First Visions (25 page)

Good, she thought, hopefully it would be
enough to give her a free pass to date Jared without feeling like a
complete harlot. Something good should come out of this experience
besides a raging case of post-traumatic stress disorder. Hopefully,
Cori would fare better mentally and be able to recover from those
weeks away from home with only a crazed fucker for company.

Not sure why they would be grateful to me.
Cori is the one who saved us,” she stated flatly. Then continued,
“I’m glad she’ll be alright. And the guy?”

“We have his name now—Billy Rizzo. You were
right about his connection to the family. Nikki’s father had hired
him about four months ago to do some outdoor repairs and deck
maintenance. He was fired after a couple of days for showing up
late and drinking on the job. Nikki’s father Jacob refused to pay
Billy for the work he had already done for him. Jacob explained to
us that he hadn’t recognized Billy from the sketch because he
worked with so many people.” Kate quelled the urge to roll her
eyes. The Prestons were so rich they didn’t even bother to remember
the faces of the menial help.

“He has a ton of priors—everything from
assault to possession charges. He’s in serious condition. I’m
guessing a hammer to the head and a knife in the back will do that.
He’ll live though, but he won’t be getting out of prison for a
very
long time,” he explained.

The ambulance fell silent and Kate wondered
if maybe she was in shock. Would she be able to tell if she was
really in shock? Would it be like how they say if a person thinks
she’s insane, she’s really not?

“Robert,” her mother addressed her father and
rose to a standing position. “Why don’t we leave the two of them
alone for a minute before they take Katie to the hospital?”

Her father shot her mom a glance which
conveyed his confusion over why the hell they would do that. “Come
on. Katie we’ll be right back.” She assured her daughter and
practically had to pull her dad out of the ambulance before he
could voice any of his protestations. Kate wondered how her mother
would explain her and Jared’s relationship, when to be honest Kate
had no idea what to call him.

Jared moved to the spot next to her head
previously occupied by her mother. He rubbed her cheek and looked
at her affectionately. His hand pulled away from her face and Jared
took her hand in his. Kate hoped the moment wouldn’t be ruined by
him having gore stuck to his skin. “You are
never
to do this
to me again.”

“What? Not get abducted and held captive by a
psychopath? It’ll definitely be one of my New Year’s resolutions,”
she replied and finished the sentiment with a hacking cough.

He ran his fingers over her neck once her
coughing fit subsided. “Did he hurt you badly? Because I’ll gladly
go to the hospital now and finish him off,” he said edgily.

His sensuous lips were set in a stern line
with his gray eyes stormy. It made her realize he was probably
partially serious about knocking Rizzo off at her behest. She was
tempted to take him up on the offer, but figured she’d leave it to
the justice system to take care of him.

She shook her head. “I’m good, it’s not like
I almost got killed or anything.”

Looking into his eyes was definitely
dispelling that numb feeling and making her feel all sorts of
vulnerable. She had broken all of her self-made rules with him. It
made her feel weak to want nothing more than to be in his arms and
ask him to protect her from all the bad guys in the world.

Her lower lip trembled and she said shakily,
“I don’t know if I want you to see me like this. As if you couldn’t
tell, I’m sort of a hot mess. Maybe you should go be with Nikki and
her family and I’ll call you when I’m back to my normal charming
self.”

He brushed her lips with his and it was
enough to instantly change her mind about wanting him to depart.
“I’m not going anywhere, Kate. When I found out you were taken…I
went crazy. Now that you’re back, why the hell would I want to
leave you? Besides, don’t I owe you a date?”

Finding it difficult to speak, she gave a
dazed nod. Moving his lips close to her ears he whispered, “Plus, I
heard you were able to get out of a pair of handcuffs. You’re going
to have to show me that trick later.”

She was finally able to crack a small smile
and said, “God, you have such a dirty mind.”

He leaned in and she wrapped her hands around
the back of his neck. His kiss was gentle, but persistent. Although
they had only known each other for a short time, she knew he was
trying to show her how much he already cared about her. It also
reminded her of how grateful she should be to be alive. She would
now have the chance to see what he looked like sans clothing.
Wasn’t that one of her major motivators in the crack house? She
questioned if she could get EMT Lady to take a hike and do the deed
right then and there. If being psychic was this dangerous, she
couldn’t take the chance to wait for a more opportune moment.

He whispered huskily, “You’re with me now and
nothing bad is going to happen to you ever again.”

Kate did not reply and instead parted her
lips for another kiss from him. She appreciated his positive
outlook and hoped it was true. However, she wasn’t sure if he’d be
able to keep that promise. Something had changed when she had
connected psychically with Cori and was held captive alongside her.
It was like everything suddenly made sense and she realized her
calling in life. Whoever had gifted her with her psychic ability
when she was in the coma intended for her to use these powers to
help others. She would have to get involved no matter how dangerous
the situation may end up being. She knew if another abduction case
was to come her way—she’d have to help. This meant danger would
likely find her again and again.

The End

About the Author

Heather Topham Wood graduated from the
College of New Jersey in 2005 and holds a bachelor’s degree in
English. Working full-time as a freelance writer for publications
such as
USA Today
, Livestrong.com,
Outlook by the Bay
and
Step in Style
magazine, she writes fiction novels in her
spare time. She resides in Trenton, New Jersey with her husband and
two sons.

First Visions
is the first novel in
the
Second Sight
series.

Follow Heather on Twitter and her blog to
keep posted on her upcoming works:

https://twitter.com/woodtop255

http://authorheather.wordpress.com