Serenity
I drove into my garage and we hurried inside. Nate had been quiet for most of the ride, and I worried that he was still blaming himself for Johnny’s sorry state.
His emotions were usually hidden behind a stoic mask, but I’d learned how to read him better now, and it was easy to see that finding out about Johnny had brought back all those deep wounds he’d kept buried for so long.
As we entered the kitchen, I reached for his hand and wiggled my eyebrows. “Why don’t you get started on a search for Johnny-Two-Legs, and I’ll make us a sandwich.”
His lips twisted, and he tugged me against his chest. Closing his eyes, he inhaled. “How do you always smell so good?”
“It’s part of my natural charm.” I smirked, wrapping my arms around his neck and meeting his gaze. “Is it working? Do you find me irresistible? ”
He lowered his lips for a tender kiss. “Definitely. I’d say, if it wasn’t for this mess, I’d cart you back to bed for a week or two. But since this mess is what brought us together, I guess we’ll just have to figure it out first.”
“That’s probably best. But look at it this way—now we have something to look forward to once we’re done, right?”
He groaned. “Do I have to wait that long?”
“Hey! Maybe we’ll figure it out today? You never know.”
“You’re always putting a positive spin on things, aren’t you?” He stepped away, taking my hands in his. “In that case, I’d better get started.” He held my hands for a moment longer before heading to the office.
My heart fluttered, and I stood there like a love-sick dummy, watching him until he disappeared down the hall. Did I have it bad, or what? At least he wanted me as much as I wanted him. Still, what the hell was I doing? Sure, my body craved his touch, but now my heart was involved. If he walked away when this was over, would I have the strength to let him go?
Not wanting to think that far ahead, I got busy making a couple of ham and cheese sandwiches. I didn’t know what he liked on his, so I just made them the way I normally did, and took the plate and some potato chips into my office.
I set the plate down beside him, and he dove in, grabbing a sandwich and taking a bite. “Thanks. This is great.”
“You’re welcome. So how’s it going? Find anything?”
“There’s not much here, but I found a photo of Johnny.” He pointed to the monitor. “Is that the guy from your visions?”
I glanced at the screen, and my breath caught. “Yeah. That’s him all right.” He wasn’t wearing a hat, but there was no doubt it was the same guy. “What does it say about him? ”
“His address is listed in Kansas.” He shook his head. “So that’s no help. It also mentions his service in the army and his honorable discharge, but that’s about it. I couldn’t find him on any of the regular social media accounts either, but that doesn’t mean he’s not using a fake name.”
I smirked. “Like Johnny-Two-Legs?” He snickered, and my brow furrowed. “So I guess he looked you up and found you here?”
“That’s probably right, but I still can’t figure out how he hooked up with Aubree.”
“Didn’t she post a picture of you and her together? If she used your name, that might have done it.”
He finished his sandwich and opened a new tab to check her posts. Finding the one with his photo, he swore. “Looks like she added my name.”
“Maybe that’s how Johnny found you.”
“It must be, but I still feel like I’m missing something. I’m going to give Dino a call and see what he comes up with. I’ll even throw Aubree’s name into the mix. Maybe that will do it.”
He put the call through and told Dino all about Johnny, as well as mentioning the grenade at Razor’s place. I left to get us both a soda while he told him about Aubree.
After opening the blinds, I glanced out the living room window. A man was walking his dog down the sidewalk, but otherwise, nothing was happening. Still, a chill ran down my spine.
Oh a whim, I stepped to the front door and touched the handle. Nothing came to me, and I dropped my hand, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something bad was coming.
Heaving out a breath, I rolled my eyes and shook my head. Well, duh… of course something bad was coming. It was Brandon. I checked the time, knowing he got off work at four-thirty. That gave us a couple of hours to figure out what to do about him.
Nate came out of the office and caught me standing in front of the door. “Something wrong?”
“Just a bad feeling about Brandon showing up in a couple of hours. That weasel. I don’t know if I’ll be able to play along without going for his throat and strangling him. You know?”
“No kidding, but you can do it. Just invite him inside so he can’t run off before you touch him. I’ll take care of the rest.”
I let out a deep breath and nodded. “Okay. So what did Dino have to say?”
