Oracle Seeing (The Phoenix Files Book 2) (47 page)

‘Four of Seven.’

While it rattled her, Bishop wasn’t going to let it break her. She’d work this case to get her father justice. She’d had two years to mourn, and now it was time to fight.

It was time to do battle.

“I’m aware.”

They stared at her.

“You’re not surprised?” Nate asked.

“I’m not happy to know he was murdered, but I know it’s true. Avalon told me when I first met her. I have his files. He was at home working on them when he was killed. I never bought into the burglar theory—my brothers either.”

“If he’s being tagged…”

“He’s part of this. I really think you’re onto something, Nate. Since Wendy also got a number from our killer, it was likely because of something she saw, knew, or did.”

“Likely.”

“She’s going to be the key, as are your father’s original files. He was killed while working on them. Maybe our killer didn’t want him coming out with the truth before he could have his revenge.”

Nate told them what Callie had said in her profile.

“It makes sense.”

It did, when you stepped back and looked at it.

“Lucian’s job has to be tied into this.”

The more they looked, the more that appeared to be true.

“This is going to kill him. A part of him is going to feel betrayed that someone he worked with, fighting for justice, was involved in something that nearly ended his life.”

“We need to let him in on it, and we need to see what the missing time Wendy had tagged was all about. Maybe he crossed paths with the killer?”

“He didn’t do anything.” Immediately, she defended him. Bishop stood her ground.

“We agree, but do you think skipping anything is a good idea?” Luke asked.

He was right.

“Let’s go talk to him, and then get your father’s files. We can cross compare them to see if we can figure out if Lawrence Stall had a vendetta to end.”

It was looking that way.

They grabbed their things and headed out. Jagger stayed behind.

“Can we talk?”

Roxy didn’t move from her position. “I guess,” she said, rolling her neck.

“You look like hell.”

“Yeah, that’s charming. You’re batting a thousand today, Marine.”

Yeah, well, if she didn’t trip him up with just being her, he wouldn’t have this issue.

She was watching him.

He felt like an asshole, so he opted to take Nate and Luke’s advice. They were married. They had to have a clue.

Right?

“Do you date?”

“Never.”

“Yeah, me either.”

“Good to know.”

This was hard. Jagger didn’t know what the hell he was supposed to be doing with this. This was exactly why he was just a fornicator.

It was so much easier.

“Want to get coffee?”

“I have some.”

Okay, that wasn’t working.

This was awkward.

“What are you doing, Jagger?” she finally asked.

“I have no clue. I want to say I like you, but I’m not one hundred percent sure I do. You’re like a porcupine—cute on your back, but dangerous on your toes. One minute I want to cuddle with you and the next I want to yank the damn quills out of my skin.”

She stared at him.

“That was just very wrong.”

He was aware.

“Want to have sex?” he asked.

Roxy couldn’t help it.

She laughed.

There was something very sweet about Jagger Armstrong, and she felt pretty much the same about him. Honestly, she couldn’t stay away from him. It pissed her off that she even remotely liked him.

“I think we might need to back off that little adventure. It’s too much fun.”

He got it.

It could become a habit.

“Is your neck sore?” he asked.

“Yeah, occupational hazard of staring down all day.”

“Did you sleep last night at all?”

“Aww, are you going soft on me, Jagger?” she asked, busting his ass.

He actually blushed.

Jesus!

It made her want to kiss him. What the freaking hell was wrong with her? Men were for screwing, not loving. Love got you hurt.

“Yes, I think I am. Someone should shoot me.”

“Oh!
ME! ME!”

He laughed.

“How about I buy you breakfast, take you home, and maybe rub your back.”

“And?”

He knew he should walk away. Jagger’s gut was screaming, but he was stupid. Men who got caught up in it always screwed up.

“And then I’ll get back to work.”

It must have been the right answer. She smiled at him.

“Deal. Let me get changed.”

He watched her walk away, and he positioned himself so he could stare into her office to watch. Since the morgue was empty, except for the dead, she hadn’t closed her door.

He watched as she slipped out of her scrubs and into her skirt. When she turned around, he got the perfect shot of breasts spilling from her bra.

Shit!

This was bad.

He wanted to be near her. In that moment, he wasn’t thinking about bending her over the couch, slamming himself into that fine body, and making her cum.

He was thinking about her.

The woman.

The person.

And that was how he knew he was in so much trouble. He’d been damned to hell.

Jagger was falling in love.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Maura was getting a little worried. Avalon was pacing back and forth, muttering to herself. Whenever that happened, there was trouble on the horizon.

One of the best things about Oracle was that she came with an early warning system. When things started going to shit, she let you know it.

