Serenity
A fter one look in the mirror, I sank onto the toilet seat and closed my eyes. I breathed in through my nose and out through my mouth to calm down. Still, I’d just been shot in the head. Well… maybe not shot, but grazed by a bullet. What the freak?
After seeing Stone get shot in my vision, I hadn’t even hesitated. I’d just run right at him like a freaking kamikaze. Of course, how could I stand by and watch it happen when I could stop it? I couldn’t. Plain and simple… I did what I did because I had no choice.
A tiny little voice whispered that wasn’t the only reason. Besides the physical attraction, I cared about him. He might be a pain sometimes, but he wasn’t a bad person. I knew he’d spent his time in the army trying to save people. He could have left that soldier behind, but he was fiercely loyal, and that was something I admired. Besides that, my psychic ability didn’t seem to faze him, which was even more unusual.
I sighed. Whatever the reason, I’d do it all again in a heartbeat. My vision of seeing him die had hurt my heart a lot more than I’d let on. I craved his touch, his nearness, and that sexy smile. I didn’t want to lose him, even if he was a pain in the ass.
Feeling more settled, I let out a breath. No one had died. My head hurt a little, but other than that, I was good. It was also kind of nice to realize I’d made a difference with my psychic ability. I’d changed Stone’s fate. He was alive because of me, twice now, and that meant I could finally trust my visions.
Feeling stronger, I went to work washing my hands. Then I pulled my shirt off and tackled my neck and face. While I was at it, I took a look at my wound. Stitched up tight, it was only about an inch and a half long, and there was plenty of hair around it to cover it up.
I might end up with a scar, but it wouldn’t be visible. Considering all my other scars from the accident, this was nothing. In fact, after going through that awful experience, this was hardly worth mentioning.
It took a little longer to get the blood out of my hair, but I did the best I could and hurried into my room. I found a turquoise scoop-neck t-shirt and slipped it over my head. Feeling a slight chill, I slipped on my black leather jacket and opened the door. I found Stone sitting at the kitchen table.
“I’m ready.”
Glancing my way, the worry in his eyes changed to relief, and he jumped to his feet. “Great. Let’s go out the back.”
“Okay.”
I led the way down the hall to the laundry room and unlocked the deadbolt on the door. Out of habit, I touched the knob. Sensing nothing bad, I pulled the door open.
Stone followed me out and locked the door behind him. “Are you okay to take the stairs down a couple of floors?”
“Yeah… sure.” I held onto the railing and started down. Surprising me, Stone wrapped his arm around my waist. I hesitated and met his gaze.
“I know you’re fine, but I’d feel better if you let me keep my arm around you. Okay?”
I didn’t need it, but having him to lean on was too much of a temptation to resist. “Okay… but only to help you feel better.”
He huffed, but a grin tilted his lips, and I enjoyed having him so close. For the first time, it felt like we were finally a team.
We came out of the stairwell a couple of floors down, and waited for the elevator. After it came, we took it to the lobby so we could cross the street to the building.
Outside, the sun had gone behind a cloud, which relieved my worry that he’d get shot again. Still, we walked quickly across the street to the building.
In the lobby, we found a directory of businesses listed beside the elevators. The twenty-sixth floor didn’t have a business name attached, and I narrowed my gaze. “Is it safe to go up there?”
“Yeah. Ricky’s waiting for us. He said they’re doing renovations on that floor, so no one’s there.”
“Oh… that makes sense.”
We stepped into the elevator, and it soon opened on the twenty-sixth floor. A tall man with wavy dark hair and a short beard stood in the hall waiting for us. He gave me a nod. “Hey Serenity. I’m Ricky. Mr. Vanetti filled me in. If you’ll follow me, it’s this way. ”
Stone waited for me to go first, and we followed Ricky down the hall to where another man stood in front of the doorway guarding an office. After a quick nod to us, he stood aside, and I stepped into an empty office space. The broken window let in a cool breeze, and a shell casing lay on the floor.
“I didn’t touch anything.” Ricky glanced my way, giving me a nod before turning to Stone.
“Thanks.” Stone knelt on one knee by the casing, looking it over, before catching my gaze. “You ready to touch it?”