“He’s looking into both Johnny and Aubree’s names, but it will take a while. He’ll call me back if he finds anything. He mostly chewed me out for causing another explosion, even though he knows it wasn’t my fault.”
I nodded. “You know, if Aubree tells Johnny we tried to talk to her, do you think he’ll want to use her to set you up? She’d probably jump at the chance to get you killed again, right?”
“If she did it once, I suppose so. It’s still hard for me to believe that she’s so cold-hearted though. I mean… sure, I may have broken her heart, but killing me for it? How crazy is that?”
As if on cue, Nate’s phone began to ring. He checked it and glanced my way. “It’s Vanetti.” He swiped to answer, and, from their conversation, I picked up enough to know that Vanetti wanted to be filled in on everything that had happened since their last phone call.
After Nate explained our visit to the Tiki Tabu Bar, and Johnny’s identity, he stopped speaking to listen. A minute later, he glanced my way and his brows rose. “Is that right? Well, if you need her, we can come—”
His breath caught and he shook his head. “But you said we needed to stick together—” His lips flattened. “I know, but he can’t be everywhere at once… yes, that could work… okay, we’ll do that first. If anything’s off, I’ll let you know.”
He put his phone away and sat down on the couch, pulling me down beside him. He laid his head back and let out a sigh. “Vanetti needs your help at the office, but he doesn’t want me to come. He’s worried about another sniper attack.”
“Oh.” My stomach twisted just thinking about Stone getting shot. “That… makes sense. So what’s going on?”
“He thinks someone’s been in his office because he noticed a few things were out of place. He thought if you touched them, you’d know who was in there.”
“Does he think it has something to do with Johnny?”
“Not necessarily. But you never know.”
“That’s true.” I snuggled against him, wanting to soften his disappointment about not coming with me. “But Vanetti’s got a point about you staying here.”
His lips turned down. “I know, but I don’t like you going without me.”
“Because you like being stuck with me?”
He snorted. “You’re an acquired taste… but yeah.”
I smacked him. “Yeah, because when we first met, you couldn’t take your eyes off me.”
“I think it was the other way around.”
“Ha! You wish.”
He pulled me closer and sighed. “I still don’t want you to go without me.”
His confession melted my heart. “I don’t either, but you’ll be safer here. I shouldn’t be more than an hour, tops, and just think… you could take a nap. I can tell you’re tired.”
He bristled. “I’m not that tired. ”
I shrugged. “I guess I could try getting a vision to see what’s coming—”
Before I could say another word, Nate gathered me in his arms and crushed me against him. His lips pressed against mine, tugging and teasing them apart.
Soon, my heart was racing and I melted into his chest, giving as good as I got. He deepened the kiss, stealing my breath.
Pulling away, he met my gaze. “Did you see anything?”
Breathless, my brows drew together. “Huh? Is that why you kissed me?”
“Of course. Why else?”
I pushed against him. “Yeah… right. Guess I’d better get going.”
“So you didn’t see anything?”
I shook my head. “Honestly, when I’m kissing you, a vision is the last thing on my mind.”
He sent me that sexy half-grin of his that turned me into a puddle of goo. I rolled my eyes and pushed to my feet. “Stay here. I’ll be back before you know it.” I hurried into the kitchen and grabbed my car keys before I could change my mind. Sending him a little wave, I stepped into the garage and climbed into my car.
As I drove out of my garage, I realized this was the first time we’d been apart for days. An unexpected shiver ran down my spine. Was he safe at my house? Johnny couldn’t know about me. Even if Aubree told him that she saw Nate with a woman, she didn’t know who I was.
Nate had to be safer there than coming with me, and he couldn’t leave, since I had the car. Knowing he was stuck there relieved the tension in the pit of my stomach, and I relaxed. He was fine, and this little errand wouldn’t take long .
I arrived at Vitality Solutions and pulled into the parking garage. The elevator took me to the twenty-sixth floor, and I stepped through the doors. Striding through the high-class lobby, I hurried straight to Vanetti’s office.
Julie sat at her desk and glanced up. “Hey, Serenity. How’s it going? Is Stone okay?” She glanced behind me, expecting to see him.
