Hidden Fates (Hidden Heroes #4)

Chapter 14

Garrett kept an eye on Reese from where he was sitting with the guys. She seemed to be getting along well with the other women. He’d overheard her talking to Orly when he walked by them earlier, and he was pretty sure Orly was telling Reese about her gift. He hoped that helped break the ice between them. It was one of the reasons he’d wanted to make this gathering happen sooner rather than later. He wanted Reese to have friends that she could relate to, and his friends’ women were the absolute best.

“How’s Skyla doing with the estate sale and Madigan’s?” Caden asked Blake, interrupting Garrett’s thoughts. They were sitting on Adirondack chairs on the dock. Tanner and Martin were skipping rocks seeing who could make their rock skip more times. Luke was scrolling through something on his phone, and Blake and Caden had been comparing notes about their women, making sure that both of them were getting on as well as possible after their shared trauma.

“Good. Her father’s estate sold last month, and she’s actually putting some of the money toward buying the building where Madigan’s is after convincing the landlord to sell instead of hiking up the lease.”

“That’s great,” Caden said. “Sounds like staying busy is working for her. I know Hallie has been throwing herself into The Mystic Cow lately, which I’m actually not sure how I feel about. I mean, I love her shop, but sometimes I wish she would just relax a little more. Take a day for herself, just read or go to a spa.”

Garrett smiled, remembering how the guys had helped arrange for Orly, Hallie and Skyla to have a girls’ night out, complete with spa treatments and a night at a nice hotel. “We could get them another night at that hotel,” he suggested.

“I would love to,” Caden said, “but I don’t think Hallie would get much sleep.”

“Neither would Skyla,” Blake added.

“They’re still having nightmares?” Luke asked.

The other men nodded.

“How’s Orly doing with everything?” Garrett asked.

They’d all had a front row seat to Orly’s incredible gift when she connected with Hallie while Vivian was torturing her, all in the name of keeping Skyla under her control. It was awful, and hearing Orly scream out in pain, knowing she was feeling what was happening to Hallie, made it even worse.

“She’s hanging in there,” Luke said, staring out into the darkness. “I think there’s a lot she doesn’t tell me, and she’s a pro at keeping things from me, even when I’m in her head.”

“Then get her to talk to you,” Caden said. “Or if she doesn’t want to talk to you, encourage her to talk to someone else. It could be one of us, or I can give you the number of the therapist Hallie has been seeing. The important thing is that she doesn’t keep it all inside.”

Luke nodded. “Thanks, I’ll let her know and see what she says.”

Garrett hated that his friends and their women were going through a hard time, but after everything they’d survived, he was just grateful they were all here, alive and well. Even though Reese wasn’t his per se, at least not yet, he already felt himself thinking about her more often than not, wondering if she was okay.

Having her living with him definitely made things between them more intense. Kissing her was like heaven, and he liked the feel of her in his arms a lot. Waking up to a sleeping Reese this morning was definitely the highlight of his day. “You think Orly told Reese that she’s the woman that talked to her back in Desert Cove?” Blake asked.

“I know she wanted to,” Luke said. “I think meeting another person she’s helped and connecting with them in real life might actually help her through this funk she’s been in.”

Caden nodded.

“What about the other thing we don’t want to bring up?” Blake asked.

“Reese filed a restraining order on Marcus Dowell this morning,” Garrett said.

“He got out?” Luke asked, anger lacing his tone.

“Bail,” Blake said. “Asshole found himself a lawyer not even Skyla’s father could afford before he lost everything.”

“How? With whose money?” Luke asked.

Garrett shook his head. “Don’t know yet.”

“I’m working on it,” Blake said. “But I do know the license plates were lifted off a Honda CRV. Owner is clean. No record. Doubt she has anything to do with Russell or the kidnapping.”

“Now, we just have to worry about Russell making yet another comeback,” Caden bit out.

“If only we could figure out what he wants with Reese,” Garrett said, mostly just thinking out loud. It didn’t make sense for the man to be hunting her like that simply because she can see the moment of people’s deaths.

“I think I figured it out,” Reese said. The women had walked up onto the dock with the men barely noticing.

All eyes were on them now. “Figured what out?” Garrett asked.

Reese looked to Garrett, then to Orly who gave her an encouraging nod. “I - Orly told me about what she could do, and how she was the one who talked to me in my head when we were in that hospital.”

Garrett sighed in relief. He had hoped the women would bond. Reese needed to have friends she could talk to, and if Orly told her about herself, there was a good chance the other women would follow suit in no time, if they hadn’t already. They carried a heavy burden, being able to do something most people didn’t understand and having to keep it a secret. The more people they had in their inner circle, the easier it would be for all of them.

“Orly also told me how she saw Russell kill Molly Edgar.” Reese shuffled her feet, as if debating what she was about to say next. “But Molly didn’t take her last breath until a while later when someone was burying her.”

“What?” Luke stood. “What are you talking about? How would you know?”

“Easy,” Garrett warned his friend. He also stood and positioned himself next to Reese. “Can you explain?” He asked gently.

Reese swallowed, took a deep breath, and nodded. “A few months before Russell put me in that hospital, I was setting up for an art gallery show. The woman who owned the gallery was a friend of Molly Edgar’s from college. She sent her a few photos of some of my pieces, and Molly fell in love with one of them. She contacted me directly, paid me in advance, and drove to pick up the piece herself.”

“You knew Molly Edgar?” Caden asked.

Reese shook her head. “I just met her that one time. But, while she was in my studio, something happened. It was by accident, and back then - well, it wasn’t until Orly told me that Russell killed her that I put the pieces together.”

“Pieces of what?” Luke asked. “Are you insinuating that your step brother had you committed because you knew a woman he killed?”

