The Empath (The Above and Beyond Series Book 1) (12 page)

Chapter 68

RENEE STOOD ON the bank, watching father and daughter wrapped in a hug in the middle of the river and she said a silent prayer to whoever had been listening. Her head ached, her jaw ached, her stomach was clenched almost as tightly as her grip on the blank notebook in her hands. Nan’s diary was burned and so she’d grabbed the first book she could find. It had been one hell of a risk.

Even so, Renee had felt Aeron, she had felt her in the air, in the wind all evening. It was almost as though Aeron’s voice had been whispering to her when she searched through the trunk in the cabin. Yes, the river had been a gamble but something inside her just knew. She could not explain it, it wasn’t logic, but if anything was going to bring Aeron back, it would be the display of complete love from her father.

She’d banked on everything she knew about Aeron to save her, and thank God, she had been right. She shivered with the cold and that glaring truth. The fear of just why she knew it raged deep inside. She was logical, she didn’t believe in what she couldn’t see. Even with Lilia, most of the time she put it down to science or a good instinct even when the obvious was there for her to see for herself. It was one thing for someone else to feel all the freaky stuff, then excuses could be made, plausible explanations, but now she was doing it, and it terrified her. There was no logic other than the fact that she just knew. She shook her head.
How
did she know?
How
was she so sure that Aeron was not the killer?

She watched as Eli and Aeron clambered up the bank, shivering, jaws chattering.

She wanted to hold Aeron, keep her safe, shelter her, the relief of seeing her present, real, moving, it made her throat close. She hurried to them with two blankets from the camp, anything not to stare like a fool. “What is it with you and new clothes?”

Aeron cocked her head, her eyes lingering over the space around Renee and smiled gently. “At least they ain’t ripped this time.”

Aeron swept her up. Her chuckling filling Renee’s ear as she shrieked at the cold, sodden, heartfelt hug.

“Thank you.” Her whisper was so gentle, so good to hear. She was alive. She was okay.

“For what?” Renee whispered back, her voice hoarse.

“Not giving up on me.”

Tears threatened once more. Renee pulled back, not daring to meet Aeron’s eyes. She felt too much, she was too exposed. She busied herself with the stove, they’d need hot tea.

Aeron’s gaze seemed to follow her, her big brown eyes watching her work and, no doubt, she was reading her too.

“Quit it.” Renee handed the steaming tea to her, ignoring Aeron’s lopsided grin.

“Have you got your meds?” Renee handed Eli his tea.

He rubbed his hand over his chest and rolled his shoulder, his tea jumping about in the cup. “No, but considering I just nearly drowned myself . . .” He glanced at Aeron. “I feel better.”

Aeron flicked her eyes away and Renee didn’t miss the avoidance. So that’s what she had been doing.

“You lost your badge,” Aeron said, cutting off Renee before she could ask her own question.

Tensing, Renee shoved her hands in her pockets. “I . . . well, yeah.” She shrugged, reminding herself of a naughty preschooler. “I quit.” Aeron and Eli stared at her but all she could do was shrug again. “Difference of opinions.”

“Like they think I’m the killer.” Aeron’s voice was calm but the words, the truth still stung.

“I don’t. That should count for something.” She tried not to think about the fact her own team didn’t trust her judgment.

Aeron met her eyes. “You know it does.” She smiled. “So, where does that leave us?”

Eli stared desolately into his tea. “The girls are missing, they don’t have a lot of time.” He bowed his head. “And, well . . . Jenny is—”

Aeron touched Eli’s hand. “I know, I’m sorry.” She turned to Renee, something was rippling across her eyes, something she wasn’t saying. “Your people ain’t gonna help?”

Renee tried to understand what she hadn’t said, had she seen more in the vision? “No, not unless they get something solid that changes their mind.”

Eli groaned. “Wonderful. So what did they have?”

Renee closed her eyes, trying to remember the things Daniel and Ben had said. “They said it was made to look like a man who hated women, that Chelsea was a decoy of sorts.” What did she know? It sounded to her like they didn’t have a clue. “They think it was a set up.”

Staring at his tea, Eli rubbed a drip from the rim. “So, someone is attempting to make it look like a serial killer?”

It seemed like it to her at least. “I guess so. Investigation isn’t my strong suit but I got the impression they felt that Aeron was trying to cover her tracks.”

His hands turned white as he gripped the cup. “Why? Why would they?”

Renee met Aeron’s gaze but was unable to hold it.

“Lilia,” Aeron grunted.

“Lilia?” Eli said. “Your mother? Aeron, she dis—”

“Is Renee’s boss.” Aeron’s voice carried such hurt, such bitterness that she spat the words out. “You’ve been fed a load of lies by her.” She downed her tea. “She’s part of Renee’s people.”

