ChasingShadows (2 page)

“Here are my references.” She tapped the paper. “You should
speak to Captain Jamison at NYPD first.”

Alex pushed her references aside. O’Malley lounged back in
his chair and watched them, amusement crinkling the corners of his eyes.

If she weren’t honor-bound to help save an unsuspecting
family a world of grief, she’d walk out and pretend this day had never happened.
But the premonition refused to let go, and duty prevailed.

Juliana rushed to continue. “Have either of you worked with
psychics to solve any cases?” Their reactions and receptiveness would tell all.
She had worked with enough cops to expect cynicism and derision from them. Such
attitudes made for a thorny working relationship. And if that were the case
here, she wanted to know upfront.

“We work with a couple now and then,” O’Malley replied.

“No.
You
work with them,” Alex corrected, his voice
unyielding. “The few I’ve worked with were pain-in-the-ass nut jobs craving the
limelight.”

A frisson of anger sliced through Juliana at Alex’s
depiction of paranormal science, but she held her tongue. She’d heard it all
before.

“Why are you just now coming out of the woodwork?” O’Malley
glanced at her business card as if it offered further clues to her identity.

“I keep a low profile. Few people are aware of my particular
talents.” She avoided looking directly at the sparks in Alex’s eyes and kept
her gaze focused on a reddish brown smudge on the wall behind the two
detectives. “I was born and raised in San Jose. Twelve years ago I moved—” Her
voice wavered at the recollection, and she rapidly buried the memory. “To New
York. I worked with the NYPD for several years solving missing persons, rape
and homicide cases. I moved back to San Jose a few weeks ago.”

Before either man could utter a response, she gave her
standard recitation. “I have ESP, which occurs as visions while I’m asleep.” She
toyed absently with her braid. “Sometimes I have premonitions first. Other
times, I see the actual event happen.”

She breathed in the scent of Alex’s spice and musk cologne.
It drove her crazy with unexpected familiarity and memories from long ago. She
rubbed her nose, smelling her own freesia perfume, and forced herself to ignore
Alex’s haunting cologne. “Certain dreams are warm and fuzzy, others are
horrible, evil.”

She glanced at Alex’s face to weigh the impact of her words.
A boulder boasted more expression than he did.

O’Malley nodded and flicked a hand at her to continue.

Relief flowed through her. She loved a receptive policeman.
They were much easier to work with. “This morning I had a premonition.” She
related all the details of her dream, including the presence of the illuminating
full moon, giving voice to a timeframe.

O’Malley scribbled in his notepad, while Alex’s dark gaze
remained riveted on her face, disconcerting in his intensity.

“I don’t believe the kidnapping has happened yet. I didn’t
sense or see completion, only anticipation.” Her heart wrenched again in
sympathy for the unwary child and family. In case her senses were wrong, she
asked, “Has such a kidnapping been reported?”

O’Malley gave her a measured stare, tapping his pen on the
table edge. “No.”

“An abduction
will
occur, and it will happen nearby.”

“Because you dreamed it? Do you know the girl’s identity? The
kidnapper?” Alex jabbed the tabletop with his index finger after each question.
“Didn’t your dream tell you that?”

She expected the grilling. The NYPD had put her through
dozens of similar interrogations. But she wasn’t prepared for the niggling doubt
Alex dumped in her mind. “I wouldn’t recognize either one of them if they sat
next to me. I wish I could.”

Alex folded his thick, muscled arms across his chest. “Then
how can you help us?”

Juliana averted her gaze from Alex’s tanned arms, exposed
beneath the rolled-up sleeves of his white dress shirt. Inside, desire surged
at the thought of those strong arms around her, and she batted the insane
feelings down. She brushed clammy palms on her skirt, hating her nervousness. Hating
that Alex caused it.

Why Alex? Why now? Every police case she’d ever assisted
with flipped her life upside down while she dreamed her way through it. She
certainly didn’t need this complication or the attendant distractions.

