“It must’ve been quite a show I put on.”
“I’d say a lot of people are going to be thinking of it for quite a while.”
“The woman?” The shake was back in her voice.
“She made it through surgery, but it’s still too early.”
“They really did find her?” She tried to pull herself up but fell back in the bed, weak.
“Easy.” He leaned up over her, brushing back her hair and cupping her cheek in his hand. “She was right where you described to me. You saved her. She wouldn’t have lived if we hadn’t gotten there so fast.”
Elation pushed back the fatigue and lingering fear, leaving her with hope. “You mean that?”
“Yes.”
Laken didn’t know if she could quite believe that the awful images could really be for good. But then again, wasn’t that why she had gone to the police that first day, a hope that she might be able to help? Her thoughts locked on it for a few minutes. Mac remained silent beside her.
“You’re going to need me to go over it?” She finally looked at him.
His fingers still holding hers tightened. “Yes, when you’re ready.” He looked away then back to her. “Dr. Shannon will be here in a while. She wants to hypnotize you again.”
Her chest constricted like steel bands were clamping down, so she could only nod in reply.
Mac seemed to pick up on her distress. “You don’t have to do it.”
Laken managed to shake her head, loosening the tightness in her throat enough to get the words out. “No, I want to help. Need to try.”
“I’ll be right beside you.” He squeezed down his hand.
Laken wanted to tell him that was the one thing she was afraid of, that after seeing the strange sickness that was part of her, he would not want her anymore. Pain echoed deep in her soul and must’ve shown on her face because Mac reacted.
“Laken.” There was anguish in her name as it escaped him.
“I want it to stop.” The words ripped from her.
His head came down to press his cheek against hers. “I know. I wish I could make it. More than anything I don’t want you to have to face that again. I’m going to get him, I promise.”
His declaration almost broke her resolve not to cry. “But what if it doesn’t stop with that? What if I remain linked to him?” She let out the fear that she hadn’t even wanted to think about in her own mind.
He lifted his head and looked down at her, so close their noses almost touched. “I have to believe that it will end it. That once we defeat him, it will be over.” He paused, took a long deep breath, and let it out. “If not, then we’ll face it.”
The tears she fought so hard against pooled in her eyes. One made it free to trickle down the side of her cheek. “Can you really mean that?” she choked out.
“Yes.” There was no hesitation in his reply. “I mean exactly that.”
“I can’t hold you to that.” Pain ripped at her heart. “I can’t make you go through that.”
“You’re not making me do anything. I am not going to lose you. You’ve become very important to me.”
Laken shook her head, afraid to try to get words out. He was noble, but she couldn’t lock him to the insanity of her dreams.
“Yes.” He read her actions. “When I got shot and figured my career as a policeman was over, I didn’t know how I was going to go on. I was losing myself because that was how I thought of myself… Because that was what I was, not just who. But now I’m actually faced with it, it isn’t so hard, because it’s not just all I am. But with you, you’re something more. You’re part of my heart. And… I can’t lose you. I love you.”
“Mac.”
“I mean it, Laken. Finding you, I found what I was missing in my life.”
Laken thought her heart would burst. “Mac—”
A soft knock on the door interrupted her.
“You look better,” Dr. Shannon said, entering the room. “How are you feeling?”
Laken didn’t think she could begin to explain how she was feeling. She was a jumble of fear. Fear of what it would do to Mac and her love for him. So she went with the only thing she could. “Fine.”
“I’d like to talk to you about what happened at the station if you feel up to it.”
Laken nodded and stiffened her resolve. “I was just going to go over everything I could remember with Mac. Then if you want to try hypnosis again…” She fought to keep down the shivers that coursed through her body. Mac tightened his hold on her fingers, letting her know he was there for her.
****
Mac gripped her hand as her temperature started to spike.
“No.” Laken gasped for air.
Mac felt his own heart speed up.
The doctor who had checked her out when they brought her into the emergency room leaned forward to check on the patient. Mac had elected to be in the room to monitor as Dr. Shannon hypnotized her.
“Laken, I want you to relax.” Dr. Shannon said softly. “He can’t hurt you. Do you understand me? I want you to describe to me what you see, everything you can.”
“We are in the bar, The Marinette. I’ve been there before.”
“What about him? Do you think he has been there before?” Dr. Shannon probed, and Laken seemed to concentrate on it.
“Yes, yes, he’s been there. He knows his way around. He’s back in the corner so he can see the whole room. He’s watching women. The first couple aren’t right, though he thinks they deserve to die.”
Mac caught the psychologist’s attention and the woman nodded, understanding he wanted to know why.
“Why aren’t they right?” Dr. Shannon asked the question.
“He’s looking for something. He’s aggravated. He shouldn’t have to hunt. He knows who he wants to kill, but he can’t get to her.” Laken’s breath seemed to catch. “There’s a woman that looks like he wants, but she seems to know her place and is properly submissive. He wants to kill, needs to kill. They deserve to die. It’s all their fault.”
“What is all their fault?” Dr. Shannon pressed.
