Lightbringer (4 page)

Cassie was about to put the key in the lock when a shadow at her feet suddenly moved. Her heart skipped a beat as she squealed and jumped back. Edgar announced himself with an indignant “Meow!”

Cassie put a hand to her chest. “What are you doing outside?” Had she left a window open? She opened the door, and Edgar strolled into the dimly lit living room. Cassie dumped her keys and purse on the table by the door, then checked the porch light. The bulb had, indeed, burned out. She felt giddy with relief.
Nothing to worry about
. She just wished it hadn’t been tonight. After those visions she didn’t need any more surprises. And she’d almost stepped on Edgar.

And what was he doing outside, anyway?
Cassie walked toward the back of the house to see if she’d forgotten to close the bathroom window. Halfway across the room, she froze.

Alarm fell like a mantle over her shoulders, and her heart picked up speed. Her skin prickled.

Someone has been in my house
.

Normally, she didn’t sense anything when she touched objects, but this was her
home
. Her sanctuary. And someone had violated it.

Are they still here?
She scanned the room. Listened. Saw nothing. Heard nothing. Everything was just where it should be. But her heart kept pounding.

Something isn’t right.

She knew this feeling. Respected it.

I can’t stay here
.

She snatched up her purse and fled.

CHAPTER 4

CASSIE RAN OUT the door and down the short walk, her breath coming is short gasps. On the far side of her car she turned and stared at the house. It was dark, except for the light she’d turned on. No shadows shifted in the windows. No curtains moved. All was quiet.

It didn’t matter. Someone had been in her home—they could still be in there. She imagined her vision differently for an instant. Instead of Linda lying dead in her kitchen, she saw herself.

She wished her gift were different, that she could reach out with her
sight
and scan the house for intruders, but it didn’t work that way.

I can’t stay here
. She reached into her bag for her keys, and groaned. She’d left them on the table by the door.

A curtain twitched—in the window of the house next door.
Mrs. Tolson
. Cassie headed for her neighbor’s house, forcing herself to take a deep breath, then another. Anger started to replace fear. She dug for her cell phone and dialed 911. When the dispatcher answered, she said, “I think someone is in my home.”

“We didn’t find any signs of forced entry, ma’am, and we found no one in the house,” the very young looking Officer Varnes said.

Cassie sat in Mrs. Tolson’s living room, cradling a warm mug of chamomile tea in her hands. Two cruisers had responded within minutes to her call of an intruder, their harsh red and blue lights flashing. But the police had found nothing. No broken windows or locks, no one hiding in the closets or under the bed. One of the two patrolmen had already left on another call.

“What about Edgar? My cat? You didn’t let him out again, did you?”

“We didn’t see him.”

“I’m sure he’ll be fine, Cassie,” Mrs. Tolson said. “Cats are very resourceful beings.” A white Persian was curled up in her lap, while a Maine Coon claimed the armrest beside her. The woman’s other two cats were keeping a low profile with strangers in the house.

For an instant Cassie wondered if this would be her destiny, too. To grow old with only a house full of cats for company.

“Well, like I said, we didn’t find any signs of forced entry. Were your doors locked this evening?”

“Yes, of course. I keep them locked even when I’m home.”

“Good. And does anyone else have a key?”

“Just Mrs. Tolson.” She smiled at the older woman sitting on the other end of the sofa. “I live alone, and I don’t have any old boyfriends running around with keys, either.”
Not now, anyway
.

“Neither do I,” Mrs. Tolson added.

The patrolman smiled thinly and turned his attention back to Cassie. “And you thought there was someone in the house because…?”

Great
. They hadn’t found any sign of a break-in, and now Varnes was wondering if she’d

filed a false report. Mrs. Tolson had called the cops several times recently for a variety of odd complaints, and now they thought Cassie was doing the same.
Yes, Officer, I’m so hungry for a man’s attention I imagined an intruder so I could call you.
The memory of dark eyes and strong, long-fingered hands rose in Cassie’s mind. Compared to Jared, this young cop was a pup.

The pup was looking at her expectantly.

“Edgar was outside,” Cassie said. “He’s an indoor cat. I never let him out, but he was on the front porch when I got home.”

“Maybe he slipped out when you left?”

“I’m very careful about that.”

Officer Varnes made a notation. “Uh-huh.”

Cassie gritted her teeth. She didn’t need to touch him to know he didn’t believe her.

“Are you going to dust for fingerprints or something?” Mrs. Tolson asked.

Cassie could tell the young officer was trying not to roll his eyes.

