Chapter Four #2
When he gasped, she set his arm free, and he was pulled back to the here and now.
And what he said shook them to their cores.
“Oh, Jesus.”
Julian needed to know.
“What?”
He shook that off because he was given flashes of each crime scene. Tori stabbed herself in the belly, twisting the knife to destroy her children.
And bled out.
Hart drove his car into a wall, smashing it all around him, and Ivy, who was in the back.
Then, Julian ate his gun, overwhelmed by what he’d done. Only, he took his children’s lives too.
“She didn’t lie, and it was far worse. She spared you the details,” he said.
“By coming here first, instead of giving us time to get Genesis taken care of, he took her first in Utah. Then, he came here because when your wife was there, she piqued his interest. Psychics can feel psychics, if that’s part of their gift.
He would have killed her next. Then, he would have preyed on everyone else until we were all picked off.
Ending with me, so he could get to Avalon. ”
Julian didn’t like that.
Not.
At.
All.
“Okay, well, scratch that,” he said. “I’m glad you drove the bus here,” he said. “Tell us how we can help. I don’t want to lose Genesis or Lucian. We’ve already lost Wynter.”
Nate took over when his wife leaned into him.
“Like I said, we found a name. It’s Thomas Vanderbilt,” he said. “We can start there. Does it sound familiar?”
Lucian nodded.
Yeah, they knew the family.
“Both Ridge and I have dealt with the family. Thomas Vanderbilt is a business owner here. His family owns a lot of buildings in town. His father was also a Thomas. I believe this guy is the third. I will say that together, we don’t like dealing with him.”
That was something odd to say.
Lucian was a powerhouse in the business world. He wasn’t only an attorney, but he owned businesses. He and Ridge bought and sold places left and right.
“Why?” Nate asked. “If you don’t mind me asking.”
He was honest.
“He gave me the willies. I know that’s weird, but when we had a meeting months ago, he was eyeing up Ridge, and it made him and myself uncomfortable.”
Julian was curious.
“Eyeing up?”
Lucian didn’t know how to explain it without letting the big, ugly cat out of the bag. Even then, he didn’t like anyone checking out Ridge.
He was his.
Period.
That possessiveness had been there since they’d done the sex magick in the static.
The man was a little too…happy to see his partner. Like with Bishop, he didn’t like anyone sniffing around what was his. He was crazy like that.
They let him explain it.
“It was like he wanted to get his hands on him, and not in a let’s thumb wrestle kind of a way. He was staring at him…lecherously. Ridge told me he didn’t like his vibe,” he admitted.
Oh, and he knew why.
Ridge was a very handsome man. He had those boy-next-door good looks, and he had an aura around him of confidence. Those things were what also made him attracted to the man.
HIS.
MAN.
From where he sat beside his wife, Nate understood.
“Well, that makes sense. When Callie got me the name, I started digging. Forty years ago, when this happened, his father was a young man of twenty.”
They all listened.
“And he had ties to them all. I was able to dig in and look into the man’s dealings. A lot had been wiped, but there were some things still there. He was on the cusp of being charged, but the FBI backed off because the police backed off.”
Well, that didn’t sound good.
“He was rich then, right?” Hart asked. “Because anytime the police or FBI back off, it’s because money is in play.
Old-white rich men get preferential treatment a great deal because they can buy, or threaten, with the best lawyers.
We all know that. How many times have we hit the wall of wealth and been told to back off? ”
Which was funny for him to say since his wife, Lennox, was incredibly wealthy.
As was Lucian.
And Ridge.
Nate nodded.
“I can’t prove it, yet, but I’d bet that is exactly what happened. The Fed in me can smell that kind of bullshit a mile away, and it screams accurate.”
Tori was listening.
“So, that family also has ties to this area. What are the chances that we have an old family that’s doing this forty years ago, and it’s still here as that bullshit is starting up again?”
Nate nodded.
Yeah, it was slim to none that it was a coincidence. If he had a badge, he’d bet on it.
He continued.
“I was able to trace the Vanderbilt family to Salem during The Burning Times. Granted, the name wasn’t Vanderbilt until after then. It was a different family name, and the family married into the Vanderbilt name and started that legacy. They always have males in charge of the family. ALWAYS.”
Avalon was quiet.
Why?
This was her husband’s thing. While she worked in the static, he’d been a special agent and solved crimes for a living. She was going to let him do his thing.
“Could that be who is behind this?” Bishop asked.
Well, they knew one thing.
