“I’m scared, Ronan.”
Ronan could see the fear and grief warring in Carson’s blue eyes. “You know, it’s possible you might have the wrong end of the stick here.”
“What do you mean?” Carson asked, his voice hopeful.
“You said you’re in pain in the vision. What if Cole is the one who saves you from it? I suppose Cole is the one who caused it, but there are a hundred different ways this vision could play out. Some good. Some bad. Let your friends help you. Truman too. He looks worried to death every time he peeks over his shoulder at us.”
Carson nodded. “Okay. I’ll open myself up to this process. Thanks, Ronan. You’re a real friend.” Getting off the stoop, Carson hurried over to Truman, who was scooping ice cream for Everly.
“Hey, you.” Ten took the seat Carson had just vacated. “What was that about?”
“I can’t tell you. I promised Carson I’d keep our conversation to myself.” Ronan was damn proud of refusing to tell Ten about Carson’s confession.
“It has to do with that weird vision he and Cole keep having but no one wants to talk about.” Ten waggled his eyebrows when Ronan shot him a stunned look.
Ronan scooted closer to Tennyson. “They’rebothhaving the same vision?”
“Yeah, and Cole is being just as stubborn over talking about it as Carson is.” Ten shook his head.
“Can you see what’s going on in it?” Ronan was afraid to hear the answer.
“No. I sense the pain both brothers feel in the vision, but I can’t see anything else.” Tennyson sounded frustrated by the state of affairs.
“I don’t understand. Shouldn’t you be able to read them and see it for yourself?”
“It doesn’t work that way. Visions aren’t like a video clip on YouTube. I can’t hit Play and see what they saw. I’m only catching glimpses, but that’s because small flashes are all the brothers can remember.” Ten shook his head. “Secondly, you’re assuming Carson and Cole are seeing all of it.”
“I’m confused.” Ronan’s mind was still stuck on the fact that Tennyson couldn’t see everything Carson had experienced.
Ten patted Ronan’s shoulder and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “They could be seeing the beginning, the middle, or the end. You need all the pieces to put the puzzle together, and so far, we only have one. There are a lot of things that could cause pain in this crazy world we live in. It could be something as serious as a friend losing their life or as simple as stubbing your toe.”
Ronan understood what Ten was trying to explain. His eyes moved to Carson, who was laughing with Fitzgibbon as he ladled hot fudge. “He’s scared. I’m sure asking for my help wasn’t easy for him.”
“No, it wasn’t,” Ten agreed. “I’ll tell you what, if Carson and Cole don’t share what they know with each other, I’ll get everyone together in the morning before the store opens and get them to talk about what’s going on. Maybe what Cole remembers will dovetail with what Carson’s seeing and we’ll get to the bottom of this vision.”
“Count me in too. Carson asked for my help, and I promised he had it.” Ronan wouldn’t be able to help the brothers sortthrough what they were seeing courtesy of their psychic gifts, but he damn well could use his skills as a detective to unravel the mystery and keep his friends safe.
2
Tennyson
Still feeling as if he were on an ice cream high, Ten floated into work on Monday morning needing a strong cup of coffee and a breakfast sandwich. The last thing he wanted was something sweet. There were still three gallons of uneaten ice cream stored in their basement freezer, and Ronan mentioned wanting some for dinner. His husband was a giant toddler sometimes.
After the block party ended, Ten hoped Carson or Cole would reach out to him about their visions, but that call had never come. Around nine, he’d sent out invitations to a meeting scheduled for this morning. Everyone on the guest list had accepted, most likely because Ten had listed the subject of the meeting as “Back to School.”
While Cassie made his order, a sausage biscuit with a side of fruit, Ten scanned his friend. Cassie didn’t seem upset about anything other than Lexi not wanting to wear pants to preschool that morning. She’d left Cole to sort their daughter out. As far as Ten could tell, she had not heard a peep from Cole about his vision.
Grabbing his breakfast, Ten headed for the conference room to wait for the others. The psychics stumbled in one by one while the detectives came in together. With Ronan wanting to be involved in the meeting for Carson’s sake, he figured Jude and Fitz would want to come as well.
“Good morning, everyone,” Ten said. “I’ve got good news and bad news for you. Which do you want to hear first?”
Jude scowled. “It’s Monday, and I’ve got a hot fudge hangover. What could possibly beworsethan that?”
“No one told you to eat the leftover fudge with a ladle, dumbass.” Ronan snorted.
Ten hadn’t been able to believe his eyes either, but that didn’t stop him from shooting pictures of Jude’s fudge-stained face.
“Waste not. Want not,” Jude said, reaching for his coffee. “I have absolutely no remorse for my actions and will do it again if given the chance,warden.”