Laken shook her head. “Everything,” she cried out. “He found her. She has the look and how dare she turn up her nose and snub the man. She’s the one. She must die.”
“Her temperature’s climbing,” the doctor announced.
“Laken, you need to draw back from the Hunter. He cannot affect you. Do you hear me? You can see what he is doing but not feeling. It’s all in the past.”
Mac felt the breath freeze in his own lungs until her breathing eased, and he felt her temperature drop. It was all he could do to remain quiet as Laken continued to tell them every detail of the hunt, moving them down the street to the parking garage and catching his prey.
“The knife. No,” Laken screamed.
Mac tightened his hold at the sound of pain in the word.
“Laken.” Dr. Shannon came forward and rested her hand on hers. “It’s all right. It’s over. Laken, she is alive. The woman is alive.” The words seemed to have no effect on comforting her.
Her head tossed side to side on the pillow, her breath coming in shallow pants. “No, he needs to hunt, to kill. She wasn’t the one.”
The people in the room exchanged looks. “What do you mean she wasn’t the one?” Dr. Shannon probed.
“Not the one he wants to kill. The need isn’t gone. It’s my fault the need won’t go away. My fault the kill isn’t good. It should have been good. She deserved to die, but the relief won’t come. It’s my fault,” she groaned. “My fault it’s gone wrong. My fault the relief won’t come. It won’t come, won’t come until he makes it right. Not until he kills me.”
Chapter Ten
Mac never knew he could feel so much fear. Even waking up in the hospital, groggy with the pain, wondering if his leg was still there was not as bad as hearing Laken say she had to die. “No.” There was no keeping back the cry that slipped from him. Dr. Shannon sent him a brief look but didn’t say anything. It was
Laken that answered with a nod, as if in her hypnotized state she accepted what she didn’t even know when awake.
“How do you know he’s after you?” Dr. Shannon picked up the new line.
“He was there outside my apartment when the policemen were putting me in the car. He was watching. He was happy I was in trouble. I deserved it. But he was mad too, because he couldn’t get to me. That’s why he needed to find another, but he wanted to kill me.”
“Did you see him there, Laken? Can you describe him?”
Again, Laken’s head shook.
“So you just felt him?” the psychologist pressed.
“Yes.”
“Have you felt him watching you before?”
“Yes.”
Laken’s answer was like a blow to his stomach. It was all Mac could do to keep his rage in.
“When did you feel him before, Laken?”
“He was outside my building when I quit. I felt his hatred. It hit me so hard it almost took me to my knees. I was afraid.”
When Mac started to speak, Dr. Shannon cut him off with the jerk of her hand. “But you didn’t tell Mac?”
“I was going to, but then I decided it was foolishness. I couldn’t prove he was there. I couldn’t even pick him out when I looked for him.”
Mac couldn’t believe how blasé her voice sounded talking about a killer watching her. He wanted to do some ranting and raving himself. Her next words took most of the steam out of him. “Then, when Mac called, all I wanted was to hear his voice, and I forgot all about the fear. It seemed silly.”
“Laken, do you think Mac would think it was silly?”
“No. He would take it seriously. He would be worried. I don’t want to add any more problems for him. He has enough trying to find the Hunter.”
“You think you are a hardship for him?”
“Yes. I always thought I was normal, boringly so. I wish I was that way still. I want to help him catch the Hunter, but I want the dreams to go away.”
The doctor nodded in understanding. “You are afraid the dreams will make you lose Mac?”
“Yes. How could a man want a woman who sees murders? I’m afraid they’re going to drive me crazy.” Emotion slipped back into her voice.
“Laken, listen to me. You’re not going crazy. I want you to understand that. And though the visions are bad, they can’t hurt you. You can use them to help Mac. You must remember that. You can use them to get the Hunter. And then the visions can end. Do you understand that?”
“Yes.”
“Good. When you awaken, you will remember everything clearly. You will not feel fear in remembering, but the details will be clear in your mind. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
****
When Laken opened her eyes, she drew in a deep breath and looked for Mac. He was still beside her, holding her hand. The smile he gave her sent relief flowing through her body. “How did I do?” She forced a smile and then realized she actually felt good.
“Wonderful.” He brought her fingers to his lips.
The medical doctor stepped forward to check her out before anything else could be said. With a quick assurance that she appeared to be fine, he left the room and Dr. Shannon started in with her probing, how Laken felt, what she could remember and such. It was twenty minutes later before she left Mac and Laken after instructing Laken to get some sleep.
It was Mac who let out a sigh when the door closed behind her. “Finally, we’re alone,” he said before leaning over to lay his lips to hers.
The kiss was tender, sweet and lingering. When he pulled back, it was only a couple of inches to smile down before he kissed her again. This time, the kiss was more heated, and when she pushed her arms up around his neck, his hands worked their way behind her back to lift her to him for deeper access. The world around them slipped away, leaving only the two of them, and Laken wished it could be like that forever. As if in agreement to that thought, Mac brought her even tighter. Heat shot through her body for a totally different reason than it had earlier.
A tone of alarm in the hallway and the clattering of trays pulled them apart.