Sweeping her thoughts aside with effort, she shifted her
attention back to the detectives. “I’ve connected with the kidnapper’s mind. I
may have encountered him somewhere, touched an item he touched, saw his
picture, heard his voice. When I experience this sense of invasion, the
criminal’s thoughts, emotions and feelings will surface in my dreams. I’m
ninety-nine percent sure I’ll dream of the actual kidnapping.”

“Are
all
your visions about strangers?” Alex’s
calculated question pushed the long-locked door to her buried memories open
another inch.

Bastard!
Anger surged through her once again. She
swiped away the perspiration tickling her forehead, hating that Alex had
reduced her to this state. “Sometimes I dream of things and events happening to
people I know. I don’t
only
dream of crimes happening to strangers.”

Another thick hush blanketed the room. O’Malley’s sudden
scrawling on his small notepad drowned out any other sound.

Juliana peeked at her watch before her gaze darted to the
slate-blue door behind the two men. She cut through the silence in a rush of
words. “The kidnapping will happen soon. When it does, I’ll provide as much
assistance as I can. Check my references. I am
not
wasting your time.”

Alex’s eyebrows arched and he gave a curt nod. “Fine.”

O’Malley quit writing and lifted his head. “We’ll be in
touch.”

“Thank you for your time.” She stood, clutching her
portfolio to her middle and adjusting her purse strap over her shoulder.

With brisk steps, Juliana walked out of the conference room
and down the empty hall, surprised that they just let her go without an escort.
She gave an inward shrug and kept walking.

Halfway through the squad room, she felt a touch on her arm
from behind. As abruptly as the touch landed, it vanished. Electricity tingled
along her arm, and she knew without turning that Alex stood behind her.

Noise in the squad room decreased to an oppressive stillness.
She sensed a dozen pairs of eyes watching her as if she held a live grenade.

She turned slowly. “Detective?” It was difficult to remain
coherent when he stood so close.

“You appear out of thin air and drop a bombshell on me.” His
voice dropped for their ears only. “Just like that.”

“What more do you want me to do?” she whispered through clenched
teeth. Her stomach contracted into a tight ball.

“By the way, it’s
Lieutenant
.” His mouth tugged at
the corners.

“What?” She blinked rapidly.

“Forget it.” He shrugged and scowled.

He stood so close, her gaze bound by the magnetism of his
extraordinary eyes. His eyes didn’t mask his inner fire, but the rest of his
face was as unreadable as the dirty taupe carpet under his feet.

Without thought, she skimmed her fingers over the whitened
scar on his face. “What happened?”

“Busted up a street gang fight.”

“I’m…sorry.” She dropped her hand and stepped back.

The spell dissolved and regret zigzagged oddly through her. “Alex,
call Captain Jamison. He’ll verify my work with the NYPD.”

By tacit consent, they both turned and walked away.

“You know how to reach me,” she tossed back as she practically
fled the confining squad room to the steps outside.

Under the bright August sun, she forced herself to walk with
calm, purposeful steps to her BMW. Once she was inside the car, long-hidden
guilt crashed into her full force. Pain washed over her heart, seeking a
crevice, pinching and prodding. The premonition took a backseat as the
nightmare from twelve years ago swamped her.

Juliana and Alex had been eighteen years old, nearing high
school graduation and the road to college. They’d been in love, ready to tackle
the world together.

Instead, two weeks prior to graduation, they stood dressed
in dark funeral clothes, staring at each other across a six-foot deep hole in
the ground. A pine coffin housing Johnny Cates’ mangled body sat next to the
dark cavity. Alex’s best friend.

The result of a premonition she screwed up.

The funeral service had reached a dismal end, grieving
family and friends had departed. Without warning, unusual and puzzling thoughts
collided with hers.

Something had clicked in her psychic awareness. For the
first time in her life, she’d been able to read someone’s mind.

Alex’s mind.

What she had interpreted shocked her more than the confusing
looks his pain-shrouded eyes hurled at her. He had directed resentment, anger
and uncertainty at her. The array of emotions had devastated her.

She buried a large part of her heart along with Johnny that
horrible afternoon. It had been the last time she’d seen Alex, when events out
of her control forever altered her life.

Wiping away a lone tear, Juliana corralled her drifting
thoughts. She concentrated on the short drive to her office tower.

