Chapter Eleven #2
“Maybe he’d talk to us.”
Honor shut that shit down.
“I’m going to hold your hand while saying this, Littlemoon, but the day I send in you guys to do our job…I’ve lost my goddamn mind. We’ll handle it.”
Tori expected as much.
Bishop wanted to know one thing.
“We know he’s tied to the women who died, but is he tied to Lonnie Jackson? That’s our angle.”
Huh.
That was a good plan.
“I didn’t think about that,” Julian stated.
Well, they did.
It was kind of their job.
Now, Bishop was curious. If she and Honor were going to be out interviewing, she suspected the Littlemoons were going to be doing the same.
Just low key.
“What are you guys’ planning?” she asked, knowing there was no way that Tori and Julian would sit their asses still. With the rest of the team safely at home, and working with a smaller crew, it was all-hands-on-deck.
Tori told them.
“We’re also retracing Wynter’s steps. Since she had to cross paths to get that medallion placed on her body, we want to go to the shop that she originally visited with Booth, and ask some questions. We also know she was at the doctor, but you guys have that one.”
That they did.
That took care of the cops and investigators. Now, all that was left was the psychics.
Avalon’s psychics.
Lucian went there.
He’d been talking to Avalon in his head, and she was giving them a game plan for their side. She felt Julian would take it better from him, than her.
He looked stressed.
“We’re going into the static. We need to help Genesis learn how to do this. I won’t have Ridge to aid me, so I’m going in as deep as I can.”
The second he said it, his wife was worried. This thing played in the static for shits and giggles. It had burned out Beckett and tried to kill him.
This made her twitchy.
“Is that safe?”
He shrugged.
“I don’t know. I won’t lie. If he’s in there, and I encounter him or that darkness, I’m going to be relying on Avalon to pull me out.”
They all saw the tears drip from Ridge’s chin.
Jesus.
Maybe he should be somewhere not near the fire on this one.
From where she sat, Avalon reassured them.
“I’ll be able to help him. I’m not his tuner, but I can manage,” she said.
Why those words specifically?
Well, maybe because the three of them in there were unpredictable, and she knew it. Avalon knew that Genesis was powerful, but they wouldn’t know until they knew how difficult it would be for her to use her gift.
It had come naturally to Avalon, and Lucian couldn’t unlock all the doors without a Tuner.
This would be trial and error.
In a perfect world, she’d know how to do this, and they’d be able to come together and find this person. The snippets that Avalon had gotten were the minimum information to give to Maura and Jagger.
Speaking of the woman…
“Company,” she said, clueing them in that Genesis was now arriving.
Just in time, they all looked over at the office doors, and in came Genesis and Josh.
They were holding hands.
Tori couldn’t help herself.
“Uh, you’re late. Next time, schedule the wedding a little earlier,” she joked.
Yeah, they both came to a stop.
So much for keeping it secret. Clearly, that wasn’t going to be an option.
“Uh…,” Josh began.
Honor sighed.
“I don’t like woo-woo shit. I don’t care if it’s ghosts, spirits, psychics, or whatever else is left out there. This makes me twitchy. When I get twitchy, I’m mean. No one likes me mean, guys. NO ONE.”
They all felt Avalon’s laughter as it rolled through the room. Only, she hadn’t opened her mouth, so she was doing exactly what Honor had just protested about.
“And that shit. I definitely don’t like that shit right there! I can’t wait to get a straight murder. You know, like a vehicular one or a domestic. Simple things that aren’t H.A.U.N.T.E.D. all the way to fuck and back again!”
That was amusing.
“I think the woo-woo shit can spell,” Tori offered. “I know Trey can. God. I miss my brother.”
It wasn’t lost on Josh that they were waiting for the two of them to own this.
“So, that cat is out of the bag,” Josh admitted. “Surprise! We decided to elope this morning. Someone throw some rice or something.”
Julian stopped them.
“No one throw ANYTHING. I’m not cleaning up after all of you,” he stated.
That made Tori laugh.
How could it not?
Julian went there.
“Was the wedding good?” he asked.
Both of them nodded.
Josh could feel Genesis’ worry that she’d excluded them. She was gripping his hand like her life depended on it.
Josh went there.
“It was great, and you’re not going to be angry that you were excluded because we had a really good reason.”
Honestly, no one was upset.
Now, had they had a legit wedding, and not invited the family, that was a different story. Eloping was something that likely occurred in genuine circumstances.
Like being hunted by this animal.
Tori was putting money on that reason. Still, if they wanted to elope alone, that was their business.
“What?” Bishop asked.
He shared.
“I had this overwhelming need to do it. Something was telling me to marry the girl, so I did. I trust my gut when it tells me to move quickly. That’s all.”
Well, no one argued that.
No.
One.
Julian reassured them.
“Again, we aren’t upset. It’s all good, Josh. Congratulations,” Julian stated. “We’re happy for both of you, and we wish you nothing but joy.”
Honestly, that was the truth. Both he and Genesis were smiling, and that was the most important thing for the family.
“Thank you,” she said. “We’re hoping to have a party after this is all done. Then, we were going to get married again, so we can have a bigger wedding.”
Tori was up and hugging her.
“We’re happy for you, Honey. Don’t stress it. I’m glad you both jumped in. Marriage is fun.”
From where he sat, Booth laughed.
Well, that was until his wife stared at him and then put her hand on her sidearm.
He closed his mouth.
FAST.
Which made Julian laugh, along with Lucian because they both knew that Honor was definitely Booth’s kink. For some reason, he loved her all angsty.
And punchy.
When Lucian felt the wave of pain, he knew what it was about. Ridge was suffering.
Immediately, Lucian changed the subject.
“We were discussing what we were going to do. Have a seat,” he said. “You didn’t miss anything.”
Luckily, everyone took his lead.
Both Josh and Genesis did just that, seeing that Ridge appeared to barely be holding on. The last thing they wanted to do was hurt the man.
So, Genesis sat, but she was to the point.
“I’m sorry about Wyn,” Genesis said. “I wish I could say more to help you through this. I know there aren’t words right now.”
He spoke.
“I’ll be okay. Just find this person for me. That’s what I want now. I need my family to help me find the truth, no matter how painful it will be. I need to heal so I can raise Sophia.”
Oh, well, they were going to rally around that little girl, and not only was she going to have a bunch of aunties, but uncles too. No one was going to drop the ball in this family.
The collective would protect its own.
To share energy with him, Ridge was tucked under Lucian’s arm, and when he left a kiss on his temple, no one missed it.
When Bishop didn’t react, they didn’t react. It was clear this was not the time or place.
Apparently, they’d figured something out that worked for all of them.
To get the woman ready, Avalon focused on Genesis.
“We’d like to go into the static to get you ready for what’s coming. Are you willing to join us?” she asked. “I know you’re not accustomed, but we’ll help navigate it for you.”
The woman nodded.
With no hesitation.
“I don’t know if I can be of any help, but I want to try. I want to do something to help everyone here. If I have a gift that can assist, I want to make sure I give it my best shot.”
They appreciated that.
Truthfully, they needed everyone on board for this.
The cops needed to get copping. The rest of them could manage their own day.