Read First Visions Online

Authors: Heather Topham Wood

Tags: #young adult, #paranormal romance, #abduction, #new adult, #psychics, #upper ya

First Visions (8 page)

BOOK: First Visions
2.65Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

Before he could reply, the waitress returned
for their order. He ordered a grilled chicken sandwich and potato
salad. Against her better judgment, she went for the cheese fries
with a side of gravy.

Jared gave her an undisguised look of
distaste once the waitress had left. “How can you eat that crap?
Sounds disgusting.” As he let his gaze run over her body, she felt
heat rise to her cheeks. “Why are you so thin? You should be a
hundred pounds overweight if you eat that kind of stuff.”

Kate snorted. Jeez, she really needed to stop
snorting in his presence, talk about one of the least attractive
qualities. “I’m hardly thin, I saw your girlfriend. I look like
Cartman from
South Park
next to her.”

“Ugh, girls with their weight issues,” he
said and waved her off. “Want to show me that sketch now?”

She pulled the picture out of her purse and
he examined it thoroughly. After a moment of thoughtful
consideration, he remarked, “You did a good job, I have a few ideas
of what type of car it may be. Looks like an older model Ford or
Toyota sedan. You said about ten years old and dark green?”

She nodded and he continued, “I’ll work on
getting printouts of models from around that time period. See if we
can get an exact match.”

“I wish I could’ve seen the license plate,
but it wasn’t visible from the angle he brought Cori out in. The
garage was well-lit, but the rest of the house was dark. The layout
of the house looked like a Cape Cod style, but honestly he dragged
her through so quickly I couldn’t say for sure.” She sighed and
then took a sip of her diet soda. She figured ordering the diet
soda helped to cancel out the massive amounts of calories in the
cheese fries.

“Do you have any idea of a timeframe? How
long she was in the car for?”

“She was unconscious for part of the ride.
She didn’t have a good sense of time, but I would say he was
driving for no more than twenty minutes while she was awake. It was
very dark in the house which makes me guess it could have been a
lot later after he left the Prestons. Not sure if he went anywhere
first before heading to his house. Maybe someone near Cori’s house
will remember seeing that type of car. I can’t imagine too many of
the Prestons’ neighbors drive a hoopdie like that.”

He leaned back and chewed on his thumb. “With
the damage to the front, it would definitely stand out. Of course,
I wish we knew more, but this has been extremely helpful, Kate.
Thank you.”

Closely, she watched his movements as he
patted her hand. It only lasted a second, but Kate felt the touch
long after he pulled away. Suffering a loss for words, Kate was
grateful for the interruption when his phone rang.

After answering, he put his hand over the
receiver and addressed her. “I’m going to step outside and take
this. It’s a call from another one of the detectives working on the
case.” After her nod, he disappeared out of the diner. While she
waited, she fidgeted and tried not to think about how
right
his hand felt on hers.

A couple of minutes later, he returned with
an apologetic look on his face. “Sorry about that. He wanted to let
me know that they’re organizing a search party for tonight. The
plan is to comb a few wooded areas in town to look for Cori. We
have other detectives going door to door with Cori’s picture to see
if anyone has any information,” he explained solemnly. It was hard
to not get drawn in by his intensity as he spoke about Cori.

As the food arrived at the table, she became
convinced greasy food would help get rid of these butterflies she
was feeling. She saturated the fries with the gravy. After shoving
a forkful in her mouth, she closed her eyes and sighed. “These are
heavenly.”

Jared gave her a dubious look while taking a
bite of his sandwich. “I can see your arteries clogging right
before my eyes.”

She held out her fork to him. “Go ahead and
try them. You know you want to.”

He looked on the verge of denial, but
eventually caved. “Fine, but I have a feeling I’ll be regretting
it.”

She grinned as he took a large bite. He
showed no reaction, but she giggled as he reached over and took
another large forkful. “I can’t tell if I like it. I better taste
some more in order to make a sound judgment.”

“Sounds like a plan,” she said. She grabbed a
side dish plate and piled some on it. “Here, stop denying yourself.
One serving of disco fries will not kill you.” Her grin could not
seem to fade as she pushed the plate to his side of the table.

“So, that’s what these are called? Now that
you have me addicted to them, I can blame you when I get too fat to
chase anyone down,” he commented between bites. He cut his sandwich
in half and held out a piece to her. “Wanna share?”

