Haunting Whispers (21 page)

Audrey made a cup of coffee and settled on the sofa with the newspaper and CB. When she opened the paper, a sheet of folded white stock fell onto her lap. She started to put it in the discard pile, but noticed the bold type:
Stay away from the cop or face the consequences
.

Dark, threatening sensations pricked her fingertips and crawled up her arms into her chest. She dropped the note like it was hot metal and watched it flutter to the floor in slow motion. Cannonball leapt off the sofa and into her cage. It was
him
.

She felt his presence as clearly and coldly as she had last night at Rae’s condo. Audrey focused all her energy, trying to draw him to her so she could picture his face or place their connection. She picked up the note, hoping for another flash. Usually touching something a subject had handled would give her an image. This man was different. He seemed to understand her gift and purposely blocked or avoided it.

“Where are you? Why won’t you show yourself? What do you want?” In response to her frustrated questions another settling moan came from deep in the building’s framework. She wanted to run as the sound blanketed her like an oppressive odor. The walls suddenly felt confining, the noises hostile. Her homey apartment had become uncomfortable and unsafe.

Audrey left the house in minutes, Cannonball in one hand and the note in the other. As she drove out of the complex, she tried to decide where to go. She wanted to see Rae, but the note was specific. Her hunch from last night had become more concrete. Rae had the right to know she was in danger. Shouldn’t she have the chance to find out who was threatening them both? Audrey struggled with the decision, trying to separate her selfish needs from her responsibility. Maybe for once desire and need could serve the same master.

She timidly knocked on Rae’s door, unsure of her reception. Rae valued stability, not the capriciousness that surrounded Audrey. Even she often found the fluctuations of emotion and energy in her life hard to handle. How could she expect someone as grounded as Rae to understand and accept her? Last night she’d been adamant that they not see each other, yet here she was less than twelve hours later.

When Rae opened the door, she didn’t seem surprised. She took Cannonball, stuffed her inside her worn sweatshirt, and waved Audrey in.

“Coffee?”

“Please.” Audrey looked at the newspaper scattered across the settee and the substantial coffee cup on the end table. It felt so welcoming. “Is it okay that I’m here? I know I said that—”

“I was hoping you’d come.” Rae handed her a cup of coffee and they settled on the sofa. Cannonball peeked out of the collar of Rae’s sweatshirt, then scampered onto Audrey’s lap. “You’re upset. What’s happened?”

Audrey caught her breath. Rae’s eyes never left hers, which distracted her. “I’m not used to this…someone reading me for a change.”

“Then I’m right?”

Audrey nodded.

“It’s nice to know my intuition still works. It can seem invasive or intimate, depending on who’s doing it, don’t you think?”

She’d never thought of her gift in that context, but it certainly made sense. Maybe Rae understood more than she gave her credit for. Audrey’s insides warmed and for the first time she wanted to tell Rae everything. “I got a note this morning in my newspaper, actually a threat.”

Rae subtly shifted into cop mode. “Did you bring it?”

Audrey produced the sheet of paper, and Rae carefully unfolded it, using only her fingernails. “Your instincts were partially right.”

“How do you mean?”

“This isn’t a warning to you and a threat to me. Someone’s threatening both of us. I’ll have this checked for prints, but I won’t hold my breath. Any idea who left it?”

“No, not really.”

Rae moved closer and took her hands. “Please, Audrey. You can trust me.”

Audrey didn’t know how to say what she needed to. “It’s not about that.” She paused, organizing her words. “Someone assaulted me a year ago, before I came to work for the mayor. I didn’t report it. I didn’t tell anyone, and I have no idea who did it.”

Finally someone besides Yasi knew about the attack. She felt as if a third person was giving the account, a reporter broadcasting the latest entry on the police blotter. She watched, waiting for Rae’s reaction, expecting disapproval.

Rae seemed to be trying to put pieces together. “I’m so sorry. It must’ve been awful to go through that alone.” She stroked the back of Audrey’s hands with her thumbs, but asked no cop-like questions, just the perfect amount of encouragement for her to continue.

