“She said you’re in trouble, Sher.” Skye’s voice was beseeching now. “She said she keeps seeing visions of you with blood running down your face. Lots of it.”
Sheridan rubbed the goose bumps away from her arms. She could imagine how Jon had reacted to that. “There was lots of blood. She’s probably talking about the beating.”
Skye shook her head. “No, there’s more. She keeps seeing you dead in the forest.”
That brought the goose bumps back and made Sheridan nauseous. But it explained why Skye was so upset. And why she’d hopped on a plane, rented a car in Nashville, driven half the night and shown up at Cain’s cabin regardless of the hour.
“I should’ve called,” Sheridan conceded. She didn’t add that she’d been afraid to hear what Jasmine might have to say, that it was part of the reason she hadn’t contacted them. And she felt safe with Cain. Maybe even safer. Skye prided herself on her defense skills. She could probably handle a pistol better than Cain, since Cain rarely had occasion to use one and Skye taught shooting classes at the range every week. It was just that Skye represented all the cases Sheridan dealt with in Sacramento where the good guy hadn’t won and never would.
“You should’ve called,” Skye repeated.
Sheridan crawled into bed, and they watched TV for several more minutes. Then Skye glanced over again. “You okay?” she asked, finally calm.
“I could be better.”
“What do you think we should do?”
Sheridan pleated and unpleated the edge of the coverlet, trying to figure things out. “You want me to go back to Sacramento, right? Isn’t that where you’re going with this?”
“That’s exactly where I’m going.”
“I can’t do that,” she said.
Skye muted the television. “Why not?”
“Because it’s not just about me anymore.”
“Of course it is. It’s about keeping you safe! It’s about making sure Jasmine’s vision never becomes reality!”
“No, it’s about keeping everyone safe. Someone killed Amy Smith. We can’t simply forget about that and walk away.”
Skye nibbled her bottom lip. “Who’s Amy Smith?”
“An old acquaintance. There’s a connection between what happened to me and what happened to her. I know it.”
“Why can’t the local police handle it?”
“Are you kidding? They’re completely inexperienced in homicide.”
“They can ask for outside help.”
“They don’t even realize they need it. Anyway, is that what you’d tell me if I was a stranger who came to you for help?” she asked. “Leave it to the police?”
Skye watched the silent television screen. “You know I wouldn’t.”
“Because we help victims. That’s what we do. So why wouldn’t that go for me, too?”
Skye’s voice fell to a whisper. “Because you’re closer to me than my two sisters. I couldn’t bear to lose you.”
“But I need closure as much as anyone. Whoever shot me and killed Jason has been free to go on with his life for twelve years while I’ve been dealing with the repercussions of what he did. And that’s not the worst of it. Because he wasn’t caught back then, someone else is dead. Dead, Skye! We have to stop him. If we don’t do it, I doubt anyone else will.”
Skye pinched the bridge of her nose. “Just tell me one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“Are you taking this risk only because you want to find the man who killed Jason and Amy?” she asked, dropping her hand.
“Why else would I be staying?”
“I can think of one very gorgeous reason. The same reason who was standing in his boxers not too long ago, showing me a little too much of his rifle and his incredibly muscular body.”
“Cain.”
“Have you fallen in love with him again, Sher?”
“Again?” Sheridan laughed softly, hugging his shirt even closer to her body. “I never stopped loving him, Skye. I don’t think I ever will.”
A spark of compassion changed her friend’s expression. “So it’s about closure there, too.”
Sheridan blew out a sigh. “Maybe.”
“Don’t let him tempt you into making a mistake. Don’t stay here and fight this battle because you think you might have a chance with him. Not at the risk of your life.”
Sheridan raised her chin. “I know what to expect—and not expect—from Cain. I find the bastard who nearly killed me twice, who murdered Jason and Amy, and then I go home.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.” Then she could say goodbye to Whiterock without any regrets. Then she could leave because she’d chosen to leave and not because fear had chased her away.
“Fine. Just call Jon and let him know you’re safe. He’s left me three messages since my plane took off.”
“At this hour?”
“He doesn’t care what time it is. He wants to hear from you.”
Bolstering herself for more anger, Sheridan called Jonathan—but he was too relieved to yell at her. “God, you had me scared,” he said.
“I’m sorry. I was out of it for quite a while, but I’m better now.”
“Do you need me to fly out there and kick some ass?”
She chuckled. “Skye says you’re on an important case.”
“Nothing’s more important than my friends.”
“Stay there and do your job,” she said with a smile, missing him. “I’m going to be okay.”
“Let me know if that changes.”
Hearing the fatigue in his voice, she decided to let him go. He worked too hard, and slept barely five or six hours a night as it was. “Get some rest. I’ll call you again tomorrow.”
“Right. Talk later,” he mumbled.
She hung up and slid back under the covers. But eventually her thoughts reverted to Cain, and she couldn’t help feeling cold and lonely without two hundred pounds of warm male beside her.
20
Cain knocked on Tiger’s door at seven in the morning. His eyes sockets felt like they were filled with sand because he hadn’t bothered to go back to bed last night, but he wasn’t the least bit groggy. For reasons he refused to explore, he was angry that Sheridan’s friend had shown up and dragged her off. And he was determined to find out what the hell Levi had been talking about.