Hide'n Go Seek (36 page)

"Oh, God. Shiloh.” Kali reached into the far back in the closet and slid her hand gently under Shiloh's chest and hips. Awkwardly she backed out, shuffling on her knees, half-dragging and half-lifting Shiloh. The dog whimpered.

"Easy girl. You've been shot." Kali was already punching in the vet's number. "Please answer." It took just a minute to inform them that she was on her way.

Keys. Where were her keys? Kali panicked until she located them on the fridge with her purse. She made it through the front door and ran ahead to unlock the back door on her car. As gently as she could, she loaded Shiloh into the passenger seat. Kali raced around to the driver's side. She hit reverse and tore out of the yard, gravel spitting behind her tires. Grant would be pissed. Too bad. Grant had his responsibilities.

Kali had hers.

Kali drove recklessly. Shiloh was dying. The tears that clouded her vision, hindered her driving. She brushed them away.

"Hang in there, Shiloh. It's going to be alright, girl, we're almost there." Kali ripped into the parking lot and drove up to the back door. She pulled the Jeep to a squealing stop and hopped out. There was a buzzer outside the back door. Pounding it several times, Kali raced to the passenger side. Shiloh hadn't moved.

Kali could lift her, but didn't want to cause more damage. Fortunately Dr. Samson raced toward.

"How is she?"

Kali stumbled in her reply. "I don't know. She's been shot, but I have no idea how bad."

"Move over. Let me get her." Dr. Samson stood well over six foot four and was built like a line backer. Kali didn't argue. She was just grateful he was here at all. An animal gurney arrived at his side.

Shiloh was quickly transferred into the operating room and Kali was left standing alone. She didn't want to leave the surgical room, only the assistants ushered her to a waiting room. Paperwork had to be done, and her vehicle needed to be moved. Tapping into the threads bleeding from the surgery area, Kali sent pulses of loving energy Shiloh's way. She had no idea if it would help, but figured it couldn't hurt. Shiloh was family and Kali had lost too many people already.

The wait was physically uncomfortable. Kali on the other hand couldn't lean back and she couldn't sit still. Her phone rang on the fifth lap around the small waiting room.

"Where the hell are you?" Fear and anger sliced through the phone.

"At the vet's. The asshole shot Shiloh. I had to take care of her."

"And you couldn't fucking call me? You know this killer is hunting, right? What the hell do you think I thought when I couldn't find you?" His roar hurt her ears. "I told you to stay at the house."

Anger of her own spiked. "Well you haven't caught him and look at how many people have died. Don't tell me how to protect my family, unless you think you can do a better job. And so far, you haven't."

Silence.

Kali cringed. She hadn't meant to be so harsh. "Look, I'm sorry, Shiloh is in surgery and...I just didn't think." Kali stopped her pacing and brushed her hair back off her face. "She's been in there for over an hour. I don't even know if she's alive." Pain stabbed through her heart at the thought.

His voice turned soothing. "I know this has been tough on you."

"And, no, you don't understand," she cried out, her voice breaking. "This is your work. This is the stuff you deal with all the time. I don't. I don't want to, either. I want this all to go away." Tears collected again in the corner of her eyes, and again Kali brushed them away. "He's hurt so many people. So many families damaged beyond anything. When will this stop?" God. Her emotions were a mess. She sniffled quietly, but Grant still heard.

"I'm sorry, Sweetheart. Stay close to Shiloh and I'll call you back in a little while."

Kali put her phone away. Every time she thought about him and his work, she felt confused and upset. Talk about double standards. Her work had put off more than one prospective date. Yet, she was doing the same thing to him.

They weren't dating though. Yeah, right. So what did one call it?

"Kali."

She twisted to find Dr. Samson waiting to talk to her. Kali hastened over to him.

"How is she?"

"I think she's going to pull through. The bullet did some damage on its way through but didn't hit any vital organs. We've patched her up. She'll need to stay here for a few days under sedation where we can keep an eye on her to make sure the bleeding has stopped."

Kali closed her eyes in relief. She swayed as every muscle in her body sagged.

"Here, sit down." Dr. Samson's concerned gaze stared down at her.

