
stairs?”

Atta girl
, I thought.

“Yes,” he said before thinking, and then
looked startled as he blurted, “No! I mean, I don’t know. It wasn’t like that.”

“Too late,” I said, having rolled to a crouched
position behind their bench as I clicked the handcuffs around his wrist and
fastened him to the metal.

“What the hell are you doing?” He surged to
his feet but the handcuffs—courtesy of Jaz’s purse and her words,
you just
never know when a pair might come in handy
—yanked him back in place. Handy
for what I didn’t dare ask. At this moment I was grateful she had her own
quirks.

“I’m making a citizen’s arrest, Mr. Parks,”
I said, as I stood.

“For what? I didn’t kill my brother.”

“Which you can’t prove, but that’s not what
I’m arresting you for. You just admitted to attempted murder of Wilma Parks and
her unborn child.”

“I did no such thing.” He frowned. “Wait, have
you been there the whole time?” he asked.

“Yup, and I heard everything.” I held up my
cassette recorder, clicked it off, and slipped it back into my purse.

Mission accomplished.

“You’re gonna regret this,” he ground out
through his teeth.

“You don’t scare me,” I said, clamping my
shaking knees together and hoisting my chin high.

“Well, I sure as hell better,” Detective
Stevens said from behind me. “Unbelievable, Ballas!”

I whirled around and took a step back from
the intimidating presence of the seething detective and his sidekick, Boomer,
who looked like he was about to go ballistic.

“They set me up,” Bobby blurted.

“Save it for the jury,” Jaz said, stepping
around him in a wide berth, because even with handcuffs on, he looked like he
was ready to strangle her. She turned to Nik and Boomer as she said, “Bobby
just confessed to pushing Wilma down the stairs, and we have a tape of the
confession.”

“You bi—”

“Watch it, pal,” Detective Matheson boomed.

“Yeah?” Bobby said with relish, locking his
eyes on Jaz as he said with glee, “Wait until you listen to the tapes.
Something tells me you’ll agree with me.”

Detective Matheson glared at Jaz, who waved
at him nervously, as he briefly unlocked the handcuffs before grabbing Bobby roughly
and hauling him away to the squad car.

When he disappeared inside the car and drove
away, Jaz turned on me. “Thanks,
pal
.” She huffed off toward her car and
disappeared inside to drive away as well.

I bit my bottom lip and looked around to no
avail.

“That’s right, Ballas. It’s just you and me.
Please don’t tell me I have to arrest you again.” he groaned.

I held out my wrists on a sigh and said,
“All in the name of justice.”

“You mean you’re not going to take me back to jail?” I
sputtered later that evening when Detective Stevens pulled into our adjoined
driveway instead of heading to the station.

“You have no idea what I had to endure from
my mother the last time I arrested you,” he muttered. “It’s easier just to
punish you myself.”

Even from inside his car I could hear
Wolfgang whining and scratching to get out. I swallowed hard, terrified of what
his idea of punishment would involve.

Nik followed my gaze. “I’m mad enough to do
what you’re thinking, but even I’m not that cruel.”

“No, but you are definitely unusual. I’m
even more afraid to hear what you have in mind.”

“Relax, Ballas. I’m not Boomer, so rest
assured you won’t be chained to my bedframe if that’s what you’re worried
about.”

I almost laughed hysterically. He had no
idea how the sound of his words made me feel, and terrified wasn’t even close.
Excited was more like it. What was wrong with me? I was nearly thirty and I
hadn’t had sex in way too long to remember, and the memories I had were
anything but good. But Nik was different, and my gift shed a whole new light on
the idea of intimacy. I guess I was more worried he wouldn’t make a move. Or he
would, and it wouldn’t work, and then he’d
really
think I was a freak.

“You okay? You look a little flushed,” he
broke the silence.

I flinched. “Huh? Oh, yeah. I’m fine.” I
cleared my throat. “About that punishment …?”

He sighed. “You and I both know I’m not
going to do anything.”

“That’s what I thought,” I muttered, trying
to hide my disappointment.

“Excuse me?”

“That’s what I hoped,” I said louder.

“I just wish you’d trust me. I’m trying to
do the right thing by keeping both you and Jaz safe while solving this murder.
You taking matters into your own hands behind my back is only hindering that
process.”

“But you heard what Jaz said. Bobby admitted
to pushing Wilma, the mother of his child. He’s capable of anything. And he
tried to flee when he was strictly ordered not to leave town. That has to mean
something. He’s probably the one who broke into our house and Jaz’s car. It
probably never was Johnny. He’s pathetic but not a killer. Bobby, on the other
hand, we don’t know anything about. And from what I’ve seen so far, I don’t
trust him one bit.”

“And that’s why he’s locked up right now
until we get to the bottom of this whole mess.”

