The Final Omen: Second Sight Book Four (5 page)

“Really?”

“Really; everything is fine,” Jared assured her.

She momentarily wondered if she’d woken up in a parallel universe. Last time she came out of a coma she was psychic. Maybe this coma caused a shift in her world and all the wrongs were righted. Jared wasn’t only forgiving her for kissing Declan, but also letting her know it was okay that he had a place in her life.

“I need you to talk to the detectives and try to go over everything with them. Even the smallest thing can make the biggest difference. Things may come back to you, too, once you’re fully recovered,” Jared instructed.

“You made it, Kate. After months of thinking you were a goner, you’re still here. I’m sorry we didn’t get him before you got hurt, but we’re going to catch him before anything can happen again,” Declan promised.

Kate nodded and turned her head to face the hospital wall. The assurances of her safety were thoughtful, but she had a feeling her ordeal hadn’t ended. Not only was her assailant at large but she was also helpless if he went after her again. Her body had been mutilated and it would likely be months before she’d heal. She couldn’t expect Jared to always be around to keep her safe.

She pushed the depressing thoughts out of her head. She had too much to be grateful for and didn’t want her attacker to force her back into being scared for her life every waking moment. Between the three of them, the man who tried to kill her wouldn’t be on the run for much longer.

Chapter Eight

Kate parked her Toyota at the curb of her house. It was a moonless night and the streetlights provided very little illumination. Her house was dark with only the porch light guiding the path to her front door. Surveying the driveway, she found her mom’s car wasn’t parked in her usual spot. Instead of exiting the car, Kate retrieved her phone from her purse and dialed Jared’s number.

“You’ve reached Jared Corbett, please leave a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.”

Kate groaned as she disconnected the call. “Where are you?” she hissed aloud.

She punched in the code to her voicemail and replayed the saved messages. Jared’s breathless voice erupted into her ear. “Kate…I’m not sure what’s going to happen tonight, but I want you to know I love you and I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything I’ve done to ever cause you pain. I’ve been a selfish ass and you had so many chances to give up on me and walk away from us, but you haven’t.

I made a promise to you when you woke up that I’d give my life to protect you. Keeping you safe is the most important thing to me, and on my life I swear no one will touch you again. I don’t regret what I’ve done to keep you from harm, but I do regret if we can’t be together because of it.

I wish I didn’t have to say this on your voicemail and I’ll try to call you back. But I just want you to know how I feel in case the shit hits the fan tonight. I love you, Kate.”

Kate tossed the phone on the empty passenger seat and slammed her palm against the dashboard. “Ow!” she cried as her hand began to throb. Tossing back her hair, she demanded to the air, “Really, Jared? You leave your girlfriend that kind of message and don’t pick up the phone?”

Finally, she opened the car door and slid out of the driver’s seat. Her hand slipped around the mace she carried dutifully in her purse. She had a bad streak of getting jumped at her house and took no chances any longer. After a few seconds of shuffling towards the front door, she stopped in her tracks. She turned back towards the street, just in time to see a dark car careening down the road.

The car came to an abrupt stop next to her Toyota. The engine was running and the headlights still on when a body burst out of the car door. Without a second’s hesitation, Kate was off and running.

Launching herself into Jared’s waiting arms, she snuggled into his chest. “Thank God you’re here. How could you leave me a message like that? I thought you were about to jump off of a bridge by the way you were talking. Not cool, Jared…” She stopped rambling as she heard Jared’s labored breathing above her. Disentangling herself from his arms, she looked into his face. His eyes were distant, staring past her into the night. His dark hair was disheveled and he looked like he’d misplaced his razor days ago.

Before she could question his countenance, she noticed a sticky sensation on her bare arms. Scrutinizing her arms by twisting them back and forth, she realized they were covered in blood. Horrified, she pressed her hand on Jared’s chest and found it soaked through with the crimson liquid. “My God, Jared, are you hurt? Why did you let me blather on while you were bleeding? We have to call an ambulance.” She moved to grab her phone out of her purse when his hand shot up and laced around her forearm.

“Kate, it’s not my blood.” His strained voice was hard to make out over her racing heart.

Her eyes scanned his tan t-shirt and horror dawned on her features as she realized just how much blood coated the fabric. “Whose blood is it?” she whispered.

