Thirty-Five and a Half Conspiracies
Page 73

“Is there anyone we can turn to for help? I know the Henryetta police and the sheriff’s office are out. But what about that state police detective you’re working with? Can he do something to help?”
“I don’t know. I’ll definitely tell him when I asked him about the hit-and-run case.” He searched my eyes. “But I’ll be vague about how I found out. I don’t want to bring you into it.”
“That’s just gonna make it harder to get him to do something, right?”
“I can’t risk you getting in trouble for breaking your bail agreement. Your explanation for why you were in that apartment is sketchy at best.”
“Mason, we have to do something. She’s investigating you.”
He gave me a soft kiss. “I know. And we’ll get that sorted out too.”
“What if she’s the one who kills you?”
He studied me for a moment. “Maybe knowing she’s involved will change things.”
“I should have another vision.” But the other vision I’d had—the dark, cold one—had freaked me out more than I cared to admit.
Mason sensed my hesitation. “Only if you want to.”
I nodded. “I do. I want to see if we’ve made any progress in changing things.”
He took my hand and led me to the bed. “Let’s sit down, okay? You nearly passed out last time.”
“Okay,” I said, sitting on the edge.
He sat next to me, his right hand holding my left, his other arm wrapped around my back. “Ready?”
“Yeah.” I closed my eyes and started to think about where Mason would be in three weeks, but then I switched the time frame, focusing instead on what we’d be doing over the weekend. The same inky darkness swirled in my head, an icy sharpness following close behind. Panicking again, I thought about dinner. The scene popped into my head immediately. We were in Jaspers, the same as what I’d seen the previous day.
“We’re gonna eat dinner at Jaspers.”
My eyes flew open. Mason had pulled me closer to his side, and his hand held mine in a tight grip.
“You saw it again?” he asked softly. “My death?”
I nodded, tears welling in my eyes. “But not in three weeks.” I looked up to meet his worried gaze. “By this weekend.” I paused. “I want to see who’s trying to kill you.”
His eyebrows rose, and he studied me for several seconds. “You can make it that specific?”
“I can try.”
He nodded. “Okay.” His thumb rubbed over the back of my hand. We were discussing his upcoming murder, and he was the one offering me comfort.
I closed my eyes again and focused on his death, preparing myself for the worst. I found myself plunged into the scene. I was in Mason’s car, parked in front of his mother’s house. The hands that opened the door were his. As I climbed out, a wave of overwhelming grief hit me. Before I could focus on that, another vehicle pulled up beside me. I heard several pops, and then I was plunged into darkness.
When I roused from the vision, I was back in Mason’s arms.
My eyes flew open. “You’re murdered outside your mother’s house.”
His hold on me tightened. “What did you see?”
I shook my head, trying to catch my breath. I’d just experienced Mason’s death. Tears bubbled up, but I stuffed them back down. I couldn’t afford to let myself cry. I needed to focus on saving him.
I parted my lips, about to tell him what I’d seen, but something tripped me up. What had upset Mason in the vision? Could he have just found out about my role in the crime world? If I told Mason about the weird wave of grief, he’d probably figure it involved me. Then he’d focus on keeping me safe rather than protecting himself. “Umm … it was a very short vision. It was night and you were in your car outside your momma’s house. You’d just gotten out, and a car drove past. I heard several popping sounds, and then there was nothing.”
“So I was shot.”
I looked in his face, horror washing over me. “How can you say that so matter-of-factly?”
He gave me a weak smile. “I’m not going to lie to you. Hearing about my death freaks me out. But we need to focus on averting it, right?”
I nodded, trying to get a grip on my emotions. “Yeah. Obviously you should stay away from your mother’s house at night, but how else do we stop them?”
He was still for a moment. “I don’t know.”
“You should run away, Mason. Go somewhere far away, where you’re safe from all of this.”
“And leave you here to face this alone?” he asked, sounding incredulous and hurt. “Do you really think I’d do such a thing?”
“No,” I said softly, reaching my free hand out to touch his cheek. His warm skin was a sharp contrast to my cold hand. “But I had to try. I don’t know what I’ll do if …”
He gave me a tight smile. “We’ll stop it, okay? Trust me, I don’t have a death wish. I want to grow old and gray with you.” His smile became more genuine. “I have plans for us.”
I reached up and kissed him, our emotions pouring into our kiss, then I leaned back and stared into his eyes. “I think we should stay home. We can stay dressed up, but I can cook, and we can just have our date here.”
He shook his head. “No. I really want to take you out, and besides, we’ll be in a public place. In fact, we might be safer at Jaspers than we are here at the farm.”