“Which I’m grateful for. So you can relax,
Detective. I’m safe.” Safe from killers and apparently safe from a night of
pleasure as well. I mentally sighed, but on the outside I gave him my best
I’ll-be-a-good-girl smile.

“I’m not sure about anything yet.”

“Well, I am, so can you take me to bed?”

He blinked. “Come again?”

I flushed to the root of my hair, turning my
blonde hair a flaming red in my mind’s eye. “I meant, I want you to take me to
bed. Or to the door, I mean, you know to keep me safe so I can go to bed.
Alone. Not that you’re not appealing because you are. Very much so in fact, but
you must hear that all the time, or not. I don’t know what you hear. How could
I, right? And then you can leave, or not, I mean you don’t have to tuck me in
or anything. Oh God, I’m really tired after today’s events. Ignore me. I’m
being stupid.”

“Kalli,” he said with a soft, husky voice.
“You’re not stupid, you’re unusual. Look at that. We have something in common.
You just need to learn to relax.”

He studied me curiously until I squirmed, and then he went
for it. He moved in before I could think twice and locked his lips to mine.
Heat. Intense heat infused my every cell as his mouth worked its magic. My lips
parted ever so slightly, and his tongue didn’t hesitate to slip between them.
Little zings of pleasure spread throughout my body as his tongue touched and
tasted and … spread germs. I started to stiffen, but then his arms wrapped
around me and his big hands caressed every inch of my body that they could
reach.

Oh, God, you feel like heaven
, I heard, and instantly
I relaxed.
Your skin is like silk, and you taste so sweet.
My anxiety
faded away, the voices pointing out everything that could go wrong from kissing
him were dwarfed by his thoughts, allowing the feelings he was creating inside
me to build.
Baby, you’re so beautiful you take my breath away. The things I
want to do to you all night long.
I didn’t even worry that they might cause
some serious internal damage to my organs. At least I didn’t worry
too
much. I was too busy basking in pleasure.
If only you weren’t so pig-headed.
You’re gonna get yourself killed, and Jaz is going to go to jail for life if
you’re not careful.

“Stop thinking like that,” I muttered around his lips. “Keep
thinking sexy.”

He pulled his head away from mine and arched a thick black
brow. “What are you talking about?”

It was like someone dumped a bucket of ice water on me. I
suddenly was acutely aware of his hands on my body, and couldn’t stop wondering
where they had been and when he had washed them last. Not to mention
he’d had coffee recently. When was the last time he brushed his teeth, and did
he floss daily? Maybe I should ask him. What was I doing? Oh, Lordy, the moment
was ruined. I pushed him away and sat up, adjusting my clothing and moving
closer to the car door.

“Oh, nothing. I could just tell you have a lot on your mind,
and like I said, I really am tired. I’ll see myself to the door.” I quickly
climbed out of his car and bolted up the walk. Risking one last peek over my
shoulder, I could see by the expression on his face he was confused. It clearly
said,
What the hell did I do this time
? Meanwhile I was giddy as a
schoolgirl. For a little while there, things had been working. His thoughts
overrode my brain’s resistance, urging my body to seek what it craved. It
wasn’t until reality intruded on his end. For once I wasn’t the one who needed
to stop overthinking things. He was. And I knew just what to do. I had a plan.
I would seduce him. That would get him thinking sexy for sure.

Who would have thought I would ever want a guy with a one-track
mind?

In the wee hours of Friday morning, I was in bed dreaming of
ways I would seduce Detective Dreamy now that I knew intimacy was a probability
and not just a possibility anymore. Jaz was sound asleep in her room. I was
tempted to run some ideas by her, but she slept like the dead. Nothing would
wake her short of an earthquake, which we didn’t often get in Connecticut, and
when we did, they were mild. So for now it looked like I was alone with my
thoughts.

Or maybe I wasn’t …

A noise sounded in the living room. I bolted
straight up in bed. It was faint, but I could definitely hear something. Maybe
it was Prissy. I crept out of bed and eased my door open. It was still so dark
out I couldn’t see a thing, and I didn’t dare turn on a light for fear of what
I might find.

Had Bobby broken out of jail and come after
me for ruining his life? Or maybe he was still in jail, and Wilma was coming
after me. Though, last I talked to her, she was in the hospital. Or maybe it
was one of Scott’s enemies: a pissed-off husband or a jilted ex-lover or
someone he owed money to. I was starting to freak myself out, so I took three
deep breaths and tried to calm myself as I looked for Prissy.

“Prissy,” I whispered, feeling my way into
the living room. “Here kitty kitty. Come to Mama.”

