Shattered: A Psychic Visions Novel (35 page)

“And your mom’s diary,” Trevor said in a quiet voice.

“Right.” She walked to her night table and from the bottom drawer pulled out a small box and placed it on the bed. She stared at it, memories flooding her mind. “She gave this to me herself.”

“When?”

“A week before she died.”

“What’s in it?”

Hannah looked over at him. “I have no idea. I’ve never opened it. I couldn’t before then, well… I forgot all about it.”

*

Crazy. Trevor looked
at the keepsake and that Pandora’s Box tale came to mind. That Hannah’s mother gave it to her daughter just before her own death said a lot. Whether she was in fear of her life or had psychic abilities that foreshadowed her death, it was a little unnerving to see this sitting there.

“And the diary?”

She frowned and pulled the drawer out further. “It’s supposed to be in here.” She dug to the very back. “Here it is.” She pulled out a small leather bound book and handed it to him.

“Not very diary like?” he commented. He’d half expected one of those little teenager books with a tiny clasp and a key with a lock that would keep no one out. Instead this had all the earmarks of a little black book. He opened it to see some writing, but not a lot and only on a few pages. He tucked it in his pocket for her to read later. Then he picked up the keepsake box and put it into her bag. “Are you ready?”

She nodded. “I guess.”

Trevor picked up the bag, waited for her to grab a sweater and a second pair of shoes, ones that had a whole lot more substance than the tiny ballet looking things she currently wore. “Are you sure you don’t want to pack up more in case your father tries to move you out of here.”

She shook her head. “There’s too much. We also don’t have a place to call home yet. So it might as well stay here.”

“Good enough. Let’s go. Brunch is waiting.”

That’s when a shoe scraped on the floor outside her bedroom door.

Instantly Trevor had Hannah tucked behind him, both of them flattened against the wall.

Silence.

He could hear her heavy breathing behind him. He squeezed her hand reassuringly.

And the sound came again. He freed up his hand and waited.

And that moment an old grizzled man peered into the room. He caught sight of them and straightened up, puffing out his shoulders. “Only there won’t be any brunch for you,” he said in a mean voice, letting them know he’d been close enough to listen in on their conversation. “Not yet anyway.”

The man standing in the open bedroom wasn’t anyone Trevor recognized.

And from the shock on Hannah’s face, neither was he anyone she recognized either.

“Who are you and what are you doing in my house?” she snapped, showing Trevor a side he had yet to see. She stepped forward, anger vibrating through her voice. “This is my home and you’re not welcome.”

“This is your father’s house, and I was told to let him know if and when you ever dared to show your face here again,” he sneered.

“My belongings are still here,” she said. “Or is he into stealing too.”

“Not to mention that I’d like your ID so I can make sure to spell your name correctly when I submit my report to the police,” Trevor said. “I’m her husband and a lawyer. And she has a right to her privacy. You, however, are in her bedroom and you entered this house illegally.”

“I did not. I had the owner’s permission,” the guard said in a surly tone. “You aren’t going to pull a fast one on me.”

“We already did,” Hannah snapped, walking past him. “I’ll be contacting the police over this. Even my father has to follow the Landlord Act. And that includes giving me thirty days notice and a reason to evict me – if he has such a thing. Not to mention twenty-four hours warning if he needs to access my house.” She waived a hand in dismissal.

She raced down past him and exited like a regal princess in a pout. “Feel free to tell him I was here.”

“I already did. You’re supposed to stay here until he arrives,” the guard called after her. But she’d almost made it to the car.

“Well, we’re going for brunch so how about he phones me instead.”

Trevor walked quickly to the car, unlocked it and put her bag in the trunk. She was already in the front seat and waiting for him.

Trevor never said anything to the guard. Instead he turned on the engine and backed out of the driveway.

“What will happen to the guard?”

“My father will fire him.”

“Really?”

“Oh yes. On the spot. If he gets here in five minutes and we’re not here, he’ll be fired in the sixth minute. My father is nothing if not consistent.”

Trevor pulled the car down the street and turned onto the first main road. “Good thing we’re leaving then. I know he’s only doing his job but… I didn’t like him.”

She laughed. A wonderfully light pealing sound that put a grin on his face.

“Besides we couldn’t stay,” she said. “You promised me food.”

The place Trevor had in mind was only a few blocks away, but not sure if they’d been followed, he went a convoluted path. By the time they arrived, she’d relaxed and he had as well. That is until he drove into the parking lot and saw three black sedans with smoked windows. Leaving the engine running, he sat and stared at the vehicles beside him. “Can you sense Will close?”

Hannah, in the process of opening her door, fell back into her seat and stared at him. “What?”

“I see three familiar looking vehicles parked beside us. A coincidence?”

She took a deep breath and studied the vehicles. “We used to come here on occasion. It’s not out of line to consider they might be here.”

“Right. Let’s find another place.”

She reached across and laid her hand on his. “How about we don’t. Let’s walk in like the adults we are and have a meal calmly.” Her tone was determined. “I’m not terribly impressed with the idea of a life on the run. He is my father. However, you and I are married.” Her gaze turned on the restaurant. “Is there any reason
not
to go in?”

“Only to avoid trouble.”

