Darlings of Paranormal Romance (Anthology) (112 page)

Brandt leaned against the table,
trying to give her a chance to express her needs. He didn't think
she'd had much time or opportunity to have anyone care about what
mattered to her.

She turned to face him, her hand out
in a beseeching way that wrenched his heart.

Her voice continued the tug. "I trust
you to keep me safe, regardless of the problems with your
department. But if I go to a safe house, I won't have an easy time
of it." Sam reached out, covering his hand with her own. "Brandt I
just want this over. I don't want anyone else to get hurt –
including me." At the furious look on his face, she backed off
slightly. "I think you should use me as bait. Go ahead and involve
Stefan. He has a great inner warning system, so use it."

Seeing his mouth open to protest, she
held up her hand to forestall him. "But I will leave that up to
you."

Brandt placed his hand flat on the
table and slowly sat down, deep in thought. She had a valid
argument in terms of her abilities. She wasn't the same as everyone
else. Was it unreasonable to force her to go to a safe house? No.
However, it would be intolerable for her. He had his orders,
still... He straightened up and looked around the cabin,
considering location and the problems of guarding her here. Using
her as bait was out of the question. A policewoman now...that was
possible. Stefan was also a hell of a good idea. He narrowed his
eyes, considering her earnest face.

He knew what he had to do. Right or
wrong.

"Alright. I'll talk to the captain.
Maybe we can find another way."

She turned to look at him in
surprise. "Really?"

At his nod, her smile burst free,
warming and calming the fear inside him.

"Thank you."

He smiled grimly at her. "Don't thank
me yet. The captain isn't going to be happy and may order you to be
picked up regardless. Even if that means bringing you in for
questioning where we can hold you for forty-eight
hours."

She swallowed hard. "I understand and
thank you... Thank you for considering my needs." She shrugged.
"Maybe, he'll understand."

Brandt didn't think so, but he'd made
his decision and he'd stand by it.

But he wasn't looking forward to
telling the captain.

***

10:15 am

Sam kept to the rear of the vet
clinic as much as possible. It helped that business was brisk and
there were plenty of animals needing her attention.

It also helped her ignore the
six-foot-four security guard that stood just inside the door
watching her every move. He'd arrived at her house just before
seven this morning. Open-mouthed, she hadn't had time to protest.
As this guy had walked in, Brandt walked out. Not a good way to
start the day.

She tried to stay focused and give
the animals a little extra of her time. These poor things needed a
warm, caring voice and a shot of love. She needed to stay away from
the chaos in her mind. Somehow, she'd thought Brandt would be the
one to stay by her side.

She stole a glance at the tall,
silent ghost beside her. He'd introduced himself, shown her his ID
and had stayed quiet ever since. Watchful, ever present, quiet –
Sam, so used to silence, found his unnerving.

Lucy pushed open the door and walked
toward Sam. She cast a nervous glance at the man standing silently
to the side. "Sam, can you give us a hand? We need another person
for a moment."

Sam nodded and followed her into the
surgical ward. There was no animal on the table. She turned around
in confusion. "What do you need help with?"

Three women converged on
her.

"Sam, are you okay?"

"Why do you have a
bodyguard?"

"Was that you they were talking about
on the news last night?"

Their questions came hard and
furious. She stared from one to the other, more than a little
overwhelmed. It didn't take long to realize their questions came
from a place of caring.

Dr. Wascott walked in. He headed
straight for Sam, where he gave her a quick hug. "I can't stay and
talk. But you take care of yourself. That psycho could be after
you."

A wry smile lit Sam's face. "That's
why the bodyguard."

"OMG!"

The girls' excitement and fear melded
and blended until sentiments were impossible to tell apart. It took
several minutes of explanations before they finally ran down. They
gave her a big hug each and ran back to their duties. Sam stood
there bemused, a warm glow inside and out.

So that's what having
friends felt like. She could get used to this.

***

11:35am

Plans, plans, and more plans. He'd
done what research he could. There was little enough to find. Bill
hoped she was enjoying her celebratory status. Because soon he'd
make her famous. He could see the headlines now: Psychic Who
Couldn't See What Was Coming.

Serve her right. He preferred to
study his victims, to learn everything he could about them. That
was the best part. He loved finding out where the women worked, who
their friends were, and especially about the lovers they slept
with. Every tidbit helped him to know them just a little bit
better. Once he'd collected all the little details then he could
choose the perfect time and method for her death.

There was not time for all this now.
He couldn't take the chance.

She also didn't fall into the same
category as the other women. They were chosen. She was just an
irritation to be taken care of.

He smiled. Cutting her brake line
would be too easy. He already knew that she owned an old Nissan
truck. He'd found that out within minutes of hearing her name. He
used that method sometimes, just not with the chosen ones. Besides
he couldn't guarantee the success like he needed to.

Many people deserved death. Not every
one of them deserved his personal attention. Sometimes, men needed
killing too. His old boss was one of them. The asshole had the
audacity to fire him. Bill hadn't liked the damn job anyway. He
frowned. That reminded him. That asshole had escaped. His damn
girlfriend had borrowed his Mercedes, dying in his place. His
stomach soured. Now, he'd be sure to take care of that bastard
personally. But there were more pressing issues to take care of
first.

Parksville was only a few miles away.
The psychic wouldn't know what hit her.

The cops were particularly stupid.
She'd be placed under police protection and the cops would be
waiting for him. Bill was too smart for that. His mind spinning
with ideas, he couldn't help but appreciate the extra challenge. It
definitely added a little spice to brighten up his day.