Renee felt her cheeks color, the warmth of the fire cool in comparison. Some hero she was.

“What? She’s alive?” Eli’s eyes misted, his jaw trembled, and he ran his hand over the back of his neck. He looked beyond exhausted, the poor man had gone through hell. “She’s alive and she didn’t say a word? She just left?”

Renee couldn’t bear the sound of heartbreak in his voice. “She had her reasons.” She tried to capture both their eyes. “None of it to do with either of you.” How had Lilia done it? How had she left them? “I’m not going to sit here and defend her because right now I want to give her a black eye but if she hadn’t become . . .” How did she say it, explain it? “Well, what she is . . .” What would have happened? Without Lilia’s sacrifice what price would they all have paid? She shuddered. “It’s just unthinkable.”

Aeron and Eli exchanged a look. Aeron squeezed Eli’s shoulder as he took gulps of his tea. “What about your side?”

He finished his cup and took Aeron’s from her. He stood and went to the river to rinse them out. “Nothing, no evidence. Well, Michael found some but the killer found him.”

Renee shook her head. “Our guys thought the evidence had been tampered with but they couldn’t prove it. Was there anyone lurking about? Anyone on the edges?”

Eli shook his head and wiped the cups with a cloth. “The forensic team, about five of the sheriff’s and my guys. None of us paid much attention, we were in the forest.” He sighed. “Most of us were just trying to get through it, you know?”

Renee nodded. She doubted even a hardened ME would have found the scene easy to work.

Eli placed the cups in the box. “You think the killer could have been watching?”

Renee stared at the camp stove. No doubt he had watched them every time. No doubt he knew he’d left evidence. “Must have been.”

“I’ve got an idea,” Aeron said, softly. “It could work.”

Anything was better than just sitting there. “What is it?”

Aeron took a deep breath. “We’re running out of time. None of us is Sherlock Holmes but we have me.”

Renee’s heart started an ominous thudding rhythm. Oh, that didn’t sound good. “What do you mean?”

Aeron stood up and wobbled a little. “Maybe I can get somethin’ off the girls. Maybe where they were?”

“You mean the bodies?” Eli said, his face paling.

Aeron nodded. “It’s the only card we have left to play.”

“I can’t risk losing you again.” Eli got to his feet and also wobbled. “I can’t just drown you every five minutes either.”

Renee bit her lip. Aeron was right. Without her, those girls would be dead before anyone could get to them, without Aeron, the killer was going to get away.

In no uncertain terms should she ever recount what Lilia had told her. She’d signed a clause, she’d pledged with her hand on her heart. It was a golden rule. “Lilia said you were the center of the storm.”

Eli put his hands on her shoulders like he would shake her. “What did you say?”

Renee swallowed. What the hell had she just said? “Lilia, she said that Aeron was the center of the storm.”

Eli threw his blanket off his shoulders. “Damn crafty sneak.” He strode to the car, slipping on the muddy grass as he fished his keys out of his sodden pocket. “Let’s go.”

Aeron shook off her own blanket and followed.

Renee dumped water on the fire as she wondered what the hell was going on. “You gonna explain what I said?”

Eli looked at her in the rear-view mirror as she clambered into the back seat with Aeron. “Lilia always used to say that her gifts made her the center of any storm.” He smiled. “And the only one who could stop it from the inside.”

Renee folded her arms. “So she got me to quit on purpose?”

Aeron chuckled.

Renee pursed her lips. It wasn’t funny.

“You really think they would ever doubt you?” Aeron asked. “You said yourself that they trusted you.”

To protect maybe. It had been quite clear how little she meant back in the trailer. “They told me–”

“They used your weak spot,” Aeron said.

She didn’t get it. “Why?”

Aeron touched Renee’s hand. “Because maybe I’ll need my trusty knight.”

Renee looked out of the window. She hoped Aeron was joking, she hadn’t exactly been at her best lately.

“You said you trusted Lilia, didn’t you?” Aeron whispered to her.

Renee nodded then growled, infernal woman. “I do.”

Aeron grinned and leaned closer to her. “And you trust me?”

There was no doubt in that at all. “Of course, you know I do.”

Aeron nudged her shoulder. “Then the only thing left to do is trust yourself.” She flashed an adorable toothy grin. “Like you told me, you’re good at your job.”

Renee sighed. “I
was
good at my job.” Long ago, before Aeron unraveled her. “Before . . . everything.”

Flexing her mammoth biceps, Aeron flashed her another grin. “I’m still here ain’t I?”