Her restlessness was key.

She was a mess. Avalon was generally calm, but her whole demeanor had changed. She looked stressed, clammy, and not in her normal good shape.

“Avi, what’s happening?” Maura asked.

“I can’t seem to connect them back together again,” she said. “They were good and then they weren’t. It’s like Fate wants them apart again.”

Maura listened.

“He’s going to die still. I don’t know what to do.”

She hugged the woman. “Listen, this is a huge burden on you. I need you to relax. You’re running on little sleep, trying to keep your eyes on this, and you’re burning out. You need to take a break. You’re wearing down. Why don’t you go get some rest? I’ll call Nate and tell him to keep his eyes on the team.”

She took a deep breath.

“Maybe you’re right. I don’t feel well anyway.”

Yeah, it was clear. She looked like she’d been run through the ringer.

“It’s going to be okay. Go get some sleep. You’re pregnant and tired. You can’t do it all.”

She ran her hand over her midsection. “You’re right. I need a nap.”

She wandered away, navigating the room the best she could. This was more proof that Avalon was off her game. She could memorize a space in minutes. They were four days in, and she was still stumbling.

The woman was a mess.

As soon as she was gone, Maura pulled out her cell. She called the boss.

“What’s up, Maura?”

“Avalon is all twitterpated. She’s pacing, nervous, and mumbling.”

“Is she okay?” he asked, worried about her. He hated that he’d had to leave her early. As of late, he hadn’t been able to spend much time at her side.

He hated that.

Maura didn’t want to freak him out, but she’d never seen Oracle this jacked up. And Avalon?

Yeah, her either.

When Maura didn’t give him a definitive answer, it made him nervous. “I’ll be back soon.”

“She’s mumbling about Lucian being in trouble. Keep your eyes on him. I think she’s freaked out that she can’t fix what he broke. As of right now, he’s still going to die.”

“Just keep your eye on her.”

“She’s gone to take a nap.”

That didn’t sound like Avalon—at all. She was a bundle of energy. Nate wrote it off as the pregnancy to calm his own nerves.

“We’ll have Lucian in sight. You worry about her and hold down the fort.”

She could do that.

In fact, she was going to make Avalon some tea and bring it to her in her room.

Maura didn’t like this.

At all.

“Watch your back,” she warned.

That was his plan.

And now that Lucian had left the safety of Graymoor, Nate was going to watch his too.

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

Lawrence Stall’s

Home

While he didn’t like doing this without the prep work, he figured it was time. This man was almost the last one on his list. He was the reason this all started.

This was all because of him.

Well…him and Lucian Monroe.

Now it was time to make sure he paid.

Thanks to Wendy, she’d give him everything he needed. Finding the man hadn’t been easy. It wasn’t as if he had access to the man’s personal information.

He had to work for it.

He had to dig.

In all honesty, despite all the work locating him, he was looking forward to this moment. This was over ten years in the making.

He wondered if he’d look the same.

He wondered if he’d recognize him.

Probably not.

So much time had passed, and it hadn’t been kind to him. While this scumbag thought he’d escaped his past, he hadn’t.

He’d broken the law.

He destroyed lives.

It was time to make him pay, and that was going to be priceless.

Wendy was dead, but before her demise, she’d lead him right to this animal, and then it would lead to Lucian.

It was all connected.

It was all one big circle.

Judge Abrahms presided over this man’s case. Dale Plunkett had gotten him off. Earl Thorpe had helped destroy justice, which led to him getting off.

Miles Killion sat by as the man walked free, and all he could say was sorry. Then he began investigating to find the truth, trying to destroy his revenge.

Wendy had dirty dealings with a killer. She lied her way to the top, sleeping with Lucian Monroe, and she kept the man’s secrets, choosing to use him as her own weapon.

They were all vile.

They were all disgusting.

In all of this, the most innocent of victims was destroyed. She’d been nothing to them, and when she bled, no one cared.

They said they did, but it wasn’t true.

In life, you had to take care of your own justice. That was the lesson he’d learned in all of this.

This case had been the catalyst. It revealed the truth.

So, he had to become the judge, jury, and executioner. There was no way around it.

It was time.

Heading toward the door, he knocked. If the man tried to run, that was okay. He’d find him.

In a way, he hoped he would run. He hoped he’d try to escape so he could hunt him down.

Then it would be better.

There were footsteps.

He braced for them.

When Lawrence Stall opened the door, he looked confused to see someone there.

“Wendy sent me.”

“Tell that bitch I did what she asked. I’m done. I’m not doing this anymore. Got it?”

He smiled. “She sent me with payment.”

His eyes lightened up at the words. It was clear he was an opportunistic asshole.