“I’m not sure avoiding
them
is helping
us
.”

“If you’re sure.” He was willing if she was up to it. He was all about facing life head on, but he preferred to wear crash helmets on suicide missions.

“I am.” She smiled pensively. “You know, in spite of everything, he is my father and there is a mixed ball of emotions over that relationship.”

He turned off the engine and opened the door. He had no way to know if her father was in here, but like she said, it was a public place and wouldn’t be a bad way to see them again. He was just being overly cautious – the only way to be when dealing with bullies. “Let’s go in.”

She grinned and hopped out. He was happy to see her spirit. Surely this wasn’t the same girl he’d met at the hospital who barely knew her own name. She’d changed and grown so much. In large part he was sure it was due to the blocks coming down and her own memories filling the holes in her head. She had adjusted to her new situation and gained confidence in who she was. That was likely the biggest impetus to this growth. She had come to terms with some of her abilities, maybe not confident in them yet, but she no longer looked at them as something to run from. He was proud of her. He opened the restaurant door for her, his senses on high alert – just in case.

She gave him a beaming smile, then reached up and kissed him in full view of the restaurant patrons. He laughed and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

A waitress walked toward them, a bright smile on her face. Right behind her was Will.

H
annah smiled at
the waitress. There was no way to miss Will’s looming scowl barreling down behind the hapless woman. Hannah upped the wattage in her smile and directed it at him. “Hello, Will. Did you get hungry after pulling the B&E at my husband’s office?”

Shocked silence filled the restaurant.

Gazes turned to watch.

She heard Trevor suck in a breath.

Hannah wasn’t scared, and she’d had quite enough of Will’s particular brand of terrorism.

The waitress, as if understanding the explosiveness of the situation, stepped in front and said hurriedly, “I have the perfect table for you.” She motioned to the left. “Please, if you’d like to come in this direction.”

“Sure, I will, thank you.” Hannah ignored Will’s stone-faced look and deliberately turned her back on him. She knew Trevor would protect her. She also realized she’d snugged her energy up tighter against her body – if that was even possible.

Whereas Will’s energy waffled in place, bright red and flaring with sparks. He had no idea what to do and was so damn angry. She threw her head back and laughed. Lord, it felt good. All she’d had to do was stand up to the man. He was a bully. A boogieman in the dark. He preferred to torment his victims when they were more vulnerable, and in a public face-to-face confrontation, he had no idea what to do.

The waitress who’d thought she’d avoided a problem took them past another table – where her father sat, Wanda at his side.

Hannah stopped and glared at him. Trevor’s heavy sigh whispered past her. She realized he wished she wouldn’t antagonize everyone in the vicinity, but it appeared she had no way to control the impulse. She needed to stand up to these people. Now that the gate had opened she couldn’t seem to stop.

She wasn’t trying to cause trouble, but she was damn sure she wasn’t going to lie down and take it either.

“Hello, Father. I was just at home getting some clothes. We had an altercation with a new guard who didn’t seem to understand his place.”

Anger lit her father’s gaze. “I’d say you were the one who didn’t understand your place,” he said in a low hard voice.

She raised her eyebrows. “Oh, am I being evicted then?”

There right out in the open, she gave him a slow smile. “It will be odd to live anywhere but at Mom’s house, that’s for sure. She lived in it even when she was married to you, didn’t she?” She studied her father’s gaze intently and watched it flicker. She cast a disparaging glance at Wanda, catching her smirk.

She turned her attention back to her father. “It wasn’t your house, it was her house. And I was her heir. So I guess my lawyer,” she reached out a hand and caught Trevor’s hand in hers, “will need to take a look at that as well.”

She nodded at her father, “I’d hoped to have lunch with you today, but I can see we’re not welcome. Have a good day.” She turned to leave then twisted back and deliberately hardening her voice, she added, “And call your henchman off. That he broke into Trevor’s office and caused the damage he did is already pretty disgusting and quite low for even you, Father, but to know he’s coming after me…well the police are very interested in his whereabouts already. I’ll be more than happy to let them know he was seen here at the restaurant right now and is still in your employment – and thereby acting on your orders.” Having delivered that final coup, she turned and walked way.

The entire restaurant had stilled to listen. She knew there’d been a dozen cell phone images flashing and likely a video of the meeting as well. How nice that the new age of social media was everywhere.

She smiled nicely at the waitress who led them to a table at the far end of the room. “It’s a nice table, thank you.”

The waitress bolted.

Trevor took the chair on the opposite side of the table where he could watch her family. “They are leaving.”

“Good. Let
them
run this time.”

His lips curled upwards. “Feeling cheeky after that, aren’t you?”

She grinned. “I am. It feels good to dump the victim mentality – at least for a few minutes.”

“Just remember they aren’t schoolboys, and you will pay for this rebellion.”

She waved her hand around. “It’s a minor blip on my father’s radar. He might want to squash me for my short lived insurgency, but he’s seen them before, so will assume I’m going through another stage…”

He laughed. “Well, enjoy it because I highly doubt this will go unpunished.”

She closed her eyes so she could sense Will better. She lived for the day when she could see his energy as strongly as she could sense it. She saw it now but it was faint and in this light – barely visible.