“Just listen, Luke,” Orly said. “I promise it’ll all make sense in a minute.” Skyla and Hallie stood off to the side, but Caden went to be at Hallie’s side, and Blake pulled Skyla into his chair while he positioned himself behind her with his hands resting lovingly and protectively on her shoulders.

Then all eyes were back on Reese. Tanner and Martin leaned against the dock railing, watching her, too.

“I have never told anyone except my immediate family about this before. But I told Garrett, and then I told Orly and Hallie and Skyla. I think you all really deserve to know the truth about me.”

“Say it with your head held high,” Skyla said.

“Yeah, nothing to fear or be ashamed of. You’re amazing,” Hallie said.

Reese couldn’t help but smile. “Thank you.” She pulled her shoulders back, and let out a soft sigh. “When I look into someone’s eyes, I can see their fate - the moment of their death.”

As Garrett expected, everyone went utterly silent, processing what Reese had just said. She continued before anyone had a chance to speak or react. “When Molly was in my studio, I accidentally made eye contact with her. I saw how she was going to die.”

“Except she didn’t die when Russell shot her,” Orly explained. “She must’ve slipped into some comatose state or something.”

“Right,” Reese said. “She lived for I don’t know how long before being buried alive. Well, she was alive for a few seconds. She took her last breath as the first shovel of dirt hit her face. That was her moment of death.”

Garrett listened in horror to Reese’s descriptive explanation, and it wasn’t until this very moment that he fully understood why she avoided eye contact. Why this gathering in the dark meant so much to her.

“I’d honestly call bullshit if I didn’t know just how gifted all the women on this dock are,” Blake said. “Is that why Garrett turned out all the lights tonight?”

Reese nodded. “Yes. It was the only way I could meet all of you without accidentally making eye contact. I - it doesn’t hurt me, but I avoid it whenever possible.”

“And I don’t blame you,” Luke said. “Hell, I would too if I were you.”

“I don’t suppose you know where she’s buried?” Caden asked.

Reese shook her head. “No, unfortunately I don’t. Most of the time the things I see don’t really help anyone because I can’t prevent them, and futures change based on choices made, so someone could be fated to die one way today, and another way tomorrow.”

Caden looked at Hallie with so much love, Garrett felt the ache all the way in his gut. “We can definitely relate to that,” Caden said, placing a soft kiss on Hallie’s temple.

“Thank you for sharing that with us, and for trusting us with your secret,” Tanner said.

“Wait, how would Russell know that you knew Molly?” Luke asked.

In answer, Orly produced the newspaper clipping from her pocket. “That art work on her wall. It’s Reese’s.”

A shiver ran down Garrett’s spine as more of Reese’s story came to light. “He probably saw the art when he shot her and -”

“Yeah,” Reese said. “My style is very specific to me. If Russell saw it, he’d know it was one of my pieces.”

“But didn’t you say that you avoid looking in people’s eyes?” Caden asked.

“I do, especially after seeing Molly’s death, but Russell didn’t know that. I only started avoiding it sometimes after he’d left for college because I started getting anxiety. But after seeing Molly’s death, I had a full blown panic attack. That was when I really stopped to preserve my own mental health, which is kind of ironic since Russell ended up putting me in a psychiatric hospital.”

“Ironic or not, he knows you’re the key to nailing him,” Garrett said. “That’s why he’s been so hell bent on getting you back. Even more so than Orly. She might’ve seen Molly get shot, but you’re the one who can connect him directly to her grave. “

“But I don’t know anything. I just know the moment she died. I couldn’t even tell you where it is on a map,” Reese argued. “I didn’t even see him do it.”

“He doesn’t know that,” Garrett said. “We might be able to use that against him when the time is right, but for now, just promise me that you’ll do exactly as I say so we can keep you safe.”

“I will,” Reese said. “But if I get that job at the school -”

“No,” Garrett said. “You can’t take it.”

“I will take it, Garrett. That man has done his best to ruin my life for over a year, but I’ve survived everything he’s thrown at me. I’m done living my life in fear.”

Garrett loved the fire in her tone, the steel behind her strength, but it terrified him that her courage could be the very thing that got her taken away from him, or worse. “We’ll deal with it when and if the time comes,” he finally said, not wanting to argue with her in front of their friends.

“Okay, well if that’s all settled now, can we get back to having fun?” Orly asked. “Because talking about my homicidal ex is definitely not how I want to spend my evening under the stars with my husband and best friends.”

“Absolutely,” Skyla said. “And I just got an awesome idea. I’m planning a grand re-opening celebration at Madigan’s after I purchase the building, and I’ve just decided it’s going to be the first annual black light party. All of you are obviously invited.” She turned to Reese with a huge smile on her face. “No excuses, Reese. You’re going to be the guest of honor, but don’t worry, I won’t make you get up on stage or anything.”

Reese and the other women laughed, and Garrett was glad to see all the tension from their previous conversation seemingly dissipate. Everyone was excited about the black light party at Madigan’s and the women were already talking about different ideas and possibilities for various drinks and entertainment.

As they walked away, chatting a million miles a second, Garrett watched Reese with pride and a sense of awe. Not only had she faced her fears, she’d opened up so easily to the women, and then to the guys, trusting them, and sharing what little she knew about Molly Edgar’s death, without even being asked.

“That is one hell of a woman you got yourself,” Luke said.

“So damn brave,” Tanner added.

“No wonder Russell has been gunning for her. He’s known this whole time that she was the key to bringing him down,” Blake said.

“We’re ending this once and for all,” Garrett said.

Bringing Reese home might have brought her evil step brother right to his doorstep, but that only made him more determined than ever to do whatever it took to keep Reese safe, and take down Russell Graham.

Permanently.