“I could really get addicted to doing that.” Mac’s voice rumbled down, making her want to laugh with sheer giddiness.
“I kind of like it myself. Anyone ever tell you, you’re a pretty good kisser, detective?”
“I don’t go around kissing many people on the job.” His lip quirked up on one side, giving him an adorable dimple that Laken had only caught fleeting glimpses of before.
“So I’m a special case.” Her own lips tilted up.
“Very special, a case totally by yourself.”
“Is that good?” She got into the playfulness.
“Yes, I’ve decided I need to keep personal surveillance on you.” The playfulness in his words didn’t quite mask the seriousness underneath. Mac was letting her know he was going to be around to protect her, and it came clear into her mind why.
“The Hunter is really going to come after me?” The light banter faded away.
“I’m not going to risk it.” This time, when he pulled her back to him, it was more for comfort. “I won’t lose you. Does that sound over-dominating?” His lips brushed the side of her head as he asked.
Laken made only a slight negative motion. “No, you’re a protector. That’s who you are, and I think I’m kind of glad. It scares me to think he might come after me.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” There was frustration in the words.
“I don’t know. It seemed so… outlandish. I already sounded unbalanced. And then I was going to claim he was going to come after me? It would’ve made me sound paranoid. It was enough that you took my visions seriously. I didn’t want to destroy that by sounding like an overwrought, hysterical female.” She paused and leaned back to look up at him. Reaching up, she cupped her hand on the side of his face. “I don’t want to lose you,” she said, repeating his words back to him.
“Mac.” She swallowed back the tears that seeped into her eyes. “I love you. It’s so fast, but you mean more to me than anyone ever has. I’ve never been one to fall in and out of love. I realized a long time ago that was not me. I decided to wait for love, to wait for you.” She bit down on her lip to steady her nerves. “I’ve waited a long time for you and with these crazy things happening to me, I was afraid I’d lose you before I ever had a chance.”
His hands came up to frame her face. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m not worried about a few off-the-wall visions except for what they do to you. They’re not going to chase me away, understand. I love you. We will face the visions together.” His thumb brushed away a tear that slipped free as joy spread through Laken. He loved her and wasn’t going to leave her. Happiness wiped away any doubts and fears that lingered in her.
****
Fear slashed back into her as she stared into her small apartment. From the open doorway, she could see the destruction spread to every corner of it.
“Stay here in the doorway so I can still see you.” Mac stepped in the room. His gun was in hand, his body tensed, alert. He scanned the room quickly before moving through the doorway to her bedroom. He was out of her view for a second then he was striding back toward her, his gun once more in its holster. He didn’t need to tell her no one was there. Whoever had torn apart her apartment was long gone.
Mac wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to him, cutting off the view of the mess, but she couldn’t help picturing the scattered items strung all over the room. She slumped against Mac, absorbing his strength, barely conscious of him talking on his phone.
This couldn’t be happening to her. Not after everything else, to have her apartment broken into. It was just too much. She wanted to scream. She wanted to pound her fist on something. Instead, she locked her hands into Mac’s shirt and clung to him as she was trying to cling to her sanity. She rubbed her cheek against his shirt and wiped away a tear she hadn’t even realized was there. His arms tightened, making a
comforting cocoon. His body gently rocked back and forth. The motion actually brought a smile up through the hurt and conjured the image of him doing something similar to comfort a hurt child. It was such a pleasant picture she sighed and relaxed, letting go of all the pain of having her apartment broken into, and trashed.
It was all right. There was nothing there that couldn’t be replaced, she told herself and mostly believed it, but there was still pain and a feeling of violation. Her mind ran with that idea to the thought that having her apartment broken into was nothing compared to having a psycho murderer invade her mind. She almost laughed at the absurdity of it. The sound that escaped her was more like a hiccup.
Mac’s hand stopped stroking her back to catch her shoulders and ease her away to look down into her face. “You okay?” A frown knitted his brow.
The smile she gave him was slightly forced, but she did feel lighter so she told him why. “Yeah, compared to having a killer in my mind, this should be nothing.”
The corner of his lip tugged up. “Well, I wouldn’t say nothing, but you do have a point.”
“Can I go take a look around and see what was stolen?” Laken stiffened her shoulders. “I need to call my insurance agent to see what they will cover.”
“It’d be better to let the crime team go through it first.” He held her back.
“Mac?” She saw the intensity in his face and looked past him, taking a really good look and knew what was going through his mind.
Her TV was still where it belonged, but the screen was broken out. Her CD player was on the floor. Though neither was new or expensive, they’d have still been worth money. She started to shake as she really studied the room. Nothing appeared to be stolen. Trashed was the word that described it. Whoever had broken in had been venting rage. She shuddered with relief that she hadn’t been there.
Mac’s arm tightened around her. “Come on, we can wait downstairs in the car.”
“No.” Laken held him back when he would’ve turned her. “I can handle this. Do you think it was the Hunter?”
The look in his eyes was serious. “I don’t know. You’ve ticked off a couple people lately.” His lips quirked into a grin which helped to ease the tightness that formed in her stomach.
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