“Really?”

“Yes.” He patted his pocket.

“Okay, come in.”

He followed the man in, and the second Lawrence Stall turned his head, he grabbed the hammer that he’d tucked into his back pocket.

Wendy’s hammer—he’d used it on her too.

It was justice.

As he knocked the man out, he took that cleansing breath. It was going to be fun. He was going to face down the man who damaged his little girl.

It was time to end it.

His way.

Once and for all.

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

Sheriff’s Office

When she walked in, he saw it on her face. Something was definitely wrong.

Lucian stood. “What?”

“We need to talk.”

Luke and Nate were behind her, and he wanted to be sick. A million things raced through his mind. All of them pointed to Bishop leaving him.

“Just tell me. I’ll be okay.”

Bishop did what he asked. She told him everything. From the part about Wendy following him, thinking he was cheating, to the part where she knew who hurt him.

“She knew who did this to you. She found your mad bomber.”

He was shocked. “Really?”

She nodded.

“Yes, and I wish I didn’t have to be the one to tell you this, Lucian, but you were betrayed.”

His eye went cold and deadly. “By who?”

“Before I tell you that, we need to know something, and I don’t want you to think I don’t trust you.”

He ran his hands though his hair. He’d waited a long time for this to happen, and here it was. Now it was tainted with fear. His woman looked worried.

That freaked him out.

“Just ask and get it over with, Bishop.”

“Wendy made note of the big gaps in your time where you were missing. She marked those same times in Lawrence Stall’s file.”

He got it.

Son of a bitch!

He would never do that! That wasn’t the kind of man he was back then, or now for that matter! He’d always fought for justice.

“Wendy thought I was helping a killer?”

Yeah, no.

It was worse.

“She was building blackmail files, Lucian. Think about it.”

He did.

Lucian sat behind her desk and let it percolate in his mind. He knew where he was those times, and he knew what he was doing. Wendy didn’t.

“She wanted to hurt me.”

She nodded. “In case this ever came out, she wanted to put suspicion on you. Where were you?”

He laughed.

In this case, he had the best alibi a man could have—that he was grateful for on so many levels.

“I was meeting with the State Supreme Court. They wanted me to throw my hat into the ring to be State Attorney General.”

She relaxed.

That was something they could prove. She’d just made sure she cleared him once more.

Lucian was safe.

“They were looking for someone from this area, and they had asked me if I was interested. I met with them, and I was contemplating it. There was a vetting process. It was myself and one other person.”

She smiled. “You would have made a really great Attorney General.”

“Well, they didn’t think so. Apparently, I wasn’t the top choice.”

“Who was?” Nate asked.

“Earl Thorpe.”

They looked at each other.

“What?”

Well, that explained it.

It looked like Lucian needed to hear about what else they’d found out in Wendy’s files.

“Lucian, I have something really horrible to tell you. I’m really sorry too.”

“What is it, baby?” he asked in concern.

“Thorpe was worried about you being picked over him. He’s the one Wendy tied to Lawrence Stall.”

He stood up. “No.” Then he stared at his fiancée. “He’s the one who betrayed me?”

She nodded. “I’m so sorry.”

“He wanted me dead?”

“Yeah, it looks that way. He took some money to let the case go under, and now that we know about the Attorney General position, it makes sense. He wanted to kill two birds with one stone. He had his payoff to lose the case, and he had a way to get you out of his way.”

“So Lawrence Stall killed everyone? I don’t get this. I can’t wrap my head around it,” he said. “This can’t be right.”

“What do you mean?” Nate asked.

“The week before I nearly died, I told Earl that I wasn’t moving forward with it. I would have had to leave Ravenswood, and I’d found something to make me stay.”

He stared at Bishop.

“I told you I had made up my mind to be a different person. I told you in my note that I wanted to hunt you down and make you mine, even back then. It was all true.”

Her heart skipped.

“Earl wouldn’t have been after me for that. He had a clear shot at it. There was no reason to come after me. Only he and I knew that. I wished him well, and I was done with it.”

And they were back at step one.

“So what the hell does Lawrence Stall, Wendy Lockwood, and four other victims have to do with this?” Luke asked. “If killing you wasn’t the motive, what was?” he asked.

“It’s got to be in the files. That’s all I can think of,” Bishop said. “My father died working on them, Wendy had files, and this killer is doing it for a reason.”

“We need to get them and find out what it is. We have five of seven. It’s moving fast.”

Lucian was confused. “Five? Did I miss a killing? Someone died after Wendy? That can’t be. I didn’t feel it.”

“Avalon is rerouting the killer from you, but this isn’t a recent one.”

They told him about Bishop’s father.