“Calling the CSU isn’t warranted in this case, ma’am.” Again he focused his attention sharply on Cassie. “Was there any other reason you thought someone had broken in?”

She could say she heard something, but she hated lying. “I guess it was instinct. Something didn’t feel right.”

“Instinct?” The doubt was clear in his voice.

“Cassie’s a psychic,” Mrs. Tolson said. “If she says she had a feeling, you can take it to the bank.”

“A psychic, huh? Like that lady on TV?”

Cassie winced inwardly.
Crap
. “No. I don’t talk to the dead. I’m a palm reader.”

“Is that your main source of income?”

“Yes.”

“Any unhappy customers?”

She heard the real question:
Any marks who want their money back?
“None that I know of.” The only one who’d been unhappy with her gift was Andy, and he’d taken his revenge four years ago. “My clients all come to me by word of mouth. If I didn’t satisfy my customers, I wouldn’t have a business.”

Varnes raised a brow, and she replayed her words in her head. Cassie winced. She sounded like a hooker.
This is getting better and better
.

Fortunately, Varnes changed the subject. “Would you walk through the house with me to see if anything is missing?”

“Yes, of course.”

The house was orderly, if not quite clean, just as she’d left it. There wasn’t a speck of dust or cat hair out of place. As Cassie walked through her small house with the young policeman, she found herself almost wishing she
had
been robbed just to prove she wasn’t crazy. This was too much like when she’d been a kid and her gift had begun to grow. She would
know
things she shouldn’t about folks, or she’d predict things that didn’t happen because people chose differently based on what she’d said. And always there were the looks—especially from her mother—until she’d learned to keep quiet.

“Is anything missing?” The officer asked, jerking her back to the present.

“No. Everything’s here.” The sense of an intruder was fading, diminished by time and the presence of the policemen, but it was still there, in every room. Her skin twitched, and Cassie rubbed her arms. Someone
had
been in the house. A man. She just couldn’t prove it. She wouldn’t try.

“Don’t worry about it,” the officer said. “We’d rather have you call and have it be a false alarm than take a chance and have you be hurt. If you find later that something’s missing—”

A loud thump came from her spare bedroom and Cassie jumped. The patrolman put out a hand motioning her back and undid the snap on his holster with the other.

“That’s probably Edgar. He likes to sleep on top of the bookcase,” Cassie said. Her guess was confirmed a moment later when the muscular, solid gray shorthair came sauntering into the room. He stared for a moment with his round yellow eyes at the stranger, then dismissed him as unimportant and proceeded to rub against Cassie’s legs.

Varnes relaxed. “You might feel more secure with a dog, Ms. Lewis.”

Cassie smiled. “I might, but I don’t think Edgar would.”

The patrolman chuckled. “Well then, if you don’t think anything has been taken, I’ll be going.”

Cassie looked around her living room. Everything was exactly where it should be, and yet someone had been in here, in her home. Even if the police didn’t believe her, she
knew
. “No, everything’s here.”

Officer Varnes paused at the door. “You have good locks. Make sure you use them and you should be fine here tonight.”

Cassie tried to smile. “Thanks.”

He nodded and left.

She locked the door behind him, then picked up Edgar and rubbed his neck. “Did you see who it was, Edgar?” All she got from him were distinct feelings of hunger. She scratched him under the chin. “Okay. Let’s get you some dinner.”

Edgar purred his approval.

She treated Edgar to a can of moist food instead of his usual dry kibble and watched him devour it with enthusiasm.
He
had no lingering anxiety about having his space invaded. She wished she could be as sanguine.

She was alone in the house. Alone, except for Edgar, of course. This was normal for her. The solitude was familiar, comfortable. Only it wasn’t comfortable tonight. Cassie made a circuit of the house, checking every window and door to be sure it was locked.
For all the good that will do
. If someone could get into her house without leaving a sign, what was to prevent him from doing it again?

The phone rang and Cassie jumped again. She paused for a moment to catch her breath and check caller I.D. Then she picked up.

“I saw the policeman leave. Are you all right?” Mrs. Tolson’s caring voice asked. “Do you want to stay over here tonight?”

“No thanks.” It was a generous offer, but she wasn’t going to be driven out of her own home.

Cassie spied the clock and was surprised it was only ten-thirty. Less than an hour had passed since she’d come home. Normally she’d get ready for bed now, but she was wide awake from adrenaline. She’d probably keep her neighbor awake too if she accepted the older woman’s hospitality. “You go on to bed. Get some sleep.” One of them should.

“Are you sure, dear?”

“Yes. I’ll be fine.”