Chapter 25

5 pm,
June 24
^th

S
am slowly found a level of comfort
with having a constant companion. Her daytime watchdog changed
shifts regularly, and Brandt stayed for the nights. There'd been a
suggestion of a policewoman moving into the house in Sam's place.
She'd nixed that. What if the poor woman were killed? Sam didn't
want that on her conscience.

Sam still looked over her shoulder at
odd times. At unexpected moments, she felt eyes on her. No matter
how fast she spun around, she could never find her
stalker.

Still, as time passed, she
adjusted.

The detectives were busy doing their
thing. They'd found out where Brooker was staying. He'd denied
anything to do with the media, and hadn't planned for Sam to
identify that the picture shown on television had been taken during
her time in Nikola County. He'd blustered for hours, but Captain
Johansen, paired with Brandt and Sam's evidence, convinced the
overweight bully into giving them a cowering confession. Kevin
wanted him to confess for trying to run her off the road, but
Brooker wasn't going for it – yet. A crew had gone to her cabin
searching the area for evidence where Soldier had been shot, in an
effort to pin that on him, too.

Sam didn't ask for the details. That
asshole was a minor blip in her life now.

Brandt's mother was having an easier
time of it, too, now that the colonel had woken up. He couldn't
remember what happened, which wasn't unreasonable considering his
injury and age, but he knew her. She'd stayed at his side these
last few days, only leaving for showers and changing of clothes.
Brandt would be heading over tomorrow to take both back to the care
center.

As for Sam, she was surrounded by
friends and her bodyguards were reserved, yet friendly. That suited
her. Best of all, Brandt came home every night and slept on the
couch he'd moved into her room.

She hadn't invited him into her bed
again and he'd never mentioned it either. The unspoken word 'later'
hung in the air. There would be time down the road to talk and sort
through their convoluted relationship. Not that she didn't wake up
in the night and reach for him, because she did, then hugged her
pillows close when she found herself alone. The temptation to go to
him often overwhelmed her. It was the knowledge that her advances
wouldn't be welcomed that stopped her. He considered himself to be
on duty.

She planned to present him with a
ready dinner tonight. Return some normalcy into their lives. Not
that they'd had a chance to experience such a commonplace thing
yet. That was for other people, other relationships…

By the time she'd made pork chops
with a creamy mustard sauce and stuffed tortellini on the side,
with slices of cucumber and tomato in apple cider vinegar, she was
feeling quite proud of herself.

Brandt arrived just in time, only
stopping outside to speak with the guard briefly. Sam's heart
lifted at the sight of him. Sam walked to the front door. "Hi, how
are you doing?" There, that was just the right note, casual and
friendly. She waved good-bye as the guard hopped into his car and
drove off.

Brandt walked in, sniffing the air.
"Whatever it is, it smells wonderful." He dropped his coat and
laptop bag on the end of the couch and walked over to sweep her
into his arms, where he twirled her around so he could check out
the pots bubbling on the stove.

Laughing, she squeezed him before
stepping back. "It's ready. Wash up."

"How was your day?" he asked, walking
over to the kitchen sink.

Sam started serving the plates. "The
same as usual. Yours?"

"Same old. How's Soldier?"

"Not impressed." Soldier had objected
strenuously to the added male presences. One of the guards had made
the mistake of walking too close. Soldier had barely missed
snapping his hand off. Sam had been horrified, apologizing
profusely and had gone to calm the dog down. The guard had been
wary ever since and had passed the word on.

Soldier spent his days in peace and
quiet, his mornings and nights on full alert. She appreciated the
fact that he never ventured far away from her. The two of them had
an unspoken truce. She helped him to heal and regain his strength
while he kept her company and worked to keep her safe. That it kept
the men away from her and him was a benefit to both of
them.

By the time bedtime rolled around,
Brandt and Sam had spent several comfortable hours talking. They
discussed everything from global warming to hybrid cars and even
favorite recipes. By bedtime, Sam had a warm glow of friendship
around her. She'd really enjoyed tonight. Still smiling, she fell
asleep immediately.

Sometime in the wee hours of the
morning, Sam surfaced from her dreams to hear the unfamiliar sounds
of voices in her living room. Listening from under her covers, she
heard Brandt move around.

Something was wrong.

Concerned, Sam hopped out of bed,
grabbed up her old terry cloth robe and slipped downstairs. Brandt
stood at the bottom of the stairs, fully dressed.

"What's the matter?" she asked,
frowning.

"The hospital' raised the alarm. Your
suicide victim has been attacked."

Sam wrapped her arms around her
chest. "Oh no," she whispered. "Is she okay?"

He shook his head. "I don't know the
details. We put a guard on her too, once we matched the earring to
her."

"You did?" Sam felt warmed at his
concern for the unknown woman. He was a good man. "Why didn't you
tell me?"

"Because you would just worry even
more." He reached into his pocket and pulled out his keys. "The
guard has been injured, as have two nurses."

"Oh, God." This asshole was a sick
bastard. "What makes you think he's not on his way
here?"

"The hospital security chased him
outside and saw him take off in his car. The police have picked up
his trail, heading north to Washington. He's probably planning to
run across the border." He kissed her on the cheek. "Just in case,
there's another cop on his way here. I'll wait until he shows up
and then head out."

Sam wrapped her robe tighter around
her. "I can't believe how many people he's hurting."

"He's a serial killer, and the noose
is tightening. He's going to do everything he can to
survive."