Chapter Thirty-One #2
Reece exhaled. “Guess I should.”
He stepped back, eyes on the tall figure at the railing. He wasn’t going to name the feeling flooding his chest, but it was
fair to say he’d burn the fucking world to keep Grayson safe.
Literally.
And that was exactly why they had to part.
Reece turned away and found the stairs. He hurried down them, heading for the car deck.
But as he stepped into the lounge area to cut through it, he abruptly stopped short. He could practically taste the anxiety,
unease and irritation coming off the other passengers. His gaze darted around the full lounge in confusion.
The intercom chimed again, and this time, a new voice came on. “This is your porter. We’ve gotten reports of a disturbance
near downtown. There will be a delay as we ask everyone to remain on board the ferry until we’re advised that it’s safe for
passengers to disembark.”
Safe?
Around him, the passengers burst into nervous chatter. Reece needed to know what was happening—needed his phone. He took off at a run, darting down the stairs to the car deck. Beyond the open front of the ferry, downtown loomed bigger than ever. They’d be docking at the pier in minutes.
He yanked open the truck’s door and grabbed his phone, booting it up. “Son of a bitch,” he said out loud as his text messages
exploded. He quickly scanned the most recent text from Alex.
Alex: Charles Stone has trapped 10 empaths in a suite at Lumen Field. He doesn’t know Cora and I are with them.
Alex: We’re going to make sure he’s sorry
Reece jabbed the icon for his internet browser.
brEAKING NEWS: CHAOS AT LUMEN FIELD
Reece swore again. He had to join Alex and Cora at Lumen Field.
And he obviously couldn’t bring the Dead Man.
The front of the ferry was pulling up to the dock, the car ramp lowering into place. They’d be held here until it was safe
to disembark, but Grayson wasn’t exactly going to wait around. Their pier was only a fifteen-minute walk from Lumen Field.
Reece looked around the car deck, then up to the high ceiling above him. He took a deep breath, reaching for the tumult of
feelings inside him.
Those hundreds of people he hadn’t thralled were still on the ferry. Maybe Reece couldn’t stop Grayson from running for the
stadium.
But he could sure as hell slow him down.
I think one of these companies, Metallic Tailors, doesn’t exist.
My dad had friends on the BOD that I think will help me dig for details, but Charles Stone has a lot of power, and I don’t
want you or your friends caught in the fallout.
Thanks for being there for me. It means more than you know.
Jamey stared at Gretel’s note, left on the now-empty dining table. The couch was likewise empty, her things gone along with
her BMW.
“You’ve got to be kidding,” she said out loud, as if Gretel could hear her.
After taking on Kosler the night before, Jamey had knocked him out. Then, with still no word from Grayson and no idea what
to do, she’d packed up everything on the kitchen table and taken Kosler to the Stone Solutions hospital in Kirkland. She’d
come home and fallen into a deep enough sleep that she hadn’t heard Gretel sneak out.
She could grudgingly admire Gretel for trying to protect them by leaving, but Jamey was certain she could speak for the whole
house in saying they had no intention of abandoning her to Charles Stone and his twisted empire.
Jamey was going to call her and straighten this out right now. But as she snatched up her phone, it began to ring. Jamey took
in the caller ID, eyebrows going up. After a moment, she answered. “Lieutenant Parson?”
She hadn’t talked to Parson since the day Stensby’s police cruiser had been found smashed up by Lake Sammamish.
“The force still has standing instructions to inform you when an incident could be empathy-related.” Parson couldn’t have been particularly happy about that, but he was a man who did what he was ordered. “There’s a situation at Lumen Field.”
Liam was tumbling of the bedroom, his wide eyes locked on his own phone. “Jamey.”
“Okay,” Jamey said slowly into the phone. “What does situation mean?”
“It means there’s a stampeding crowd of panicked football fans fleeing the stadium,” Parson said just as Liam held up his
phone a few inches from Jamey’s face. “And we’re hearing reports of assault inside the stands.”
CHAOS ERUPTING AT LUMEN FIELD, the headlines screamed, with a time stamp of six minutes prior.
Oh shit. “Why do you think empaths are involved?” Jamey said sharply, her eyes going to Liam’s.
“Meet me at the car.” Liam was already hurrying past her toward the coat rack. The spare room’s door had opened, and Aisha
was coming out. Jamey could see Diesel just beyond her, sitting on one of the two camping cots and yanking a fleece over his
head.