Kali smiled back at him. "I'm okay. Just relieved that she's going to make it."

"She's not out of the woods yet," he warned.

"She's a fighter, and if she's given a fair chance, she'll do her part to pull through." Her heart suddenly much lighter, she reached up and kissed the vet's cheek. "Thank you. Shiloh deserves to live. She's saved so many lives, I'm grateful you were here to save hers."

"We need Shiloh in this world. As long as she does her part and wants to live, then I'll do my part and give her that chance."

The two friends shared an understanding look. "Can I see her?"

He shook his head. "You shouldn't. She's covered in blood with tubes coming and going in all directions. She wouldn't even know you."

It took some convincing, but finally Kali headed back out to her car. She winced at the sun high and hot. She'd been through so much today, surely it was bedtime. Before getting into the car, she called Grant. "I'm on my way home. Where are you?"

"Searching your yard, I'll meet you at the house in five minutes."

"Glad to hear it. See you soon."

Her shoulder had stiffened to the point she doubted her painkillers could touch it. Kali figured she had less than five miles to where her bed waited. She drove slowly and carefully, not wanting anything else to go wrong today. She stopped at a red light.

Her phone rang. She snatched it from the holder. "Hello?"

The same horribly mechanical voice filled her ear. "You're too late...and now your lover is going to die." Laughter filled the Jeep's interior before being abruptly shut off.

Kali cried out in pain and horror.

The killer had Grant.

Clumsy, clumsy and clumsy again. So not acceptable. He'd have to work on it. He'd been off-stride all day. Last night's fiasco had festered inside all day. Rage had driven him all day. He thought he'd had the Julie stuff under control, but to learn that she'd lived through it had festered, eaten at him all day.

Then he'd lost Kali in her own damn house. How stupid. His clumsy attempt to shoot her had just compounded it. By this time, he should have felled her several times over. He didn't even know why he'd brought the gun. It had been his father's at one time. Only he hadn't taught his son to shoot. Obviously. Shooting Shiloh had hurt but had given him an outlet for his rage.

He stopped and took a deep breath; he mightn't have pulled this last one off if God hadn't been on his side. With limited choices available, when the opportunity had presented itself, he'd taken it. That split second decision had left him short on time.

Groaning under the unexpected weight, he lifted the six-foot male onto his shoulder and stumbled through the brush. Sweat rolled down his forehead and collected in puddles under his arm. Christ, this bastard was heavy. He had a slim idea of where to take him, but he needed to work faster.

He had to hurry.

Kali could be here any minute.

He wanted to be ready for her.

K
ali gasped, "Grant. Oh, no. Please, no." Kali couldn't contain the plea floating through the interior of the car. She grabbed for her cell phone and dialed quickly. Cars honked. Kali hit the gas and sped home. The ringing in the phone continued. Grant didn't answer.

Kali scrabbled in the front cubbyhole for Grant's card. She hit the brakes at the next stoplight. Christ. Where was it? Panic set in when she couldn't find it. There. Under several pens. She snatched it up. Good, there were the more formal channels on the card. Kali dialed the first number, wracking her brain for the name of Grant's friend who worked with him.

Thomas, that was it. She asked the person on the other end to speak with him - explaining it was an emergency concerning agent Grant summers. It took what seemed like forever, but finally she had Thomas on the line.

Kali quickly filled him in.

Thomas wasted no time. "Where are you?"

"Almost home. I'm turning into my driveway now." She drove in and parked.

Grant's car was there. Kali sighed with relief. "His car is here. Maybe I'm wrong."

Kali raced up to the front door and opened it. "Grant? Hello? Are you here?"

Silence. "Thomas, he's not answering and there's no sign of him. He's got him."

"We're almost there. Don't go inside. Get back into your car and leave the property. Do you hear me?"

"Too late, I'm already here. Where's Grant's back-up team?" She walked through the house checking for signs Grant had been here. There were none. She headed into the kitchen, lingering aromas of her spaghetti sauce reminded her of long forgotten plans. Kali walked onto the deck and searched the back yard. She returned to the kitchen. Surely there should be men still here. "The bastard must have circled and snuck up on Grant."