“Yes. He’s good, but I left him at…” Not sure I could trust her, I fumbled on. “…anyway, Mr. Vanetti wanted me to come in and take a look at something.”
She shrugged. “Oh… he didn’t tell me, but you can go down to his office if he’s expecting you.”
“Okay. Thanks.” I hurried down the hall and knocked on his door before sticking my head inside. “Hey there. I’m here. Nate said you needed me?”
Vanetti waved me inside. “Yes. Come in.” He glanced behind me, and his brows drew together. “Nate didn’t come?”
“No. I convinced him that it was safer to stay away.”
He blinked. “I’m impressed. He’s usually not so pliable, but I’m glad he’s not here.” Vanetti sighed and shook his head. “I’ll feel better when this is all over. At least you know who this fellow is now.”
“Yes. We’re closing in on him, so that’s good.” That wasn’t exactly the truth, but at least we were making progress.
“Good. Thanks for keeping Nate safe.” He pushed his chair back and stood. “I didn’t tell Nate, but I’m pretty sure someone broke into my safe. I wouldn’t have known except for this.” He pointed to a gold coin on his desk. “I found it on the floor, right before I called him. I keep this coin in my safe, so the only way it could have fallen on the floor is if someone opened it. I thought if you touched the safe before I did, you’d get a vision of who it was. ”
“Oh, wow. I hope they didn’t take anything important.”
“I guess we’ll find out soon enough.” Vanetti opened the lower cabinet door, revealing a black safe. “Go ahead.” He stepped away to give me some room.
I closed my eyes and touched the handle, taking a moment to feel the smooth texture before gripping it with my palm. I got a faint impression of a gloved hand, which didn’t tell me anything.
Letting out a sigh, I glanced at Vanetti. “I saw a gloved hand. Maybe if you opened the safe, I could touch whatever’s inside and find out more.”
Vanetti’s lips turned down and he nodded. I moved out of the way, and he made quick work of opening the door. After taking a look inside, he shook his head. “It looks like everything’s there.”
He moved aside and I knelt in front of the small safe. There were several stacks of paper currency on one side. A couple of folders, along with a few black binders, and a small leather notebook on the other.
Figuring the money had been left alone, I reached in for the small leather notebook. As I tugged it out, I immediately felt the beginning of a vision. My hand turned into someone else’s, and I watched as both hands flipped through the notebook to a table of numbers and dates inside. Holding it flat, they took a photo before slipping it back inside and closing the safe.
My vision cleared, and I focused on the notebook. “This was what they were after.” I opened the book and found the page with the table. “They took a photo of this page.” I handed the book to Vanetti.
“Shit.”
“What is it?”
“Delivery dates and shipments.” He sighed. “I’m glad you caught this. It gives me time to make some changes.” He pursed his lips. “Knowing this schedule would put Stone in danger, since he’s usually involved. But this hints at something bigger.” He raised a brow. “I think someone’s trying to move in on my territory. Did you see anything else?”
“Yes. The person’s hands had tattoos on the fingers. Just like the ones I saw on Johnny’s hands. But it wasn’t him, because they were smaller and more delicate… like a woman’s.”
Vanetti narrowed his gaze. “The only people with after-hours access to my office are the cleaning crew. I don’t have a camera in here, but surveillance video might show us more.”
He picked up his phone and pushed a button. “Slater. We need to see the surveillance video from last night… yes… now.” He set the phone down. “Slater’s on Nate’s security team. He can access the video on my computer, so he’s on his way. While we check it out, do you think you could sketch the tattoos you saw? I’d like to know what they look like.”
I shrugged. “I can try. But honestly, I didn’t see them all that well.”
Vanetti nodded. “That’s okay. Anything would be helpful.”
I sat at the round table in Vanetti’s office with a pencil and piece of paper while Vanetti and Slater watched the video. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the vision. I’d thought the tattoos were symbols, but maybe they were letters or numbers in an Old English style font.
“There she is.” Vanetti pointed at his screen, and I hurried over to take a look. The cleaning woman wore light blue overalls and a ball cap. She pushed a cart into Vanetti’s office, but kept her face turned away from the cameras, and all we could see was the top of her hat .