Instead of answering, he crushed his mouth against hers. The kiss was full of suffering and she imagined his heart breaking every time his mouth moved in time with her soft lips. As she pulled away, she gripped the back of his head. He closed his eyes as he pressed his forehead against hers.

“Jared, whose blood is it?” she repeated with more urgency.

“The less you know the better. I don’t want you implicated in any way…” He paused as they both heard sirens in the distance. As the noise faded, they let out a collective sigh of relief. Jared continued, “I shouldn’t be here, but he said things. Disgusting things he had planned for you…” Revulsion stole into his features as he trailed off. Jared shook his head emphatically to seemingly clear his thoughts. “I had to make sure you were safe and see you one last time before I turn myself in.”

Kate blanched. “Turn yourself in?”

“He was going to hurt you again if I didn’t do something, Kate. He could’ve walked, been acquitted for attacking you or just got a slap on the wrist. This way he’ll never put his filthy hands on you again.”

Kate blinked rapidly. “Jared, you’re not making any sense. Who was going to hurt me? Did you find the guy who attacked me?” Finally, she noted the past tense references and the bloodbath on Jared’s clothing. “Oh no, Jared…what have you done?”

***

“Jared!” Kate called out as her eyes flew open.

“I’m here, Kate,” Jared said reassuringly as he jumped out of the chair he’d been sitting in next to her bedside.

Her body couldn’t stop trembling as she took a moment to shake off the apprehension the vision had left her with. It reinforced a feeling that had been with her since she woke up from the coma: their nightmare was everlasting.

Jared leaned close. His hand gently swept the hair back that cascaded in front of her face. His voice was soothing as he asked, “Did you see something, Kate? Was it a vision?” His eager eyes were at odds with the soft timbre of his voice.

She could tell he wanted answers as much as she did. He knew better than to ask if it was simply a bad dream, her dreams hadn’t been her own since she first woke up with her psychic gift.

“Yes,” she replied hoarsely. Tears flooded her eyes, blurring his appearance. “You came to my house…covered in blood. I thought you were hurt, but you said the blood wasn’t yours.” She drew in a shaky breath. “Jared, you admitted to killing the person who attacked me.”

“Who is it? Who hurt you, Kate?” he whispered with a fierce expression on his face.

Frustrated tears spilled out. “I don’t know. You didn’t tell me in the vision, explaining you didn’t want to implicate me. Jared, you told me he would never put his hands on me again and you were turning yourself in.”

She could see the tension fade from his features. The thought of her assailant’s death was obviously something he didn’t plan to lose sleep over. “It’s good you’re still having visions, Kate. It can help us find out who did this to you.”

Seeing the good in holding onto her psychic gift was debatable. Although she’d found it satisfying to reunite the missing with their families, Kate wouldn’t have minded having a normal life again. Being assaulted had shaken her up and it made her wonder if her psychic gift was a curse.

Declan had taught her how to bring on a waking vision, but many of her visions came at night while she slept. It had been less complicated when the glimpses she witnessed were of earlier events. It was as if she had the ability to reach inside someone’s head and pull out a random memory. Her powers were fickle—she never had complete control over whose memories she was seeing. If she focused on a person before a vision, it occasionally helped her connect with him or her. It was how Kate was able to assist on missing person’s cases.

Finding the missing came with its own challenges, but predicting the future was a gift, which she wished had a return policy. With her ability to see the future, she was given the responsibility of trying to change what was destined to happen.

“Jared, it’s not good.
You
killed someone in my vision. You were turning yourself in and planning to go to jail,” she squeaked out.

“Kate, as long as you’re safe and not hurt in your vision, then I’m not going to complain. Nothing else matters, not even my own life. I’m going to protect you no matter what.” He pressed his lips against her forehead, sealing his promise.

She pressed her hands against his chest and pushed him back. “That’s exactly what you said in my vision! You said you made a promise to protect me when I woke up.” Kate groaned. “Jared, my gut is telling me this vision was a warning. I think the premonitions are meant to give me time to stop the outcome.”

“I don’t think you need to interpret the vision as something bad. It could’ve been given to you as a reassurance the person who did this wouldn’t get away with his crime.” His eyes raked over her ravaged form. “I only hope his death is slow and agonizing.”

Things had changed while she was in a coma, but not all for the good. Jared had grown hard and it pained her to see a vengeful and cruel side of him. It was a drastic switch from the Jared who remained cool and calculating despite the dangers of his job.

