Final Target

Chapter Seven

"Get up here," Jessica said when Travis picked up the phone two nights later. "Now."

"I’ll be right there."

She was waiting on the porch when Travis arrived a short time later. "How long has it been going on?" he asked.

"Fifteen minutes."

"Why didn't you call me sooner?"

"I wanted to give her a chance to come out of it by herself."

He followed her into the house. "And eliminate the need for my services."

"Of course."

"I understand. But that fifteen-minute delay m ight not be healthy for Cassie."

"And are you healthy for her?"

"I'm the best game in town." They climbed the stairs, and Travis nodded at Fike as they reached Cassie's room. "Good evening. Same drill?"

"Sorry."

"I didn't expect anything else." He leaned against the wall while Fike searched him. "At this rate, we're going to become very intimate friends." He opened the door. "Has she been screaming like that since it started?"

Fike nodded. "Poor kid. I've never heard anything like this before. Sometimes she scares me to death."

"Stop talking and go help her, Travis," Jessica said curtly." If you can."

Travis sat down on the bed. "I'll do my best." He gathered Cassie's hands in his. "Listen to me, Cassie. It's Michael. I'm here and nothing's going to harm you. You don't have to run away."

Cassie screamed.

"I stopped them before. I can do it again. Just let me help you and we'll find a way…"

Thank God.

Michael was there in the darkness of the tunnel. Melissa couldn't see him, but she could feel him. Which meant Cassie could feel him too.

Or maybe she could see him. Melissa was so frightened, she couldn't tell.

The monsters. Sweet Jesus, the monsters. They were going to catch us and blow our heads to bits.

Run.

Run.

Run.

Find it.

Run.

Find it before they got close enough to-

Run.

It hurt to breathe. Their hearts were going to burst.

No, slow down.

Michael was here. The monsters couldn't touch them as long as he stood between.

What was he saying?

It didn't matter.

He was here.

Cassie's grip on Melissa was loosening. She was floating free…

She could feel Cassie's desperation. "Come back. Miss you," the little girl told her.

The call was as alluring as a siren's song. Don't yield. Stay clear.

"You're part of me," Cassie said.

"No."

"Lonely."

"Then come back with me."

She felt Cassie's ripple of fear. "Bad."

"Not anymore."

"Lonely. Safe now. No monsters. Together we'll find it. Come back."

Melissa was lonely too. Why not stay and let herself be-She was drifting closer to Cassie. She made a tremendous effort and jerked herself free. "No, I'm going away. Good-bye, Cassie."

"Lonely…"

"Melissa."

She opened her eyes to see Jessica's face above her. She was so tired, she could barely speak. "Hi. It's…okay, isn't it?"

Jessica nodded. "Cassie's sleeping?"

"Not yet. But she will be soon. The nightmare's over." She reached out and took Jessica's hand. "Don't look so worried. We're both fine. Where's Travis?"

"Outside in the hall." She paused. "He…helped?"

"I know you'd like me to say no, but we couldn't have made it without him." Her eyes closed. "And you didn't have to leave him out in the hall. He…knows about me."

Jessica stiffened. "What does he know?"

"That I'm a freak."

"You told him?"

"He figured it out for himself. He's very comfortable with it. Not like you. Poor Jessica…"

"Poor Mellie."

"No, I'm learning…It's not like I thought. There's so much more going on with Cassie. I had a weird feeling she's hiding something."

"What?"

"I don't know, but things may not be what I thought. And she's so lonely, Jessica. It hurts me that she's so lonely."

"You said Donny was lonely."

"Not like this."

"Weren't you lonely when you were in your forest?"

"No, I had you, I knew you were there. Maybe out of sight, but you never left me."

"Cassie has people who love her."

"But she's afraid to let them in. She's afraid if she lets anyone into her tunnel, the monsters will get in." Her grip tightened. "The monsters are terrible, terrible creatures. We can't let them in."

"Cassie can't let them in."

Melissa tried to smile. "I did it again? The monsters frighten me as much as they do her, and it kind of throws me back."

"We have to get Cassie to let us in so we can bring her back."

Melissa nodded. "It's just that…"

"The monsters?"

