Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 62923 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 315(@200wpm)___ 252(@250wpm)___ 210(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 62923 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 315(@200wpm)___ 252(@250wpm)___ 210(@300wpm)
“Stay away from Remi,” Ryder growled a warning.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Jeremy answered with a smirk. “Listen, if he needs to talk to somebody, you know, about his abilities, I’m sure my mother or grandmother would help him out. Just give me a yell and I’ll set it up.”
Shaking his head, Ryder said, “I still can’t believe I didn’t know this about you. What kind of friend are you?” he teased. Well, he tried to tease, but his heart wasn’t in it. He was having to deal with too much weirdness to be lighthearted about any damn thing.
“The kind that doesn’t want people looking at me like I’m crazy, dude.” He shrugged. “Anyway, I don’t have any abilities, so it really isn’t my story to tell.”
There was a knock on the door, and then Remi stuck his head inside. “Are you ready to go, Ryder? I called for a driver and he’s here.” His blue eyes darted between Ryder and Jeremy, as if he were trying to figure out what he’d just interrupted.
Ryder wouldn’t lie; he liked how those pale eyes darkened with a touch of what he’d like to think was jealousy. He wasn’t sure when or how he and Remi reached the place where they were, but the thing was, they were there…and Ryder was going to explore it. Again. It wasn’t as if Remi was a kid, he told himself. Remi was a twenty-four-year-old man. Sure, most of his life had been lived as a trust-fund baby, which put him in not only an entirely different tax bracket but also a different place mentally.
Could they ever make something work between the two of them? Ryder didn’t have a clue. Was his heart mended enough to even try?
“Remi, this is my crime-fighting partner, Jeremy Rowe,” Ryder said as he tugged Remi further into the room and wrapped his arm around Remi’s waist as a sign of ownership and protection. “Jeremy, this is the Boy Wonder, Remington Newsome, savior of buried alive victims.”
Remi blushed and dropped his head, even as he shook Jeremy’s hand. “Don’t make fun of me, okay? I already feel like a villain of weirdness…thanks to the police department you work for.” His eyes narrowed. “Oh, wait. Are you just like them? Think I’m either a freak or an accomplice to murder?”
“Hell, Remi,” Ryder growled. “You know better than that.” He looked at Jeremy and his partner nodded. “Jeremy was just telling me that his grandmother and mother have some abilities, as well. They live in New Orleans and Jeremy says he’s sure they could offer to help you if you need anybody to talk to.” Ryder frowned. “This is something new, isn’t it? Or have you been doing this your entire life but kept it hidden?”
“Oh, no; it’s definitely fucking new,” Remi answered quickly. “It’s new and it needs to go away. Now. I’m not interested in the ability or gift or whatever the fuck people call it.” His blue eyes swept in Jeremy’s direction and he asked, “Your grandmother’s name doesn’t happen to be Mary, does it?”
Jeremy jerked, like he’d been punched in the gut. “Mary? No, it’s Gertie. Why do you ask?”
Ryder’s eyes narrowed as he watched his friend. There had been a reaction to the name Mary, regardless of how quickly he covered it up.
“The last time I was in New Orleans with friends, we all decided it would be fucking hilarious to go to a palm reader. We went to a place called Mystic Mary’s and it was after that visit that my first dream hit me. At first, I thought she’d drugged me with something, but then when it didn’t go away, I figured…well…I figured I was going crazy.”
“Mystic Mary sounds a tad freakish, but I’ll call my grandmother and check into the validity of her talents,” Jeremy said. He sounded nervous. “I mean, the name alone hints that she’s a charlatan, but, on the other hand, something’s awakened your abilities.”
A thought dawned on Ryder as he listened to Remi and Jeremy discuss Mystic Mary. He turned to Remi and asked, “At the hospital the other night…did that involve another one of your visions? Is that why you were so terrified?”
Remi’s gaze dropped to the floor. “Yeah, it was.” He looked back up at Ryder and explained, “I didn’t say anything because there was no way on the fucking earth I thought it could be legitimate. You know, I honestly thought I’d just had a really bad dream…just a very realistic bad dream.”
“Is there another victim out there? Trapped somewhere?” Ryder asked, switching to police mode in an instant.
“No. The man in that vision died while I was watching. Whoever took him tortured him for three days and then finally crushed his head with a boulder. Gary Lacasse.”
“Fuck!” Ryder and Jeremy said at the same time.