“I don’t want to lose you again. I love you and…” she trailed off before adding, “You’re a cop and you have to do things the right away. You can’t kill a person in cold blood.
He
has to go to jail; not you.”

“Maybe I was only defending myself, Kate—”

“No, Jared. It sounded like you tracked him down and he taunted you. Then you killed him.” She summarized the vision from start to finish while he listened quietly. Kate’s frustrations grew as she noted his nonplussed expression.

Jared chewed on his lower lip thoughtfully. “You’ve never been wrong before, so I trust your visions. Although I don’t know if we can add any new suspects based on the details, it sounds like we’ll find the person responsible.”

“Jared, you can’t be involved in the case,” she said firmly.

Jared guffawed. “Of course I’m going to be involved.”

“You
can’t
,” she repeated. “Besides the fact you could lose your job for investigating on your own, I can’t stand the idea of us being apart again. We’ve been through so much and if you go after this guy on your own, I have a horrible feeling that will be it for us and we won’t have our chance to make things work.”

Everything was getting to be too much. She couldn’t be strong any longer. She’d tried so hard to prevent her attack from happening, and she failed miserably. If this was a warning for her to stop Jared from killing a person, she couldn’t fail again.

Coupled with the pain her body had endured and the host of medications she was being given, she was treacherously close to coming undone completely. As her bottom lip quivered, she saw Jared’s expression soften.

“Hey,” he said; his voice gentle. His fingers grazed down the side of her cheek. “You don’t have anything to worry about. The only thing you have to worry about now is getting better.”

“Jared, please. I need you to let this go for now. The cops will find who did this to me without your help.”

His jaw tensed and his fists clenched at his sides. Kate could tell he was after blood for the crimes against her. However, she was certain Jared’s feelings for her were genuine. His affection for her would hopefully prevent him from doing something that would cause her an immeasurable amount of pain.

His shoulders sagged. “Kate, if you really need me to walk away right now, I will.” His lips brushed against hers. “We’ll focus on your recovery and we’ll let the detective bureau work on your case.”

The haunted look in his eyes told her he was going to have a hard time stepping aside. He’d lost too many people he loved and she knew he wanted to punish someone for the fact she was almost taken away from him prematurely. But he was willing to put it aside to make her happy.

Kate craved security, coveted the time when she could stop looking over her shoulder and worrying about someone trying to kill her. As much as she desired her own safety, she couldn’t put Jared at risk to ensure it. She’d figure out who did this to her and have him locked away before Jared could put himself in danger.

But first, she had to heal. If her body was damaged, her mind would be, too. The prescribed painkillers made her dopey and the disconnected sensation would hinder her ability to focus. She’d likely have less control over her visions and would have to hope she stumbled upon the identity of her attacker before it was too late. She’d need to be in top form, physically and mentally, to destroy her enemy.

Chapter Nine

Six months later…

“I can’t believe you own a house right now. Look! You have a yard and a fence!” Kate squealed as she gazed through the sunroom windows. She threw her arms out and gestured to their surroundings.

Jared walked up behind her and draped his arm across her shoulders. “I know. It’s perfect for a dog; we should get one.”

“We should get one of those teacup Chihuahuas. You can carry them around in your pocket.”

Jared scrunched up his nose in obvious disgust. “Dogs that small aren’t natural. We’d have to get a manly breed like a German Shepherd.”

It was the day of Jared’s final walkthrough for his new two-bedroom house. He’d finally said goodbye to the apartment he lived in for years and moved across Franklin to a rancher with a large yard that backed up to a playground. It was Kate’s favorite house out of the ones they toured and she was thrilled when he took her advice and put an offer on it. She had no qualms saying goodbye to the apartment Jared once shared with his ex-girlfriend.

Six months had passed since Kate survived her assault. It had been months of agony as she recuperated from the stab wounds inflicted upon her. Her day-to-day schedule consisted of doctor’s appointments and physical therapy sessions. She’d been exhausted most days from pushing her body during therapy. The only thing that helped her numb the anguish was the pain medications prescribed to her.

After the physicians decreased her dosage, she thought she’d die from the white-hot pain searing her delicate skin. It was the darkest time of her recovery, and it took a lot of coaxing from Jared and her mom to crawl out of bed some days. But Kate managed to get over the hurdles and she could move with ease again. The physical and emotional scars were the only constant reminders of what she’d been through.

