Oracle Seeing (The Phoenix Files Book 2) (35 page)

Gotcha!

The bitch was going down.

“Thanks, York.”

She stood.

“Bishop, I have to stand with my reporter. Until you can prove it, I’ll have our attorney get her out.”

She figured as much. It would still give her great satisfaction to take the woman down.

Oh, this was for Lucian.

“Got it, York. I won’t say anything about your help, but you can’t get in my way. If she’s part of the serial killings, she’s going to jail. If she’s bugging offices, she’s going to jail. It’s going to depend on it being for the chair or for a little trip.”

He closed his eyes.

“I’ll warn my bosses.”

That was fine with her. She’d build the case.

But now…

It was time to arrest the bitch.

Chapter Sixteen

Friday Afternoon

Graymoor

He was having a hard time making it happen. He knew that Silas wanted him to leave her alone, but his gut…

It ached.

The idea of turning his back on her made him sick. Bishop would crumble. She’d break, and he’d be responsible.

So, he’d yet to make up his mind.

Instead, he headed down to the living area to sit with the FBI. He didn’t want to be alone. They weren’t the ones he wanted to be near, but they’d have to do.

The buzzing had stopped, but the sickness was ongoing. He didn’t want to hurt the woman he loved. Maybe, if he was lucky, the FBI might have found something, and he could save what they’d started to build.

When he entered the room, they were watching the news.

They immediately looked over.

Their faces said it all.

Then he heard her.

BISHOP.

“You have the right to remain silent,” she said, kicking out Wendy’s legs as she pressed her face into her desk.

The woman looked shocked.

Lucian was sick.

He’d made a deal with the devil, and Wendy was supposed to leave her alone, and now everything that Silas said had come true.

He’d ruined her career.

Wendy would hunt her down, torment her, and make her life a living hell.

There was no doubt about it.

This was out of control.

As he stood there, he watched the woman he loved manhandle a woman he’d once thought was a decent choice. How wrong he’d been.

From the profanity being bleeped out, and the vicious promises of retribution, he knew Bishop was screwed.

Forget what Wendy was going to do to him.

The women he loved was now going to have an endless battle each and every day.

“I’ll end you, bitch!” Wendy promised as Bishop walked her toward the door of the media building.

She didn’t respond, even as the cameras went off, reporters were talking, and the shit was hitting the fan.

This was bad.

“I’ll bury you in so many lawsuits that you’ll never be free. Lucian won’t be able to buy your soul back from the devil when I’m finished with you. Then I’m going after him.”

She walked the woman into the wall.

“Oops. You should watch where you walk, Wendy. We wouldn’t want that pretty nose of yours to have to be redone all over again.”

Lucian was horrified.

Bishop was playing with a vicious snake, and she was going to get hurt.

Oh God!

He wanted to be sick.

He watched as Bishop tossed the woman into the back of a squad car, and then headed toward her truck. The long sway of the red ponytail, the way she grinned mischievously at the camera, winning that battle but unaware of the war—it was his last time he’d see her smile.

He had no choice now.

He’d take down Wendy, but he’d make it crystal clear that he didn’t give a shit about Bishop. It was the only way to keep her safe. He had to hope he’d be enough of a sacrificial lamb for Wendy.

“Are you okay?” Nate asked.

“No, I’m not. I just came down to tell you all that I’m going to be going away for a little while. I won’t be available.”

Nate stood. “Lucian.”

“I’m sorry, but I have to go.”

It was too late.

This was all out of control, and someone had to put the brakes on before Bishop was hurt.

“We have some suspects. Can you at least give us a few moments of your time?” he asked.

They couldn’t let the man leave. He was the center of this. It was clear that he was involved.

Nate could see Avalon beginning to pace erratically. She was stirred up.

This was a bad sign.

“Sure. I’ll be here until tomorrow. I have to tell the sheriff.” He couldn’t say her name. If he did, he’d break.

God!

He had no choice.

“Do you have time right now?” Luke asked.

He didn’t want to stay there. What he wanted was to escape, but he couldn’t leave them hanging. If he were lucky, the second he left Graymoor and the FBI, his visions would end his miserable life.

He didn’t want to go on without Bishop, but he couldn’t take her down with him.

“What did you find?” Lucian asked, dropping down to sit on the edge of the couch. His whole body was numb.

“We had three people pop up on our radar.”

“Who?”

“Nolan Parker?”

He thought about it. “I believe he’s a petty ante criminal who I put away for theft. The file should be in the box. I think he did eleven years. With him, thought, I don’t think he could spell murder, let alone perpetrate a plan.”

“He’s shacked up with your step-mother.”

It didn’t even faze him.

“Of course he is. Starla is bat shit insane and as greedy as the day is long.”

He’d give up all his money, Graymoor, and his other eye not to have to hurt Bishop.

He’d give everything up not to be a bastard, but what choice did he have?

NONE.

“We find it odd that she’s dating a man that you, Dale, and Arron Abrahms all had contact with during the trial.”

He simply listened, not able to focus past the horror he knew was coming between him and Bishop.

“How about someone named Haas Newman?” Luke asked, seeing that they were losing him.

“He was a white collar criminal who bilked people out of investments. He did a couple years, but I made sure it was in the worst hole I could find. Judge Abrahms agreed. Is he out?”

He used to be able to remember everything, but now…

He could only think of one person.