“We can’t just ask him. How do we inquire if he’s psychic, and feels like sucking up spirits to use them as a psychic vampire, or if he’s after Genesis and Avalon?” Lucian asked. “You know, without sounding crazy and getting slapped with a restraining order. Plus, we have to live here, so...”
That was pretty accurate.
They couldn’t out themselves if they planned on staying in Salem to live in the community. It tolerated a lot here, but there were limits.
“But it gives us a starting point,” Julian admitted. “We can work with that.”
When they heard keys in the door, all the men stood, and the two Marines pulled their guns and put themselves in front of Oracle.
Just.
In.
Case.
Only, Julian saw who it was, and there was no reason to be worried. It was most definitely friend.
Not foe.
“It’s my sister and brother-in-law. They’re safe,” he said, reassuring them.
As they came in, Beckett looked worse for the wear, as his wife was holding his hand.
His bare hand.
That told them all they needed to know about Beckett's gift. It was most definitely gone.
As for the couple, when they saw the armed strangers, Claire put herself in front of her husband, protecting him.
“Who is this?” she asked.
Julian explained.
“It’s a long story. First, are you guys okay?” he asked, approaching Beckett.
The man shrugged.
“My brain feels like it’s fried from the inside out,” he stated. “It’s all blank in there. I feel like I ran face-first into a wall a few freaking times with my brain to cushion the blow.”
Well, likely because he had. The asshole behind this had wanted to burn out the man’s gift, and he’d managed to do just that. They no longer had their psychometrist.
Beckett could have found the man using it, so this monster had to stop that, and did.
From her spot on the couch, their guest spoke up, trying to reassure them.
“He’ll be okay,” Avalon stated.
The second he heard her voice, Beckett jumped.
“Jesus,” he stated.
That made her laugh.
“No, Oracle.”
Julian saw how he reacted.
“You’ve met her before?” he asked, seeing that reaction, and it took a lot to scare the man. He’d been a cop at one time and didn’t frighten easily.
Beckett nodded.
“In the static. When I went under last time, and I was dying, I heard her. I heard that voice, and she stayed with me until Lucian and Ridge could find me.”
Oh, well, that just made the whole family like Avalon a whole lot more because Beckett had nearly died in the static, trapped there.
Avalon moved toward him.
When she took off her sunglasses, she revealed her eyes to the man.
They were blank, white, and they were clouded over.
He wasn’t the only one to see them. In fact, it caught Julian off guard. He knew she was blind, but that was eerie.
So, he tried not to react.
With Nate beside her, touching her back, she focused on Beckett.
“I’m glad you’re safe. I’m happy that I was able to hold onto your soul so he couldn’t take it from you.”
Beckett moved closer to her.
“When it was killing me, I heard you talking to me, telling me I would be okay. I know I heard your voice. I know I wasn’t losing my mind.”
Oh, he wasn’t.
She nodded.
“I was with you. I could hear you screaming in the static and fighting to get back to your wife.”
Emotions overwhelmed him.
He hugged her.
Beckett hugged her tightly and couldn’t explain how desperately lost he’d been, and how much she made him feel like it was going to be okay.
“Thank you. You told me you’d get me back to my wife, and child.”
Gently, she patted his back to soothe him.
“I’m glad I could make that promise to you. I’m sorry about your gift being gone. I can’t tell if it’s going to return or not. I’m leaning toward no.”
At her words, he set her free.
“Don’t worry about it. Really, I’m not that heartbroken over it. My psychic ability is a nightmare on a good day. As long as I still have my PI job, I’m good.”
Oh, she understood that.
From nearby, Julian stopped that nonsense then and there. Beckett had nothing to worry about.
“You married our sister. You’re our brother,” he stated. “You’re not losing your job because you’re not psychic now. You’re a damn good PI, Beck. That’s your true gift.”
He hugged his brother-in-law next.
“Thanks, Julian.”
Only, now, Julian was curious, and he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t worried about the man’s health. He’d come out with his nose and ears bleeding.
“What did they say?”
Claire clued them in.
“They said that he’s good. There was nothing on his CAT scan, his MRI, or any other testing. Whatever caused the seizures didn’t do permanent damage.”
Well, that was damn lucky on their part.
Claire was curious.
“Uh, why are we still here?” she asked. “Did something else happen?”
That was when Julian realized something.
Well, shit.
They’d not told Claire and Beckett what happened. They’d not wanted to upset the man in case the seizures started back up again, and it was very wrong to text about a death.
That was shitty.
“Claire…”
She stared at her brother, and as he was speaking, he had tears in his eyes.
“Oh, no. Who got hurt?” she asked.
He told her.
“Wynter took her life.”
She gasped.
“NO!”