Vanetti turned to Slater. “Call the cleaning service. I want to know who was here last night.” Slater hurried out of the office, and Vanetti picked up his phone. “I’m calling Nate.”
While he explained what we’d found, I went back to the table and closed my eyes. Concentrating on the vision, I managed to draw a couple of symbols, but they just looked like circles with lines drawn through them. They weren’t right, and frustration tightened my jaw.
Vanetti ended the call and glanced my way. “Get anything?”
“Not really. I’m sorry. I might recognize them if I saw them somewhere, but it’s not real clear what they looked like.”
“That’s fine. I told Nate I’d send you home, so you might as well get going. He’s probably more familiar with those kinds of tattoos than I am, so maybe he can help you figure it out.”
“True. But at least we know it’s got something to do with a gang, right?” I jumped to my feet, suddenly anxious to get home.
“Yes. But which one? Didn’t you check them out all ready?”
“Yeah. It wasn’t any of them.”
He sighed. “If you can figure the tattoos out, it might tell us what we need to know. Let me know what Nate thinks.” Vanetti stepped to the door and held it open for me. “And Serenity… keep Nate alive, all right?”
I met his gaze and nodded. “I will.”
His eyes narrowed, seeming to take in more than I wanted him to see. Before he could comment, I blurted, “see ya,” and hurried down the hall. After a quick wave to Julia, I stepped through the lobby to the elevators.
With growing unease, I took the elevator to the parking garage and stepped out, glancing toward the corner where Nate kept his motorcycle. A sudden desire to take a ride with him washed over me. His sleek, black, shiny bike looked lonely, so I took a detour to admire it.
Running my fingers across the fuel tank and leather seat, I could almost smell Nate’s amazing scent. My lips twisted into a smile before my vision changed and Nate’s face swam into view. My heart lurched to see blood running down the side of his face.
He sat in a chair and his hands were tied behind his back. I heard a gun go off, and a bullet slammed into his chest, sending him backwards to crash onto the floor. “No!”
The vision cleared and I gasped. That was my kitchen! Yanking out my phone, I called Nate, praying that he’d answer.
“Hey Babe, what’s up?”
“Nate! You’re in danger! Get out of there! Now!” He didn’t answer right away, and my heart sped up. “Nate?”
“I’m going. What did you see?”
“You were tied up in my kitchen and you got shot in the chest. Please don’t let that happen!”
“I won’t. I’ll call you when I’m someplace safe.”
He disconnected, and I leaned over to catch my breath. My head swam with dizziness, and I leaned against the bike so I wouldn’t fall on my face. I breathed in through my nose and slowly let it out. After another deep breath, I was steady enough to head to my car.
Before I could take a step, I caught movement from the corner of my eye. Alarm raced across my chest. Was that Johnny? Was he waiting for me? Is that how he finds Nate?
Not about to let that happen, I dashed to my car, hitting the unlock button. As I opened the door, I heard talking and glanced across the lot to see a couple of people heading toward the elevators. They were right where I’d caught the movement, so it was probably them and not Johnny. Still, I got into my car and locked the doors before starting the engine.
I drove out of the lot and began the drive home, my heart finally slowing down. Driving through town instead of taking the freeway gave me time to think about the best course of action. I also took a round-about way so I could spot a tail.
I wasn’t sure going home was a good idea, but Nate couldn’t get far without a car, so I kept heading in that direction while I waited for his phone call. There was no sign of anyone following me, so at least that was in my favor.
As I turned into my neighborhood, I slowed and pulled to the side of the road. Why hadn’t Nate called me back? I grabbed my phone and pushed his number. It rang several times before going to voice mail. What the freak? Did he make it out or not?
Shit! If he hadn’t, I had to stop Johnny from shooting him. In a panic, I pulled my gun from my purse and got it loaded. There was still time… there had to be!
I drove straight to my house, pushing the button to open the garage door. Leaving my car where it was, I grabbed my gun and rushed through the door into my kitchen, ready to shoot Johnny.
Finding it empty, I froze. He wasn’t there. Relieved, I continued through the house, but found no sign of him. Knowing I had no time to lose, I rushed out the door, determined to get out of there.
As I stepped into the garage, a man grabbed me, knocking the gun from my hand. “No!” Before I could scream, his grip tightened and his gun jabbed me in the side .