“Yes. Should I be careful about ruining the prints?”
“We’re not involving the cops, so you’re good to go.”
“Oh.” I licked my lips and crouched down. I hadn’t worn my gloves, so I didn’t have an excuse to hesitate before picking it up. Still, it took me a moment to center myself and open my mind before I touched it.
As my hand closed around the casing, I saw a vision of a man holding a rifle to his shoulder. His face was obscured behind the rifle, but I caught signs of a beard. His finger moved on the trigger, and his body jerked from the shot. The casing fell out of the gun and into my hand as the vision cleared.
I met Stone’s gaze. “It’s the same guy. His facial features aren’t as clear, but I’m sure it’s him. I saw his hand pretty clearly though, and each of his fingers had tattoos on them. I couldn’t tell if they were numbers or symbols. But they were on his fingers right here.” I pointed to the skin between my knuckles and the first joint of my finger.
“Sounds like he’s part of a gang,” Ricky said.
“That’s what I thought,” Stone answered. “But it doesn’t add up.” He met my gaze. “You want to try the window?”
A perfect circle of glass had been cut out of the window, like I’d seen in spy movies. “Wow… this guy must be a professional to do that. ”
“Yeah… that’s why the tattoos don’t make a lot of sense. A professional hitman wouldn’t have any kind of identifying marks on him because it would make it easier to track him down.”
I shook my head. “I’m not sure I’ll get anything if he used tools to cut the glass, but I’ll give it a try.”
“Just don’t cut yourself.”
I met his gaze and nodded. Warmth flooded my chest that he was looking out for me, even though I was smart enough to know better. Taking a breath, I placed my hands on both sides of the circle and closed my eyes.
At my touch, sudden darkness engulfed me, along with a sharp stab of hatred and loathing. The darkness seeped into my soul like black oil, pulling me into a deep void that I couldn’t escape.
I fought against the dark, but it just sucked me in deeper. Then a rasping voice filled my head, repeating the same words over and over. I opened my mouth to scream, but nothing came out. Fighting to pull away only seemed to drag me further in, and, like quicksand, I couldn’t get out.
In the distance, someone called my name. I turned toward that voice and felt strong arms wrap around me, pulling me to safety. The darkness began to retreat, and relief sapped my strength.
“Serenity! Sen!” Stone held me against him, and the remaining darkness fell away. His frantic gaze met mine. “You didn’t come out of it. What happened?”
“I… I don’t know.” As I caught my breath, he pulled me tight against his chest, and I closed my eyes. “It was awful… like a black void full of anger and blame. I kept hearing the words, die, die, die, over and over. It wouldn’t stop.” I took a halting breath and began to shiver.
“It’s okay. I’ve got you. ”
I leaned into him, needing his solid presence and comfort. I’d never been so scared of the dark in my life. I squeezed my eyes tightly together, hoping to stop the tears. Stone rubbed my back, whispering words of comfort. His soothing voice began to penetrate the darkness that wouldn’t let go.
At last, I relaxed into his arms, and my shivering stopped. My breathing slowed, and I could finally open my eyes.
Stone pulled away from me, holding my arms, and met my gaze. “Feeling better?”
I managed a short nod. “Yeah… thanks for…bringing me back.” My voice shook, and I had to swallow the tears before I cried again.
Stone held me against him. “Anytime, Babe. Anytime. We should get you back to the apartment. Even I’m getting a bad vibe from this room. Can you walk?”
“Yes.” Thoughts of leaving this place sent a burst of energy through me. I turned toward the door, grateful that Stone kept me tucked under his arm, and we stepped out together.
The further away from that room we got, the more my strength returned. It was like a gentle, calming breeze after a category five hurricane.
What the hell was that? Why had it affected me so strongly? A shiver ran down my spine, and I took a deep breath to push the fear away. Needing tranquility, I retreated into a state of meditation and hardly noticed when Ricky left us at the door to the apartment.
Inside, Stone took me straight to my room. Without hesitation, I kicked off my shoes and crawled onto the bed. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I let sleep overtake me, barely registering the soft blanket that Stone used to tuck me in.