New Revelations: Second Sight Book Two (30 page)

Kate would’ve preferred not to tell Jared what had happened over voice
mail. However, she needed him to realize how important it was for him to call her immediately
.

She turned towards Declan’s form as he stood looking out the window and talked in soothing tones
into the phone. A few minutes later, he hung up. Holding up the phone, he st
ated numbly, “That was rough. Delaney
wants us to meet her
at the police station. They’re
going to want to hear your story before they bring in CJ for questioning.”

Declan
walked over to her and gripped her by the shoulders. “I know you’re thinking we failed, but get it out of your head. You did a good thing tonight.”

“How?”

“If you didn’t have the vision, CJ may have gotten away with what he did to Melanie. Melanie’s family can now know what happened to her. Sometimes not knowing is worse than the alternative…”

“I
really wanted to save her,” she confessed
in hushed tones
.

“We couldn’t save her, but at least CJ will
be
locked up for the rest of his life and never be able to hurt anyone again.”

It was kind of him to try and comfort her, but the sadness was choking her from the inside out. Nothing would
ever erase the deadened look in
Melanie
’s eyes
as
CJ spewed his hateful words at her. Her hands balled into fists. Prison was too good for him. He deserved a long and torturous death and a trip straight down to hell.

Kate’s hands still shook as she gripped the coffee cup. It had gone lukewarm some time ago, but she couldn’t seem to let it go.
Staring down into her drink, she went over the last few hours in her head.
The police had seemed skeptical over her story, but could not discount how much she knew about the case without ever meeting Melanie. It took them awhile to stop treating her as a suspect and actually take what she said seriously. After a clerk showed investigators several articles about her from
Franklin
newspapers, they decided to look into her story.

After a property records search revealed a cabin in
Michaux
State
Forest
owned by CJ’s deceased uncle, things started happening quickly. Investigators were headed to both CJ’s house and the cabin. Declan and Kate waited for some time with the family, but she felt like any minute
she would break. Their sorrow was cutting off her ability to breathe. S
he couldn’t stand the idea that she was somehow a catalyst for their pain.
Melanie’s mother and sister
collapsing against one another as they cried out with loss
were more haunting images arresting her brain.
With a hasty
exit,
Kate made her way out of the front doors of the police station.
Declan instructed the family
to call as soon as there was any news
.

Kate
felt a chill in her bones and turned up the heater of Declan’s car as he spoke outside on his cell phone.
A local number had called just as they pulled into the parking lot of their hotel.
The clock blurred as she rubbed at her tired eyes, but
she
saw that it was just after two in the morning
.

Declan entered the car. “CJ cracked during questioning. He confessed to Melanie’s murder. He’s going to take police to the cabin and show them where on the property he buried her body.”

“
I hope they don’t go easy on him for cooperating.”

“Nah.
P.A. still has the death penalty.
He’ll either be put down or be someone’s bitch in prison for the rest of his life,” he said lightly. Facing her, he remarked, “By th
e way, the Pirola
s
are grateful for what you did tonight. Obviously, it’s not the outcome everyone wanted, but you let them know what happened to Melanie. They want you to have the reward.”

Her stomach revolted. “I don’t want their money.”

Declan gave her a sympathetic look.
“Let’s get you inside. We don’t have to talk about any of this right now.”

He turned off the car and opened the car door for her. Wordlessly, he led her through the deserted hallways of the hotel. He stopped outside of her door as she dug out her key card. She fumbled
through her purse forcing it
to
fall to
the ground.
The contents spilled out and Declan
knelt down to help her pick up everything.
Her hands trembled as she tossed in each item. Kate’s eyes remained downcast although she felt Declan’s stare on her face.

“Kate…” he started.

She cut him off. “Declan, I’m fine. Goodnight.”

“You’re not fine,” he disagreed.
“
You know what my
mother used to say when I used to cry about my accident and feel sorry for myself. It was an old Irish saying that went something like ‘Be not burdened with tears of sorrow, enjoy the sunshine of the morrow.’”

Raising to her feet, she mumbled, “No offense if I don’t take your mom’s advice. I saw your mom in visions, she seemed like a raging bitch
to me.”

He laughed h
eartily. “There’s my Kit Kat.
Filled with piss and vinegar
and not about to let
the world drag her down.”

Opening the door to her room, she eyed him warily. “I’ll probably regret this, but do you think you could stay in here tonight? I’m just afraid…that I’ll have another vision of CJ.”

“I should’ve known you would be
trying to get me in your bed as soon as we were alone,” he quipped.

Kate smiled tightly.
“Don’t start drawing hearts around my face in your yearbook just yet. I meant the sofa, not the bed,” she answered.

With a crooked grin, Declan followed her into the room. Kate
could barely summon the energy to collect the extra pillows and blankets from the closet and place them on the couch. She
hadn’t brought anything to change into, but had purchased a tube of toothpaste from th
e vending machine. With a th
o
rough finger brushing, she exited the bathroom and hoped to be comatose in minutes.

