ChasingShadows (22 page)

James swiveled in his seat and jumped up to tug Juliana into
the room while Alex chased everyone away.

“What have you done?” she spat out, her eyes a roiling sea
of green.

“Jewel.” Alex gripped her upper arms and rubbed them
soothingly. She was stiffer than a steel beam.

“Don’t touch me.” She wrenched away, her back against the
door.

He advanced, but didn’t attempt to touch her again. With the
fury in her eyes, he wasn’t sure she wouldn’t use her manicured claws on him. “What’s
wrong?”

“As if you don’t know!”

“Sweetheart.” His scar started to twitch, and he absently
rubbed it in his confusion. “Tell me—”

“Don’t ‘sweetheart’ me, Lieutenant MacKenzie. I put my life
in your hands, and look what happened,” she sputtered. “You’re one
puppet-master who can find himself another puppet.”

Alex darted a bewildered look to James and received a
wide-eyed shrug in return. Alex gestured to Juliana. “Sit down and tell me
what’s going on.” He reached for her hand, but she buried it behind her. The
freckles on her nose disappeared in her crimson complexion.

“You promised.” She choked on a sob. “It’s all over the
news.”

“I’ll check it out,” James shot out the back door.

Alex eased closer to Juliana. “What’s in the news? We’ve
been locked in here all afternoon.” Alex’s mind reeled with crazy ideas of
using Juliana’s telepathy to catch the kidnapper. A faint brush against his
mind startled him, but he ignored it and gave his full attention to Juliana.

Shock crossed her face. Strangled words stumbled out.
“You’re going to use me and my ESP as a decoy to distract the kidnapper? Is
that why you spilled—”

His thoughts punched him in the gut. He searched for a
plausible explanation. How could he defend his own thoughts? He didn’t even
have a plan fully fleshed out. Not that she’d believe him, in her current frame
of mind.

“You’re right. I wouldn’t believe you. That trip ended an
hour ago.” She folded her arms across her chest.

“Stop, Jewel. Let me explain.” Alex reached toward her, but
her eyes warned him to back off. Reluctantly, he dropped his arm to his side.

Whatever had happened was bad. Real bad.

“Don’t ever call me Jewel again, Lieutenant. You no longer
have such privileges.”

The words sliced through his heart.

James jogged back into the room. “Man, you’re not gonna believe
it. Juliana’s been ID’d as our source. It’s not good. The press says she’s
given us false leads and we’re bumbling around like idiots.”

“Shit,” Alex murmured, shoving a whiteboard with tactical
solutions out of her view. No need for her to see any more strategy he’d
discarded as dangerous. He landed a hard look on Juliana. “You don’t think—”

“Tell me what a decoy’s supposed to think.” Pain mingled
with anger on her face. She pivoted toward James. “James, I’ll call you if I
happen to have any more dreams. But from past experiences, now that I have to
fear for my own life, the dreams won’t come back.”

She reached behind her for the doorknob. Alex caught her
arm, tried to force her around. But she yanked away and he reluctantly released
her.

He had to make her understand. “Sit down. Let me explain.”

“Let me tell you something, Lieutenant.” Juliana shook her
head. “The last time I was exposed as a psychic, I was kidnapped and held
hostage with a nine-millimeter Glock in my face for two days.” She wrapped her
arms around her midriff. “The perp had already killed five people, three of
them his own family members. I barely escaped with my life after almost being
gunned down by the maniac and the NYPD in a SWAT standoff.”

Alex stiffened, his muscles corded. “I’ll place a ‘round-the-clock
guard on you. Just listen to me!”

“Don’t do me any favors,” she spat out. “Two top-notch
policemen guarded me, and neither one of them survived.” Her voice still
seethed. “I no longer trust that you have my best interests at heart.” Eyes
narrowed, she pushed back the tangle of hair that pulled loose from her braid. “Well,
‘heart’ never entered the picture, did it? I guess I can’t blame you. I hope
the last couple of nights paid you back for the twelve years I was away having
fun. Because that’s all you’re getting. I hope to hell it was worth it.”

She flung open the door and raced into the hallway.

“Jewel!” he shouted.

“I’ll put Sterling on her.” James grabbed the phone as Alex
darted after Juliana.