“Because the rumor is that there are several empaths in the Stone Solutions luxury box,” Parson said tightly in her ear. “And
the panic is being blamed on them.”
“What?” Jamey barked.
“Where’s Gretel?” Diesel said as he passed by the dining room.
Jamey shoved the note at him. “Why would empaths be at a football game?” she said sharply to Parson, the worry flaring in
her stomach again. “They can’t even bear to watch it.”
“I’m telling you what we’ve been told,” Parson said, just as sharp.
Aisha joined her, nodding at the phone questioningly. Parson, Jamey mouthed, then covered the phone so the lieutenant wouldn’t hear her whisper. “I think our missing pacifist empaths might be trapped at Lumen Field,” she said to Aisha, whose eyebrows went up.
Diesel’s voice came from the front door. “Aisha! St. James!”
Aisha tugged her sleeve. “We’re going now.”
Jamey pressed the phone to her ear as she scrambled toward the front door. “You mentioned assault in the stands,” she said
to Parson as she jammed her feet into boots. “That’s not the empaths.”
“Not everyone is as certain of that as you,” Parson said with an edge. “The violence is escalating, and the stadium is huge;
we’re having a hard time getting things under control. If you want to go to Lumen Field for your empaths, at least make sure
you’re armed.”
Jesus. Jamey grabbed her coat off the rack. “I’m on my way to Lumen Field,” she said, stepping out the front door to her porch.
“I promise when I get to the bottom of whatever is happening, the empaths aren’t going to be the real villains.”
Jamey hung up, zipping her coat as she scrambled down the stairs. As she reached the car, she paused. Liam was in the driver’s
seat of his Corolla, with Aisha up front and Diesel in the back.
Liam leaned out the window. “Get in, babe. We’re going to Lumen Field.”
Jamey threw up her hands. “You three are not coming with me to a stadium of empaths and chaos!”
“I was a marine,” Diesel said.
“I’m a doctor who knows more about empaths than you,” Aisha added.
“And this is my car,” said Liam. “So come on. Let’s go.”
Jamey sighed but got in.
“This is your porter. We’ve gotten reports of a disturbance near downtown. There will be a delay as we ask everyone to remain on board the ferry until we’re advised that it’s safe for passengers to disembark.”
The second announcement on the ferry had Grayson raising an eyebrow. He’d quickly darted down the stairs to the lounge, but
Reece was nowhere in sight. He pulled one of the ferry staff aside. “I need to know what’s going on,” he said quietly, eyes
on the tense and anxious passengers.
“You haven’t seen the news?” the staff member said in surprise, holding out her phone.
CHAOS ERUPTING AT LUMEN FIELD
Oh boy.
Grayson quickly scanned the article, his eyes picking out key details:
Reports senseless rampaging
Crowd fleeing in terror
Empaths allegedly in Stone Solutions’ luxury box
How the hell could there be empaths at a Seahawks game?
And what’s Reece gonna do if he thinks other empaths might be in danger? the little voice in his head pointed out.
Grayson had to get to Lumen Field, immediately. “Thank you, ma’am,” he said, handing her back the phone. He hurried toward
another set of stairs that led to the car deck.
You lost eyes on your corrupted empath on a ferry full of people, the little voice in Grayson’s head said, rather unhelpfully. At the exact same time there’s a panic happening at the stadium fifteen minutes away.
Maybe Reece hadn’t discovered the situation yet, and Grayson could stop him before he dumped more proverbial empathic fuel on the stadium fire.
Sure, sure. You’re definitely going to be that lucky. And if there are other empaths involved, Reece is going to be totally
good with letting the Dead Man show up. He’s definitely not going to try to stop you.
Grayson really needed the little voice in his head to stop sounding so much like a certain sarcastic empath he knew. He reached
the stairs, but as he started forward, the crowd around him erupted in screams.
“Why are we trapped here—”
“This is terrifying—”
“I’m so afraid—”
Grayson was jostled to the side and shoved into the wall as the crowd abruptly swelled around him, stampeding to the stairs
like spooked cattle. The staff member Grayson had been speaking with suddenly jumped up on a chair.
“What is happening?” she bellowed, hands clasped to her face, loud enough to hurt Grayson’s ears.
Inexplicable and sudden fear setting off every person around him and blocking him in?
Yeah. Reece was making sure he had his work cut out for him getting to Lumen Field.