BISHOP.

The love of his life.

The woman he couldn’t have.

The angel he was about to take out at the knees by lying.

AGAIN.

“Do you think either of them could have something to do with this?” Maura asked.

“I can’t think about it right now. I’m sorry. I have to go.”

“We’ll head out then,” Nate offered. “We’ll get out of your home.”

Fuck that place.

“You can stay. Lock up when you’re done. I trust you. Plus, Avalon is safe here. I know you worry about her, but to get in here…you have to be invited or a magician.”

To Lucian, it wasn’t as if Graymoor mattered. It was just his prison, and he’d return to it as soon as he got Bishop free of the mess.

Then he’d be all alone again.

This time, he knew the truth.

She’d never come look for him. Once he did the deed, she’d hate his guts.

Hell!

He hated them for thinking it.

As he left the room, he heard her following closely behind him. He wanted to rage, but Avalon had been nothing but kind to him. He wouldn’t hurt her too.

“Lucian, don’t do it,” she whispered. “Don’t break her heart. If you do…”

“What? I’ll die a lonely old man?” he asked bitterly. “I appreciate your help, Avalon, and how you found me in the static, but it’s too late. I have no choice. We both heard that exchange between her and Wendy. This is the beginning of her end. I can’t let it happen.”

She needed him to trust her ability.

Avalon knew how to handle this, but she was going to need him to stay on the track.

“If you do this, you’ll die. You’ll change fate, and it’ll end badly. I can’t guarantee I can go back and fix it. There’s a delicate balance.”

Good.

If he died, he’d be out of his misery. She’d get over him, and he’d be able to forget that he’d destroyed her life. The beast wasn’t meant to have a happily ever after.

Silas had been right.

It was a stupid fairytale, and he wasn’t that damn lucky. This road was meant to be traveled alone.

“Do me a favor?” he asked, staring down at Avalon’s hand on his arm.

“What?”

“I don’t have family. I’m going to leave Graymoor to you. Donate it to a charity for the blind. Make it a school. Make it into something better than my family made it. Maybe that will wash away the past that’s cursing it.”

She wouldn’t let his arm free. He tried to pull away, but she had to make him see what she saw. “Lucian, don’t do it. Trust in Bishop. She’s the path. From day one, she was meant to be your wife.”

He laughed.

There was no way he’d ever get that lucky. There was no way that fate would ever bless him with something so special. His days were numbered, and he wouldn’t take sweet, loyal Bishop down with him.

He couldn’t do it.

He refused to let it happen.

“Sometimes, fate is wrong, Avalon. I’m meant to be alone. I’m not a man anymore. Lucian Monroe died ten years ago, and there’s no going back. Here’s the proof.”

He walked away, knowing he was going to destroy an innocent life.

He was a beast.

He was a monster.

Lucian didn’t deserve her, and he never had.

As he headed up the stairs, Avalon felt her way back into the room.

“Is he going to be okay?” Nate asked.

“No. Get Bishop to come back here as soon as she can. If she doesn’t stop him, he’s going to die. Fate has changed, and I don’t know if even I can weave it back to what it was.”

They all watched her pace.

They knew it was going to be bad. Avalon looked like crap. She was pale, there were beads of perspiration on her brow, and she was mumbling to herself.

They were in the middle of an investigation, and they really didn’t need this kind of distraction.

They already had bodies adding up.

“What do we do?” Luke whispered.

Nate knew the truth. They needed Lucian’s help, and Avalon needed him to stay. That meant one thing.

He pulled out his phone and put his trust in his woman. If Avalon said get her back…he’d get her back.

One way or another.

       
                
* * *
  O R A C L E   * * *

Sheriff’s Station

Interrogation Room

She couldn’t wait to have some fun. At that moment, her team was working on getting a warrant to search Wendy Lockwood’s home.

As soon as a judge signed off on it, she was going to make sure the woman’s life was put out there for the world to see.

She’d deserve it.

Was it revenge?

Yeah, this was for Lucian.

She was doing it for him…well, and justice. She wanted him to see that if you fought hard enough, the enemy could be taken down.

Wendy was his past.

She’d be his future.

As she strolled into interrogation, she was more than happy to let the reporter vent and get it off her chest. As she took a seat, Wendy threatened her, called her names, and dug the hole.

Instead of reacting, Bishop was patient.

She sat there smiling.

This was her board and her game. In this room, she wasn’t a pawn. She was the queen.

Bishop was going to take her down if it was the last thing she did.

“Are you done?” she asked, when Wendy finally took a breath.

“You have no right to hold me here! I didn’t do anything!” the reporter demanded.

Bishop took the recorder out of the evidence bag and placed it on the table.

“By any chance does this look familiar?”

“Yes! We all have them.”

“Where’s yours?”

There was a little hesitation.

“It’s in my purse.”

She motioned toward the glass. “Get her purse. I’ll entertain Ms. Lockwood. If she can make hers appear, I’ll listen to what she has to say.”

Until then…

“How cozy were you with Judge Abrahms?”

“I'm not talking until the newspaper’s attorney gets here. You’re detaining me for no reason. I have a constitutional right…”

“To bug a judge’s office? Yeah, I bet you think the lawyers will get you off, but I’m heading to your house tomorrow, and guess what I’m going to do? I’m going to find proof that you had a relationship with our dead judge.”

“How?”