She would deal with the merciless premonition like all the
others she’d experienced. But how could she expect to cope with Alex, the pain
and the memories at the same time?

* * * * *

Gratefully, Juliana sank into the high-backed chair behind
her desk. She glanced at the schedule printout her assistant had left on her
desk. Back-to-back appointments would keep her busy through lunch.

An acquaintance and prospective client from New York was
first on her agenda. He could potentially bring her several high-dollar
referrals. Plenty of money flowed in the high-tech world of Silicon Valley, and
her solo practice would get its share. Having the right clients upped the ante.
She couldn’t let the day’s events distract her from establishing essential
business contacts.

A sigh escaped her as the busy workday loomed ahead. She
swiveled the chair around to gaze through the glass wall behind her desk, a
moment’s respite before getting down to business. Juliana pried her mind off
the premonition, the police and especially Alex. The rare moment of
procrastination was blissful while it lasted.

The rolling foothills surrounding the valley were golden from
summer’s heat. The bleak landscape matched her mood perfectly. Exhaustion
already threatened her and her blood sugar was dropping in response.
Damn!
She’d
love to erase this morning from her life.

The dream weighed on her like a dropped anchor; there was no
escaping it. “Not another child,” she whispered.

“I’m sorry. Should I come back later?” A silky, deep
masculine voice came from behind her.

Shoulders stiffening, she spun her chair back around. Her
gaze landed on the second most striking man she’d seen that day. How could she have
forgotten that Nicholas Hastings resembled a Greek god?

She rose, right hand extended, mentally slapping down the
grasshoppers in her stomach.

Brazen blue eyes swept over her. He shook her hand, his palm
cool and soft. “Juliana, it’s wonderful to see you again,” he said in his smooth,
eloquent voice.

His grin flashed dazzlingly against coppery skin, leaving
her unusually disconcerted. Heat crept up her neck.
What is it with this day
and gorgeous men?
Her composure was running on overtime, otherwise charming
and handsome men wouldn’t normally affect her so.

Putting on a business face, she said, “Nicholas. It’s
wonderful to see you on the West Coast.” She let go of his hand, making a
sweeping gesture toward the client chairs. “Please, have a seat.”

“I’m sorry I intruded. There was no one at the front desk.” He
set his briefcase on the floor and dropped with ease in a deep cushioned chair
facing the expansive mahogany desk.

Juliana dismissed his apologies with a flutter of her fingers
and a cheery smile she didn’t feel. “I was taking a mental break. You merely
startled me.”

She assessed the elegant cut of his expensive suit. It
certainly fit with his financial profile, a profile she wanted to get her hands
on.

She clicked her laptop out of standby and opened the Client
Intake file from their recent telephone consultation. “Okay. What can I do for
you?”

His grin turned into a seductive smile. “I’m sure I’ve
mentioned before that you’re an incredibly beautiful woman.” He crossed his legs
and rested his forearms on the padded chair arms.

Nicholas Hastings was a man accustomed to getting whatever
he wanted, and his arrogance practically oozed from his pores. How could she
have forgotten about his inflated ego? But after the morning’s events, she
didn’t have the time or the inclination to indulge him, as she would under
normal circumstances.

“Nicholas, are you here to plan your finances?” Juliana
raised an eyebrow.

He chuckled, haughty, irritating. “All business,” he said
nonchalantly. “You’re a woman after my own heart.”

She tapped her manicured fingernails on the keyboard and
smiled at him, tongue in check.

Fortunately, her impatience spurred him on. “I want you to
invest half a million in whatever way you think will earn me the biggest gain
in a sixty-day period.” He drew several sheets of paper from his briefcase and
slid them across the desk. “Next, I want you to invest another half-million in
this stock and pull the funds out after the stock triples.” He rested back in
the chair, challenge written across his smug face.

Juliana leaned forward and glanced at the prospectus. Unable
to restrain her disbelief, she blurted out, “You’re kidding.” She quickly
realized how unprofessional she sounded and gave an apologetic smile. “I mean, are
you aware of the turmoil inside this company?”