"The team is out looking, but without you or Grant there when they arrived, they didn't have a place to start,” said Thomas.

Kali surveyed the room. There were papers on the kitchen table. She walked over to check. On the top of the pile, a short ripped off piece said, "
Who's going to help you now, witch?
"

"Shit! The bastard left a note on the kitchen table."

"God damn it, stop," roared Thomas. "We're almost there. Let us take care of this."

"As you've taken care of everything else?" Kali snorted. "I don't think so. I happen to care for Grant, and I'm sure as hell not going to leave his fate up to you."

"Kali, don't do anything stupid. I know you want to help. So do we. We're only minutes away. Stay there until we arrive, so we can at least assist you. This guy wants you to do something foolish. But unless he's huge, he's not going to move Grant too far."

"Not likely." Kali closed her eyes. Grim reality had hit home. "That's why he shot Shiloh, so I wouldn't be able to find the victims. Giving him yet another advantage. Taking Grant was akin to taking my assistant. He's determined to have me show my true self."

Kali turned as she heard several vehicles roar into the yard. She raced to the front door and opened it. Thomas still had his cell phone talking to her. "True self? What do you mean? By taking out the dog, he makes it harder for you - or next to impossible, because without the dog, you can't find anyone."

Kali walked up to him. They exchanged grim smiles at each other as they put their cell phones away. The other men collected in a group around them.

"He thinks I'm using black magic, evil," she said. "He called me a witch in his note."

"Why is that?" Several men stood listening in on the conversation. She didn't think Grant would have told them about her. Except maybe Thomas.

Kali was beyond caring. "Some of you saw Shiloh and me in action earlier. But it's not always Shiloh who does the finding. I do too."

The men stared at her.

"Shiloh isn't a rescue dog?"

"Yes, she is and a damn good one. But I usually pick up on the victims before her. She does well when Mother Nature causes chaos. My specialty is when men are responsible for the damage."

"Because you're psychic?" Doubt and a lingering skepticism were evident.

"I'm not really psychic. More a barometer for violence." Kali shrugged. "Shiloh and I work well together as a team. But I
have
and
will
work without her, if I have to. Like now," she added grimly. "So if you don't mind, park your doubts and leave your questions for later. Let's find Grant before he's buried alive."

The men winced at her words, but they all spread out, ready to go.

Thomas stood beside her. "Any idea where to start looking?"

Kali turned to search the area. She was Grant's only chance. If she could just find it. That faint trail of violent energy. A faint sprinkle, like sunlight on dust, only much darker colored, floated to the right of the house. "Yeah, he's headed to the beach."

"Let's go then."

Kali summoned The Sight, easily picking up the scattered energy. She pointed the way and took off at a dead run. She could see the trail flattened through the woods in her mind's eye but hadn't caught sight of the actual trail in the woods yet. She didn't need to. A few hundred yards took her to the steep stairs. Energy fluttered at the top, then continued along the top of the cliff. The stairs had been considered but had eventually been tossed. No. She opened her eyes and turned left. "This way. Hurry."

Kali crashed through the bush, knowing that sneaking was better than charging like an elephant, but she couldn't stop herself. Urgency rode her hard.

The men crashed equally noisily behind her.

She came to an abrupt stop. Clouds of energy billowed atop of the bushes. She spun around and held up a hand to stop the charge behind her. Thomas walked quietly to her. "What's up?"

She bent to his ear, whispering, "He's just up past the bend. I recognize the place. The cliff is very unstable here."

Thomas stared in the direction she mentioned. "So how do you know he's up there?"

Kali shot him a withering look. "I can see the energy."

He stared at her, a quizzical look on his face, then he said, "We'll fan out and come in from several directions."

"Quietly," she cautioned. Kali moved forward ten feet, twenty feet and then thirty feet. She stopped. A voice could be heard accompanying digging sounds.

"Stupid bastard. Do you think I hadn't noticed how she looks at you or you at her? Huh? Do you know how long I've been trying to get her myself? God damn it. I let my marriage disintegrate for her. Did she care? Hell, no."