She took the sandwich from him and felt a
jolt as their hands brushed. She was in big trouble and she knew
it. More of this and she was going to ask him to procreate on the
table right then and there. He returned her smile and seemed to
also revel in the intimacy of the moment. She wished she could’ve
thrown his phone against the wall when it rang again a second
later. Kate felt embarrassed that she was weirding him out when she
noticed how uncomfortable he suddenly looked.

“Hey, I’m going to step outside and take
this,” he said and hurried away from the table without a further
explanation.

She chided herself as she began to devour his
sandwich. The time she was spending with him was making her more
confused than ever. Had she imagined him flirting back? She knew it
was inherently wrong to entertain the possibility of something
happening with him. He had a live-in girlfriend who happened to be
in the midst of a major crisis. Nothing screamed unavailable more
than that. Jared and Nikki had obviously been together for years.
Did she really think he was going to throw that away on a girl he
met a few days ago?

Not to mention, he was out of her league.
What would a detective seven years her senior want with a sheltered
girl who lived at home with her mother? Embarrassingly enough, she
was inexperienced in more ways than one. She had only one serious
boyfriend and he broke up with her when she was eighteen, a couple
of months before her infection. They had only been together
intimately one time and it had been awkward and painful. The
asshole took her v-card and then dumped her the next day. Jerk
didn’t even have the balls to break up with her in person. Instead
he did it via text message.

Too bad she came back from the brink of death
with the ability to see memories and not the power to make her ex
infertile. This lack of sexual aptitude made her doubt Jared would
be interested in drawing her a roadmap before they hit the
sheets.

Jared walked back into the restaurant and she
could already feel the wall he was starting to put up. He had a
tense smile and his eyes didn’t meet hers. It must have been Nikki
on the phone, Kate assumed. It was highly probable she gave him an
earful for having lunch with her. Mumbling through a mouthful of
food, she remarked, “This is delicious by the way.”

Some of the tension lifted from his face and
he resumed his seat across from her. “Not as good as the fries, but
definitely edible. Anyway, I’m thinking I’ll probably be able to
get those photos of the car models some time tomorrow. Would you be
able to get together? Maybe late afternoon or early evening?”

“You could email them to me if it would be
easier. I don’t want to take up all of your time.”

Kate figured she’d back off gracefully. His
uneasiness was obvious and she wasn’t going to push anything. She
wasn’t sure why he was suddenly very withdrawn. They only shared
food, it wasn’t like they swapped spit. It may have been her
imagination getting carried away, but she couldn’t help to wonder
if this attraction was as one-sided as she originally thought.

“No, you’re not. Like I said, you’ve pretty
much provided our only leads. I’ve kind of dumped my caseload until
Cori is found,” he said and pushed away his plate.

“Ok. I actually have a ton of homework for an
online class I’m taking. My mom was having her friend over for
dinner and I was planning to head to the library for a few hours.
Why don’t you meet me there?” she suggested.

Jared agreed and she realized she had to
hurry back before Diane and the other women did start calling the
police station looking for her. Jared tried to pay for lunch, but
she threatened to kick his ass if he didn’t let her buy her own
meal. He gave a shrug and they departed.

The awkwardness still hung in the air as they
drove back to her office. She normally had no problem starting a
conversation, but she actually stayed quiet on the return trip. She
felt moody and sullen; saddened by the certainty that nothing was
going to happen between them. She tried to rally as they pulled in
front of her building.

At the very least, maybe they could have a
platonic friendship. Since she only had one friend, it would
instantly double the pool. Who knew? Maybe it would be the start of
a tidal wave of new friendships and she’d actually know enough
people to start a Facebook page. She tried to give him her best
“it’s cool if we’re friends-don’t be scared I’m trying to boink
you” expression. “Thanks for lunch, it was fun. Sorry about my
strangeness. I’m sort of a social outcast and don’t have the
capacity for normal conversation.”

He returned her look with his best “hey
kiddo, don’t worry” expression. “You’re not strange. You’re very
sweet and pretty damn hilarious. I’m…Nikki and I are grateful for
your help.”

“Ok, well great then. See you tomorrow.” She
hopped out and gave a quick wave. Although she didn’t turn around,
she could feel Jared watching her as she walked away.

