She inhaled, exhaled, and realized she had tangled the covers in her nightmare. She was sweat slicked and clammy, and her heart was thundering.
“It was a dream,” she told herself aloud.
Just a dream.
But she remained afraid. She rose and turned on the light, then went into the bathroom and turned on the light there, before splashing her face with cold water.
She breathed deeply again, staring at her face in the mirror. She looked like a wild woman. She smoothed down her hair, washed her face a second time for good measure, and looked again. The wide-eyed panic was at last fading from her eyes.
But a sense of somehow being violated stayed with her.
She left her room and went down the hall. Heidi’s door was ajar. She peeked in. Heidi was curled beneath the covers, hugging the extra pillow. She appeared to be sleeping peacefully.
Lauren continued down the hallway. The door to Lauren’s room was open. Big Jim was no longer on duty, but Bobby was there, reading a gun manual.
He looked up. “Hey,” he said softly.
“Hey. Is everything all right?”
“Fine. Deanna woke up hungry again. She seems to be doing just fine.”
“Thank God.”
“Are you sure
“Yes. I just can’t sleep is all.” She walked closer to Deanna. Her friend’s color was much better. She was breathing deeply, and seemed to be sleeping peacefully. No dreams were plaguing her.
“I told you. She’s fine,” Bobby said.
“I believe you,” she said, smiling as she turned and stretched. She was still tired, but there was no way in hell she was going to go back to sleep. “Hey, why don’t you go to bed? You have to go to work in the morning, I assume.”
He grinned. “Actually, I’m assigned to the house right now.”
“I can’t sleep, Bobby. You might as well get some rest.”
“Are you sure?”
“I promise you, I’m not going to be able to go back to sleep.”
“All right, then. The house is protected. And if anything happens—and I do mean anything at all—just let out a good loud scream. One of us will be with you in two seconds. Okay? And don’t worry about a false alarm. It’s better to get us up for nothing than to second guess your fear and end up dead—or worse.”
She thought about telling him about her dream. No. She didn’t want anyone to worry about
When she saw Mark again, she would tell him. Then again, maybe she wouldn’t. Maybe, by day, she could get to a library. She would ask someone to go with her, find some excuse.
Was she actually distrusting Mark? she asked herself. Because of something that Stephan had said to her in a dream?
No, she assured herself, thought it was true that she didn’t really know him.
Yes, she did, she argued with herself.
“Are you sure you’re all right?” Bobby asked.
“Absolutely. Honestly. Go—get some rest.”
He nodded and left her.
For a few moments she moved restlessly around the room. But then she decided to read for a while. Bobby’s manual didn’t seem very interesting, but there were all kinds of things to choose from in the bookcase. She chose one on pirates in New Orleans and took a seat in Bobby’s chair. She glanced at Deanna again and was glad to see that her friend was still just fine.
With a sigh, she began to read, then gave herself a shake and realized she wasn’t comprehending anything she was reading. She was falling asleep.
Great. She had to stay awake.
She turned on the television that sat on top of the dresser, glad that every room had a TV and cable.
She looked at Deanna again to make sure the television wasn’t disturbing her. It wasn’t. She sat down again. Between the book and the television, she should manage to stay awake.
And she did. But when the movie ended and
But the news was about the fact that police up and down the Mississippi River were still looking for the murderer responsible for the deaths of at least three women, and she quickly changed the channel again and found an old episode of
She tried to read, but once again her lids grew heavy.
