Page 148 of It Runs in the Family

“Where do you expect me to go, Iris?” she asked, her irritation evident. Baby JJ began crying in the background. “I need to go deal with the baby.”

“Rita, wait!” I cried out in panic. God, was I really going to admit this in front of Boone? “There’s a reason I’ve been worried sick about Selena.”

“Yeah, I know. You had a vision about her.”

“Right,” I said. “But what I didn’t tell you was that I was in it too.” I paused. “Rita, I saw myself murdered.”

Rita gasped.

Boone’s body stiffened.

“I’ve had that vision three more times, and it’s always mostly the same—I’m in a warehouse, and a man drags Selena to where I’m tied up and then shoots me in the head. He kills me, Rita, and he’ll kill you too. Go to Granny’s. If there’s anyone in the family who can protect you besides Garrett, it’s Granny.”

“What am I supposed to tell her?” she asked, her voice breaking.

“Tell her I had a vision, and I’m worried they’ll come to look through Selena’s things. Tell her I told you to go there. She won’t argue.”

Rita’s voice broke. “What are you gonna do, Iris?”

“I’ve told Garrett,” I said. “He’s taking precautions.”

“Be careful.”

“I will. You too,” I said. “Let me know when you get to Granny’s.”

I hung up after she agreed, then I turned to face Boone, who wore a mixture of disbelief and confusion.

“She’s goin’ to your grandmother’s?”

“Yeah.”

He hesitated, and a constipated look crossed his face. “And she bought the vision story.”

“Yeah.”

He hesitated again. “Is she usually that gullible?” There wasn’t any hint of derision in his voice. It was more like he was tossing it out there so I’d admit I’d made it up.

I could tell him exactly what he wanted to hear. It would be a hell of a lot easier that way, but I was just as sick of the lies as I’d been before calling Rita.

“She’s not gullible. Everyone in my family knows.”

His eyes widened. “That you have visions?”

I held his gaze. “Yeah.” I gave him a moment to come up with another question. When he didn’t, I said, “That’s how I got into this mess. Remember I told you about seeing Dario Voss at the convenience store? I had a vision of him after he checked out. I was in a warehouse, tied up, and Voss came rushing toward me, dragging Selena by her arm. He said it was all my fault and shot me in the forehead.” I paused. “Just like he did with Rebecca.”

He didn’t say anything, his face devoid of expression.

I decided to keep going. “When I saw Selena at T-Birds, I had a vision of her when she was getting into her car. It was the same thing, only through her eyes. Voss shot me.”

“You know this sounds crazy?” he said, his voice quiet. Too quiet.

“I’ve lived with it my entire life. Of course I know it sounds crazy.”

“You’ve had visions your whole life? What? You’re like an oracle?”

“No. Other than my own murder, I’ve never seen anything of great importance.” I pushed out a sigh. “When I saw Billy at T-Birds, he wanted me to have a vision for him. I refused, and when he grabbed my arm and wouldn’t let me leave, I grabbed his balls and squeezed until he let go.” I gave him a hint of a smile. “Remember when I told you Billy tried to drown me when I was a teenager? He wanted me to have a vision to figure out lotto numbers and I refused. He’d forced me before, and it gave me a massive migraine.”

He stared at me like I’d just announced I was the Queen of England.