"Think of your worst childhood nightmare and multiply it a hundred times and you'll realize how Cassie feels." She closed her eyes. "Good night, Jessica. I don't want to talk anymore. Go hash this out with Travis. He's probably listening at the door. I'll see you in the morning." She heard a chuckle from the other side of the door and called, "Good night, Travis. You did very well tonight."

"Eavesdropping is exceptionally rude," Jessica told Travis.

"She didn't mind."

"But I did. If I'd wanted you in the room, I'd have invited you."

"And if I'd waited for invitations in my line of work, I'd be a pauper. You don't gather information by standing politely to one side. I wanted to know what was happening with Melissa, so I listened." He took her elbow. "Come on. I'll make you coffee."

"I don't want coffee." She bit her lip. "I want to talk about Mellie. I'm sure what's happening is only temporary. She's not really…"

"You want me to promise I won't call the local funny farm and tell them to bring the straitjacket for your sister?"

"There's nothing wrong with her."

"I believe that." He looked at her. "Do you?"

"Of course I do." She rubbed her temple. "I'm not taking this very well. This psychic stuff's not my cup of tea."

"Then let me handle it."

"The hell I will. Mellie's my sister. All I want from you is for you to not hurt her."

"That sounds very familiar," he murmured. "You two aren't as different as I first thought. Never fear. I'm not going to use anything I hear in this house to hurt Melissa."

She gazed at him suspiciously.

"Why should I? It's nothing to me."

She nodded slowly. "That's right, none of us is important to you."

"I can't let you be important." He smiled. "But that doesn't mean I don't admire you both. I think I'm even starting to like you."

"Amazing."

"Yes, it is. So can I make you coffee? We can both use it, and since I'm going to be around, we might as well call a truce."

She stared at him without speaking. His principles were questionable and he was different from anyone she'd ever known. There was a blunt honesty about him she found oddly comforting. "You have truces only when there's war. If you keep helping Cassie, there's no war." She started down the stairs. "One cup of coffee."

Go to sleep, Melissa told herself. It was all right now. Cassie had drifted off.

It had gone better than the last time. After Travis had come, she had been able to step out of Cassie and see her with a little detachment. Not much, but she'd take anything she could get.

And Cassie had been forced to recognize Melissa as a separate entity, which was real progress. But the impression of something that wasn't quite right, that wasn't as it seemed to be, still bothered her.

And what was Cassie searching for?

Together we'll find it.

She should have asked Cassie what she was trying to find. The chance had slid right past her because it had been such a struggle to leave.

Next time…

"May I come in?" Travis asked from the doorway. "If you're too tired, I'll go away."

"I'm tired." She turned on the lamp. "But I'm probably too charged to sleep, so you might as well come in. Sit down, Travis, and tell me what you want from me."

He smiled. "Maybe I don't want anything. Maybe this is purely a social call." He sat down in the chair beside her bed. "After all, we did share a rather unique experience tonight."

"You wouldn't have crept up here after you left Jessica if you'd wanted to socialize."

"You make me sound like a cat burglar."

"Have you ever been one?"

He didn't answer the question. "It's true Jessica doesn't know I'm here. I didn't want to upset her. She's pretty protective of you."

"So why are you here?"

"I thought we should get to know each other." He chuckled as she raised her brows. "No, not in the carnal sense. I have no intention of taking advantage of you when you're-"

"Rode hard and put away wet?"

"Good God, what a ghastly image."

"It's how I feel at the moment. Cassie's not easy." She propped a second pillow beneath her head. "Okay, you don't want to screw me. And I doubt if you're going to tell me anything about yourself, so the getting-to-know part is aimed at me. Right?"

"Right."

"Why?"

"We've already established how curious I am."

She could see the curiosity in his face. His expression was alert, searching. "Didn't you find out enough about me from Jessica's book?"

"From her point of view. But information can always be slanted."

"Jessica is intimidatingly honest."

"We don't always see things the same way. Didn't you ever want to give your viewpoint?"

She should probably tell him to go away. She was none of his business. But she suddenly realized she didn't want him to leave. "What do you want to know?"

"What do you want to tell me?"

"Look, don't pull that bull on me. I'm a psych major."

He laughed. "Sorry. You grew up here at Juniper?"

She nodded. "It's a great place for a kid to grow up. I was the baby of the family and my parents and Jessica spoiled me rotten. She was my idol and I was a real pain in the ass to her." She looked away from him. "And then, after the accident, I was an albatross around her neck."