“Stay quiet, or you’re dead.” I tried to move, but he pressed the gun harder. “Inside.” He started toward the door, dragging me along with him.
No. No. No. This wasn’t supposed to happen!
He shoved me into a kitchen chair… the same one I’d seen Nate tied to in my vision. Was this some kind of sick joke for saving Nate’s life? Was I going to take his place? What had I done? I was totally screwed, and he would be too, if he came back.
“Good timing.” Aubree stepped into the kitchen, a pleased smirk on her face. Johnny slipped his gun into the waist of his jeans and pulled my hands behind me, fastening a zip tie around my wrists.
“What’s she doing here?”
“Aubree?” He snickered. “You still don’t know, do you?”
“Know what?”
Aubree shook her head, then pulled out a gun and took a tour of my house. A minute later, she came back to stand in front of me.
“Where’s Stone?”
I met her gaze. “I don’t know. He must have left.”
She held out a hand. “Where’s your phone?” I didn’t answer, and she motioned to Johnny. “Find it.”
He stepped toward me, raising his hands to pat me down.
“It’s in my jacket pocket.”
Stepping close, he found my phone and handed it to Aubree. She turned it on and frowned. “I need her thumb-print.”
Handing it back to Johnny, he grabbed my thumb and pressed it to my phone. “Ow.”
It opened and he handed it back to her. She found Nate’s number and put the call through. He didn’t answer, so she tried again and still got nothing. Frustrated, she threw my phone onto the kitchen table and leaned toward me. “He’s not answering. Where did he go?”
“I… I’m not sure.”
“Better go move the car,” Johnny said. “He won’t come back if he sees it in the driveway.”
Aubree grabbed her keys and left.
“How did you find me?”
“You didn’t think I’d have someone watching Vanetti’s office?” He shook his head. “You fit the description Aubree gave me, so it was easy enough.”
Johnny stepped to the window, watching Aubree park down the street. “I don’t know why you’d help Stone. He’s a worthless piece of shit.”
“Then you don’t know him very well.”
He stepped close to loom over me, narrowing his eyes, with his lips curled. “I’d expect that from a woman. But that’s because you’re only looking at the goods. Deep down, he’s a selfish bastard. Aubree thinks he’ll come for you, but I’m not counting on it.”
Aubree came back inside, setting her keys on the counter. “Let’s try Stone again.” She put the call through, but he didn’t pick up.
It gave me hope that Nate might know what was going on, and that’s why he didn’t answer. If he’d been close, he might have taken Aubree out while she was outside, so that meant he was further away than I thought.
“We might as well take her to the warehouse,” Johnny said. “We’re too exposed here.”
“Let’s give it a few more minutes.”
“Why? I don’t think he’ll come back.”
“I don’t want to upset Larry. A few more minutes isn’t going to hurt.”
He huffed out a breath. “He’s a dick. I can’t wait to see the look on his face when we’re done. ”
“Yeah… the guy has no balls, but we have to follow what Needles told us.”
“Fine. Ten more minutes… that’s it.”
She opened her mouth to answer, but the doorbell rang. They both froze. With a huff of annoyance, Aubree stepped away to glance into the living room. The doorbell rang again, followed by loud knocking.
“Serenity! Your car’s in the driveway. I know you’re in there. Come on. Let me in. You promised to talk to me.” Brandon waited another few seconds before shouting. “I’m not leaving until you open this door.”
“Who’s that?” Aubree asked.
I swallowed. “That’s my ex… uh… my husband. I told him to stop by for a chat.”
“Shit.” Johnny glanced at Aubree. “What should we do.”
Aubree turned to me. “You need to get rid of him. But don’t try anything, or we’ll kill you both. I don’t need you alive to lure in Stone.”
I stood and motioned to my hands. “You’d better get this off me first.”
Johnny pulled a knife from his pocket and cut through the zip-tie.
Rubbing my wrists, I slowly made my way to the door. Johnny followed close behind, but stayed out of sight. I opened the door a few inches and tried to smile. “Hey Brandon. Now’s not a good time after all. Can you come back later?”
“What? No. We need to settle this, now.” His eyes narrowed, and he glanced at the door. “What’s going on? Is that guy here?”