He was damned if he’d let her out of his sight. “Juliana!” She
reached the door in the front lobby. “Stop!” he bellowed. To Alex’s surprise,
she halted and turned to glare at him.

The usual squad room clamor fell to a deafening silence. Several
uniformed officers surrounded Juliana. Alex motioned them to back off. They
complied, wary eyes trained on Juliana.

“Lieutenant, I’ve said all I care to say to you. Spend your
time on the bad leads I gave you.” Juliana swiped at the tears on her cheeks. “Then
go to hell.”

Chatter swelled among the onlookers. Alex ignored it,
focusing on Juliana.

“Juliana, I didn’t leak it to the press.”

“Save it.” She rubbed her palms on her shorts, her eyes
scanning the faces around her. “Deny that you were thinking of using me as a
decoy.”

What he saw on her face cut him to the bone. Betrayal. Fear.
Destroyed trust.

“No, sweetheart. It’s not true.” He itched to touch her, but
he kept his arms pasted to his sides. “Stay here. I can keep you safe.”

“Safe? You can’t even keep your sources safe.” She spun
toward the door again. “Don’t follow me. Don’t even come near me.”

The words were pure poison, and they dripped straight into
his heart.

James grabbed Alex’s arm, stopping him from following her.

“I have to go after her.” Despair and fear towered up Alex’s
back.

“We need you here. Let her go. She’ll be okay.” James
shouted for Sterling.

The crowd around them dispersed as police personnel went
back to their duties. The din increased as the activity level returned to
normal.

Juliana walked into the hornet’s nest at the bottom of the
stamped concrete steps. Alex shouted out a demand for uniformed policemen to
clear a path for her and to hold off the reporters.

“Sterling!” James yelled again. “Shadow her. I want a team
of twenty-four-hour protection on her.”

“Yes, sir.” Sterling jetted out the door.

Sterling caught up to Juliana and followed a few steps
behind. One of the PD’s best, he would keep her safe. Alex had to trust in
that.

He shot scathing glances around the room as he and James
passed through the squad room, returning to his office. Strung so tight, he
couldn’t even clench his fists. One swipe of his arm and half the items on his
desk sailed to the floor.

James closed the door and leaned against it. “Let her calm
down, then you can go talk to her.”

“Who the hell was it?” Alex sagged into the nearest chair. Three
people at the PD knew about Juliana’s ESP. Two were in his office. The third
was Captain Hayes.

But a potential fourth person would try anything to seek
vengeance against Alex.

Chad Shelby. The bastard must have intercepted Alex’s
reports to Captain Hayes. How else would he have found out? Could he have
gotten into Alex’s office and his computer? Fuck. If Shelby was responsible for
the leak, he’d have that asshole’s balls delivered to IA in a paper sack. He could
try to ruin Alex’s career all he wanted, but involving innocent people was
outright twisted.

The memory of Juliana’s face and her cutting words were
seared into his mind. He had failed to guard his thoughts when she stormed into
the war room. He’d have a hell of a time explaining the idea they’d cooked up,
if she ever gave him the chance.

To hear about her kidnapping and attempted murder in New
York nearly drove him insane. He couldn’t lose her again. The possibility swept
cold dread through him before turning to a scorching rage

James rapped the table and coughed loudly, diverting his
attention.

Son of a bitch, he didn’t have time for this shit, not when
Lisette was in the hands of a maniac.

* * * * *

Juliana punched the gas pedal of Andrea’s borrowed car. A
cop followed in an unmarked car, and she didn’t care that she raced twenty
miles over the speed limit. Hysterical laughter exploded from her compressed
lips. She was in this mess because of them!

Her laughter quickly turned into a chilling calm. It was
enough to clear her mind, to work on staying one pace ahead of the kidnapper. He
knew she existed. Three times now, he’d seen her—the last episode more
revealing than the previous dreams. With a definite feeling of blind destiny,
she knew he wasn’t far behind.

A police cruiser followed close behind. She needed to lose
it fast. They’d hamper her or haul her back to the PD and charge her with some
stupid infraction to justify holding her. The SJPD couldn’t keep her safe. She’d
be better off on the run, hiding out, working from a distance.

