The Final Omen: Second Sight Book Four (10 page)

She gazed heavenward and questioned, “Where are you? And who are you?”

Chapter Seventeen

The woman awoke on the damp basement floor. Her pale pink heels were on the floor next to her, but she wore the same outfit she had on at the time of her abduction. Her skirt and blouse were stained with whatever filthy residue could be found on the cement floor. She blinked several times, seemingly to dispel what she’d hoped weren’t her actual surroundings. A single light bulb was the only illumination provided in the shadowy basement. As she lifted up onto her elbow, she gasped aloud.

She was locked in a cage; trapped like an animal. The basement was split in two with a heavy-duty wire partition separating the room. Walking over to the gate, she ran her hand down the bars. The gate appeared to be manufactured from woven wire and melded to a steel frame. She sidestepped to the door of the partition and attempted to open it. When it didn’t budge, she began to shake it violently. The lock wouldn’t give.

Beyond the bars, she could see her freedom. A staircase across the room led up to a closed wooden door with light from the upper floor illuminating the frame. Her unruliness must have alerted her captor because, seconds later, the door opened and a pair of boots appeared in her sightline.

A cry escaped from the woman’s rosebud lips and she backed away from the gate to the farthest wall. The figure said nothing as he descended the stairs. He stopped at the bottom of the steps and stood motionless, watching her for a long moment. His outline could be seen, but his body was hidden by the shadows.

“Please…please don’t hurt me,” she cried. Her instinct to scream was evidently pushed aside—she placed her fist in her mouth and stifled a sob. His feet shuffled closer and she could see him completely once he came fully into the light.

The woman’s eyes swept up from the tips of his black combat boots over his dark jeans and a darkly colored sweatshirt. He was of average-build and height, nothing that set him apart from most people. As her gaze reached his face her features transformed into frozen terror. A mask hung loosely over his face and neck. The woman’s captor was concealing his identity with a homemade burlap sack with holes hastily cut out for the eyes and mouth. The brown material looked weathered and worn with the edges fraying down his neckline. Her jaw dropped as she stared into the two black holes at the center.

“Why are you doing this? What do you want with me?” she whispered.

He pulled a phone out of his pocket and held it for her to see. “You’re going to call your sister and your job and tell them you’re going away for a while. Things have been hard for you at home and you’re taking an extended vacation.” His voice was gruff and he seemed to be purposely changing his tonal quality.

The woman straightened up. “And why would I do that? The only number I’m calling is nine-one-one if you give me the phone.” Her false bravado was undermined by the shakiness in her words.

“You’re going to do it, Michelle.”

“How do you know my name?”

“If you don’t make the call, you will regret it.” He took a menacing step forward, moving closer to the gate of her makeshift cage.

“Whatever you’re gonna do, just get it the fuck over with. I’m not going to help you keep me prisoner here longer by lying to my family. I don’t know what you have planned, but I won’t be a part of it.” This time, her voice didn’t crack. It was evident Michelle would rather be killed than be tortured by a madman. The woman had grit and, despite her being defenseless, she was refusing to cower before him.

The masked man reached behind his back, and by Michelle’s terrified scramble to the farthest corner of the basement, she was scared he was grabbing for a weapon. Instead he held out a walkie-talkie receiver. “Say hello to your mom,” he growled into the mic.

A young male voice blared through the speakers, shattering the silence of the basement. “Mom, are you there?”

Michelle closed her eyes and grief filled her features. “Honey, I’m here.”

“Mom, why am I locked in here? I just want to go home. He says as long as I’m good and you do what he says, he won’t hurt me and I can leave,” the boy whined.

“It’s going to be okay. I swear it,” Michelle croaked.

“Mom, I’m scared…he says I don’t have to be, but I am.” The boy started to cry and at this point, the man shut off the walkie-talkie.

“No, please, let me talk to my son again. Where is he? Did you hurt him?” she demanded and rushed against the gate. She began to shake the metallic bars back and forth and the sound filled the basement. “Let me out of here and bring me to him!”

“Your son will stay safe as long as you do exactly what I say.” He held out the phone and shoved it towards the opening between the bars. “Now shut the fuck up and call your sister.”

***

Would the panic ever stop? Kate wondered as she cowered beneath the sheets. Would she ever be able to wake up peacefully night after night from dreamlessness? Or would she always be forced to share the fears of those in her visions? In this case, her kinship with Michelle was instantaneous: the same villain terrorized them both.

Kate turned to Jared and shook his arm forcefully. He’d have to grow accustomed to living with the burden of sleep deprivation. She’d be constantly waking him from the dreams she’d never have in order to ease her horror of being trapped in someone else’s waking nightmare.