She went to the kitchen to make a cup of herbal tea. She’d already had more than enough at Mrs. Tolson’s, but the thought of undressing for bed made her nervous, and she couldn’t think of anything better to do. Not for the first time, she wished she could see her own future.

The phone rang again. Cassie picked up, ready to reassure Mrs. Tolson a second time, but instead Jared Price’s warm baritone caressed her ear.

“I just wanted to make sure you made it home all right.”

Relief swept through her, weakening her knees. She sat down heavily on the kitchen chair. She shouldn’t feel this way. She barely knew the man. The mere sound of his voice should not make her grateful for his kindness. Unexpected tears welled, and Cassie tried to swallow them down. Suddenly she wished he were there, holding her against his broad chest, a bulwark shielding her from all the uncertainty.

“Cassie?” There was a note of concern in his voice.

“I’m fine,” she managed to say in a thick tone.

“What’s wrong?” His alarm was pronounced.

She didn’t need to have a man ride to her rescue. She’d called the police. They’d checked her house. Everything was fine. She’d handled it. But despite her best intentions, the words tumbled out.

“Someone was in my house. The police came. They didn’t find anything.”

“I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

Her heart leaped eagerly at his words, but she said, “No. You don’t have to do that.”

“I do. For my own peace of mind. I’m sure you’re quite capable and have everything under control, but I’ll feel better if I have a look around for myself.”

He kept on talking, saying things she knew were calculated to sooth and distract her as he drove, and Cassie listened. The sound of his voice was rich as Belgian chocolate, and she let it flow over and through her, soothing her nerves.

“How’s Edgar?” he asked.

“He’s fine,” she said, surprised Jared remembered the name of her cat. “He slipped out when whoever it was got in.”

“Smart cat.”

“It didn’t affect his appetite any. He scarfed down a whole can of cat food as soon as the police left.”

Jared chuckled. “Good for him.”

By the time his warm voice said, “I’m here,” through the phone, and she heard his car door slam, she felt almost normal.

Jared took a deep breath before he tapped twice on Cassie’s door. He’d broken at least half a dozen traffic laws to get here in less than eight minutes from his foothills home. He hadn’t done it because he’d promised Gideon. He’d just reacted. He’d heard the tremor in her voice and was heading for his car before she’d even told him about the intruder.

It wasn’t so strange. He’d first taken this form in an era when women were to be protected and cared for. His reaction was just a holdover from that early experience. That’s why he’d offered his assistance and asked her to call him with any concerns.

Irritation flashed.
Why hadn’t she called?
What better reason could there be to ask for help? He admired the strength of modern women but sometimes they could be too damned headstrong.

Light flickered through the peephole. A second later Cassie opened the door. Her face was calm but pale and tear streaked, and her green eyes were huge. Jared’s annoyance evaporated.

The need to pull her in his arms was a literal ache, but Cassie held herself rigid, hugging herself tightly. She looked fragile, like a sudden bump might cause her to fragment. Jared slipped inside and quietly shut the door behind him.

Cassie perched stiffly on one end of the sofa. Jared sat next to her, and when her arms relaxed a little he took one of her hands in his. He was pleased she didn’t pull away. The tingle her touch usually brought was barely there, her gift swamped by fear. He desperately wanted to hold and comfort her, but he didn’t want to alarm her by getting too close. His throbbing cock be damned, now was not the time to run his hands over the soft looking sweater that hugged her gently rounded curves.

“Tell me what happened,” he prompted gently.

He gave her his full attention as she related what happened after she’d returned home, sifting the surface of her mind for details she might forget to include. He felt the bite of her fear, and the gnawing insecurity of having her home violated. Jared fought down an unexpected flare of anger at whomever had shattered Cassie’s peace. When he found him, he’d take great pleasure in administering a little Celestial justice.

“The cops thought I was imagining things. That I was lonely or crazy. They didn’t say it in so many words, but I could tell.” She paused, bit her lip. “What do you think?”

He looked her in the eye. “I think someone was in your house.” He felt unreasonably good as the muscles in her face and body relaxed. He’d only said the truth. “If it’s all right, I’d like to have a look around.”

Cassie nodded but said, “The police and I have been over the house three times already.”

Jared stood. “Then I’ll make it four.” He opened the front door and checked the outside doorknob, then started a search through the interior of her home.

Cassie followed as Jared stalked around her house. A tight knot loosened in her chest. He believed her. Just as he’d believed her about her vision. That alone made him remarkable. It shouldn’t matter, but the validation, from someone who wasn’t a client, meant a lot to her.