Oracle Rising (23 page)

He didn't add more, outing her gift further. That was Avalon’s tale to tell, and honestly, the less people knew, the better.

Avalon began laughing. “I do feel badly about that. I should apologize.”

Juliett had to make up her mind. “Okay. I’ll go. What do I wear?”

“The sluttiest thing you own,” Jagger offered. “Men dig tits.”

Avalon glanced over, blindly giving him the look. “Ignore him. Jagger is a walking hormone. He’s yet to fall in love, and he believes that the opposite sex is strictly here to pleasure him.”

The man laughed. “I was only kidding. I do have a sister, so I know what women SHOULD wear.”

He strolled over to the bed and pointed at the soft blue sweater and the jeans. “There you go. The sheriff said calm night out having pizza. You don’t want to go overboard. If you look like you’re trying hard, that puts us on edge. If you look like you’re trying to hook us on date one, we immediately feel trapped.”

“Thank God I didn't suggest a wedding dress,” Avalon stated, rolling her pale blue eyes.

Juliett relaxed. “Thank you both. I don’t have this in my life. I can’t call someone and ask their opinion.”

“You do now,” Avalon offered. “I’ll be your friend.”

Jagger wasn’t sure that was a good idea, but who was he to stop her from making friends. All her life, she was alone. He knew how much that sucked.

As Avalon went to speak, her phone began ringing. Jagger picked it up off the bed and hit the button before handing it to her. All the while, Juliett watched curiously.

“Hello?”

“Hey, sunshine! Do you miss us?” Luke asked, putting his phone on speaker.

“You know we do! Is Maura with you?”

“She’s naked on the bed.”

Then there was a
whoosh
of air as someone, his wife, belted him.

“I am, Avalon. Is Nate taking care of you, and I don’t mean sex. Unlike some people, I don’t go there.”

Luke snickered as Maura fell against his body, so they could cuddle.

“He is. We’re on a case.”

There was a pause.

“What?” Maura stated, feeling anxious. This was what she was worried about. They were taking an extended vacation, and they all knew this might pop up.

“You’re kidding, right?” Luke asked.

“No, why would I be.”

Jagger knew someone was going to flip their lid. Maura was like a pit bull when it came to Avalon. This wasn’t going to go well. Even though Nate was the boss, outranking everyone, Maura liked to challenge him when it came to ‘their’ girl.

Yet, it was done out of love.

She then told them everything, leaving nothing out. She told them about the serial arsonist/rapist, and how they were keeping Juliett safe.

“Put Nate on the phone,” Maura stated.

“He’s out working the case.”

It was Luke’s turn to freak out. “What do you mean he’s out working the case? Alone? Did he take Jagger?”

Maura felt her blood pressure shoot up. “He better not have taken Jagger! Then who’s watching you?”

“Mom and Dad, I’m fine.” Avalon teased. “Nathaniel is out with the local sheriff, and I’m here with Juliett. Our babysitter, Jagger, is about three feet away. In fact, he’s breathing down my neck. He has Marine breath, so he must have chewed some ass this morning.”

Jagger snorted and then hit her with a pillow. “There’s a smart mouth on you, Avalon.”

When they heard his voice, that helped them relax.

Sort of.

“Let me talk to Jagger,” Luke stated.

Avalon shrugged, and then handed over the phone. She knew better than to stir those two up. If they got freaked, they’d be showing up, and that’s the last thing she wanted.

Maura deserved this honeymoon.

“Yo.”

“Jagger, what the bloody hell?” Maura asked, shouting into the phone before Luke could even say a single thing.

“Listen, he’s the boss. If he says we’re rolling out, we are. I can’t tell him it’s a bad idea,” he offered, standing out in the hall. “He said go, and we did.”

“Is he in danger?”

Jagger laughed. “Seriously? He’s a grown man. He’s also a Fed who carries a gun. I’m sure he’s been in danger before. Oh, yeah, wait. Wasn’t he the one who was taken by a crazy and nearly tortured to death, and he still didn't break?”

Neither liked it, but he had a point.

“Why didn't he call?” Maura asked.

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because he didn't want you two playing mommy from a tropical island? We have four dead women from Laramie, and now two from Crosspointe. We’ve only been here two days. This killer is moving fast. Nate wanted to focus. Dealing with you two is the opposite of being focused.”

That made them incredibly nervous.

“I don’t like that Avalon is out in the open. Something could go wrong.”

Jagger tried to reassure her. “We’re at a cabin, laying low. She’s not out wandering the streets dressed like a hooker. The only people who have seen her are the sheriff and Juliett Deveraux. That’s it. We’ve kept her under wraps.”

“Is she in danger?”

“She’s helping Juliett pick out clothes for a date. Unless she trips and falls on a shoe, I think we’ve got this under control. You do realize I’m capable of managing Oracle, right? I did spend time alone with her when Elizabeth had to head out on a case.”

“I am, but I worry. Nate’s okay, right?”

Luke was still freaked out that his partner was going to burn out. Granted, since getting Avalon back, he was calm and cool like he once used to be.

Sex with a younger woman would do that to you. Luke was a couple years older than his wife, and he was so calm he was nearly in a coma.

Well, until he heard about this.