“Babe, what’s wrong?” he mumbled, still half asleep.

Sitting up in bed, she turned on the bedside lamp after a brief glance at the time on their alarm clock: 3:15 a.m. She didn’t have a concept of time in regards to her vision. The exchange between Michelle and the man could’ve taken place weeks ago.

“I had another vision of the woman I saw taken from the garage. Her name is Michelle,” Kate explained as Jared rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. As she spoke, his eyes grew alert. “Jared, it was him…the man who tried to kill me. He has Michelle.”

“What? Are you positive?”

“Yes, I saw him tonight. He had on the same mask as when he attacked me. I’ll never forget how he looked in the mask holding the knife above me.” Her heart pounded against her ribcage, threatening to leap out of her chest. Although she was consoled by the notion she was safe in bed with Jared, her heart grieved for Michelle’s precarious situation.

“Do you know where he’s keeping her? Or any clues to who it could be?”

“She’s in a basement. He has her caged in a section and told her she had to call her sister and job to tell them she was going on vacation.” She swallowed hard. “I think that’s why we couldn’t find anything about her being reported missing. I have a feeling it wasn’t a premonition after all.”

“Start from the beginning and tell me exactly what you saw,” he instructed and set his hand on top of hers. Once she finished relaying the vision, he asked, “What could this mean, Kate?”

“I don’t know,” she lamented.

“There must be some kind of connection between you and the woman that you aren’t realizing. You said she looked familiar, right?”

She nodded. “She did, but I can’t place her. But after this vision, I’m thinking maybe I was wrong all along about knowing her.”

“Why?”

“What if this vision is from the guy who tried to kill me? It’s happened to me before. I’m not always sifting through the memories of the victim. I’ve been the killer before,” she acknowledged. “My theory isn’t perfect, but I have to at least consider it.”

She never saw her attacker’s face, which cast doubt on the potential of being inside his head. Also, at the start of the visions, she felt like the memories were coming from Michelle and not her abductor. Since Kate was observing and not actively hearing the woman’s stream of consciousness, the source of the visions was undistinguishable. Kate fisted the satin sheets and gave Jared a pleading look. “We have to find them, Jared. He has her son…”

“We will. You had another vision, which is a good sign. It doesn’t sound like he intends to hurt them. If we could determine his motive, we’ll be closer to uncovering who he is.”

“What makes you think he won’t hurt them? He tried to kill me, Jared. He didn’t hesitate for one second when he stabbed me.”

“Exactly. Which is why it feels like his motivations are different with Michelle. He wants her and her son alive for some reason. Maybe he has history with them? Also, if he planned to kill her, why would he go to the trouble of making sure she didn’t recognize him?”

She grimaced. “He wanted me dead, plain and simple. But he has different plans with Michelle.” She heaved out a sigh of frustration. “I feel like we’re so close. If I could only figure out the connection, everything would make sense. We have to stop him.”

“He’s not going to hurt anyone again, Kate. As soon as we find him, I’ll make sure of it,” he swore.

Her gut was telling her it wouldn’t be long before the villain was unveiled. It was a relief to know she was closing in on him. The past six months she felt crushed by the boulder-sized panic in her chest. If she could hunt him down, she’d finally be able to breathe again.

Chapter Eighteen

“Did you slip some crack in my iced tea? Because I could’ve sworn you just said Declan was coming to Atlantic City with me,” Kate asked, her voice rising with disbelief. Her suitcase was packed for the bachelorette weekend and set next to the front door. Jared had stopped home for lunch to see her off and had decided to drop an unexpected bombshell on her. He gave her a sheepish look and shoved his hands into his pants pockets.

“Kate, it’s not the ideal situation for me, either, but I can’t get out of work. Believe me, I tried. Sending you off with another guy, especially Declan, feels like a punch to the gut.”

“Here’s a thought: Neither of you come with me,” she said and set her iced tea in the kitchen sink.

“You know that’s not an option. Someone is after you and you can’t go out unprotected…”

She snorted in response. “And Declan is supposed to keep me safe. Did you lend him a gun?”

“We live in New Jersey; he can’t just go around carrying a concealed weapon. He can fight though, and he’s one of the few people I trust to look after you when I’m not around.”

“Jared, I’m going to a bachelorette party. No boys allowed. Julie will kill me if I show up with Declan in tow,” Kate argued. “Anyway, it’s not like I’m going to do anything to put myself in jeopardy. I’ll be with Julie and her girlfriends in the middle of a crowded casino.” The doorbell rang and Kate’s eyebrows lifted. “I’m guessing that’s Declan now.”

“He knows to stay out of your way. I told him to just fade into the background and look out for anything suspicious.”