“He cut me…not badly.”

Rae paled. When she spoke her voice was barely audible. “You never reported it?”

“No, I left the area. I imagined he was everywhere, and I couldn’t remember.”

“Do you remember now?” Audrey shook her head. “Amnesia?”

“I think I’ve purposely blocked it. When images resurface, I push them back down. I’ve done that so long, I probably couldn’t recall if I wanted to…and I don’t.”

“My God, how we’ve failed you.” Rae’s eyes filled with tears.

“Who?”

“All of us—your friends, the police, the system, society. If you didn’t feel comfortable sharing the pain of something so awful then obviously we all failed. No wonder you haven’t been able to open up about this latest incident.”

Compassion and a strong undercurrent of sadness radiated from Rae. She hadn’t understood until now that Rae would take personal responsibility.

Audrey placed CB on the floor and hugged Rae. “It’s not your fault. I chose to go it alone, but thank you for caring. It means a lot.”

Rae slowly pulled away, eyes full of questions. “And your…gift? You never got any information, hits, leads, whatever you call it, about your attacker?”

Audrey shook her head. “And it’s so frustrating. It’s like a therapist trying to handle her own emotional issues—it’s not as easy as dealing with someone else’s.”

“When it happened…nothing either? I hate to bring up bad memories. I’m trying to understand how it works.”

“That’s the strange part. During the assault, I was blindfolded. I tried to focus on him, to get some kind of reading, but it was like staring into a black hole, darkness and—”

“What?”

Audrey felt a stun gun had zapped her again. Her system hummed and she reviewed a series of memories like flash cards in a whirlwind. “Oh my God. Oh. My. God.”

“Audrey, what is it? You look terrified.”

“All I could read about him was darkness and white noise.” Audrey’s stomach lurched. She thought she might be sick as another recollection slid into place. “The guy at the community center—again, nondescript noise—when it happened and later at the press conference. He was there, I’m certain of it.”

The surprise was evident on Rae’s face. “Are you saying the same person attacked you both times?”

Audrey didn’t want to believe in coincidence. The thought that the two events were remotely related, much less committed by the same person, gave her chills. She’d inexplicably pursued her recent attacker more than a normal victim would.

“Is that why you insisted on finding the stun-gun guy yourself?”

“These bits are surfacing for the first time. I can’t jump to conclusions. Right now they’re only flashes, maybe of absolutely no use. That’s how this gift works.”

“Have you encountered anybody like this before, a void-and-white-noise person?”

“Not that I remember. Obviously I’ve been trying to protect myself and—” She stopped, suddenly aware of what she was about to say…
and possibly one of my closest friends.

Rae pulled back. “And what? Were you protecting someone else?”

She’d come too far not to trust Rae with everything. “It crossed my mind that it might’ve been someone I knew. But I would’ve sensed that at some point.” She felt good, but also a bit disloyal purging the conflicting thoughts that had plagued her for over a year. It pained her to admit she’d actually considered one of her cirque family as a suspect in the initial attack.

“How can you be sure if no one ever investigated?”

“I just know.”

“You’re that certain of your abilities?”

Audrey considered her answer carefully. Until recently she’d have bet her life on her instincts. When she met Rae, things changed. She could discern Rae’s moods, but the tremendous physical attraction between them distorted deeper readings. Perhaps the intense emotional response to her attacks also affected her psychic ability. Why hadn’t she picked up anything from the assailant in either case? It was easy to understand how the betrayal of Rae’s partner had shaken her confidence. Audrey hoped she sounded more convincing than she felt. “Yes.”

“Then I believe you.”

Rae’s sincerity rushed straight to her heart. “Thank you.” She relaxed against Rae and savored the sweet freedom. This felt right.

Audrey placed her ear to Rae’s chest and listened to her heart’s steady thump. Rae would be as true and devoted as it was, once she committed to something or someone. Audrey slid her hand up Rae’s arm, and her heartbeat quickened.