“Yep. He’s chill. You two don’t have to worry. Now, I’m going to give the phone back to Avalon, so try and stay calm. Tell her about your vacation. She misses you, Maura. I don’t need her slipping into a trance and babbling about your sex life. That’s just creepy.”

Maura laughed. “I get it. Let me talk to her.” Honestly, she missed her too. When they got married, Avalon had been the maid of honor at her wedding, and the woman didn't stop smiling the entire time.

It was the little things that made her happy—like being included in their circle—and not treated like she was nothing more than…Oracle.

Jagger headed back in. “Here you go, Avalon. Maura wants to tell you all about her vacation.”

She bounced in joy. “Maura, tell me everything. Is it hot? Are you having fun? What’s it like?” Her childlike exuberance was coming out.

“Well, I can’t do that. Most of it is sex related, and you know how Lucas gets when we talk about his performance. When I’m back, you and I will sit down and I’ll tell you all the sordid details.”

“Hey!” he objected. “You will not tell her any such thing, Maura!”

The women laughed. “How are you doing?”

“I punched the sheriff in the groin like you taught me,” she blurted. “He went down for a while. I guess you were right about getting in one good shot.”

She laughed. “I hope he’s okay.”

“He is, but that’s what happens when you sneak up on people and grab them.”

Jagger knew that was going to be the straw that broke the major’s back.

“WHAT?” she blurted.

“Uh, I have to go,” Avalon said, knowing she went too far. Damn her and her enthusiasm. “I love you both, and we’ll see you in two weeks when your sex fest is over.”

“Avalon! Don’t you dare hang up!” Maura ordered, getting that sick feeling in her gut.

She knew they needed to be there.

When the call ended, she glanced over at Luke. “One more for the road, and then we find our team and get down to business?” she asked.

He grinned and dropped back on the bed. “Yes, ma’am. I’m ready to go. Do your worst, Major. I’m already saluting.”

Maura pounced, but all the time she was working out a strategy in her head. There was no way she was going to let her team handle this alone.

They were a family.

They were a unit.

They were…hers.

       
                
* * *
  O R A C L E   * * *

The notify had been brutal, but they didn't expect anything less. As they told Mr. and Mrs. Knox about their daughter’s death, they got to watch their whole world fall apart.

It was heartbreaking to say the least.

They wept.

They cried.

Then they got mad.

It was right around then that the sheriff knew the shit was going to hit the fan. They were going to be wearing the bull’s-eyes, so they did what they needed to do.

They got out.

In the driveway, they leaned against the vehicle. “Well, that was bad.”

Nate had done about a thousand of these visits. “Yeah, they don’t get better with practice.”

“I hope that was the last one.”

He was pretty sure it wouldn’t be. If this killer was on his game, there would be more coming. They could bet on it.

“Where to next?” asked Rhett.

“I have to get back to the cabin and start working on tying these two women together. We’ll run their information, try to build a profile, and see where they were when they were taken.”

“Why does this feel daunting?”

“Because, Rhett, in all honesty, it is. They might have opened their doors to him, and that’s going to make it harder. If we have a location or three, we might have a witness.”

“This is harder than it looks on television.”

Nate laughed before patting the man on the back. “Yeah, it really is. Most of it is legwork. Can you drop me back at the cabin?”

He glanced down at his watch. “Yeah, it’s about time for my daily whipping from the mayor.”

“Want me to handle it?” Nate asked. “We Feds are politician proof.”

He snorted. “No. I’m a big boy. I’ll check in with my guys, make sure they’re upping the patrols through the neighborhoods, and then deal with the mayor.”

“Good luck with that.”

“I don’t mind,” he stated. “I get to have dinner with a pretty woman. Even if it’s just to talk about her and this case, it’s worth it.”

Nate gave the warning. “Take it easy on her, okay?”

He glanced over as he was getting behind the wheel. “I’m not going to be rude, or hurt her. I just want to get to know her. I think if she’s seeing these women die, I might get something out of her.”

“So that’s all this is? A fact finding mission?”

The man laughed. “No, but that’s none of your business, Mr. FBI. I’ll have her back to the cabin at a decent time. I swear. I’ll be a gentleman, and you won’t have to dust her for prints. I have control of my hormones.”

Nate hoped the man wasn’t going to be a pain in his ass. He knew what Avalon was doing, and there was the potential for this to blow up around them.

Playing cupid was stupid.

Then again, his boss had done the same exact thing by choosing Oracle for him. Then she gave them a safe place to hide out.

Maybe playing Cupid wasn’t too bad, as long as you eased into it.

Unlike what Avalon was doing.

Crap!

Crap!

Crap!

This was going to come back and bite him in the ass.

Nate knew it.

       
                
* * *
  O R A C L E   * * *

It amused him.

They were visiting the deceased parents and delivering the bad news.

It made him smile.

It also made him curious. Who was the other man?

He was a stranger in town. He knew that for a fact because he studied everyone around Crosspointe. He liked to pride himself on watching people.

No one escaped his gaze.

After all, he was trying to find her.

That glorious mind, who was connected to his, had to be located, claimed, and then destroyed.

He didn't have a choice. All he could hope was that he would find her, and soon.

Taking a picture of the dark haired man getting into the sheriff’s truck, he caught a little peek of something on his hip. Enlarging the picture, he tried to read it.