Chapter Six

 

Kate was tossing and turning for hours. Damn
Jared and his gray eyes and easygoing smiles. Didn’t he know she
was starved for affection? No wonder she was crazed with lust, she
couldn’t even remember the last guy she kissed. Looking at the
clock, she saw it was just after one in the morning. Julie rarely
went to bed before two and Kate knew her best friend wouldn’t mind
a late night text message from Kate.

I NEED a night out pronto. When are you
free?
Two minutes later, Julie returned her text.
I thought
you were going all Salinger on my ass and had destined yourself to
a hermit lifestyle. Why the sudden change of heart?
Kate wasn’t
sure if she wanted to confide in Julie about Jared. It wasn’t that
she didn’t trust her. It simply made her feel morally bankrupt for
admitting her feelings out loud. Although Julie wasn’t the type to
pass judgment, Kate figured she would remain silent since the
likelihood of anything happening was nil.
Kate Edwards is ready
to reopen for business. Even willing to take you up on the offer of
a setup with one of Gage’s friends…

Now, Kate knew she had lost her freaking
mind. There were dumb jocks and then just below that level was
Gage. Kate had met a few of his friends when she had gone over to
Julie’s apartment to hang out. Most of them rarely managed to have
the ability to string a coherent sentence together. However,
desperate times called for desperate measures.
Who is this? This
can’t possibly be Kate.

Kate replied back quickly.
Ha-ha, are we
on or what?
Kate picked up Cori’s picture while waiting for a
response. She hoped she would dream of the girl again tonight. She
prayed the guy was not hurting her and had fed her.
How does
Wednesday sound? Some guitarist Gage knows is playing at a pub at
Main Street. Probably 9 or 10ish?
Kate didn’t care if Julie
suggested they strip down to their underwear and head to a biker
bar, she was that desperate for a night out.
Sounds perfect,
I’ll be wearing my hoochiest outfit
.

Julie was gleeful.
YES!!! This will be
crazy fun and I have the perfect set of heels for you to borrow.
Gage is here and he’s psyched too. He said he knows the perfect
dude for you. Call you tomorrow love!

Kate set her phone on her nightstand.
Shuddering at the thought of who Gage would think is perfect for
her—she knew she’d be lucky to make it out of the night without
being felt up or roofied. At least Julie would be there and she
could have some girl time as well. She didn’t want her only friend
to drift away because she was a head case with social anxiety
issues. Plus, Julie had amazing shoes and they shared the same
size. This would be the perfect opportunity to forget about Jared
and find someone else to obsess over. She couldn’t get in the way
of his ‘happily ever after’ with his equally genetically blessed
girlfriend.

Once Cori was located, she could forget all
about the handsome detective. She didn’t really expect him to
remain friends with her once the case was over. As her hazel eyes
gazed at the photo of Cori again, she begged her silently to come
to her for both their sakes.

 

***

 

Kate knew instantly this vision wasn’t of
Cori. Her surroundings were too bright. It lacked the dingy
depression of the house of horrors where Cori was being kept
captive. She reached out her mind and didn’t find any foreign
thoughts. She was only an observer and not inside the head of
whoever’s memory this was. Since she made a connection with this
person’s mind, she guessed there was the potential to reach into
their thoughts. This was a skill she had yet to figure out, though.
On a positive note, these visions were the easiest for her to
handle. She didn’t have to share the feelings of anger, terror or
sadness with the person. It allowed her to have some disconnect and
pretend she was only watching a movie.

Shit, she thought, as she heard voices and
focused on her surroundings. She soon comprehended she was in
Jared’s apartment. The clock on the oven read six o’clock and she
saw Nikki and Jared sitting at the kitchen table eating. Empty
Chinese food containers littered the counters and a half empty
bottle of wine was set between them. Nikki was dressed in a simple
floral sundress that highlighted her radiant and tanned skin.
Wearing a distressed expression, she mostly pushed the food around
on her plate. Kate centered her attention on Jared and noted he
wore the same white button down he had worn to lunch today sans the
tie. He looked tired and distracted. Kate was amazed that this was
most likely a scene from earlier that evening.

BOOK: First Visions
2.65Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

Other books

The Armada Legacy by Scott Mariani
Love and War by Sian James
Zoombie by Alberto Bermúdez Ortiz
Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom
Tales of a Female Nomad by Rita Golden Gelman
Ticket Home by Serena Bell