Prissy brushed up against my leg, and I
jumped higher than Frona on a pogo stick. When my heart finally returned to
normal, I flicked on a light and blinked rapidly until my vision adjusted.
Glancing around, I didn’t see anything, so I let out an explosion of air and
gave my cat a scolding look. “That was very naughty, young lady. You nearly
gave me a—”

Something hit me in the back of the head,
and pain shot through my skull. I stumbled forward but caught myself before I
fell. Opening my mouth to scream, I tried to turn around to look at my
attacker, but gloved hands wrapped around my throat before I had a chance. My
windpipe was cut off, and I couldn’t breathe. I briefly wondered if my vocal
chords would be damaged and I wouldn’t be able to speak again. But then I
realized I might die, and it wouldn’t matter anyway.

That sent adrenaline surging through me. I tried hard to
read my attacker’s thoughts, hoping to gain the person’s identity, but the
thick gloves prevented it. I could feel intense animosity and hear faint
gurgling, but the actual thoughts were muffled. Bare skin on skin worked best,
or even thin clothing worked okay. But the thicker the clothing, the less clear
the words were.

And thick leather gloves were nearly impossible.

Air. I needed air. I clawed at the gloves to
no avail. I tried to twist and turn, but that didn’t work either. I felt so
helpless. My eyes blinked over and over, and the world around me started to close
in with a dark inky black. My limbs tingled, and I could feel myself losing
consciousness. I glanced at Prissy, realizing it was the last time I would see
her, which brought on the realization that as much as my family might annoy me,
I would miss them terribly. And Detective Dreamy … I couldn’t even think
about him. The pain in my chest intensified, and the last thing I heard before
the world around me faded to darkness was a high-pitched shriek of a meow.

I woke up a couple minutes later and blinked
my eyes open, gasping for air. My neck ached, my lungs burned, and my body felt
like it had been sat on by the beast. Memories of what had happened came
flooding back to me. I grabbed my throat and wilted in relief that the gloves
were gone. The gloves. I surged to a sitting position, then grabbed my head as
the blood rush made me dizzy. Once the room stopped spinning, I looked around
but didn’t see anything.

Not even Miss Priss.

Panic seized me. I crawled over to the phone,
trying not to make too much noise, and dialed 911. Then I sat back and waited.
It was only a matter of minutes before I heard the ambulance. Boomer burst
through the door in full cop mode, looking like he was on the set of the latest
detective movie. He glanced once at me, all business like, and then proceeded
to do a sweep of the house, Sherlock Holmes style. I didn’t have the heart to
point out he looked more like Watson.

Max charged through the door next with his equipment in tow
and gray eyes looking terrified. He came to a stop by my side, breathing heavy,
his perfect body shaking. “Oh, my God, Kalli, are you okay? Are you hurt? What
happened?” he blurted, rapid-firing questions at me as he rubbed a hand over
and over the top of his sandy-brown flattop.

Usually he was the calm, cool, and collected one in
emergencies, but he looked frazzled and on the verge of a breakdown right now.
He felt my pulse.
I’m such an idiot. I should never have talked to her the
way I did. I don’t even like Ana. How could I have been so stupid to shut her
out and now almost lose her? I would never forgive myself if anything bad
happened to her.

“It’s okay, Max.” I squeezed his
hand. “I’m okay.” I pulled my wrist away and patted his hand, trying not to
show my discomfort at his touch.

“What the hell happened?” He sat back on his
heels, studying me intently but looking more relaxed.

“Honestly, I’m not sure. I woke up early
this morning, dreaming about … well, just dreaming. And then I heard a
noise from the living room. I don’t know why, but it felt like something was
wrong. I can’t really explain it, but something wasn’t right. So I went out to
see where Prissy was, and she startled me. I turned on the light and scolded
her, when suddenly someone hit me from behind.”

“What did they hit you with?” He inspected
the back of my head, then broke an ice pack and had me hold it over the bump.

“I don’t know, but it was really hard.” Oh,
my goodness, what if I had a concussion? Or what if the blow had literally
dislodged my brain. It could be floating about freestyle in my skull, giving a
whole new meaning to scatterbrained. What if little pieces fell off and
actually scattered about willy-nilly? I might never be the same again. Another
thought dawned on me …

What if it ruined my gift?

I started panting for breath, my limbs
tingling and knees feeling like jelly. Grabbing Max’s hand, I stared at him and
looked deep into his eyes, waiting for something. Anything. But nothing
happened. He just looked back at me. I was about to hyperventilate and pass out
from a full-blown panic attack when I suddenly heard,
Well, now, maybe I
have a chance with her after all.

“Oh, thank God …  and no!” I quickly let
go of his hand.

He frowned and looked at me like I’d
completely lost my marbles.

“I meant no, don’t hurt me. Post-traumatic
stress, I guess,” I said by way of explanation. “I forgot to mention my
attacker strangled me.”