What in the world was I getting myself into? Serial killers to hunt, an ultimate bad guy to unmask, save mankind, be an active participant in the Hero Society, and apparently dating for the first time since I was a young teenager.
I shook my head at myself and chased after the man who was rustling around in the kitchen.
He hadn’t made us peanut butter and jelly sandwiches but whipped us up some mean grilled cheeses and a can of tomato soup. He snapped his finger and the lights turned off, and an old red candle he’d place on the table lit.
“I don’t put out on first dates, so you know.” I sat down and looked over the meal he had prepared.
“Getting you to call this a date is a big score in my book. It’s enough for now.”
I didn’t even need to look up to know that grin was back on his face again.
Together we chatted while eating, what I imagined was normal first-date conversation: favorite hobbies, music, movies, and all the other random info we could think of. An hour passed quickly once we got into the topic of family. Mostly his. His father was a martial arts master from China, his mother was from the States. He was raised on the other side of the country, but the energy of this area called to him and demanded he be here. So here he was. I didn’t open up much about my parents, but I did talk about the car my pop and I had rebuilt.
Talking with him was so easy, and it wasn’t until I started yawning that I decided it was time I headed home.
“Sure you’re okay to drive? That grilled cheese could put you into a food coma, and you’d pass out at the wheel,” he teased as we walked down to the front of the bar together.
“I think I’ll survive.” I turned to look at him and say goodbye when his body invaded my space, pressing my body against the door with his own large presence.
He didn’t say anything before he kissed me, this time with more fever than before. This kiss was not one of building trust—this kiss was meant to scorch my mind and make me remember each touch of lips, each stroke of tongues against the other. I was totally wrapped up in his gripping hands and strangled moans when he stepped back, giving me space.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.” He unlocked the door and held it open for me.
I felt the subtle vibrations inside my chest before his eyes flashed with amusement making my cheeks reddened.
He didn’t say anything as I threw myself in the Camaro and slammed the door shut with a huff, embarrassed as hell that I had no control over myself around him.
His eyes were on me, though, and I swore I could hear his thoughts as I drove home.
“Kisses so good I make my girl purr.”
I’m not sure which was worse, the fact that I randomly purred while around him, or that I just thought of myself as his girl in my head.
Chapter Sixteen
Asher
“Today we take my beast,” I said to a grumpy-looking Echo as she hopped out of her car that was parked behind the bar.
She looked at me with a death glare that promised a fight, but none came.
She relented, and I motioned for her to walk ahead toward the shiny, red Camaro so similar to her black one.
“My engine is bigger,” she stated in a cocky tone.
“I’ll show you something that’s bigger,” I teased, trying to keep the mood around us light. She laughed and opened the driver’s side door.
That just wouldn’t do.
“My car, I’m driving.” I stepped into her space, but before I could kiss her silly for trying to sit in my spot, she huffed and stomped off to the passenger side.
“Bad night?” I asked. She seemed a little more uptight than normal.
“Nightmares,” she grumbled, and we left it at that. I could imagine she was taunted by those horrid memories of her parents often. I would be. My parents were both happy and living among our people, running a small martial arts studio for the kids. I hadn’t known suffering like she had, and I knew it had taken its toll on her in ways I could only imagine.
She told me where our first stop of the day was—Amanda’s church. She helped the pastor’s wife in the daycare for a few hours every day.
The kids were out playing on the playground as we walked into the main building, looking for Sarah, the pastor’s wife.
The city church wasn’t too large, but it was nice on the inside.
Echo introduced herself and me to a small woman who was typing away at a computer at their welcome center, then asked about Sarah. The woman smiled at us and gestured for us to follow her.
“She’s outside with the kids.”
We walked outside with her, and she talked with a heavyset woman with blonde hair and green eyes. She was dressed in several layers for the encroaching winter, but all in all had a good vibe about her. The front desk girl stayed behind to help with the kids while Sarah walked over to us.
"Hello, I'm Sarah Burke. How can I help you today?" Her energy was easy and kind.
"My name is Echo Cross Seahill P.D., and this is my civilian partner Asher Lee. We have some questions for you about Amanda Johnson." Echo was completely in detective mode right now.
Sarah's expression grew completely solemn.
"Have you figured out who did that to her?" Her voice was starting to quiver, the emotions clearly about to break past her emotional dam.
"I'm sorry, ma'am, we haven't, but that's why we are here. Can you tell us about Amanda? Was she dating anyone? Would there be anyone that would want to harm her?" Echo tried to get Sarah to focus, but the woman was starting to lose whatever cool she had put on for the kids outside.
"She was an amazing woman. Kind, sweet, and a true young lady of faith. It was just so awful." Tears started to fall onto her cheeks, then she wiped them away on the sleeve of her jacket.
"So, you don't know of any issues someone might have had with her?"
"No. She broke up with her boyfriend a few months ago, but they remained friends. He works at the restaurant with her. I don't recall them having any fights during their relationship."
"Thank you for your time. If you think of anything else, please give me a call." Echo handed Sarah a business card.
"She deserved so much better than this." Sarah started to turn around to go back outside when Echo asked if we could take a look around.
"Of course. We will help however we can to catch her killer. Would you like a tour?" Sarah's tears seemed to be slowing.
"That would be nice," Echo answered, and Sarah went about showing us around the church, introducing us to any person that we encountered. Nothing seemed out of order to either of us as we walked around.
"This is my husband’s office. He's away for the week, visiting his mother down in California. I stayed behind to keep the church running until the weekend, when he will return."
Echo and I both took a step inside the room to look around, and her body stiffened.
"The scent," she whispered, and I tried to smell it, but it was lost to me. What I was taken aback by was that strange chaotic energy that I'd felt in Amanda's room. It was here. Faint, but still lingering in the fabric of the curtains and carpet.
“When is your husband getting back in to town? We’d like to talk with him as well about Amanda. Typical procedure.” Echo’s calm voice showed no hint of the clue she’d found.
There was a connection to Amanda and Lisa in this room.
“He gets back tomorrow evening.” Sarah’s energy flickered a little, too quick for me to catch what it meant.
“You must miss him a lot when he goes away.” Echo maybe caught onto more than I did.
“I do. We’ve been married for twenty-six years next week,” Sarah said, but her eyes didn’t hold that sparkle of a woman in love. I looked around her and focused more, feeling the energy. She was hurt. Jealous.
Something was going on with her and her husband. Question was, did it have anything to do with Amanda or just another couple in unhappy matrimony?
Chapter Seventeen
Echo
Asher and I left the church in silence.