Jared was there through the good and bad. He’d kept his promise and stayed out of the case. They avoided talking about what happened to her—knowing it stirred up excruciating memories for them both. The only time they revisited her assault was when they touched base with Detective Thompson about her case.

She had another vision four months after her stabbing and it reinforced the importance of keeping Jared out of the investigation. During the premonition, she was visiting him in prison, and she sobbed when he told her he wasn’t going to be out anytime soon and she should think about moving on. His tormented face conveyed how little conviction he had over the statement. He didn’t want her to move on, but evidently the situation was hopeless. She couldn’t stand seeing him imprisoned, it went against everything he stood for. Moreover, orange was not Jared’s color
at all
.

“So, are you all packed up and ready to move in?” she asked as she surveyed the empty rooms around them.

The rancher was in a quiet neighborhood with similar style homes. The floor plan was open with the entrance leading into a great room connected to the kitchen and dining room. The master bedroom was set in the back corner of the house with an extra bedroom adjacent to it. The sunroom was her favorite feature with a cathedral ceiling and skylights. It was roomy enough she hoped to convince him to install a hot tub in the near future. The house was built less than ten years ago and the newness feeling had been preserved. Bedrooms had brand new carpeting and fresh coats of paint. The walnut hardwood floors in the rest of the house went perfectly with the overall style.

“Almost ready to move,” he said and leveled his gaze on her. “I actually wanted to talk to you about something.”

“Okay,” she enunciated slowly.

“Your mom has that convention in a couple of weeks in Florida. She was thinking about canceling, but we talked and I suggested you stay with me while she’s gone.” He raked his fingers nervously through his hair and several black tufts remained out of place. “I thought if you liked staying here, maybe it could be permanent.”

She gulped audibly. “Are you asking me to move in with you?”

He nodded and watched her closely. She hesitated for a second and wondered if it was too soon to take the momentous step with him. Although it had been almost a year since they first met, they’d only been back together for half that time. But the second she became lost in his eyes, she decided to say to hell with putting rules on their relationship and to follow her heart.

“That sounds amazing,” she said and they broke into matching grins. She catapulted into his arms and he kissed the top of her head. She pulled back and smirked at him. “You’re sure about this, right? It’s not because you require my womanly skills to run this place?”

“Although I appreciate your womanly skills, the invitation is simply because I love you, and I can’t think of anything better than waking up to you each morning.”

Her cheeks flushed. “I feel the same way.”

All of her reservations about whether or not they worked had been put to bed. Months had gone by and her feelings for him had grown exponentially. Things that had been driving them apart before—Nikki, Declan and their age difference—were non-issues.

Giddy, Kate grabbed her phone out of her purse and explained to Jared, “I’m calling my mom to come over and see our new place.”

Kate’s mom arrived half an hour later. As they waited for her to show up, Kate began to worry about how her overprotective and occasionally overbearing mother would take the news. A few months back, Kate had mentioned moving out; and although she was twenty-two, Darlene insisted Kate wasn’t ready. With her attack still looming over them, she expected Darlene to be more apprehensive than ever.

Between her mom, Jared and Declan, Kate hadn’t been alone for a second since her discharge from the hospital. When Jared wasn’t available to watch over Kate, he sent Declan in to take over. She pointed out more than once how twisted it was, but Jared contended that keeping her safe was more important than anything else. Until her attacker was found, he vowed to never leave her unguarded.

For a second it had crossed her mind Jared asking her to move in with him was an extension of his protectiveness. However, their relationship had been better than ever and she felt they were truly in sync. She didn’t doubt his love for her and acknowledged it was likely the primary reason for him wanting them to live together.

Darlene walked room-to-room and ooh-ed and ahh-ed in the appropriate places. Kate reasoned it would lessen her mom’s empty nest syndrome if she loved the new place. Also, the drive would be less than ten minutes away from her house, ensuring she would see Kate all the time.

“It’s great, right?” she asked, too loudly, at the end of the tour. Her voice echoed through the unfurnished house and amplified the nervous tenor. Her mother’s curious expression made Kate anxiously dance from foot to foot as they stood in the empty kitchen.

“Yes, you’ve picked a gorgeous house.” Darlene addressed Jared.

He cleared his throat. “We’re glad you liked it. Kate invited you over to talk to you about something.”

Kate stared at him dumbly, finding herself at a loss for words. He nudged her arm and she shook off her nerves. He’d dealt with gun wielding, knife carrying maniacs on the job, but breaking the news to Darlene Edwards would be something he’d leave up to Kate.