“No. But… something’s come up. You need to go.”
He put his hand on the door, and his eyes turned dark. “I’m not leaving. We have unfinished business, and I’m tired of waiting.” At my widened gaze, he shoved the door open, and I jerked out of the way.
He rushed inside and came face-to-face with Johnny. Lurching back, he nearly fell. “Who the hell are you?”
Johnny sneered and punched him hard in the stomach. Brandon doubled over, going down on one knee. Johnny slammed the door shut, turning the lock for good measure, and hauled Brandon up before punching him in the face.
Brandon’s head jerked to the side, and he went down again. As Johnny leaned in to grab Brandon’s arm, Brandon pulled a gun on him. Before he could shoot, Johnny kicked the gun out of Brandon’s hand and followed through with a punch to the jaw, knocking him flat. This time, Brandon stayed down.
Johnny picked up the gun before I could go for it, and stuck it in the pocket of his jacket. He glanced my way, his gaze narrow and filled with accusation. “Did you know he had a gun?”
My shoulders rose. “No. I had no idea.” I glanced at Brandon. Dazed, he shook his head and blinked a few times. As he pushed into a sitting position, I stepped toward him. “What did you bring a gun for?”
He growled. “To kill you! But you just won’t die.” He rubbed his face and swore. “Dammit, Serenity. You should be dead by now.” He lunged for me, going for my neck, but I danced out of his way.
Johnny grabbed his arms and pulled them behind his back. “Maybe, if you cooperate, I’ll let you kill her; but for now, you need to take a seat.”
He dragged Brandon into the kitchen while I stood there in shock. Just as they reached the doorway, I gathered my wits and turned to escape out the front door. Turning the lock, I grabbed the knob.
“Don’t, or you’re dead. ”
I glanced up to find Aubree aiming a gun at my head. I stiffened, and tried to rein in my terror.
“Get back into the kitchen.” I hesitated, and her voice hardened. “Now.”
Out of options, I stepped toward her. She moved aside, nodding for me to go ahead of her into the kitchen.
Johnny had shoved Brandon into my chair and zip-tied his hands behind his back.
“Sit down.” Aubree motioned toward another chair, and I sat. She slipped the gun into the back of her pants and pulled my hands behind my back, fastening them with another zip-tie.
While she got to work, I let my fingers graze her skin, praying for a vision. I closed my eyes and caught a glimpse of her in a dark room. She stood facing a wall, with a photo of Nate and Vanetti. Raising her hand, she smudged out Nate’s eyes with a black marker. Then she moved to Vanetti’s photo. “I’m coming for you, next.”
The vision cleared, and I gasped. Holy hell! This was so much worse than I thought. I had to stop her, but how?
Brandon groaned, blood dripping down his chin from a cut on his lip. He glanced at me with accusation, his face hard as granite. Lifting his chin, he looked at Aubree. “I don’t know what’s going on here, but I’m on your side. I want her dead. Just let me go, and I’ll do it for you.”
Aubree shook her head, her gaze moving between Brandon and me. “You guys are so screwed up. And I thought my life was a mess.” She snorted before meeting my gaze. “Does Stone know about him?” Shaking her head, her lips turned down. “You’d better hope he doesn’t find out he’s with you, or he won’t come to save you.”
Johnny stepped to the kitchen window, motioning for Aubree to follow. “You ready to go now? ”
“Just another few minutes. Sooner or later, Stone will call her. Once he knows we have her, he’ll come. We can finish them off here.”
“You sure about that? He’s not the type to save anyone but himself.”
“You didn’t see them kissing. He’ll come.”
He shook his head. “I’ve got it all set up. I say we go.”
“Look.” She motioned toward Brandon. “If we do it here, the husband can take the fall for all of them. It could be a murder-suicide-love-triangle thing. We just need to get Stone to show up.”
“We’ve waited long enough. We’re leaving.”
“But—”
He got in her face, his voice low and menacing. “I call the shots, or did you forget?”
Her breath hitched. “Fine. But I want to call Stone again.” She glanced at me. “Only this time, Serenity’s leaving him a message that he can’t ignore. If he doesn’t call back after that, we’ll do it your way.”