Page 28 of Dark Visions

“Hello,” he said quietly.

“You left work early last night. Are you okay?” asked his brother.

“I’m fine. Stop being such a worrywart, will you? It was slow last night, and they had it covered. I wasn’t far away if they needed me. I was just tired.” He looked around the room and started to smile but couldn’t. Last night had really gotten out of hand, and he knew that if he didn’t stop soon, it would kill him.

“You’re my brother. Of course, I’m going to worry about you. I love you.”

“I know you do, and I love you too,” he sighed.

“Well, I’ll be working all day, but if you need anything, just call. I’ll answer. You know I will. Are you off tonight?” he asked.

“Yea, I’m off for the next two nights.”

“Okay, maybe we can have dinner tomorrow night?”

“That sounds great,” he said, smiling into the phone. “I’ll see you then.”

He hit the end button and pocketed his phone. Walking toward the blonde-haired woman, he kicked the bottom of her bloody foot, and she moaned, turning to stare up at him.

“You’re showered? You don’t want to play together anymore?” she asked.

“I have to get to work,” he lied. “Can you handle this?”

“You know I can, baby,” she purred, sitting up. “Want me to give you something to remember me by?”

“No,” he laughed. “I won’t forget you. You can be assured of that. Besides, you’ll get me all bloody. You need to get cleaned up and then do your thing.” He waved his arm around the room and started to back out.

“What about tonight?” she asked.

“I can’t,” he said, not turning to face her. “I have a family obligation tonight.”

“But I want to play tonight,” she pouted.

“I know you do, but I just can’t. Besides, things are starting to heat up. Don’t you think we should cool down for a while?”

“You losing your nerve, doctor?” she said in a cold tone.

“No. And don’t fucking speak to me that way. Clean this shit up and get home. I’ll talk to you in a few days.” He left the playroom, his scrubs as clean as when he walked in the night before.

Downstairs, he grabbed his lab coat and shrugged it over his shoulders. As he cautiously opened the front door of the brownstone, he heard the laughter of the blonde upstairs. Laughter that would haunt his thoughts for a lifetime.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Driving toward the university once again, Kane held tight to Aislinn’s hand as if she might disappear at any moment.

“Your friend seemed jumpy this morning,” she said quietly.

“Yea, I’ve been thinking about that. Adam said he was always different, and I knew that too. Things just seemed to happen when he was around. Unexplainable things. We were in the same unit my first few tours, and then he moved into an elite unit.”

“What do you mean unexplainable things?” asked Aislinn.

“I don’t even really know. It was more as if he was the good luck charm for our unit. When the odds seemed against us, suddenly, they turned in our favor. A weapon that was out of reach was suddenly within reach. It sounds crazy.”

“It’s not crazy at all. If my life has taught me nothing else, it’s taught me that anything is possible and that crazy may be the biggest possibility of all.” Kane nodded at her as he parked the vehicle outside of Dr. Brennan’s building.

They found her in her office, still hidden behind the stacks of books and papers. She looked up from her computer and smiled at them.

“Well, good mornin’ to you!” she said, standing to greet them. “I was hoping I would see the two of you this morning.”

---