She wanted to share one more truth with Rae before she lost her nerve. It was vital if they were to move forward. “I’ve only been with one woman in my life. Actually a girl, right after college. We had no idea what we were doing.”

Their nervousness had prohibited a real connection. She’d been amazed when they actually kissed, which happened only twice. Audrey had craved more since then but hadn’t met anyone who attracted her strongly enough. For her, intimacy was all or nothing. She sensed the same need in Rae.

Rae’s arms tightened around her and her voice held a hint of a smile. “And you’re telling me this because?”

Audrey tilted her head and looked into Rae’s sexy eyes. She remembered their first kiss and tried not to look at her lips. “Because I’d like to be with you, and I’m terrified. I’ve never felt this way before.”

“You mean terrified?”

“No. I mean yes, and also excited, physically turned on to the point of distraction. It’s new to me. When I’m around you, my psychic compass goes haywire and my hormones are all over the place.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of you.”

Audrey believed Rae and for the first time in her life felt physically safe and totally defenseless. All her secrets were out, and Rae hadn’t judged or rejected her. She’d exposed herself emotionally, but could she be as brave about her sexual needs? Her instincts told her she could trust Rae completely. “Can we go to bed?”

“Now?” The surprise in Rae’s voice was apparent. Maybe she should’ve taken it slower. Her lack of experience would’ve shocked anyone with a normal history.

Audrey pulled away from Rae’s embrace. “Sorry, I’m being too forward.”

Rae stood and offered her hand. “Not at all. I like a woman who asks for what she wants.” She looked at Cannonball, asleep on the carpet beside the sofa. “Will she be all right?”

“Looks fine to me.”

“Maybe we should leave her something familiar in case she wakes up.” Rae grabbed the tail of Audrey’s sweatshirt, waited for the okay, and shucked it over her head. She dropped it on the floor next to the sleeping kitten. “There, that should do nicely.” She reached for the waistband of her baggy sweats, but Audrey stopped her.

“I think that’s enough.”

“Not nearly.” Rae guided Audrey into her bedroom and onto the side of the bed. “Now…can I take them off now?”

“You first.”

Completely at ease, Rae removed her clothing one piece at a time in a slow burlesque that teased Audrey with each motion. She slid her arms out of her sweatshirt, then lifted it inch by inch over her head, revealing an expanse of ivory skin that Audrey ached to touch. Her small breasts were free, and the darker nipples puckered as if Audrey’s gaze were a caress. Rae skimmed her sweatpants down over slender thighs and kicked them away. The triangle of auburn hair between her legs glowed in a patch of sunlight like a slow-burning ember. Rae stood nude in front of her.

Audrey had fantasized seeing a fully developed woman completely undressed, imagined what she’d look like, wondered about the similarities in their bodies. She’d only groped the slight curves of a teenager through clothing, never actually seen her lover naked. Now she stared at Rae, appreciating the distinct and subtle attributes of a woman.

Rae was tall and lean, her almost-translucent skin following the cut of feminine muscles. Her squared shoulders were strong and the curve of her hips slight yet seductive. The swell of her breasts, the taper of her waist, and the slight bulge above her pubic mound screamed
woman
. Audrey felt embarrassed as the moments passed while she continued to stare.

“You are so gorgeous, Rae. May I touch you?” The self-assured woman in front of her shifted from side to side and her ivory skin flushed. “Did I say something wrong?”

“I’m not used to somebody asking before they touch me.” Rae stepped closer. “You can do anything you want.”

Audrey’s hand shook with excitement and years of anticipation as she stroked the side of her face, watching Rae’s eyes spark with passion. Rae’s skin was hot against her palm and the feeling coursed through her, welcoming and right. Sliding her hand down the middle of Rae’s chest, she covered the beating pulse and savored the feel beneath her fingers. The beat accelerated and the tempo became her own. Her body ached with the fullness and newness of sensation. She never imagined a simple touch could be so intimate yet so full of vitality and desire.