A skewer of pain rendered her heart numb. How could Alex
have let this happen? She’d trusted him to keep her identity hidden, not to use
her as a decoy. How dare he?

What a fool I am!
Undeniably in love with a man who
betrayed her. The last two nights should never have happened. Alex should never
have happened.

A long, sleek car cut in front of her. She narrowly avoided
crashing into it. Shaking off the mental cobwebs, she concentrated on her
driving and a plan. Clutching the steering wheel, she zigzagged in and out of
traffic. The police car maintained a discreet distance.

Her office tower came into view, and a light bulb blinked on
in her head. Marie was using the county transit system during the week to save
on gas. She left her car at the office to run errands during the day. The car
was in the back parking lot where tenants were required to park, spare keys in
her desk. The imbecile cops would never catch on, not before Juliana was long
gone. A sigh of satisfaction escaped her pursed lips.

Slowing Andrea’s car to a crawl, she drove into the customer
lot in front. The cop car caught up, but veered to the left of her in the
parking lot, keeping her in sight.

Juliana nonchalantly locked the car and sauntered into the
building through the front door. She maintained an air of composure despite the
anvil weighing her down.

The elevator ride to the fourteenth floor was interminable. She
caught sight of her ashen face in a beveled mirror panel and blanched. Her eyes
were unrecognizable murky pools of green. She hated the terror in them and
jerked her gaze to the elevator doors as the fourteenth floor dinged its
arrival. A few steps, and she faced her office door. The key turned in the lock
with no resistance.

“Damn cleaning crew,” she muttered. This was the fourth time
in recent weeks they’d neglected to lock the door behind them.

An empty suite greeted her. A hasty search of Marie’s desk
produced the spare car keys. Juliana jotted a quick note and left it, along
with Andrea’s car keys, on Marie’s desk.

Not wanting to chance using the elevator and being seen in
the front lobby, Juliana headed toward the back staircase. Fourteen sets of
stairs later, breathless, she ran out the back lobby door. A quick scan around
the rear of the office tower, a brisk walk, and she settled into Marie’s economy
coupe.

The idiot cops were clueless. Juliana laughed mirthlessly.

No one followed her from the building or as she zigzagged
through the busy downtown streets. She kept to the speed limit to avoid notice.
Periodically, she checked her rearview mirror. Even in the twilight, she
detected no car following her for any consistent distance. Relief coursed
through her quickly.

Her cell phone rang several times. Certain the calls were
from Alex, she clicked off the phone and tossed it in her purse. She turned the
radio on and found a rock station. But not even her favorite music stopped her
from caving in with thoughts of Alex.

She couldn’t believe she had fallen right into his web. In
her own bed, no less!

At least he’d made it easier for her to walk away and
pretend the last week had never happened. If she couldn’t trust him not to let
the information out of his hands, how could she trust him with her heart?

The price of his betrayal eclipsed anything she’d ever
experienced because she loved him to the bottom of her soul. Just that morning,
she had decided to let their relationship run its course, despite her original
plan to end it.
Now what?

Juliana maneuvered the car onto the expressway. The small engine
groaned under her lead foot. Another glance in the mirror assured her she
wasn’t being followed, and she let up on the accelerator.

She was beginning to need Alex, and she wanted him more than
anything or anyone. It felt so right to wake up in his arms, to have him pull
her out of her nightmares. To chase the evil from her mind. To keep her safe
from the dark.

She loved his smile, his laughter, his sense of humor. She
loved to drown in his lake-blue eyes. She loved his tough macho act and the
loving, sensitive man who bought trinkets for his niece and cared for his
widowed sister.

Alex even had the newfound ability to block his mind from
telepathic intrusions. It proved they were meant to find one another again and
rekindle the love denied them by her father, by her heritage.

The exit she needed came quicker than anticipated. She
crossed a lane and zipped off the expressway. A car whizzed past, its shrill
horn scolding Juliana for her recklessness.

Tears blinded her, and the car drifted to the left. Quickly,
she swung the steering wheel to the right. The overcompensation almost caused
her to sideswipe a parked van. Juliana brushed away the tears, but more raced
to replace them. Pulling off the road, she slammed on the brakes, rocking the
vehicle to a stop. The seatbelt locked against her chest, pinning her to the
seat.