She gaped at
Declan
. He
had his shirt off
and was just about to pull down his jeans as she
entered the room. “What in the world
are you doing?”

“What?” he asked with an innocent expression. “I sleep naked.”

“This isn’t a stay at the Hedonism Resort. Put your damn clothes back on,” she commanded. Slipping into bed, she turned off the lights before she could see if Declan complied. “Goodnight, Declan.”

“Goodnight, Kat
e.”

She squirmed in the bed as she tried to get comfortable. Too many thoughts were running through her head. As much as she wanted to
block out CJ’s thoughts, they tainted her psyche. Dealing with Ally’s disturbed thoughts was like a trip to
an amusement park
when compared to CJ’s psychoses.

While at the police station, she had tried not to dwell on Jared and his refusal to call her back. She understood why he may be mad at her, but after her last message, it wa
s cruel to not reach out. Kate
would’ve never ignored him if he really needed her. Wer
e things over between them?

Yesterday, she would never
have
entertain
ed
the possibility that Jared could be seeing Nikki again. Now, she had too many doubts. She had thought he was being a gentleman by waiting for sex. His patience combined with his disappearing act forced her to wonder if he had been with someone else
.

She was certain Declan’s male pheromones were also affecting her brain. Because she couldn’t stop thinking about how good he had looked when she stepped out
of the bathroom.
He definitely had that hot
,
bad boy look g
oing for him. She had also developed a strange kinship to him over the past few weeks. Jared and her mother tried to understand her feelings abut being psychic, but unless you were the one constantly popping up in someone else’s head, it was hard to comprehend.

Closing her eyes, she forced her thoughts away from everyone. Maybe if she kept her mind completely blank, she wouldn’t have any more visions for the night. Before she slipped into a deep slumber, she had a flash of Melanie’s cadaverous eyes.

***

CJ
removed her gag to hear her scream.
Her shock at waking up handcuffed to the bed had been priceless
.
She could
cry out
to her heart’s content since n
o one would hear her out in the middle of nowhere. This was his sec
ret place that
she would never walk out of alive.
He l
oved
the idea of her suffering
as he took control over
their relationship.
A constant ache had been his companion since the day Melanie left him for good.
Now, she
w
ould
know what real pain would be.

He sat on her legs as
she tried to fight him off. Melanie’s
movements became more wild and desperate as he pulled down her pants. Pounding her with his fists, blood stained his knuckles. Wrapping his arms around her throat, she gagged and struggled some more. She started to lose consciousness which made him let go. He wouldn’t kill her yet. This was only the beginning…

***

“Kate, wake up.”

Her face was wet with tears and she opened her eyes with a whimper. It was dark inside the hotel room except for an eerie glow cast through the window from the streetlamp outside. Shadows danced across Declan’s face as he leaned over her with an anxious expression.

His touch was soothing as he pushed back the hair out of her face. “You were crying in your sleep.”

Her eyes were haunted as she looked up at him. “It was another vision of CJ. The night he took Melanie to the cabin…”

His finger pressed down gently on her lips. “You have to forget about him. He’s in jail and can’t hurt anyone again. Don’t let him in anymore.”

Kate swallowed hard and nodded. It was good advice, but easier said than done. Her bond with Melanie made it impossible to not dwell on the things that had happened to her in that
ghastly place. Kate
tried to think of things that made her happy, but the darkness kept creeping in.

Focusing on Declan, she became hyperaware of his closeness. He still didn’t have his shirt on and his body was pressed a
gainst hers as his hand trailed through her hair. His caress had felt comforting at first, but as the minutes passed, it started to feel like something else.

She cleared her throat. “Dec
…”

“Maybe this is my fault. I forced you into this case and I’ve been no help.”

She shook her head and murmured, “That’s not true. You’ve been working your butt off trying to find Melanie too…”

His face moved withi
n inches of her.
The
warmness of his breath
tickled her throat
as he spoke
. This close, she was able to make out every small detail of his face. Instead of meeting his eyes, she focused on the small scar at the edge of his lips.
“I’ve been distracted,” Declan confessed.
“
It feels like every night instead of seeing Melanie, I have a vision of you.”

Kate knew he was going to kiss her. She willed her hands to push him away, but they stayed glued to
her sides on
the bed. As his lips settled upon hers, it wasn’t at all what she expected. She had assumed a kiss from Declan would be passionate and forceful. This kiss was gentle and exploratory.

Reaching for him, she pulled him by the neck to be closer to her. She parted her
lips and he deepened the kiss. Her brain completely shut off as her body responded to him.
Kate
arched her back as his lips trailed down from her mouth to her neck. Her t-shirt rode up and his hands rested against her bare stomach. Her hands gripped his back as he returned to her mouth. Her desire built as his hands began to explore her body over her clothes.

He was pushing out the darkness and making her forget. As he whispered her name into her ear,
Kate
was about to respond when she suddenly felt like a bucket of ice cold water had been tossed on her. Her eyes widened and her body stiffened. “Jared.”