"I'm not asking you to talk about the accident."

"But the accident is the dividing line. It's like looking at before and after pictures. I can talk about the accident. Jessica says it's good for me to keep it out in the open. I think she's scared that if I repress it, I'll explode or something."

"How old were you?"

"Fourteen. My mother and father and I were driving home from one of his favorite restaurants in Georgetown. I was in the backseat." She moistened her lips. "A car ran us off the road and down an incline. There was an explosion. I couldn't get the door open. I knew my father was dead, but my mother was screaming in the front seat. She was on fire. And the smell of burning flesh…"

"That's enough."

"I finally managed to get out. I opened the passenger door and pulled Mama out and started beating at the fire. But I couldn't get it out and she was screaming…" She swallowed. "And then she stopped screaming."

"And then you went away to your forest."

"Yeah, it seemed the thing to do at the time." She drew a deep breath. "I was a selfish bitch. I should have been there for Jessica instead of becoming the burden of the century."

"I'd say you had cause." His hand tightened around hers. "And I'd bet Jessica agrees."

She hadn't realized he had taken her hand. She should move it.

What the hell. She didn't want to move it. His grasp felt warm and strong and gave her a sense of security. It was odd that a stranger would give her this feeling of safety. "Anyway, when I came back, I tried to get off Jessica's welfare roll. I went to high school, took special tutoring, and then entered the university."

"I would have thought you'd travel or just have a good time for a while."

"I had a good time. I ran, I played tennis, I learned to fly a plane. I made good friends." She smiled. "I always have a good time. That's what life's about on the outside. Enjoying every moment.

But Jessica needed to know I was a stable, solid citizen. I can't tell you how disappointed she is about this Cassie development." She met his eyes. "So do you think you know me well enough now, Travis?"

He shook his head. "I have an idea I've just scratched the surface." He released her hand and stood up. "But it's been interesting. I didn't think you'd be this frank with me."

"Being enigmatic is too complicated for me. I'll leave that to you." She settled back down in bed. "Now turn out the light and let me go to sleep."

"I'm on my way." He switched off the lamp and moved toward the door. "Good night, Melissa."

"Travis."

"Yes."

"Why did you come back up here?"

"Why do you think?"

"You think being father confessor is going to draw us closer together and give me confidence in you?"

"You believe I'm that Machiavellian?"

"If you'd be as frank with me as I was with you, I'd find out."

"Well, you dismissed one of the most interesting reasons."

"What?"

"I never said I didn't want to screw you. I just said it wasn't my intention."

She burst out in laughter. "Flatter the lady and dodge the question. Jesus, you are Machiavellian. Get out of here, Travis."

She was still smiling as he left. He was utterly impossible…and much too stimulating. She could feel the blood tingling through her body, and her mind was humming and wide awake. It was entirely possible that he'd come here because he'd wanted to allay her suspicions for some reason.

It was also possible that he'd wanted to open the door to a sexual encounter. His last remark had been provocative as well as amusing, and if she'd responded differently, he might have turned around and come back.

The idea was too intriguing. What kind of lover would Travis be? She shied away from the thought even as she felt her body ready. She'd already promised herself that she wouldn't worry Jessica, and she wasn't about to sneak around behind her back.

So concentrate on how safe she'd felt when he'd been holding her hand. That's a nice, platonic thought. If Travis wanted to be buddies, that was fine. It was sex that disturbed the mind as well as the senses, and she had enough disturbances in her life just then.

Travis quietly let himself out of the manor and went down the porch steps. It had been a fascinating evening, and not the least interesting facet had been the time spent with Melissa Riley. She had thought the visit had been planned, but she was wrong. It had been pure impulse, and he was not an impulsive man.

Curiosity?

Yes, he was curious, and he'd been rewarded more richly than he'd expected. She was probably the most frank, open person he'd ever met.

And her full-bodied laugh had been as sensual as a hand stroking him.

Jan had once said a man should listen to a woman laugh to determine how good she'd be in bed.

Well, he'd probably never know how good Melissa Riley was in bed. Since her sister was so protective, it would be courting trouble to move in that direction.

But some things were worth a good deal of trouble.

Forget it. He'd once mentally compared Melissa Riley to a firecracker and he didn't need to set off any more rockets than he had already. The situation was explosive enough.