“That’s hilarious. Declan can’t fade into the background, it goes against his basic nature. His mere presence just screams look at me.”

Jared didn’t respond and opened the door to permit Declan inside. Her psychic friend noticed her displeasure immediately. “What’s the matter, Kit Kat?”

She silently seethed, causing Jared to answer on her behalf. “Kate is pissed that I asked you to go to Atlantic City with her.”

Declan placed his hand over his heart. “You wound me. And to think I’ve spent all morning putting together our playlist for the road trip.”

“It’s a bachelorette party. It’s a time for the bride to be with her best friends and get dressed up in ridiculous clothing. The clothing may or may not include pictures of penises. The night will also involve elaborate drinking games that aim to get the bride as drunk as possible. At the end of it all, the bride will hurl because of the copious amounts of alcohol consumed.” Kate looked pointedly at Declan. “It’s not a time for the maid of honor to bring along a male party crasher.”

He gave her a dumbfounded look. After a second, he apologized, “Sorry Kate, you lost me after I heard you say the word penises.”

After a disgusted glare, she turned her attention back to Jared. “This is insane. I can’t be kept under guard twenty-four-seven and not be able to have a life.”

“Be reasonable. You’ve had visions of the guy who’s after you, and he’s abducted an innocent woman. We have no idea where he is or who he is. He may be waiting for an opportunity to get you alone to make his move. I’m not risking you.” At her heavy sigh, he softened his tone. “I’d come if I could, but I just can’t get off tonight. In this case, you’ll go out and have fun without constantly looking over your shoulder. Declan will be keeping an eye on things so you can relax.”

Kate made an exasperated noise at the back of her throat. Her shoulders slumped as she took in Jared and Declan’s mirrored expressions of determination. Julie wasn’t going to be happy when Kate showed up at the hotel with Declan, but it was unavoidable. As much as it bugged her to admit it, she had to acknowledge Jared had good reason to be concerned about her wellbeing.

“Fine,” she huffed out. “But he’s getting his own room; he’s not staying in the suite with the bridal party.”

“Done,” Jared agreed. The tautness in his shoulders relaxed as he noted that she was finally relenting. He addressed Declan, “I’ll call the hotel and book a room for you.”

“I can get my own room...”

Jared held up his palm. “No, you’re doing me a favor by going with Kate. The least I can do is pay for it.”

Declan shrugged and didn’t protest any further.

Jared moved closer to Kate and rested his forehead against her own. “Promise me you’ll be safe. If you see or hear anything that makes you uncomfortable, let Declan know.”

“I will,” she promised and grazed her hand over the stubble on his cheek. “I can’t wait for this to be over. I hate giving this guy so much control over my life.”

“Me too.” He hugged her to him and said, “Call me tonight. I’m working a case but I’ll keep my phone on.”

“Great, you can look forward to my drunken call at two in the morning,” she quipped, her voice muffled against his chest. Moving out of his grasp, she shot him a disarming smile. “I’m going to miss you. I’ve gotten used to seeing you every day.”

“I’ll miss you, too.” He then said to Declan, “Please keep her safe. Watch out for her like you would your own sister.”

She almost giggled at Jared’s obvious underlying meaning. He was subtlety suggesting Declan keep his hands to himself while he was on her security detail. Despite the three of them mostly moving on from the past, it would never be truly forgotten. Jared continued the stare down with Declan, although she elbowed her boyfriend in the ribs.

Declan tilted his chin. “I’ve got this, bro.”

“And don’t try to ditch him,” Jared said to her. She lamented how well he knew her. Her Plan B had been to lose Declan once they arrived at the hotel. Atlantic City was swarming with people; it would take him hours to track her down.

“That’s not going to happen. I’ll be harder to get rid of than a raging case of gonorrhea,” Declan chimed in.

Kate laughed. “Okay, let’s get on the road before we’re late. You stay safe, too,” she told Jared. She rose up on her tiptoes to give him a kiss. She pressed her lips firmly to his and focused on kissing him in a way to reassure him of the strength of their bond. Hoping he realized that, not only could he trust her, but also she’d be thinking about him the entire time they were apart.

She looked forward to their future together and resolved to not let anyone take it from her. Cheating death hadn’t been easy and she definitely didn’t want a repeat performance. But it wasn’t only her life she feared for. She was terrified of losing him and had a horrible sensation his life could be in jeopardy as well.

***

“What are you doing?” Declan asked as he rolled their suitcases through the lobby of the hotel. The casino was central on the boardwalk, surrounded by other high-rises on each side. Kate had chosen the hotel based on the location and the fact it had five bars and clubs throughout the property. There was also a delicious Italian restaurant and she’d made reservations for the group at six. Outside the hotel, there was a beach bar that had a live band and drink specials starting at eight. She figured after dinner, the bridal party could visit the different bars before crashing in the room late at night.

