Кей Хупер - Hiding in the Shadows

"God knows. We talked to some people."

"In other words, you were driving all over Atlanta poking into corners."

"Guy, I'd swear nobody followed us. And as far as I could tell, no one we talked to reacted in any unusual way to our questions." He had filled in the detective on their suppositions and conclusions, and Bishop's discovery about the murder investigation in Seattle.

The detective sighed. "Well, somebody was obviously upset enough to warn you off. Maybe you should pay attention. Get out of Atlanta for a while and let me do the poking around."

"You know I can't do that. But I can hire a couple of security guards to keep a closer eye on this place. And I'll sure as hell have blinds installed on those windows first thing tomorrow."

"Put one of the guards in the garage to keep an eye on your car," Richardson suggested. "And it wouldn't hurt to hire another private cop to follow you whenever you leave and make sure he's the only one doing that."

Kane grimaced slightly, but nodded.

"When's Bishop due back?"

"He isn't. He'll get here when he can, but something' s breaking in a case he's on, so there's no way of knowing."

"Have him call me and fill me in on whatever information he digs up."

Richardson looked at his friend steadily.

"I mean it, Kane. This little stunt, coupled with the break-ins at Miss Parker's apartment, tells me for damn sure that whatever's going on is deadly serious. You get yourself killed, and the paperwork's going to be hell."

"I'll remember that," Kane said dryly.

Richardson put the flattened bullet into a plastic evidence bag. "I'll file a quiet report on this incident. But it's the last time, Kane. Anything else happens, I won't be able to keep it under my hat."

"Understood."

Kane showed the detective out and when he returned to the couch, Faith said, "He seems a good friend. "

"I'm blessed with a few," Kane agreed. He looked at her searchingly. "I know it's a stupid question to ask if you're all right, but I'll ask anyway. Are you?"

She looked so small and still under the blanket, her hair dulled by the low lights of the room and her face ashen.

"I'll be fine."

He looked into her big, shadowed green eyes and saw the fear and pain she was determined to deny.

"Faith..."

"I know I should probably call it a day, go to bed and sleep, but ... I'd really rather not do that just yet."

She drew the blanket tighter around herself, the strain showing now in the tension of her posture, and fixed her gaze on the fire.

"I don't want to be alone right now."

Thinking of her isolated in her limbo of no memory drove him to say, "You aren't alone, Faith. I'm not going anywhere."

"Thank you."

"But my confidence that you'd be safer here with me was obviously misplaced. I'm sorry. Noah was right; I should have taken better precautions from the beginning."

"You had ... other things on your mind."

"That's no excuse. I made your safety my responsibility, and I should have followed through. But tomorrow I'll take those steps I mentioned to guy, make it impossible for anyone to get close or to see inside. I'll make sure we have an escort when we leave here. You'll be safe, I promise."

She nodded, but said, "if I could only remember. We'd be ahead of them then. We'd know what it is they want and why they want it so badly. We'd know who they are. Maybe we'd even know where Dinah is."

"You can't force your memory to return."

"I've been out of the coma now for almost a month. I should be remembering something. Those dreams are only flashes...I don't remember them, not really, I just see them happening. And what do I know about myself? I play the piano, it seems. I'm nervous about storms." She drew a shaky breath. "My mother and sister were horribly murdered, and I can't remember, can't feel anything about it. I married a man who abused me, who terrified me, yet I could pass him tomorrow on the street and never recognize his face."

"Faith..."

"What's my favorite color? My favorite food? Do I like to read? Do I like animals? Flowers? Did I love Tony Ellis before he beat me?"

Kane pulled her into his arms and held her while she cried. He didn't urge her to stop or tell her everything would be all right; crying was obviously some thing she needed to do. Careful of her injury, he wrapped both arms around her, rested his cheek against her soft hair, and just held her.

It was a long time before she finally quieted, before she said in a muffled voice against his chest, "Oh, God, I'm sorry."

"Don't be ridiculous."

She pulled back a little. "I don't usually cry." Then she laughed shakily. "At least, I don't think I do."

"You're entitled. More than entitled." Since his handkerchief had been employed earlier, he used a corner of the blanket to wipe her cheeks.

"And I bet you feel better now, don't you?"

"As a matter of fact, I do."

"Then I count it as a good thing." He brushed a strand of her hair away from her face and smiled at her when she finally met his gaze. His fingers lingered on her face, and he thought how soft and warm her skin was.

He had never before seen eyes that particular shade of green, like seawater. It would be so easy to sink into them and lose himself So easy to think of nothing but the ache of loneliness and longing he felt, to forget everything else... Kane realized he was staring at her mouth, that his hand had moved to cradle the back of her head and was drawing her toward him. And he froze.

Faith blinked as if coming out of a daze, then very slowly pulled away from him and got to her feet. "I think I'll turn in now after all. Good night, Kane."

"Good night." His voice sounded normal, he thought.

He sat there for several minutes staring into the fire. Then he pulled out his wallet and opened the section where he kept photographs.

She hated posing for pictures and always had, so this was a candid shot.

He had surprised her at the beach, catching her in a brief yellow two-piece that showed her splendid body to advantage. The click of the shutter had just missed her scowl; his own glee at finally capturing her on film after several frustrated attempts had amused her, and she had laughed, giving him a wonderful picture.

It was the only picture of Dinah he had.

"Come back to me," he murmured. "Come back before..."

He didn't finish the sentence. Even to himself.

"There's no sign of infection," Dr. Burnett said as he finished rebandaging Faith's wound, "so the shot's just a precaution. In the meantime..."

Faith smiled at him as she pulled down the loose sleeve of her sweater.

"I know. Don't stand in front of any more windows."

Burnett washed and dried his hands at the small sink in the examination room, then nodded at the nurse, who left silently. When they were alone, he said, "Faith, what's going on? A gunshot wound?"

She wasn't certain how much she should tell him, and with the new tension between her and Kane, she hadn't felt able to seek his advice before they had parted just a few minutes before, he to question the remaining staff members, she to check in with Burnett and get her arm examined. Going on the theory that the least said would probably be best, she replied, "The police are investigating."

"You have no idea why someone shot at you?"

Lightly, she said, "It was the middle of a storm and at night, and for all I know whoever it was never even aimed the gun, much less aimed it at me. It was probably a fluke. Just a fluke."

Burnett looked unconvinced, but nodded and changed the subject. "So how are you doing otherwise? I called your apartment over the weekend but didn't get an answer."

"I'm ... staying somewhere else." Before he could question that, she went on quickly, "And I'm fine. I get tired a bit too easily, but that's all."