Read Sixth Sense (A Psychic Crystal Mystery) Online
Authors: Marilyn Baron
Tags: #Contemporary, #Suspense
Sixth Sense (A Psychic Crystal Mystery) (27 page)
It didn’t matter that Traci had secretly nursed a crush on Jack from the moment Flippy had introduced them and that Jack had fanned the flames by flirting with her every chance he got, especially when Flippy’s back was turned. One thing had led to another, and they’d become involved on the sly. And then Traci was in too deep, up to her neck in love with him. And now she’d lost them both.
Earlier that evening, Flippy had walked in on them in bed, and the whole house of cards had come crashing down. The last words she heard were Jack’s, feebly begging Flippy to come back to him. He hadn’t even been concerned about Traci’s fragile feelings.
“Are you taking the bus?” Donny interrupted her thoughts.
“No,” Traci said softly, her eyes looking away from Donny’s beady ones, her mouth closed clam tight, her breath coming now in rapid, shallow bursts.
“Will you wait with me?”
Traci shrugged and began to shiver. Her body had started to shut down after the adrenalin rush. She needed time to think about what to do next. Maybe riding the bus to the end of the world wasn’t such a bad idea. No, it was a really stupid idea.
She contemplated bolting from the bench when the blue city bus screeched to a stop in front of them and the driver cranked open the heavy steel doors.
“Donny? Your brother late again? Hop on. I’ll take you on home.”
“He says he lives at the end of the world,” Traci told the bus driver. “But there’s an address pinned to his shirt.”
The bus driver chuckled. “He’s been wearing that raggedy old note for years. It’s a wonder anyone can still read it. Says his mother wrote it. He lives at the last stop, the end of the bus line. He calls it the end of the world. Probably never been anyplace else.”
“I want to wait for my brother,” Donny said. “She can wait with me.” The boy turned to face Traci and nudged her, creeping uncomfortably closer into her personal space.
“I—uh, need to go,” said Traci, noticing that the full moon was on the rise.
“She can wait with me,” Donny repeated.
Then Donny started to rock. Back and forth. And rant. And refused to get on the bus.
“Wait with me,” Donny wailed, touching his face over and over as tears puddled on his puffy cheeks. His nostrils flared and dripped and his pupils dilated. And he continued to rock, while remaining bolted to the ground.
“You a friend of Donny’s or Rodney’s?” asked the driver.
“I don’t know any Rodney. He looked lost and I just wanted to help.”
“Look, miss, sometimes he gets like this. And he won’t stop. I hate to leave him here alone like this. No telling when that smart-ass brother of his will come back for him. But I have to keep to my schedule. Don’t want to lose my job, do I? And you can’t wait here. It’s not safe for a pretty girl like you, what with everything that’s going on around campus. You can ride along with us and I’ll drop you where you need to go after I finish my route.”
Traci shook her head hesitantly. Her every instinct told her it was definitely not a good idea.
“Please,” Donny sniffled, sensing victory.
Mentally challenged or not, he was nothing but a big manipulative mama’s boy, Traci realized as she started to ease away from the bus. But if Donny left, she’d be alone. That’s what it came down to. She didn’t want to get on the bus. Neither did she want to be alone.
“I might be able to stay for a few more minutes, just until his brother comes,” Traci relented, although everything in her argued against it.
“Thanks, miss. Now be careful out here. Why don’t you call the campus police to come pick you up, walk you home?”
Flippy worked for the campus police. Traci wouldn’t be calling anybody in that place.
Donny wiped his eyes on his shirt sleeve and looked back at her with that hundred-watt smile, like everything was all right again in his world.
“You’re pretty,” Donny repeated. “Just like my mama.”
The double doors closed with a loud whoosh, and the bus pulled away just as a green Thunderbird came roaring out of nowhere and pulled up in front of the bus stop.
“You’re late,” the boy accused, pointing his finger at the car, his fat face red and splotchy from crying.
“Sorry, bro. Hey, who’s your pretty little girlfriend?”
Donny blushed and stammered. “Sh-she’s not my girlfriend.”
“Did the bus driver happen to get a look at your new girlfriend?” Donny’s brother asked.
“I told you, she’s not my girlfriend.”
“Too bad.”
Traci leaned into the car, trying to get a look at the man inside, but it was dark and the man turned his face away as he switched off his headlights. “I was afraid to leave your brother alone. He was really upset.”
“She’s beautiful
and
she’s a Good Samaritan,” said the driver. “We hit the jackpot this time, big bro. Get in the car, Donny. Say thank you to your pretty little girlfriend.”
“She’s not my girlfriend,” Donny insisted as he opened the car door and lumbered into the front seat.
“Donny doesn’t exactly have a way with words, does he?” mocked the faceless voice that floated from the car. “But I appreciate you waiting with my brother. I’d like to show my gratitude. Can I give you a lift anywhere?”
“N-no,” Traci stammered. “Th-thank you. Goodbye, Donny.” Traci edged away from the bus stop, gave a half-hearted wave, and started walking in the opposite direction of the car. The Thunderbird swerved, spun around in a cloud of dust and pulled up alongside her. A frisson of fear climbed up her spine and lodged in her brain. The car windows opened and the vehicle tracked Traci as she began to run.
The car kept rolling. Traci kept running. But she could still hear the man’s voice.
“I offered you a ride home. Are you always this rude? Don’t you know it’s not safe to be out alone at night?”
Traci kept up her pace.
“Grab her, Donny. Your girlfriend needs a lesson in manners.”
“But why?” the boy asked.
“Don’t ask questions. Don’t I always know what’s best for you? We’re just taking her home for a short visit. Wouldn’t you like a little company? It gets pretty lonely with just us guys around the house way out at the end of the world.”
“Don’t hurt her.”
“Now where would you get an idea like that? You watch too many movies, bro. Go ahead and get her, and be quick about it before someone else sees you.”
Traci risked a peek back as Donny stepped out of the car. He was as big as a giant, but he moved quickly and he was gaining on her.
“No, please.” Traci tried to shout, but the words came out as a strangled whisper. A sick knot of fear twisted in her throat, festered in the pit of her stomach, choking her as it rose into her mouth. A slick band of sweat glistened on her chest, pooled under her arms and froze there. Her knees buckled. Each breath tore out of her with the force of a jagged knife. But still she ran. She ran like her life depended on it.
A word about the author...
Marilyn Baron is a public relations consultant in Atlanta. She’s a PRO member of Romance Writers of America (RWA) and Georgia Romance Writers (GRW) and winner of the GRW 2009 Chapter Service Award.
She writes humorous women’s fiction, romantic suspense, historical romance and paranormal. She graduated from The University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism and a minor in Creative Writing.
Born in Miami, Florida, Marilyn lives in Roswell, Georgia, with her husband, and they have two daughters. She loves to travel. Her favorite place to visit is Italy, where she studied for six months in her junior year of college.
Read Marilyn’s other two books published by The Wild Rose Press, Inc.: Her historical (romantic thriller)
Under the Moon Gate
, and its prequel, a historical,
Destiny: A Bermuda Love Story
.
Author e-mail:
Petit Fours and Hot Tamales blog:
www.petitfoursandhottamales.com
To find out more about Marilyn and her books, visit her Web site at:
Other Books You Might Like
Under the Moon Gate by Marilyn Baron
Find My Baby by Mitzi Pool Bridges
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