“Texting Jared to let him know I arrived in one piece,” she answered as her fingers furiously typed out a quick message.

“I thought his comment about treating you like my sister was funny,” he remarked.

She slid the phone into her pocket and looked sideways at him. “Why?”

“Because I’m pretty certain it’s illegal in this part of the country for brothers and sisters to do what we did last year.”

“For all of our sanities, let’s not speak of that night ever again.” She stopped walking and turned to face him. “We’re over what happened, right? You don’t have any unrequited feelings for me still, correct?”

He screwed up his face in distaste. “Kate, I don’t talk about my feelings, especially not with you.”

“Why not? What’s wrong with talking about your feelings with me?”

“For one, I don’t have a vagina.”

She playfully slapped his arm.

“Also, we don’t have that kind of relationship. We’re more comfortable trading barbs than talking about emotional stuff.”

“Dec, we don’t have to put limits on our friendship. We can talk about emotional stuff, including what happened between us,” she urged.

“Don’t walk through that minefield, Kate; it could end up exploding in your face.”

Kate smoothed down the fabric of her t-shirt and avoided eye contact with him. He was making her feel guilty and she considered whether she let him down. When she chose Jared, she expected Declan to fall in line and accept her decision. She never sat down and talked to him about what it meant for their relationship.

“Well, don’t ever tell Julie this, but you do share the title with her as my best friend. I’m sorry if I hurt you in any way. I may tease you a lot, but I wouldn’t have survived any of the psychic craziness without you.”

He looked past her at the slot machines loitering the lobby. There were beeps, bells and whistles going off consistently from the slot machines as they spoke. Finally, he said, “I’m okay with you being with Jared. I like him; I haven’t had a guy friend in a while. They’re usually too worried I’ll steal their chick.” Kate rolled her eyes as Declan continued. “My problem is you were the first girl in a long time I felt more than lust for. And I just hope I can feel that with someone else.”

“What about Camilla?”

“It’s possible, if she didn’t make me chase her so damn much. It was just so easy with you,” he complained.

“I was not easy!” she protested. Her voice carried and a few players at the slot machines glanced over.

Declan chuckled. “I didn’t mean you were easy. I meant you were easy to talk to because we have so much in common.”

She differed in opinion on how much they had in common, but let the comment slide. “Look, it wasn’t easy with Jared and me. We had to deal with Nikki’s jealousy, my father’s disapproval and
you
. Yet, in the end, it was worth it.”

“So, are you saying I should try harder with Camilla? I’m not sure I could do it since I’m used to girls falling into my lap. Literally, it has happened to me before. I’ll sit down at a bar and a girl will climb onto my lap.”

Kate shook her head in disbelief and resumed walking. Her contrition was fading more and more with each passing second. “If you want to win Camilla over, try not to tell her things like that.” She then added, “If she’s the right one for you, she’ll appreciate your differences. You shouldn’t have to be someone you’re not just to get her to like you. One of the things I love most about Jared is I don’t have to pretend with him. He tries to understand my gift and it doesn’t bother him that sometimes I may end up inside of his head. He wants me to see all of him.”

“I’m happy for you, honestly. You’ve had enough shit thrown at you, you deserve to have something good in your life. But can we stop talking about our feelings now? I have an irrational fear I’ll be menstruating soon if the conversation keeps going in this direction.”

She nodded and watched him carefully walk alongside her. He put up a good front, but she’d seen his past through visions. He’d been through a lot after getting hurt in a ski accident that led to the appearance of his psychic abilities. His family despised him and hadn’t spoken a word to him in years. He was similar to Kate in the way he had a hard time letting people in. Once he did, there was so much to like about him. He was hilarious, fiercely loyal and protective. Not to mention he was easy on the eyes. His muscles strained against the fabric of his red, fitted t-shirt and his low-rise jeans showed off his lean hips and cut abs.

She wanted the same happiness for him she’d found with Jared. Declan was flawed, but she was in many ways as well. Being psychic did irrevocable things to their psyches. Seeing into the memories of the people in their lives meant they could usually find out people’s deepest and darkest secrets. Their gifts made it difficult to trust and form new relationships.

After she developed her abilities, her friendships fizzled. Her former friends felt like she was either lying about being psychic or they were freaked out over the possibility of her reading their minds. Jared had been the first person in a long time who believed in the impossibility of her gift and, not only accepted it, but appreciated it. She wouldn’t lose him—she
couldn’t
lose him. She’d track down her nemesis on her own if she had to and murder him herself before she’d let Jared walk away with blood on his hands.