The announcement would be like ripping off a band-aid: Do it as swiftly as possible and hope it would be painless. As the silence grew awkward, she finally said, “Yes, Mom, I did have to talk to you about something. Jared asked me to move in with him and I’ve said yes. I was going to move my stuff in before you go to Florida.”

Kate squirmed under her mother’s scrutinizing gaze. “Really? And which room will you be staying in?”

Kate squared her shoulders. “Mom, I’m twenty-two and you have to let me go a little. I mean we haven’t discussed it, but I’m assuming I’ll be in the master bedroom.” She pursed her lips and looked at Jared.

“Yes, Kate, the plan was for us to share a room. I wasn’t renting out the spare bedroom to you,” he responded dryly.

Darlene glared at him. Picking up Kate’s left hand, her mom thrust it towards him. “I don’t see a ring on my daughter’s finger. Jared, I consider you a part of my family, but I want certain things for my daughter. The two of you should be in a committed relationship with one another before you take this step.”

If Darlene kept it up, the only thing Kate would be committed to was a psychiatric institution. It was almost as embarrassing as the time, over a year ago, when her mother kept trying to set her up with one of their deacon’s sons by throwing them together at church functions. Apparently, she expected his holiness to rub off on her daughter. Thankfully the matchmaking ended when he was busted for running a stolen car ring to support his coke habit. “Mom…”

Jared broke in and drew Kate close to his side. “I’m completely and one hundred percent committed to your daughter. And, if she’ll have me, we’ll take that step one day and get married.”

He winked at Kate and despite her mother’s disapproval, Kate found herself smiling back at him. She wanted to share her life with him and believed whole-heartedly she’d be his wife one day. If she still had doubts about the two of them, she would never agree to live together.

Darlene released Kate’s hand. Her mother’s eyes volleyed back and forth between them. Kate waited for a barrage of arguments about why it was a bad idea for them to live together. Surprisingly, Jared’s words must have moved Darlene.

“You make my daughter happy.” She addressed Jared. “And that’s what I want most for Katie. If you’re serious and want to make a life with her, then you have my blessing.”

Darlene laughed at Kate’s squeal. Mom’s tone then grew serious. “But I am leaving it up to you, Katie, to tell your father.”

Kate gnawed on her lower lip as she envisioned the conversation with her dad. Since her attack, their relationship had been tenser than ever. After her dad divorced her mom and moved in with another woman, Kate’s relationship with him had its ups and downs. But lately it was more downs than ups. Her dad disapproved of Jared and insisted he was to blame for her life being constantly in danger. Her dad was also irate over the lack of development in her case. Without any eyewitnesses and physical evidence, it seemed unsolvable.

Another source of contention with her dad was the fact she wanted to continue using her psychic gifts. Although most of her visions were of past events instead of premonitions of the future, they were still helpful for solving missing persons cases. Declan and Jared were trying to convince her to take an extended break, but she was ready to go back to work. With school being on hold and having to give up her job at the doctor’s office because of her injuries, she needed something to feel normal again.

Jared’s cell phone rang and he excused himself as he wandered into the back bedroom to take the call.

Darlene looked at Kate affectionately and said, “I’m not trying to smother you. It’s hard for me to let you go. I feel like we’ve had too many close calls and I can’t stand the thought of losing you.”

“I get it, Mom. But Jared is a good guy and he’s not going to let anything happen to me. Plus, I’m going to need your help fixing up this place, so you’ll be with me all the time.”

Darlene gave her daughter a genuine smile. Her mother loved projects and Kate would provide one to ease the thought of not having her under the same roof. “Besides, with me out of the picture, you can ask Dan if he’d like to move in.”

Her mom’s boyfriend had been a semi-permanent fixture at the house and it was getting to the point where Kate was feeling like a third wheel. Luckily, Declan and Jared were usually around to act as a buffer. As much as Darlene protested Kate leaving, she understood her mom would most likely enjoy the privacy.

“I don’t think we’re at that point. But who knows? Maybe one day. I never thought I’d find someone after your father and I was wrong.”

Her secret smile brought more joy to Kate’s already good mood. Darlene had taken the divorce hard and it was uplifting to see her in love. Things were changing. Bliss was in reach for them all. The only thing left for them to be all truly happy was to find out who tried to kill Kate.