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Chapter 2

I found myself melting at the nick-name. Brice hadn’t called me that since I’d been in high school. Specifically, he hadn’t called me that since he’d caught wind of Danny Green spreading around that I was like butter—easy to spread. Ha, I’d been on one date with Danny, and he hadn’t even gotten to first base.

Brice was four years my senior, and had already graduated from high school, and though Danny and Brice were the same age, Danny had been held back a year. Yet, that hadn’t stopped Brice from meeting up with Danny as he’d headed to school the morning after he had started the rumor among the other students. After kicking his ass, Brice had followed Danny to the high school, making him apologize to me in front of everyone within hearing range. By that afternoon, the whole school knew Danny was a liar. I knew Brice was trying to do it again, protecting me, and I hated that in this case, he even felt the need to. I had held my secret too long. Too many lives had been lost because of my fear of being looked at as a freak, especially by Brice. But it was time. So, I needed to tell what I knew. We had to catch this bastard, and it needed to be done quickly. I just had to figure out how to approach Brice with the fact I was telepathic, and that the killer had been sending me his horrible acts for nine years now. The previous visions still haunted me, and I didn’t want to live another day with the mistakes I had made by not speaking of it. I just hoped Brice would understand why I had kept this to myself for so long.

I’d known Brice and Ashley forever, it seemed. Ashley and I were the same age, and in the same grade in school. Over the years we had become best friends, and of course, Brice had played a huge part of my teenage fantasies, and still does to this day. He was gorgeous. At 6’3”, 220 pounds, he had a body that made me drool. Shoulder-length black hair, olive skinned, and amber eyed, he was where wet dreams originated. Even though his looks were model material, he didn’t carry the cockiness most men with his kind of looks did. Instead he was warm, humble, and would do anything for anyone if they were in need.

Our years of friendship had created a closeness that was a tight bond, and when he was eleven, and Ashley and I were seven, we had all three done a pinky swear that we would always be there for one another, no matter the situation. To this day, that agreement still stood. I was nineteen when I’d begun considering the field of crime scene investigating, and as Brice had already ventured down that road, he was blunt, and had pulled no punches about how gruesome it could be. What he hadn’t known though, was that I had already been witnessing gruesomeness at its finest for years by that time. It had been my ability to receive the visions that had set me on my career path, and though I couldn’t stop the scenes the killer gave me, I had decided I sure as hell could try to stop him. For five years now, I have tried to do just that.

Now, as I came out of my thoughts, I sat up in the seat, addressing his earlier words. “Brice, I can take care of mysel—” Before the words had even completely left my mouth, the headache hit, and gripping my head in my hands, I fought the oncoming vision. But it was useless. Over the next few minutes, I watched another gruesome scene unfold in front of me, and slowly as the vision faded, I became aware of Brice looking at me.

“What the fuck was that?” he asked when he knew I was back with him.

With a small shake of my head, I murmured, “We need to talk. But not now. There’s another victim.”

Brice looked in my direction. “Oh? So, did you do it?”

With an eye roll, I muttered, “Just trust me, okay? There’s another victim.”

Giving a slow nod, and eyes returning to the road, he asked, “Alright. Suppose you’re right, and there is a new victim. Where do you propose we start looking, Rylee?” I could hear in his voice, and by the twitch of his lips, he was humoring me.

Yeah, telling Brice about my visions was going to go over real well, I could already tell.

Irritated, I snapped, “Preston Road.”

Raising an eyebrow he looked at me again. “Are you serious about this?”

With a nod, I muttered, “Yes, sadly.”

Holding the steering wheel with one hand, he fished out his cell phone from his shirt pocket, asking, “Did you say Preston?”

Blowing out a frustrated breath, I snapped, “Yes, Brice, Preston Road. Now, can we just get there?”

After a few minutes of just gazing out the windshield and his phone clutched in his hand, he finally murmured, “So, you never did say. How did this tip come in?”

Pinching the bridge of my nose in exasperation, I muttered, “No, I didn’t, did I?”

When I said no more, he just gazed at me. “Well?”

I let out a frustrated breath. “Does it matter at this point?”

Brice just shrugged, then asked. “How long?”

Frowning, I asked, “How long what?”

“How long has this son of a bitch been giving you visions of his crime scenes?”

His question shocked me. “Um, not quite sure of what you’re asking,” I hedged.

He let out a frustrated breath. “I know you’re telepathic, Rylee, I just want to know how long this bastard has been hounding you.”

I sat in silence, then finally muttered, “I don’t wanna talk about it right now.”

Brice gave a non-committal grunt.

I turned my head, looking out the side window. How was it he knew? It was too much to believe he’d guessed.

Arms crossing against my middle, and knowing I’d just told him I didn’t want to talk about it, I couldn’t help myself. “What makes you think I’ve been having...visions? Kind of a strange thing to ask, wouldn’t you say?”

Brice gave a laugh. “I guess it is, huh?” Then the side of his mouth quirked. “I read your file.”

"Oh,” was all I could say. I hadn’t even thought of that.

He pulled his eyes away from the road. “So, we talkin’ about this now? Or later?

Pulling in a deep breath, I considered his question. “Later.”

Eyes returning to the road, he nodded. “Suit yourself. But you’re not getting out of it.”

I looked straight ahead. “I know.”

“Okay. Though we aren’t discussing the how of it, will you at least tell me what you just saw?” Brice coaxed.

I began recalling the vision. “His victim is hung in a shower. Tiles—there were white tiles covering the walls and floor. The floor was clean, but not scrubbed, the grout was dirty, or I guess it could have been stained, I don’t know. She was hanging by something, maybe a gambrel? And he’d split her from pelvis to sternum, but oddly, I didn’t see any blood.” Pausing, I thought for a minute. “That’s all he gave me, except for the street name…and a color.” I shook my head. “Gray. But I have no idea what he meant by it. Possibly a house color, you think?” Lifting a shoulder, I shrugged.

As I was giving him the details Brice remained silent, but when my words trailed off, he stated, “The killer is a male?

I gave a slow nod.

Brice stared out the windshield pensively. “So, we’re coming up on Preston now. Start looking for a gray house. I think you’re right, it’s most likely the house color.”

As we turned onto Preston, my eyes widened. Holy shit! Almost every house on the block was the same gray color. Bastard! Smart mother-fucker.

This was going to take some time.

“Shit,” Brice muttered.

I could only nod. “Yeah.”

“Okay, time for some help.” Pulling out his phone, he looked at me. “I’ll tell them…something… I don’t know. I’ll figure it out.”

Within half an hour, Brice had a crime post organized and was instructing agents and officers from a nearby precinct what to do.

Surveillance had already scoped the area, and had given the okay to begin the search. The plan was to go door to door. There wasn’t any other way—no shortcut.

As I strapped on my vest and checked my gun, Brice glanced at the man standing next to me. “Courtney, I want you up her ass, you got that? Don’t let her out of your sight for one second!”

At Courtney’s nod, Brice looked at me again. “Check your headset?”

A smile curved up my lips. “Not my first rodeo, cowboy.”

Brice would be staying at the command post while Jordan and I went house to house, searching, and adjusting the strap on his vest, Jordan looked over at me. “You ready?”

Doing the same with my own vest, I simply nodded.

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