LITMIR.BIZ

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in her throat. “I see.”

      His eyebrows lifted as he turned to look at her over his shoulder. “Do you?”

      Molly nodded. “Emotional safety. You don’t get too close. I wonder if Kendra felt the same way, or if she hoped you’d fall in love with her.”

      Tossing back the dark amber liquor, he wiped the corner of his mouth with the back of his wrist. “Why the hell are we talking about her like she’s dead?”

      His question startled her, and with it came a nauseating sense of certainty. Molly didn’t know why she’d started referring to the woman in the past tense—but she feared the heavy knowledge settling like a sickening bulk of reality in her gut. Her brow broke out with a clammy sheen of sweat and she pressed one hand over her heart, its rhythm rapid and light against her palm. “I warned you something would happen, Ian. I have a horrible feeling that it already has.”

      He didn’t say anything. Just settled his lower back against the counter and stared, probably thinking she was the biggest freak alive.

      â€œWhy do you think Elaina picked you?” he rumbled, his deep voice low and rough.

      â€œWhat?” she asked, caught offguard by the change in topic.

      He stared, hard, as if trying to figure out a problem. “Why you?”

      â€œOh, I don’t really know. I don’t know why any of the voices I hear come to me. Maybe I’m able to draw them in some way. Maybe she couldn’t find anyone else who would do something this crazy.” Her words came faster, cut with frustration. “Right now, we have something much more important to talk about. Were you even listening to what I said?”

      â€œYeah,” he said, his voice raspy. He took another drink. “I was listening.”

      â€œThen will you try calling her?” Panic was crawling its way up her spine, making her dizzy…nauseous. God, she’d been sitting here arguing with him, and a woman was dead. Murdered. She didn’t know how she knew, but she was certain of it. Just as she was certain it had something to do with the man standing before her, glaring at her as though she was something he wanted to scrape off the bottom of his shoe and be done with.

      When he didn’t immediately respond—just kept staring—she added, “Please, Ian.”

      Sighing, he slammed his glass down on the counter, went to the phone hanging on the wall beside the softly humming refrigerator and quickly punched in a number. He held the receiver to his ear for a moment, then set it back into the cradle. “She isn’t home,” he muttered, glaring at her. “Which means she probably hit her favorite haunt tonight and made a new friend.”

      â€œOr maybe something terrible has happened,” she argued, lifting her chin.

      A rude sound of impatience rumbled in the back of his throat. “Christ, you just don’t let up, do you?”

      â€œI don’t have time to sit around and beat you over the head with this. I need you to listen to me, to believe what I’m telling you and help me make things right, and then I need to get back home.” Where she might have to beg for her job back, if they’d decided to fire her for leaving so suddenly, and hope that the voices in her head would finally stay quiet, leaving her in peace. Giving her a goddamn break for once in her life.

      â€œWhere’s home?” she heard him ask through the pity party she was throwing in her mind.

      â€œNot important,” she snapped, frustrated with herself and the whole horrible situation. “Will you come with me to check on Kendra?”

      He slowly shook his head from side to side. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

      â€œI’m not.”

      â€œThere’s no way in hell I’m going to go skulking about in the dark because you think the bogeyman’s out there. Get real.”

      â€œFine. If that’s the way you want it, then I’ll go alone.”

      She stood, walking toward the living room, and he grabbed her arm, his long fingers biting into her flesh as he gripped her in a tight hold and spun her back around. “Are you crazy?”

      â€œYou don’t believe me. Think I’m out of my mind. So fine. What’s it to you if I go wandering about in the dark?”

      â€œYou’re not going anywhere,” he growled, anger roughening the edges of his speech, “except back to wherever you came from.”

      â€œWrong. I’m doing whatever I damn well please. Whatever it takes to get your mother out of my head so she can move on to wherever she’s meant to go!”

      â€œChrist,” he grunted under his breath, releasing her arm. He rubbed his palm against the scratchy edge of his jaw, then quietly said, “The sheriff’s going to laugh his ass off when he finds out I let myself get dragged out into the night by a little pain in the ass like you.”

      â€œDon’t worry,” she whispered, struggling to hold back her relief that he’d caved. She wasn’t exactly thrilled to be spending more time with him, when he insisted on being such a jerk, but she couldn’t deny that she’d rather deal with his crass rudeness than handle things alone. Especially when she still didn’t have a clear understanding of exactly what she was up against. “If I’m wrong and she’s okay, then you can laugh in my face and tell me to get lost. The sheriff will never have to know.”

      IAN SHOOK HIS HEAD at her softly spoken words. The woman was unbelievably naive if she thought they could go wandering about town and keep it from Riley.

      Not likely.

      He was aware of her slim figure following behind him as he walked into the dark living room, the press of her eyes on his back as she watched him through the long shadows. Grabbing his cell phone off the coffee table, he turned back to her, saying, “He’ll know.” He grimaced with a wry twist of his lips. “Trust me. He’s like Santa Claus. He always knows.”

      Her brows pulled together in a quizzical frown. “Are you friends with the sheriff?”

      â€œYou could say that,” he muttered, pulling on his shoes before scanning the room for the keys to his truck. “I’m surprised Elaina hasn’t mentioned it.”

      â€œIt’s not like we have chats,” she said with a sigh. “Basically she just nags me about coming to find you and delivering the warning I gave you this afternoon.”

      â€œHuh. That sounds like her. God knows that woman loved to nag,” he grunted as the phone he’d stuck in his pocket began to buzz. Flipping it open, Ian couldn’t believe the name glowing on the screen. “Speak of the devil.”

      â€œWho is it?”

      A low laugh rumbled in his throat as he held up the phone, waggling it in the air. “The sheriff.”

      â€œThat’s not funny,” she murmured, frowning.

      He snorted, another wry smile kicking up the corner of his mouth. “Tell me about it.” Hitting the call button, he put the phone to his ear. “Yeah?”

      â€œGet dressed,” Riley’s deep voice grunted over the line. “I need you to meet me.”

      His smile faded, replaced by a rising wave of apprehension. “What’s going on?”

      â€œIt’s Kendra.”

      Ian screwed his eyes closed, a sharp, guttural curse jerking up from his chest.

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